Just heard about a book entitled Flashbang. A flashbang, as the author (Mark Steele) puts it in a side column in the July/August edition of Relevant Magazine, is "a weapon used by our nation's military that is, in fact, not a weapon. It is a grenade that makes the sound of an explosion and creates a blast of light, but does not actually cause any destruction: the flashbang. It looks and sounds like a grenade, but leaves nothing behind."
He goes on to say, "Unfortunately, I used to live a flashbang life. Making a lot of noise and putting on quite a show without leaving any real permanent mark. [My book] is the story of how God changed me so that my faith leaves a stain."
What Kind of Bomb Are You?
I immediately had to make Mark's thought personal (and since you are reading this, I'll include you as well). Are we living "flashbang" lives? We say the right words and do the right things to complete the image we want people to see (mine being a good little Christian boy), but do we have the type of faith and character that when people come into contact with us, we will "leave a stain?"
I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a flashbang Christian. I want this faith that I have been given by God to be authentic, to be real, to be deep, to be genuine. I want to be a person of true character.
But how do we get there? How do we become the kind of follower of Jesus I am talking about? I have some ideas on what the journey should look like, but I don't want to spoil all your exploration fun by giving you a preprinted map warped with my opinions. I'm sure I'll leave a scattered cookie crumb trail throughout my blog, but for now, let me leave it here - "what should the path ahead towards deep faith and Christlike character look like so that we aren't just flashbangs?"
(P.S. The book Uprising I mentioned in my last post is a great place to search for answers to that question. ;o)
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Builds Character...
Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite cartoon of all time (ranks just barely ahead of The Far Side). In several of the cartoons, Calvin's dad has his son doing some sort of job (like shoveling snow, picking up firewood for the campfire, etc.), and as Calvin grumbles under his breath, his dad can be heard to be saying "It builds character!" In one of these strips, Calvin is found in the last panel saying "Nothing spoils fun like finding out it builds character." :o)
Over the weekend, we've been dealing with sickness. It all started on Thursday, July 14, when my son, S, was "sharing" everything he had just eaten. Then LeAnn got the same stomach virus. Then I got it (which I wrote about in Pet Peeve #3). And then, while my brother and his family were visiting for the weekend from Omaha, my oldest daughter, K, got it, and then one of my nieces got it!
But it doesn't stop! My other daughter, M, is now battling a fever and complaining of a hurt stomach (thankfully no violent visits to the toilet!), and now LeAnn seems to be battling something again! I'm sick of sickness!
Well, I realized just how "sick" I was when I found myself today speaking sharper than normal at my children and carrying a hard heart inside. On the outside, I was doing most everything "right", but I didn't want to be playing doctor - I wanted to spend MY time in MY own way (especially on MY day off!). As I was mowing the lawn after "punishing" my children by making them pick up sticks in the yard in the hot humid weather, I realized I was facing a "character building moment."
What do you do when you face a moment like that? Keep harboring the bad attitude? Find an escape through food, dreams, addictions, or something else? Figure out a justification for your behavior and attitude? Or humble yourself before God and others and seek forgiveness?
I didn't want to have to apologize to my kids for some of my actions and words, but I did. And I asked God for forgiveness. My wife really needed me today, and she needed me without the bad attitude. And if my hero Jesus could set aside his rights as God to come to earth and take on the form of a servant (Phillipians 2), then I needed to follow the pattern, humble myself, lay aside my rights to my time and plans, and serve my family.
If you want to read a great book on character and becoming a servant like Jesus, I highly recommend Uprising. But don't read it if you don't want to "build character". ;o) As today proved, that is a very humbling and sometimes difficult thing!
Over the weekend, we've been dealing with sickness. It all started on Thursday, July 14, when my son, S, was "sharing" everything he had just eaten. Then LeAnn got the same stomach virus. Then I got it (which I wrote about in Pet Peeve #3). And then, while my brother and his family were visiting for the weekend from Omaha, my oldest daughter, K, got it, and then one of my nieces got it!
But it doesn't stop! My other daughter, M, is now battling a fever and complaining of a hurt stomach (thankfully no violent visits to the toilet!), and now LeAnn seems to be battling something again! I'm sick of sickness!
Well, I realized just how "sick" I was when I found myself today speaking sharper than normal at my children and carrying a hard heart inside. On the outside, I was doing most everything "right", but I didn't want to be playing doctor - I wanted to spend MY time in MY own way (especially on MY day off!). As I was mowing the lawn after "punishing" my children by making them pick up sticks in the yard in the hot humid weather, I realized I was facing a "character building moment."
What do you do when you face a moment like that? Keep harboring the bad attitude? Find an escape through food, dreams, addictions, or something else? Figure out a justification for your behavior and attitude? Or humble yourself before God and others and seek forgiveness?
I didn't want to have to apologize to my kids for some of my actions and words, but I did. And I asked God for forgiveness. My wife really needed me today, and she needed me without the bad attitude. And if my hero Jesus could set aside his rights as God to come to earth and take on the form of a servant (Phillipians 2), then I needed to follow the pattern, humble myself, lay aside my rights to my time and plans, and serve my family.
If you want to read a great book on character and becoming a servant like Jesus, I highly recommend Uprising. But don't read it if you don't want to "build character". ;o) As today proved, that is a very humbling and sometimes difficult thing!
Friday, July 22, 2005
Two random thoughts
It's late, and I need a laugh...
#1 - In light of my Pet Peeve #1 post, a friend put a cartoon in my office box here at church. If I had a scanner, I'd scan it in and post it, but for now I'll just describe it.
Pastor is in the pulpit, speaking to the congregation, and says "Go ahead and take a moment to greet someone whom you will completely ignore later."
:o)
#2 - This one was so funny I just had to share it. Today in a lunchtime meeting about some small groups we are planning and praying to launch this fall as part of our church wide spiritual journey, Dave S. was telling a story of how he got a job through his small group leader who he hadn't known 6 months prior. It was an awesome "God story" and to wrap it up and help us all appreciate God's sovereignty, Dave said "And as John Calvin used to say - 'what luck!'"
Praying I get a chance to whip that one out some day...
#1 - In light of my Pet Peeve #1 post, a friend put a cartoon in my office box here at church. If I had a scanner, I'd scan it in and post it, but for now I'll just describe it.
Pastor is in the pulpit, speaking to the congregation, and says "Go ahead and take a moment to greet someone whom you will completely ignore later."
:o)
#2 - This one was so funny I just had to share it. Today in a lunchtime meeting about some small groups we are planning and praying to launch this fall as part of our church wide spiritual journey, Dave S. was telling a story of how he got a job through his small group leader who he hadn't known 6 months prior. It was an awesome "God story" and to wrap it up and help us all appreciate God's sovereignty, Dave said "And as John Calvin used to say - 'what luck!'"
Praying I get a chance to whip that one out some day...
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Pet Peeve #3
Intro
I was sick on Tuesday this week, "whistling" up the hot dogs I had at The Flying Wienie (but it wasn't their fault! My wife and son had each had a stomach virus just a couple days before me, so I blame them, not the dogs), and as I'm kneeling before the porcelain, I thought "Boy I hate this. Maybe this is Pet Peeve #3".
But it passed, I'm better, and I can't really consider "hurling" a pet peeve. But I did think of another Pet Peeve I'm willing to share: Critical Christians.
Let's Get Critical, Critical...
I'm not talking about "Berean" type criticism (Acts 17) or the type of criticism Paul gave Peter (Galatians 2). Much of my spiritual growth in ministry has occurred through the thoughtful, constructive, biblical criticism of wiser and more mature people. No, the kind of criticism that grates me internally is the high-and-mighty criticism wielded against famous Christians from behind our safe distance and "spiritual maturity".
First, let me say that I am being the world's biggest hypocrite by engaging in criticism of criticizers. That alone made me hesitant to post this. Second, I succumb to this very Pet Peeve myself at times, so I am railing against myself as much as anyone else. But if I can just help one person be a person of truth AND grace through this blog post, then it'll be worth it.
I am thankful for critical thinking. But when our "critical thinking" degrades into a form of bashing on every famous Christian we know, then I think we have turned to jealously instead of godly critical thinking. Yes, we need to weigh carefully what people teach, write, and say in light of the truths of the Bible, and there are false teachers in our day and age, but we must be careful to not slander these people, their character, or their ministry - I have a feeling many of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So will you join me in praying that we can be people of truth AND grace? That we can think critically, pursuing truth, but extend the grace God has extended to us?
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 (NIV)
I was sick on Tuesday this week, "whistling" up the hot dogs I had at The Flying Wienie (but it wasn't their fault! My wife and son had each had a stomach virus just a couple days before me, so I blame them, not the dogs), and as I'm kneeling before the porcelain, I thought "Boy I hate this. Maybe this is Pet Peeve #3".
But it passed, I'm better, and I can't really consider "hurling" a pet peeve. But I did think of another Pet Peeve I'm willing to share: Critical Christians.
Let's Get Critical, Critical...
I'm not talking about "Berean" type criticism (Acts 17) or the type of criticism Paul gave Peter (Galatians 2). Much of my spiritual growth in ministry has occurred through the thoughtful, constructive, biblical criticism of wiser and more mature people. No, the kind of criticism that grates me internally is the high-and-mighty criticism wielded against famous Christians from behind our safe distance and "spiritual maturity".
First, let me say that I am being the world's biggest hypocrite by engaging in criticism of criticizers. That alone made me hesitant to post this. Second, I succumb to this very Pet Peeve myself at times, so I am railing against myself as much as anyone else. But if I can just help one person be a person of truth AND grace through this blog post, then it'll be worth it.
I am thankful for critical thinking. But when our "critical thinking" degrades into a form of bashing on every famous Christian we know, then I think we have turned to jealously instead of godly critical thinking. Yes, we need to weigh carefully what people teach, write, and say in light of the truths of the Bible, and there are false teachers in our day and age, but we must be careful to not slander these people, their character, or their ministry - I have a feeling many of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So will you join me in praying that we can be people of truth AND grace? That we can think critically, pursuing truth, but extend the grace God has extended to us?
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 (NIV)
Monday, July 18, 2005
Pet Peeves #2
Intro
When I lived in Colorado, I used to say a pet peeve of mine was people that don't use their turn signal. But since moving to Iowa, I can't really complain since drivers here seem to do a much better job of indicating their turning intentions. :o)
So what is my #2 Pet Peeve if I can't say it is the Nefarious Lack Of Turn Signals? Christian Clichés.
Clichés are as easy as pie...
Now, because of my sinful "people pleaser" side, I usually don't say anything if I hear a Christian cliché, but I grit my spiritual teeth internally, hoping they don't unleash their cliché upon a hurting soul. I used to be a cliché man - after all clichés became clichés because there is usually a big element of truth to them. I like truth as any good Christian boy (or girl) should, so I didn't have a problem wearing a spiritual gun loaded with clichés. (And to be completely honest, most times I still don't cringe as much as I am making this sound.)
But the more counseling I do, the more dangerous I realize clichés are. I know the sweet old lady who says "God never gives us more than we can handle" is speaking truth and means well, but it is more like a barb in the soul than a blessing on the spirit to the single mom who is at her wits end thinking she's never going to find another man to help her parent these kids. I know that the twentysomething guy who whips out Romans 8:28 has pure intentions, but to say it to the grieving in the wake of the funeral of a close loved one rips the heart rather than repair the hurt.
Do you long to see Christians move past the shallow-and-easy cliché life and begin living the truth that is behind many of our Biblical clichés? I know I do. But it's probably a lot easier to get people to use their turn signals than accomplish that! :o)
When I lived in Colorado, I used to say a pet peeve of mine was people that don't use their turn signal. But since moving to Iowa, I can't really complain since drivers here seem to do a much better job of indicating their turning intentions. :o)
So what is my #2 Pet Peeve if I can't say it is the Nefarious Lack Of Turn Signals? Christian Clichés.
Clichés are as easy as pie...
Now, because of my sinful "people pleaser" side, I usually don't say anything if I hear a Christian cliché, but I grit my spiritual teeth internally, hoping they don't unleash their cliché upon a hurting soul. I used to be a cliché man - after all clichés became clichés because there is usually a big element of truth to them. I like truth as any good Christian boy (or girl) should, so I didn't have a problem wearing a spiritual gun loaded with clichés. (And to be completely honest, most times I still don't cringe as much as I am making this sound.)
But the more counseling I do, the more dangerous I realize clichés are. I know the sweet old lady who says "God never gives us more than we can handle" is speaking truth and means well, but it is more like a barb in the soul than a blessing on the spirit to the single mom who is at her wits end thinking she's never going to find another man to help her parent these kids. I know that the twentysomething guy who whips out Romans 8:28 has pure intentions, but to say it to the grieving in the wake of the funeral of a close loved one rips the heart rather than repair the hurt.
Do you long to see Christians move past the shallow-and-easy cliché life and begin living the truth that is behind many of our Biblical clichés? I know I do. But it's probably a lot easier to get people to use their turn signals than accomplish that! :o)
Friday, July 15, 2005
Pet Peeves #1
Intro
I've pretty much gone through life without any pet peeves (must be my StrengthsFinder-labelled strength of "adaptability"). And in a sinful, selfish way, I'm quite proud of that! My biggest pet peeve is that more people aren't pet-peeveless like me. ;o)
But as I grow older, I find myself gaining some pet peeves. And so I thought I would do a series on my blog of the pet peeves I have. So enjoy this: this will be one of the few times you'll probably get to see my whine and complain.
PET PEEVE #1
My first pet peeve is unwelcoming Christians. It drives me NUTS when I see Jesus-followers only talking with their friends and never engaging a new person in conversation.
About 4 weeks ago, I watched a regular "Watershedder" literally push past a new person who was standing alone to go greet some friends. If I hadn't been engaged in conversation with a new person at that very moment myself, I would have excused myself to go greet the ignored person to offset the feeling he might have been experiencing at that moment. I was so glad to hear that later on, someone else approached him and invited him to join a group for an "after the Thursday Gathering" event, but the event I witnessed never should have happened in the first place (in my opinion).
It is very understandable why people don't go greet new people. We were trained as little kids to "not talk to strangers." Plus, we fear that if we approach the person and the conversation doesn't easily click, then they will reject us. So rather than face rejection, we don't welcome the person at all. But by not welcoming them, we are nonverbally rejecting them!
But if Jesus, as a Jewish male, can initiate a conversation with a Samaritan female, who had had 5 husbands and a live in boyfriend, to better lead her into a true relationship with God the Father (John 4), then shouldn't we imitate our Rabbi and initiate conversations with whoever walks into our worship gatherings, our homes, and our lives?
I've pretty much gone through life without any pet peeves (must be my StrengthsFinder-labelled strength of "adaptability"). And in a sinful, selfish way, I'm quite proud of that! My biggest pet peeve is that more people aren't pet-peeveless like me. ;o)
But as I grow older, I find myself gaining some pet peeves. And so I thought I would do a series on my blog of the pet peeves I have. So enjoy this: this will be one of the few times you'll probably get to see my whine and complain.
PET PEEVE #1
My first pet peeve is unwelcoming Christians. It drives me NUTS when I see Jesus-followers only talking with their friends and never engaging a new person in conversation.
About 4 weeks ago, I watched a regular "Watershedder" literally push past a new person who was standing alone to go greet some friends. If I hadn't been engaged in conversation with a new person at that very moment myself, I would have excused myself to go greet the ignored person to offset the feeling he might have been experiencing at that moment. I was so glad to hear that later on, someone else approached him and invited him to join a group for an "after the Thursday Gathering" event, but the event I witnessed never should have happened in the first place (in my opinion).
It is very understandable why people don't go greet new people. We were trained as little kids to "not talk to strangers." Plus, we fear that if we approach the person and the conversation doesn't easily click, then they will reject us. So rather than face rejection, we don't welcome the person at all. But by not welcoming them, we are nonverbally rejecting them!
But if Jesus, as a Jewish male, can initiate a conversation with a Samaritan female, who had had 5 husbands and a live in boyfriend, to better lead her into a true relationship with God the Father (John 4), then shouldn't we imitate our Rabbi and initiate conversations with whoever walks into our worship gatherings, our homes, and our lives?
Finally Getting Started
Ok, I've had lots of blogs in my head, but I'm finally getting this started. After midnight of course.
Tonight at Watershed's Thursday Night gathering, I talked about confrontation and not being a clone (we were on Galatians 1:11-2:14 as part of our "Spiritual Wars" series). I got lots of positive comments about the talk.
But when it comes to positive comments: Have you ever read "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman? Me neither. But I do know the list that Dr. Gary came up with (I think it is some sort of requirement young adult pastors who do lots of premarital counseling to have the 5 Love Languages memorized). And one of the "love languages" in the book is Words of Encouragement.
To be honest, I am not a words of encouragement guy. I try to give it (need to do better at it), but personally I don't need it. When someone says "great job" it just kind of rolls off. I'm always polite and say thank you because I know the person means well. But the words don't really make me feel more significant. (Boy, that makes me seem cold hearted!)
But there IS something that makes me feel significant, especially when it comes in relation to when I teach from the Bible. When I hear or see someone making life changes and/or living more for Christ because of something I said, then I get stoked! The biggest compliment I could ever receive after teaching is to hear what changes have happened in someone's life.
And God blessed me with such a chance on Wednesday night this week. I had the highest honor and privilege of helping baptise Amy Arp (click here to see a picture of Amy sharing her story at the baptism). Amy became a follower of Jesus last October, and she shared how God had made changes in her life. Just knowing that God used me, however big or small, in Amy's life was the biggest compliment I could have ever received!
Tonight at Watershed's Thursday Night gathering, I talked about confrontation and not being a clone (we were on Galatians 1:11-2:14 as part of our "Spiritual Wars" series). I got lots of positive comments about the talk.
But when it comes to positive comments: Have you ever read "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman? Me neither. But I do know the list that Dr. Gary came up with (I think it is some sort of requirement young adult pastors who do lots of premarital counseling to have the 5 Love Languages memorized). And one of the "love languages" in the book is Words of Encouragement.
To be honest, I am not a words of encouragement guy. I try to give it (need to do better at it), but personally I don't need it. When someone says "great job" it just kind of rolls off. I'm always polite and say thank you because I know the person means well. But the words don't really make me feel more significant. (Boy, that makes me seem cold hearted!)
But there IS something that makes me feel significant, especially when it comes in relation to when I teach from the Bible. When I hear or see someone making life changes and/or living more for Christ because of something I said, then I get stoked! The biggest compliment I could ever receive after teaching is to hear what changes have happened in someone's life.
And God blessed me with such a chance on Wednesday night this week. I had the highest honor and privilege of helping baptise Amy Arp (click here to see a picture of Amy sharing her story at the baptism). Amy became a follower of Jesus last October, and she shared how God had made changes in her life. Just knowing that God used me, however big or small, in Amy's life was the biggest compliment I could have ever received!
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