#5 God can

I love big adventures with my family.  We've been across the country in an RV, we've been over seas.  But, my absolute favorite times as a Dad are the simple "ordinary" times.  Mostly as I sit in my "daddy chair" and gaze with amazement at my kids.  Sometimes, they actually crawl up into the chair with me.  Those times, even though they are becoming few and far between as they grow, are priceless.  I have learned to treasure every second of these interactions.  As sappy as this might sound, it's true.  Tickling my kids until they cry or engaging in a brief conversation about their day, are for me, heaven on earth. 

As the years go by and the kids begin to have "more important" things to do than engage Daddy, I've got to get creative with my approaches. 

One ploy that works 100% of the time is bribing. Candy is the currency in my family. And you want to get them to do anything, all you have to do is flash a gummy bear or a life saver. When we run out of candy, we usually can get a chore done with a Tums or a cough drop.  Our 2 year old, Avila doesn't really know the difference. As easy as bribes are, they feel kind of cheap. I am still operating in a reward/punishment arena. The attention they give me, has nothing to do with me, but only the reward.  

I've learned that the most rewarding times for me are when my kids "help" me with some sort of project.  They usually end up screwing it up more than helping, but it is still worth that time with them. If you are parent you know what I'm talking about. If you aren't, I'm sure you can remember at some point, "helping" your mom cook dinner or your dad mow the lawn. 

I seriously don't have the words to describe the satisfaction that I feel as my kids help me with some menial task. As a boy, I remember helping my dad, and truly believing that he needed my help. Now that I'm the dad, I realize that the only thing that my dad needed from me, was this time together. It means so much! And as I become more and more intimate with my Father in heaven, I realize that this is His mode of relating to me as well.  

God can convert the world, save the world, heal the world with one word, in an instant. No process, just done and done, like that.  He chooses to invite me into the process because He desires ME more than He desires to USE ME.  These times that I "help" God, are the times that we spend together.  Don't take this in the wrong way, but for most of us in ministry, these are some of the most intimate times with the Father.  To be honest, I don't think that God could've gotten my attention any other way.  I'm that kid squirming on His lap. He starts a project, gives me a task, and says, "Ennie, I need you to help me with something?" And I fall for it every time. 

Not only, does He choose to need me, but He also risks complete failure when He trusts me with these tasks. He is like a dad giving me, a 3 year old the lawnmower, slapping me on the ass, and saying "go get 'em tiger." 

Can you imagine this business model ever working? You are in a job interview...

Interviewer: "Yeah, um, you are the worst possible person to fulfill this job."

You: "So I didn't get the job?"

Interviewer: "No, actually, we are going to make you the Senior VP.  We want you to be a part of our company so bad, that we are willing to limit ourselves and our productivity to have you on board."

This is insane, maddening, and I am uncontrollably irritated by this economy.  But, this is our God.  He does it time and time again in the scriptures and throughout Church history.  Just look at this last Sunday's readings.  Isaiah, a zealous young man that couldn't keep his mouth shut. Peter, a bad fisherman. Paul, literally killing Christians. Can you think of a worst candidate?  These are the people that God chooses to do His work, not because He can't do it Himself, but because He desires the love of His children, time spent with His children, and ultimately, that His children are fulfilled in Him. 

I can do nothing apart from Him. Gotta get this through my thick skull. 

#4 following

As the oldest of three boys, I grew up calling the shots. Whether it was Legos, G.I. Joe, or He-man, whether we were going to pull a prank on the neighbor or sneaking on to the roof, I was the lead man. I was Hannibal and they were my A-Team.  This behavior, as it does with many oldest children, translated from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood. My adolescence was filled with me roping many of my friends into making some pretty dumb decisions.  I recall one night pulling the red Ford Topaz back into my parents driveway at 3am, after "stealing" it for a couple of hours. The friend in the passenger seat literally burst into tears as the headlights shined brightly on a half naked, very confused father of mine. We were fourteen and grounded.
When it comes to the Gospel, Jesus makes it very clear to me that following Him is fundamental. When I decided to follow Jesus, I relinquished the lead role to Him. This is ridiculously hard for me. And the worst part is, that it's that I call myself a follower.  I'm a "follower", that because of fear of what Jesus might ask, 99% of the time does not follow. And I've figured out ways to make myself feel like I am, so that I can continue leading.

Here are just a few of the mechanisms that I've invented.

- Options (most common for me)
Jesus: "Follow me."
Me: "Okay. Can you give me some options and let me pick one?"
Jesus: "But, that would make you in charge. Just trust me."
Me: "What did you say Jesus? I'm busy praying about my options."

- Judgement
Jesus: "Follow me."
Me: "Sure thing Jesus, you want me to change the world for your Glory, right?"
Jesus: "Well, sure, but I just need you to trust me with whatever I ask you to do."
Me: "What did you say Jesus? I'm busy praying for all the sad sad pagans not doing your will."

- If/Then
Jesus: "Follow me."
Me: "I'm all over it Jesus. Now if you could just make it real clear for me."
Jesus: "I need you to step out into the darkness. Trust me, I'm right here."
Me: "What did you say Jesus? I'm staring at the Sun waiting for it to dance."

Whether you are the oldest in your family or not, chances are some of these mechanisms probably sound familiar. Chances are, just like me, you are scared to death of what Jesus might ask you to do. In my heart of hearts I really want to trust. I really want to obey. But, I choose to just "get by" on my own. I convince myself that I'm doing God's will, but I am really just doing my will with some Godly sweetener.

Lord, help me to trust you more. I know that you have my best interest in mind, because you are my Father. Teach me how to follow you.

#3 honor or emulate?

Today I rode my motorcycle over to the bank to cash a check, completely forgetting that the banks are closed on this national holiday. MLK is a hero of mine, but I forget that our country still honors him. Where hate speech and exclusivity prevails in most media and social outreaches, including churches, I tend to giggle when I think about our nation honoring Dr. King.  Until I can emulate his example, I really can't talk though.

I still hang out with people like me.  I give freely of my time and gifts to those who appreciate them.  I don't like to love people who misbehave, who are rude, or misinformed.  I'm easily annoyed with people who simply regurgitate, with passion, what they heard on a 24 hr news channel.  In my prayer today, as I remember Dr. King, I'm praying that I can love the abortionist as much as I love the innocent child, that I can love the fear monger as much as I love the immigrant. 

Lord, have mercy on me, a bigot.  Give me the grace to see how recklessly you love all of your children, and the grace to love them as you love them. 

#2 is my gift enough?

I love Jesus...

When He's asked which [one] command was the first of all, He gives two.  One very lofty and ideal and one very practical and hard.  The second actually gives a hint at how "not easy" the first is.  Aka: if we love God, we obey His commands. 

In the synoptic Gospels, it's phrased something like this, "You shall love your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" and "love your neighbor as yourself." 

Love it! Actually doing this... of course, much harder.  If it wasn't, it wouldn't have made the list of Holy Irritations. 

The truth is, I love to give. I love the "feeling" of giving a really great gift. I love surprising folks with a thoughtful gift, or a gift that far exceeds their expectations.  It's also really cool to be known as a "good gift giver" or a "thoughtful person".  This Christmas, we and a couple of other families gave a dairy cow to a family in Africa!  It really was a lot of fun, imagining their faces when they saw our gift.  From an outsiders perspective, I look like a nice person, a good Christian, a person who is loving folks as myself. 

But really? As myself? Really. Really? 

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure loving folks as myself would mean I would spend just as much money on neighbors as I do on myself and just as much time praying for others as I do for my own intentions.  I don't ever recall looking at my budget or my time in this way.  I give mostly on my terms, and from my excess, not my need. 

What would it look like, if I were able to take this command seriously? What would me neighborhood or my home look like? Crazy.

This week I texted a word to a number and donated 10 bucks to the rescue efforts in Haiti. And it felt awesome!  Then I saw some more horrifying pictures from the tragedy, so I decided to do it again. This time I gave $15.  For some reason, it didn't feel as good.  Jesus was irritating me with His command to love more deeply.  Side note: If you didn't do at least this much, I'm not sure you can call yourself human. Unless of course you were totally oblivious to the situation over there.  

Giving a couple of bucks to the relief efforts in Haiti is the human thing to do!  That being said, I can't help being haunted by Jesus commands. "Love your neighbor as yourself." Is giving this amount of money, the Christian thing to do? Is this really loving neighbors as yourself?  

So as I'm sipping my coffee, clicking away on my blog, my neighbor is suffering, dying, without parents, without children, without hope, without a home... 

I'm irritated. Lord, give me the Grace to not only know what to do, but to do it. 

#1 starting it

Six years ago...

Me: "Man, I should really start a blog, or a book or something."

Jesus: ":) I agree. Tell them about me and all the stuff that comes with me."

Me: "I will. Soon. It seems like all speakers and preachers have one, and I feel left out 'cause I don't write. I also need something to sell when I go places. More approval, more money, did I mention approval?"

Jesus: ":| Nope. Not what I meant."

Me: "Okay. Yeah, your right Jesus. You always are. I'll start it soon... for you, of course."

At least once a month since then...

Jesus: "Blog, book?"

Me: "Sure. Soon."

Arghhh! What is it about getting started with the transformation that is so hard for me?  I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 7 "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." I'm sure this will be a recurring theme here on this blog.

I've got a ton of aspirations and dreams, great ideas and goals.  Primary of these, is being holy.  (Secondary, is a disposable coffee cup that when coffee is poured into it, sugar and/or cream is automatically dispensed to your liking, eliminating the need for a little trash can for creamer and sugar packet trash.)  However, when I step back and look at all these great ideas.  It all just seems so daunting, time consuming and hard.  And sometimes, it's just the fact that I don't even know where to start.  Recently I read the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7.  And I can honestly say that there was not a single command, from the sermon on the mount, that I have been able to master.  "Let your light shine, love your enemies, be meek, give your extra coat, do not pray with empty phrases." FAIL. As I reflected on this seemingly depressing fact, I was struck with a couple of things.  First, that I really do have everything that I need to fulfill these commands, namely the Holy Spirit, who is our help and dwells in us that we might become partakers of the Divine Nature. And secondly, I just need to start hacking away.

The irritations are there, the failures, etc. I just need to start cooperating with what I have been given to find joy in them, to itch them, if you will.

Welcome to my blog.  I pray that together, we find Hope in our weaknesses.

Community, wherever you live...

Last year, when we went shopping for a new house in the Houston-Metro area, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation, we knew that we wanted to live somewhere, where we could "do life" with our neighbors. Previously, we had lived in the suburbs of southeast Phoenix, in a nice middle class neighborhood in Chandler. There we felt shut off from our neighbors, as they shut their garage doors. There was no way that we were going back to that lifestyle. Now, we were on a hunt where we could live in community with people of different races, backgrounds, and life experiences, somewhere our kids could learn what sparing and sharing was all about. This desire led us to look within the inner city and the old 'wards' of downtown Houston. Eventually, to our dismay, we had to widen our search. The wards were just too dangerous for our growing family of six. We "settled" into a quaint neighborhood on the southwest side of Houston proper, vowing that "one day" we would be able to move inward. For months, I was in anguish over our decision. Everyone on our block had cars, and everyone had garage doors (to shut). For the first couple of months, when I talked to my justice minded friends, I would always feel a bit ashamed, that we couldn't make the plunge, and that we had to settle with Braeburn Valley, which is really just an inner ring suburb that has a Houston address. Then it got a bit cooler in Houston, and pretty soon our little cul-de-sac on Del Rey Ln. sprung to life.

I am happy to say that I no longer feel ashamed of my address. I know each one of my neighbors, (who are very diverse) and we are learning to do life together. Each week we gather for a family meal, a potluck of sorts. It's a bit awkward at times, but it's community.

The fact of the matter is, that we are called to do community, wherever we live. Even though I would rather hang out with physically needy people, God has me on Del Rey Ln. for a reason. And just because it's not where I feel the hippest and most radical, it's where He wants us for now.

let's pray together

Dear fellow missioners,

One of the most fun and spiritual enriching things about doing the Lord's work is getting to commune and pray with some of the country's most amazing people in ministry. Unfortunately, it never seems to last long enough. We all have our own missions, cities, and families to get back to.

What if there were more time? Just for us. To pray, eat, share, and dream. What could the Lord do with us in a weekend, where we weren't "working" or "serving" with one another, but simply coming to Him, intentionally, for an outpouring of new vision for ministry and evangelization in this country? Don't you think we owe this to ourselves? To our God? To the people we serve? I do.

This is not a commercial. This isn't a last ditch effort to boost our numbers. This isn't about any one ministry or any one name (although we could drop some names). This is about a community of evangelists and ministry leaders from across the country coming to seek Him in a great time of need. The ADORE Worship Summit is about you and I getting that time we need and desire.

If you think this is going to be just another conference, give me a call and I'd be happy to explain why it isn't. You seriously don't miss this epic weekend, September 4-6 in Houston.

For registration and event info - www.adoreworship.com - and click on the summit graphic.

I love you all dearly, and I hope to see you in Houston. Please feel free to forward this on to anyone else.

peace+

ennie