Totally Souled Out!

Culture in Crisis... What's in a hug?

2009-03-10T16:25:00.046-04:00

I just recently stumbled across this video on YouTube. Apparently it got comphrensive national coverage a few years ago...maybe you have already seen it. As I watched it my first impression was..this confrontational approach is off-putting. However, it provoked a deeper meditiation..Why would such a benign offer create a feeling of mistrust? As I watched the lack interaction of the passerby what came to mind is how individualistic our culture has become and how seductive culture is in the life of the Christian. Our nation, founded as "one nation under God", with common beliefs and purpose has moved away from the concept of community and in the words of John Locke has become a nation of "solo sapiens".

The modern Church has followed the trend of culture and has become a collection of individuals ;rather than the "true community" founded in the love of Christ it was intended to be. The overstated elephant in the room is that people deeply desire a sense of belonging, while some fully embrace it; many are hesitant to trust in it. This reality has provoked many Christians leaders awake at night. So many have experienced a lack of acceptance and unconditional love, in the one place that advertises such a reality...the church. Have you ever experienced the insincerity of the weekly handshake across the aisle?

A hug breaks the barrier of individualism and by its very nature communicates a sense of community and belonging. It is a gesture that fully communicates its intent..."I accept you and care for you." A hug is a spontaneous signal of acceptance. Interestingly, an embrace is the very action of Jesus toward the believer. A hug breaks the barrier of personal space bridging the gap and creating a neutral space where there is no room for disagreement or grudges. It creates a space for acceptance, understanding, and empathy. A hug is a gift, an act of servitude, because it can never be seized; only offered and then received. When was the last time you offered someone community and a sense of belonging by giving them the gift of an embrace? "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom" Isaiah 40:11

I'm Alive...I'm Alive!

2009-01-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

Greetings blogging friends. Boy these last several months have moved quickly and in some respects painfully. Just a recap…this past semester I began learning New Testament Greek in my pursuit to complete the Master of Divinity program at Luther Rice University. What a blessing! If you have a true desire to engage the New Testament I recommend it. The benefit will outweigh the hard work. In early December I had a little accident with a tree. Yes, I did say a tree. Standing on the porch in my backyard minding my own business a tree landed on my house, on my car and on ME! Ouch! Recovery was painful and slower than I would have hoped….but the Lord is faithful and I am ALIVE and mobile. The Lord has been speaking to me about being resolved these past days and I will post an entry a little later. So for now…drink in this meditation posted by a Twitter friend, “No one can go back and make a brand new start. Start from now and make a brand new ending. Even if you must do it over and over again"

Unity 2008

2008-08-10T19:52:00.013-04:00

What do 49,000 people in Muskegon Michigan have in common? They love Jesus! This weekend some friends and I took a road trip from N. Michigan down to Muskegon, Michigan for the 2008 Unity Festival at Heritage Landing. We attended the festival on Saturday alongside 16,996 others to see Big Daddy Weave and Third Day. Here are a few pics of the concerts…

Big Daddy Weave
(LtoR) Jay Weaver, Jeff Jones, Mike Weaver, Joe Shirk, Jeremy Redman

Mike Weaver (Lead singer)

Third Day
(LtoR) Mark Lee, Scotty Wilbanks, David Carr, Mac Powell -not pictured Tai Anderson

Do you know that your mower is smoking?

2008-08-07T02:16:00.006-04:00

This seems like a strange title, but let me digress….maybe confess is a more correct term. I am not a mechanical genius; however do know enough to get myself in trouble. This evening I was doing the mundane chore of mowing my lawn. Being a busy individual my time is an important commodity and one I don’t like to waste. As I engaged this simple task of home ownership I came to realize after six or seven pulls on the mower ….it wasn’t going to start. Putting my logical mind to work, I concluded that in order for a mower to function properly it needs oil. Hmmm! Note to self….check the oil. Sure enough the oil was desperately low and consequently I filled it to the top. Yes I did say to the TOP! Realizing what I had done and not knowing how to undo the process, in my ignorance, I proceeded to fire up the mower to complete my task. What proceeded after was nothing short of spewing oil, and lots of smoke. Did I mention lots of smoke? Clouds of white smoke bellowed from the exhaust on my mower. However, being the women of purpose and determination that I am, I pressed on. As I stood in a cloud of smoke almost invisible, this young person came zooming on her bike down the sidewalk and asked, “Do you know that your mower is smoking?” My quick wit compelled me to respond, “No… I didn’t notice!” RIGHT! This preteen then continued to share that her dad knew how to fix mowers and inquired as to whether I wanted her to go get him. I declined and continued along my way mowing my grass and polluting the neighborhood. Just so that you ,my blogging friend, don’t think I am a total nit wit the smoke did eventually subside once it totally burned off the exhaust and I completed my project.

This little confession/experience got me thinking about how as individuals we struggle with pride. As people more often than not we come off as independent and self sufficient. Our culture has conditioned us to believe that we shouldn’t show weakness. Consequently, we don’t let people see our deficiency, or know our hurts. Our pride tells us that we don’t need a helping hand, we don’t need someone coming along side picking us up and dusting us off, or even saving us from the peril we have imposed upon ourselves. This perspective insulates and isolates us from relating to God and one another in ways that really count. As people we have been created for relationship with God and others. The Bible speaks about pride…the book of Proverbs shares, “Pride comes, then comes shame, but wisdom remains with humble people.”(Proverbs 11:2). Pride hardens the mind and refuses to hear the wisdom of anyone. It closes us off from others and from God; it rejects all other wisdom. Do we really want to live this way? Doesn’t wisdom found in humility sound like a much better arrangement?

Humility is confessing that we don’t have it all together…isn’t this the real truth anyway? It is coming before God and each other communicating that we have a need. It is allowing others the opportunity to minister to our deficiency. I am reminded of what a friend once told me, he shared, “Nancy vulnerability isn’t a sign of weakness, it is a demonstration of strength.” My blogging friends let us come out of the closet of our pride and let’s get real with each other and God. May we be willing to entertain the notion that we need each other.

The eye of the beholder....

2008-07-29T02:16:00.016-04:00

This evening I returned home from work to a call from my dad sharing that my mum was in the E.R. After 3 hours of sitting waiting in a small closet size room, they finally wheeled my mum upstairs for a stay. As I sat in the E.R. watching the comings and goings of people… sick, broken and bleeding there was a point at which my eyes caught a connection with a young women in her mid twenties. Our eyes stayed connected for just a few seconds but what seemed like several minutes. She had come to the E.R. by herself, strung out on drugs, compliments of a police escort. Her eyes were dark, sunken and withdrawn. However, as I engaged her what was communicated to my spirit was much more. Here was a young woman alone….really alone! There was no one in the E.R. waiting room, waiting on her. No one interested that she was killing herself with narcotics. Her EYES communicated a lack of purpose, hurt, confusion and a desperation that comes from KNOWING you are alone. As I sat with my mum in an attitude of prayer regarding her sickness; this young women was also on my heart.

I watched as doctors and nurses came in and out of her room, all the while a policeman guarded her door. The atmosphere surrounding this girl was one of ridicule and judgment. As I sat and watched I was increasingly burdened for this young woman. I thought to myself, “I am fairly certain I know what people think of this lady, but what am I to think? Should I also cast judgment on her and chalk this up as another person with a bad habit?” How should I SEE her? I was reminded that the Bible tells us that if our eyes are bad then everything is dark. If the light inside an individual is dark, then that one is truly in the dark. (Matthew 6:23). The eyes of this woman were dark, she was not able to live with spiritual vision where she could see her life as one of beauty rather than the handicaps that manifested her addiction. Ironically, nor could those around her! This observation provoked my spirit.

I am constantly challenged with the idea that as a Christian just how easy it is to become complacent and comfortable, and truly lack a burden for the sinner. I might go to church, give my money, and maybe even get involved with my time. It seems easier to live a life that demonstrates the love of Christ in my actions. I have understood the concept of living a lifestyle of evangelism by doing good deeds. These are all good things, yet this young women provoked the meditation, "Do I purposefully and intentionally name the name of Christ in my actions?" Do people move away from my presence just thinking that I am a moral upstanding individual, or do they really know the Power behind the personality? Am I really more content to wait for the sinner to visit my church, or am I truly burdened to meet them where they live? It struck my heart, had this woman heard the name of Jesus? Had anyone been intentional with her and cared enough to introduce her to Jesus Christ, the power of God for salvation to anyone who would believe? I am reminded that love is in the EYE of the Beholder. Jesus Christ loves this individual (John 3:16). The Bible tells us that Jesus did not come to save the healthy, but those that are sick (Mark 2:17). As a Christian do I sometimes forget that once upon a time I too was sick? The Apostle Paul eloquently encourages the believer, 'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news"'(Romans 10:14-15). Love is in the eye of the Beholder and because this is so as a Christian I have been commissioned to love those that are sick ...and like Christ my burden should be to THEREFORE GO! (Matthew 28.18).

Good guys always win...even if they have to die!

2008-07-24T13:01:00.005-04:00

"If Christ if for us....who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) "...death is turned into victory"(1 Corinthians 15:54)

Growing up my father was a cartoon junkie. We would watch episode after episode as Jerry the mouse would out maneuver Tom the cat. Week after week anticipation would build as we wondered if that would be the episode that he would finally outwit Jerry; only to find Tom in some sort of self-imposed personal crisis once again bruised, isolated, hurting and defeated. As an older child I remember wondering two things,,,First....which of these characters is the "good guy", there is always a good guy...right ? Both characters were crafty, manipulative, self-absorbed and never willing to give the other favor or say "I'm sorry!". Secondly, who would really want to impose that kind of relational disaster on themselves?

My eldest nephew has a phrase that he shares periodically that always catches me when he says it. He shares, "Don't worry Aunt Nanc...good guys ALWAYS WIN...even if they have to die!" He's eleven...can you imagine? The simplicity of this statement possess such profound truth that his theologically trained aunt trips over herself as she tries to process and put application to the statement. Note to self: "Keep it simple stupid!" When he and his siblings come to stay it is customary that we read a bed time story. Inevitability he always desires that I read them a missionary story from a book called Missionary Stories With the Millers. If you don't have this book in your library and you have kids, I highly recommend it. The stories are only a few pages in length and are packed with examples of God's faithfulness. This statement as it comes from the heart of an eleven year old, who loves God, is pure in its observation,uninhibited, honest and self-denying. Simply.... he has a faith like a child (Mark 10:15). His faith is large enough to believe that God is so powerful that He can accomplish those things that we read about. As a matter of fact his faith is large enough to believe that God can superintend ANY circumstance (Romans 8:28). Why is it that as an adult we find ourselves struggling to believe that God can do that? Although we might not say it out loud, does the application of our lives demonstrate that truth? Has life experience taught you that this a dog eat dog world? Are you of the mind that the good guy doesn't win? Does the good guy get left behind, abused, thrown away and left for dead..... is it survival of the fittest? Is life nothing more than a game of cat and mouse?

I would like to suggest that My nephew is right...good guys ALWAYS DO WIN....but who is a good guy and what are the rules of the game?

Most of us strive to do the right thing....we love our families, help others, pay our bills, obey the civil law....but does that make us a good guy? Do these things make us righteous before a holy God? The prophet Isaiah shared that all our righteousness is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:4-9). What does this mean? Isaiah answered when he shared, "This people draw near me with their words and honor me with their lip service, but they remove their heart far from me."(Isaiah 29:13). God desires that we love Him with all our heart. (Matthew 22:37-38). The Apostle Paul shared it this way, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23). Paul concluded that man is justified (i.e. made righteous) by God's grace as they are redeemed through Jesus Christ alone.(Romans 3:24, John 14:6) This means that God desires to be in relationship with YOU and that the only manner in which that can take place is to be literally purchased by Jesus Christ.(Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus Christ has set us free by paying the bond for our sin with His own life. In return He desires that we confess Him as Lord, and love Him as we obey what He says. This is a life of dying to our own agenda and following Christ! Unlike a "legal bond" that only ensures a temporary release, the bond purchased through Christ Jesus is binding and eternal. Stealing the phrase of an eleven year old child....Jesus Christ is the definition and model of a "GOOD GUY" who DID die so that through His resurrection we would have opportunity to be a good guy.
In this game of life what are the rules of the game? I have already shared rule one: Love God through Christ! The Bible says that the second rule is like the first one....love your neighbor like YOURSELF! (Matthew 22:39). What does it mean to love my neighbor as myself? As I shared in an earlier post, it is that person who lays down his life to serve Christ by loving others as we ourselves would want to be loved....the one who ministers to others. Ministry is revealing God's love to others by meeting their needs and healing their hurts, even if they are self imposed. Ministry in my experience is dying to self, laying down my own pride and being willing to extend a heart of grace, even when I don't want to. It is being willing to prefer another above myself...even those who have hurt me. Nothing characterizes our culture more than fractured, dysfunctional personal relationships. As people we have been created for relationship; both with God and each other. If we lack a personal relationship with God the Bible tells us that we are like Tom the Cat, a self-imposed person who is isolated, bruised, hurting and defeated.(Romans 1:18-20). As a Christian if we have broken relationships and are unwilling to do anything about it (both with God and each other) we too are a self-imposed person who having been released from the bondage of sin, has CHOSEN isolation, hurt and defeat; essentially we have preferred ourselves over God and others (Matthew 18:21-22; Colossians 3:12-13). In concluding this rambling of heart a life ordained by God is one that is a continual dying to self. A life that pursues relationship, is quick to apologize and willing to be the bigger person. The Bible tells us that it is in this type of death, that we ultimately find victory. Good guys always win....and they are required to die! (John 12:24-26).

S.L.O.B's Give Back

2008-07-19T10:44:00.004-04:00

I was surfing around YouTube and came across a video that I think has merit to watch. I recently found out that Bart Millard's (lead singer of Mercy Me) son suffers from juvenile diabetes. Like many of us whose families have been touched by either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes he too understands the challenges and complications associated with the disease. According the the American Diabetes Association, there are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 17.9 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 5.7 million people (or nearly one quarter) are unaware that they have the disease. Take a moment and watch this video.

Support Sam's car.

The Tie That Binds....

2008-07-19T00:42:00.068-04:00

The month of July has been a delightful suprise for me. The major emphasis and application has been the topic of "fellowship and friendship". This month I have experienced the homecoming and fellowship of a dear friend who I have not seen for four years. It has been a thrill to catch up, be filled up, and simply enjoy their presence. This experience got me thinking about what makes this season of time so special? Simply.....It is the Tie That Binds!

Frank Crane once shared "What is a friend? I will tell you...it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself." Have you ever wondered why there are those people in your life that are a comfortable fit....just like an old pair of jeans? That person or persons in whom you dare to rip off the mask from which you are hiding and declare with open abandonment......"THIS IS WHO I AM!" The person who values YOU as a person more than they value the relationship itself....that is a real friend. The one who is willing to bump shoulders and knock heads with you. The one that accepts you as a person, even though you might not agree with all of their values. The Book of Ecclesiastes talks about the importance of such people in our lives ...."Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10;12). Who are those persons in your life in which you can say..."You are a real friend!"?

In the gospel of John Jesus shared His perspective on being a friend, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:13-15) In the passage Jesus is declaring His disciples His friends. What is essentially important about this passage is Jesus' perspective about YOU! Can Jesus call you His friend? A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the door to success in every other relationship. There is no way that we can reach our potential in developing relationships with eternal value ,where we can be our true self, if our relationship with God is not right.(John 15:5). Jesus Christ is the third strand....He is the Tie That Binds!

What's in a Word?

2008-07-17T20:24:00.022-04:00

Sometimes I believe that the Lord has a great sense of humor. Being a science major in undergraduate school dealing with the art of language just wasn't my bag. However, as it turns out He has brought into my life several good friends who in large part LOVE words. Argh! Can you stand it? LOL! However as I ponder their love of words and their influence in my life, I have come to appreciate the art of language.

One word that has been on my mind is vo-ra-cious. Voracious an adjective describing an excessive appetite, or someone who is excessively eager... This is a great description of my state of being...How about you? What are you hungry for?

As Christians our lives should reflect this kind of appetite toward spiritual things, moreover Christ Himself. Isn't it ironic that we get busy filling our days with activities that have no eternal value as we struggle to fill ourselves with the most satisfying and nourishing person available (John 14:6)? Instead of heading through the spiritual drive thru for that fast and cheap "happy meal", may we find the real joy and contentment that comes from a real intimate relationship with the Master Himself. This kind of intimacy only comes as we seek Christ with all of our hearts. Several years ago I read a small publication by Robert Boyd Munger that really articulates the meaning and value of the Word ( John 1:1-5) operating in the believer's life. My blogging friends let us be mindful of the importance of making eternal investments in our daily living...may we be voracious Christians!