It’s Thursday, but Sunday’s Coming

Tony Campolo – my favorite preacher, prophet, teacher, political scientist, and all around hell raiser and provocateur, is coming to town. It’s Thursday but Sunday’s a coming!  This Sunday December 7th 2008, Dr Anthony Campolo is coming to town and he will be speaking at The Woodlands Methodist Church where I have been employed and in ministry for some 17 years. To be perfectly honest with you, I never thought this day would come. For you see, Tony is a prophet with a capitol P and big, successful mega-churches like ours would be wise to stay away from such trouble makers and status quo challengers. But you want believe it, the most serendipitous thing just happened… Dr. Ed Robb invited Tony to come speak at both the 11:00 a.m. traditional service and the 9:15 a.m. Harvest service (a modern worship service started by J.D. Walt, Chris Tomlin and myself some 10 years ago) This is in keeping with his idea of occasionally living a little dangerous and taking some BIG FUN risks from time to time. So, it’s Thursday and it’s a little boring around here in The Woodlands but Sunday’s a coming! I was laying in bed last night thinking about how much fun it’s going to be when Tony open’s his mouth this Sunday and out comes radical wisdom, heart-pounding inspiration, jaw-dropping truth and knowledge unlike anyone has ever heard before – it’s going to be awesome. Tony is so rock-n-roll. He is the only speaker I know that can be classified rock-n-roll. He is the speaker your Mother doesn’t want you to listen to. He says the things that make you blush with conviction. He’s loud like ACDC, abbrasive and thunderous like The Who, creative and etherial like Radiohead, and poetic like Dylan and Lennon. In fact, he’s more rock-n-roll than most rock-n-roll I listen to. It’s Thursday, God’s people are hungry for a fresh word cause their hearts are growing faint from all the economic chaos , but Sunday’s a coming. 30 years ago I attended my very first National Youth Workers Convention in San Diego CA. I was a 24 year old rookie youth pastor working in a 300 member church with 15 jr. and sr. high school students. I had an awesome puppet ministry and I was oh so clueless. It was at that convention that I first heard Tony speak. I will never, ever forget what he said. He walked up to the mike, look at his watch and said “Over the next 24 hours, 24,000 people will die of starvation on this planet and I’m not sure whether anyone in this room really gives a sh***t!” He paused for just a second while thousands of youth workers passed out, gasped for breath, and fell over with coronaries…he then said these immortal words “What’s really sad is that most of you are more concerned with the curse word I just used then you are with the reality of 24,000 people dying of starvation.” I’m not sure if anything, next to my Damascus Road conversion, has ever sooooo gotten my attention. So, needless to say I’ve been a BIG Campolo fan ever since. Promise you will be there front and center this Sunday. If you miss it be sure and listen online at TWUMC.org a few days later. It’s going to be so Rock-n-roll!!!!

Joe the Plumber Eclipses Joe Sixpack

Last night I viewed the last of 49 political debates. That’s right, I admit it…I watched all 49 debates. Don’t be hatin – don’t be judgin…you probably watched every episode of Lost…some twice! Needless to say, over the last 2 years I have become quite the TVholic. And here is what’s really sad, my sweet wife of 30 years has become just as much of a political junkie as me. She use to bake, sew, take walks with our dog in the neighborhood, and long for more chick flicks on the tube. Now she is just as addicted to Morning Joe, Hardball, Countdown, and Anderson Cooper 360 as I am. With this difficult empty nest situation we find ourselves in we’ve found something we love to do togther though, and that’s pretty cool. So last night the debates of the 2008 campaign came to a close. After shedding a tear of two we then moved into the 2nd phase of our post debate ritual - two to three hours of more TV… recaps and post debate commentary. You know, every election seems to have it’s everyman. I was beginning to think this year might be different in that there would be no everyman in the 2008 campaign. But last night John Sidney McCain (Sidney is McCain’s middle name in case you don’t know) introduced America to Joe Wurzelbacher or Joe the Plumber. Joe is this campaigns everyman… a small business owner from Holland Ohio who last night got his 15 minutes of fame. So this guy has a 6 minute conversation with Barak Obama in Ohio the other day and now find himself being mentioned 26 times in last nights debate. This guy will probably end up with some kind of book deal and a made for TV movie if he plays his cards right. According to news reports this morning, he has already hired an agent to handle his many television interview offers and product endorsement deals. What a great country this is! Wouldn’t it be something if Joe the Plumber takes the place of Joe Sixpack in becoming the game changer in this years election? Believe me when I say that stranger things have happened. Well guess what? According to this morning’s Los Angeles Times, this year’s everyman, Joe the Plumber, is not even registred to vote! That’s right, he’s not registered to vote in the 2008 Presidential election in his home state of Ohio. The one guy who might just change the whole conversation in political world 2008 is not even going to exercise his constitutional right to vote. One of my all time favorite pet peeves…people who criticize the government at hand along with it’s elected officials but who don’t vote. Is there anything more cynical, more apathetic than that? Hey Joe, what’s the deal? This is America bro, where one of the most precious rights and duties we have is to VOTE. I know it’s too late for some of you who might be reading this blogpost- the deadline for registration has come and gone and you’re in the same  boat as Joe the Plumber. You’ve got 2 years before the next election…GET REGISTERED!!!

When Jesus Becomes Our Focus

Have you noticed how much disunity there in the church today.  Is it just me or does everybody seem to be looking for a theological fight! It’s no wonder the world looks on in disbelief and apathy as God’s people continue to pick sides in the doctrinal wars of 2008. I’ve been a follower of Jesus for some 30 years now and one thing I’ve realized and experienced in that time is that there is an amazing thing that happens when we focus our attention on Jesus. We become more unified. When Jesus becomes the object of my affection and my devotion other people who have also made Jesus the object of their affection and devotion become family. I just want to hug them, give them a high five, and worship with them. They may be angry calvanist who want to fight about every doctrinal argument that comes down the pike or crazy charismatics who feel like I don’t really get the Holy Spirit – it doesn’t matter how conflicting our theological views are in regard to baptism, the second coming of Jesus, communion, etc. if we are both utterly and completely impressed with Jesus we’ve got something powerful in common - something that transcends all those non-essential issues that always seem to divide us as a church.  Bono was recently quoted as saying  “religion is what happens when the spirit leaves the room.” That may be one of may favorite quotes of the decade and perhaps one of my top ten of all time. The renewal that is so needed in America will not come until until Jesus once again becomes the object of our affection. We gotta get the spirit back in the room! Don’t you think there is a  whole lot of dead religion getting in the way of real renewal? Religion that seems to come to the surface when we fail to focus our attention of the Lord Jesus. As we focus on Him we can’t help but be brought together.  But remember and be forwarned, all those non-essentials, those details of the faith that we want to make into essentials – well something strange and wonderful will begin to happen to them -they will begin to shrink in significance when the presence of Jesus looms.

The Gathering Together

If you’ve been following this historic 2008 election you’re aware of the fact this this country is split right down the middle. No question about it, this is one close race. Elections, especially presidential ones, remind us that there is not alot of unity in the nation when it comes to the big issues that face us. Disunity is everywhere – man against beast (hello Sarah Palin!) man against man, class against class, nation against nation and ideology against ideology. I can’t even be unified in my own soul and spirit. I am a walking, talking civil war. Within me there is on a daily basis a desire for good and a desire for evil. I hate my sin and love my sin all at the same time. We just started a big Ephesians Bible Study in out student ministry and already I’m excited because of it’s key message - the gathering together of all things in Jesus! It’s central theme is the realization of the disunity in the universe and the conviction that real unity only comes through the Lord Jesus. After months of watching this election unfold, I need me some UNITY!!! Bring it on Jesus………………………

A Call to Impact Political Parties

I think I would have to agree with Brian Mclaren when he says that it’s time to get beyond the idea that Christians should be in one political party and not the other. He suggest that we need followers of the Lord Jesus in each party calling both democrats and republicans to a higher standard. We’re all aware of the problem of republicans thinking the only two moral issues of the day are gay marriage and abortion. Jesus seem to think that being peacemakers and caring for the poor and disenfranchised were pretty important moral issues also. And if you don’t think the democrats need to have a greater concern for faith in America, sexual integrity and respect for life in all its forms well then you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few decades. Here is a novel idea – democrats and republicans who admit the weaknesses of their party.  Now this is really twilight zone thinking but how about people who acknowledge the strengths of the other party! It’s time to recognize the fact that Jesus is neither republican or democrat – liberal or conservative. Jesus in fact, transcends all these wordly systems and labels. He also calls us to see our identity in him as something much deeper and more significant than political parties.

IF YOU WANT TO WIN THIS WORLD TO CHRIST, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SIT IN THE SMOKING SECTION

Okay, hands down, my favorite quote of the year! I wish it we’re an original but it’s not. Neil Cole said it in his sensational book – Organic Church. So why are we going to have to sit in the smoking section you may be asking? Cause that’s where the lost people are found dummy! And you need to know this too – if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing: “When can I get another cigarette?” Incarnation -  this is a word that always makes me hungry for some strange reason. It also reminds me that God didn’t expect us to come to Him in heaven. He did a really crazy, risky thing - God came to us. He lived life on our terms and on our turf. Jesus sat in the smoking section.  So, as much as I hate smoking and smoking sections I am still the hands, feet, eyes and ears of Jesus on this planet and I need to bring him to the lost children of planet earth

PERSPECTIVE ON POWER

I was watching the 400th republican debate the other night and thinking just how boring and uninspiring it all was. Not to just pick on the poor republicans – the democratic debates have been just as predictable and safe. Where is the passion, where is the fearlessness, where is the courage to say what really needs to be said? It occured to me – these guys and gals will never speak the pure unadulterated truth because they covet and crave power too much. It’s not just the politicians though, we all hunger for and desire power. Is it possible that power is more of a driving force in humanity than money and sex combined? Quite possibly. So, those of us who follow Jesus  have a problem. We have quite the delimma. When we choose the way of the cross,  we are suppose to give up power in favor of love right? Jesus understood this better than anyone. He understood that the powerless were the only ones who could afford the luxury of being steadfast in their convictions. When we forsake power we have absolutely nothing to lose. That’s why the guys who are losing are probably the ones who are really telling the truth. As powerless people we begin to realize that nothing can be taken away from us. I was thinking about how many times a day I am faced with and confronted with the prospect of compromise. Why do I give in so often knowing full well that what I am doing is diametrically opposed to the perfect will of the Father. I think has to do with my hunger for power. When I am able to make up my mind that power is not the answer, when I then forsake it – I can dare to live and act in a way consistent with Jesus and His teachings. Why is that? Because there is now nothing to be gained through compromise. What better example than the early church. How did they live their lives with such reckless abandon, such joy, such fulfillment in the face of so much hostility? They had given up power in favor of love. Instead of always pointing at the politicians, the religious right, and the religious left I think I’ll just keep in mind that there are three fingers pointing back at ME from now on.

TRENDY

There is this word, this adjective I use to use all the time that I never ever say anymore. That word is “edgy.” A few years ago you would hear me use it to defend something, sell something, or describe something to the people I do ministry along side of. Until that one fateful day when I overheard my senior pastor using the “E” word. I remember my reaction – “he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he doesn’t even know what “edgy means” he is just being a poser copying me!” Then I though to myself, “what exactly do you mean when you use the word “edgy,” do you even know what you’re talking about or are you being a poser yourself? I had been using this word for a few years and come to think of it, I wasn’t even sure I knew what it meant. Just like the many students that I work with, I too can become obsessed with cool, self-focussed, impulsive, caught up in the moment and trendy. Okay, I admit it. I have from time to time, slid into an adolescent approach to faith and mission. Rather than asking myself is this helpful, constructive, meaningful or dare I say, “true” I resorted to words like “edgy” hoping to sort of round off the edges of a scandalous and foolish sounding gospel – hoping to be “relevant” above all things. I guess what I’m trying to say is that being “edgy” is not really my purpose as a follower of Jesus – being obedient to Jesus and true to His gospel is.  “the roller coaster of clever new theologies has subjected clergy to one fad after another…We have no stake in saying something new that is of little use to the church more interested in saying something true than something new.”  Will Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas

                              

LOVE FEST ON MSNBC

Okay, I’ll admit what my sweet wife and kids have known for years – I am a serious news junkie. Not just any news, political news has always been my forte. It’s weird, I’ve been like this since childhood. One of my earliest pre-school memories has me sitting in front of the old back & and white, 3 channel, RCA watching a news conference with John Fitzgerald Kennedy and I’m totally engrossed. I also remember being in 8th grade and staying up virtually all night watching the Nixon/Humphery presidential returns at a friends house. I’m in the 8th grade for crying out loud! What bores so many of my dear friends and family members to tears has always inspired and captivated me for some strange reason. Rock-n-roll, Politics and Jesus are such strange bedfellows. Lately I’ve grown a lttle weary of politics and politicians. Except for Tommy Williams who is a member of my church and a faithful supporter of Rebelbase Student Ministries. Your a champion Tommy! Seriously, I’ve grown tired of the empty promises, the partisan bickering, and the highly charged political environment we find ourselves in today. It’s gotten crazy out there and the American people seem to be the ones suffering the most from all the insanity. But this morning I woke up to two people from two opposing parties treating each other with dignity and respect and I almost fell out of bed. My old friend Joe Scarborough has moved to mornings on MSNBC from 6-8 a.m. Strangly enough, he has taken the spot previously occupied by radio talk show host Don Imus. Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida, was interviewing presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on his morning program on the subject of healthcare. Healthcare – wow, has there ever been a political issue more polarizing? Of course, gay marriage and abortion but it’s definitely in then top three! I think I watched history being made this morning at 6:30 a.m. Republican Joe Scarborough and Democrat Hillary Clinton actually had a civil discussion on the subject, treating one another with great respect and dignity. This old political junkie almost started crying as I watched these these two political foes actually listening to and understanding one another. What a welcome breath of fresh air. Then it occured to me – Joe loves Jesus! I remembered the night I heard him share his testimony about how he had come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I then thought – Hillery loves Jesus too! I remembered reading about her Methodist youth minister who had awakened her to the things of God during her teenage years. It was truly something to behold – these two former adversaries listening, understanding, respecting, and letting the spirit come through loud and clear. It was surely a new kind of politic. We will disagree – we will have strong opinions in the days to come where compromise is not an option but we must as Joe and Hillery so beautifully displayed today, reflect the loving, merciful, grace-drentched Jesus to everyone we meet.

A Moveable Feast

My middle son Wes is a big Earnest Hemingway fan. I celebrate his appreciate for literature and art but I’m sorry to say that when I think Hemingway I think drunk guy from the Keys. Is he Jimmy Buffet’s dad? Seriously, I do know enough about history and literature to know that Hemingway is a great American treasure and one of our most gifted and inspiring writers. I recently ran across this wonderul think piece on Hemingway. The intriging article made much of his love and affection for the city of Paris.  He once described the city as a “moveable feast” saying that once you’ve experienced it, wherever you go for the rest of your life, it goes with you. It occured to me that this ought to be a picture of this life we have in Jesus. I’d like to think that wherever we go and whatever we do, followers of Jesus would be a “moveable feast” to the world around us. The idea of getting “under the skin” of people (in a good way of course) to the degree that they could not get over us sounds all too fantastic! Most days I’m embarrased by the way the church has presented the loving, transforming Jesus. Our greed, hunger for power, cynicism and indifference towards social justice creates an environment of misunderstanding, distrust, and anger towards the saints.  We so struggle with this most important calling – to reflect Jesus in our lives. And yet, when we’re open to the spirit, living humbly and simply, and not having to be “right” all the time, we do seem to inspire and incite curiosity don’t we? We become that “moveable feast” that cynics, seekers, and agnostics just can’t seem to shake.