I Want Tim Tebow To Fail! (Part deux)

(If you haven't read yesterday's post, I suggest you start there in order to make full sense of this three part article).

Pearlman is a respected sports writer who has contributed articles to Sports Illustrated. Would it be fair for me to say that, because I completely disagree with his world view and disavow his skewered article on Tim Tebow and Christianity, I want him to fail? If I did I would be quickly branded an intolerant Christian bigot. But Pearlman didn’t even miss a day of work or get reprimanded for his insensitive and baseless comments.

Or how about Pete Prisco’s armchair quarterbacking? He surmises that he is much smarter than the entire front office of the Denver Broncos since he has determined that they made a gross miscalculation by drafting Tebow in the first round of the NFL draft. We forget that Tebow won two National Championships and is the most successful, and arguably the best quarterback in college football history with more rushing touch downs scored in the vaunted SEC than the great Hershel Walker. How does Prisco figure that he lacks talent? Yet Prisco equates picking Tebow to being no different than taking the altar boy from the parish down the street because he’s a good kid. How asinine is that line of reasoning? Prisco’s true concerns about Tebow are revealed not in his contention that Tebow is a lesser quarterback than Cutler, but in his provocative statement, “Now they have Saint Timmy to fix things.”

Besides, is every successful Pro-Bowler in the NFL a first round pick? Was every single player who is heralded as a star today, a star from their high school and college days? Football isn’t arithmetic. As much as we pretend that we have analysts who are experts at what they’re talking about, there’s no accounting for human effort, will, commitment, and plain old hard work. How many people thought that the Oakland Raiders had made a mistake when they drafted Jamarcus Russell in 2007? Wasn’t he widely considered the most talented player in the draft that year and so was picked number one? If talent really does trump character, what happened to him? Or to Ben Roethlisberger? Or to Plaxico Burress? Or to Michael Vick? Or to Brandon Marshall? And the list is endless.

Prisco conveniently forgets that Plaxico is currently in prison…for issues of character. Michael Vick is on the long road back from prison…for issues of character. Marshall has been in trouble with the law numerous times for assaulting his girlfriend amongst various other misdemeanors, but, gosh he’s got talent so he should be allowed to stay in Denver regardless of how it negatively impacts the team or the locker room. Prisco’s selective amnesia conveniently forgets that though Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowl rings, he will still miss the first six games of the 2010 season and has lost the respect of his locker room…for issues of character (in ten months there have been two allegations of rape against him, and his idea of fun is allegedly hanging around night clubs with body guards).

We celebrate the Ray Lewises, the Steve McNairs, the Marvin Harrisons who all have murder charges or moral issues that have plagued them (and in McNair’s case led to his untimely and unfortunate death) simply because they are athletes, but we vilify the Tim Tebows simply because they are Christians? Go figure!

While we’re at it let’s not forget about Fred Toettcher! Fred likens Tebow’s family gathering as they watched the draft together to a "Nazi rally"!!! Seriously?! Simply because his all-white family gathered together in their home to enjoy the NFL draft? Pray tell, what would Fred call a gathering of all the black athletes with their all-black families (many of whom were shown on national TV)? Oh, I’m sorry, the token white guy who just happens to be their agent, making millions of dollars off them, makes their gatherings okay or somehow different from Tebow’s?

This Neanderthal way of thinking hardly hides the true intentions of men like Toettcher, Pearlman, and Prisco. These people are unabashedly bigots who despise what Tim Tebow represents and confidently professes. Imus (another radio show host) lost his job for stereotyping a team of female athletes. Toettcher has not even received a single negative comment regarding his incendiary and thoughtless statements. The tables have been turned when no one was looking, and now talent trumps character so that our entitled culture can be duly entertained on Saturday and Sunday.

I Want Tim Tebow To Fail!

Okay, so maybe the title of this blog is a little dramatic, but I had to get your attention somehow right?! Anyway, even though the title is far from the way I feel, it isn’t that far fetched for so many others out there. You see, this was actually the title of Jeff Pearlman’s blog written back in February 2010. Specifically, Pearlman said:

“But I want Tim Tebow to fail. I want a team to draft him in the sixth round, then I want him to report to training camp, throw a bunch of dying quails and be cut. I don’t want him physically injured; hell, I don’t even want him to live anything but a happy life. But I want him to fail in the NFL nonetheless, because a famous Tim Tebow is a dangerous Tim Tebow.

Tim Tebow scares me, and—judging from his father’s website, his upcoming Super Bowl ad and mounting knowledge of his way of life—he should scare you too. Tim Tebow doesn’t play football merely for the joy of the game. He plays football because he wants to spread the word of Jesus Christ. But not merely spread it. He wants you to accept it and, if you don’t embrace it, he wants you to think again about embracing it. And if you still don’t embrace it, he wants you to think again. And again. And again. If, in the end, you’re still not sold, you will burn in hell. This is not merely Tim Tebow’s opinion—but he knows it, in his soul and heart and mind. Christians who accept Jesus will spend an eternity in bliss. Those who don’t are doomed.”

My issues with this gross oversimplification and misrepresentation of both Tebow and the Gospel message are myriad, but for now I’ll ignore them and focus on the issues of Pearlman and various other people who desire to see Tebow fail. More recently a Boston sports-radio host, Fred Toettcher, said concerning Tebow’s draft party at home, “It looked like some kind of Nazi rally….So lily white is what I’m trying to say. Yeah, Stepford Wives.” Pete Prisco, a senior writer for CBSSports.com said this:

“When you trade away Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, the key components in the Broncos passing game in a year span, and then draft Tim Tebow in the first round of the draft, you are sending a loud message.
Talent doesn’t matter.
Character does.
Why not pick the altar boys from the parish down the street? Aren’t they good kids? Or maybe you can pick all the “A” students in this draft?
It doesn’t matter if they can play: Just make sure they are good “yes men.” It just doesn’t make sense….Nobody in their right mind would ever say that Tebow plays the position better than Cutler. But Cutler was shipped out for being a bad boy.
Now they have Saint Timmy to fix things.”

What do you perceive when you read these kinds of posts? Do you still think America is a Christian nation? Do you still think Christians are the intolerant bigots? For that matter, do you still think that freedom of speech and the freedom to practice whatever religion you believe is right for you, is still the acceptable norm among the masses? I say nay nay! I'll be posting parts 2 and 3 of this blog over the next couple of days so be sure to come back and weigh in with your thoughts and ideas.

The Great Equalizer!!!

Social networking media has become the great global equalizer. It pits our best and brightest minds right alongside our…shall we say, suspect intellectuals. From blogging, to Facebook, from MySpace to twitter, from you tube to linked in, social networks have become the panacea for people who can’t bear to have an unpublished thought. At the click of a virtual key our ideas go viral for the world to see and validate… or not! Like democracy at its most functional, the “wheat is separated from the chaff” by how we “vote.” If we like what you have to say then you get tons of positive comments, tons of “…likes your status,” and tons of followers. But by the same token, if we’re bored stiff by your incessant soap box rants and raves, we’ll stop following you, “block” you, or remove you from our blogroll.

Sadly though, the very thing that represents the strength of social networking media is also its weakness. You see, some people haven’t yet learned that not every thought should be published. Do you really think I’m remotely interested in what you had for dinner last night? And seriously, why on earth would I want to “poke” you or “throw” a drink at you? If I don’t do that when I see you in person, trust me when I say that I’m not interested in doing it in cyberspace either. Besides, I don’t really know you like that! The unquestionable benefit of social networking media is found in its ubiquitous nature. You don’t even have to take your personal computer with you any longer in order to be able to access your relational networks anywhere in the world. Your cell phone will do just fine (if you still don’t have a smart phone you probably shouldn’t be on social network media anyway), and in the absence of that you can visit your local library where they have a stock of seldom used internet-ready computers.

Here’s what I love about social networking media: I love the fact that I can find people that I knew in the last century but had lost touch with. I love the idea that I can have a 140-character discussion, or get a 140-character life changing nugget of truth from someone I admire and respect. I love the fact that I can see your family photographs from thousands of miles away, and participate in your vacation as if I was there. I even love the fact that, on Facebook we can agree to disagree on certain issues that we feel strongly about, and still have a bible study together on twitter twenty minutes later, all from the comfort of our individual sofas. But here’s what I don’t like: I don’t want to farm, I don’t want to join your mafia family wars, I don’t want you to “ambush” me with a conversation the second you see me logged onto Facebook (I logged on for a reason believe it or not), and I definitely don’t want you to sell me Percocet, Vicodene, or any other salacious content through comments on my blog!

Oh yes, before I forget, stop “friending” me so I can see your “private pictures” on twitter, Facebook, or any other social network. Finally, in conclusion I’d like to remind you that while you’re enjoying the world becoming a much smaller space through social networking, remember that you’re quotable, and everything you say or do on social network media can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion. Leave a comment!!! :)

Ancient Text, Present Context (Part 3)

Why is this notion of embracing an ancient text in a present context such a big deal for me you might be asking? A few years ago a friend of mine (the editor of a popular Christian magazine) visited Nigeria with me. We attended what were essentially the largest churches in the world and met with some of the most amazing people. Following our trip he did an extensive story on the move of God in the Nigerian Church and one of the most striking comments to me was the fact that he quoted a number of people as saying “The Church in Nigeria is a mile wide but an inch deep.” My initial response was to vociferously defend the Nigerian Church and question the impudence that would inform such a statement. Until I took a closer, more objective look!

After fifty years of independence, and an untold amount of oil wealth, Nigeria remains a nation that is unable to supply its citizenry with a consistent source of electricity. Corruption is rife at just about every level of society, and even in the Church (and I speak in generalities here) it’s often more important to be seen to be right than to display character and integrity. The common refrain is “It is well” -a direct reference to the fact that no matter what assails us, God will deliver us- and we continue to suggest that as long as we pray, God will deliver us and take care of us. We’ve ignored the fact that God has already delivered us by giving us all that is necessary to make our lives successful through the Scriptures. I’ve often heard it said that wisdom is the correct application of knowledge, and I’m convinced that this is where prayer may serve one of its greatest purposes: In teaching us the proper application of knowledge. The Scriptures actually challenge us with the question, “which one of you in building a house would not take stock of the materials necessary for the project before embarking on it?” (my paraphrase).

This idea that seems to suggest that “walking in the spirit” can only be accomplished at the expense of reason and wisdom, has engendered a hard-headed, myopic approach to Christianity. Sadly, it causes us to miss out on God’s work in and through a world that doesn’t even profess a relationship with him. Instead of making us more compassionate and loving, it’s made us judgmental and insensitive to others. Our unwillingness to embrace our humanity and to accept the fact that God is perfect while we are not, has left us living largely inauthentic lives under the guise of being led by the Spirit. The typical response to everything is, “I’ll pray about it.” Really! You need to pray about whether you should be loving, honest, kind, considerate, and compassionate? I thought the Scriptures already settled those issues a long time ago. After all, it was Jesus who declared that in order to inherit eternal life we must, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

The seeming contradiction between walking in the spirit and using our intellect in our daily lives is spurned primarily because many Nigerian Christians think that they are mutually exclusive of each other. In reality they are not! Paul encourages us in his letter to the Romans, not to be conformed to the standards of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our “mind” (intellect) so that we can demonstrate and prove Gods good, perfect, and acceptable will for our lives. Clearly the renewing of the mind is necessary only if the mind is a vital part of demonstrating God’s perfect will, otherwise that would be a redundant and unnecessary process. Christianity at its essence is not just for the benefit of the Christian. If your Christianity supposedly changes you yet doesn’t impact the people around you, then its veracity in your life must be called into question. I like the way Tony Morgan puts it in his book, Killing Cockroaches:

"Real faith is dynamic. It’s controversial. It’s dangerous. It’s constantly growing. It asks challenging questions. It involves mystery. You can’t put it in a box. You can’t keep it quiet. You can’t outgrow it. You can’t out-dream it. It’s more focused on others than it is on itself. Real faith gives me peace but makes me discontent to let things stay the same."

Having said all that, here’s my conclusion: There’s a new wave of “walking in the spirit” sweeping across many churches in Nigeria today. They eschew the old sacred cows and question their own methods and approach to living their faith out loud. For example, there’s a church in Lagos called, God Bless Nigeria Church that has an amazing and powerful outreach that reflects this “new” trend. They reach out exclusively to the armed robbers, homeless vagrants, “area boys” (violent street thugs), prostitutes, abused, kidnapped and neglected children, and the worst of society. They have a ministry to the deaf in their church (first time I’ve seen that anywhere in any church in Nigeria largely because our belief in healing precludes the need to have a sign-language ministry).

The lead pastor of this church is a medical doctor, and when I asked him why they have sign-language interpretation in their church, he explained that since there were deaf people who needed Jesus, and not all of them were being healed every Sunday in our churches, he felt the need to provide a safe place where they could “hear” the gospel, be embraced by the love of God through God’s people, and find a place to express their gifts and callings too. I was overwhelmed! What appears to be such a simple thought process in Western Christianity, is a huge hurdle for us to cross in Nigeria in large part because of the way we’ve chosen to interpret walking in the spirit versus being too cerebral in our approach to faith. Since God gave doctors the wisdom for medical sciences, whether He chooses to use that method to heal the deaf or not, I’m more than comfortable embracing that kind of healing as God’s power at work. I refuse to limit God’s power to my understanding of what I might believe to be the only way He expresses it, whether that is through medical science, divine healing, or miracles. But in the meantime, we will provide a safe haven for those who are deaf, blind, mute and suffer other ailments until such a time as they are healed, whether through prayer or by God’s sovereign intervention.

So, as for me and my house, we wholeheartedly embrace the supernatural. We fully subscribe to prayer and its ability to influence the heart of a loving God to divinely intervene in the daily affairs of men. But we also embrace and gratefully receive the gifts of knowledge and wisdom that He has graciously given us so that we can rightly divide the word of truth and govern our lives with brio and confidence. I’m convinced that the more churches in Nigeria we have like God Bless Nigeria Church (and I’m confident that there are many springing up), the greater the likelihood that true transformation will come to our great nation, Nigeria.

Ancient Text, Present Context (Part 2)

I might have seemed to get a little off point in my initial post but I think it was important to set a background for you before I addressed head on the idea of walking in the Spirit. If walking in the Spirit is a sole function of hearing from God and obeying His command, then it is impossible for flawed and fallible humans to do this 100% of the time. Proof? Have you ever done something that you believed was God’s leading and then later realized that you were wrong? If you answer in the affirmative then you haven’t walked in the Spirit 100% of the time. I contend that walking in the Spirit does not automatically relegate the value of using your brain to the sidelines of life. I don’t accept that one is mutually exclusive of the other, and this may be the major point of departure between Christianity in Nigeria and Christianity in the West.

As a young Christian in Nigeria, I was taught to think that God fixed anything and everything if I prayed hard enough. If it didn’t work then I was saddled with the unwanted burden of feeling inadequate and unspiritual. I can’t comment on how many people were left feeling that their illness or misfortune was somehow their fault because if they were truly spiritual enough they would have prayed and God would have responded. Unwittingly we reduced God to the functions of an ATM machine: His sole purpose being to “spit” out the necessary “currency” in response to our prayer “card” slotted into the heavenly machine. Rather than breed an authentic and honest approach to a relationship with Christ, this system merely fed the humanistic tendency towards a feeling of superiority over those who didn’t seem to be doing as well as you. It also fed the old maxim, “Fake it till you make it.” Now while many people may not have said that, that is exactly how they unwittingly lived, and called it FAITH!

Our teachers conveniently disregarded the fact that, “Faith calls those things that are not as though they are.” Instead they began to model the idea that, “Faith calls those things that are as though they are not.” While this may seem like a semantic difference, it is far deeper than that. You see, if you believe the Scriptures, then faith suggests that while your circumstance may seem dire at the moment, by faith you know that God’s faithfulness will prevail and you will overcome the circumstance one way or another. No where does the Bible suggest that if you deny the presence or existence of your difficult circumstance, then faith will make it go away! Ultimately I believe that the happy medium for the Christian lies somewhere between being pragmatic and being pedantic. While I don’t believe that prayer alone is what we depend on to get us through life, I can certainly understand the wariness displayed towards a completely cerebral approach to our relationship with God.

We must trust that the Scriptures are speaking truth when they tell us that God loves us and is at work on our behalf to do His good pleasure in our lives. This belief must form the basis of every prayer whether the results turn out as we expected or not. Having said that, it would be disingenuous to turn in a shoddy performance on your job, show up late and leave early, don’t study to improve your knowledge and skill at what you do, and yet somehow pray to God that you’ll be made the CEO of the company some day. That is not likely to happen as it won’t be in either yours or the company’s best interest. Similarly, as much as Shaquille O’Neal might pray to become an F-16 pilot, the likelihood of that happening is literally 0% since F-16 cockpits are not built to accommodate 7-foot giants. In other words, there are practical (pragmatic) considerations alongside of prayer that make life work.

If God chooses to bye pass the laws of nature and make the impossible possible, then that is His single prerogative and that is what the Scriptures refer to as a miracle. There is no formula or guaranteed recipe for how to make that happen. Prayer may or may not be the catalyst for such a miracle, but if indeed a miracle will happen, it will happen simply because God ordains it to be so. Miracles are God’s sovereign choice, but making wise decisions are ours. That’s why the book of Proverbs is replete with counsel on exercising wisdom in making our daily decisions. If prayer alone was all that was necessary to make life work, then the book of Proverbs would be redundant. I'll conclude my thoughts tomorrow, meanwhile please add yours.

Ancient Text, Present Context

I haven’t blogged in quite a while so I decided that the best way for me to return to blogging would be to attempt to generate a discussion on something that I have strong feelings about: “walking in the Spirit.” I know, I know; before you tune out claiming that I’m speaking a foreign language, let me clarify my intent a little further. I recently had an intriguing discussion with a relative of mine about this very subject, and we appeared to be on opposing sides of the argument until the very end. Even then, it seems that without actually saying it, we both agreed to disagree on certain points of departure.

I don’t know about you, but as a young Christian I was fed an extremely confusing but steady diet of the notion that to walk in the Spirit meant that everything we did as Christians would be prompted only after significant and meaningful time spent in prayer followed by a clear and concise “word” from the Lord. This idea gave impetus to many a young man who desired a certain… shall we say, attractive young woman. He would walk up to her and tell her that God had revealed to him in prayer that she was destined to be his wife. Now before you get your knickers in a twist, I daresay God certainly makes known to you whom you should marry (He most definitely did to me), but it isn’t necessarily just because you prayed and sent out a fleece. It also isn’t a carte blanche cardinal rule that because you’ve supposedly “heard from God” your proposed spouse accepts without question that you must be right.

But I don’t want to trivialize the larger point I’m trying to make by reducing it to the overly simplistic idea behind a marriage proposal. You see, my relative suggested that all too often, Western Christianity takes far too much of a pragmatic approach to our relationship with God. In other words we tend to take a more cerebral approach to solving our problems based on present conditions rather than accepting and trusting the principles espoused by the Scriptures. I, on the other hand, contended that in Africa in general and in Nigeria specifically, we are much too pedantic – giving too much attention to formal rules and small details at the expense of the broader picture - in our interpretation and application of the Scriptures without making room for the cultural, human, and historical context. Our discussion cited some more personal examples, but for the purpose of this blog, I’ll speak to some more general thoughts and ideas.

For example, many Nigerian denominations would suggest that for a woman to wear makeup, pants (trousers), or leave her hair uncovered in public worship is completely sinful and unbiblical. They contend that the Scriptures emphatically state that women should not concern themselves with the outward adorning of their bodies, and neither should they wear men’s clothing. They conveniently ignore the fact that back in the historical days of the Bible, men didn’t wear trousers, so how they make the historical interpretation that the Scriptures are referring to trousers when it talks about men’s clothing, is beyond me. In fact, in a rather gruesome and perverse interpretation of Scriptures, a Nigerian “prophet” who shall remain nameless, actually claimed that an amazing young female pastor who died in a horrific plane crash was killed because she wore mini-skirts and dressed too enticingly. Amazingly, this apparent prophet is actually blind!

That brand of theology, especially framed in language that suggests one is speaking for God, is not only unattractive but lethal! Culturally Nigerians can tend to be overly didactic in our interpretation of the Bible. We are given to extremely “eager” and unyielding convictions, without allowing for the fact that we might be wrong. Now I understand that this is a trait that is common with any thing that you become an expert at, and clearly as we grow in our faith we become experts at interpreting and understanding the Bible. When a group of software developers get together, they speak a language that is wholly foreign to the majority of us outside of that profession and consequently shut out any possibility of a useful interchange. The same may be said for a group of doctors, pilots, and whatever else you study and become an expert at.

Now, while this concept of experts speaking their own language may be useful for those professions when they are talking to one another, it is completely untenable for Christianity since our language and interpretation of the message must be designed to speak to the lives of people right where they are. This really strengthens the notion that we are experiments in translation trying to communicate an ancient text in a present context. I realize that there are those who will quickly suggest that I’m advocating a “dumbing” down of the message, but in actual fact all I’m saying is that we need to talk about Biblical concepts in a language that is understood by the people that we’re supposedly trying to reach with the message. I'll conclude my thoughts on this subject on Monday. Meanwhile, what are your thougths about this subject.

What will you do if...?

“WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? KEEP QUIET AND IGNORE IT LIKE THE NIGERIAN PASTORS, REVERENDS AND BISHOPS ARE DOING? THE SOLUTION IS NOT TO TAKE ARMS OR FIGHT, BUT WE MUST REACT NOW!!!!”

This was the caption beside the two photos above. I’m making no apologies for publishing them or for offending your sensibilities. These are the realities in which our world is embroiled. While we live sheltered lives in our comfortable homes, with the weather being the greatest threat to our comfortable western lifestyles, much of the world is being ravaged by earthquakes (three in the last month, with the Chile earthquake registering as the third most powerful in recorded history), and people are being slaughtered for simply professing to be Christians. For all its barbarism, we might as well be back in the dark ages and the Spanish Inquisitions, or in the Coliseums of Rome!

The Middle belt of Nigeria has always been a volatile hotspot for unbridled religious fervor and intolerance. These precious souls being randomly slaughtered were also created by the hands of a loving God, yet their senseless deaths will go unheralded and may not even warrant a mention in the late night news in the Western hemisphere. You see, the West has nothing to lose by standing on the sidelines and letting this crisis play itself out. If you’re a praying person, then Nigeria needs your prayers now. We have a dying president, an ailing economy, an impotent legislature, and a religious crisis all wreaking wanton havoc on our beleaguered nation all at the same time. More than just your prayers though, Nigeria needs the collective voice of the nations to stand up and speak against these atrocities.

If we don’t draw attention to the evil that is being perpetrated, we might as well be willing participants. The needless pain and devastation of the Rwandan genocide isn’t that distant of a memory. Let’s not allow another such scenario again on our watch. Let’s be a voice and a resistant force to the needless and senseless violence that is so blinded by hate and intolerance that it cannot distinguish between militant opposition and an innocent child. Will you be a part of the solution? If so you can begin by copying this to your twitter account, or linking it to your Facebook or your blog. Imagine what could begin to happen if millions joined forces and began to act?!

Smartphone Church?!

I absolutely love my new Motorola Droid and I can unequivocally say that it’s without a doubt the best phone I’ve ever owned. It pretty much does everything short of tuck you in and read you a bed time story, and the way technology is going, someone will probably soon design an app for that too! I get why they’re called smart phones as they’re literally a mobile office/assistant/communication center/media center in the palm of your hands. Here’s what I like best about smart phones though: the fact that they’re an open source platform. This means that any creative ‘Joe Schmo’ can design an app for them and make it available to users of the phones any where in the world.

For protagonists of open sourcing, its success is clearly demonstrated in the over 140,000 apps so far developed for the iphone. As an aside, I must admit that the drawback for owning an iphone or a Droid rests in the fact that they are exclusively available from AT&T and Verizon Wireless respectively. That’s actually why I never owned an iphone and purchased an ipod touch instead. I’m a loyal Verizon customer and have been for over 15 years, so the fact that the iphone was “married” to AT&T precluded me from owning one. I’m convinced that this is one reason why Blackberry smart phones have been so successful (since they’re available through multiple phone service providers). But enough about smart phones before the really smart people out there figure that I have no idea what I’m talking about, especially since this post is actually meant to be about the Church and what we can learn from smart phones.

What if the Church adopted a similar approach to impacting people’s lives? What if we embraced the idea that, to be relevant and beneficial to the people we’re trying to reach, it might actually be a good idea to listen to what they have to say about what their needs are? What if we actually practiced the concept of allowing people to belong before they believe? What if we didn’t become exclusively “married” to a single expression of practicing our faith, but instead embraced the diversity of ideas that represented the diversity of people seeking truth? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we allowed people to become part of our faith communities, bringing new and creative ideas about how we could better impact the larger community that we’ve been called to serve? That would be open sourcing at its ultimate! Remember that open sourcing allows you to develop an app and allows me to come along and modify it (creating version 2.0) so that many of the kinks are worked out, allowing it to function better.

Don’t misunderstand me to be saying we should embrace a pot-pourri of doctrines, because that is absolutely not what I’m suggesting. The Bible is clear on what the doctrines of Christianity are. What I am saying, and what I’ve often said is that the message is sacred but not the method by which we disseminate it. There are significantly more creative people sitting in our churches whose talents are going to waste while we struggle to do what would essentially be akin to child’s play for them. The partnership of Apple and AT&T recognized this fact when they built the iphone, and so they allowed independent developers to produce apps that would make their product better. The developers didn’t rebuild the iphone, they simply created apps that were compatible, and enhanced its performance and productivity. To ensure that they managed the apps as effectively as possible, Apple made all apps available only through itunes. The same can be said for the Droid as all apps for the phone are available only through the Droid “Market.”

Somehow, I don’t think that Apple/AT&T or Motorola/Verizon could have come up with all the ideas for apps that are currently available for their phones if they hadn’t invited, and indeed welcomed, the participation of open source developers. This may well have made their products less efficient and less useful to the market they were actually targeting. Because they allowed open sourcing, independent developers designed apps that they needed as well as apps that their friends told them they needed. This way, the market demand determines the success of the app (it’s kind of like the free-market approach to small groups) So, what possibilities exist if the Church embraced the same idea, and allowed people to become part of our faith communities, even while they’re still searching for answers? Why, they might actually help us develop strategies to more effectively reach our larger communities. Heck, they might simply improve on already existing ideas and help us create “outreach 2.0.” Whatever the case, a smart phone approach to building a faith community and embracing a multiplicity of ideas (or apps) might actually move us from stagnation and the scrap heap of irrelevance, to having a visible and relevant presence among the people we’re trying to reach with our message of love. After all, Jesus did suggest that the way to eternal life was to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” If we listen intently enough, we just might hear the voice of the community (developers) telling us how they need to be loved.

Undercover Boss

I absolutely love the new reality TV show, Undercover Boss! I love it not only because it celebrates the unsung hero who truly makes the company successful, but because it is a fascinating case study in Christianity. There are myriad applications of this fact but I’ll concentrate on just a few. First though, I need to give you a broad overview of what the show is all about. CEO’s of different companies have agreed to be filmed while working undercover in their organizations. They work in various entry-level positions across different locations of the organization over the course of a week. The big idea is to observe and get a feel for how the employees are doing, what their feelings are about the company, how effectively they work with the customer and with each other, what needs to be rewarded, and what needs fixing. It’s amazing to see how the CEO’s perspective of the business is changed as they interact on a more personal level with the people that make their companies run effectively (or not so effectively!)


But I digress, because I’d really like to talk about the applications and similarities I see between this show and Christianity. The Bible reminds us that we shouldn’t become weary as we serve and care for strangers, because we may well be entertaining angels without being aware of it. These unsung heroes in the companies profiled were completely oblivious to the fact that the employee assigned to work with them was actually the CEO of their organization, and thus the one responsible for “signing” their paychecks. They could have acted all superior and condescending (and believe me some of the employees do), but these unsung heroes simply wanted to provide the best opportunity for a new employee to be successful, and so they went out of their way to ensure that the process was made easier by the way they treated the new employee.

The 7-11 episode is by far my favorite so far. The “undercover boss” spent a day working in a New York store that sold the most cups of coffee each day. Wanting to find out what was different about the product in that store from all the others, which caused it to be so popular he made that his first stop. What he discovered amazed him. Delores, the matronly lady who had served in the store for 12-years (in a 7-11 convenience store!), was the reason people came to the store. She knew just about every customer by name, and had a kind word for everyone. She was patient and friendly as she taught “Danny” (the undercover boss) the ropes and made the learning curve much easier to navigate. Then Danny discovered from a customer that Delores had bad kidneys and was on a transplant list, however she wouldn’t accept a kidney from any one of her five kids because she was concerned that if they developed a problem at some point in the future, they needed their kidneys so that they could live longer since they were younger.

Then Danny went to 7-11’s largest bakery and interned under Phil. Phil was incredibly pleasant, patient, and kind. Even though he was the bakery supervisor, he not only took the time to show Danny the ropes, but he worked right alongside him doing the basic stuff while making light of Danny’s gaffs and encouraging him to be patient with his own foul-ups. During their break Phil, an amazingly talented artist, showed Danny some of his artwork and even drew a picture of a donut and gave it to Danny as a gift. In yet another store Danny works the nightshift where he meets Wakas who refers to him as “Mr. Danny.” Wakas, originally from Pakistan, has worked the night shift for four years. Working with the most pleasant disposition and attitude you’ll ever find on a nightshift worker, Wakas does this “graveyard duty” just so he can put himself through school studying Criminal Justice. His ultimate goal: to return to Pakistan so that he can help the poor people who cannot afford to get justice for themselves! Wow!!

Finally, Danny rides with Igor, an overnight delivery truck driver. Igor is originally from Kazakhstan and he loves his job. His enthusiasm for his job is infectious as he regales Danny with tales of how he’s living the American dream (driving a night-delivery truck that doesn’t even belong to him personally), and how grateful he is for what America has provided for him and his family. Why is Igor so grateful for a seemingly dead end job? You see, Igor came to the USA with a wife and $50.00 in his pocket! Amazingly, Igor works nights while his wife works days, so they are like two ships passing in the night, and only get to spend the weekend together. Igor’s take on that: “Well it means we have less time to fight and more time to be lovers.” Do you see the correlations yet? These are all ordinary people living extraordinary stories. Unknown to them though, life is about to change because the “messiah” is walking among them and they don’t even know it. But simply because they are enthusiastically pursuing their purpose with passion and dignity, they are in for a very pleasant surprise. You see, the best part of the show comes at the end. I call it the big reveal because all the people the boss has met on his undercover journey are brought to HQ where he finally reveals his identity and rewards their faithfulness.

The parable goes of a rich man who was going on a long journey. He calls his three servants and gives each of them some money (each according to his ability), and tells them to manage it until his return. After a long while he returns and finds that two of the servants have literally doubled their investment while the third literally buried the money because he was scared of losing some of it and being berated by his master. The master takes the money from him and accuses him of being wicked, stating “You know I’m a shrewd business man yet you didn’t even put this money in a bank so that it would at least earn interest?” He gives the money to the guy who had the most amount initially so that two of the servants now have not only the money they invested at the beginning, but everything they made through their investments. This is Delores’, Wakas’, Phil’s, and Igor’s story. Investing what time, energy and effort they have into making 7-11 better, they are about to be rewarded.

As Danny reveals his true identity to them one by one, he tells Delores that he is personally setting up a “Delores donor awareness program” within 7-11 so that the tens of thousands of employees are aware of her need for a kidney transplant so that it will hasten the process of her getting a donor. He tells Wakas that he will personally mentor him and ensure that he makes his way up the company ladder as long as he chooses to remain at 7-11. He begins by making him a field operative overseeing ten stores. He assures him that if and when he decides to go back to Pakistan to fulfill his dream of helping hurting people, the company will help him fulfill that venture too.

He puts Phil in touch with the ad agency that does all of 7-11’s advertising and marketing, and Phil becomes a free-lance artist with the agency, helping to build his portfolio. Finally, he moves Igor from driving a delivery truck to owning his own franchise, and also sends him and his wife off on an all-expense-paid, week long vacation. When Igor begins to tell him how appreciative he is, Danny simply says, “Hey Igor, this is the American dream.” Igor’s astounded look says it all, and I think to myself, now wouldn’t it be priceless if we as Christ-followers could love and serve people so much that the expressions on their faces when they discover that we are Christians would be worth everything we do? You see, Jesus is the ultimate “Undercover Boss” because He goes into the world disguised as you and me, loving, serving, and caring for the people He died for. How’s He looking in your neck of the woods?

Focus on your own *@%# Family!

It’s an open secret that we are a nation of voyeurs! We love to poke our noses into other people’s business and this fact is borne out by the popularity of reality TV. The big topic for today is the Tiger Wood’s “orchestrated” apology. I’m amazed but not surprised by the amount of vitriol that is poured out against Tiger. It’s interesting that when a popular leader or figure falls from grace, all of the things about him that people didn’t like but previously ignored, are brought to the surface and highlighted as reasons for his fall.

Tiger has been called stoic, unapproachable, unfriendly and unsmiling amongst other uncomplimentary adjectives. He’s been compared to the ever smiling, ever popular Phil Mickelson and has come up wanting. We fail to recognize that his demeanor on the golf course may simply be the way he focuses on his golf game and is thus able to be the kind of player that he is. If Phil Mickelson had been caught in similar circumstances, I imagine the public perception and response would not have been as harsh. As a Christian leader who has studied extensively in the area of the psychology of behavior, I realize that we hold people to different standards depending on our perception of them.

So here are two burning questions I’m asking this morning:

Why is Tiger’s infidelity and subsequent silence so important as to be newsworthy three months after the fact, and in the light of more pressing issues facing us shouldn’t we be focusing our attention elsewhere?

What does Tiger have to do in order to be “forgiven” by the public and the talking heads

Let me take a crack at answering those two questions. To the first question, it must be said that there is a dark side to the human psyche that loves the macabre and the morbid, and especially loves the downfall of anyone that appears to have the proverbial golden spoon. Ever notice that news of the space shuttle reaching its destination doesn’t raise an eyebrow? Why? Because it isn’t newsworthy! However, the explosion of a shuttle… now that’s news worth reporting. Ever wonder why we “rubber-neck” as we drive by the scene of a fatal automobile accident? It certainly isn’t because we suspect our parents might have caused or been involved in the crash.

Yesterday Joseph Stack crashed his single-engine Piper plane into a building housing the FBI in Austin, TX after allegedly burning down his house first. As the story unfolded we discovered that he was angry about the fact that his long running battle with the IRS has basically made retirement a fantasy and colossal debt a reality in his life. Further incensed by the fact that the government (IRS) would hound small business people like him who are just trying to make a living, yet come to the aid and rescue of banks and big business, Joseph stated:

"Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it's time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours?"

Joseph, 53, leaves behind a distraught wife and a scarred daughter who will always have to battle her own demons, wondering why he took his own life and left her fatherless. Alas, Joseph’s story is probably known by significantly fewer people than know Tiger’s. A broken family and the untimely death of a dad and an innocent worker who just happened to be where the plane crashed, is relegated to the small print on most online news websites while “Tiger’s apology” is front and center stage. Why? Because Joseph represents Middle-America. His story is our story and so it holds no interest for us. Tiger however, lives in a world that we can only dream of and watch on reality TV. His story holds tremendous fascination for us and so we want more and more of the sordid details. That way we can compare our lives to Tiger’s and not come up short in our own minds. “After all,” we opine,” he’s as human and fallible as we are”. “In fact,” we tell ourselves, “I’m better than him because I would never do what he’s done.”

In an ideal world, Joseph’s family would be front and center on the news today. We’d be praying for and seeking answers to making life more equitable and fair for everyone. We’d be exploring in greater detail the efficacy of a government that bails out entitled, pompous, and glorified, self-styled royalty, who spend millions of dollars a year on bonuses and private jets from the very tax-payer funds that are used to bail them out of impending bankruptcy. In an ideal world, we’d let Tiger, Elin and the rest of their family work out the details on their long and difficult road back to healing and wholeness. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t make people’s personal business our business. But that’s in an ideal world!

As for the second question, it’s human nature to want to make people pay for their perceived transgressions against us. Married couples do it. Friends do it. Employer’s and employees do it. Every one does it. Tiger apologized to a plethora of people. He took sole responsibility for his choices. He outlined his new priorities in light of his failure. He talked about ongoing therapy. He apologized again! He called his actions foolish and entitled. But that’s not enough. Talking heads say he was insincere because he read a scripted apology. What? He had thirteen minutes of crucial detail he didn’t want to forget, what’s wrong with reading it and why does reading suddenly make it insincere? I know pastors who write out their entire sermons after much heartfelt preparation. They read much of it and deliver it as best as they can without making it sound scripted. Does this negate the sincerity of their message?

Stephen A. Smith (as arrogant a man as you’ll ever find, and I’m confident he has his own major issues), declared that Tiger was a fake. He categorically stated that he was insincere and didn’t mean a word he said. His reasoning? Because no one can go from having that many extra-marital relationships to having no extra-marital relationships. Well thanks Stephen A. for that rousing declaration delivered with gusto and authority. Pray tell, how do you know that and what makes you such an expert in the field of sexual addiction? Is it personal experience, or is it copious study and training in this area of specialization? No, seriously Stephen A., I’d like to know!

It seems that until we feel like we’ve made Tiger pay for his sins, and suffer at least as much as we perceive he should, there is no forgiveness forthcoming. That’s why when we are angry with people, a simple apology does not seem to satisfy. We perceive that they have hurt us much more than their simple apology can erase, and so we levy greater judgment and speculate as to the veracity of their apology and their motives. But to the one who has been forgiven of much, extending forgiveness to others becomes second nature.

It’s time to leave Tiger alone. What a person sows is what they’ll reap. We're not responsible for, nor do we have to monitor Tiger’s “harvest,” it’s plain for all to see: He’s fighting for the very survival of his marriage, his dignity, his finances, his sexual and emotional health, and his professional future. Now it really is time for us to leave the Wood’s family alone and let them get on with their process. Why do I care so much about this? Well I guess this strikes close to home for me because a few short years ago a good friend of mine suffered a similar fate in ministry. While it is true that he must bear the consequences of his actions and choices, I just don’t think that it’s yours or my responsibility to mete out those consequences. Life has a funny way of ensuring that we do reap what we sow. Just my two cents.

How will the Judge score you?

I've recently been fascinated with the idea of living a good story. This simply embraces the idea that God is the Master Storyteller and there's no better, or more captivating story than one that's fraught with conflict and numerous twists and turns so that we become sympathetic to and begin to root for the hero of the story.

The victory at the end of the story is always made much sweeter by the amount of conflict, hardship, and danger the hero has endured. We all consciously or subconsciously embrace this truth and it's borne out by the fact that our favorite movies are always those that have the protagonist in the story going through a really life threatening or dangerous and difficult situation, and then finally finding redemption through doing a selfless act.

If you don't believe me, take a moment and think of your favorite movie and it probably reflects this fact. Even if you picked a non-violent, non-action movie such as the Sound of Music, you'll discover that Maria fully represents those ideas. So, if we're going to live a story that truly reflects God's greatest calling and design for our lives, then it must be a story that pits us against circumstances and situations that often seem incredibly difficult and painful to overcome. But words don't express that as well as pictures since a picture speaks a thousand words. Watch this Francis Chan video and you'll get an even clearer picture (pun intended) of what I'm talking about.

The Biggest Loser is Actually The Biggest Winner!

I’ve been working through some random thoughts and so I thought I’d risk sharing them with you before they’re fully incubated. If you don’t get it, it’s okay. I promise I’ll be better tomorrow. Biggest Loser is one of my favorite reality TV shows. To be honest with you, as far as reality TV goes, I only like Extreme Makeover Home Edition better than Biggest Loser. I think the reason I like Biggest Loser is because I can really identify with the contestants. I imagine that being a “gym rat” is the only reason I’m not a contestant on that show. Anyway, I was thinking about yesterdays show and how it was a case study in leadership. In case you missed it, go watch it here. It’s natural to begin to root for some contestants and hope for the downfall of others. Yes I said it! Tell me you weren’t rooting for “Crazy Tracy” to be kicked off last season’s show.

So the Red Team is this year’s team from hell. Figuratively speaking of course! Two weeks in a row “wife” threw the weigh-in and didn’t lose any weight one week and lost only one pound the following week. Conveniently they had won immunity on both weeks. She was game playing big time. Bob and Jillian, the trainers, were so frustrated with her game playing and her weak attempts to deny it, that they called her a liar on national TV. If the truth be told, everyone in America already knew she was lying before Bob and Jillian called her on it, but she and her dutiful husband were irate about being showed up in front of America.

The fact is their egos were more hurt than anything else, but the husband pulled out his secret weapon and unloaded it on Bob and Jillian. His weapon?: “I lost all respect for you for calling my wife a liar on national TV!” Wow! You know that’s what Bob and Jillian feared the most. Losing the respect of an obese man trying to finally make the right decision and change his life for the better. I mean, thousands of lives have been turned around by these trainers and people are clamoring to get on the show for an opportunity to work with them. Respect isn’t something they’re lacking or seeking. At least Jill certainly isn’t. Nevertheless, because Jill wouldn’t rescind her allegation of lying, “husband” determined not to work out with her any longer.

To be fair to the Red Team, they weren’t complete ogres, as they demonstrated remarkably good judgment and thinking, in the way they went about the unwanted task of handing out penalties to three teams after they’d won immunity for the third time in a row. So what’s this got to do with leadership you’re asking? Well I had to set the tenor of the story first (I’ve been reading too much Don Miller). Bob was the first one of the trainers to talk to the Red Team to try and understand why wife had lied about throwing the weigh-in when it was patently obvious that she had. She raised her voice, got teary eyed, and challenged Bob for questioning her integrity and calling her a liar. Bob backed off and explained to the camera audience that the only reason he backed off was because there was a 1% possibility that she hadn’t actually thrown the weigh-in. Huh?

Bob is an experienced trainer who understands nutrition, body metabolism, working-out, and all the other attendant factors that have to do with exercising and weight loss. But Bob obviously hates conflict more than he loves honesty, and clearly wants everyone to like him so he ignored his wealth of experience, his certain knowledge, and accepted the word of a woman whose very presence on the show indicates her inability to make wise decisions where nutrition and health are concerned. A woman who was manipulating him in much the same way she clearly manipulates her husband on the show. As I watched him squirm I realized that Bob is a weak leader who is unwilling to make the difficult choices and stand by them. Jillian on the other hand wouldn’t back down. Confronted by both the husband and the wife, she reaffirmed her conviction that the lady was lying about the weigh in. While Bob claimed a 99% certainty, Jillian claimed 100%. I mean, seriously, what does a 1% chance mean Bob?

How realistic is it to expect that an obese person with a normal metabolism works out for four plus hours a day, eats healthy meals, sleeps well at night, and yet doesn’t lose weight? Jillian’s training posed a mental block to believing such a fallacy and she said as much. Bob the Pacifist however, wanted everybody to just get along so he discounted his training in favor of a 1% doubt. But Jillian’s track record speaks for itself. The early years of the show pitted Jillian’s teams against Bob’s and she always came out tops. Her team always won the overall show and it’s clearly because she’s a straightforward, won’t-back-down trainer.

I’m convinced that most visionary leaders would opt for Jillian as their trainer instead of Bob, and it wouldn’t be just because of her looks. Jillian cuts to the chase and shoots straight. When you’re obese and your life is on the line, that’s the kind of trainer you need as opposed to a kumbaya, hand-holding, let’s-all-just-get-along type of leader. Later on, as the Red Team chilled out in their room, the wife suggested to her husband that they “forgive and forget” (my interpretation) since they were there for a much grander reason than feuding with Jillian. He grudgingly acquiesced, as if he was doing Jillian a favor. It’s obvious who wears the pants on the Red Team, but decency won’t permit me to say who. I’ll just settle for telling you that I’ve watched the husband since the start of the show and it isn’t him.

Someone should inform the Red Team that at the end of the day, the biggest winner is actually the biggest loser, so maybe they should stop game playing and start losing some pounds. There, I’ve said it, now I feel much better.

Haiti's Pact with the Devil?

Following Pat Robertson’s unimaginably insensitive comments yesterday regarding the Haitian disaster, and following the angry diatribes and vitriol that has spewed from many quarters, I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts. I’m saddened by Robertson’s comments and realize that, but for God’s grace that could have been me just a few short years ago. I don’t think he’s a bad man. I don’t for one moment think that his comments were meant to be a scathing attack on Haiti’s “apparent ungodliness.” I don’t even think he realized how insensitive his comments were. I do think though, that that’s the danger of surrounding yourself with only people who think just like you. Charismatic Christianity has evolved a language and culture all its own, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that the rest of the world doesn’t speak your language or live in your world.

Pat Robertson has probably learned very quickly that not every Christian shares his world view. What earthly good (or heavenly good for that matter) does it do to make such unbelievably irresponsible comments in the aftermath of such a tragic event? When you become so insular so that you don’t even have a pulse on the real world where people live, work, play, and die, you tend to make comments like Pat did. Proof that there’s a major disconnect between his heart and his head is in the fact that, as he made his comments, there was a number on the screen to which people could call in and make donations to CBN’s efforts to help the Haitian disaster victims. Clearly his heart was in the right place, so why make such insensitive comments? I could be redundant and answer that question for you in this blog, but Don Miller has done a better job than I ever could of explaining the answer here, and so I suggest you click on the hyperlink and read it before you continue.

If you’re completely oblivious as to what I’m talking about then go here and read it, but just in case you’re in too much of a hurry, the encapsulated version is that Pat Robertson said,

“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French… and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’ True story. And the devil said, ‘okay, it’s a deal.’ Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another.”

Let us say for the sake of argument, that that was true. Would now be the time to declare it? Miller makes a profound observation in his response to Robertson and states:

Can you imagine giving the eulogy at a funeral and starting out by saying “before I tell you about God’s grace, let me make it clear that little Johnny deserved to die because he stole candy from a store.”

Sadly, Robertson’s comments have done nothing but polarize Christians, and further increase the divide between the Church and the secular world. You see, as far as the media (and many other people for that matter) are concerned, Robertson speaks for Christians everywhere. Since neither Robertson, you, nor I are God, I think we might want to be a bit more careful about what we claim is God and what isn’t. Tony Campolo demonstrated that fact quite succinctly when, during a CNN debate in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina one religious leader noted that the New Orleans devastation was a direct judgment from God on the wanton debauchery of that city. Where upon Campolo reminded him that the French Quarter was fine and only the low-income minorities were devastated. He proceeded to ask if his fellow guest thought that God was angry with low-income minorities. So what’s the point I’m making? Simply that we should arm ourselves with “towels and basins” to wash people’s feet, and worry less about declaring God’s judgment over the very people that Jesus died for! Just my two cents.

Listen to Your Heart!

I’m struggling to wrap my mind around the magnitude of the Haitian earthquake disaster! Sadly our focus on the enormity of the disaster can tend to obfuscate the details of the individual stories. This in turn can tend to make us more analytical and less compassionate in our response to the immediate needs. Stentorian voices call out for your heart and your money from every quarter at times like this. What to do? Where do I give? Where will my help be best utilized? While you’re analytical mind is wrestling with these questions and more, thousands of people are dying needlessly. Haiti needs our help, and they need it now!

We’ve heard inhumane stories of the untold horror coming out of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian Capital, and some of them have suggested that the death toll may be in the hundred’s of thousands. That is a gargantuan number under any circumstances, but even more so in a nation ravished by poverty and one that has a population of only nine million people. Our initial response to such reports may be to analyze the enormity of the disaster and rationalize that there’s little difference our tiny contribution would make so we’ll just commit to praying for the people of Haiti and let the Red Cross and other such agencies do the work of restoring broken lives. I categorically declare that that is not true, and so we need to do more than pray!

There may be a little child wondering the rubble-filled streets in bewilderment and fear looking for his or her parents right now, that hasn’t eaten since the earthquake struck. There may be a baby that was ripped from its mother’s breast as it suckled, who’s now lying under a pile of rubble beside its dead mother, too weak to cry anymore. Whatever you may have thought before, you need to know that your help will make a difference in the myriad stories that will make up the texture of this colossal disaster, so you need to do more than just pray. Researchers have theorized that focusing on the statistics and magnitude of such disasters can tend to short-circuit a response borne out of compassion, by shifting people into an analytical mindset. When people think analytically it can hinder their ability to act compassionately as the head gets in the way of the heart. I love how in Primal, Mark Batterson says, “Logical objections get in the way of compassionate actions.”

If you live in the Orlando area, there are numerous places where your compassionate assistance will be greatly appreciated. You can help package supplies that are being airlifted to Haiti, you can give food or clothing, and you can give money. My family and I along with a few of our friends are doing all of the above at a place called Harvest Time International. They could use your help in all the areas I mentioned above, so if you’re so inclined, contact them (just click on the hyperlink) and find out when you can go in and help, or just drop by anytime on Saturday and we’ll see you there. Remember that you're the lambent radiance in the midst of this terrible darknesss. Thanks for responding with your heart and not your head!

My Forever Friend!

As we stand at the threshold of another new year, no, new decade, I can’t help but reflect on my journey and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. I daresay some of you that read this may identify with the sentiments expressed a lot more than others, and that’s perfectly alright. The vicissitudes of my life are testimony to the fact that the start of a new year or new decade in some ways reminds me of the NFL football playoffs. No matter what your regular season record is, once you make it into the playoffs you all have an even playing field and a clean slate. To their chagrin, the New England Patriots discovered that fact two years ago when, following a perfect regular season record, they lost the Superbowl to the recalcitrant but intrepid New York Giants. Their regular season record did nothing to deter the New York Giants from believing that they could beat the Patriots in the Superbowl.

The journey of life is fraught with changing circumstances and while we may attempt to level the playing field by adopting and adapting to certain systems, the reality is that systems are static and unchanging yet life and people are dynamic. This means that we must -- while adapting to proven systems that make life work in general -- be willing to adapt even more to our ever changing environment. The start of a new year affords us a clean slate and an opportunity to “win the big game” inspite of how average or mediocre our past year might have been. One of the more profound truths (amongst numerous others) that I’ve learned over the last decade is that many relationships are transient. Recognizing this truth has freed me from the paroxysms of self-inflicted recrimination. Most friendships are in your life for a season and are designed to shape you for that season and that season only. Confused yet? Don’t be, I’m going somewhere with this.

In the last few days of 2009 I watched the Lord of The Rings trilogy (three of my most favorite movies of all time), and there was one particular phrase that stood out to me the most, and I haven’t been able to shake it. Before I tell you what the phrase is let me set the table: Frodo Baggins and Sam Wise Gamgee (his appointed and trusted traveling companion) are on a quest to take the one surviving ring that can destroy the world and the age of men and return it to the fires of Mordor where it was formed, so it can be destroyed once and for all. Their journey is fraught with intrigue, danger, betrayal and incessant twists and turns. Towards the end of the journey, the dolorous assignment leaves Frodo so beaten down by the “weight” of the ring that he collapses and is unable to move a muscle. Then Sam steps in to save the day. The very same Sam whom Frodo had at different points along the journey turned against, declares these haunting words in reference to the weight of the ring, “I can’t carry it for you Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you.”

There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother declares the writer of Proverbs18: 24. Sam Wise, in that season of Frodo’s life, became the living example of that profound truth. I’m truly grateful for the friends that I’ve encountered along my journey. They made the journey worthwhile. I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned through watching so many friends that were in my life for a particular season. But most of all I’m grateful for my wife. She has been my “Sam Wise Gamgee” through the arduous journey of planting a church and dealing with all the attendant twists and turns that come with that calling. I know, I know, some of you are a little frustrated because you thought I was going to talk about Jesus being that friend. Well, the truth is that there are moments along my journey when I needed a friend that could physically hold me and reassure me that I wasn’t going insane. My wife Sola was that friend, my forever friend. I’m persuaded that we are nearing our “Mordor” so that we can discard the ring that has threatened to sink us one time too many.

So my prayer for you this year is that you have a friend in your life that stays for all seasons. A friend who loves you because of and inspite of you. A friend that will eat a bowl of salt with you grain by grain. I pray you have a fulfilling and successful 2010.