I will try to get through this post without losing my focus. Although, the two post relate to each other very well.
I met a guy Thursday morning at Starbucks for coffee. While we were there we talked about God and the kingdom. We talked about how to live as kingdom people where we are at the time. We really had a good discussion about God stuff.
He got up to leave and I was going to stay and check my email. As soon as he got up a guy approached. I was wearing a tee-shirt from my trip to Zimbabwe last fall. The front of it says, "Acts 29." He asked me, "What's with the shirt. There's not an Acts 29." Obviously he knew his Bible. Most people who carry the Christian cup (to understand the cup thing, read the previous post) don't realize there is no Acts 29, its a Hezekiah 3 type of thing.
I explained to him that it means the story continues, the Acts of disciples should not have stopped in Acts 28. We still have a purpose in God's kingdom today. He told me he had seen that image before. I explained there was a church planting group called Acts 29. He was familiar with it because he had seen it on the Internet.
Then he asked me if I was familiar with Frances Chan. This guy was obviously someone who did not just carry a cup. So I asked him the obvious question, "Do you go to church?" I know better than to go right for that question but I wanted to know where he got his coffee.
He looked in the air, trying to decide how he wanted to answer the question. He said, "I don't." Then he went on to explain why, "There are a lot of people who call themselves Christians that are going to hell." What he was saying is there are a lot of people who just like to carry the cup.
It happened, in Starbucks I met a person I keep reading about. Someone who is disenfranchised with the church. About 30 minutes later I packed up my stuff and headed out the door. The guy was coming down the sidewalk. He stopped me again and asked me my name. He also asked me what church I was with and wanted to know where it was. He did tell me he was a member of a church but he did not want to talk bad about it because he is good friends with the pastor.
He did end our conversation by telling me "Frances Chan has it right you know." We are only told to do two things: Follow Jesus and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to teach them everything Jesus has taught us (the great commision).
It happened, I met a person who doesn't just carry the cup. I met a guy who knows what it means to be on mission for Jesus. You know where he drinks his coffee? Jesus.
Where do you drink yours?
Friday, September 24, 2010
It Happened
I met someone for coffee yesterday in Starbucks. Yes, I said coffee. For those who don't know I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I always wanted to carry a Starbucks cup like a lot of the trendy world does. It is more of a status symbol or your club card. I am in now because I found something I like or at least can tolerate.
I am not proud of my usual but I have manned up and do get an extra shot of espresso. I am sure you want to know the manly drink I prefer. It is a "Triple Skinny (because I am trying to lose some weight) Carmel Latte." There I said it. I guess I will have to post another manly question on Facebook. But if you want it you will have to take it from me (if getting physical over a latte is even possible). It doesn't matter what I drink, I am in the club, I carry the cup to prove it.
Sounds like our Christian life doesn't it. We can carry a Bible, go to church and even have a Jesus fish on the back of our car but nobody really knows who we are on the inside. We can promote ourselves on the outside and still have a lot of crap on the inside. I mean nobody knows what I am drinking when they see me carry a Starbucks cup unless of course you are one of those ice coffee kind of people. I just never could see John Wayne out on the range or in a fox hole drinking ice coffee. Is ice and coffee really suppose to go together?
So it happened, I am kind of drinking coffee now. But that is not what I really wanted to blog about, but this one is getting to long so . . . I will have to continue tomorrow.
But think about it, if you are a follower of Jesus, are you really following him or are you just carrying the cup?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Costly Grace
I have been wanting to read "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a long time. His first chapter is called "Costly Grace." I love reading about God's grace but I have to admit this time it is making me a little uncomfortable. I know it has because I have brought it up in discussions twice in the last two days and I am even going to teach on it Sunday.
His point is that there are two types of grace the church teaches. Cheap grace which is taught mostly he says "is the deadly enemy of the church." Cheap grace requires nothing from the one receiving grace. He says "Cheap Grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner."
I have noticed lately followers of Jesus want to justify their sin without accountability. When held accountable they play the judgement card and say, "you don't understand." They call for grace but they want it at a discount. What I mean is they want the benefits of grace but don't want it to cost them anything.
The problem is that many churches and church leaders today teach this type of grace. The messages are designed to make people feel good about themselves with little or no accountability. This may be the reason so many church leaders are now evaluating the churches they lead and finding out they have done a poor job of discipling followers of Jesus. Bonhoeffer makes the point that "Cheap Grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."
This is the grace we like. This is the grace that is a bargain because there is little or no cost.
Costly grace on the other hand is something we don't want think about. The reason is this grace cost us something. It calls for accountability and sacrifice. In some places in the world this grace can even cost people their lives.
Jesus teaches this type of grace. He tells the rich young ruler to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor and then he will have treasures in heaven. He tells those who want to follow him things like, "If you follow me, remember I don't know where I am going to sleep tonight" or "If you follow me you will have to leave your family." He even warns his disciples on the night he was arrested that they should expect persecution and even death.
So the question I want to ask is "How costly is your grace?"
Remember Grace is costly, it should cost us something considering it cost God is one and only Son.
His point is that there are two types of grace the church teaches. Cheap grace which is taught mostly he says "is the deadly enemy of the church." Cheap grace requires nothing from the one receiving grace. He says "Cheap Grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner."
I have noticed lately followers of Jesus want to justify their sin without accountability. When held accountable they play the judgement card and say, "you don't understand." They call for grace but they want it at a discount. What I mean is they want the benefits of grace but don't want it to cost them anything.
The problem is that many churches and church leaders today teach this type of grace. The messages are designed to make people feel good about themselves with little or no accountability. This may be the reason so many church leaders are now evaluating the churches they lead and finding out they have done a poor job of discipling followers of Jesus. Bonhoeffer makes the point that "Cheap Grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."
This is the grace we like. This is the grace that is a bargain because there is little or no cost.
Costly grace on the other hand is something we don't want think about. The reason is this grace cost us something. It calls for accountability and sacrifice. In some places in the world this grace can even cost people their lives.
Jesus teaches this type of grace. He tells the rich young ruler to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor and then he will have treasures in heaven. He tells those who want to follow him things like, "If you follow me, remember I don't know where I am going to sleep tonight" or "If you follow me you will have to leave your family." He even warns his disciples on the night he was arrested that they should expect persecution and even death.
So the question I want to ask is "How costly is your grace?"
Remember Grace is costly, it should cost us something considering it cost God is one and only Son.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Living for God
You may have heard that recently there was a group of people who were killed in Afghanistan. They were there on humanitarian efforts performing medical and dental services. I may have crossed paths with one of the ladies who lost their life that day.
I was an associate minister at a church in Kenmore (Akron) and her grandfather was one of the elders. Earl Beckett was a great man. He loved God and he loved people. His son Charles grew up and became a minister in the Christian Church/Church of Christ. I can not remember if I ever met Charles and his family, but I may have. I figure that Cheryl would have been about 12 at the time, if our paths ever crossed. If I didn't meet her, I know her grandfather must of talked about her one of the many times we played golf together. At that time no one would have known this day would have come.
When I watched Charles talk about her and how she loved the Afghan people it struck me how God is so amazing. God created within Cheryl a passion to love people who Americans find it hard to love. All Cheryl was doing was living the way God designed her to live. She was living for God.
I read some of the responses to an article written about Cheryl. Most people were very supportive of the family and the humanitarian efforts by this group. Some however were less sensitive. Then I read a response that went something like this: "Why would someone have to risk their lives to help people so far away when there are people in the United States that could use the same kind of help?"
While you may cheer that response or even ask the same question here is the answer why: Because God created within Cheryl a love for the Afghan people. A love so great that she was willing to risk her life for people God cares deeply about. While she was not over there as a missionary or to tell people about Jesus, she was living as Jesus would have her live. She was wrapping a towel around her waste and washing the feet of people who we have quickly learned to have a hatred toward. I learned through her life God loves all people and finds a way for everyone on earth to experience His love through those devoted to Him.
My question to you, especially if you wonder why would she would go there if there was so much work to do here is this: What are you doing here to make a difference in the lives of those you think Cheryl or others should stay and help? There are plenty of people who say they are following Jesus here who can be the hands and feet of Jesus, but there are few God has called to love people in remote parts of the earth.
But when he calls, we can only be obedient and go.
My prayer goes out to the Becketts as they mourn and celebrate the life of their daughter who showed us how to love God and love people and was willing to give her life for the cause of the kingdom.
I was an associate minister at a church in Kenmore (Akron) and her grandfather was one of the elders. Earl Beckett was a great man. He loved God and he loved people. His son Charles grew up and became a minister in the Christian Church/Church of Christ. I can not remember if I ever met Charles and his family, but I may have. I figure that Cheryl would have been about 12 at the time, if our paths ever crossed. If I didn't meet her, I know her grandfather must of talked about her one of the many times we played golf together. At that time no one would have known this day would have come.
When I watched Charles talk about her and how she loved the Afghan people it struck me how God is so amazing. God created within Cheryl a passion to love people who Americans find it hard to love. All Cheryl was doing was living the way God designed her to live. She was living for God.
I read some of the responses to an article written about Cheryl. Most people were very supportive of the family and the humanitarian efforts by this group. Some however were less sensitive. Then I read a response that went something like this: "Why would someone have to risk their lives to help people so far away when there are people in the United States that could use the same kind of help?"
While you may cheer that response or even ask the same question here is the answer why: Because God created within Cheryl a love for the Afghan people. A love so great that she was willing to risk her life for people God cares deeply about. While she was not over there as a missionary or to tell people about Jesus, she was living as Jesus would have her live. She was wrapping a towel around her waste and washing the feet of people who we have quickly learned to have a hatred toward. I learned through her life God loves all people and finds a way for everyone on earth to experience His love through those devoted to Him.
My question to you, especially if you wonder why would she would go there if there was so much work to do here is this: What are you doing here to make a difference in the lives of those you think Cheryl or others should stay and help? There are plenty of people who say they are following Jesus here who can be the hands and feet of Jesus, but there are few God has called to love people in remote parts of the earth.
But when he calls, we can only be obedient and go.
My prayer goes out to the Becketts as they mourn and celebrate the life of their daughter who showed us how to love God and love people and was willing to give her life for the cause of the kingdom.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
My Rant about Facebook
I have been thinking alot about my facebook account.
I love the fact that I have reconnected with some of my high school and college friends. I love it that my kids grandparents can keep in contact with their grand children. I love some of the funny things that friends post. I think it is funny that I can post a manly question and it gets so many responses immediately (it is the old "Seinfeld" truth that people really want to just talk about nothing).
What drives me crazy about facebook are all posts about what you are doing every minute of the day-- like everyone really cares. It drives me crazy when someone posts, "Having a bad day :(" --because you know everyone wants to know why your day is so bad and you put a frowny face up. It drives me crazy that people are becoming fans of everything under the sun, especially the becoming the fan of stuff that is a paragraph long. And seriously, your not in a real mafia, have a real farm, own a cafe and there is no such thing as festive fish (I am embarassed to say that I have learned this from my own experience). I wish I could really make the money I have made being in a mafia, raising produce, owning a cafe and raising fish. I keep waiting for the facebook version of churchville so we can see how many people we can pile into a building on the corner of Main and Prospect.
Here is what I really hate about facebook and why I am thinking about ditching the whole thing:
I hate the fact that people are bold enough to say things to people they would never say to someones face. I hate the fact that people bring all their drama to their wall. I hate the fact that the divorce rate has gone up as people are rekindling old high school and college romances. I hate the fact that it has become another avenue for gossip and a place that promotes half truths. Random thoughts were never meant to be made public, we should be slow to speak because when we post exactly what we are thinking things are taken out of context, people get hurt and we become more divided.
With all that said, I will continue to have a Facebook page, I will just be more selective in how I engage on the social network.
I love the fact that I have reconnected with some of my high school and college friends. I love it that my kids grandparents can keep in contact with their grand children. I love some of the funny things that friends post. I think it is funny that I can post a manly question and it gets so many responses immediately (it is the old "Seinfeld" truth that people really want to just talk about nothing).
What drives me crazy about facebook are all posts about what you are doing every minute of the day-- like everyone really cares. It drives me crazy when someone posts, "Having a bad day :(" --because you know everyone wants to know why your day is so bad and you put a frowny face up. It drives me crazy that people are becoming fans of everything under the sun, especially the becoming the fan of stuff that is a paragraph long. And seriously, your not in a real mafia, have a real farm, own a cafe and there is no such thing as festive fish (I am embarassed to say that I have learned this from my own experience). I wish I could really make the money I have made being in a mafia, raising produce, owning a cafe and raising fish. I keep waiting for the facebook version of churchville so we can see how many people we can pile into a building on the corner of Main and Prospect.
Here is what I really hate about facebook and why I am thinking about ditching the whole thing:
I hate the fact that people are bold enough to say things to people they would never say to someones face. I hate the fact that people bring all their drama to their wall. I hate the fact that the divorce rate has gone up as people are rekindling old high school and college romances. I hate the fact that it has become another avenue for gossip and a place that promotes half truths. Random thoughts were never meant to be made public, we should be slow to speak because when we post exactly what we are thinking things are taken out of context, people get hurt and we become more divided.
With all that said, I will continue to have a Facebook page, I will just be more selective in how I engage on the social network.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The King! And I Don't Mean James!
As I left for the office this morning I passed a pile of Lebron James posters torn up lying on the floor beside the garbage can. Last night I went up the street to see a neighbor who was burning a Lebron James t-shirt. The emotions in Northeast Ohio are high. For those who do not live in Northeast Ohio this is one of the most sport crazed places I have ever lived. I don't understand it because it is not very often that Northeast Ohio has a lot to cheer about (I call our Browns Backers at the church the "Browns Backer Support Group").
I have been by Lebron, I mean really close on several occasions. The closest I was ever to him was on the field at an Ohio State/Penn State game. As he walked by I called his name and tried to get him to shake my hand. One of my friends, a coach at Ohio State said, "He's just a man." I pulled back almost embarrassed because he was right and I had gotten caught up in the frenzy (today I would want to get close to him, not to shake his hand but to . . . tell him to pull his britches up, they were down almost to his knees). You thought I was going to say something else didn't you?
The attention this whole betrayal is getting is nuts. As we have been going through the book of John on Suunday mornings there have been several times the theme for the day has been fitting for what is going on around us. This Sunday is no different.
We are in John 12 where Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. He comes in riding on a donkey and people gather around him and call him the "King." He is a man, but he is more than a man. He is the Messiah, the redeemer and the one who will bring salvation. He deserves the worship that is presented to him as he comes to fulfill his mission for the world.
That is the point here--worship. Man is has never been created to be worshipped, but to worship. We were created to lift our hands to, bow before, dance before and shout out the name of Jesus! He is the only King that deserves such a frenzy.
His decision should be noted as "The Decision." He decided to come, to die and be resurrected so we could have life.
I love one of the things Dan Gilbert wrote in his letter to the fans of Cleveland after Lebron decided to leave for Miami: "Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there. Sorry, but that is simply not how it works."
To get to heaven there has to be death. Jesus had to come and die the way he did so we can experience life. But not only that, we must die to ourselves and not desire to be worshipped but to humbly fall before our "King" and worship him with all our hearts, souls and minds.
Lebron is just a man who plays basketball really good. A man who will be around until another superstar takes his place.
Jesus, the real King will be around forever, he is the one who deserves to be worshipped. Everybody else is just a man--including me and you.
I have been by Lebron, I mean really close on several occasions. The closest I was ever to him was on the field at an Ohio State/Penn State game. As he walked by I called his name and tried to get him to shake my hand. One of my friends, a coach at Ohio State said, "He's just a man." I pulled back almost embarrassed because he was right and I had gotten caught up in the frenzy (today I would want to get close to him, not to shake his hand but to . . . tell him to pull his britches up, they were down almost to his knees). You thought I was going to say something else didn't you?
The attention this whole betrayal is getting is nuts. As we have been going through the book of John on Suunday mornings there have been several times the theme for the day has been fitting for what is going on around us. This Sunday is no different.
We are in John 12 where Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. He comes in riding on a donkey and people gather around him and call him the "King." He is a man, but he is more than a man. He is the Messiah, the redeemer and the one who will bring salvation. He deserves the worship that is presented to him as he comes to fulfill his mission for the world.
That is the point here--worship. Man is has never been created to be worshipped, but to worship. We were created to lift our hands to, bow before, dance before and shout out the name of Jesus! He is the only King that deserves such a frenzy.
His decision should be noted as "The Decision." He decided to come, to die and be resurrected so we could have life.
I love one of the things Dan Gilbert wrote in his letter to the fans of Cleveland after Lebron decided to leave for Miami: "Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there. Sorry, but that is simply not how it works."
To get to heaven there has to be death. Jesus had to come and die the way he did so we can experience life. But not only that, we must die to ourselves and not desire to be worshipped but to humbly fall before our "King" and worship him with all our hearts, souls and minds.
Lebron is just a man who plays basketball really good. A man who will be around until another superstar takes his place.
Jesus, the real King will be around forever, he is the one who deserves to be worshipped. Everybody else is just a man--including me and you.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Seriously Lebron?
What in the world is going on? Lebron James is going to do an hour long show on ESPN just to announce where he is going to play next year. ESPN is giving him an hour of primetime (9 pm) and he is going to raise money for the "Boys and Girls Club of America."
Seriously Lebron, do you think the world is going to stop and watch this self-glorifying announcement hidden behind raising money for the Boys and Girls club of America? How about doing us a favor, just tweet everybody with your new twitter account and donate some of the cash your going to get from this huge contract to the Girls and Boys.
As a Cavs fan and Lebron fan I wish you had played up to the level in the play-offs that would warrant this type of announcement. Is this just the way you want to draw attention to yourself because you laid an egg in the play-offs? Does this make you feel better about yourself and the way you played in May?
Seriously Lebron, I would rather pay to go to an Indians game than sit at home and watch your version of "The American Idol."
Seriously Lebron, if you leave Cleveland, your home town team, you will never be the superstar that you believe you are, you will just be another player who couldn't get it done on his own and had to go somewhere else and ride the coat tails of another superstar.
Now I feel better, thanks for letting me rant.
Bake
Seriously Lebron, do you think the world is going to stop and watch this self-glorifying announcement hidden behind raising money for the Boys and Girls club of America? How about doing us a favor, just tweet everybody with your new twitter account and donate some of the cash your going to get from this huge contract to the Girls and Boys.
As a Cavs fan and Lebron fan I wish you had played up to the level in the play-offs that would warrant this type of announcement. Is this just the way you want to draw attention to yourself because you laid an egg in the play-offs? Does this make you feel better about yourself and the way you played in May?
Seriously Lebron, I would rather pay to go to an Indians game than sit at home and watch your version of "The American Idol."
Seriously Lebron, if you leave Cleveland, your home town team, you will never be the superstar that you believe you are, you will just be another player who couldn't get it done on his own and had to go somewhere else and ride the coat tails of another superstar.
Now I feel better, thanks for letting me rant.
Bake
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