To Be a Follower

I want to teach my children to be independent. I don't want them to be a follower but a leader. I want them to be the one in their group of friends who bucks the trend and does the right thing regardless what everyone else is doing.

There have been times when one of my girls will come home from school crying or down in the sorts because someone decided that they weren't going to be friends with them any longer. Of course the next day they were best buds. But I try to teach them that people are sometimes mean and don't know it and sometimes people are just mean and there is nothing that we can do about it. I try to teach them that they should treat people how they would want to be treated and make sure that they are not hurtful but stand up for the little guy.

Now I know this won't always work, but it is my job and duty as a parent to teach things. I try to live these out as well.

The trouble with living these things out is that you can get a label as not being very strong or being a pansy. If you are not being mean like the rest of your peers something must be wrong.

Labels can be good and bad. I remember when the label Christian was a good thing. In Acts 11 we are first introduced to the term Christian. In Adam Clarkes' commentary on this passage he hints that maybe the term was given by God. He basis this thought on the word chreematisai which is Greek for "were called" and that this term has the finer meaning of being appointed by a devine direction. I can see his point.

If this is the case then we have a lot of explaining to do. What do we "Christians" do to hold up the moniker? I must look at myself more than anything. Yet I hear what the "big time" TV Christians are doing in the name of God and they call themselves Christians. And maybe not just them but everyone else for that matter is giving the title Christian a bad rap.

There is another school of thought. When the disciples were first called Christian it was probably in reproach (Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary). The term may have not been very kind. If this is the case, most of us are living up to the title!

Furthering my disgust, is what politicians are doing with the term. They call themselves Christian but do nothing to show it. They tell me that if I am a Christian then I should vote the way they vote and I should support the candidate that they support and if I don't then I must not be one of them. What am I to do?

I've given up the name! I am no longer a Christian!

I can hear the gasps!

I am a follower of Christ. I believe that He and He alone is the way the truth and the life. I believe that He alone grants us the ability to approach the Throne of God. I believe that as I follow Him, I will have a better understanding of my Creator. I believe that He gives me the title Friend! And I believe that if I truly follow Him, then I will become Christ-like, but I will let Him make that decision because every time I think I am getting closer, I see how much further I've yet to go.

There's a proverb that goes like this:
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12 NIV

40

Things have been crazy lately. Have you ever wanted to do a whole bunch of things but just don't have the time? Does your world spin out of control? Do you find yourself deeper and deeper dug in and farther and farther behind? Would you like to correct all this? I have the secret and for the low price of just $10 I will share this secret with you!

I would give up the $10 if I knew that were true.

So much has happened since I last had the opportunity to sit down and write out my thoughts. That's really a bummer though because there have been so many times where something has happened and I thought, "that would be a great thing to blog about." But then I get busy and when I finally sit down to write something... nothing... blank... I forgot what was so interesting.

I think the most interesting thing that happened in the recent past was me turning 40. I am now a 40 year old dad. My kids think that that is funny. My youth group wanted to know if I am going to retire. I just wanted to eat some cake!

For my birthday I bought a new set of golf clubs. I've been out at the driving range just about everyday since then. Today I had the opportunity to put into practice the hours and $$$ spent on hitting those balls. I went out with my father and a mutual friend to Mission Trails Golf Course. After a horrible first hole I got into a decent rhythm and was hitting the balls fairly decent... until. By about the 7th hole I noticed my left elbow hurting. By the 12th I was done. I couldn't swing the club to save my life. I had to withdraw. Is that the price I pay for turning 40? I will never admit or say: "I'm old!" NEVER!

The MEME of Four

Apparently I have been tagged (by my big sister no doubt). I refuse to cooperate with this waste of time MEME!

Ah, what the heck! :)

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:
1. Busboy
2. Waiter/Bartender
3. General Manger
4. Pastor

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have:
1. Any Godfather movie
2. Schinlder’s List
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Four Places I Have Lived:
1. Costa Mesa, California
2. Morgan City, Louisiana
3. Raleigh, North Carolina
4. San Diego, California

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. CSI
2. Law and Order SVU
3. Football
4. Anything on History Channel

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:
1. Bahamas
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Washington DC
4. Daytona Beach, Florida

Four Web Sites I Visit Daily:
1. Fox News
2. Worship Leader
3. MSNBC
4. Langa.com

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Steak (rare)
2. Any Mexican Food
3. Hot Dogs
4. Oranges

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. At the beach
2. At the beach
3. At the beach
4. At the beach

Four People I Am Tagging With This Meme:
None, I'm going to the beach!

XXX Church

I am a firm believer in this: Religion is man's attempt to get to God. Christ is God's attempt to get to man.

That being said, I need to look at the life and ministry of Christ in detail. If I am to be "Christ-like", then I need to model Him. I have found that most, if not all, organized religions fail in this attempt. If the religion is honest, it will continue to monitor itself and reevaluate itself to make sure it is on the correct path.


Here's a question: Can that path change?
Here's the answer: No!
Another question: Can the way you communicate this path change?
Answer: Yes.


What may have been good for one is not necessarily good for the other.

We have added so many different things to our church services that they must be biblical. Take for instance the "altar call." Is that Biblical? Not that I can find. Paul in writing to the Romans does mention:

Rom 10:9-10 NiV

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

But there is no direct correlation between this and an "altar call." I think we use the "altar call" to call out those who have made the decision, so that they can publicly state that they have been saved. This works in our Western world ok. But in talking with a former missionary to Thailand, he said that this was not a good thing in their world. Because of the nature of the culture there, a people pleasing culture, people would respond to the "altar call" to save the face or reputation of the minister or the person that brought them. They really didn't want to become a Christian. This would then cause bitterness in this person's heart and they could become angry at the church and harbor resentment making it almost impossible for them to come into a right relationship with God. Have you ever seen this in our culture, someone becoming so mad at the church for hurting them that they became almost unreachable. I've seen it in my family! I digress...

So we have these preconceived notions of how church is supposed to be. Some can't go to church unless it is on Sunday. Some can't go to church if they don't wear their best suit or dress. The list goes on. (If you really want to get knit picky, we are the Church! We don't go to church, we go to a fellowship and corporately worship God.) Some of it is good, I personally think some of it is wrong as well. Again, it is our attempt and each one of us works out his own salvation with fear and trembling.

I receive this email from time to time from an organization here in mid-city San Diego that is geared toward the churches. One thing that this person does is send out emails about the happenings in the church world and things that affect our neighborhoods. One of his weekly emails is about the "Sheeps and Goats" article in the local independent magazine called "The Reader." In this column, the author reviews churches and rates them. The diversity is interesting.

In the article on December 22, 2005 he interviewed XXX Church. This ministry is trying to reach the porn industry; those involved and those entrenched in its hold. It is a great ministry and I have had the opportunity to meet with them at various conferences. In this particular email, the mid-city person would not publish this article because he said I would be offended and instead we should pray for ministers addicted to porn. Well I read the article anyway. I was appalled that this "minister" (the mid-city one) could make a judgment about what another ministry is doing. If Christ hadn't ministered to the prostitute, the tax collector the sinner, where would we be. Are to minister only to those who meet our criteria? Or better yet, are we to minister only in one way?

I fired off an email to him explaining my objection to his censorship. I was truly amazed when he wrote me back and realized that he was wrong. He stated: "I'm sorry for being so restricted in my thinking. I've been an evangelical too long but thanks to men like you I am learning think outside the box. I receive your rebuke and will be more diligent in "not editing" or "censoring" the news."

Have we been restrictive in our thinking?

Have we been restrictive in the way God wants to minister to His people?

Better yet, have I?

Dear God forgive me!

By the Sheet or By the Roll

As a father, I realize there are a lot of things that I need to teach my children. I think the first thing we (as parents) teach them is how or how not to behave. We try to teach them manners... how to get what they want/need without screaming bloody murder. We teach them how to act in different social settings. We can teach them how to ride a bike, cast a line, even how to tell a joke with all the subtleties of timing and pauses. Yesterday, I found something else to teach them.

While shopping at Costco, we needed to buy some toilet paper. I always look for a good deal, but to be honest, I like the soft stuff. Now Costco's brand, Kirkland, isn't all that bad. I can't remember the price but it was a good deal. Right next to the Kirkland brand was the Charmin brand. If you've seen the commercials, it's the one with the bears.

If you have never noticed, most prices include information like how much per ounce, per pound, etc. The Charmin price told me it was .18 per ??? (I couldn't quite see what the per was, I assumed it was per sheet). The Kirkland price tag had .40 per ??? (again couldn't quite see it). I was a bit perplexed. I naturally thought that the Charmin was the better deal even though it cost more. As I was putting the Charmin in the cart, I decided to take a closer look at the packaging. The Charmin package had 30 rolls (it said it was equivalent to 75!) and the Kirkland had 30 rolls. The Charmin package stated that each roll had 250 sheets yet the Kirkland boasted a whopping 450! Being the price minded shopper, I was befuddled. I didn't quite get the math. How could the Kirkland be less expensive and was listed at .22 per ??? more? I then decided to take a closer look at the price tags. The Charmin tag stated that the per was "per sheet" and the Kirkland tag stated that it was "per roll."

Does this make sense to anyone? Why would Costco list one brand differently than the other brand? It's the same item type! If you do the math, you'll find that the Charmin is .45 per roll. In my humble opinion it boils down to this. They are trying to get you to buy the more expensive one. I may be a bit cynical on this, but I just don't get it. So now I need to teach my kids to watch out for Costco! HAHAHA!

By the way, did you know you can buy a casket or urn from Costco online?

Holidays

I've never been one to get too excited about the holidays. It was just something that came and went and made everything a bit hectic. Now don't take me for a Grinch! :-) I like the holiday season. I like the fact that everyone is happy and jolly and that for the most part, people are a lot more friendlier this time of year.

The question that I always have is why? What makes this time of year so different than any other time? Are we only supposed to be friendly and nice to everyone from Thanksgiving to New Years? There must be something that sets this kind of like mindedness off. Is it because that this is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior? But what about those who don't believe the same way as I do? Is it because it is a sense that there will be a new beginning soon... a time to start afresh? But what about those who don't make resolutions for the new year? What makes this so special?

I think that is truely a God-given thing. This is time of year that we give. Proverbs says this: "Who ever gives to the poor will lack nothing." Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Luke chronicles in Acts: "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." It is right to give. Now I understand that most of our giving is not to those who are in need or to the poor. Sure we may put something in the Salvation Army bucket or give to a local charity this time of year but I think that most of us just like to give. It makes us "feel" better. It's a God-given thing.

And most of us, whether we admit it or not, resolve to do something a bit different in the New Year. It gives us a fresh start, a time to make things better for ourselves and those around us.

As a father and husband who is trying to get it Right, I want to teach my children to do these things throughout the year. To give to those who need, to resolve to try better the next time, not the next year. Mistakes happen. We fail. So what! We keep trying and as Paul wrote we keep striving for the goal!

Stewart Townend wrote a song called "In Christ Alone." He writes:

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

'Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Happy Holy Days!!!

Driving A Bus

I am in the process of learning how to drive a school bus. Why? The answer is simple... Financial. To make it in San Diego you have to earn a little bit of money. The position that I am in at my church does not afford me with the opportunity for making a whole bunch of money and truly that is not the goal. But, whether I like it or not, we need money to live. Rent happens. Food happens. My girls grow up and need stuff... girl stuff. For that matter, I need stuff. So to help make ends meet and to try and get ahead of the game, I am learning to drive a bus. The pay isn't the best in the world but the hours are way cool and give me the abitlity to still work full time at church. We are hoping that with the extra income we will be able to move out of Hillcrest and to a neighborhood more suited for children. We would like to live where they can play in their own backyard and ride their bikes down the street without having to worry about the "urban" dangers, i.e. busses and the like.

Anyway, back to learning how to drive a bus...

The bus that I am learning how to drive is 40' long. it seats 88 passengers. It's huge. Everything I know about driving has almost been thrown out the window. Knowing how to turn, how to stop and start. Knowing how to judge distance and length. It has been a great experience. The past 3 days (Mon., Tue., & Wed.) have been exhausting. I wonder if I can make some sort of spiritual thing out of this. I wonder if I could connect the two.

I've been on this quest, this spiritual quest, as of late. I'm trying to redefine what I believe, not necessarily change it, just redefine. For example. I've always been taught a sin vs. good sort of theology. I've been taught not to sin and to have a "personal relationship" with Jesus Christ. But what I think is reality is that I am to do the will of the Father. That I am to act and carry myself the way Christ did while he was on this earth. I am to be loving and caring. I am to be Christ-like. I don't think Christ preached a "don't sin or else" kind of message. The result of doing the will of the Father dictates a life that is without sin, not the other way around. I could be wrong on this whole thing. It just "feels" (that's a bad word in Christendom) right. I think that if I truly pursue this Christ-like attitude everything else comes to play.

I'll have to organize my thoughts on this and write more later. Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the deep end, I'm just getting deeper. I'm trying to learn to drive something bigger. :-)

Thanksgiving et.al.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone again. We had the opportunity to go to my Aunt Janie's house to give thanks and watch a couple of football games. It was a great time. The last time had Thanksgiving with her and my cousins was when my Uncle Jim died. That was 30 years ago. This was happier times.

I also want to give thanks for a full year with my new daughter Zoe. She turned a year old this past month and we had a birthday party for her. The party was actually a celebration for Ashley and I surving the first year of parenting her. It was so much fun to watch her eat her first cake. She turned into an orange faced munchkin.

I have so much to give thanks for this year. My two oldest daughters are doing very well in school. My youngest has survied her first year in this turmulous world. I have my health. I am married to the greatest, most understanding wife in the world.

Thanks!

Being Tired

One of my mottos in life is found in the book of Galatians. It reads "So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit." (Galatians 6:9 The Message) I've shortened it to read "never tire of doing good." I'm really trying to live up to that... the doing good part. I seem to fall short more than I succeed. Lately I've been asking myself "why?"

Recently my two oldest started school. Because of the curriculum and the nature of their school (it's a magnet school emphasizing in sports), they can come home really tired. They leave for school at 6:40 and don't return home until 3:00 (they ride the bus). Some days are better than others, but I can see it in their eyes and tell by their attitude that they are really tired.

Last night, after dinner, I really wanted to go for a walk with my family. It was about 7:00 and a beautiful night out. I knew that they still needed a bath; I knew that Hannah still had reading to do; I knew that Zoe grows very irritable after 7:30. I knew all these things but tempers were short at home and I thought a good walk would help get everyone's mind off of whatever was bothering them. The walk started out nicely. We walked up to University Ave down to the Ralphs shopping center and then back home. Before we got up to a nice pace Mackenzie asked why we were walking. "Are we going to get a Slurppie?" "Are we going to get some ice cream?", she asked. It then turned into somewhat of a whine fest until we got almost home and then turned into a "hold me I'm too tired to walk" fest. Mistake!

What I thought would be a good thing turned into a fiasco. We still got the kids in bed before 8:00 (baths and all). But is was just too rushed. I think we're going to have to have dinner at 5:30 from now on. That task will be hard, but that's for another post.

If you think of me and my family in the next few days, please remember to say a prayer for us .