The Sidelines

I have played sports for the majority of my life.  These days, I mainly play softball.  But when I was in high school and playing basketball and baseball regularly, I HATED sitting on the bench.  Even if I needed the break, I would upset me to sit.  I always wanted to be in the game.  Even now playing softball, I hate DHing and not playing in the field.  Granted, there are days when my knees won't let me play.  But regardless, I still want to be out there.

Those of us that are athletes feel that way.  We always want to be in the game.  Is that the same mentality that we have with our faith though?  How many of us use the excuse that, "Well, I don't have all the answers like a pastor does.  I'll never be an 'expert.'"  Far too often, we as Christians sit on the sidelines.  We leave the "going and making" to the "professionals."  We forget though that when Jesus told us to "go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19)," he was talking to all of us.

You see, when you are a Christian, there is no sitting on the sidelines.  God wants all of us to be active participants.

I remember a few years ago, I was on a mission trip with some students.  As we were driving to our destination, we passed by a park where some little kids were playing soccer.  We watched as the entire roster of both teams go after the ball.  It was just mass chaos.  All of the kids were just following the ball, yearning to kick it.

I decided to use the moment as a teaching tool for the students in the car.  I asked, what they thought about the little children just following after the ball.  One student said, "It's nuts!  It's like there are no rules."  He was right, but another student said something that has stuck with me for a long time.  She said, "They're just so excited to kick the ball.  They just want to be a part of what's going on."

How true.

So many of us as Christians are content with sitting on the sidelines.  We do "our part" by going to church for an hour a week and maybe putting a few bucks in the offering plate.  But what if we treated our faith like those little kids on that soccer field?  What if we were all just so excited to be a part of something?

Are you actively engaged in what God wants you to be or...are you sitting on the sidelines?

Tears

I don't cry in public.  It's not something I do.  I think I can count on one hand the times that I have cried in front of more than 5 people.  Last night, I added another moment.

After Fuse had concluded, I got on stage and told the students that my wife and I would no longer be helping out regularly on Sunday nights after the Pause retreat.  It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.  When you give all of yourself to a ministry for almost 4 years, it tends to get to you.  I have see these students grow in their faith.  I have see their lives and the lives of their friends change for the better.

As I stood there...I was speechless.  I couldn't get the words out.  Even though I am leaving, it is the right thing to do.  

I know that.   

The students know that.

The past few months I think that everyone knew that the time was coming; that the end was near.

I am so thankful for my Fuse family.  They were there to help me through some hard times, as well as celebrate the good.  They all taught me so many things.  I am a better person because God put the staff, leaders and students of Fuse in my life.  

I'll always remember the retreats.  The set up. The tear down.  The paintball trips.  The mission trips.  Camping in the rain storms.  The Nerf dart gun wars.  The softball team. And so many other times when I've laughed and cried.  But the thing that I will remember the most is how God changed my life through the people, both young and old, that make up the Fuse family.

I know that it's not goodbye forever.  I'm sure I'll poke my head in from time to time.  But it is the end of my time on a regular basis.  

Thank you.

Leaving A Legacy

The other day, I ran sound for the funeral of a church member. Being brand new to the congregation, I didn't know the man, but as I sat up in the balcony, I took note of something: this man was very loved and respected. His best friend gave an impassioned eulogy that made me wish I knew the man who had passed. After he was done, the entire church applauded. It was quite a sight to see.

Witnessing all this, it got me thinking, how will people remember me? I'm almost 30 years old and, by all account, I have a lot of life ahead of me. But as we all know, we can be one car ride away from the end. So, how will I be remembered?

Will I be known as the "nice guy?" A singer? A musician? A good husband? A good dad? These are all great things to be known for, but will they last?

How many disciples have I helped make? How many of those disciples have then in turn made disciples? How will those people teach their kids about Jesus? How many people will know Jesus because I spoke up about how He changed my life?

These questions help me understand where my legacy lies. Does my legacy lie with things of this world or does it lie with Jesus?

What is your legacy?

Reader Request #1-Joy

So apparently, my readers would like me to take topic requests. Being that I could always use ideas in coming up with new topics, I'm happy to oblige. Here goes:

Are you happy? That's a pretty loaded question. Right now, it's cold and rainy and snowy (at least where I live). At least when it's snowing during December, you think to yourself, "It's Christmas! Yea!" Then January and February it...it's just depressing at that point.

Maybe you're going through a rough time in your life. Maybe you've lost your job. Maybe you've lost a loved one recently. Maybe you feel lost in life. These things can effect your happiness.

You see, happiness is an emotion. And like all emotions, they come and go. Sometimes you're happy. Other times you're sad...or angry...or hurt...or indifferent. Emotions change as frequently as the weather. And, if we allow them to, can affect our lives dramatically, causing us to question a lot of things in life.
You see, we feel we are "entitled" to the pursuit of "happiness," as our forefathers once wrote. But is "happiness" what we should be pursuing? I say no. Why pursue an emotion that will fade? You might as well dedicate your life in pursuit of an ice cream cone (I mean, come on, have you ever seen a mad person with an ice cream cone?). Ice cream is available in every town, on every street. It's easy to find. It's also just as easy to lose...

Instead, commit your life to the pursuit of joy. I know, you're thinking, "Aren't joy and happiness the same thing?" Answer: no way. Where happiness can give way to sadness, joy is also seeing the positive in difficult situations.

Read the Psalms. So many times you see David struggling with something, but in the end, he still has hope.

I don't know if you have ever been to a funeral before, but you can always tell when the deceased was a strong Christian. Sure the people are sad, but they have joy and hope in knowing that the person is in heaven with Jesus. That's what joy looks like. No matter what garbage you're going through, you can still see the positive. You know that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Joy is one of Gods greatest gifts to us. It gets us through those tough times. It sustains our happiness. When our joy comes from God, we can be rest assured that no matter what lies ahead, good or bad, that God is in control.

I'll ask again: Are you happy?

Next question: Where does your joy come from?

Compliments

I have been playing music in front of people for the better part of 15 years.  I've sung for large groups and small gatherings; weddings and funerals; concerts and worship services.  I like to sing.  It's one of my favorite things to do.  If given the chance, I would sing myself horse.  There's just one thing I'm REALLY uncomfortable with...having someone come up to me and give me a compliment. 

I don't know what it is.  I'll brag about a single that I turned into a double in church-league softball for weeks.  I can still tell you the story of how I held on to the ball as a catcher when a guy plowed into me.  I could brag on myself and my accomplishments all day.  BUT when someone comes up to me after church to comment positively on a song that I sung, I freeze.  I get uncomfortable.  I just say an awkward "Thanks."  I turn into a shy little kid.

Even worse, I may deflect it and say, "Oh, well...uh...I screwed up that line in the third verse." Why would I say that?  The majority of people would never know that.  Now I just made that person feel bad and THEY go away awkward.

It's weird.  I've always been that way.  I know other worship leaders that feel the same way and do the same thing.  It's almost like we don't want to accept the compliment.  Why?  God gave us the gift.  We're just using that gift to glorify Him. 

It's a tough thing for worship leaders to accept a compliment.  Maybe it's because we think that people are complimenting our act of worship.  Those of you that work in an office feel good when someone compliments your PowerPoint presentation or your budget speech.  Why do worship leaders shy away from essentially that same compliment?

It's an odd position to be in and I don't know if I will ever get over it.

Are you a worship leader or musician that struggles with the same thing?  How do you handle it?

Explosion of Awesome!

The other night, I had my first child birth class.  It was VERY interesting.  Amidst my chuckling and joke cracking (yeah, I was THAT guy), I noticed something that I hadn't thought about in years.  The instructor was showing diagrams of what my baby girl will experience in the next few weeks.  As I looked over the the diagrams, I thought, "Wow, it's really remarkable how this whole process works!"

I mean, think about it!  The baby's skull isn't fully solid yet, because it needs the flexibility to pass through the birth canal.  The mild contractions that my wife is currently experiencing is to prepare her for the big day one month from now.  Inside my wife's stomach is everything my kid needs to survive during the entire 9 months she's developing. 

Our bodies are so complex.  We don't have to think about breathing, blinking, or swallowing.   We just do it.  Our brians process images that our eyes see.  Our hands allow us to grip baseballs and type on the computer.  When we're injured, white blood cells head in the direction of the injury or infection and ward off the foreign substance.  Our bodies are amazing marvels! 

When I think about this, it really makes me wonder how people can think that this "just happened."  It's hard to believe that this amazing marvel just happened by chance. 

Think about it this way: it's like an explosion happened in a lab and an iPhone was formed.  Fully functional.  Contacts and apps loaded.  Perfectly assembled.  Ready to go.  Hard to believe right?  But that's what some people believe.  That our bodies are the result of a chance explosion.  Our eyes, ears and nose just "happen" to be at the height of our bodies, where we can see, hear, and smell at the highest point.  Coincidence?  I'm not so sure.


"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

It's hard to believe that an "Explosion of Awesome" could result in an iPhone.  It's even harder to believe that my body was anything other than the result of an intelligent design of a Creator.  Our bodies are truly a work of art.  

Why?

Think back to when you were growing up.  The question that you always asked your parents was "Why?"  Why can't I stay up late?  Why can't I go to Billy's house?  Why can't I stick a knife in the toaster?  OK, so that last one you might not have actually asked, but maybe you asked something close to it.  We always wanted to know "Why?"  It was like the great question of the universe.

The answer that your parents always gave you: "Because I said so."  20 years ago, there was no "reasoning" with your child.  Your parents didn't have to give you a logical answer.  They didn't have to explain themselves.  Their answer was simply, "Because I said so" and we accepted that.  We may not have been happy about it, but we accepted it.

Have you ever wondered why God makes certain rules and regulations for us?  Our small group has been studying the idea of absolute morality.  For those of you that don't know what that is, moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them.  This is a pretty heavy topic, but an important one none-the-less.

As we were talking, one of the group members stated that we often get the same response from God that we did our parents when we used to ask "Why?"  God says, "Because I said so."  We can beg and plead our case all we want, but God's answer is still the same.

Here's a great example: so why would God make a HUGE garden and put ONE tree that was "Off Limits?"  Why couldn't they eat from THAT tree?  It's fruit!  That makes NO sense to me.  But, I guess, God sees the bigger picture. 

I was reading Francis Chans "Crazy Love" a while back.  Early on in the book, Chan makes the same point.  His response was "When we, as people, start creating massive universes, then we can have the right to ask God 'Why?'"  That was loosely paraphrased but the meaning is still the same.  What gives me the right to know the mysteries of the universe?  What does it matter when God knows the bigger picture?  It takes faith and trust in Him.

So stop asking, "Why?"  Start saying "OK."  

Control Issues

All my life, I have struggled with control issues.  When I was playing sports, I was the guy that wanted the ball when the game was on the line.  Why?  Not because I felt that I was the best player, but because I wanted to know that I did everything in my power to effect the outcome; positively or negatively.  If we won the game, great! If we lost, put it on me!  I had no problem carrying that weight on my back.  That's what leaders do, right?

Wrong.

Leaders that rely on God realize that they aren't the ones in control of the situation.  God is the one that is in control.  I don't know about you, but when I used to think about a great analogy for this, I thought of God drawing up a map and handing it to me.  When in reality, it's a very different thought.

Living out that "God is in Control" looks more like this: You are standing in an open field blind-folded.  you hear a voice telling you what to do.  "Take two steps right."  "Walk three steps."  We've all done that activity before, but what happens when you hear, "Run until I tell you to stop."  That's what takes real trust.  That's letting go.

"Remember the things I have done in the past.  For I alone am God!  I am God, and there is none like me.  Only I can tell you the future before it even happens.  Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish." Isaiah 46:9-10

I don't know about you, but I often forget the things God has done "in the past."  I often revert to relying on myself.  I forget that God may have something better for me if I just follow His direction.  

I'm a planner.  I like to work ahead.  I like to assess the situation from all angles.  But what happens when you're blindfolded and God tells you to run without stopping?  Will you trust Him?  Will you relinquish control?

De-skunking

Our church offices are located in a house right next to the church. The night before my first day on the job, a skunk decided to spray the house then fall victim to a vicious mauling from another animal. Thhe smell was unbearable! Skunk spray is bad. Dead rotting carcass is bad. But Dead rotting skunk is quite possible the worst thing I have ever smelled!

We've spent two straight days covering the office in air freshners. We've doused the front porch in white vinager. Now, when you enter the office, it smells bitter with a hint of clean linen. After three days, the stench is still here!

I recap this horrific story (and tragic if you like skunks) because having to endue this smell brought something to my mind today: "What is some stench in my life that I can't get rid of?"

Have you ever had something negative in your life that you just can't get rid of? Maybe it's a bad habit. Maybe it's an addiction. Maybe it's a relationship. No matter what it is, we all struggle with something. Maybe you've tried to go cold turkey. Maybe you've sought professional help. Maybe you've tried everything humanly possible only to find out it seems hopeless.

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13

No matter what you are going through, you're not alone. Other people struggle with the same skunky smell in their lives. You have the power to conquer sin and temptation. You have the power to "de-skunk" your life! It may take a little work on your part and a whole lot of prayer, but it is possible! And remember, no matter how bad you stink, God still loves you!

New Year's Revolution

It's the start of a new year.  A time when people make new commitments.  A time when people strive to make changes in their lives.  Some people make a resolution to lose weight.   Others strive to read more books.  Others try to be "better people;" that's pretty relative.

For the most part, we all make some kind of New Years resolution.  In my own life, my specific "resolution" is unclear.  Why?  Because so much of my personal life is a question mark.  Sure I could stand to lose a few pounds.  But say I lose that weight; then what?  Sure I could read more; what do I do with that knowledge?  For me, my resolution is to start my own personal revolution.

No, I'm not gonna occupy wall street or my local "big box" store.  With a new job, a move, and being a new dad, I have many more questions than I have answers.  Beyond February 1, I see nothing but fog...uncertainty...change.  So how can I make a resolution that will survive that?  I'm not going to.  Doing so would only set me up to fail.

This year, my resolution will be to live out the Christian revolution.  I want to strive to be the best example of Christ that I can be to my wife. To my child. To my friends and co workers. To the community that I live in.

I have a lot of goals this year, but the main thing that I want to do is put Christ first.  If I do that, everything else will fall into place.

"My child, never forget the things I have taught you.  Store my commands in your heart.  If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.  Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!  Tie them around your neck as a reminder.  Write them deep within your heart.  Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation." Proverbs 3:1-4

Why make a dramatic change in your life that will only last a few weeks?  If you put God first in your life, all those other things will fall into place.  If your "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)," you'll eat better and exercise.  If you want to be a better Christian, you have to "turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me (Jesus) (Luke 9:23)."

By putting Christ first, all those other resolutions will happen.  

This year, I hope you'll join me on this quest.  I'll be here trying to live this out.  I'll document every step of the way right here on this blog.  I hope to also start a podcast at some point this year.  

Let's make 2012 the year of the revolution!