Like and Love

I have been working on this thought for a while and I will continue working on it until I use it next month in a series at Venture on the Lord's Prayer.

The difference between like and love-
You like someone because there are things about them that you enjoy being around (such as a sense of humor, or being a good listener) but when you love someone you want to be around them despite the things about them that you don’t enjoy (ie- stubbornness, inability to replace the toilet paper roll).

What do you think?

Ochocinco and Avery

"Hey Chad, my daughter's a big fan of yours. Can she get a picture with you?"
"She's too young to like football."
"No, she likes football."
"Ok"
Picture taken.
"Thanks Chad."
"Ok, you guys enjoy."

The dialogue was breif, but tacitly Chad Ochocinco (All-Pro WR for the Cincinnati Bengals) expressed to me how happy he was to see me at the Grapevine Mills Mall in DFW today. I feel bad that I walked off too fast, because I think Chad wanted to give me his email so I could send him a copy of the pic.

UFC 103 and JC

Last Saturday night, a good friend from Venture and I attended UFC 103 in Dallas. Like most sporting events, watching on TV can in no one replicate the experience of being there to hear, see and feel the event. One aspect of the experience I didn’t expect was the crowd, surprising the cage-fighting crowd isn’t the most sophisticated audience. Who would have thought? I feel safe to say that of the almost 20K there, I might have been the only clergy there. The large gentleman from Chicago next to me seemed to have been very dehydrated and tried to placate his thirst through copious amounts of Jack Daniels- a seemingly popular technique for many that evening. Fortunately for me, he was a happy drunk. He proudly pulled out his camera to show me a picture of two people that he partied with the night before, a former UFC Champion and the fighter’s adult film star girlfriend. I made conversation about the athlete, but ignored the girl, much to this guy’s dismay. So he turned to the stranger on the other side and finally got the reaction he wanted from the picture.

If I were a betting man, this guy would probably not feel too comfortable in a typical church service. He would probably prefer to get punched in the face by his new UFC friend than participate in a typical small group because the world that most church people live in and his world are so different. Many church people are so insulated from this lifestyle that we don’t have the ability to even speak the same language. Regardless of how right we are, if we cannot connect with him we have failed because if we are to be letters of recommendation and we don’t get our message to its intended destination then we are the lost ones not him.
If we are truly going to be missionally minded communities as God intends for us we have to find a way to make it easy for people like my new friend to connect with God through our Christian communities. So here’s the million-dollar question, how do we embody church in such a way that he can participate and wants to participate?

1st service video

Untitled from venturecommunity on Vimeo.

Venture's 1st preview service

The Venture Community gathered on Sunday for her first worship experience. We had spent a good chunk of Saturday transforming our middle school into a place of worship for the first time, but we had a strong team that worked hard to get it done. Sunday morning seemed to be the culmination of a lot of work, because most of the work that I’ve (and others) put in to this church plant over the last year sixteen months hasn’t produced a great deal of tangible or visible results. All of these preparations started to pay off when new people not just showed up but wanted to get involved. We didn’t do any advertising or marketing other than word of mouth, so we were exciting to see a solid turnout. While this might have seemed like the culmination in some ways, we know this is really just the beginning. Our goal has never been just to get people to show up for a gathering. Our goal is to help people be formed into the image of Jesus. Just showing up on a Sunday morning doesn’t do this, but it can be a good place to start. I am pleased with our auspicious start, and anxiously await to see what’s next.

God is...

Here's the sermon series for our preview service.

God is... from venturecommunity on Vimeo.

Venture's Story

Venture's Story from venturecommunity on Vimeo.

Our first service is coming up this Sunday. Please keep us in your prayers.

Luckiest Man....

From Lou Gehrig's July 4th 1939 speech- less than two years before his death.

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans...When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know. So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

imperfect information

Last Wednesday on my trip out to Midland to preach at GCR (one of Venture’s two main supporting churches) I read Andy Stanley’s Next Generation Leaders. The one thought that has stuck with me from the book is a quote from the WWII submarine movie U-571.

(on being a captain) “Now that’s the job. It’s not a science. You have to be able to make hard decisions based on imperfect information, asking men to carry out orders that may result in their deaths. And if you’re wrong, you suffer the consequences. If you are not prepared to make those decision, without pause, without reflection, then you got no business being a submarine captain.”

A leader makes hard decisions based off of imperfect information. Stanley says that a leader is never going to be more than 80% certain of his/her decision, and if you wait for more certainty you will most likely miss an opportunity. At Venture we have issues of which we are certain- we follow Jesus, God’s grace is enough, love, forgiveness…. But issues of style, preferences and forms aren’t always reaching 80%, In these times I am learning as a leader to trust in God and secondly to focus on clarity instead of certainty.

Venture Small Group

We started weekly small groups last week and had our second meeting last night. We had a great group thats starting to act like a church. It's truly exciting to be apart of this church plant.

On the second picture you can see at the table three of the Avery's, including my Avery in the yellow, who are apart of Venture. I guess great parents think alike when naming their kids.

Core Issues.

In high school, my sophomore track season got derailed because of a back injury that started months before during wrestling season. Despite consulting a couple doctors, I couldn’t figure out why my back was bothering me. Chiropracters tried adjusting my back. Another doctor had me wear a heal lift in my shoe to compensate for a difference in the length of my legs. A physical therapist thought with a combination of electrical stem, ice and massages it would get better. The latter was my favorite, but even that didn’t fix the real problem. The real problem that caused my mid-lumbar strain was my hamstrings’ flexibility, or should I say, lack of flexibility. As a 15 year old, I didn’t understand the importance of stretching. The tightness in my legs caused my back to become extremely tight and then it couldn’t handle the trama delivered to it from wrestling or pole vaulting. The solution was surprisingly a basic core issue, but we all erroneously thought complicated treatments would do the trick.
It seems to me that many of us have a deep wounding or brokenness at our core that we try to medicate with shallow home remedies- a few more compliments from your peers, new stuff, more success (however we define that- the size of your bank account or “your” church), or a plethora of other options. All to no avail. Instead of turning to the core issue of connection with one’s creator.

Tim Keller-“Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to an identity, apart from him.”
Barbara Brown Taylor- “Contrary to the legal model, the essence of sin is not the violation of laws but a wrecked relationship with God, one another, and the whole created order. “All sins are attempts to fill voids,” wrote Simone Weil. Because we cannot stand the God-shaped hole inside of us, we try stuffing it full of all sorts of things, but only God may fill.”

Sitting Alone- part 2

Here is a follow up to a previous post on the subject of churches that don't do a good job of being welcoming-

Many churches that do a good job of drawing large crowds to their services don't do a good job of creating community. One reason could be very pragmatic. Many people in many different services isn't conducive for building meaningful relationships. But it could be much more than just that, because what you win them with is what you win them to. If you get people in the door by just giving them a good worship product, then you could be establishing a consumer culture in which people expect to receive and not give. When you go to church to receive, then you aren’t in the mindset to give to anyone including the stranger sitting next to you.
So the million dollar question is how do we lead meaningful worship experiences while concurrently calling people to discipleship and community?

Avery's 1st MLB Game

We had a great time taking Avery to her first MLB game this week. She did well, but she got upset when the ballpark erupted in boo’s when A-Rod batted. She couldn’t understand why people would do that to him, but once I told her about the “Kissing the Mirror” pic in Detail magazine she understood. While I am not a huge baseball fan, I must confess that I am a Yankees fan. They do a good job of filling the sports void created by the Cowboys recent short seasons, and they always spend the money to try to be competitive.

Sitting alone in church

We had visited this good church before, but this time when no one talked with us after church it bothered me because my pregnant wife was feeling ill. Church should be a safe place to feel ill considering all the “love people” stuff churches typically talks about.

Lindsay sat down hoping to get over her temporary illness during the last few minutes of the service. But it didn’t go away. The service ends, and everyone rapidly leaves. And we awkwardly sit. She needed water, but she also needed her husband to stay next to her. So we sat, alone. Not one person came over to talk with us during this long five minutes, and while it never bothered us before that no one talked with us, it bothered me that time.

I am not trying to bash this church, I am just trying to figure out how not to repeat this mistake. What do we do to establish a church that makes everyone feel welcomed?

Venture stuff

Here is some info about Venture that I have been working on for our website-

JESUS. Venture exists to help people become more like Jesus, who is the light in a dark world and the truest expression of what people are intended to be. We believe in the forgiveness found in Jesus, the power found in his cross and the strength found in Christ centered community. At Venture we follow the way of Jesus through living in Christian community, worshipping, and serving.
BROKENNESS. Throughout the world brokenness exists, and brokenness isn’t just out there but brokenness is in each of us. We believe that God brings wholeness to our broken world through Jesus. Venture exists to help people experience the wholeness that comes from God.
GOD. As Christ followers we have joined something larger than ourselves- God’s redemption of his creation. God has entered into his creation’s existence through Jesus to reconcile the world back to himself. Venture seeks to be a signpost that points people to this reconciling God.
SAFE. Venture is a safe place to wrestle with your struggles and the sometimes over-whelming task of trying to engage with God.

Friendship

An acquaintance is someone who likes you for your strengths.
A friend is someone who likes you in spite of your weaknesses.

Justification

Here is a quote from an NT Wright interview based on his new book on Justification that I am really excited to read:
"because the question Paul is asking is not, 'How can you get enough righteousness so that when God looks at you he’ll be happy with you?” but, “How can you be sure that you are a member of God’s people, that your sins are forgiven, and that therefore you are part of the covenant purposes of God which, ever since Abraham, have been the way in which God was addressing and rescuing the world?' "

Marley, Chief and Me.

Lindsay finally got me to watch Marley and Me last Saturday night. I still hadn’t recovered from watching 8 Below three years ago, and didn’t know if I was ready to watch another dog movie because without fail the dog dies at the end. I reluctantly watched the young couple get their dog at the beginning of their marriage just like us. Lindsay and I got Chief right around the time we got married and Chloe soon after on our first married Valentine’s Day. As a grad student I was perplexed how another grad school couple with a similar income could afford to go on vacations and afford a new car when we couldn’t, until I realized that the only other expense we had that they didn’t was our two dogs. These dogs have cost us a great deal, but there is a reason they are called man’s best friend. Dogs truly do love you for who you are and just want to be around you.

UPDATE-This blog turned out to be ominous foreshadowing. I wrote this blog earlier last week and didn't post it when we found out that Chief had cancer. After removing two cancerous tumors from his hip, the vet said that he had a fifty percent chance that the cancer wasn’t in his blood stream. We spent last week dreading the results of Chief's blood work. Today we heard the good news that the cancer wasn’t in his blood stream. After finding out that most likely Chief will not have anymore cancer, he is going to be extremely disappointed that the preferential treatment he experienced last week will not last. Lindsay and I sure are glad that Chief is back to sleeping in the living room and eating his regular diet.

Memoirs of a church planter- Vol 1

Planting a church has been quite an adventure so far, and it’s only going to get more overwhelming, exciting and stressful as we get closer to our weekly launch in October.
Here are three of the lessons I am learning:
1. Measure twice, cut once. We only get one chance to establish our initial DNA and we will be affected by this DNA for years. If (and that’s a big “If”) we can thoroughly measure out who God is leading us to become, then we will save ourselves a lot of cutting down the road.
2. Make the ask. The leaders in my life that have blessed me the most have been the ones who have painted a picture of who I could become and invited me to become that person. Many of us are waiting for someone to give us the opportunity to grow, and those of us who God has entrusted with leadership roles owe it to them to give them those chances.
3. Don’t fear the “no.” When I was in college, I would invite people each week to make the forty-five minute drive with me out to the country church where I preached. Fifty percent of the people who said they would go with me would never show up at my house on Sunday morning. This lesson has helped me more than most lessons I learned in grad school. People will dissappoint you, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to be a disappointing person.

Venture's Location

We finalized our Sunday meeting place for our first year at Venture- Crownover Middle School. It's a great location and has great space for children's ministry. We are pretty excited about it.

Venture

We finally got something up on Venture's website- Venturecommunity.org. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will start to take more shape. On May 15th we will have our last vision casting meeting and then we will transition to weekly small groups as we build towards our first preview service on July 12th. I am sure these next three months will go quickly. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Denton Project Update

We finally decided on a name for our church and purchased our domain name. Our website should start to have some stuff on it soon, but until then check out this preview for our site and our name.

MacChurch

Within a few days of getting my first Mac laptop I was hooked because of the seemless interface with my Ipod, camcorder, camera, calender, phone, etc. Since all of these things work together so smoothly I have ended up use them more often and more efficiently . I hadn’t purchased many CDs in the last few years, but once I had easy downloading capabilities from Itunes I began purchasing music almost weekly. As I am now about to get my third Mac laptop I must admit that I am committed to the brand.

So the question is how do we develop a church that can be as seamless as Mac? How can we let all of the expressions of our Christianity go smoothly together instead of the seemingly disjointed church experience of which many of us have grown tired or just begrudgingly accepted. How does our personal reading of scripture and other spiritual disciples get incorporated into our church life? How can we serve our local community with our church community? How does what our kids experience on Sunday morning affect them and our family throughout the week? How does what we hear on Sunday morning interface with our small group? I know that just as I was less likely to drive to a music store and buy a CD, but very likely to download music off of Itunes, many people will be more willing to engage in the Christ life if they have that same accessability.

My answer-simplicity. The more the words, the less the meaning (Eccl 6:11). We need to speak less words and do less activity for more meaning. Getting people busy or always at the building (if you have one) doesn’t produce more Christ-likeness just as hanging aroud the biology department doesn’t make you a doctor. What makes someone like Christ is enabling them to embark on the venture of following Jesus. We need to do a few things that all explicitly tie to a singular vision of Christ-likeness.

What do you think is the best way to a seamless church?

Preaching

Last weekend I had the privilege to preach at Richland Hills’ weekend services. It is a lot of fun to preach for over four thousand people that are excited to be there and ready to listen. I guess that’s what happens when you get used to listenning to Rick Atchley and his sidekick Johnny Storm on a consistent basis. Here is a link if you want to check it out.

Forgiveness

Here's an amazing example of forgiveness.

"I looked down to see where my plane had crashed and saw that it had gone right into a house. I screamed in horror when I realized what had just happened," Neubauer said in the document.
Neubauer landed in the backyard of another home and was not injured. The pilot had been trying to reach the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when he started having problems with his fighter jet.
The jet crashed into Dong Yun Yoon's house, killing his wife, his two young children and his mother-in-law. An unoccupied house was also destroyed.

Days after the incident, Yoon said he did not blame the pilot.
"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," Yoon said. "I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could."

Front Row Flirting

Here’s an unfortunately true story I am telling at RHCC this weekend during my sermon…

It was my first month at my first full-time job and I had just finished preaching when a girl came forward for prayer during the response time. I was feeling pretty good as she headed for the front pew, expecting to hear her tell me a life-changing insight that I shared during my sermon. Soon after she sat down, I stepped over towards her and took a seat next to her. I leaned over to find out how exactly I had changed her life, but she didn’t move. Not only did she not move over to converse with me, but she turned away from me. And she sat. I asked her what was wrong. And she sat, silent. So I motioned for an elder to help me out, and so he came and talked to her. And she actually talked to him.
Thirty minutes later the church building had almost emptied out, when her mother motioned me over towards the two of them and said,
“Luke, I am really sorry that my daughter ignored you. She just thought that you were a boy on the front pew trying to flirt with her.”
Which might possibly be understandable if I hadn't been preaching for the last thirty minutes. So I assume that she thought my sermon was the longest pick-up line in history.
When I actually said, “Open your Bibles to the book of Mark.”
She must have heard in her mind, “Hey girl, you come here often?”

Contentment

Hebrews 13:5- Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
It seems odd that a verse on contentment would contain a quotation given to encourage Joshua as he takes over for Moses as the new leader of Israel. This verse has been stuck in my head for over a week now as I try to think of a connection between financial contentment and God’s faithful presence.
Contentment is a mentality that what you have is all that you really need, if not more than what you need. I don’t think a person can ever be content without being thankful and I think if you are good at one, then you will inevitably become good at the other. God, the dresser of the lilies of the fields and feeder of the birds of the air, will not take a day off from his job. So we are content whatever way God chooses to clothe us, without regard for the brand, and we are content whatever way God chooses to feed us, without regard to the culinary skillfulness. Whenever I find myself being discontent with my situation I try to list five things for which I am thankful and amazingly contentment seems to show up because God is pretty good about never leaving or forsaking us. And I am not saying this as someone who has always had financial things go my way. I have a house that's been on the market in Florida for 14 months now without an offer. I have prayed many times that God would send a buyer, and I have also prayed that God would send a hurricane, both to no avail. So obviously God isn't housing me the way that I would like Him to, but that doesn't mean God has forsaken me. I've actually seen God more in times of trials than in successes and I think that’s what contentment is really about, being ok regardless of the circumstance.

1st sickness

Avery has her first real cold, so we drove around last night so she could go to sleep sitting up in her car seat. While I am thankful she doesn't have a fever or anything worse, it is still terrible to watch your daughter cry and struggle to breath through her stopped up nose.

Reading

This weekend Lindsay and Avery took a quick trip down to Austin, so I had some time to kill. On the way home from the gym on Friday night I grabbed a copy of Jurassic Park and proceeded to indulge my nerdy self. By the time my girls returned for dinner on Saturday I had spent the entire day reading, except for breaks to finish up my class for Sunday and to swim a mile. After this weekend I am reminded of two things:

1-How thankful I am for my wife, b/c left to my own devices I would be a complete nerd.
2-Yes, if you haven’t read the book it is way better than how I remember the movie. It seems to me that our imaginations are always better than our ability to put words into flesh.

Chaos

I have been following the incredibly sad story of the four guys lost at sea in the Gulf of Mexico. In ancient thought the seas were a sign of chaos, and I am sure to these guys and their families it's still a sign of chaos. No matter how big or strong you are, when you are adrift in the chaos of the seas or life for that matter, we are all helpless. But the good news of the first creation story in Genesis says that God creates order in the midst of chaos. I am sure that is what those families and many other families across America in their own chaos are clinging to as well.

UPDATE: Unfortunately this story seems to have an awful ending. According to the survivor, the others chose to remove their life vests and give up hope. Such a terrible ending to a terrible story.

Denton Project 2nd Meeting

On Saturday the Denton Project had her second meeting. We were very excited to introduce the newest addition to our team-Shannon Plog. Shannon, Mike and their two boys: Andy (10) and Elijah (2), come to us from the Richland Hills Church of Christ where Shannon has been on staff for five years in the children's ministry department as the 252 launch director. As a church planter, I am so glad to have such a qualified children's minister, because without a quality children's ministry churches just don't seem to grow. As a parent, I am so glad to have such a good person (and parent) helping to develop Avery's relationship with Jesus.

Here is a group of us praying over the Plogs and next here is Shannon and me talking about children's ministry.

Ash Wednesday

“From dust you came till dust you return.”In Panama City I had an Episcopalian priest friend, whose church I attended for Ash Wednesday, but in Fort Worth I didn’t have a place to participate this year. I love Ash Wednesday’s reminder of our transient state on earth.

This year for Lent I am giving up two things.
Oatmeal raison cookies- Easter always connects me to the Heavenly banquet in which we will one day participate (Think the movie Antwone Fisher- The meal scene at the end of movie- if you haven’t seen the movie, that scene is well worth it and it’s the best picture of the what I think the Heavenly banquet will be like). In the past I’ve given up flavored drinks (for those who know me, yes I know, it’s only Gatorade) and Carrabba’s (my favorite restaurant in Panama City) but this year it’s the removal of my current favorite dessert. As I already anticipate having them again today, in a much greater sense I anticipate the meal we will partake in on that glorious day.

Non-Christian music-Let me make a brief disclaimer about “Christian Music.” I think even the term “Christian Music” is unbiblical, but it’s easier to communicate than the alternative. The idea of Christians having a sub-culture of music doesn’t fit the same DNA established by Jesus, who took on flesh and dwelt among humanity. I think real “Christian” music engages culture through their art, and all beauty and art connects people to the creator of beauty and art. All music can truly be Christian in the sense that it can connect people to the Christian God. If I were a musician I would use my talent for my local church and I would also engage in my community’s music scene, but I am just a few degrees from being tone deaf. So instead I am looking to hire that guy to work at my church. But I think the term that we use of “Christian Music” actually signifies that it doesn’t have shady lyrics and attempts to communicate a Christian message, so I will reluctantly use it. With that disclaimer, the second part of Lent for me will be to fast from listening to non-Christian worship music as a way of focusing on this season of anticipation. I admit I might play a little fast and loose with this one in a few weeks.

Firsts

It's been a while since I last posted, this whole starting a church thing can keep me pretty busy. But here are a few first for me from the last few days:

-First time I ever wrote my name as "Dad."
-First time I ever got two girls gifts for Valentine's Day.
-First time I ever had lunch w/ Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys.

A-Roid

As some of you know, It has just come to the light that the most hated MVP currently in baseball, Alex Rodriguez, tested positive for PED's in 2003. Now it will be interesting to see how he responds. Some have tried to deny it (see-Clemens, Roger or Bonds, Barry) and thus were vilified. Others have admitted to using steroids (see-Giambi, Jason) and seem to be absolved by the media. I for one would like to see some honesty, because for such a cynical society, we have a strong propensity for forgiveness.
Why do you think we quickly forgive these athletes when they admit it, but so voraciously try to destroy them if they don't?

Denton Project Meeting 2

On February 28th the Denton Project will be having her second meeting. We have been greatly encouraged by the interest we have found from so many people who want to participate in this project, and we look forward to getting them all together.
A few random pieces of information about The Denton Project:
-"The Denton Project" is not going to be the church's name. We are still working on a creative name that communicates the heart of this group of people.
- We hopefully will be able to introduce a new key member to our team at the Feb 28th meeting.
- Some things in life you have to discuss repeatedly. And as we do, we either become less certain of our “product” or become more certain. This church plant is the second. I am constantly being convinced on almost a daily basis of the validity, importance and the blessing of this church plant. We still have a lot of work to do, but like the proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Adding to the Pack

This past week we added my brother’s two little redheads to our pack while he and his wife went out of town. With dogs it is often easier to take care of two dogs than one dog because as pack animals they entertain each other, but not so with children. Even though Avery wants to keep sleeping in the morning because she has been waking up every two hours in the night, the two redheads want to wake up for pancakes bright and early. Once you break the man-to-man defense of two parents to two kids and have to go zone coverage of three+ kids to two parents you get in real trouble.
But having three car seats in the back of my truck is well worth it. Especially when I overheard this conversation as the two boys were play fighting as their favorite "superheros":
“I am hulk”
“Fine, now I am Spiderman”
“Ok, I will be batman”
“Well, now I am uncle Luke”

100-0

"We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Thus said the former coach from Covenant School of Dallas after his girl's basketball team won 100-0 over Dallas Academy (a school that specializes in helping kids with learning differences that happens to have been winless for four years). Teams lose, people lose. I personally lost my third ever varsity wrestling match in under 15 seconds (which almost takes talent to lose that fast). People get embarrassed in sports. But a coach who has his team play full-court press and shoot 3's after a 59-0 halftime lead has crossed a line. As a parent it would have been more palatable if my daughter were on the losing team, than the winning team because afterwards you cannot feeling guilty for being a bad basketball player, but you can feel guilty for having bad sportsmanship.

Power and Violence from MLK

Here is more Dr. King from the same speech-

Now a lot of us are preachers, and all of us have our moral convictions and concerns, and so often we have problems with power. There is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly…
What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at is best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at is best is love correcting everything that stand against love.

I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.

Room at the Top

From MLK's speech "Where Do We Go From Here?" in 1967

“With all the struggle and all the achievements, we must face the fact… that the Negro still lives in the basement of the Great Society. He is still at the bottom, despite the few who have penetrated to slightly higher levels. Even where the door has been forced partially open, mobility for the Negro is still sharply restricted. There is often no bottom at which to start, and when there is there’s almost no room at the top. In consequence, Negroes are still impoverished aliens in an affluent society…”

Today, we as Americans have made a loud declaration of the availability at the top of our country for all. And I hope, as President Obama said, we will put away childish things.

Seriously, How?

Seriously, how do you possibly say no to Girl Scouts cookies with the tiny little Girl Scouts asking?

Seriously, how does a dog lover watch the movie Marley and Me knowing full well that they are going to cry like a school girl at the end of the movie? Personally, I still haven't gotten over Paul Walker's Oscar worthy performance in 8 Below.

Athletes and Faith

Recently someone asked, "How is God glorified through athletes and their professions of faith?" Here's my take, I would like to hear your take.

Our society has an odd obsession with athlete (and their wider category-celebrity) endorsements. I can understand why athletes can endorse athletic gear, but I don’t understand why Derek Jeter should influence my choice of facial razors (or cars from Tiger, cereal from Jordan or cell phone coverage from Phelps). And I really don’t understand why Tom Cruise should influence someone’s choice of postpartum medicine or any celebrity’s political views should influence anyone. But since these are the cards that we have been dealt in our culture, we might as well play them. For one of best examples of people using celebrity faith endorsements check out the I am Second campaign and (and for MMA fans check out the slightly out there Fighting with God conference).
My assumption is that celebrity endorsements don’t lead to conversions for many people, but people will allow these endorsements to validate their already established beliefs. I know if I had a football-loving boy I would be extremely grateful to show up at my in-laws church in Austin and see Colt McCoy there every week just as I would be thankful for Tim Tebow’s example and the obsessive/stalker tendency that FOX’s commentators displayed during the BCS championship of Tebow. Some might complain about many athletes peculiar use of scriptures (most notably Phil 4:13), but I am grateful for any person doing what they think is encouraging to other people and honoring to God.

The Denton Project's 1st meeting

On Tuesday night the Denton Project had her first meeting. As we left our house to go up to Denton I reminded myself that John Burke who planted The Gateway Church in Austin had three people show up for his first meeting. I was prepared to have that many show up, but luckily that was not the case. It is great to see how God continues to provide. We still have about 8 months until our weekly launch, but this is an exciting beginning to a long journey.

Please be praying for us as we continue to seek people to join our launch team, prayer team and funding team.

Not so PG Noah

Lindsay and I have been reading Avery a story every night before bed from her Karyn Henley Bible (thanks Mrs. Jane).
Last night as I read to her the mildly morbid story of Noah and the Ark, I was reminded of the words of Frederick Buechner.

"This is really as dark a tale as there is in the Bible, which is full of dark tales. It is a tale of God's terrible despair over the human race and His decision to visit them with a great flood that would destroy them all except for this one old man, Noah, and his family. Only now we give it to children to read. One wonders why."

Any ideas why a seemingly sad story is such a popular kids story?