A Mile from the Beach...

New Beginnings

2007-09-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

For many of us, the month of September is always a month of new beginnings, particularly since September is typically the month in which the school year begins. With new beginnings for the kids, with the first day of school, to new beginnings for extracurricular activities, or new beginnings for church ministries, or even the new television season for those of us who follow pop culture, September, perhaps more so than January or April, marks a fresh start for many.

It is therefore appropriate that my own spiritual renewal began in September a couple of years ago. God had already been at work for quite some time leading up to my moment of realization that He was active in my life, but it was in a September that I could actually feel His presence in my life. It was also a September in which I began blogging about faith and life (and musings on sports - primarily baseball).

So I find it appropriate that it is in a September that I make yet another fresh start.

After 551 posts and 2,358 comments over the past 2 years...

...I'm calling it quits...

...from Blogger...

...and moving to Wordpress...

...simplifying my blog, removing much of the extraneous baggage that is currently a part of "The Beach".

New posts can now be found at http://milefromthebeach.wordpress.com. Or if you can't remember all that, simply typing in www.milefromthebeach.com will redirect you there as well. I am amazed at how many of you check in and read my stuff, even placing me on your Blogrolls.

Thank you.

For those of you who subscribe to "The Beach" via RSS and read it in your assorted newsreaders like Bloglines or Google Reader (or any other news aggregator), the new feed is http://milefromthebeach.wordpress.com/feed. Heck, you can even subscribe to the Comments Feed if you're so inclined.

Quite honestly, I would have preferred to remain where I am. Yet I simply felt like doing this was the right thing. It is a New Beginning for me, in a month that has many new beginnings.

See you at my new home soon.

"It" Goes On, Part 2

2007-08-31T00:33:00.000-07:00

For part one, start with Will's post over here.

When I first read Will's post, I obviously felt a great deal of sadness for him and his situation at his church. It is the church where I grew up with him, where I sang in the children's choir and rang handbells and participated in youth group...it is the church that for many years was "home". I reached out to Will offline, offering my own thoughts and prayers privately.

But tonight, I felt frustration as I reflected upon that post - not frustration at Will's situation, but at my own. Frustrated that I am in a small church. Frustrated that I am one of the 20% doing 80% of the work. Frustrated that when I've talked about prayer, like I did a couple of days ago, it is about the positive and not about the difficulties in discerning God's voice. Frustrated that when things go awry at work, or in volunteer work, or in church, that I find myself looking within at my own faults and wondering why others aren't doing the same. Frustrated that I can't seem to hear God's voice right now.

A few days ago, coming off my vacation, I was brimming with confidence, rested, ready to tackle the assignments that God has for me. Tonight I feel beat down, questioning what I've been through this past year in particular. While it has been a period of significant spiritual growth for me, it has been a period of difficult pruning and refining - to the point that I'm really starting to get annoyed at anyone who tells me I'm being refined (and annoyed at myself when I tell someone else the same!)

I know the catchphrases. I know God puts us in situations that make us uncomfortable to prune and refine so that we will grow - it is ALL OVER Scripture from Genesis to Revelations, but it doesn't mean I have to like it! I'm having a very difficult time being patient right now - I want to see the fruit of my labor NOW!

The fact is, God was very clear to me about where I am to be, and what I am to do. Of that, I have no doubt.

And to be fair, I certainly don't feel "abused" the way Will has - no one has been upset with me, or yelled at me, or anything of the sort. But I share the frustration, because I feel like we only focus on the negative, that we only focus on our fears when in fact we need to make that leap of faith and trust that God will guide us.

I, too, am having difficulty making that leap of faith. But will someone else please step up and admit that too?

We've Got it Good.

2007-08-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

One of the books I read during my vacation last week was Donald Miller's To Own A Dragon. I read this book earlier this year, but I found myself drawn to it again as a couple of us at church were discussing potential future material for our men's group. I thought this book could be a good read for our group, and in the interest of verifying it and doing research, I re-read it while up in the Sierras.

Roughly a quarter of the way through Miller describes the following about a discussion between him and his friend John MacMurray, who co-authored the book with him:
He told me that when Terri gave birth to Chris, and he held his son in his arms for the first time, it was the closest he had ever been to understanding the love of God. He said that though he had never met this little person, this tiny baby, he felt incredible love for him, as though he would lie down in front of a train if he had to, that he would give up his life without so much as thinking about it, just because this child existed. John set this love beside other relationships, but they didn't compare. In other relationships, the person he knew had to earn his love. Even with his own father, John learned to love him; and with his wife, they had fallen in love. But it wasn't that way with his children. His love for them was instantaneous, from the moment of their birth. They had performed nothing to earn his love other than be born. It was the truest, most unconditional love he had known.
As a father, I completely related to this. I was the first person to physically touch my daughter Margaret when she was born. On that day nearly 9 years ago, I went from a father who wasn't even going to consider cutting the umbilical cord at the doctor's instruction to one who listened to the doc when he said, "Now Dad, but your left hand here..."

"...okay..."

"Put your other hand...here..."

"...okay..."

"Now catch your baby."

As she came out, I caught her, confirmed to my wife that she was indeed the girl we were expecting, and handed her to my wife, tears rolling down my face. I felt that instant unconditional love that Miller described above. It was the same with my son two and half years later.

Even more powerful, though, is what John tells Miller about this love:John said if his love for Chris was the tiniest inkling of how God loved us then he had all the security in the world in dealing with God, because he knew, firsthand, what God's love toward him felt like, that it was complete.

"I'm just saying, Don, if God is our Father, we've got it good. We've got it really good."
And it struck me that if I as a father, love my daughter and son as intensely as I do, and would be willing to lay down my life for them, how amazing is the love that God has for us that He would become human and lay down His Life for ours?

Yeah, we really do have it good.

How Do I Pray?

2007-08-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Cindy, in the comment to this post, invited me to join a synchroblog regarding prayer. And who am I to turn down an invitation to discuss this topic, which I know I've discussed over the past couple of years here at the Beach (particularly here)? But in re-reading what I wrote nearly two years ago, I also realize that my approach to prayer and the struggles I have had with it have changed as I've grown in my own spiritual journey.

One of the things that I have learned in the past year is how to be silent in my approach to prayer. That is, I have learned to clear my mind, to "take a bath" as my pastor says, prior to entering a concentrated period of prayer. That silence washes away any thoughts that might distract, and allows me to enter a frame of mind in which my focus is purely on God. I have found that in a group prayer setting, this "bathtime" has been cleansing and I find myself remembering more of the things that I want to discuss with God, and hearing the things others are discussing with Him, as well as praying with them as they vocalize their thoughts to Him.

On my own, however, it is a different story. My approach is more conversational, more casual. I find myself driving to the local train station just talking out loud, as if I were talking to an imaginary friend (to use Donald Miller's words - or, if you prefer, looking like a guy talking out loud with a Bluetooth earpiece on his cell phone, sans earpiece). I often end it with asking Him to "show me what You want me to learn today" - in reference to my Scripture reading as I sit on the train ride to work.

And there have been those moments recently in which He specifically answers prayer, almost immediately. In this post, I talked about how Jeremiah 42:10-12 was a specific answer to a question I asked Him mere moments prior - a "random" flipping of the pages took me to that passage...the first one I read when I stopped turning pages.

Yesterday, as I thought about some concerns I had about recent events at church, one of our members handed me an envelope which on the outside said "Read 1 Kings 17 - 19 before reading the contents of this letter". In reading the passage and the subsequent letter, what spoke to me were the doubts that Elijah experienced in chapter 19 - and God had given Him rest before sending him on yet another mission. Relating that to my own life, God had given me rest this past week on vacation, and was readying me for another mission, and reminded me not to worry, because He is in control. I didn't realize that I had been "praying" as I thought about my concerns, but God stepped forward and comforted me through that letter.

So...how do I pray? I am finding that the "how" isn't what matters. Whether I pray silently, by myself, in a group, or out loud, God is always listening. I am finding I need to listen carefully, because He uses a variety of methods in which to answer - and often, the same answer comes from a variety of different sources, whether a friend, my wife, my kids, and/or Scripture. I am often blown away when I get that answer - not by the answer itself, but by how clear His response is to me.

Listen. Listen carefully. The answer is there.

::

There are many others out there participating in this synchroblog on prayer. For a complete list of participants, check out Cindy's post here with all the folks contributing their thoughts on prayer. Definitely check it out...there's some good stuff there.

We're Baaaack

2007-08-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

We're home, having safely arrived back on the California coast on Thursday evening, leaving the Sierra foothills (the town of Arnold, to be exact) where we spent the bulk of our time the past few days.

We hiked a fair bit, particularly at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, toured a couple of caves nearby (Mercer Caverns and Moaning Caverns), did a bit of wine tasting at Twisted Oak and Ironstone, and even hit up the Sierra Nevada Logging Museum on our way out of town yesterday. If we'd had more time, we probably would have gone up to Bear Valley for some biking, but that will await another day.

Given that my mind is still on vacation, I thought I'd share with you a few pics from this sojourn. Deeper thoughts will be forthcoming after I decompress a bit more, as I read through three books this week. And this weekend was spent with extended family, as my parents, my sister and her family were in town to visit and joined us at church this morning.

More to come...

The Washoe Fire at Lake Tahoe, as seen from the east side of the lake.

The kids and I in front of one of the large cut logs at Calaveras Big Trees Park.

One of the formations from Mercer Caverns.

At Big Trees, inside a tree carved out for cars to drive through in the early 20th Century. The tree was cut short above, as this entry way effectively prevented the tree from growing any more.

White Pines Lake outside of Arnold, as seen from the Sierra Nevada Logging Museum.

Enjoying Our Break

2007-08-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Sierra foothills! We're enjoying our time away as a family, and man, I have to say that there's going to be much to blog about in coming days. I only have a few minutes, but I do want to thank you for your prayers, as we got out of Tahoe City on Saturday a half hour before our neighborhood had a mandatory evacuation from the Washoe Fire. (The fire was stopped 3 blocks away from the house where we stayed).

More to come when we get home later this week!!!

A Respite and Prayer Requests

2007-08-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

It will be an early morning, heading out of the door before the garbage collectors pick up my weekly trash. I will be at the office early, wrapping up the final items this week in anticipation of our family's trip to the Sierras this weekend and the surrounding foothills later in the day.

It will be a much needed break, an opportunity to rest and recharge before the new school year begins for the kids and the ramp up to the end of the firm's fiscal year for me.

The book stack is large - selecting the books to read will not be easy.

No matter, however. The key is rest, and time with the family.

::

So with that, I fully anticipate limited blogging over the next several days. While I will have my laptop with me, I don't expect to be online much. I ask for your prayers for a safe journey.

As to you all out there...any prayer requests? Any Praise Reports?

See you on the other side...

Fueling the Fire

2007-08-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

About a month ago my friend Ariel posted a book giveaway on his blog, since he's connected with some mucky muck at a particular Christian publishing house (Note: tongue firmly planted in cheek). Yours truly was one of the fortunate "winners" of said book giveaway, receiving, a couple of weeks ago, a free copy of Bill Hybels' latest book, Holy Discontent, Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision.

As with many things in my life lately, receiving and reading this book was no accident. From the moment I read its inside cover to the day I finished it, it was clear to me Who wanted me to read this book, for the topic came at a point in my life in which I have been thinking and praying about my life in His Church.

Hybels' main theme is to ask the following question: What is it that motivates people to work where they work, volunteer their time to the groups they serve, and donate money to the causes they support?

Upon reading this question, I asked it of myself, and honestly, at that moment, I didn't know the answer to it in my own life, or perhaps even more honestly, I had never really asked that question of myself, either. I stumbled into my profession as an accountant in the AEC (architecture, engineering & construction) industry mainly because it was a construction firm that hired me out of college, I volunteer where I do (outside of work and church) because I simply have in interest in those organizations and it keeps me involved in my kids' lives, and I donate money to those organizations because I think they do some good work in our community. I hadn't thought about the "Why".

Hybels expands on the question and uses several examples, discussing Mother Teresa as one who was a simple school teacher one day, who walked by those who were sick and downtrodden each day, and finally was sufficiently fed up with seeing it (her holy discontent) that she chose a different path, ultimately founding the Missionaries of Charity (who happen to have an AIDS hospice here in Pacifica that my family has supported, coincidentally). He also mentions Bono and Martin Luther King, each of whom were discontent with the status quo of poverty (Bono) and racism (King), and proceeded to alter the course of their lives to focus as agents of change.

Of course, reading those examples my immediate thought was, "Yeah, but I can't compare myself to King or Bono or Mother Teresa." And Hybels' argument isn't that we should compare ourselves to them - rather, we need to ask the question, "What can't I stand?" and use that to spur us to do something about it. Rather than complain and watch that which we can't stand from afar, we should face it head on and use it to effect positive change.

In all fairness, the answer to the question for you and me might not necessarily spur us to an action of the magnitude of a Mother Teresa or a Dr. King, but it will be for a purpose that God intended for our lives and furthers His Work here on Earth. Maybe you see kids in your church who aren't plugged in, and you choose to start up a youth ministry because you had gained so much from your own 20 years ago. Perhaps you see a glaring need for a men's ministry in your church, and jump in to restart and give it a fresh approach to reach out to the men in your church. Maybe you couldn't stand your Little League baseball experience because your coach was a jerk and you want the local kids to experience a positive coaching environment.

Whatever it is, there will be something that will spur you to action. Rather than mope about it, go out and DO something about it. And that's what Hybels is pointing out in his latest book. As he writes:
...we must proclaim that message of hope to everyone God gives us the opportunity to influence. That's partly why God entrusts us with the ability to provide energy and courage and creative thought to the people around us who so desperately need it through the activity of pursuing our holy discontent...so that hope won't die...Figure out what you can't stand. Channel your holy discontent energy into helping to fix what's broken in this life.
Fuel your fire.

Slammed Again

2007-08-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting in the past couple of days. I have had a couple of topics mulling about in my mind, including one (currently in draft form) on Bill Hybels' new book, Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision, thanks to Ariel. Hopefully my take on that book will be complete later today.

Additionally, I've been swamped at work and have been busy trying to spend some quality time with the family, with more on the way next week as we head out of town, so posts next week will definitely be limited, if any occur at all.

More to come tonight!

This is Cool...

2007-08-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

This past week my kids were at a Vacation Bible School sponsored by one of the local Lutheran churches in town (and for you Lutherans who are reading this, it is a Missouri Synod congregation). They had a fantastic time on the "Quest for Truth" about Jesus, and their week culminated in a short pageant on Friday night in which each class recited a memory verse and sang a song. Additionally, their artwork and projects were on display on tables throughout the hall.

Of note was that with my daughter's class, each child was given a Bible...Today's NIV translation, slimline, with faux leather cover. Margaret was thrilled...hers was pink!

When we got home, she thumbed through her new Bible and saw a reading schedule to read the Bible cover to cover in one year, and proclaimed that she would start that on Saturday morning.

Sure enough...when I got her out of bed, she said she had read the readings for Days One and Two.

And she packed it in her tote bag yesterday to read when she spends this week with Hank and their grandparents!

If an 8 year old can begin reading the Bible cover to cover yesterday...how about you?

Doubts

2007-08-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may^[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:24-31 (NIV)
Yesterday morning I went to Sears with the kids since we needed to buy a new clothes dryer - our old one had just gone out on us on Friday, and given its age, it wasn't worth fixing. We were at the store about 20 minutes after it had opened, and we walked right up to a salesman, knowing exactly the model I was going to buy, having researched it over at Consumer Reports.
Ten minutes later the deal was done, and a delivery scheduled for today - time to be determined later that evening when I would receive a confirmation on time and location.

Right at 6 pm I received the call, a two hour window between 10:15 and 12:15 pm.

My church meets at 11 am.

I couldn't obtain another time without changing the day, and frankly, I wasn't going to take a couple of hours of vacation time to wait for the delivery of a dryer. I figured I would likely miss church.

This morning, the dryer was delivered at 10:15 am.

I made it to church (although sans family, as my wife was sleeping from a night shift last night and the kids are out of town with their grandparents). Walking up the front entryway, I saw Jim, whom I had called last night to say I wasn't going to make it, and I said, "God must have a message for me to hear today."

The title of the message was "Turning Question Marks into Exclamation Marks". The message was delivered by a guest speaker, Dr. Jim Higgs, since our pastor is away on vacation. The base scripture was John 20:24-31 ( quoted above).

Using Thomas' story in the passage above, he spoke of the doubts in our faith - how we are like Thomas, questioning the truth and unable to make the leap of faith without seeing. He listed the doubts of others in Scripture, like Abram when told he would be the father of many nations...at his advanced age and without offspring at the time he was told...or the first two chapters of Habakkuk, a litany of doubts...or Psalm 73...

Dr. Higgs went on to discuss 3 things that we can do to move from doubt to faith.

We must first identify the source of our doubts. He listed four sources...

1) The Enemy, Satan - he deceives us like he does in Genesis 3.

2) Finding ourselves in unfavorable circumstances, like Gideon in Judges 6.

3) Having unconfessed sin - 1 John 1:9.

4) Having pride.

He encouraged us to "doubt your doubts".

Second, he said that we need to check how we're wired. What kind of person are you? Are you an optimist? A pessimist, like Thomas in John 14:5-6?

"Negative thinkers neutralize faith."

Finally, he encouraged us to "aspire for noble faith." In John 20:29, Jesus says, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

The Apostle Peter reiterates this in 1 Peter 1:8 - Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

Dr. Higgs closed out by saying that this message came out as a response to his concern for a friend of his who is experiencing doubts about faith - but he couldn't help but feel that there were folks in our congregation experiencing those very same doubts.

I would be liar if I said that I didn't undergo doubts from time to time, doubts about what God is doing in my life, or the role He wants me to have at church.

The other evening I watched Mark Batterson's message at Granger Community Church, in which he said that the Enemy's two primary tactics are Guilt and Fear.

With guilt, Batterson says, "If we are focused on what we did wrong in the past, there will be no emotional or spiritual energy left to think about where God is taking us in the future."

With fear, he says, "The Enemy backs us down, so that instead of stepping out in faith, we are defined by the things that scare us."

"The Enemy wants to remind us of our failures."

We need to step out in faith. And doubt our doubts.

Innocence Lost

2007-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Growing up, most of my summers were spent in the cool fog that would roll in off the Pacific and envelop Daly City, the city immediately to the south of San Francisco. I lived a few hundred yards from the San Francisco city limit, a couple of football fields down from the Olympic Club Golf Course, where a couple of U.S. Opens have been held in recent years.

Many a day was spent playing baseball in the driveway of my home with the kids from the block, tossing a tennis ball that would bounce off the garage door if we missed the pitched ball. But if we made contact, it was ruled a base hit if we got it past the pitcher, a double if it hit the parked car across the street, a triple if it landed in the lawn of the house across the street, and a homer if it hit the house across the street.

We'd trade our Topps baseball cards that we collected in the wax wrappers with the hard stick of pink gum. "I'll give you my Rennie Stennett for the Dale Murphy."

"No way! You gotta give up the Dave Parker for the Dale Murphy."

"But you have TWO of the Dale Murphys..."

"So?"

We'd place our cards back in our shoeboxes when we were done...knowing we'd bring them back out another day when we had purchased another couple of packs of cards.

In the background we would listen to Hank Greenwald on the radio calling the Giants game. Invariably we would hear yet another tough loss as the Giants would fail to hit with runners in scoring position, or the bullpen would blow another close game.

Rather like the 2007 Giants.

But unlike the Giants of 1979 or 1980, the 2007 version sports One Big Bat. The Guy Who Broke Hank Aaron's Record this week. The Guy who, on Tuesday night, hit a home run into the centerfield bleachers - setting off a mad scramble that resulted in bloodied fans with torn clothing, while others simply would dive over other fans from a couple of rows back.

All for a baseball that might fetch a little bit of coin if sold at auction.

Oftentimes, there doesn't seem to be the same innocence regarding baseball (or sports in general) that I remember experiencing in my youth in the late 70s and early 80s, but then I look at my own kids on Tuesday night, and realize that no matter the circumstances surrounding said ballplayer, the Game still can grab a hold of the young.

It was clear from the second the ball left the bat that it was going out. My kids had just gone to bed during the half inning prior, so when the ball landed in the seats, I quickly hit the pause button on our DVR and ran to their rooms to wake them up. Both had yet to fall asleep, and both immediately hopped out of bed and ran back out to the living room.

I rewound a few seconds on the DVR and we watched the magic of the moment together as a family, the kids cheering and enjoying the spectacle of those record-breaking moments. Hank, in particular, had been counting down the number of home runs remaining and watched the ensuing celebration with pure joy in his face.

Watching that moment through the eyes of my kids I saw how jaded I had become with this game that I love. Did he use illicit substances in recent years? More than likely. Did many other players do the same? Of course they did - some have even died due to complications (see former Padre and Astro Ken Caminiti). And lest we forget, the Padre pitcher who gave up #755 on Saturday night was suspended for 15 days in the minors for using steroids.

But in that moment on Tuesday night, I did not think about all that. What I witnessed, through the eyes of my kids, was the magic of a historical baseball moment. To them, it was a great ballplayer achieving a remarkable milestone. To me, it was a great ballplayer achieving a remarkable milestone.

I know many out there will disagree with me. I don't have any issue with the arguments that you will undoubtedly throw my way. It's tainted, you'll say, he's a cheater who used illicit substances...Aaron didn't use those substances to get to his number...on and on and on.

You get no argument from me on that. But if you want to place asterisks on the number of home runs, or discount his career totals because he used those substances, then you'll need to place an asterisk on every run that he scored, every RBI as a result of those home runs, and place an asterisk on every game played during that period. I am willing to bet that the outcome of many of those games would have to be altered, and therefore, the integrity of ALL those games would need to be called into question, as won-loss records change, which means the standings change, and suddenly, all those playoff matchups over the past decade are determined to be "wrong".

In short, we cannot say that those HRs are invalid without obliterating the outcomes of the games themselves. And if MLB were to discover that other players and pitchers used, what then?

The sad thing is that we adults know how to screw up a good things. Whether we are players, coaches, managers, journalists, radio announcers or simply fans of the game, we are all at fault. We want to see the great results without really wanting to know the truth of how we arrived at those results. And when we are confronted with the truth, we want to turn tail and deny, whether we are the perpetrator of the lie, the discoverer of the lie, or just a witness to the lie. In the case of baseball, it does ultimately end with dollar signs, too, whether the well-paid ballplayer, the gate revenues of the teams, the advertising revenue for the league and sports networks, or the memorabilia market with the fan who caught the ball or the trading card company that will undoubtedly come out with a special edition card (that will NOT come in a wax wrapper with pink bubble gum).

It was a form of baseball Eden when I played baseball in the street with the neighborhood kids, or when I traded cards with them. We weren't ashamed of our dog eared cardboard trading cards or climbing over the fences of the homes across the street to retrieve the tennis ball.

But somewhere along the way, we took a bite of the forbidden fruit and lost the joy that we once had.

I can only hope that my kids will continue to enjoy the game through those same innocent eyes. Alas, reality is staring right back at them.

Such is the fallen world in which we live.

Stick Around

2007-08-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

10 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.'

Jeremiah 42:10-12 (NIV)
Not too long ago I was experiencing a bit of confusion, praying for clarity as to what God would have me do next in His plans for my and my family's involvement in His church. As I "randomly" opened the Bible, this was the first passage I read.

Reading through the passage it hit me that He has an ongoing role for me and my family; that no matter what curve balls the Enemy throws my way (read "the king of Babylon"), He will be with me every step of the way, through all the tests that come. I need to be patient, taking the leap of faith that He asks of the Israelites through Jeremiah, and know that all will be well.

Valediction

2007-08-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, a "valediction" is "an act of bidding farewell." It is any word or words used to say goodbye. The word comes from the Latin vale, meaning "fare you well", and dictio, roughly meaning "saying" or "something said".

Basically, it is that item which you use to end a letter or in the late 20th and early 21st Century, an email - terms like "Yours Truly", "Sincerely", "Love", etcetera, are valedictions. I have to admit that until a couple of days ago I had never heard of the term.

Indeed, my vocabulary needs some tuning up.

That said, I owe it to the youth leaders at my church for the inspiration of this post. The other day they had a post in which they admitted to mocking the use of assorted Christian valedictions. I've seen the typical "Blessings" or "In Him" or "Grace" used in letters and emails, and for the most part, they're generally okay (I admit to having used them myself).

However, their post brought out the creative side of things, and naturally, encouraged others to come up with their own twists on theological (or perhaps the lack thereof) valedictions.

Among those that they suggested...

"Fetching the donkey,"
"Resisting the apple,"
"Scraping my Boils,"
"Building my Ark, One Day at a Time,"
"Sporting His Armor,"
"Sprinting to the Tomb,"

Those of you who have hung out at "The Beach" for any length of time know that this is the sort of thing that's right up my alley.

Some that I've come up with...

"Burning the bush,"
"Feeding the lions,"
"Walking on water,"
"Blessing the poor,"
"Entering the narrow gate,"
"Drinking from the fruit of the vine,"
"Turning my cheek,"
"Taking the plank out of my eye,"

So...to all you Beachgoers, I know you won't let me down. Let's have some fun!

Washing His Feet with my Hair,
Andy

Prayer Request Friday!

2007-08-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a long week, you're tired, I'm tired, and we all need that spiritual jolt (or recovery, as the case may be) this coming weekend.

For me, please pray for healing in my right eye - I suffered a tiny tear on my eye, likely due to removal of a dry contact lens, so my right eye looks about redder than Santa's suit. Yes, I'm on an antibiotic eye drop for the next several days while the eye heals, and no, I haven't lost any vision...I just get to go back to being "four eyes" for awhile.

What prayer requests are out there?

So Much to Read...

2007-08-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

...so little time!

As anyone who's been hanging around the Beach will know, I've read more than my share of books on theology, Christian life, church matters and such over the past couple of years. From Lewis to Chesterton to Bonhoeffer to Miller to Bell to Piper to others, I haven't been lacking for books to read.

But I've run into a small problem.

I now am running into the issue of starting and not finishing.

I hate that.

I'm a quarter of the way in on Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain.

I've just started yet my third re-start of The Confessions of St. Augustine.

I'm a quarter of the way through on Gary Will's What Paul Meant.

And I've just started Bill Hybels' Holy Discontent (thanks to Ariel).

This, more than anything, speaks to my lack of focus in recent weeks, although He's kept me in the Word consistently, which is the more important thing. Yet I can't quite pin down why I've been jumping around from book to book lately without completing one. Honestly, I can't remember the last book I finished.

So here's to focus. Here's to knocking out one book at a time. Because I know He'll speak to me through these writers as well.

Smelling Colors

2007-07-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

I would take no for an answer,
Just to know I heard you speak,
And I'm wondering why I've never,
Seen the signs they claim they see,
A lotta special revelations,
Meant for everybody but me,
Maybe I don't truly know You,
or maybe I just simply believe...

Cause I can sniff, I can see, and I can
count up pretty high; but these faculties
aren't getting me any closer to the sky,
but my heart of faith keeps poundin' so
I know I'm doin' fine but sometimes findin
you is just like tryin to smell the color nine.
Smell the color nine...

Now I've never felt the presence,
But I know You're always near,
And I've never heard the calling,
But somehow You've led me right here,
So I'm not lookin' for burnin' bushes,
Or some Divine graffiti to appear,
I'm just beggin You for Your wisdom,
And I believe You're puttin' some here...

Nine's not a color...
and if even if it was you can't smell a color,no
that's my point exactly.

Chris Rice, Smell the Color Nine
Oh how true it is sometimes. It seems absurd to compare being friends with Jesus with "smelling the color nine" - and from any rational perspective it is just as crazy as smelling a number which can't be a color. It takes a leap of faith, doesn't it?

It's like when Donald Miller says that being friends with Jesus is like having an imaginary friend...yet you know...you simply know...that He's there with you. And He's speaking to you.

Discerning His Voice in our lives is not easy, but a good friend recently reminded me that He is a God of peace and serenity and calm; that His Voice is consistent with His Word, and when you hear That Voice, you know, because often you hear That Voice confirmed in the voices of others or confirmed with Scripture.

In recent days, I can't even begin to describe how often He answers me in Scripture when I ask Him a question. It seems as if every passage I read right now is specifically relevant to something occurring in my life right now, whether at work, at home, or elsewhere. And as I speak with friends and family, it is as if those same themes are echoed in their conversations with me.

He is teaching me something daily, and I need to listen closely. Because He isn't going to speak to me through a burning bush (although I'm sure He would if He felt it necessary).

He has a message for you, too. You just need to know where to look.

A Frustrating Joy

2007-07-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a long weekend, filled with joy, frustration, joy, frustration, and more joy. It began with a powerful prayer meeting at the home of a fellow believer, a joyful occasion in which we were able to submit ourselves to God's love and allow Him to peer into the deepest recesses of our soul and extract the pain that we submitted to Him.

The power of His release was freeing, and this weight was lifted, bringing peace into each of our lives.

That was followed by a lengthy meeting at church on Saturday, the kind of meeting that we have seen in Scripture, particularly in the book of Acts, where issues are debated and the Body collectively works to discern God's Will. There were moments of pure joy and peace, followed by moments of intense frustration, ending with more peace at the end.

Immediately thereafter, I was on my way to the ballpark with my daughter to watch the Giants take on the Marlins, but more importantly, to hang out in Barry's house awaiting number Seven Fifty Five. Alas, it was not meant to be, but a father/daughter night at the the ballpark was the perfect way to end this Saturday, especially when it meant the hometown nine pulled out their fourth straight win.

Today was our weekly church service, which had moments of pure joy, but was followed with yet another meeting, in which there was once again moments of frustration, yet also moments of education, seeing the varying points of view showing the care and love that individual members have for this particular community of believers in Jesus.

The day ended, once again, in another house of baseball...this time San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the single A San Jose Giants, the California League minor league affiliate of the aforementioned San Francisco Giants. I took 4 kids, my own and 2 of their friends, on this 45 minute sojourn south of our hometown to meet with Will and his family, sit in the inexpensive general admission seats, watching these minor league ballplayers play with intense passion, while watching various fans play games for prizes in between innings, or dancing to YMCA or doing the Chicken Dance.

The minor league nine won 2-1 in a quickly played game that lasted approximatlely 2 hours, with the Giants' winning pitcher going the distance with 15 strikeouts.

The passion that we have as baseball fans came out in the top of the 9th, as the leadoff batter for the Lake Elsinore Storm hit a quick triple. The next batter struck out. The third batter of the inning was walked and stole second base. The next batter struck out.

I looked at the kids. They were clapping and heckling the next batter.

"Hey batta batta...hey batta batta...sa-wing batta!"

First pitch ball.

Second pitch...a strike.

Next pitch...a long foul ball.

The couple of thousand fans in the stands were yelling, standing up with the 2 strike count. Breaking pitch...swing...and a miss!

Giants win!

We high-fived each other. We didn't know any of these kids, but it didn't matter. Baseball had healed us tonight. Baseball allowed us to be kids, to see the passion of the kids entranced by the simplicity of the game. I was able to let go of any frustrations I may have held this weekend by drinking a soda, eating a hot dog, and watching kids watch baseball and play baseball-themed carnival games on the concourse outside the ballpark.

I was at peace again. And I felt joy.

Pass On the Love

2007-07-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight was one of those nights.

You know...the kind of night where you're not quite sure what's going to happen next, and you wonder exactly how you'll get from point A to point B. Back in the day, that was a friend's bachelor party in Las Vegas (a trip that will remain there). But tonight, it was a night in which the power of love (cue up some Huey Lewis circa 1985) - God's love - overwhelmed me.

I think it is best summed in a song I used to sing in youth group 20-something years ago.
It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;
That's how it is with God's Love,
Once you've experienced it,
Your spread the love to everyone
You want to pass it on.

What a wonderous time is spring,
When all the tress are budding
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming;
That's how it is with God's love,
Once you've experienced it.
You want to sing, it's fresh like spring,
You want to pass it on.

I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I've found;
You can depend on God
It matters not where you're bound,
I'll shout it from the mountain top - PRAISE GOD!
I want the world to know
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on.
Tonight, He reminded me and my wife the power of His love for us. We were broken before Him at the foot of the cross tonight; moments later He restored us to New Life.

Pass On His Love. Pass It On.

::

And on a totally unrelated, or related, depending on your point of view...

Donny's Back. With fewer commercial interruptions.

Servanthood

2007-07-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Philippians 2:5-8 (The Message)

21Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.

Ephesians 5:21 (The Message)

The other day I was reading this with several other guys from the church in relation to our relationship with our wives during our men's group. The discussion that ensued from the reading of these passages convicted each of us, as we each shared the mistakes and failings that we'd had in the past couple of weeks in our marital relationships.

We discussed how we didn't listen to our wives, how we did not make the time necessary for our families, how we valued our own opinions over theirs, how we had been self-righteous in our opinions.

How we did not view Christ first before our marriages.

As we were reminded of Christ's own servant leadership, the Deity who became man to serve us, in obedience to OUR Father, we realized our failings and prayed and re-committed ourselves to following the example set out by Jesus.

We are to be servant leaders in our homes, to humble ourselves in service in our marital relationships, the way Christ did and continues to do so, for His Church.

It cannot work any other way.

It's Not About Me.

2007-07-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm still buried in Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain, his autobiography. I admit that I have had a difficult time finding the time to read lately, but in the past couple of days the time has opened and I've been able to attack the book with a renewed vigor.

This morning, as I was working out on an elliptical trainer before going to work, I read the following:So after a month of my precious liberty, I received my first indication that my desires could never be absolute: they must necessarily be conditioned and modified by contacts and conflicts with the desires and interests of others. This was something that it would take me a long time to find out, and indeed in the natural order alone I would never really get to understand it. I believed in the beautiful myth about having a good time so long as it does not hurt anybody else. You cannot live for your own pleasure and your own convenience without inevitably hurting and injuring the feelings and the interests of practically everybody you meet. But as a matter of fact, in the natural order no matter what ideals may be theoretically possible, most people more of less live for themselves and for their own interests and pleasures or for those of their own family or group, and therefore they are constantly interfering with one another's aims, and hurting one another and injuring one another, whether they mean it or not.

- Thomas Merton
When we put ourselves first, this is the natural outcome. And this was the third consecutive day that I had heard or read a variation on this message, having heard it discussed as part of our men's group on Saturday (as related to our study topic of marriage), and in yesterday's sermon.

To read it this morning, in the context of Merton's teen years, drove home the point for me, realizing that I need to continue to work on being less focused on myself and more focused on the people around me, in every sphere of my life. To do that, I need to remember Ephesians 5:21, which says Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Jesus must be my focus first.

Too Comfortable?

2007-07-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

One of my struggles with the notion of "church" in America is how "safe" our version of the Christian faith really is. Because we live in a country that gives us the freedom to worship any way we choose, we can go to church "safely", knowing we will not be persecuted for walking into the front door of our churches, whether urban, suburban, or rural or anywhere in between. Believe me, I appreciate the comfort that comes with being able to worship freely here.

Yet does that comfort allow us to make greater issues of how we "do" church rather than whether we are reaching those who don't know Christ?

Whereas Christians in China need to meet secretly just to worship, we argue over whether we prefer organ music or a praise band, or we argue whether something is being done the "Baptist" way or "Presbyterian" way or (insert your denomination) way. Does our "comfort" in being able to choose the way we worship ultimately give us too much time to focus on items of relative unimportance compared to the struggles that our brethren face elsewhere outside our borders?

Don't get me wrong, we must discuss these things, prayerfully, in order that we discern how God would have us best minister to our local communities. But so often we miss the forest for the trees - we forget why we exist and not think about who we exist for and our (com)mission. We cling to and entrench ourselves in positions that provide us the greatest level of comfort in our churches.

We need to be willing to be placed in positions of discomfort in our Christian lives, both inside and outside the church - for that is how we will continue to grow in faith.

A Recommendation

2007-07-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

Given that the weekend is nearly upon us, oftentimes we think about what it is that we would like to do on these 2 days in which we place our professions on hold so that we may rest. Alas, on occasion we may be required to put in a few hours at our place of employment, but most of the time we have time to spend with the family.

While my upcoming Saturday may be filled with a morning breakfast with our men's group and an afternoon family Cub Scout meeting, there is still plenty of time left throughout to relax with a book or a movie.

A couple of weeks ago, for my wife and I, that movie was Ushpizin, an Israeli film about a married Orthodox Jewish couple living in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem, set in the current day. It is almost Sukkot, but the couple has insufficient funds to celebrate the holiday properly, unable to afford the food for the feast, much less the hut.

However, after placing faith in God, praying for a blessing and a miracle, the couple receives a gift, and are suddenly able to afford both the hut and the food. They even accept guests - 2 convicts who recently broke out of prison, one of whom was an adolescent friend of the husband, prior to his conversion to Orthodox Judaism. What transpires next is a story that includes comedy, spiritual refinement and testing, and a brilliant look into a world that 21st Century American Christianity, in particular, will find educational and necessary, seeing the parallels of the Jewish faith within our own faith.

I highly recommend this film. Line it up in your Netflix queue. Now.

Prayer Requests

2007-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV)
It doesn't get much simpler than that, does it? Let's lay it out there, seeking Him, finding Him, knowing that He has plans for our hope and future.

Run...Don't Walk

2007-07-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

...to The 7th Inning Stretch baseball blog. Will just put up a must read baseball post.

And trust me, it has nothing to do with the sad state of affairs for the local AL West and NL West teams.

Lucky?

2007-07-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

You might have noticed articles in your local papers around July 7th of this year discussing the surge in weddings on that particular Saturday, since it was 7/7/07 that day.

The lucky sevens...which have never appeared on any slot machine I've played (and if so, I'd likely be blogging about the prosperity Gospel - wink, wink).

The article that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle also discussed how next year's "lucky" day, August 8, 2008 (8/8/08), will be the lucky day in Chinese culture, since the Chinese consider "8" to be a very fortunate number, given that the Chinese pronunciation of that number sounds remarkably similar to the word "prosper" or "fortune" or "wealth". In fact, the Beijing Olympics will begin on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 pm. (Hmmm...I wonder how many athletes will be on the Chinese team...888?)

Lest you think I am attempting to cause racial strife on this blog, let me remind you that I'm Asian. Specifically, I am Chinese-Indonesian, but born and raised in San Francisco. My parents immigrated to the US in the late '60s from Indonesia, although my family ancestry goes back to China, from both sides of the family. They are also Christians, having attended a Dutch Reformed church back in Indonesia back then and finding a home in a Presbyterian church in San Francisco (and are now active members of a similar church in Oregon).

So I find it rather strange that my Christian parents would have a vehicle with personalized license plates that incorporate three "8's" in it. Certainly I understand it from a cultural aspect, yet as Christians, should we play into such cultural superstitions? Why subscribe to the luckiness or unluckiness of a number when we have already received the gift of grace from Jesus' death and resurrection? And in subscribing to the perceived luckiness of the number, is the cultural value of the number being placed above faith in Christ - leading to a form of idolatry of the number?

Personally, I find it rather dumb. The numbers seven or eight or thirteen are just numbers to me, and I only find meaning in them when I am reconciling a bank statement or a general ledger account. Such is the accountant in me.

On the other hand, I don't want to be legalistic about this either - because I can have fun with the pop cultural aspect of these numbers as much as the next person ("Of course the Giants lost to the Dodgers - it was Friday the 13th!)

I guess the upside to all this is that with a date like 7/7/07 or 8/8/08, the husbands are less likely to forget their anniversary dates...

Coming Up...

2007-07-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

My mind has been racing in multiple directions these past few days, as there has been excitement with our church, excitement with our kids as they wrapped up four weeks of musical theater camp this weekend, and for me, excitement that I am just this close to finishing my remaining duties as PTO treasurer - handling final cleanup of paperwork this week prior to passing it on to the new treasurer next week.

Of course, in the midst of all this, I am reminded that I had volunteered last month to lead the Bible Study and discussion at our upcoming Men's Breakfast this Saturday morning. Tonight, I spent a few minutes beginning to review the material for the lesson, realizing rather quickly that I will need to really spend sometime in prayer in preparation for this after reading the workbook that we are using to guide our study.

The topic?

Caring commitment.

The passages - Ephesisan 5:21-31, Philippians 2:5-8, and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Any thoughts you guys might want to share with me would be appreciated...but more importantly, I'd love your prayers as I spend sometime this week reviewing these passages and the material.

Madness of Materialism

2007-07-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Materialists and madmen never have doubts.

- GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Occasionally (perhaps often) I will read an article in the paper or online that flat out infuriates me. I try not to get worked up about it, most of the time, yet when I came upon this article in the San Francisco Chronicle's Real Estate section today I could not help but feel outrage.

In short, the article discusses how "Generation Y", those born between 1981 and 2000, have opted for higher quality appliances, counter tops and architectural details in the homes (read: condos) that they buy. As the article states, "This is a generation that, according to demographers and market researchers, spends more on itself than any other generation; that expects all the high-end finishes and appliances that equip their parents' houses; and that expects a few tech bells and whistles thrown in besides."

Furthermore:

...builders are instructing salespeople to be extra accommodating and thorough in helping people in their 20s, who are both new to home buying and are used to being coddled by adults.

"Everyone got a trophy" when they were growing up, one marketer said.

And lastly:

All of this proved true for Bevan Lew, a 28-year old real estate agent who was among the first to buy into the Potrero, landing a one-bedroom with stainless steel appliances. He's determined to have the best or buy nothing. "The way I see myself is I want the best of whatever I have. It's all about quality and not quantity," Lew said. "I'll sacrifice size for location. It forces me to buy what I absolutely love. I don't buy anything disposable."

He likes that his new home is a low rise with a lot of greenery. He likes that there's a real neighborhood there. He likes that there's an internal walkway and places to meet his neighbors. Because he eats every meal out, he likes that there are lots of restaurants he can ride his bike to. And he likes that the building has modern lines.

"I think we live in a time in which everything is very much coming from a design perspective: a tissue box, a sippy cup, absolutely everything we own comes from a creative person," he said. "Nothing we own is utilitarian. It's a statement. Of course our homes have to be that, too. That should be the ultimate expression of who we are."

Indeed. It is all about me. I am the only one who matters. I need to make a statement. I need to have the best, because, after all, I am ME.

It would be all too easy to bash an entire American generation based on this statement, and that would be unfair, because I know all too many folks of all ages who hold to this materialistic viewpoint. Admittedly, I like having quality possessions as well, but I'm not necessarily going to break the bank to obtain such items either, nor do I make it a priority to do so.

But is it any wonder why the rest of the world dislikes our country? And sadder still is that you and I know all-too-many Christians who cling to a materialistic viewpoint as well - the prosperity gospel that we have heard discussed in various churches across the country.

Do we really need the best of the best? I still chafe at the thought that I spent $130 on a bathroom sink faucet at Lowe's when I could have spent half the amount on one which would have worked just as well - this was 6 years ago. Was it the best faucet money could buy? It's just as worn and beaten as the $65 faucet would have been today.

And is our home really the "ultimate expression of who we are?" Wow...I didn't realize the entire definition of my human existence revolved around a 1000 square foot 40 year old ranch home in a suburban tract. The ultimate expression of who I am is a 40 year old building made of wood and nails with some stucco on the exterior. I'm a Whirlpool dishwasher, a Kenmore fridge, and a Panasonic microwave.

I would like to think I'm a little more than that, that the ultimate expression of who I am is a child of God called to serve Him in whatever way He chooses to use me in His master plan.

Or I'm just a Genie garage door opener.

Christian Auctions

2007-07-12T22:48:00.001-07:00

It appears that in an effort to keep our lives set apart from the secular world, particularly from the evil capitalistic corporate monolith "eBay", that "eWay" has been founded by some fellow believers to allow us Christ-followers a safe place to buy and sell our Christian wares.

Check it out here.

Just avoid selling anything related to Reformed theology.

Prayer Requests

2007-07-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

I used to do this pretty regularly here at the Beach, and it's time I brought it back. Or, dare I say, it's time I listened to His Voice to bring it back.

I must admit to having difficulty in my prayer life in recent weeks. Sure, I say a quick prayer each day and read His Word, but it's been a one way street...me making requests and really not listening to what He has to say to me, and really not listening to what He tells me in the Word, either. It's almost been a rote process, without giving much thought on my part.

So this is what I ask of you...please make your prayer requests here, and come back to read the requests of others who share. As you prepare to pray, listen closely. Listen to what God is leading you to say, feel, think, whether in the stillness of your home or office or even if you've got earbuds listening to some tunes.

Just listen.

He'll tell you what to say.

He'll tell you what to feel.

He'll tell you what to think.

Listen.

All-Star Thoughts

2007-07-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

...But first...the truth about my past.

What you probably don't know about me is that I began my managing career after completing a Hall of Fame caliber career. Just last year, SportsWeekly named me manager of the year, in just my third year of managing at this level, after a year coaching third base for the Giants.

I have hesitated to speak of this, preferring to focus primarily on my budding interest in Christian theology, but I felt at this juncture that it was important to share this bit of information with you, in light of the fact that later today, my hometown will be hosting baseball's All-Star game.

Besides, if this info is on my baseball card, it must be true, right?

More impressive, however, are last season's totals for my son, a powerhitting first baseman. He batted with a .377 average in 544 at bats, with 205 hits and 41 home runs, driving in a whopping 141 runs. He even made the 40/40 club with 49 stolen bases. He still struck out 80 times.

It is amazing to see what kind of revisionist history occurs at All-Star Fan Fests.

::

Tonight, my T-Ball team was invited by another T-Ball team in our local Little League to participate in a T-Ball Exhibition Game at the All-Star Fan Fest here in San Francisco as part of the week-long All-Star Game festivities.

We arrived at the Moscone Center at 4 pm, were let in by 4:15 (after waiting for our escort to take us to The Diamond on the 3rd level), then had about an hour to enjoy the Fan Fest before meeting back at The Diamond to play our game. Several of the youngsters on my squad, along with several on our opponent's squad, participated in a catch, hit and run drill conducted at 4:30, with guest coaches Jay Johnstone and Rollie Fingers.

Afterward, the kids got ready to play a 3 inning game, with an announcer calling up each batter to his/her at bat, and calling a radio-style play by play, much to the amusement of the parents and other Fan Fest attendees.

It was a fantastic opportunity for these kids, being able to play a game in the spotlight, a perfect coda to a fun Little League season.

I have coached at the T-Ball level for 4 years - 2 with my daughter and 2 with my son. Never did I think that this kind of opportunity would present itself to me and my team this year. Think about all the things that have to go right so that we would have the opportunity to play in this event, from having a kid of the right age, who plays T-Ball, to the selection of your hometown as the All-Star host city, to finally being one of only 6 teams in the entire SF Bay Area asked to participate.

Coincidence?

I think not. As Will said to me when we had lunch together earlier in the day, "Think of this as a reward for your 4 years of coaching T-Ball." And there he was in the stands, cheering on both clubs as we played in front of grandstands full of family, friends, and other baseball fans.

There are days when God clearly speaks to me. Tonight was one of them, as I watched the joy of these kids playing a game many of them love, being able to share that joy with their friends and family. It was a family outing, our individual families sharing an afternoon and evening of baseball as one family, as one community, Christians and non-Christians alike. God continues to remind me the importance of being an active part of my local community, outside the church, and tonight was a prime example.

After the game, our families went our separate ways to enjoy the rest of the Fan Fest, whether getting free photos in various baseball garb, winning free prizes (my wife won an All-Star Game visor and baseball) or recording our version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (which is what my daughter did - MP3 coming at a later date).

As Hank said on the subway ride home..."This was one of the best days of my life."

It doesn't get any better than that.

Six Fourteen

2007-07-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

John 15: 18-25 (NIV)
It may have only received 23% of the "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and only 9% of the cream of the crop reviewers, but my family and I still went to see Evan Almighty this weekend. And I must say...of all the "Christian" themed films that I have seen in recent months, it is perhaps the best executed and likely will reach the broadest audience, unlike films such as Facing the Giants or The Chronicles of Narnia.

Admittedly, the film is not without its problems, particularly with regard to the characters' reactions to the changes in Evan's physical appearance (and attitude) - these reactions were not sufficiently realistic given the changes he was undergoing. However, I can overlook a flaw such as thing in light of the bigger picture of the film and its thematic content, which can be summarized in 6 words:

Doing God's Will.

And...

God loves us.

The film is packed with theology - simplified, in some ways - with some punch in others - yet underlying it is the message that in an effort to refine us, God will challenge us, God will take us out of our comfort zone, and God will be persistent in letting us know He has a specific task for us. Such is what He does with Evan's character in this film, particularly early with the incessant references to "614" (as in Genesis 6:14). And if that wasn't enough, God begins to send animals to follow Evan...in pairs.

It gets uncomfortable for Evan, who is just beginning his career as a congressman, focused on his career (and not on his family), aware of the image he must project to his colleagues and the public - and God, of course, will have none of that, telling him that he must build the ark while Evan thinks it's nuts.

Yet he builds it - exhibits obedience to God in the same way the patriarchs did in the OT. In a very powerful scene, God tells him, "When someone prays for courage, do you think God gives them courage, or does he give them a moment to be courageous? When someone prays for the family to be closer, does he sprinkle around happiness, or does he give them an opportunity to be closer?"

God was reminding Evan that he was refining him to be the man He wants him to be. And in that same line, God was reminding us that He always answers prayer - He just doesn't always give us the answer WE expect.

See this film - whether in the theaters this summer or on DVD or pay per view or on a pay cable channel this fall. Frankly, I was expecting to be disappointed by this film, figuring I'd enjoy Steve Carell's antics. But I walked out having enjoyed this film for the joy it gave my family this cool San Francisco afternoon and for the positive characterization of God that it employed.

Community Spirit

2007-07-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

There is a scene in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands which satirized late 20th Century American life perfectly. Amidst the suburban landscape of perfectly manicured lawns, each car pulled out of its respective driveway in unison with every other car in the neighborhood, speeding down the street to begin the morning commute, each car carrying just one person...the driver.

When I listen to the traffic updates on the radio in the morning, I can envision the traffic backups at all the major choking points in the Bay Area, and can picture the majority of vehicles with only one person...again the driver.

(Granted, I drive solo as well...but only 10 minutes to a nearby BART station, and take public transit to my job in downtown San Francisco - not that it makes me better than you...)

That said, I have been a solo driver making lengthy commutes to other localities in the region. And one of the things that is quickly lost is a sense of community, because driving is such an individual event, as we sit behind the steering wheel of a several thousand (or more) dollar vehicle, hoping to travel at speeds in excess of the speed limit. There is a sense of anonymity that we get when we're behind the wheel, and even a strange sense of arrogance, the literal "It's my way or the highway" attitude.

On this 4th of July, I was reminded of why it is important to step out of the proverbial fast lane of anonymity behind the wheel and into the realm of community, for there is no holiday in the American calendar that promotes community spirit more than this day in which we celebrate the birth of our nation.

After the kids and I got up (and my wife returned home after a night shift at the hospital), the three of us hopped on our bikes and rode down to the nearby coffee shop for a breakfast of bagels (and a latte for me). The regulars were outside on the patio visiting and reading the paper, while the girl behind the counter tried to engage my kids in a discussion of fireworks.

Shortly thereafter, we were back on our bikes, riding in the neighborhood and came upon a street on which several of our friends from church and school live, a U-shaped street that would be blocked off later for a massive block party, complete with multiple bounce houses for the kids, a watermelon eating contest, a bake sale (to raise funds for the troops), and a bicycle parade. Upon receiving the download of the event times, we continued on with our ride, heading home briefly, running a quick errand (in the car), and then back home, wherein we hopped back on our bikes and headed over to the bicycle parade on our friends' street.

It was small-town America come to life. We rode through our suburban neighborhood, waving to pedestrians, wishing them a happy 4th. We paused for passing cars, and waved at them. Returning to their street, we bought some baked goods...my kids bought their treats with their own money! We headed over to the nearby shopping center for lunch, bought a couple of extra items for our barbeque, and we rode home.

Later in the evening, we were outside with our neighbors, lighting the safe and sane fireworks that we had purchased earlier in the week to support our local non-profit organizations (while marveling at the intricate "illegal" fireworks lighting up the skies in the valley around us).

The skies were blue, the coastal air was just warm enough, the beaches were full, and the spirit was high.

It was a celebration of community. It was a reminder that God created us as relational creatures...beings that need to be part of a community, not living in isolation, but being an active part of a vital, breathing community of individuals.

This is something that we as Christians so easily forget. We create our own communities of faith, forgetting that we exist to serve and be part of these larger communities, outside our churches, so that we may "make disciples of all nations" - beginning with our own.

I felt alive being part of my community today.

Light and Truth

2007-07-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

I did not even know who Christ was, that He was God. I had not the faintest idea that there existed such a thing as the Blessed Sacrament. I thought churches were simply places where people got together and sang a few hymns. And yet now I tell you, you who are now what I once was, unbelievers, it is that Sacrament, and that alone, the Christ living in our midst, and sacrificed by us, and for us and with us, in the clean and perpetual Sacrifice, it is He alone Who holds our world together, and keeps us all from being poured headlong and immediately into the pit of our eternal destruction. And I tell you there is a power that goes forth from that Sacrament, a power of light and truth, even into the hearts of those who have heard nothing of Him and seem to be incapable of belief.

Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain, pp. 41-42

We know the truth and the truth needs to be shared who have not heard it, whether across the ocean or across the street. We get so caught up in how we do church that we forget why the church exists.

We need to grasp the power of Christ and allow Him to transform us and be used to share that Truth, knowing that He will speak into the hearts of those who don't know Him.

Seven Five Oh.

2007-06-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Last night was father/daughter night. I took Margaret to AT&T Park to watch the Giants take on the Diamondbacks in the first game of the final home series before the G-men take the road prior to the All-Star break (and if you've been living under a rock, the All-Star Game will be here in San Francisco).

So natch, there's plenty of All-Star hoopla in SF these days, and right outside the ballpark are two of the cable car busses that have been decorated for the event (and which you might have seen in the game's promos on Fox). Of course, being in a National League city, we were only going to have our picture taken in front of the NL bus...

I do typically purchase tickets to about 5 to 10 games a season, not including freebies that somehow find their way to me, usually from other friends...and last night was no exception, as I sat in some of the best seats I've had at any ball game - 17 rows from the field, just to the right of home plate - courtesy of a good friend from our church.

Between the two of us, it was a burger, corn dog, two sodas, and the ever necessary garlic fries last night while we watched Bonds drive in the first run of the game on this swing.

Given that my wife was going to leav for work by 10:45 pm, we had to ensure that we had plenty of time to get home, so at the close of the 7th inning, right around 9:30 pm, Margaret and I left, taking about 15 minutes to leave the ballpark and make our way to the car, parked in a parking garage at the mixed-use development across the street. The Giants had a 2-1 lead.

It wasn't until we exited the parking garage that I could get a static-free signal on the AM dial, only to discover, much to our chagrin, that the D-Backs had taken a 3-2 lead on the Giants in the top of the 8th.

As the bottom of the 8th began, Mr. Bonds stepped into the batter's box, and promptly launched a drive into the seats above right-center field for career HR number 750 (we will not debate the use or non-use of illicit substances here for the purposes of this post). And it tied the game.

I have been there for several of his HRs since hitting #700, including #700. I was not happy that I wasn't physically there for #750, but I had been there, only 20 minutes prior! I have the ticket stubs to prove it!

It does lead to a bit of a moral quandry - I certainly could claim to have witnessed it, given that I was there for 7 of the 9 innings, but not for #750. However, that would be a lie, wouldn't it?

In the grand scheme of things, the HR merely prolonged the Giants' misery. They lost the game in the 10th.

Psalm 13

2007-06-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to more of Shane Barnard and Shane Everett - this time their acoustical live release, An Evening with Shane & Shane. Of note is that they have 3 songs based on Psalms on this particular album. My favorite of the 3 Psalms on the album is Psalm 13:1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13 (NIV)
Listening to it I close my eyes and try to picture what this Psalm must have sounded to the Israelites when it was sung by David and others, what instruments would have been played, how David the worship leader led in singing of this prayer to God.

Take this tune for a spin and hear the anguish in the vocal as they cry out to God with David's words.

Don't we wonder if God is there for us? Don't we worry when tough times hit, wondering if we will hear His Voice? David feels these emotions, but then he remembers how good God has been to him, and remembers to trust Him, knowing that He will deliver him.

Impact

2007-06-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

I just started reading Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain - his "autobiography of faith". Of note in the first chapter is the following, as he describes his early childhood years and how he viewed his "beginning":A brand-new conscience was just coming into existence as an actual, operating function of a soul. My choices were just about to become responsible. My mind was clean and unformed enought to receive any set of standards, and work with the most perfect of them, and work with grace itself, and God's own values, if I had ever had the chance.

Here was a will, neutral, undirected, a force waiting to be applied, ready to generate tremendous immanent powers of light of darkness, peace or conflict, order of confusion, love or sin. The bias which my will was to acquire from the circumstances of all its acts would eventually be the direction of my whole being towards happiness or misery, life or death, heaven or hell.

More than that: since no man ever can, or could, live by himself and for himself alone, the destinies of thousands of other people were bound to be affected, some remotely, but some very directly and near at-hand, by my own choices and decisions and desires, as my own life would also be formed and modified according to theirs. I was entering into a moral universe in which I would be related to every other rational being, and in which whole masses of us, as thick as swarming bees, would drag one another along towards some common end of good or evil, peace or war.
How true it is.

Professional Ministry

2007-06-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of years I have had those moments in which I wondered if God was calling me to "The Ministry". I would find myself online at home, surfing through the websites of various seminaries and wonder, "Is that really for me?"

Then I'd read the blogs of various pastors and other students of our faith, read of their struggles, read of their victories, read of their lives and realize that That Call had definitely not come (and honestly, when my wife said, "That's not the life we want for us", that was clearly confirmed). But service to the church? Of course. Paid professional ministry? Not in the cards.

Or so I thought.

Now before you think I'm going to seminary or going to become a pastor, think again. The professional ministry of which I speak is that in the workplace.

Do any of you view your place of work as a place to do ministry?

I admit, I never thought of that either. But as I get to know folks at the office, I get to know about their lives, and see the brokenness in their lives (outside the professional realm) which I can relate to - for we are all broken human beings. I see that I can be a colleague on which they can bend an ear, listen to them, and pray for them...silently...as I listen to their concerns. Yes, I may be a Jesus Freak to use DC Talk's words, but I don't need to be a Bible-waving one. I can just be The Guy People Talk To.

And I can quietly show them love.

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

Shooter

2007-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was at AT&T Park with Hank for a father/son baseball outing as my Yankee-beating Giants took on the San Diego Padres (winning 4-3 in 11 innings). We arrived shortly after 7 pm in time for the 7:15 pm first pitch.

As we made our way to our seats, the PA Announcer announced a moment of silence for Rod Beck, the former Giant, Cub, Red Sox and Padre relief pitcher who died at his home this weekend at 38 years of age. The moment of silence was preceded by a video montage of some of Beck's moments with the Giants.

The crowd stood up in silence, caps over our collective hearts as we paid tribute to a 3-time All-Star with the Giants, who had 199 saves in a Giants uniform. A lone sign several rows in front of me was raised - "We'll Miss You Shooter" - "Shooter" having been his nickname during his Giant years.

A couple of innings later, during one of the mid-inning breaks, an interview was replayed from several years ago with a Giants announced and then-manager Dusty Baker, talking about Beck's role in the 1997 NL West Championship season. That was the season in which I personally attended the most number of games I ever had in a single year...26 games...mostly with my wife, a couple of them solo, and a couple with some friends. The most memorable was on September 18 - a key moment which was highlighted in the Dusty Baker video on the high def scoreboard.

The Giants and Dodgers were in a heated race that September - going into a 2 game set on the 17th and 18th of September, the Giants were down 2 games in the West. After winning on the 17th (a game which I also attended), the Giants and Dodgers went into extra innings at Candlestick Park. In the 10th inning, the following occurred (courtesy of the Giants' website):Beck, who had blown a save and taken the loss two games earlier, entered to a smattering of boos from the crowd, and things turned downright ugly when Piazza, Eric Karros and Mondesi all singled to load the bases with none out. With the huge crowd voicing their disapproval of Beck's continued presence in the game, Baker went to the mound and told his pitcher to dig down deep for something special.

The man nicknamed "Shooter" delivered, striking out Todd Zeile. Facing pinch-hitter Eddie Murray, Beck got the member of the 500-homer club to hit a slow grounder to second, where Jeff Kent picked it up and fired home for one out. Johnson's throw to first beat the aging Murray to end the inning.
Beck went on to pitch 2 more innings until catcher Brian Johnson ended it with a HR to the left field bleachers in the bottom of the 12th. The Giants had caught the Dodgers, and little more than a week later, beat San Diego at Candlestick to clinch the NL West title.

That 10th inning was a definitive "Shooter" moment. Beck was pure guts on the mound, a player who took command of the mound and the field when he was in the game, and showed no fear...he simply challenged the batter. He was the "everyman" on the diamond - he looked like you and me, not a professional ballplayer, and I know that's why I loved him as a player.

I don't know why he had to go at such a young age, leaving behind a young family. The physical suffering that his family must endure with his loss is not something we can easily understand - only to the extent that we know each of us must face physical death at various points in our lives as we lose loved ones.

I pray that he found true Peace in those final days, and I pray that his family will find it through these difficult days ahead.

Thank you for being a part of our lives, Shooter.

Fear...and Suffering

2007-06-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Fear leads to anger...
...anger leads to hate...
...hate leads to suffering.

- Yoda, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
It is no secret that one of my great passions in this physical world is that of the sport of baseball. And the team which garners much of my attention during the baseball season is the San Francisco Giants, a team that originated in New York back in 1883. This is a franchise that has had much success during its New York days, with periods of intermittent success after its move to San Francisco in 1958.

The team's late 20th Century and early 21st Century history has generally been successful, having had playoff contending clubs in the late 90's, culminating with a National League pennant in 2002 (we don't talk about the events of that World Series beyond the 7th inning of game 6). And when it comes to this version of the Giants, any discussion of the franchise is incomplete without mention of its starting left fielder, who as of this day needs 6 home runs to tie the all time career home run mark.

Barry Bonds has been the face of this franchise since he signed as a free agent in 1993. The majority of the landmark moments in recent Giants history (as well as recent baseball history) have occurred with him at the plate, whether his home run chase in 2001 or the various HR milestones that have occurred, particularly at 500, 600, 660 (Willie Mays' mark), 700 and 714 (Babe Ruth's mark).

Yet the face of the franchise has also been beset with rumors of his steroid abuse and the possibility of perjury charges given to a grand jury investigating the usage of illicit performance-enhancing substances in baseball. Whether true or not (and this post isn't going to debate this issue today), Bonds is a lightening rod of attention, positive and negative, at the ballpark at the dock of the bay. For all the negativity that surrounds him, Giants management continues to place its faith in the face, having agreed to a $15 million (give or take a couple of million) one-year contract for 2007, even though the team's diehard fans have clamored for a rebuilding with younger, less expensive talent that can grow together the way other franchises have, such as Arizona, Milwaukee, and Detroit - all having solid seasons in 2007.

There has been a fear at Willie Mays Plaza - that once the face of the franchise is no longer hitting home runs, the fans will no longer come.

Management's fear, however, has led to fan anger as the club settles solidly into last in the NL West this year, and for all the love and patience that the fans have given the management and ownership, the hate is not far away should the trend to surround Bonds with older and expensive players continues, particularly at the expense of young pitching in the farm system.

In this case, however, Yoda's wisdom is incorrect, for Giants fans may have jumped ahead to suffering prior to exhibiting hate, especially as they have been in an 8 game losing streak going into today, having been swept by the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers during this streak. The Boston series was troubling, for it highlighted the Giants' inability to hit - a trend that continued in Milwaukee.

All this, starting mainly because of management's fear of what may happen once the face is gone.

It will be a long year at the ballpark this season, and the fear has led to suffering.

I know I have a tendency to play it safe partly because of my own fear of the unknown, and I don't confront that fear head on. Yet if I settle myself in Jesus's footsteps, there is nothing to be afraid of, for He has set my path before me.

I need to stay there, and know that He is my refuge and fortress.

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]

2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Psalm 91 (NIV)

Not Knowing

2007-06-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

You whispered to Your child today
but I haven't got a minute to listen
Your child is busy with the work of God and taking Him for granted
got a lot to do today, kingdom work's the game I play
Lord my serving You replaced me knowing You

- Shane Barnard, Received
First off, I have to give props to Dan, who turned me onto this fantastic acoustic album by Shane Barnard. He mentioned this album in a post yesterday, so I figured I should check it out, since his taste in music is not unlike mine, as I have discovered over the past 18 months.

As I began listening to the first track, Received, I was convicted by the words above. It doesn't take much for me to not listen to God. It's easy to hear His voice and outright dismiss it. But even more convicting were the subsequent words in this stanza, where I can see how easy it is to get so busy spending time volunteering at the church and forget WHY and for WHOM we are doing the work.

More importantly, am I taking time to visit with Him? Am I spending time speaking to Him and listening to His Words for me? For how can I effectively serve if I don't receive direction from Him? How can I serve Him if my relationship with does not grow in Him? How can I serve Him if I am not connecting with Him regularly?

We must continue to connect with God on a daily basis so that we may grow in Him and then we may serve Him. Each is a critical step in our faith journey, and each are interconnected. We must all continue on this cycle of connection and growth and service, never allowing one to supercede the other.

For it is then that we remain in balance, and we will be able to serve while knowing.

Those Moments

2007-06-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

I have had eight employers since I graduated from college 15 years ago. That's an average of just under 2 years per employer...not typically what most prospective employers like to see on an individual's resume. In fact, that's even something I look at when reviewing resumes of potential candidates when I have an opening.

In reality, of course, I have had some longer stints with a couple of firms, and substantially shorter stints with others. In some of these cases, I have had those moments of panic when I thought my job might be in jeopardy due to lack of work, consolidation by a parent office or company, or even when I hear of something critical about my department.

For much of my career, when I have experienced those moments I naturally discuss it at home and with colleagues close to the situation and commiserate over a cup of coffee away from the office. A number of years ago, those moments were frequent when the parent office was clearly looking to make a management change in the local office of my employer, and each of us struggled to make recommendations that would hopefully improve the local office's situation and by extension, our own professional situation as well. It was, obviously, a matter of job survival.

Similarly, I have had moments in recent months where my own judgment in handling certain situations was questioned, and I looked deep within to see if I was the source of the problem. To some extent, I was part of the problem, but as is the case in many professional environments, there is typically more than one party at fault. But in those moments I doubted my own ability as well, and began to worry whether I was making the right choices at the office.

However, that worry dissipated quickly as I recalled that God had led me to this job well over a year ago, mainly because He had something else planned for me outside of the office. And in recent days, He has spoken to me through other colleagues to remind me that He is control of my job, and all will be well - for He, once again, wants me working in other areas outside of the office. The fact that He has helped me develop a cohesive team which is now recognized as such by others outside the department is confirmation that the office environment is not where He is working to refine me...rather it will be in areas related to the church and other volunteer activities in which He will work to refine me.

He has a purpose for me that He slowly continues to reveal to me.

33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6: 33-34 (NIV)

Looking for What?

2007-06-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

I have climbed highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you
I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I have kissed hardened lips
Felt the healing fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I have spoken with eternal angels
I have held the hands of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come
When all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
Well, yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
of my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

- U2
I remember when I first bought The Joshua Tree. I was 16 years old, having ridden the 44 O'Shaughnessy bus from my high school on one of my early out days (we had a flexible schedule, and one semester my class schedule ended at 11 am) to 8th and Judah, where I got off and walked to two of my favorite shops at the time...Comics and Comix, where I bought my weekly fix of DC Comics titles, and The Wherehouse, where I bought my LPs.

Comic books and music. Such was my life as a teen.

It was the fall of 1986, not long after I had gotten my driver's license (but had no car). Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms was already in my collection, along with Peter Gabriel's So and Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles. The Joshua Tree was next, and when I walked into that record store, it was the only album on my mind.

I was home spinning the LP a couple of hours later. I grabbed one of the many blank metal 90 minute cassettes I had in my room, hit the Dolby Noise Reduction button, pressed play and record to get a good 5 second lead on the cassette, then paused while I watched the needle hit the LP, releasing the pause button a fraction of a second after the needle found the groove.

I put on the headphones and lay on the floor immersed in the sonic power of Bono's voice and The Edge's driving guitar.

I got the entire album on one side of the cassette. The flip side was to be Brothers in Arms. When I had a chance to drive our '85 Corolla hatchback, this cassette was played nearly continuously, broken only by the occasional Sting, Gabriel, and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

The song above was an integral part of the soundtrack of my youth, and eventhough I loved the music, the power of the lyrics never moved me then - I have always been drawn to music first, then the lyrics. In listening to this album tonight as I read through these lyrics, I am once again struck by the honesty of the words.

Have we not felt this way in our faith journey at some point? I know that as a youth that while I believed - I had the book knowledge between Sunday School, youth group, and a Lutheran elementary and junior high education (just as Bono sings in the song) - I always felt like I was missing something about Jesus, that I couldn't understand why others could feel His presence yet I couldn't.

I didn't know what I was looking for.

But then there was that one moment in which I publicly said to a community of believers how much I loved Him, and it was then that I did find what I was looking for. Jesus revealed His presence to me in all His glory, and I felt His love at that moment.

So it is sad to read about this Episcopal pastor in Seattle and her claim that she is both a Christian and Muslim.

Yes, you read that right. She is an Episcopal pastor and she is also a practicing Muslim.

Has she found what she's looking for?

Backseat Driving

2007-06-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

"Jesus, you're going the wrong way! I told you, to get to the ball park dude, left at Second, right on King."

"Andy, how many times do I have to tell you that Giants baseball is not what you need at this point in your life?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you that it is a moral imperative for me to be there!"

"As terrible as they are?"

"As terrible as they are. They are 5 and oh this season when I am in attendance."

"Andy, that's not the direction I want you to take right now. I have other business for you to attend to."

"Listen, just drop me off at the corner of Third and King - you do know how to get there?"

"Of course I do. But you didn't hear me. I have work for you."

"And I have tickets for tonight's game!"

"Andy..."

"Sigh...I'll call Will and see if he wants these tickets."

"I'll drive you there."

34-37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Mark 8: 34-37 (The Message)

Definitely not Giants tickets. Not in 2007, anyway.

Beat Up.

2007-06-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a difficult couple of weeks. Life around the office, 24 stories above downtown San Francisco, has been incredibly busy with multiple deadlines interspersed with interviews with recent graduates to fill an opening in my department. In addition, this is the last week of school for the kids, and while I thought I would have time to spend in the evening with them, that hasn't really happened this week. More to the point, I haven't really had the opportunity to slow down yet.

Summer vacation? Hah.

Yet while I feel a bit beat up (and so does my wife, so the pity party doesn't just extend to me), I have found much joy in seeing how God is keeping us balanced and focused on our priorities, beginning with Him, then our families, then everything else. I have found more peace in my heart, strangely enough, even as the insanity of work, family life, and volunteerism spin around me. Thumping my hands on the steering wheel to DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" on the way to the BART station in the morning prepares my mind for the 20 minutes I will spend on the train reading a couple of chapters in the Word where invariably, the silent voice of God speaks loudly.

The physical world around me may beat me up, but my heart is at peace. And in there, I find my rest in Him.

What Is the Mission?

2007-06-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
Exactly what is the church's mission? Surfing around the 'Net, looking at the websites of churches out there, I see lengthy mission statements that are interspersed with statements of faith - very few of which are memorable or provide a clear indication what the church is about.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I often wonder how effective these churches are, or if they know what their mission actually is. Yes, churches have Sunday morning worship services, they have choirs, they have Bible studies, but are these churches actually "making disciples of all nations?" Are they effective in reaching the lost in their communities? Or are they flying around in multiple directions?

I believe that there are really 3 things that churches need to do. They need to be places in which...
1) People learn to love God and connect with Him.
2) People learn to love each other and grow in faith in Him.
3) People learn to serve God - in their local communities, in their churches, or elsewhere on this world.

I know for me, I have learned to do all this not because my church provided me the opportunity to do so, but because God has given me the desire to do so. But not all folks are like me, and many need gentle prodding from other believers to do so. If our churches can be equipped to help newer believers through a similar process, listening to God's voice, we will see greater effectiveness in local ministry.

I pray that I will be a part of a church that is able to do this.

For the Faith!

2007-06-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this article in The Jakarta Post newspaper yesterday. In it is a report about yet another church attack in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, which for many years has practiced a more moderate version of Islam.

But times...they are a' changing in Indonesia.

Why does this particular article resonate with me?

The city in which the attack occurred, in which the children's Sunday School was forced to stop its activities, was in my parents' hometown - a city in which I have visited on 3 occasions in my life, about a 4 drive outside of Jakarta, the nation's capital.

When I was last there in 1996, it was to visit my maternal grandmother, who had lived here in the States with my family (and extended family) for over a decade after my grandfather died. She was traveling back home to Indonesia when she took ill, and we knew that she didn't have much more time to live. She was in a hospital, bedridden, and merely awaiting her final days.

She was also a non-Christian.

My parents, along with my uncles and aunts, flew me, my sister, and my cousins to Indonesia to visit her and say our goodbyes. It was not going to be fun visit, knowing that we all were going to take turns being at her bedside in shifts most of that week - but we also managed to take some time to see a little bit of the city of our parents' youth. I also got to meet a few other cousins that I had never met, or had met when I was much younger, and they took me and my sister around town when we weren't at the hospital.

I also got to visit with my paternal grandmother as well. She was a Christian, very devout, sang in her church choir. On the one Sunday that I was there (I was there about a week), I attended church with her and my folks...not that I understood much of what was said (I do know some of Bahasa Indonesia, but not enough to read or understand a Sunday morning sermon). And I was in a period of my life in which I had been away from the church, still several years away from my own spiritual renewal.

Looking back, however, I recall the power of the service, the passion of the congregation that Sunday morning. There was the feeling of a true Christian community, a feeling I did not understand or appreciate at the time, but now realize that they had.

A couple of days later my paternal grandmother, her pastor, and a handful of members from her church came to my maternal grandmother's hospital room. I remember standing back a bit, trying to make out the words the pastor was telling her, and then realizing that she had committed her life to Christ. She was baptized in the hospital room that day as my other grandmother and her fellow believers prayed.

At that moment, while I intellectually understood the power of that moment, I don't think I truly grasped it in my heart until several years later...that it is never too late in life to accept Christ, that God truly works in mysterious ways to transform the heart of a person.

On that day, one more life was saved, even though her physical life would last only 2 more weeks.

So while I am troubled by what occurred at that church in Bandung this past week, I also know that the Christian community will continue to be used by God as tools of transformation, because I saw it happen in my own family.
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

John 15:18-21 (NIV)

Shades of Gray

2007-06-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

The front headline, above the paper's masthead, reads: "Whacked?"

Without seeing the photograph associated with it, one could assume this might have to do with the war in Iraq, or some local crime scheme.

No.

It is an article about the end of "The Sopranos" on Sunday. This was on the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle.

I have watched this show from the very beginning. It is a very good television show, and the theological lessons that can be gleaned from the program are quite many, beginning with the fact that we can relate to the lead character (not from the crime boss aspect) but because his life is a reflection of ours, trapped in our sinful nature, often succumbing to the temptations that are prevalent in life. We don't see a black and white world in Tony's world, and unfortunately, our world is very much the same way. He is a bad guy, yet he is a family man struggling to do the right thing for his family. This is a television show that is a reflection of the postmodern age in which we live, with many shades of gray.

But as good as this program is, as much of an impact it has made on American pop culture, should this really be front page news of daily newspaper in a large American city? What does this say about our culture - that the headline ABOVE the masthead is for the series finale of a pay cable television show?

Have we become that vacuous so as to place entertainment above the reality of our world? (After all, on the same front page is a teaser graphic for an article about the home confinement of a certain hotel chain heiress.) Or are we really looking for an escape from the trappings of our world because we are so disillusioned by our world - eventhough the world into which we are escaping is a mirror of our own?

I don't know the answer.

So Far Away

2007-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here I am again in this mean old town
And you're so far away from me
And where are you when the sun goes down
You're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

I'm tired of being in love and being all alone
When you're so far away from me
I'm tired of making out on the telephone
And you're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

I get so tired when I have to explain
When you're so far away from me
See you been in the sun and Ive been in the rain
And you're so far away from me

So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

- Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms

It was strange this evening. I was listening to the duet album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris when the song above hit me - thinking about Knopfler, in particular, brought me back to high school and "Brothers in Arms" - one of the handful of albums that I listened to over and over as a senior.

This song encapsulates my recent feelings about my relationship with God. There was a brief stretch in which He seemed really distant, and I couldn't hear His Voice. I got nervous with some of my work at the office, I started to procrastinate with some of the work I had committed to at church...and then I got together for a meeting at church with a couple of others late last week.

As we began talking, we realized that each of us had been experiencing the same struggles in recent days, but that in the last couple of days leading up to our meeting God cleared out our plates and made His wishes known to us, helping us through with the ministry that He has us developing.

As we prayed together, He didn't seem so far away anymore. I began to see...I began to hear.

And I wasn't alone anymore.

Assorted Thoughts

2007-06-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Quick one for today as I start my sprint to the end of the school year (as PTO Treasurer) and therefore the end of my 3 years in that role...(and I must admit, I'm starting to run hard towards the end of THAT particular tunnel)...

::

Check out some of the new items I've shared from others in the sidebar - of note is the profile of Donald Miller by Christianity Today, and the thoughts on "Authenticity" over at Relevant. The profile on Miller captures how popular he has become as sales of his books, particularly Blue Like Jazz, continue to grow mainly due to word of mouth.

Similarly, the article over at Relevant asks the question whether we have made "authenticity" simply a new item in the checklist of what one must be or do to be a Christian - falling into the trap of whether we are truly being honest with each other about the darkness in our own lives. It is easy to give lip service without truly exposing our hearts.

Both these articles are convicting, and I think we need to think about how God might speak to us about the traps of religiosity that we can easily fall into...I know it happens to me.

Have a good day!

Thoughts on Tee Ball

2007-06-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Today was the end of season party for my Tee-ball team. It also marks the end of 4 years of coaching this level of Little League baseball - 2 years with my daughter, and 2 years with my son. Next year, I will be moving up in the coaching ranks as my son moves up to machine/coach pitch baseball.

The party was at a local pizza joint, and after we ate our pizzas I got up with my assistant coach and handed out the trophies to each player. The team's parents pitched in for a couple of gifts for the two of us, the coolest of which was a scrapbook highlighting our season, with pics of the players throughout the season, along with assorted quotes.

What touched me was the quote on the scrapbook pages entitled, "Our Coaches". Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticize me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I will not forget you.

- William Arthur Ward
It is a quote that encapsulates the art of coaching. We do want to encourage the kids, because we want them to hopefully develop the love of the game that we have as coaches. It is a difficult balance between flattery, criticism, ignoring and encouragement - with 14 players, each requires attention from us, positive and negative, and it is all too easy to be drawn to the better players or the ones who respond to direction, rather than the ones who don't pay attention or listen to you. It is easy to ignore or criticize the more difficult players on the team.

Yet I know I continue to learn the art of encouragement - that no matter how small the improvement in their game, that they know that as their coach, I will give them the positive reinforcement they need to grow in confidence in their game.

In Jesus' prayer in John 17, he states "16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."

We are to be of this world, and we have been commanded in the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples. Coaching is a ministry opportunity, and hopefully those who might not know Christ now might see the Light in my life through coaching. I might not be waving the Bible at practice, but I would hope that at the end of the season these folks see a Christian guy just trying to teach some kids about a sport he loves.

I'm already looking forward to next season.

Adios Armando!

2007-06-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

My hometown nine, the San Francisco Giants, have struggled the past few seasons with the closer's role ever since Robb Nen went down with an injury after the 2002 World Series (and ultimately, Nen never recovered, retiring a couple of years ago). In the fall of 2004, they signed Armando Benitez to a 3 year deal, due to expire this year, with the expectation that he would be the dominant closer they've needed.

It never happened.

Whether one blames injuries or his persona, Benitez never fit in with the Giants, saving only a handful of games during his tenure here, spending too much time on the DL, and even when healthy, making the final inning of a game a roller coaster ride for fans, management and his teammates.

The final straw occurred this week when with a one run lead at Shea Stadium, he walks the leadoff batter, then proceeds to balk --- not once, but twice --- moving the tying run to 3rd base, before giving up a walk-off home run, giving the Mets the victory.

After last night's game, the Giants traded him to Florida.

As a fan, I'm glad he's gone, because for the kind of money he was being paid, we expect a high level of performance, which he was unable to do. Giving up a leadoff walk in the 9th inning of a close game has been a regular occurrence for Benitez while a Giant, even though he (and most baseball aficionados) know that the primary duty of a closer is to throw strikes, challenging the batter to hit, and hopefully AT a fielder. He kept making this mistake over and over and over...

::

Sounds a lot like our own lives...we have so many opportunities to get closer to God, to shed some of old ways and live transformed lives...yet we decide not to throw strikes and allow the opposition on base, moving ever so closer to our "homes". We keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again.

If I were a General Manager of a baseball team, I'd release me or trade myself for making those mistakes.

But OUR General Manager, of that Eternal Ballclub, will never release us, will never trade us.

Back to the Big Inning.

2007-05-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 1: 26-31 (NIV)

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth [b] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth [c] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [d] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man [e] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2: 4-7 (NIV)

Nearly a year ago, I put up a post on these very verses, leading to some discussion about whether there are multiple creation stories in the 1st couple of chapters of Genesis. My opinion about these verses hasn't changed, that I believe from my reading of these verses that we are, for all intents and purposes, still sitting in the 6th day of creation.

While indeed God, being the timeless being that He is, has finished His work (hence the 7th day of rest that He commands us), I see us as continuous work in progress, and in Chapter 2, it is a more detailed account of the time in which He created us and continues His work in us as He writes the story of our lives.

We, as Christians, can continue to argue until the day the Son of Man returns as to whether the Earth is merely 10,000 years old (unlikely, in my opinion) or billions of years old (which is what I believe) - but regardless of where you stand on the timeline, we agree that in the simplest of terms, "God did it."

As I finished reading Dr. Francis Collins' book, "The Language of God", I realized that if there were a scientist whose opinion I was most likely to believe about the convergence of the Christian faith and science (and he is both a scientist and Christian AND led the Human Genome Project), it is his, for in his book, he breaks down the human genome in layman's terms, and describes in great detail how the human genome actually supports evolutionary scientific theory, and how science and spirituality go hand in hand.

He writes:

Science is the only legitimate way to investigate the natural world. Whether probing the structure of the atom, the nature of the cosmos, of the DNA sequence of the human genome, the scientific method is the only reliable way to seek out the truth of natural events...Nevertheless, science alone is not enough to answer all the important questions...The meaning of human existence, the reality of God, the possibility of an afterlife, and many other spiritual questions lie outside of the reach of the scientific method.

Furthermore, to believers he writes:

If you are a believer in God who picked up this book because of concerns that science is eroding faith by promoting an atheistic worldview, I hope you are reassured by the potential for harmony between faith and science. If God is the Creator of all the universe, if God had a specific plan for the arrival of humankind on the scene, and if He had a desire for a personal fellowship with humans, into whom He had instilled the Moral Law as a signpost towards Himself, then He can hardly be threatened by the efforts of our puny minds to understand the grandeur of His creation.

In that context, science can be a form of worship. Indeed, believers should seek to be in the forefront among those chasing after new knowledge. Believers have led science at many times in the past (Collins mentions Galileo & Copernicus, among others). Yet all too often today, scientists are uneasy about admitting their spiritual views. To add to the problem, church leaders often seem to be out of step with new scientific findings, and run the risk of attacking scientific perspectives without fully understanding the facts. The consequence can bring ridicule on the church, driving sincere seekers away from God instead of into His arms.

He also addresses his fellow non-believer colleagues, asking them whether they believe that faith drives them into irrationality, or whether they are "distressed by some philosophical problem with faith", or if they are "uncomfortable accepting the idea that the tools of science are insufficient for answering any important question". He calls on his scientific colleagues to consider their own spirituality, to set aside their own pride in their scientific endeavors, and consider their mortality.

As Collins says, "The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. He can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory. His creation is majestic, awesome, intricate and beautiful - and it cannot be at war with itself. Only we imperfect humans can start such battles. And only we can end them."

::

I strongly recommend that you read this book. A mere blog post from one such as myself cannot even begin to do this book justice - all I can say is that Collins makes a compelling case for the unification of science and the Christian faith, and that finally, I have read a scientific book that meshes well with theology.

Ultimately, whether you agree or disagree with Collins' argument is irrelevant - what is important is that you know Jesus and live the transformed life that only He can give you. The ultimate answers, about the creation of our universe, will be answered one day when we're with Him.

In the meantime, we need to seek to gain more knowledge about the natural world in which He has placed us, for we know that His creation is majestic, is marvelous, and there is much for us to continue to explore.

::

And with that...blog post number 500 is in the books...

Daily Affirmations

2007-05-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

It was, perhaps, one of the more memorable characters of the early to mid-1990's Saturday Night Live sketches...Stuart Smalley, a character played by Al Franken, was a send-up of folks obsessed with 12 step programs. One of his trademark phrases was "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me."

We laughed watching those skits, as he would interview assorted characters and even some real-life folks, such as the time he brought in a professional basketball player, known only as "Michael", and spoke to him of the insecurities that must come with the pressure of playing professional sports.

Of course, "Michael" wasn't insecure, and merely played along with Smalley in this particular skit, with the punchline of having a confident Michael Jordan, at the peak of his career, looking into the mirror saying "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me."

Not all of us can be as confident as Jordan was during the peak of his career (or at least to exhibit confidence) - and more of us, at times, are closer to Smalley's character than we care to admit. We struggle in our personal and professional lives, wondering if anything we do is "good enough" or whether we are "smart enough" and whether others might like us.

But isn't that where the error begins? That we believe that the things we do are so that other people might like us? That our worth is based on what our friends or family or colleagues think of us? I certainly don't mean to imply that those things are not worthy, but let's face it, we should only be concerned with what The Big Guy Upstairs thinks of us.

The fact is, we are good enough, smart enough, and dog-gone it, Jesus Loves Me.

::

It was a good break, although I don't think I'll be posting as regularly as I once was - at least not daily, anyway. We traveled up to a campground north of San Francisco this holiday weekend with about 30 other families from our kids' school, so the kids were able to take off and bicycle around the playground while we parents hung out and socialized all weekend. I even managed to get some reading in, although my allergies really wiped me out.

Good to be back home, rested and unfortunately ready to tackle the work week.

See you soon.

A Brief Hiatus

2007-05-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've been posting pretty regularly for 21 months now, with occasional breaks occurring as necessary due to travel or vacations (or even a "fast").

However, I am finding right now that I need to step back from regular blogging for a couple of weeks just to help me wrap up things related to being school treasurer, re-focus on some of my volunteer work at church, and most importantly, balance my home life.

This is not to say that I'm out of balance...far from it, as I find that I'm likely in greater balance between home, work and volunteer life than I have been at any point in recent months.

However I am finding that I have a lack of time to blog, which I have enjoyed in the 21 months that I've been writing. Am I to step aside from this altogether? I don't believe that to be the case, but the words have not flowed easily as of late, and I think that could be a function of time...or the lack thereof currently.

So for now, I won't be posting anything on a regular basis. Should a topic come to mind, or if I have something to share, I'll post it, but I foresee this to be few and far between for the time being.

I won't be completely absent, as I have subscriptions to many of you via Google Reader, so I will be keeping up with most of you...and at least sharing the more thought-provoking posts in the "Brilliant Thoughts" column in the sidebar.

I'm not going away, just taking a blogging Sabbath...

So Much to Do...So Little Time

2007-05-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

'Tis the curse of volunteerism.

Too often I simply can't say no...but I am learning. In another 6 weeks I will be eliminating one major item off my plate, that of treasurer for the PTO of my kids' school. Three years is plenty of time, and I have put in procedures in place that hopefully will make my successor's life a little bit easier.

But of course, I don't get off that easy, for just as soon as I eliminate one, yet another comes in to take its place...like being treasurer for my church and working on the facility remodel committee, both of which have been occurring while I finish my waning days as school treasurer.

Which leads to tonight...I wish I could share some pearl of wisdom, some gem of insight, some item of philosophical or spiritual import that could stimulate discussion about some topic which carries a measure of gravitas...

...but alas...

...no such luck this evening as I must attend to some of my volunteer commitments. Instead, should you wish, please continue the discussion as opened up by the Francis Collins' question, or go check out the sidebar and read some of the "Brilliant Thoughts by Beachgoers".

In fact...I really recommend that you check out those "Brilliant Thoughts by Beachgoers", for many have shared thoughts and ideas I have had, but with greater clarity and wisdom than perhaps I might have.

So please excuse me while I attend to other matters.

Off with you.

Creative Help & Musings

2007-05-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

My good friend Will over at ICON needs some help. He's writing his second novel (yes, he's still working on his first - but that's another story altogether) and could use some ideas of real people, real places, and real things that you might like to see incorporated into his story. Go over to ICON, read the requirements, and lend him a creative hand.

::

I have just started reading the book by Dr. Francis Collins, the lead scientist on the Human Genome Project, entitled The Language of God. I am very early in the book, but he poses an interesting question as he details his journey from atheist to Christian. In discussing the Moral Law, as described by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, he writes:Let me stop here to point out that the conclusion that the Moral Law exists is in serious conflict with the current postmodernist philosophy, which argues that there are no absolute rights or wrongs, and all ethical decisions are relative. This view, which seems widespread among modern philosophers but which mystifies most members of the general public, faces a series of logical Catch-22s. If there is no absolute truth, can postmodernism itself be true? Indeed, if there is no right or wrong, then there is no reason to argue for the discipline of ethics in the first place.
What do you make of that statement?

Teaching Moment

2007-05-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Matthew 26: 41 (NIV)
This passage came into play during the season finale of..."Survivor". Late this season, one of the contestants, Yau-Man, cut a deal with Dreamz (great names, eh?) after he (Yau) won a pickup truck after a challenge. He told Dreamz (who grew up on the street and does not own a vehicle) that he would give him the truck in exchange for the immunity idol if:

1) Both of them are in the final four.

AND

2) Dreamz wins the immunity challenge at the final four.

Dreamz agrees, and both know full well that while this deal has been struck (in front of several cameras, 4 fellow contestants, and the show's host), there is no way to enforce it within the context of the game, other than through peer pressure and the valuation of one's own integrity balanced in the context of a game in which the management of deception is critical to advancement in the game.

So the final four rolls around, and both Yau and Dreamz are part of the final four. Dreamz goes on to win the immunity idol at the final four...so it is assumed by the remaining 3 contestants that he will give Yau the idol because of the deal struck.

At tribal council, this does not happen, and Yau is voted out to become the final member of the jury that will select the winner of the game.

The next night, at the final tribal council in which the final 3 contestants are grilled by the remaining members of the jury, jury member Boo (yet another great name) comes up and calls out Dreamz on his faith as a Christian. (Now having seen the entire season, I do not recall Boo or Dreamz speaking of their faith - but such is the power of editing...)

Boo calls out Dreamz for not holding true to his word, telling him “I still believe in you, but I still believe you’re an immature Christian, and I hope that one day, you will be a strong Christian man and be able to tell the devil, ‘Dangle all the money you want in front of me; this Christian is not for sale.’"

Boo recognized his Christian brother as having fallen into temptation. He called out his brother for his transgression, but then heeded the words of the apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians (chapter 6, verse 1 and 2): Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

While it certainly was a moment made for entertaining TV viewing, it was also an excellent example of a brother gently restoring a fellow brother the way we as Christians are to gently restore those who have fallen in our Christian community. As we live under the law of Christ, we may also call out our fellow Christian brothers and sisters who err under that same law.

It was a Christian teaching moment that played out on national TV.

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

To all the mothers out there...Happy Mother's Day! A little gift for you moms...a couple of angels (okay...one of them's my daughter, on the left) singing "A Mother's Prayer" in church this morning. Enjoy!

Read The Sidebar...

2007-05-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Google Reader, I'm able to share outstanding thoughts from my fellow blogging friends much more easily than cutting and pasting links in the body of a post.

That said, please check out the "Brilliant Thoughts from Beachgoers" today over in the sidebar. Of note are the latest entries from Hooked on Grace on worship and ICON on Mother's Day. Both pieces are relevant and convicting.

See you soon.

Slammed

2007-05-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

Busy evening with one of my final PTO Board meetings to attend as Treasurer, then had to take care of a few items afterwards, along with the "necessity" of watching "Lost".

More to come, perhaps this evening...but if anyone wants to discuss "Lost", and an implied theological parallel last night, go right ahead...

Postmodern Basepaths

2007-05-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

I took my kids to see the Giants play the Phillies on Sunday night...the ESPN game in which the heralded rookie pitcher, Tim Lincecum, had a less than stellar major league debut, lasting 4.1 innings. In spite of the eventual loss of the home town nine to the Philadelphias, we had an excellent time in the warm San Francisco evening, enjoying our grilled hot dogs, garlic fries, and ice cream. There is nothing like spending an afternoon or evening out at the ballpark, attempting to teach my kids some of the finer points of the game.

One teaching moment occurred in the top of the fifth, when the following occurred (best described from the beat writer's viewpoint in the San Francisco Chronicle):The game's key play occurred in the fifth with the Giants down 4-3. (Phillies right fielder) Shane Victorino hit a leadoff single and appeared to be out in a rundown as he tried to steal. But Victorino was awarded second base on an obstruction call after he collided with shortstop Omar Vizquel even though contact occurred well onto the infield grass. Victorino eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Giants argued but were told that a new rule allows a runner to establish his own base line, and the fielders must give way.

"I've never seen that before," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I'm still buffaloed by it a bit. I still don't agree with the call."
While clearly the shortest distance between two points is a straight line (basic geometry), I suppose a baserunner can choose to zig zag from 1st to 2nd base if he so chooses, or perhaps do backflips a la Ozzie Smith. But look at Rule 7.08 from the Official Rules of Major League Baseball:Any runner is out when --
(a) (1) He runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely; or (2) after touching first base, he leaves the baseline, obviously abandoning his effort to touch the next base;
So now the baseline has become malleable. A baserunner can avoid a tag, establish a new baseline, avoid another tag, establish a new baseline, avoid another tag, establish a new baseline, ad nauseum, and will actually never be more than three feet away from his baseline because his baseline is established after the tag attempt occurs. Not that I've seen THAT happen, but that's what the rule implies.

The rule is that there is no rule. Isn't that what postmodernism essentially implies?

There is no truth other than my own truth. There is no baseline other than my own...after avoiding a tag.

But God has given us the true baseline...
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14: 6 (NIV)

Pop the Bubble, Part 3

2007-05-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

In the same issue of Outreach magazine, there is a brief article entitled, "Bright Lights, Big City." Essentially, the author of this piece speaks with pastors of churches in urban America, as more and more of the world's population will be residing in large cities, as more people move back into the cities from the suburbs. Given that in many cities today there has been a trend of new residential buildings and towers in formerly blighted neighborhoods, this statement is certainly true (and is something I've seen here in San Francisco, particularly working in the industry that I do).

As a result, the church will have to change its approach to ministry, moving away from the suburban church with big parking lot to a more neighborhood approach wherein many of the congregants will likely come by foot.

The author quotes an expert on urbanism, Eric Jacobsen, who states:The megachurch model, where families travel long distances, often in more than one car, to reach a central campus, will be obsolete. If people can't walk or bus to your church, they simply won't come.
He furthermore states: Be in tune with your city. Go out and walk the neighborhood. Hang out in coffee shops. Get to know the local context. Don't let your church be an isolated pod.
I think it's safe to say that many of our churches don't really know the cities in which they reside. They may know how to minister to those already there by offering age-specific and gender-specific programs, but may be lacking that extra step needed to "teach" people the tools necessary for outreach...beginning with discerning God's voice and His will. It is easy for each of us, in our churches, to get comfortable and feel it is all "good enough."

But that's not what God wants from us - He wants our best - and to do that we need to listen and understand His will for us individually and ultimately, collectively.

Time to pop this bubble, yet again.

Pop the Bubble, Part 2

2007-05-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

These past couple of weeks I was reading the January/February issue (yeah, I know, a little out of date) of "Outreach" magazine, given to me by my pastor, since I've exhibited an interest in how other churches operate.

In it is an interesting interview with Rick Rusaw, senior pastor of LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado - a congregation of approximately 3,000. He was asked the question, "So what have churches been doing that's not working?"

His response?One of the things we've inadvertently done is created a Christian version of everything. We've got Christian schools, Christian businesses and clubs. We've even got Christian underwear.

And in some ways, we've disengaged from our communities. For example, we've taken the Christians - kids, parents, teachers, and coaches - out of the public schools and essentially said to these schools, "You're on your own; do your own thing." Now, we have to find ways to get back into the system, to re-engage our culture, to be viable.

I think the churches that are re-engaging the culture are the ones using service as a vehicle. They believe, "Good deeds create goodwill, and then you get to share the Good News."
Rather convicting, and stands as an indictment of the problems that we face in the American church today. It is understandable that as Christians, we want to be "yoked" with each other (2 Corinthians 6:14) and it makes sense to do so in the context of marriage and spiritual growth ministries (Bible studies, prayer meetings, men's/women's/couples/youth groups). But if we are to follow the Great Commission, and be used by God to "make disciples", we can't very well do that if all we're focused on is the "I love Jesus" silk boxers while running scared of being "contaminated" by today's culture.

Should we not be in this world, understanding it so that we may be placed in a position where God can use us to speak to the hearts of those who don't yet know Him? In the same issue of the magazine, Lee Strobel says that "You never know how God is going to deploy you in His mission of redeeming the world, one person at a time. That's why evangelism never gets old."

On a personal level, last week our kids were watched by a friend who happens to be a practicing Scientologist. We know that we can count on this individual as a parent and as a friend to take care of our kids for an afternoon, even though those who are NOT Christians raised their eyebrows at the thought of it.

As my wife and I reflected upon this event, she said to me that she wants to maintain a friendship with this person. Why?

When, and not if, this person's "church" lets her down, my wife wants her to know that there are followers of Christ who are her friends who will be there to help her and lift her up.

And THAT is why we Christians need to be "of this world."

Friday Musings

2007-05-04T00:08:00.000-07:00

Keeping it light for this Friday...

::

Can anyone tell me where the Golden State Warriors play? Yeah, I agree it's got perhaps the worst geographical name for a team, but it does play across the Bay from me, in Oakland...the team that last won an NBA title in 1975 when it was the San Francisco Warriors. They really need to drop that "Golden State" moniker and simply go by "Oakland". Or they can do the Angels' thing and become the Golden State Warriors of Oakland.

::

"Lost" fans...please speak up! Are the 815ers dead or not? Are they in "hell" or some sort of purgatory, or is it all just misinformation? Perhaps this is a version of C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce"...

In any case, it's all one big Jeopardy question, with answers coming in the form of questions.

::

Speaking of TV..."Heroes" anyone? Much as I look forward to watching Spidey 3 in the theaters in the next week (or so I hope), the NBC show has got the best live action take on super powered folks since...well quite possibly ever, silver screen or TV screen.

::

And just because it's been a long time...any prayer requests out there?

The Pastoral Life

2007-05-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)

1 Timothy 3: 1-5 (NIV)

In my life, I have known and dealt with a fair number of pastors...from childhood to adulthood, I think I have known probably 12 or 13 pastors, whether youth pastors or senior pastors or interim pastors. All expressed a strong love of God and Jesus, and God had a reason for each of them touching my life in some capacity...both good and bad.

That said, all pastors are as human as you and me. I remember one pastor who had spent much of his life in academia before finally leading his own church, and while he was strong theologically and exhibited a professorial approach to his teaching, he did not have the administrative skills to manage a large urban church. Another pastor, while solid in the pulpit, had greater skills in multimedia ministries at a time when most American churches short of the Crystal Cathedral were still lagging in the use of technology for the advancement of the Gospel. He was ahead of his time, and from what I gather, his interest in such technologies came at the expense of his day-to-day leadership of the church. Additionally, his family life was askew, as he had been raised in a Christian home, became a pastor, yet married a Jewish woman who converted to Christianity and converted back to Judaism.

Another pastor had the opposite approach, viewing Scripture through the lens of 19th Century America when Sunday worship services were day-long events in rural countrysides, and focusing more of his time on the "Thou shalt nots" rather than the grace of God through Jesus. His family life, too, has been upturned given that much of his time is spent on doing work for his friends within his church family, but not within his own home, leaving the work "to the womenfolk".

And yet another pastor I know has a family in which mental illness (that manifested itself physically) pervaded the household, leaving in its wake dishonesty about the state of the illness and the state of the home, making it difficult for him to effectively lead his church.

One view is that once a person has accepted the call to be a pastor, the Enemy sends his minions in force to distract that person - to attack that person through family and friends. I certainly believe this to be true, and I believe that many of these pastors I know recognized the existence of these spiritual attacks on their lives.

But how did they react to these attacks? Did they listen to God's voice for them to change their own behavior to deflect these attacks? Did they make the conscious choice to improve their situation, or did they continue to make like ostriches and avoid the problems that screamed for their attention? And how did their congregations view their pastors? Did they know the problems existed? Did they care?

I ask this because I know I have been let down by pastors in my life. I recognize that I will be let down by pastors because they are human like I am. But do we not hold them to a higher standard? Doesn't the Scripture above in Paul's letter to Timothy essentially hold these people who are ordained pastors (and also others in church leadership, but I'm not discussing those folks specifically) to higher standards than the rest of us?

So with that...have you been let down by pastors in your life? Have they been able to meet the standards that God set above? Did their failings affect the way you heard God's message and did it distract you from hearing God's voice?

Operators are standing by...

The Update

2007-05-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Walking into the courtroom, I could feel my heart racing. My name had been called to join this pool of 50 potential jurors on this cool South San Francisco morning, and as I walked into the chamber, I saw the eyes of the DA, the defense attorney, and the defendant watch each miserable potential juror amble into their seats.

We rose as the judge came in to take his seat. With his words of welcome we were introduced to the key players in the case, along with the charges associated with the case. He told us to expect to be on the jury for at least two weeks.

My heart sank. With issues at the office that needed my attention, could I really trust my staff to man the ship for me? What were the odds of me being one of the final 12 on the jury panel?

The clerk called each name on the roll, to ensure the appearance of the jury pool. The variety of voices called out "here" upon the announcement of each name. The words had barely left the clerk's mouth with my name when I let out a frog-laden "Here."

Finally, the clerk announced the first 18 people to the jury box...12 jurors and 6 alternates.

I was one of the jurors.

My heart raced faster as I listened to the questions asked of those ahead of me. I was the fourth to be questioned.

Before the question was even finished, I wanted to blurt out, "I usually assume that the defendant is guilty...after all, why would he be there if he didn't do it?"

Only it didn't happen that way at all.

::

What really happened was that I was NOT in the initial jury pool of 60 called into the courtroom. I stayed behind in the jury assembly room awaiting a potential release from service or awaiting assignment into that courtroom.

An hour later the jury worker received the call from the judge's clerk that they would not need any further potential jurors, and we were excused from service for at least 12 months.

I was free.

But I was also baffled...what was God's purpose for me being there? I didn't exactly "witness" to anyone that morning, although I'd had a nice conversation with a retiree...an accountant...who was one of the remaining 20 with me after the rest had been called into the courtroom.

He sat two chairs over from me, and undoubtedly had seen me read my Bible this morning, along with my reading of a John Piper book ("What Jesus Demands of the World"). After the others had left the assembly room, I struck up a conversation with him, talking past jury experiences (he had been empaneled, but didn't serve when a plea deal was reached before the trial began) and talking sports, specifically the NFL draft and the NBA Playoffs (yes, I know the Mavs pulled it out over the W's tonight). At no point in the conversation did the topic of faith come up, but I can't help but wonder that God simply had me "witness" by my own solitary actions (reading the Word) while sitting next to this gent.

I will likely never know what, if any, impact God had on this man's life through this brief meeting with me, but certainly God had a reason for me to be there in that room this morning.

I was excused from jury duty at 10:45 am and was back in the office by 11:30 am.

Guess Where I'm Headed?

2007-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like yesterday.

I was sitting in a jury assembly room, in between court sessions, awaiting my fate as the judge asked prospective jurors questions related to their ability (or inability) to be impartial jurors in a criminal case. On that day, I reflected upon the reason as to why I was sitting there, knowing that assorted papers were beginning to pile on my desk at the start of the company's annual budgeting process.

It was made clear to me at that time that I was being taught a lesson...a lesson in honesty AND humility, as the previous year I had been excused from appearing for jury duty the night before I was scheduled to appear, but decided to lie to my superiors and "fake" jury duty that day.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled once again to appear. And for the second time, I was NOT excused the evening before, so I am to report to the jury assembly room for another day of waiting and watching. While the timing is never right for jury duty, there are times where it is easier to accept this civil service than others. From a work point of view, I'd prefer not to be there, but I have confidence in my staff (and they have reiterated to me) that the work will be handled, because God has helped me grow with my staff this past year at this firm, developing a level of trust, honesty, humor and friendship that will ensure success, whether I am present or not.

Perhaps this time, God is teaching me to trust Him...that He has a completely different reason for me to be there. I don't know what He has in store for me, but I need to learn to leave it to Him to show me the path He is laying before me in the jury assembly room.

Man...I so wanted to be snarky and sarcastic about this upcoming jury duty, but those words just couldn't make their way out.

He's teaching me something...that's for sure.

Giant Killers

2007-04-29T23:37:00.001-07:00

Or Why I'll Eat A Little Crow

I love movies. Always have, always will. I will watch a movie for a variety of reasons, whether for escapism (the most common reason for me), for entertainment (typically hand-in-hand with escapism), for keeping up with pop culture, for education, and even for inspiration.

I'll watch the gamut of films, too, whether classic (The Sound of Music, Casablanca, and West Side Story) or sci-fi (Star Wars), or fantasy (Lord of the Rings), or even guilty pleasures (Talladega Nights, Dude-Where's My Car).

But when it comes to religious films, specifically those with Biblical and Christian themes, my own reaction to them have been mixed, at best. I have always enjoyed Charleton Heston in The Ten Commandments, a film that I consider to be both a classic piece of epic filmmaking and a film of unintentional camp. I also enjoyed Dreamworks Animation's The Prince of Egypt (though it seemed to be a Reader's Digest Condensed version of Heston's film). Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was fantastic, if gory, but it is a reminder of the pain experienced by this Man in the effort to save us from our sins. And lest I forget, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe followed CS Lewis' book well, nicely showing the sacrificial and redemptive analogy of Aslan to Christ.

But for the good quality of these big budget films, there are the lower brow Christian films...such as the direct-to-video Left Behind films, predominantly vehicles for woe-begone former TV child stars to have one last shot at a film career, films filled with third rate special effects, seemingly recycled sets, poor dialogue, and stiff acting. Given the source material, it isn't a stretch to see that the films are as clunky as they are.

So it was with much trepidation that I viewed Facing the Giants this evening. As you may be aware, this film was produced, written, and acted by members of a church in Georgia, and distributed for wide release by a major film distributor. The film cost only $100,000 to make, with the majority of the work done by volunteers from the church who felt the call to ministry by participating in this endeavor.

I found it impressive that this church was able to produce this film for wide release, but I could not help but cringe at the thought of amateurs making this film in an effort to spread the Gospel. As I popped in the DVD and the family and I settled in to view this film, I was ready to quietly hop online and put up a blog post while the wife and kids watched the film. This film needed to hook me early if I was going to stick around and watch it. I was ready to be disappointed, and I was ready to trash the film.

The first 20 minutes were, quite frankly, excruciating. The dialogue was clunky. The delivery of the dialogue was wooden and stiff - it was as if the actors were being fed their lines into an earpiece. I bit my lower lip, ready to run back to the bedroom and catch the score of the Warriors/Mavericks playoff game. But I didn't, because I wanted to see the rest of this train wreck occur.

Yet as the film progressed, I found myself transfixed by the story. I knew how the film was going to end - stories of underdog teams who come from behind to win are common in film - and while I found the parable to be simplistic, I knew as I watched, that I was not the intended audience for this film. I kept glancing at my 8 year old daughter and 6 year son, who were thoroughly engrossed in the film, cheering for the Shiloh Academy football team, and I could see that they "got" the film's message.

I was reminded, once again, that it's not about me. While I may enjoy reading works by notable theological writers (as evidenced from my assorted quotes of such writers here) and formulate my own thoughts on faith through my Scripture readings with supplementation by those writings, others, such as my children, may very well get their theological messages from a film like Facing the Giants - a film that in simple terms, shows practical application of Scripture in daily life, beginning with the individual heart that opens to Christ's love.

Is it a well-acted film? Not by a long shot.

Is the dialogue tenable? Even die-hard Christians will wish a good screenwriter could have scrubbed the lines some more.

Is it a well-made film? The football cinematography was on-par with other football films I've seen.

Most importantly, though, will God speak to an individual heart using this film?

Absolutely. And for that reason alone this film gets a thumbs up from "The Beach."

Reading the Word

2007-04-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Through the years in my church life I received a number of Bibles...once I received one upon graduation from 3rd grade Sunday School (not sure why it was a landmark year), another as I graduated 8th grade (I think it was a Good News Bible), and yet another as I graduated high school (Student Bible, NIV). In each Bible was a note from our youth pastor (or senior pastor), urging us to continue on in the faith and to follow God's words for our lives. They were good words of encouragement, and occasionally I found myself opening those Bibles, mainly to look at the maps that appeared after Revelations.

Did I ever truly read any of those Bibles?

Not really. I sometimes had one at a Sunday School class to use as a reference, and I took my Student Bible to college with me, not that it was ever opened, nor did it move from the bookcase, unless it was when I moved into the dorms, out of the dorms, into an apartment, out of the apartment, and so on. The Bible sat on the shelf, gathering dust.

The same pattern continued through the early years of my marriage. It was there, but was unused, and merely moved from apartment to apartment to apartment then to my current home.

When we joined the CoC, my wife and I each received a leather bound NASB Bible. Surprisingly, I used it a little bit more often as I at least carried it with me to church, mainly because I was supposed to. I opened it to follow along with the Scripture readings, too, but aside from Sunday mornings, I rarely opened it.

However, a few months after I joined my current church I began to read my Bible again. I went back to the old Student NIV Bible that I had received after high school and started in Matthew. A couple of months later as I was scouring books in the bookstore I came upon Eugene Peterson's The Message Remix. I bought it and started reading it...this time in Genesis.

And my life hasn't been the same since.

Somewhere around 1 Kings I decided to get a parallel Bible...a Today's NIV paired with The Message Remix, and found myself bouncing back and forth between the two translations as I continued through a chapter in the OT and a chapter in the NT. Last June I finished reading the Bible in about 9 months as I completed Malachi (having finished the NT a couple of months earlier and restarted reading the NT). I went back to the Genesis and started over again, continuing my OT/NT pairing daily.

The NT was done, again, by October.

This time, though, I resolved to keep reading the OT straight through, and as I finished Malachi, to keep going right through the NT, to feel the shift from the minor prophets to the first Gospel. I also decided to exclusively use The Message Remix for this, making this decision somewhere around Ezra.

This meant that I set down the parallel Bible and I was going to experience the poetry of the Psalms, the Proverbs, the other books of wisdom and the assorted prophets through the contemporary English that Peterson uses in The Message.

I experienced a clarity in those books that I had not experienced before, and found myself hearing God's voice with greater clarity as well.

I couldn't put the Book down. While I managed to make time to read a couple of other books, I found myself engrossed in the Old Testament, reading several chapters a day on my commute into the office and back.

This week I finished Malachi, rolling right into Matthew (yes, I finished the Bible in about 9 months again). There is a marked shift in tone from the various minor prophets to the story of Jesus, for those latter books of the OT tell of the agony of the Jews during their exile, but there exists a message of hope in what is to come. And when you begin reading Matthew immediately after reading Malachi, you suddenly see that the message of hope has arrived, and you start remembering the very same Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus quotes, having read them yourself not so long ago. You find yourself engrossed in the storytelling of the Gospels, as you "see" God walk amongst us in the person of Christ.

I still can't put the Book down. It's my 3rd run through the New Testament now and while I know what's to come, I find that the words I read daily are no accident. God has a purpose for me reading the words I do daily, as those Words come alive, seeing the excitement of these fishermen as they drop everything to follow this young rabbi.

Why have I decided to do this straight through run?

While I thought it important to have a daily balance of the OT and NT, I am finding that I was really able to relish and savor the words of the Hebrew Scriptures without this need to "jump ahead" to the NT. And now I am able to do the same with the NT, as I savor those words in the Gospels, and see that the whole story really begins to complete its arc in the NT.

Read the Word. Daily. And read it cover to cover like I'm doing. You're not going to want to put it down.

Don't Give Up

2007-04-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

Living along the Northern California coast we are blessed to have relatively modest swings in weather throughout the year...it doesn't get much colder than 45 degrees overnight in the winter time, and typically not much warmer than 65 degrees during the daytime, with 55 to 60 degree days common with fog hugging the coast. We don't feel the change of seasons like the rest of the country.

However, I have always viewed the change from Standard time to Daylight Savings Time as the "marker" that identifies for me the start of spring (the earlier date of DST notwithstanding), as the sun has yet to set over the Pacific when I leave the office, unlike the darkness at 5 and 6 pm during the winter months.

Spring is the season that says "rebirth" and "renewal", and nothing quite captures that feeling as with the start of the new baseball season (I realize that I've written a fair number of baseball-themed posts lately, but the game's been on the brain for a few days).

When the major league clubs leave Florida and Arizona for the northern climes, and the National Anthem is sung in Cincinnati, and the first pitch is thrown throughout 16 cities across the country, you know that spring is here, baseball is back, and all seems well with the world.

Until your hometown 9 start the year with two wins and seven losses. Suddenly, that hope dissipates quickly, criticism begins to set in, and you begin to think that all is lost...that spring has been cut short, the summer will linger and you begin to count the days until football training camp opens in July.

So it was with my Giants the first week of April, when the team found itself buried in last, having been swept at home by the hated Dodgers and losing two opening series against the Padres. The media and radio call in shows were flush with arm-chair critics decrying the terrible off-season signings, wondering if the season were already lost.

All this chaos over nine games. With 153 left to play.

But today, the Giants are riding a seven game winning streak, including sweeps of the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks, and winning the first 2 games of a three game series against the Dodgers. They stand at 11-8, tied for 2nd, one game back of the aforementioned Dodgers.

When it's this early in the season, it's much too early to give up. Yes, a slow start in the first week causes consternation among fans like myself, but the season is a marathon, not a sprint, to use an overused analogy related to baseball. And each win comes one day at a time.

Our lives have had many a slow start, and we have days in which we feel like we are on a losing streak, wondering if we'll see that elusive win. But we need to remember that we can't give up, because God hasn't given up on us, and that with Him, we've already won the pennant...heck, we've already won the World Series...back to back to back to back ad infinitum.

So let's not give up. Let God set your lineup and manage your games for you. Because with Him managing you, you've already won.

Good and Evil

2007-04-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Often, the best stories, whether on TV, on film, or in novels, have always been the ones in which there is a clear villain. The villain creates the drama necessary for an effective story, and is the compelling flashpoint for whom we often choose to root against, assuming, of course, the hero is a well rounded character who is liked by the viewing or reading audience.

When you look at great movie villains, for instance, you immediately think of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, Khan Noonian Singh in Star Trek II, or Sauron in The Lord of the Rings. Even in sports, we have villains and heroes...for instance, tonight, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5 to 3...the heroes defeated the villains.

To take the baseball analogy even further, a notable Christian ballplayer, Jason Schmidt, who pitched for the Giants from mid-2001 until 2006, signed a $47 million contract to play for the Dodgers. It was further evidence to me that he erred in judgement the same way that Adam erred in listening to his wife to eat the fruit of the tree, for he went from the side of light to the side of darkness. Christians are not perfect people, and will continue to make mistakes.

Schmidt is currently on the DL.

In all seriousness, however, we continue to be tempted by darkness daily. We are on the side of the Ultimate Hero, yet we are drawn to the villainy of the darkness for unknown reasons sometimes. The sad thing is that we are real people, not fictional villains who are used to create an entertaining story. We don't need our lives to be that exciting, yet we manage to create unnecessary chaos and drama in our lives because we choose villainy.

Let's be careful...or we'll wind up on the DL. Like Schmidt.

Practice

2007-04-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

We had T-ball practice this evening, and my assistant coach (another parent) and I had discussed after Saturday's game that this would be the first practice this season in which the kids would take infield as I hit the ball to them. Each player would field the ball, run to the nearest bag, then make a throw to first base.

The practice started off relatively simply, as there were initially only 6 kids, but in minutes, there were 12 kids crowding the infield (we have a roster of 14 kids). The repetition of fielding a hit ball, running to the nearest bag and throwing to first kept the kids engaged (with those stationed near the mound fielding and running home with the ball), and as a couple of kids got ancy, I pulled them off the field to don their helmets and had them line up at first to run the bases, placing pressure on the fielders. We spent about 45 minutes on this drill, rotating the kids off the field and onto the basepaths, and vice versa. The kids improved over the course of the practice, as it became a game to them to see if they could beat the runner to the bag. It also afforded us the opportunity to remind fielders to stay out of the runner's path, to pay attention to the location of the ball, and most importantly for the parents...five and six year olds who ran for most of practice. Even the parents got into it, as a dad jumped in to shag balls thrown in by the first baseman, and a mom ran over to coach third base.

Repetition. And more repetition.

Practice. And more practice.

Sounds like our Christian walk, doesn't it? Because we screw up...and then screw up some more.

We need to be coached into the good habits just like my T-ballers...not that we'll ever be perfect at it in this lifetime, but hopefully we'll have fewer instances of our bad habits appearing. We'll make the right plays, run to the right bags, and make the right throws more often with practice.

The Minors

2007-04-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Driving home from church today, I flipped on the local broadcast of the game between the Giants and the Diamondbacks. It was early in the game, around the 3rd inning, when the broadcasters, as an aside, began speaking about minor league talent.

All the major league teams have minor league teams, which include teams at the rookie league level, short-season single A, single A, double A (AA), and triple A (AAA), before the major league club. Some teams also have developmental teams in Latin American countries as well. One of the Giants broadcasters (a former major leaguer) spoke of how it was AA when he first saw a really good curveball thrown - most minor league pitchers have very good fastballs through A ball, but those with good breaking pitches are the ones that progress to AA ball or higher. As he said, AA ball is the league that separates those with a good opportunity to perhaps make the bigs from those who likely will never make the show...it is the league that separates the wheat from the chaff. The chaff, of course, are those perpetual journeymen minor leaguers, who, if lucky, might be a September call up, or an injury fill-in for a regular on the disabled list.

Of course, in my own walk with Christ I wonder if I'm going to be perpetually stuck in the minors, wondering if I'm ever going to see "the Show". I hope I will as I get better at hitting the breaking pitches thrown my way, but I find myself swinging and missing at some pretty bad pitches, or letting the good ones pass me by. I wonder if the Manager will call me into his office and say, "Kid, the Big Club wants you" or if I'm going to be demoted back to A ball.

Just as there is that moment in a ballplayer's life when he learns how to hit the breaking pitch and to recognize the good ones from the bad ones (most of the time), isn't there going to be that moment when I will learn that and find myself moving up, until one day, I am in "the Show"?

I know this: I don't want to be a journeyman stuck in the minors. I want to see "the Show".

Brilliant Thoughts

2007-04-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

I know that some of you have clicked upon the new sidebar item (in green) called "Brilliant Thoughts from Beachgoers". This is an area in which items written by fellow bloggers which I find challenging, brilliant, and thought-provoking will be shared (via Google Reader).

I'll update this occasionally as one of you posts something of remarkable genius - something that I have found to be occurring with pretty good frequency of late. Check out the latest additions to this list of "Brilliant Thoughts - Dustin had an excellent piece on Friday regarding the tragedy at VA Tech, and this is echoed by another piece with a similar theme over at Relevant Magazine.

Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Out Camping

2007-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Summer camp as a kid consisted of a week in redwood country north of San Francisco. It was a secluded camp, west of Santa Rosa, complete with boys and girls cabins, large fields, a swimming pool, a lodge/mess hall, hiking trails and plenty of activites. I went there every summer from about 4th grade through 7th or 8th grade, with two different themes for each age group.

In elementary school, it was a Sherwood Forest theme, with Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, while in junior high it was a railroad theme (not that I could explain why junior highers would prefer railroads over Robin Hood). We had archery, capture the flag, bike riding, trivia contests (I correctly answered this question as a 5th grade geek -"What's the serial number of the starship Enterprise"), horseback riding, swimming, various arts and crafts, and even Bible lessons.

Yes, it was a Christian camp, and the highlight for me was always the evening campfire with singing (songs like "Pass it on" and "He's Everything to me" among others), skits, and a Biblical message. Jesus was there, and it was one of those mountaintop experiences I had a kid that stuck with me the rest of the summer, not unlike my work camp / mission trip experiences as a high schooler.

So it was with great trepidation that I watched Jesus Camp, the documentary about the summer camp run by a Pentecostal youth pastor in the Midwest. The film shows in great detail how she runs her ministry and her camp, and also follows the journey of a handful of the kids who attend her camp one summer.

It is one of those documentaries that captured its subjects well - the directors are respectful of their subjects, allowing the full personalities of the children's pastor, the parents, and the children to come through. The children are full of life and energy and devotion to their faith, while clearly the children's pastor has a passion for her ministry.

There is a scene in which the pastor explains the nature of sin to the children. It begins simply enough, defining sin to the children in language not unlike that which I have heard to adult congregations. But she immediately follows it up with a diatribe about Harry Potter, how the character of Harry Potter would be killed if he lived in the Old Testament - because he is warlock.

Uhh...he's also a fictional character.

There are scenes of the children acting out a drama in military camouflage, that they are fighting a battle to save America in the name of God. They pray over a lifesize cardboard cutout of the President...in tongues. A homeschooling mother teaches her children that global warming is merely a liberal political movement. There scenes upon scenes describing how it is important to take America back for Christ.

It reminds me all too well of Gregory Boyd's recent book, The Myth of a Christian Nation, in which he writes:
My thesis, which caused such an uproar, is this: I believe a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry. To a frightful degree, I think, evangelicals fuse the kingdom of God with a preferred version of the kingdom of the world (whether it's our national interests, a particular form of government, a particular political program, or so on). Rather than focusing our understand of God's kingdom on the person of Jesus - who, incidentally, never allowed himself to get pulled into the political disputes of his day - I believe many of us American evangelicals have allowed our understanding of the kingdom of God to be polluted with political ideals, agenda, and issues.
The world in which we live is owned by the Enemy, who simply sits on the sidelines enjoying misguided "Christians" confuse their theology with a particular brand of American politics, believing that their battle is to turn the United States into a sort of Christian kingdom, when in fact, Scripture makes it clear who is the ruler of the physical world in which we live:1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Ephesians 2: 1-3 (NIV)

36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

John 18: 36 (NIV)

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

Luke 4: 5-8 (NIV)
It is clear who is the ruler of this world, and it saddened me to see these folks lead the children in this film down a path that is doctrinally suspect at best, theologically nightmarish at worst, as they blur the lines between conservative American politics and the Christian faith.

Where is the humility that comes from faith in Christ? Where is the love that comes from faith in Christ? Where is the grace? Why would James and Peter both quote Proverbs 3: 34 - "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."?

While the film showcases a small subset of the evangelical American church today, it is the attitude of this subset which is prevalent in many evangelical churches in America today. The prophet Jeremiah says it best:16 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.

Jeremiah 23: 16 (NIV)

Reading Between the Lines

2007-04-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

God has put my career in sharp focus in recent months, highlighting for me why I have been employed by firms in the architectural, engineering and construction industries since I graduated from college 15 years ago., with a focus in accounting, no less.

So on a day when I thought I was merely reading through yet another of the so-called "minor prophets" as I begin the countdown to wrapping up reading the Old Testament a second time through, I was quickly reminded that it was not a surprise that I should find myself in the first chapter of Haggai earlier this evening. Reading the passage below clues you in to one of the many things God has called me to do.
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "

3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"

5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."

Haggai 1: 2-11 (NIV)

The Peaceful Valley

2007-04-17T22:15:00.001-07:00

Up To The Mountain (MLK Song)

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go

Patty Griffin, "Children Running Through"
May those who lost their lives in Virginia find the Peaceful Valley just over the mountain.

Short on Time

2007-04-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

Buried tonight with school PTO work after an evening coaching T-Ball. Insufficient time to write anything of any value, but rest assured, there are a few things brewing in my mind that are ready to be distilled into something quasi-intelligible...or at least as intelligible as I can be at 11:11 pm on a weeknight.

That said, let's continue to pray for the families and friends affected by the tragedy in Virginia today. We can spout theological abstracts all day on God's role in this (the open theist vs. non-open theist debate) but at the end of the day what matters most is that we speak to Him and ask Him to comfort those who have lost loved ones today.

See you tomorrow...

More to Come...

2007-04-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

Tons of thoughts are brewing in my mind this evening, and it's taking a little bit of time to process them.

First off, my wife and I viewed the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp this weekend. There is plenty of fodder for a lengthy review, coming soon, but I still need to process the images and thoughts from this film. The condensed review is not unlike that which I had with the HBO film Friends of God...

Separately, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine today had an excellent piece on overuse injuries in youth sports. Being a T-Ball coach (and likely moving up coaching in Little League divisions as my son advances) I am more than aware of the issues surrounding overuse injuries and overly competitive parents in youth sports. I've been fortunate that at the T-ball level most parents are pretty calm about the skill levels of their kids (since it's often their 1st or 2nd year of exposure to baseball at any level), but there is the occasional parent who might be a little more intense with his or her son as well. It also speaks to how we make idols of what could be with our own children..."That's right, my boy's going to be the next fill-in-the-blank-athlete."

An interesting quote:
So let's get this straight. Parents are putting their kids at risk having them play year-round so they can one day play professionally, and the pros are starting to be wary of players who may have worn out their arms trying to get to the majors.
::

Anyway, more to come...on youth sports, Jesus Camp, and more.

Lost Again

2007-04-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Any "Lost" fans out there? Raise your hands.

Warning, folks...if you haven't yet seen this week's episode, then stop reading, go back to your DVR and hit the play button. Or go over to the ABC website and view the episode in its entirety online...because more answers came our way (albeit in the form of Jeopardy questions, as is the case with these serialized dramas).

That said, this show many times triggers some thoughts for me about life and humanity. This week's episode was centered on the character of Juliet Burke, the research scientist who was able to find a way to artificially impregnate her sister, and therefore became a person of interest to the "Others" on the Lost Island...specifically Ben Linus, the leader of the group. An assignment that was originally scheduled to last 6 months has continued on for 3 long years on the island, culminating in developing a friendly relationship with the de facto leader of the crash survivors, Jack Sheppard.

Watching her character over the course of this season, we, the viewers, have been left to wonder whether she is a good guy or bad guy - and after Wednesday night's episode, we're left uncertain...to a point. We see in her flashbacks that her primary motivation was to do a special kind of research, in which the corporation (Ben) that hired her (or was it entrapment?) appealed to her professional ego. When failures in the research on the island persisted, she asked to leave to be with her pregnant former-cancer patient sister, only to be told that her sister's cancer had returned....but if she were to stay, Ben would cure her sister's cancer. So she stays...and prolongs her time on the island.

We see her drive to want to return home many times through the episode, only to find Ben stonewall and manipulate her emotions time after time. After 3 years in this environment, it becomes clearer to us (or me, at least) that she has lost a sense of the real truth...that the only truth that exists for her is her own...which is to get off the island, and by any means necessary. She learns to manipulate situations for her own advancement, and while the end of the episode leaves us thinking that she clearly continued to work with Ben, we also know full well that she wants off the island.

She, too, is lost...physically lost, and psychologically lost, as she can no longer trust anyone, but herself, and knows how to manipulate trust for her own gain.

And so often we too live such as Juliet, working to achieve our own selfish gains, not thinking about the truth that comes from the One who gave us life. We allow ourselves to be manipulated, flippantly thinking "The Devil Made Me Do It", when in fact, we made the choice that was incorrect...the Devil merely planted the seed, did he not?

It's my way...my truth...and all others better get out of my way...that's how we are many a day. That attitude keeps us lost, and until we can allow ourselves to see the one Truth, we'll remain lost.

Reborn

2007-04-12T00:40:00.000-07:00

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3: 1-8 (NIV)
I was baptized as an infant, grew up in a Christian home, attended a Christian school, and attended church every Sunday (along with the other activities associated with church and spoken of with some degree of frequency on these pages).

I understood what it meant to believe in God and to believe that Jesus had died for my sins, but I never felt anything in my heart.

As an adult, I was baptized again...when I was in the Church of Christ. I saw it as a symbolic act, but quite frankly, I didn't feel anything in my heart then, either. Here...put on this robe. Watch your step as you step into the water. Now I'm gonna dunk you backwards, so grab your nose...

I came out of the water feeling like I took a bath with my clothes on. I didn't feel any different than I did prior to the dunking. I was merely wet.

Fast forward 4 years later. My family and I had now been at our current church for about a year when I stepped forward to give my testimony in front of the church. I knew by that time that something had begun to change in my heart, but at the very moment I declared my love for Jesus, I felt something more...and I was sobbing... realizing that at that very moment, Jesus was standing right next to me, His arm around my shoulder.

His Spirit gave birth to my spirit. He transformed me in that moment. And I was reborn.

Of Sims and Hits

2007-04-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

As a youth I enjoyed role playing games. Whether it was D&D (I had this awesome monk with nunchucks) or Top Secret, a James Bond-type espionage game, played in the basement family room of my friend Greg's house, getting engrossed in some fantasy world made up of multiple-sided die, probabilities, maps, and characters with randomly generated strengths and weaknesses based on die rolls made for an entertaining weekend at 14.

Later I progressed to games such as SimCity, wherein I was able to design my own city, encourage people ("sims") to move in, build infrastructure, residential districts, commercial districts, and industrial zones, along with power plants, police and fire, hospitals, and more. Then the real fun began...building in assorted disasters, whether plane crashes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or even monsters (Godzilla!) and seeing how the residents reacted.

So when I stumbled upon a hilarious link (don't have it right now) to a video game called "Megachurch Builder" (at least that's what I think it was called), I naturally hoped it was a real game...but alas, it was merely a joke perpetrated by a very clever bloke.

What if there really was a sim in which you could design your very own "virtual church"? How would you begin? And would you keep building it until it had over 10,000 members, and focus on a media-based ministry like the Osteens of the world?

Which leads me to another question...if you had the chance, hypothetically speaking, to build a brand new church right now, what would you call it? What do you think you would call your new church?

::

On another note, someone in South Carolina was the 12,000th visitor to the Beach sometime today. I think it may be Kev...so Kev...if it's you...you're a winner! You can go into April 11th knowing that you were the 12,000th visitor to the Beach.

Of course, the very thought that I've had 12,000 visitors here is rather humbling...so here's to 12,000 more and beyond...God willing...

Simple

2007-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a church with tons of programming. For the kids, there were age appropriate children's choirs, Sunday School, and youth group (along with the preschool that the church operated). For older kids and teens, there were a couple of bell choirs and youth groups. There was a social group for young couples and their families. There were groups for the older women, for older couples. There was the adult choir and the adult bell choir. There were prayer meetings, Bible studies, and various short term adult education classes. Flip through the monthly church newsletter and you were sure to read information about a program that would fit your need.

There were a myriad of choices, and people managed to plug into one or more programs in addition to choosing from one of two Sunday morning services.

Growing up in that church, I was obviously not plugged into the church's strategy or leadership, but merely benefited from the various programs which, quite frankly, kept me busy in my life outside of school, and contributed to a basic understanding of the Christian faith. I cannot judge whether these programs fit into the mission statement of the church, mainly because I didn't know what the phrase "mission statement" meant back then, but if the church had one, from my perspective back then these programs likely helped fulfill it.

On the other hand, looking back, each ministry seemed to operate on its own, deriving its purpose from its individual ministry leader, whether youth, music or other...not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but a question could be raised whether there could be a better way to operate.

In my own church, I have seen the programs run on their own in the past, without a clear direction...without a clear vision that is driven from the top, depending on the direction set by the individual ministry leader.

Thanks to a suggestion by Hook, I have been reading a book called Simple Church this weekend.

Church...simple?

It can be, if the church can have a vision...a purpose...that the leadership and the members can state easily, but more importantly, live to demonstrate and fulfill its purpose. The authors describe a church in which the purpose...and its process...are simply the 1st and 2nd commandments from Jesus and the Great Commission...love God, love each other, and serve the world.

Simple.

Elegant.

The Sunday morning services are the arena in which they demonstrate love of God.

The small groups that meet during the week are the arena in which members demonstrate love for each other.

And from that, members choose a ministry to serve in, whether serving in the church community or outside it. Each program in the church lives and breathes that vision of loving God, loving each other, and serving others.

What our churches need to do is to invite non-believers into our midst...through seeing us love God on Sundays and hopefully seeing Him transform their lives into believers...then moving those believers into areas in which they deepen their faith and understanding through small groups...and finally becoming the disciples God wants them to be in serving Him in some kind of ministry.

It is my prayer and hope that I see this happen in my own church. And in yours.

He is RISEN!

2007-04-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.

Luke 24: 1-8 (NIV)

The Darkness

2007-04-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Being sick, like I am today, is never fun. Yesterday, around midday, with aching muscles and a headache, I slowly trudged out of the office for home. Managed to rest awhile in the evening, then had a restless night of sleep.

Suffice to say, I'm not in the office today, either.

It is a feeling of darkness, and I feel like I can't remember when was the last time I didn't feel sick (even though it was just a couple of days ago). It's not pleasant, especially since I have been fortunate as to have been ill only one other time in the past year.

But for whatever discomfort you or I experience when we are sick, it pales to the extreme pain and discomfort our Savior experienced nearly two millenia ago. The physical and emotional pain He experienced, carrying the burden of the sins of all humankind, of those who lived prior to Him and those who would live long after Him, could only be borne by a Man who was God Incarnate.

It was a dark day. But it was only the beginning of the Glory to come.

"Bible" for $200, Alex

2007-04-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

I skipped 2nd grade as a kid. I went from a relatively young 1st grader with a November birthday to a really young 3rd grader with a November birthday over the course of a single summer. My reading level was well ahead of the other 1st graders, and my teacher and my school principal recommended to my parents that I leap ahead...advice which they took.

Academically, I performed well the following fall in 3rd grade, and throughout the following years at this Lutheran private school through 8th grade, I had little difficulty in most of my courses, garnering mostly A's and A minuses, with the occasional B plus thrown in for good measure (typically in a religion or social studies subject). Of course, there was one little thing that my parents didn't realize at the time...

...I would graduate high school at 16. Which also meant that I would start my freshman year of college at 16, turning 17 just a few weeks into my first quarter, learning to balance 5 roommates (we had a 3 bedroom suite with 2 bathrooms and a living room in our dorm), phone and utility bills, Friday and Saturday night parties, calculus, Fortran programming (I was then a mechanical engineering major - it lasted all of two quarters), and comparative literature.

In comp lit, we read various classics...most of which, sad to say, I had difficulty with keeping up the reading, considering that I was well on my way to failing calculus. We were assigned The Odyseey, The Iliad, Beowulf and...The Bible as literature. I recall our professor assigning various passages to read, from the creation story in Genesis to the Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, along with supplementary readings from gnostic gospels (which I honestly never got around to reading).

I had a difficult time viewing the Bible as literature, separating the doctrine from the secular mythology perspective, separating doctrine from a secular critical analysis of the storytelling. And given that my faith today is stronger than it was 20 years ago, I think I would have an even more difficult time doing so, as I read the Bible as a source of wisdom and comfort (and yes, even the occasional chastising) from God.

So I found the article in the April 2 issue of Time Magazine to be quite interesting regarding the movement in various public school districts across the country to teach the Bible as an elective course for high school students...teaching the Bible as a book necessary for literacy in today's world...whether you are a Christian or not.

It's a good idea, particularly in a society today in which Biblical themes are used liberally by our politicians on both sides of the aisle and are used to promote or fight various pieces of legislation; Biblical themes are found in pop culture, whether in music, TV or film (see U2, "Lost", "Star Wars", "Constantine" and "The Matrix" among others), and it serves as a starting point to understanding two of the world's major religions.

Can the Bible be taught logically, as literature? Absolutely, given the right teaching environment. In retrospect, I wish I was able to appreciate the studies given the Bible in my comparative literature class - it is my own fault that I chose not to attempt to understand a more critical literary viewpoint in reading the Bible for that class. But I also realize that in today's world, with the prevalent use of Biblical themes throughout our society, it's perhaps more important that students have a basic understanding of the primary themes found in the Bible...whether students choose to accept it as doctrine or as a fount of world literature.

I appreciate the honesty of a couple of students quoted in the article:

Why take a Bible class? I asked her. "Some of my friends are Christian," she said, shrugging, "and they would argue about, like, whether you can be a Christian and believe in evolution, and I'm like, Okaaaay ... clueless." Williams signed up for a similar reason. "If somebody is going to carry on a sophisticated conversation with me, I would rather know what they're talking about than look like a moron or fight my way through it," she says. The class has "gotten a lot of positive feedback," she adds. "It's going to really rise in popularity."

It is about learning to think critically and being able to form cogent opinions and arguments, whether in favor of Christ's teachings or against. And we, as a society, should not be afraid to know and teach the Bible.

Inventions

2007-04-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

The air is crisp and you see your breath in front of you quickly dissipating as you rub your hands together. You look at the green hills beyond you and see the early rays of light beginning to peer over the hills to the east. It is a magical morning as you know in your heart that the Creator has given you another perfect day.

In recent days and weeks you have heard Him speak to you.

He says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

You mull over those words and wonder why He has placed them on your heart. You begin your slow morning jog, allowing your stiff muscles to gradually warm up and it hits you. You can see the path being set before you, seeing how you and your fellow brothers in Christ are to proceed on your collective journey.

Join them together as one, you think aloud as you pick up the pace. There are multiple seeds planted throughout the city, and you realize that God is leading you and these others together.

::

If you were given the opportunity to create a brand new church...if you were called to plant a new church...how would you go about doing it? Where do you begin? Do you start with a name? Do you start with the church's mission? Do you start with the location?

What would you find are the high priority items to address first?

These are hypotheticals, of course, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

Broken Heart

2007-03-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you.

Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you.

Oh can't you see
You belong to me?
How my poor heart aches with every step you take.

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you.

The Police, Every Breath You Take
While not a CCM song, have you ever listened to this part of this song and wondered if that's how God views us? He sees all that we do, and our sin, our separation from Him, clearly breaks His heart.

Prognostications 2007

2007-03-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

As some of you have undoubtedly noticed, the sport of baseball can be quite pervasive in my life.

Actually, between April 1 and September 30, baseball is quite nearly my life. From Opening Day to the final pitch of the World Series, I closely follow the American pastime. And in town, I coach Hank's T-Ball team, passing on my wealth of knowledge of the fundamentals to five and six year olds.

Well...perhaps wealth is overstating it, but we do work the basics with these kids. And if you jump back a couple of years, when Hank was 3, he knew the names of nearly every Giants player, if I prompted him with the player's first name.

Me: "Hank! Barry..."

Hank: "...Bonds."

Me: "Ray..."

Hank: "Durham."

Me: "Jason..."

Hank: "Schmidt."

Me: "And Jason..."

Hank: "Christiansen."

Me: "And Jason..."

Hank: "Ellison."

Indeed, I choose to bring up my son the right way, with the full knowledge of the 25 man roster of the current year's home team.

About a year ago, some fellow baseball delinquents and I chose to start up a team blog on baseball...which you can find here. We haven't posted much recently, mainly because it has been the off-season, but I suspect we will ramp up the smack talk very soon, given Opening Day is this coming week.

As not many folks have made it over to The 7th Inning Stretch lately, I've decided that for the post that many of you will read on Friday that I will forgo my usual theological musings in favor of my prognostications for the upcoming season.

I fully expect you to mock my picks, but you must remember two things:

In 2004, I correctly picked the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series, beating the Oakland A's in the Divisional Series and beating the Yankees in the LCS.

In March of 2004.

In 2006, I correctly picked the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series, beating the New York Mets in the LCS.

And so we begin:

American League East:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

American League Central:
1. Chicago White Sox
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

American League West:
1. Oakland A's
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

National League East:
1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Florida Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Washington Nationals

National League Central:
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

National League West:
1. San Diego Padres
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies

AL Wild Card:
Detroit Tigers

NL Wild Card:
San Francisco Giants

All Star Game:
National League over American League

ALDS:
A's over Tigers, 4 games
Red Sox over White Sox, 5 games

NLDS:
Mets over Padres, 3 games
Giants over Cardinals, 5 games

ALCS:
A's over Red Sox, 6 games

NLCS:
Mets over Giants, 6 games

World Series
Mets over A's, 6 games

Other notable predictions:
Barry Bonds hits HR # 756 in 4th week of July. Bud Selig is NOT present for the HR, and neither is Hank Aaron. HR ball is sold on eBay in late December 07 after a court hearing on the ownership of the ball.

And that, dear friends, is the Beach's take on the upcoming season.

Of Life on the Road, Pt. 2

2007-03-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a relatively peaceful evening. I had a meeting at church that lasted all of 40 minutes, a good thing, before heading back home to help put the kids to bed, relaxing on the living room couch while flipping through the assortment of channels from our satellite dish. Then my wife and I watched a digitally recorded program from the other night, before catching the final couple of minutes of that insanely popular singing contest just to see who was the sad-sack singer to be eliminated.

Not long after, as I settled in front of the keyboard, thinking about some magnificent opus that I would write about some quirky theological question, I came upon this news item in Yahoo.

Post-Apocalyptic? Oprah? In the same sentence?

Doth mine eyes deceive me?

It would seem that all great pop culture movements begin in our slice of the 'sphere, for as you might recall, it was our good friend and Missouri attorney Randall who turned me onto Cormac McCarthy's The Road back in November with this enlightening review of said post-apocalyptic novel. Naturally, upon completion of said novel I wrote a piece about it as well.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce to you, dear readers, that by being a part of this blogging community which encompasses those who like the beach or the hinterland, the bittersweet, the ICON, or find that someone just keeps moving their chair (and my sincere apologies to others who I fail to mention, but know that I do recognize your participation in this slice of the 'sphere), YOU are part of the leading edge of the wave of pop culture as it relates to Oprah and The Road.

Wow. It took her four months to catch on?

A Failing Grade

2007-03-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Over at Imaginations in Unity on Saturday, Dustin linked this article in the USA Today about Americans getting an "F" in religion. The underlying theme of the article is the fact that most Americans have very little knowledge of most world religions, including that of Christianity, by far the majority faith in the U.S.

Of course, given that the Fox Network is currently airing a game show entitled, "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" - should this really come as a surprise to us? In the most recent episode, in the category of "1st grade World Geography", a 45 year old real estate agent was unable to identify which country is also a continent (and in her panicked ramblings through the 7 continents, came to the conclusion that ALL were countries).

If a typical American citizen cannot identify Australia as the only country/continent, what hope do we have of the typical American citizen having knowledge differentiating the major world religions?

Discussion about this article can go in a number of directions, but one thing that struck me was definitely the lack of common knowledge of basic Christianity (and the Jewish tradition from which our faith came from, as exhibited in the Old Testament). Even among people who profess to be Christians, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of Biblical stories, let alone the doctrine associated with them.

And if we take this a step further, how can we, as Christians, profess to know God if we have not read His Word to understand the nature and personality of God? How can we even begin to do His Will if we don't know His character?

I am not claiming that we will ever gain a complete understanding of God - not in this lifetime anyway - but we can get to know God better each day as we seek Him and study His Word and listen to His Voice.

"Yatta!"

2007-03-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have three must-see television shows on my docket this season..."Lost", "Battlestar Galactica" on SciFi Channel, and "Heroes". All three shows reveal the high level of geekdom that persists in my television viewing life, even though all three shows have been critically acclaimed (although "Lost" has lost some of its lustre in recent months...but slowly regaining it...)

"Heroes", in particular, has been a show shared in viewing pleasure with both me and my wife, and much of it has to do with the intriguing characters, the developing storyline, and the knowledge that questions raised early are slowly answered over the course of the season. We get closure to some parts of the story while new questions are raised...and it keeps me hooked as a viewer.

My favorite character thus far is Hiro, the Star Trek/comic book/geek fan-turned hero, who has the ability to stop time. In assorted episodes this season he has been able to stop time and change the intended course of events by moving the pieces around so that the outcome is changed.

We unfortunately do not have that ability. We cannot stop time and change the course of events, even in slow motion. Life moves at one speed, and we need to adjust accordingly to the changes that life brings us. In this physical realm, we need to adapt to the hand dealt to us, and we move with the hope that our decisions will result in a positive outcome.

However, spiritually, we can change at least one outcome...our own. We have the ability right now to choose life or death. We have the ability to choose eternal life, rearranging the pieces of our lives so that we accept Christ into our hearts and live lives that are in accordance with His Will.

When we have done it, knowing we have the opportunity to live eternally with Him, we can say, "I did it!"

Or to use Hiro's words, in the Japanese, "Yatta!"

Simplicity

2007-03-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

The rules of the game are quite simple when it comes to T-Ball. All kids must hit off the tee, everyone plays the field, everyone hits, there are no "outs", no score is kept, and at least for the first part of the season, everyone learns to throw to first base. Each game lasts either 2 hours (rare) or 3 innings.

If only our lives could be as simple as a game of T-ball, where no one wins, no one loses, but everyone has the opportunity to play and participate on equal footing with each other. We don't make mistakes ('outs'), and we get to run around the bases, station to station, as our teammates come up behind us.

Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury, and in this world, someone is bound to win or lose, and not everyone gets to participate. It will only be a matter of time before these kids grow older and play in "real" baseball games with outs and scores and winners and losers. It will mirror their lives becoming gradually more complex, as the simple rules of T-ball disappear amidst the complexity of baseball, knowing where the force play exists, knowing which cutoff man to throw to, knowing who to backup, and watching for a good pitch to hit. Only 9 kids will play on a team of 14, and they'll need to learn to take turns and be patient.

Mind you, it will be good for them to learn, but it is a reminder that our lives become more complex as we grow older...the life game in which we participate becomes increasingly competitive and challenging, and we need to think about where the plays need to be made. But with practice, we will need to think less and less about where to make the plays, getting to a point wherein the decisions become simple and automatic as we become more familiar with the game we play.

As we listen to the voice of our manager, God, on our field of play, and practice the drills He set before us, we will become better players over time, and hopefully those plays become instinctive.

Friday Fun

2007-03-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

So...I'm not going to work today. It's supposed to be around 70 degrees with blue skies...and after this week has gone, I've made the executive decision to take the day off and hang out with the family.

Well...that's true to a point. I won't be in the office, but I've known for a couple of weeks that I was planning on taking the day off, merely because I am driving my daughter, who's in 3rd grade, on a field trip. I've driven on many a field trip for her since kindergarten, going to a pumpkin farm down the coast, going to the ballet in 1st grade, a train ride to the State Capitol in Sacramento in 2nd grade. All have been educational and fun for the kids...but this one that I will be chaperoning today...it will be a most excellent and educational trip.

For I believe that it is inherently important for children of all ages to understand the importance of building architecture, my professional experience notwithstanding. In particular, it is important for young children today to gain an appreciation of modern architecture, especially the architecture of cathedrals.

Sports cathedrals.

To wit...ballparks.

And more specifically, the home of the San Francisco Giants, AT&T Park.

Indeed, my daughter's 3rd grade class will be touring this ballpark, going behind the scenes into areas not typically visited by the common fan. It will be an education in sports architecture. It will be an education in baseball.

Can you smell the grilled brats already?

::

On a totally unrelated note, as I had a few minutes to spare this evening, I decided to make a modest change in the header above. As frequent visitors have undoubtedly noticed, the text - the Scripture - changes upon each visit to the Beach. Now, dear readers, the image will change as well.

And you wonder why I haven't migrated my template to the new Blogger template...

Have a great weekend.

Finding a Home

2007-03-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

As I meet new folks, the discussion occasionally does turn to that of faith...what do you believe, do you go to church, if so where do you go, etc. It is typically a very basic get-to-know-you kind of conversation, which I'm sure many of us have had.

Invariably, as the discussion about faith deepens, particularly if the individual is looking for a Christian church home, I hear about how that person is looking for a church home that fits in with his belief system.

What exactly does that statement mean?

1) Does that mean that he is of a certain socio-political mindset (liberal, moderate, conservative) and therefore the church he attends must have a similar doctrinal interpretation?

2) Perhaps this person has a more missional mindset, wanting to be part of a church with that as a core value.

3) Or maybe this person wants to be in a church that has an active children's program, with an emphasis on teaching the children (or any other program or age group for that matter).

There is a danger that if it means question 1) above, then wouldn't we be trying to fit God into what our image of God is rather than our fitting into God's image of what we should be? Then again, doesn't that go to a totally separate discussion of a literal reading of Scripture versus the belief that Scripture is alive and is as applicable to our lives today as 2,000 (or more) years ago?

I don't think there's an easy answer here. I think some of it goes back to Randall Sherman's comment in yesterday's post, in which he writes, ... certain doctrines/interpretations are worthy of maintaining under certain labels. Afterall, the Reformation meant something or it didn't. The problem is really whether or not we agree on the definition of "Pie." What are the core beliefs that make us "Christian?"

Exactly. That's where we need to begin.

Denominations

2007-03-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Back in the days when I was attending the local Church of Christ congregation, one of their primary issues with the state of the church, especially in America, was the divisions caused by the multitude of denominations that make up the Church, whether Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Adventist, Lutheran, Catholic, Foursquare, or any of the other denominations you can find in any city across the country. It was their (the CoC's) position that because the only mention of a "name" associated with the word "church" was in Romans 16:16 that only the name "church of Christ" was appropriate. Any other name was therefore non-Biblical (specifically, not in line with New Testament authority), so churches associated with a denominational name were not true "Christian" churches, and served to cause division in the "church".

Now I disagree with their reading of the passage from Romans - in reading the passage, you can see clearly that this is a greeting using "of Christ" as a descriptive term, and nowhere does the passage state that churches must be named the church of Christ. I also clearly disagree that just because a Christian church has a denominational name that that particular church is any less a "church of Christ" than the CoC's claim to the name.

But where I do agree is in the idea that denominational names can serve to divide us and that we can often get caught up in what our denominational identity as opposed to our identity as followers of Christ.

How many times have you heard, "Oh that's not the Baptist way" or "We Methodists only worship this way" or some other statement in which the descriptive term is the denominational name rather than the identity of a follower of Jesus Christ...a Christian?

Can we simply just dispense with our denominational identities as individuals and simply identify ourselves as Christian?

Or am I just being naive?

Still Slammed...

2007-03-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to say...but I have just started reading Rob Bell's latest book, and like his first outing, really challenges you. Check out a free download of the first chapter here, and you'll see what I mean.

Finishing my income taxes has taken up the bulk of the past couple of evenings (so very close to being done), and today is our 14th wedding anniversary, so I won't be posting anything later.

Happy Anniversary to Page! Love you.

Slammed...again

2007-03-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

It was a crazy busy weekend and likely a crazy busy beginning to the workweek...I am hopeful that I will be able to make some time to post something of modest value.

Until then, just curious...how's the weather in your neck of the woods? Foggy and overcast 55 degrees are forecast here.

"We're on a Mission..."

2007-03-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post got me thinking about one of the single greatest scenes of pure worship on screen...and it was in a secular film, about two brothers, one recently released from prison, reuniting, discovering the need of their childhood orphanage to raise funds. To assist, they re-form their R&B / soul band.

Yes...I'm talking about Jake and Elwood...and in particular, the scene in the church, early in the film, when both discover that "We're on a mission from God." With the singing of James Brown, the congregants dancing, the choir with arms outstretched, it was a scene of pure unadulterated worship that I wish we could see in more of our churches.

Who said that singing to Jesus requires us to stand still with our arms at our sides, holding a bulletin or hymnal or merely reading the words off the wall in front of us? Why aren't we whooping it up, jumping up and down for joy because we know that, to use the words of John Piper, "the chief aim of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him?"

I admit it is still tough for me to raise my hands or "whoop it up" when singing - I still find myself stuck in a more stoic position as I read the lyrics...not that there's anything wrong with it, I might add...but I want to feel free to jump for joy, short of spinning cartwheels in the center aisle like Jake in that scene from the film.

Man...we're on a mission from God every day! Yes, the Creator of the Universe has a mission for us every day! How cool is that?

So let's whoop it up!