Unfortunate Opportunities

This is a tough time for many businesses. I can say that without reservation despite my thorough lack of understanding of macroeconomics or the like. But there are some businesses that are at least partially insulated from downturns in the economy. The market may be down but people still need toilet paper, gasoline, heat, and other such things. They might be able to use less, but they can't cut them out altogether.

And then I thought about the church. What is the church's business? People. The economic downturn certainly effects the church because the church is supported by people who give according to what they get. But the church's business is NOT profit, it's pointing people to Christ. And so many times that happens by helping people in some of most difficult times in their lives. People are never more willing to listen to the hope found in Christ than when their hope has crumbled. To put it as simply as I can, uncertainty is good business for the church. The business of the church is to offer hope that is anchored in eternity, unchanging and unshaken by the ups and downs of our world. That means that although we may have to figure out how to do more with less in the mean time, the opportunities before us are endless, and the God among us is infinitely creative. I pray that he will help us to use this opportunity to share his love with those who are hurting around us.

Explaining Deniability

Have you ever gone into negotiations with your spouse in Walmart? The other night we were in Walmart for some things we needed, and out of the blue Katie and Keri conspired against me to buy a costume for our dog, Sadie. More out of my own issues than sympathy for my dog, I made a great case against a dog wearing a costume. However, they persisted in the madness and I gave in on the condition of complete deniability. Katie listened with interest to the negotiations and eventually wanted to know what "deniability" meant. I explained to her that I wanted to be able to deny having any knowledge of or participation in the pitiful sight of my dog looking like a bumble bee. She indicated she understood. But the truth is, I knew about it and was complicit in it's purchase (although I didn't tell the guy who checked us out).

Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." God offers us no deniability for sin. Instead, he provided a substitute to take the shame and the punishment for our sin. This weekend is communion and I am struck once again by the peace there is in owning up to my own sin and yet being able to leave it with God and walk away clean. What an incredible gift!

Appreciating The Little Things

I just finished watching ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. This week they built a new house for Job McCully and his family. Job and his family spent more than a year in St. Louis waiting for and recovering from a double lung transplant. Watching the McCully's receive a beautiful new home was delightful.

Rob and Tina's bedroom contains a picture frame with a phrase that Ty heard Tina speak earlier in the show. She said, "you have to appreciate the little things that other people take for granted." I want to appreciate the little things. Tonight, before the show, I just sat and watched Katie and Jake run around the living room, carrying pillows, running smack into each other, and falling on the floor giggling uncontrollably. Now there is something worth appreciating.

Installation Service

I'm getting ready for the installation service this weekend and, not surprisingly, I've been thinking a lot about it. I don't really have anything to do other than be installed, but I still feel like I need to get ready. Here's some of what I've been pondering along the way:

• I've always heard of and referred to God's sense of humor, but I've never felt quite so sure he was getting a good belly laugh because of me as I do now. "Come to St. Louis," I thought, "and do some school and ride off into the sunset on my shiny red scooter." Didn't quite work out that way.
• I'm surprised at how nice it is to think about settling down somewhere and digging in for the long haul. Some day I'll know how to say "Interstate Farty Far" and sound like a local. I'll say things like, "I remember when 141 stopped at Olive, before it went through to Page." My son will grow up loving the Cardinals and maybe even the Rams (he will, however, be a Redwings fan if I have anything to say about it).
• There are so many people who have invested so much in me, I feel incredibly grateful and want to honor their sacrifices.
• My only hope at West County Assembly of God is what my only hope would have been anywhere else God might have called me--to trust Him to do what I cannot do on my own, to trust Him to move beyond my faults and failures and build His church in spite me.
  

Here we go...

Mary, Martha, David Allen, and Edgar Allen Poe

While packing some books the other day I couldn't help but chuckle. I packed the book Having Mary Heart In A Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God In The Busyness of Life. The very next book I packed was David Allen's book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. That is a picture of the tension I constantly struggle to balance, and I'm guessing the same is true of most people living and working these days. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to be so efficient that we could do everything and still have plenty of extra time to spend with God? Yes, but God doesn't want our extra time; he wants our best time. Sometimes I think I struggle to spend undistracted time with God because I know that my to-do list is always there. It's like The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe); no matter what I'm doing I can hear it making noise and distracting me. But the time we spend with God cannot be shortened, compacted, or made to be of such "quality" that "quantity" no longer matters. There is no substitute for sitting down with God and simply being in his presence for an extended time.

Overheard From The Back Seat

Blog? What blog? Oh yeah, this one. It has obviously been a while since I've written and so I'm starting back slowly. Tonight we brought some things to our house, among them some plates and glasses and other fragile things. I set the box next to Jacob's seat and told him in no uncertain terms, that under no circumstances was he to step on, in, or near that box. I got in and buckled up and Katie continued my speech by telling Jacob, "if you break it, you buy it." I wasn't going so far as to demand payment in the event of damage, but I realized that at least Katie was paying attention.