Roll With It

I just returned home from my 2nd Annual Motorcycle Ride to Eureka Springs, Arkansas with 3 of my good friends (Brandon Hollis, Scott Sidebottom and Orin Borgelt.) We had an awesome time, though not without mishaps (no one hurt!)

Thankfully we didn't get rained on, amazing we just so happen to be either ahead of the rain, or behind it at all times ... crazy actually with all the clouds in the sky this week, but it all worked out.

Nothing in life is without incident though, the throttle cable on Brandon's bike actually snapped, but thankfully we were not in a remote part of Arkansas when it happened, and thank God for AAA. His bike ended up being towed to a great motorcycle repair shop YOUNG BLOOD'S MOTORCYCLE REPAIR in Harrison, Arkansas just off 7 HWY (870) 688-5381 ... which was only 18 miles from where we broke down, they fixed it and we were on our way in about an hour.

We made it back to our little lodging place in Eureka for a great night sleep and a great movie True Lies, the star is non-other than the Governor of California. Great acting ... cough, cough! Then woke up the next day for the ride home.

The ride home was beautiful, the roads were curvy, the weather was amazing! We stop in Baxter Springs, Kansas to eat at the Cafe on the Route and had the famous Nut Crusted Catfish with Fried Potato Salad and for dessert Fried Cheesecake ... wow! Amazing.

So we are just 30 minutes from home when my bike started choking on my, coughing and sputtering and spitting. Pulled off in the turnabouts Highway Patrol uses to radar ya ... and noticed that my External Air-filter had blown off, so air, and dust was flying right into my carburetor which isn't good. I couldn't get it started. We went back up the road a mile or two to see if we could find the filter ... no luck, it's like finding a needle in a hay stack essentially. Long story short my Dad came and picked me up, and I had Brandon and Orin go on, no point in waiting with me.

While I sat there just south of Louisburg on 69 HWY another Biker driving by stopped to hang out with me until me Dad arrive with the truck to tow me home. It was fun! My bike is fine, just needed carb cleaned out and a new filter put on.

Lesson Learned:

Life doesn't always go as planned, and when it doesn't just roll with it. The trip wasn't ruined just because we had some mishaps. Actually the mishaps have made for great conversations and memories. I also learned to make sure the air filter is on tight!

Gracious Theology

I, like many pastors and religious teachers, have a theological position; which is what we believe about God, the Bible and Religious Faith in general. And we all differ a bit here and there.

Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as "reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity."

In my 20 years of ministry I have become more and more gracious in my Theology (study of God.) I would say that GOD crawled out of the BOX that I had Him in years ago.

I find it strange that we humans have God all figured out. I think we should be a bit uncomfortable when we think we’ve got God and his ways confined to a humanly derived theological system of thinking. We have constructed a systematic theology that we feel good about, or can defend rather then allowing ourselves to follow a mysterious, frustrating, seemingly contradictory God who “sent us His spirit” to lead us into the knowledge of truth ... and we do this by living by faith. Mind you, I love theology, I love to study, debate, ask questions ... I guess over the years I haven't had to have all the answers anymore.

I will be honest, I have an answer to most questions because I am opinionated (my wife can tell ya!) But my heart always speaks up within me and reminds me that I am not all-knowing!

So, there you go ... I am not God, nor are you.

Thirst

Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

So simple, yet so difficult.

Contentment

1 Timothy 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Dictionary: Contentment is the experience of satisfaction and being at ease in one's situation.

This is probably the hardest thing for me, to be content. I feel it is okay to "not be satisfied" but we should be content. And I often feel the tension of what I want, or where I want to be vs where I am, which isn't where I want to be ... at least how I had it in my mind. Then there is that famous quote "Enjoy the journey on your way to your destination" that rings in my head often, as it should.

Where we get it wrong is in a few areas I believe; 1) Our definition of "success" and 2) Knowing what really is important and then 3) Realizing that the journey is going to suck even when you arrive to your destination if you don't decide to enjoy it. And finally 4) Comparing ourselves with others.

1) Success - What is success in your mind? What does it look like, feel like, etc. This is what I really had to work on; deciding, or knowing, what is "success" for me ... I then realized, I was and am very successful. For me, loving God, having a wonderful wife, wonderful kids, our health, food to eat, roof over my head, a career I loved, and friends to share it all with ... that was and is success for me. All the other stuff are side issues.

2) Important - Once I defined this for me ... made all the difference.

3) Journey - what is the point if I am only going to be happy, or content "when I get there" wherever that is? The journey is the longest portion of life ... the destination is what we spend our life heading toward. So to enjoy the journey is to enjoy all of life.

4) Comparing - The thing is, I am not on "their" journey. I am on "my" journey ... so it doesn't matter about them, what they got, what they did, or where they are - it's about being where God wants me, doing what He wants me doing. I compare WAY TOO much!

Enjoy the Journey ... those around you will appreciate that so much more!

Bitter vs. Better

Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

For the entire month of May I have been speaking about heart issues in our series Heart Surgery. I truly believe that just as the condition of our physical heart determines the quality of our natural life, so also the condition of our spiritual heart determines the quality of our emotional and spiritual life. And this is why we are encouraged to "guard it, or look after it with all diligence".

BITTER vs. BETTER

• When life doesn't go the way you planned it, do you grow Bitter or Better?
• Are you Bitter or Better as a result of going through that loss?
• Are you Bitter or Better now that she/he left you?
• Are you Bitter or Better as a result of the suffering you have endured?
• Are you Bitter or Better at your father for abandoning you?
• Are you Bitter or Better as a result of what your uncle did to you?
• Are you Bitter or Better as a result of how your mother treated you?

How have you responded to life's issues; Have you grown Bitter or Better?

If I am honest, I have grown Bitter far too many times when life hasn't gone as planned. I have allowed the pain, the hurt, the disappointment to drive a thorn into my flesh more than I care to admit. And it's usually very subtle and can be hidden pretty easily, especially if you are good at covering it up.

So, what about you ... have you allowed your heart to become Bitter at times rather than Better?

THE CURE

I believe it starts with being HONEST with yourself, others and God. And saying, "I'm bitter, help me not be!" Then I believe that REPENTANCE is necessary. True repentance, not just "I'm sorry, please let me off the hook!" But, true repentance, which is a Godly sorry that leads to real change. Then ultimately it's DOING what you would do if you weren't Bitter ... whatever that would be in a given situation. (i.e. You send a letter or make a phone call to the relative that hurt you and say, "I forgive you!" Or if that isn't possible, then just right a letter and drop it in the mailbox addressed to that person with no address on it.)

Taking this step isn't saying to that person, "what you did was okay," or "let's be best buddies now," or "everything is fine now." But what it does do is release YOU from the Bitterness that is killing you.

I say all that, when most of the time growing Bitter has nothing to do with the other person at all ... it's about you and it is just something that you need to take to God ... just between you and Him.

I encourage you to grow BETTER not BITTER when life throws you a curve ball.

My Graduation Day

I remember Graduation Day like it was yesterday, though it was 23 years ago. The friends, the parties, the girls, the freedom, the joy, the excitement, the nervousness, the confusion, the thrill, the dreams ... and the sadness I felt that day.

In between all the joy and excitement was a sadness that I remember feeling, a sadness that "this high school life" was over. I loved high school and it was changing and knowing I couldn't stay in high school another year, though my grades almost made that happen for me, was very sad. That feeling came and went for the next 12 months as I searched my soul for WHAT NEXT. And that is what matters most ... what happens next, not what happened yesterday. Yesterday is gone, so now what are you going to do?

If you are a graduate reading this (if you know a graduate please forward to them) I hope life brings you all the best it has to offer! I really do! But can I just tell you a six simple things to live by as you venture out on your own to insure that the best does come your way? Thanks!

1) MAKE GOOD DECISIONS! (always ask yourself, "Is this a good decision?")

2) LOVE YOUR FAMILY! (typically they are who you can always trust!)

3) STUDY HARD and/or WORK HARD! (you'll never regret this)

4) MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON! (You get this wrong and you will regret it forever!)

5) READ LOTS OF BOOKS! (leaders are readers)

6) LOVE JESUS & ATTEND CHURCH (most important!)

Life is Like Chess

"The more good decisions you make, the better your life will be." - Donald Miller (Father Fiction)

Making good decisions doesn't mean that your life will be always (all the time) good. This statement is "generally" true. I guess what I am saying is YES, this is a true statement, but life is life and life isn't always full of good stuff even when you are good. But I can tell you from experience life is way more complicated (bad) when I am making bad decisions. I am sure you will confirm!

Life is a lot like the game of Chess ... when you make a lot of good decisions in Chess it leads to victory, or at least a real good game of Chess. If the other guy is making better decisions than you, then he comes out on top, but if you are making the better decisions you come out on top. But life is not about the "other guy," it's about you. So for you it imperative that you make good decisions as much as you can to insure you do not add insult to injury.

Recommendation:

Read God's Wisdom, the wisdom of Solomon by reading a Proverb a day, everyday!

Is The Bible True?

Steve Falkenberg, professor of religious psychology at Eastern Kentucky University, says, "I've never met anyone who actually believes the Bible is literally true. I know a bunch of people who say they believe the Bible is literally true but nobody is actually a literalist. Taken literally, the Bible says the earth is flat and setting on pillars and cannot move (Ps 93:1, Ps 96:10, 1 Sam 2:8, Job 9:6). It says that great sea monsters are set to guard the edge of the sea (Job 41, Ps 104:26)..."

Q: So, is the Bible true?

A: Yes!

The Bible being true (inerrant or infallible) doesn't mean (at least to me) that some stories are actually just that, stories told to communicate deeper truth to help mankind.

So was Job a real guy who suffered greatly and never turned his back on God? I believe he was a real guy, who really lived and really didn't turn his back on God during his suffering. But, even if it's a made-up story to communicate a deeper truth about suffering, that doesn't bother me. Now, some people (right-wing-conservative-fundamentalists) think that to believe Job (or any other story, i.e Noah & the Ark, Jonah & the Whale) to be just a made-up story is to discredit the entire Bible. I don't see it that way and I would probably be considered by some to be a conservative fundamental Christian (usually it's the super-liberal crowd who would see me that way.) I believe I am a moderate ... meaning I am in the middle on many issues facing Christianity. And I also am, for whatever reason, gracious towards others positions on scripture and I believe that that is a position we as Christ followers should all have towards on another.

I have met many wonderful Christians with different views then me, and we could cuss and discuss the issues and walk away friends. To me that is a true sign of Christianity at work.

So back to the question at hand; I do believe the Bible to be truly the word and work of God through human-beings inspired by the Holy Spirit and that the Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

All that said, let's be intelligent thinking people here ... the Bible doesn't need to be defended when there are apparent errors (and there are) or inconsistencies (which there are) translation problems (which there are) ... we do not need to hide those things or explain them away or try to cover them up for fear of the whole thing coming apart. It's still the living breathing word of God, and it speaks for itself.

Just my thoughts!

I Can Choose, Right?

For many many years there has been a debate about Man's Free Will to chose vs. Predestination, God sovereignly chooses for us or the more religious crowd would understand when I say - Calvinism vs. Arminianism.

When people ask me if I am Calvinist or Armenian I say yes. I think that they co-exist, and this is what makes God so amazing; some how these two can exist at the same time (this is so clear in scripture). I do not believe it's an either-or here. But unfortunately in too much of the Christian world you must pick sides ... so I pick both sides. This is my short answer!

Comfortable Being Me

Here I am, 41 years old and I am just finally comfortable being me. Isn't that crazy, at 41 finding myself. Lol!

I have never been your stereotypical pastor type ... it's one reason I questioned God when He called me into full time ministry back in 1988. I had a killer mullet when God called me, and because of my background AND the Bible College I decided to attend, I cut it all off. I don't regret it because the mullet was going out of style anyway.

This was the beginning of a life spent trying to conform and fit in. Trying to be a "pastor" ... in every way - trying to look like one, talk like one, smell like one (don't ask!) dress like one, preach like one, pray like one, etc. All in an attempt to fit into the little pastor box I had created in my mind. Well I just didn't fit. Never have, never will.

I've always loved Jesus with all my heart and never felt that God cared much about my hairstyle, my cologne, my suit or jeans ... but the church seemed to care a lot about such things ... hence the reason I didn't fit in. I even had well meaning pastor friends tell me that if I'd cut my hair and wear a suit that I would get more respect. And I always thought that if I'd just live and be respectable then I would get respect? I didn't realize it was about "looking" respectable that mattered?

And may I add that this isn't about OTHERS,this is about MY OWN perception from my upbringing and much of it is from my own self talk through the years that I am just finally getting free from. And I am becoming more and more okay that God called a guy who looks more like a California Surfer, or Country Music star then a Pastor. When I am out and about town I am never guessed as a pastor. Usually people think I am lying and they laugh waiting for the punchline ... the punchline never comes ... I really am a pastor.

I am who I am; a man who loves Jesus more then anything in this world, a husband who is crazy in love with a beautiful women I call wife and a father who cares more deeply for two adorable children then I thought I'd could ever care about something and then finally I am the pastor of the best church in all the world here in Kansas City called Mercy Church. God has brought some of the greatest people on the planet to Mercy Church that I get to share life with ... maybe it's you! Thank you for allowing me to be ME!

In closing I will just tell you that finding yourself and being comfortable with who you are is so freeing and fun. I am having more fun living my life now than almost any other time in my life ... I enjoy my wife, children, friends, and job so much more now.

Challenge:

Who are you? Are you comfortable being you? Have you found yourself?