A recent Today show interview featured the Dean family - who together lost 500 pounds in a year.
500 pounds. My family doesn't weight that much total. So this family really lost alot of fat. In the interview, the dad of the family admitted to going 30 years without exercising and never passing up a snack along the way. I was frankly really impressed by what they did. It took alot of hard work.
Here's the thing: it's really pretty easy to gain weight. You don't even have to think about it. Do nothing and it happens.
When we in the church think about gluttony, we tend to think about intentionally taking more than we really need. But I don't think that's the heart of the problem. I think gluttony is really about not doing something. Do nothing and it just sort of happens.
Because naturally, we just take more than we need. We focus on ourselves. We hoard. We're selfish. We just want more. All the time. A member of the Rockefeller family was once asked how much money was enough. His answer: "Just a little more."
It takes a commitment; It takes a decision; It takes effort to not be a glutton. You have to intentionally say no to some things and yes to other things (which usually means saying yes to others instead of saying yes to things).
On Sunday, we'll be talking about what it means to be a glutton. Until then, I'd love to know what are some of the things you have a hard time saying no to. Or conversely, what are the things (or people) you have a hard time saying yes to.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I'm too sexy for my shirt...
WARNING: The sermon this Sunday will use words like "sex", "lust", and "passion." There will be frequent quotations from the Song of Solomon. Such as:
"The curves of your hips are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like a round goblet which never lacks mixed wine."
And just wait till we get to the part about climbing palm trees and the twin fawns...
In all seriousness, this is guaranteed to not be rated any worse than PG. We're looking at the difference between love and lust. We won't actually talk about the "twin fawns". But if you aren't quite ready for your children to be asking you about things like sex, sexuality, lust, etc, you may want to just take your kids into the artroom during the sermon. (The artroom is right across the hall from the classroom we use as a nursery and each week there are activities for you and your kids to do in there during the worship service.)
see you Sunday.
"The curves of your hips are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like a round goblet which never lacks mixed wine."
And just wait till we get to the part about climbing palm trees and the twin fawns...
In all seriousness, this is guaranteed to not be rated any worse than PG. We're looking at the difference between love and lust. We won't actually talk about the "twin fawns". But if you aren't quite ready for your children to be asking you about things like sex, sexuality, lust, etc, you may want to just take your kids into the artroom during the sermon. (The artroom is right across the hall from the classroom we use as a nursery and each week there are activities for you and your kids to do in there during the worship service.)
see you Sunday.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
One Word: SENT
That word defines the church.
At the core of our identity is our having been SENT into the world to give the world a glimpse, a taste, a hint of the love of God and the mercy of Jesus Christ.
That word also defines the new paradigm we at FirstChurch have committed to stepping into.
It is our present future.
Last week, our session voted to reduce our funding for mission from 17% of the general budget, down to 10%. That decision was based on the hard realities of a budget deficit we face over the next few years. At first glimpse, it definitely appears that this decision flies in the face of what I wrote above. How can we spend less on missions and yet profess to be defined by our having been sent into the world? How can we act like we care about the poor and then turn our backs on those who are feeding them, sheltering them, serving them?
Good question. Hard question.
Interestingly, for me, this decision is full of hope. In fact, I believe it will propel us into the new reality we are seeking to embrace. I believe this decision will help move us towards our emerging vision of being a "sent" church.
Here's how: During the month of May, we will be having a month long focus on our "sent-ness". We'll spend a full month living in the values of our sending God. For 4 weeks, we'll come face to face with a world in need; with real people who have real longings for community, for purpose, for hope, for mercy, for love. Ultimately, we'll be forced to decide: are we here for ourselves? Or are we here for them?
I think the answer will be clear. And I am confident our response will be strong. We will live as a people SENT.
Are you ready?
At the core of our identity is our having been SENT into the world to give the world a glimpse, a taste, a hint of the love of God and the mercy of Jesus Christ.
That word also defines the new paradigm we at FirstChurch have committed to stepping into.
It is our present future.
Last week, our session voted to reduce our funding for mission from 17% of the general budget, down to 10%. That decision was based on the hard realities of a budget deficit we face over the next few years. At first glimpse, it definitely appears that this decision flies in the face of what I wrote above. How can we spend less on missions and yet profess to be defined by our having been sent into the world? How can we act like we care about the poor and then turn our backs on those who are feeding them, sheltering them, serving them?
Good question. Hard question.
Interestingly, for me, this decision is full of hope. In fact, I believe it will propel us into the new reality we are seeking to embrace. I believe this decision will help move us towards our emerging vision of being a "sent" church.
Here's how: During the month of May, we will be having a month long focus on our "sent-ness". We'll spend a full month living in the values of our sending God. For 4 weeks, we'll come face to face with a world in need; with real people who have real longings for community, for purpose, for hope, for mercy, for love. Ultimately, we'll be forced to decide: are we here for ourselves? Or are we here for them?
I think the answer will be clear. And I am confident our response will be strong. We will live as a people SENT.
Are you ready?
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A finger slammed in the door
Over the holidays, our little girl got her finger shut in a door. It was an inside door in our house. The shocking part to me was that her finger got slammed in the hinge side of the door and the door shut completely. How does that happen and your finger not just come off?
So she has a pretty good gash on her finger and we run her to the ER and she actually falls asleep in the waiting room. I guess crying furiously for 45 minutes is kind of exhausting. Eventually we get in to see the doctor. The really funny part was that while the doc is stitching up the gash, I all of a sudden realize that I'M getting sick and about to pass out. The doc sits me down and puts a cold cloth on my head. My brave little girl handled her gash far better than her old man.
So i got to thinking about this later and found myself thinking of ways to try to keep this kind of thing from happening again. I found myself wanting to control her life situations so as to keep her from having this kind of accident.
But then I had that "duh" kind of realization: that was probably the best possible thing to help her learn.
Then came the really profound "AHA" moment: I realized that so much of our church life is structured to try to prevent us from having accidents. We are so careful to avoid making mistakes. We set up so many committees and task forces and teams to try to control situations and minimize "accidents."
But the result of all our good intentioned "parenting" is that we keep ourselves from stepping into the new world that is emerging around us. By trying to insulate ourselves from danger, we actually keep ourselves from experimenting with new ways of thinking, new ways of reaching out, new ways of doing church.
I wonder if we are actually preventing ourselves from growing into the full maturity of our faith. I wonder if we are keeping ourselves from growing into the future God is calling us to.
As we grow and mature, the world that we see and interact with changes. And our ability to interact with it changes. For us to grow and mature, we have to experiment with this new world. Without world, there is an ever changing world "out there" and it is a world for which the church is increasingly irrelevent. I think that may very well be because we are stuck in 1950, trying to control our every step so as to not make mistakes.
Maybe the time has come for us to step out into the world and shut our fingers in a few doors. There may not be any other way for us to learn how to interact with the world around us.
So she has a pretty good gash on her finger and we run her to the ER and she actually falls asleep in the waiting room. I guess crying furiously for 45 minutes is kind of exhausting. Eventually we get in to see the doctor. The really funny part was that while the doc is stitching up the gash, I all of a sudden realize that I'M getting sick and about to pass out. The doc sits me down and puts a cold cloth on my head. My brave little girl handled her gash far better than her old man.
So i got to thinking about this later and found myself thinking of ways to try to keep this kind of thing from happening again. I found myself wanting to control her life situations so as to keep her from having this kind of accident.
But then I had that "duh" kind of realization: that was probably the best possible thing to help her learn.
Then came the really profound "AHA" moment: I realized that so much of our church life is structured to try to prevent us from having accidents. We are so careful to avoid making mistakes. We set up so many committees and task forces and teams to try to control situations and minimize "accidents."
But the result of all our good intentioned "parenting" is that we keep ourselves from stepping into the new world that is emerging around us. By trying to insulate ourselves from danger, we actually keep ourselves from experimenting with new ways of thinking, new ways of reaching out, new ways of doing church.
I wonder if we are actually preventing ourselves from growing into the full maturity of our faith. I wonder if we are keeping ourselves from growing into the future God is calling us to.
As we grow and mature, the world that we see and interact with changes. And our ability to interact with it changes. For us to grow and mature, we have to experiment with this new world. Without world, there is an ever changing world "out there" and it is a world for which the church is increasingly irrelevent. I think that may very well be because we are stuck in 1950, trying to control our every step so as to not make mistakes.
Maybe the time has come for us to step out into the world and shut our fingers in a few doors. There may not be any other way for us to learn how to interact with the world around us.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A vision for church 2008
Our conversation on Sundays at the Launch is asking a single question right now:
"Who are we called to be?"
Maybe a better way to phrase it is, "what is the Launch all about?"
In a sentence it is this: "We are a mission minded community of Christ followers who worship, serve, and live life together."
Each of those words is packed with meaning. And we'll be talking about that sentence for the next 4 weeks.
For now - the starting point: Mission minded. This does not refer to our mission program (though it includes that). This does not refer to missionaries who go to other countries (though that is a part of it). When we say that we are mission minded, this is what we mean. We recognize that the fundamental reality of our identity as a church is that we are sent into the world. We believe that God has raised up our church (and every church) with one primary purpose - to give the world a little foretaste of what God intends for the whole world. In other words, God has called us together as a church in order to send us out to the world to show them God's extravagant love.
So in everything we do, we have our eye on those who are not with us. We exist not for ourselves, but for our neighbor. So as we craft our worship services, we are thinking about those who don't really understand why we have liturgy and an order of worship. When we form small groups, we are thinking about those whom we might invite into our small groups who probably wouldn't come to church just yet. When we think about building a church in the SW cornfield, our thoughts are not on how the building will meet our needs. Our thoughts are on our SW neighbors whom we can serve through our building. When we think about how God is calling us to use our resources, our thoughts turn first to those who need God's wholeness, those who hurt, those who suffer, those who are without. Our thoughts are on a world full (and our own neighborhoods full) of people who could really use a little taste of God's love right here and now. That is our mission. Our lives are mission. Everything is mission.
We are mission minded...
"Who are we called to be?"
Maybe a better way to phrase it is, "what is the Launch all about?"
In a sentence it is this: "We are a mission minded community of Christ followers who worship, serve, and live life together."
Each of those words is packed with meaning. And we'll be talking about that sentence for the next 4 weeks.
For now - the starting point: Mission minded. This does not refer to our mission program (though it includes that). This does not refer to missionaries who go to other countries (though that is a part of it). When we say that we are mission minded, this is what we mean. We recognize that the fundamental reality of our identity as a church is that we are sent into the world. We believe that God has raised up our church (and every church) with one primary purpose - to give the world a little foretaste of what God intends for the whole world. In other words, God has called us together as a church in order to send us out to the world to show them God's extravagant love.
So in everything we do, we have our eye on those who are not with us. We exist not for ourselves, but for our neighbor. So as we craft our worship services, we are thinking about those who don't really understand why we have liturgy and an order of worship. When we form small groups, we are thinking about those whom we might invite into our small groups who probably wouldn't come to church just yet. When we think about building a church in the SW cornfield, our thoughts are not on how the building will meet our needs. Our thoughts are on our SW neighbors whom we can serve through our building. When we think about how God is calling us to use our resources, our thoughts turn first to those who need God's wholeness, those who hurt, those who suffer, those who are without. Our thoughts are on a world full (and our own neighborhoods full) of people who could really use a little taste of God's love right here and now. That is our mission. Our lives are mission. Everything is mission.
We are mission minded...
Friday, December 21, 2007
6 Medical Myths
This made me laugh. An article on Yahoo News reveals research into some commonly held myths (even commonly believed by doctors). We can all sleep easier now, knowing these truths:
Myth 1: We only use 10% of our brains. Nope - brain imaging reveals no part of the brain that is actually "inactive" or unused at any point.
Myth 2: You should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Nah. You need the equivalent of 8 cups of fluids, but you can get that from fruit and vegetables, tea, even coffee.
Myth 3: Shaved hair grows back thicker, darker, courser. Wrong! Studies show the hair growing back after shaving is not any darker or thicker than unshaved hair. It may appear darker due to not having been bleached by the sun, though.
Myth 4: Reading in dim light damages your eyesight. No way Jose. It doesn't cause any damage at all. Can cause eye fatigue, but it gets all better with a good night's sleep.
Myth 5: Cell Phones are dangerous in hospitals. Negatory. Tests showed that cell phones can actually interfere with a few hospital medical devices, but only if they were held within a few feet of the device. In general, walking down hospital halls or even into rooms, poses no threat. In fact, the improved communication by doctors carrying cell phones actually results in fewer mistakes and better health.
Myth 6: Turkey causes drowsiness. What? Not true? well, sort of. Turkey does have triptophane which makes you drowsy. But it doesn't have any more triptophane than chicken or beef. So why are we so tired after Thanksgiving meals? Mass quantities of food and alcohol. That's all.
So, as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, feel totally free to walk around hospitals with cell phones, eat all the turkey you want, read in the dark, drink more coffee, and shave your whole body if you want too.
Merry Christmas!
Myth 1: We only use 10% of our brains. Nope - brain imaging reveals no part of the brain that is actually "inactive" or unused at any point.
Myth 2: You should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Nah. You need the equivalent of 8 cups of fluids, but you can get that from fruit and vegetables, tea, even coffee.
Myth 3: Shaved hair grows back thicker, darker, courser. Wrong! Studies show the hair growing back after shaving is not any darker or thicker than unshaved hair. It may appear darker due to not having been bleached by the sun, though.
Myth 4: Reading in dim light damages your eyesight. No way Jose. It doesn't cause any damage at all. Can cause eye fatigue, but it gets all better with a good night's sleep.
Myth 5: Cell Phones are dangerous in hospitals. Negatory. Tests showed that cell phones can actually interfere with a few hospital medical devices, but only if they were held within a few feet of the device. In general, walking down hospital halls or even into rooms, poses no threat. In fact, the improved communication by doctors carrying cell phones actually results in fewer mistakes and better health.
Myth 6: Turkey causes drowsiness. What? Not true? well, sort of. Turkey does have triptophane which makes you drowsy. But it doesn't have any more triptophane than chicken or beef. So why are we so tired after Thanksgiving meals? Mass quantities of food and alcohol. That's all.
So, as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, feel totally free to walk around hospitals with cell phones, eat all the turkey you want, read in the dark, drink more coffee, and shave your whole body if you want too.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
SNOW UPDATE 2
We're on!!!
Halbeck Dr (the road that turns off of Curtis into the school) is plowed. So is the parking lot and the walkways into the school.
SO...but given the condition of lots of side roads, we are going to cancel Sunday School and just have worship at 10:30am.
See you at 10:30 if you can safely make it out there.
Drive safe,
Scott
Halbeck Dr (the road that turns off of Curtis into the school) is plowed. So is the parking lot and the walkways into the school.
SO...but given the condition of lots of side roads, we are going to cancel Sunday School and just have worship at 10:30am.
See you at 10:30 if you can safely make it out there.
Drive safe,
Scott
SNOW UPDATE!!!
Hey Folks. It is 6:30am and we are trying to decide if we should have worship.
Several Churches in town have already cancelled services for today - including First Christian.
We have our expert team of snow assessors on the way to Barkstall School as we speak to determine if roads, parking lot, and walkways are passable.
We'll be making an announcement shortly as to whether or not we are meeting.
CHeck back here for a final word on whether or not we are meeting!
Thanks,
Scott
Several Churches in town have already cancelled services for today - including First Christian.
We have our expert team of snow assessors on the way to Barkstall School as we speak to determine if roads, parking lot, and walkways are passable.
We'll be making an announcement shortly as to whether or not we are meeting.
CHeck back here for a final word on whether or not we are meeting!
Thanks,
Scott
Friday, December 7, 2007
um, what's this cold white stuff all over the ground?
So, I woke up on Thursday and my first thought was, we gotta cancel church. I mean I know it was only Thursday...but it was SEVEN degrees. Like as in single digits, seven.
But then we're sitting at the table on Thursday night eating dinner and we notice this white stuff blowing around in the wind. It was kind of a nostalgic moment: it reminded me of ash from forest fires. Felt like being in Southern California again.
An hour later, we couldn't hardly see any grass.
Well, woke up this morning to a beautiful 2 inches of snow covering everything. And yeah, that was us outside making snow angels at 6:30am. Hope we didn't wake ya!
Oh, and church is still on.
But then we're sitting at the table on Thursday night eating dinner and we notice this white stuff blowing around in the wind. It was kind of a nostalgic moment: it reminded me of ash from forest fires. Felt like being in Southern California again.
An hour later, we couldn't hardly see any grass.
Well, woke up this morning to a beautiful 2 inches of snow covering everything. And yeah, that was us outside making snow angels at 6:30am. Hope we didn't wake ya!
Oh, and church is still on.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
A story that didn't make the cut...
I wanted to use this illustration in my sermon on Sunday but since the sermon was already over 20 minutes, I had to axe it.
Rob Bell tells an great little story in one of his Nooma videos:
Rob is walking with his son through a mall and they pass by one of those little mini-stores that sets up right in the middle of the walk way. The guy working the booth invites them to play with this little toy, some sort of a sticky rubber thing on a string. And his 5 year old son just loves it. "I want one" he says. So Rob starts laying out his case for why it's not a good idea: It won't work, it will wrap around your wrist, or your neck, it will hit you in the face...
And his son gives him that look: "But I thought i said you love me."
He ends up having to carry his screaming son out of the mall to the car.
Rob makes the point that at that moment, all his son can see is the thing he wants. The son thinks he knows what he wants (what he NEEDS!) and his world falls apart when he can't have it.
But what his son can't see in that moment is the bigger picture. Rob knows that there is something better. Something later. Something else. The next stop on their family trip is another store. They walk in and march right up to this wall filled from top to bottom with kick balls. And Rob sets his son down in front of these wall and with great joy says "Take your pick."
This is a great lesson on our expectations of God. God sees the bigger picture. God knows what's we really need. God knows that there is something better, something next, something else. So when we don't get what we want, or what we expect, or what we think we deserve from God, do we react like the kid in the mall? Or do we react with the wisdom of the parent, knowing that God has something else?
This Christmas, we have a great chance to help our kids see the things that really matter. We have a chance to help them see that there are things bigger, better, and more significant than just having the thing that's right in front of them that they think they need so badly. And by helping them see that, we start to give our kids the tools they need their whole life long to trust God to give them what they really need.
Rob Bell tells an great little story in one of his Nooma videos:
Rob is walking with his son through a mall and they pass by one of those little mini-stores that sets up right in the middle of the walk way. The guy working the booth invites them to play with this little toy, some sort of a sticky rubber thing on a string. And his 5 year old son just loves it. "I want one" he says. So Rob starts laying out his case for why it's not a good idea: It won't work, it will wrap around your wrist, or your neck, it will hit you in the face...
And his son gives him that look: "But I thought i said you love me."
He ends up having to carry his screaming son out of the mall to the car.
Rob makes the point that at that moment, all his son can see is the thing he wants. The son thinks he knows what he wants (what he NEEDS!) and his world falls apart when he can't have it.
But what his son can't see in that moment is the bigger picture. Rob knows that there is something better. Something later. Something else. The next stop on their family trip is another store. They walk in and march right up to this wall filled from top to bottom with kick balls. And Rob sets his son down in front of these wall and with great joy says "Take your pick."
This is a great lesson on our expectations of God. God sees the bigger picture. God knows what's we really need. God knows that there is something better, something next, something else. So when we don't get what we want, or what we expect, or what we think we deserve from God, do we react like the kid in the mall? Or do we react with the wisdom of the parent, knowing that God has something else?
This Christmas, we have a great chance to help our kids see the things that really matter. We have a chance to help them see that there are things bigger, better, and more significant than just having the thing that's right in front of them that they think they need so badly. And by helping them see that, we start to give our kids the tools they need their whole life long to trust God to give them what they really need.
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