I'm moving...

...my blog to wordpress...

URL- http://wideopen502.wordpress.com

If you've been kind enough to link to this blog, would you please do the me the honor of linking to the new blog.

Thanks!

And the winner is...

Here's my list of top 5 Super Bowl commercials:

5. E-Trade- baby pukes
4. Will Ferrell Bud Light
3. E-Trade- baby buys a clown
2. Career Builder- heart jumps out of girl's chest
1. Planter's Nuts- cashew perfume

Watch all the commercials here.

Perhaps...

...this was the best game I've ever seen that I didn't have a vested interest in.

By the end, I didn't care who'd win, I just knew I was watching something spectacular.

Good game, good food, great company!

Thanks, Jim and Cathy!

Failure...

can actually be kind of funny. Actually very funny.

Click here.

Tax rebates? Maybe, but then there's this...

Click here.

(wink wink, thanks Tyler)

Some thoughts on calling

Since when did calling ever equate with a paycheck?

It's a question I've been pondering some time now.

Isn't it odd that most people that talk about calling as far as churches go are the ones that are getting paid by the church? Even when they start talking to others about 'calling' it's often in regard to ministry or church vocation.

Is that Biblical?

How many Biblical characters that have responded to God's call on their life ended up (or started off) as holy people working for that particular generation's expression of church? It seems like I can remember a lot more people that weren't than were. I think a good example is Amos.

Amos the fig farmer is sent by God to speak some very harsh words to the king. Interesting though that Amos is a fig farmer before he goes off and, by all accounts, returns to the fig farm after he's done what God asked of him.

I can think of very rare occasions where people have opted to NOT take a new job in a new location because they felt called to remain doing their part in a local community of believers. It's as if 'calling' equates 'I get paid by the church' and if one isn't employed then there's a different idea of 'calling.'

What if we viewed calling apart from vocation? Sure, some have a vocation that matches their calling, but it seems as though those that are lifted up in churches are those in leadership.

What about the plumber who's served in the youth ministry forever because he's called to serving young people?

What about the mom working half-time that spends her spare time visiting shut-ins and folks at the nursing home?

What about the retired grandma that spends every Sunday in the nursery at church so that young families can have a worshipful experience together?

I am fortunate. I am one of the fortunate few that have a calling and vocation that intersect. One of the things that bring such great joy?

Seeing people that understand that calling is more about who they are, and less about what they do.

It was too soon,

We'll miss you.

You are a beautiful soul.

You've helped us all see God, and maybe understand Him a little more...

Swim in this thought for a second...

May you be subject to God's imagination.

What would that world look like?

Practicality in the Theology of Worship

So, even though there hasn't been a lot of discussion here, the facebook note of the last post generated some decent conversation.

So, I have some more thoughts about 'theology that is eminently practical.'

Let me start by saying that by 'eminently' I mean 'obviously' or 'overtly.' Not huge or massive. :)

My thoughts really center on a couple of main areas. I'll share about one for now. Theology of worship:

Now there are lots of ideas about worship and what it is and how one does it or even how communities of faith do it in general, but to me, in worship's purest form, it's us humans telling God how great He is. It's our opportunity to give our thanks for the ways that God chooses to be active in our midst. It's our opportunity to pour ourselves out in thanks...spill our guts if you will.

Now if you asked 25 people how this happens best, you'll get 25 different answers. Probably because it all boils down to our theology of worship, or how we view the connection of God and God's people through worship. The trouble comes in when components of worship start to get confused with worship itself. And so, many discussions about worshiping God degenerate into a debate about form, function, or style.

We go around and around about all sorts of different things: those liturgical dancers make me crazy with those ribbons, why the hell is there a choir anthem, or, my personal favorite, I didn't get anything out of that. The issue is that all of these ideas (or any related ones) put the focus on us when worship was never meant to be about us. It's about God.

So, any discussion about worship and how we and God connect during it (whenever it happens) must begin and end with this question:

How did we do? Were people able to tell God how cool He is? Have folks left understanding who they are in relation to God?

Quick theology lesson. God is God. We are not God. Therefore, our primary function in worship is to celebrate that. And then, something funny just happens:

We start to value what God values. We start to feel passion for the things that God is passionate about. All because worship gives perspective.

And around and around we go: We worship God, we love God , we love God for being in charge, we grow passionate about God's passions, God breaks into our lives and in the lives of others as we live out God's role versus ours, we get excited, we worship God...

In my humble opinion, anything beyond that is colored bubbles.

We can debate the theology of components of worship. But it's not practical. It's not useful. It pulls the focus off of what matters most.

May we all be good stewards of our energy.

Where does my brain meet?

This may sound like a funny question, so let me help to clarify.

As a church leader, I often find myself in the middle of all sorts of philosophical discussions. 'What did God mean when He said this or that?' or 'How does my view of _____________ have any bearing on ________________?' It's a part of my brain that I love to use. I love engaging in conversation.

However, there's this other part of my brain that sees people in situations that defy logic and I wonder how the first part and the second part relate. Do they even mesh at all?

How does my understanding of a person's process of conversion relate to my understanding of a friend losing their job at a church? Any attempts at follow up have been met with impersonal emails saying, "I can't meet with you for 2 months." In other words, a pastor who refuses to be pastoral...

How does discussion the ins and outs my philosophy of ecclesiology relate to a young mother who's been told that her husband's cancer is no longer treatable? How does my thoughts about worship design and order help to bring 'order' to her life and the two boys that will be fatherless...sometime...?

I guess the big question that I'm posing here is, in terms of communities of faith, when does the theoretical become practical?

I can go around and around about abstract ideas about God, communities of faith, and worship, but I can't offer anything (seemingly) of worth to someone who's really in the midst of a very dark time.

So, where does my brain meet?

I get that how we understand communities of faith 'working' has huge implications on how we minister to people. I get all of those things...

...but I don't...

My exhortation to all those reading this today:

My your 'theoretical' be 'eminently practical'...

...because it's about people; people that God loves.