Happy New Year!

I’m just wondering...is there anyone reading this blog that is even a little disappointed that there are only a couple of days left in 2011? If you are one such person, I would love to hear from you to find out why. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think 2011 will be recorded in my memory as the Worst Year Ever. Rather, I am optimistically looking forward to 2012. Why, you ask? Because it is a NEW year.

We love and serve a God that is in the business of making all things new and with the arrival of 2012 He will be giving us a whole new block of time. Depending on your preferred measurement that’s either 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds.

For me, 2012 is going to bring some rather dramatic changes. First, January 15th will mark the 5 year anniversary of the first Sunday I served Spring of Life as the Worship Music Leader. It is somewhat difficult to believe that I am entering my sixth year in ministry with and for some of the greatest people I have ever known.

February will bring our 10 year wedding anniversary...and what a decade it has been! I’m sure I don’t need to inform anyone of this, but Lenora is clearly the better half. To borrow a song lyric, of all the gifts God’s given there is none as precious to me as the treasure of my wife. (You didn’t know that underneath my gruff exterior lies a hopeless romantic, did you?)

Next will be the arrival of our third child in late April/early May. For those of you that may not have heard, she’s a girl! The minute she is born will be a life-changing moment, a moment that will be forever recorded in my memory.

Finally, 2012 will also represent the beginning of my final year of study at Asbury Theological Seminary. My seminary journey began in June 2009 and will conclude (hopefully) with graduation in May 2013. This means that I will also be seeking approval from the District Committee of Ordained Ministry (DCOM) to appear before the Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM), the next step on my path to ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. My time in seminary and candidacy has been by far the most transformative experience of my life. I am deeply grateful to all of you for the love, prayers, and support you have given me and my family.

So, these are just a few of the things I am looking forward to this year. What I am most looking forward to, however, is the common thread shared by these things. These are all God-given opportunities, invitations if you will, to become more fully who God created me to be. They are invitations to a deeper spiritual life. That may seem like a bit of an overstatement but it’s not. You see, these are all opportunities to continue learning how to be in the world without being of the world. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “the spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.” This means that my life in the world, as a minister of the gospel, as a husband, as a father, as a student, can and should point to Jesus. The roles I play may be separate in certain ways but they all share a common objective. In each, I need to set my heart on the kingdom, always striving to know God and make Him known.

This is what I’ve been contemplating as 2012 quickly approaches. However, “the spiritual life can be lived in as many ways as there are people.” In 2012, what will be your God-given opportunities to enter into a deeper spiritual life, to become more fully who God created you to be? Something worth thinking about...

Keeping Christmas in Perspective

"Hey! I’ll see you on Christmas Eve!" a friend of mine said enthusiastically. You know I’m a “Chreaster,” she said. (That means she definitely attends worship on Christmas and Easter.) I said, “Great! I’ll see you there.”

On another occasion, someone asked me, “Which one is bigger for you? Christmas or Easter?” Well, if he had asked me that when I was growing up I would have said Christmas. A new bike, football, fishing pole and Easy Bake Oven beats hardboiled eggs and chocolate bunnies any day. But Jesus ruined all that for me as I got to know him better.

Turns out, Christmas isn’t the holy epicenter of the Christian faith after all. It’s just that our culture has figured out how to make money off Christmas better than any other Christian holy day.

Think about it. How come there aren’t Epiphany or Pentecost cards?

Epiphany (January 6) is actually an older holiday (“holy day”) than Christmas. This day focused on the “manifestation” or epiphany of God made flesh in Jesus. So it included remembrance of the birth of Jesus, the visit of the three Magi, and all of Jesus' childhood events, up to his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The Roman winter celebration called the festival of the unconquered sun (a pagan worship celebration of the sun god Sol Invictus) was established by Emperor Aurelian on December 25 in 274 AD and eventually Christians took this Roman pagan holiday hostage through reinterpretation. Since Christians believed that Jesus was the son of God, God incarnate and the one true “unconquered son,” it made since to celebrate his birth (instead of a pagan god) on December 25. And so, by the 4th century Christmas was officially on the Christian calendar in an attempt to resist Roman enculturation.

Pentecost is also older than Christmas because it has its roots in ancient Israel. It was a Jewish harvest celebration giving thanks for God providing food and more notably the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures called the Pentateuch. It happened to be during the festival of Pentecost just following Jesus’ resurrection that God poured out his spirit upon the church (see Acts 2) to give what otherwise would have been a bunch of clueless cowards the ability to proclaim the resurrected Jesus with power.
Consider this too. The earliest New Testament writings (Mark and the Letters of Paul) do not even mention Jesus’ birth. However, they all proclaim Jesus death and resurrection. That is because without the story of Easter there is no church, there is no hope and no Christmas.

Christmas is a special day for our faith, to be sure. But let’s keep it in perspective. Christmas is not the holy epicenter of the Christian faith (as stated in a recent Orlando Sentinel article). It has arguably become the epicenter of the retail economy in the United States. But if we’re looking for an epicenter of the Christian faith, we need to look at Jesus’ death and resurrection (Easter). Apart from Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, what we have in Christmas is a great story and an excuse to make money – nothing truly transformational.

So, Merry Christmas, but the best is yet to come!

Merry Messy Christmas

Have you ever been over to a friend’s house to eat and the food just ain’t no good? I mean the macaroni’s soggy, the peas are mush and the chicken tastes like wood. (Sugar Hill Gang 1979)

Those words from the first rap song I ever heard still crack me up. It doesn’t matter if you’re the host or the guest, it’s a messy and awkward scene. Clearly things haven’t worked out like you planned.

Some of you are thinking, “That’s the story of my life these days. Things certainly haven’t worked out like I’ve planned.” Family relationships are a mess. My job/joblessness is a source of stress. And every time you turn around something reminds you of an aching loss. Not only is Christmas not going to be the merry that it was, it’s a mess that you’re hoping will be over soon.

Maybe this kind of disruption is just what you need in order to hear the story of Christmas with fresh ears and receive new hope and fresh faith.

We’ve done a good job of making Christmas a lot more glamorous and picture perfect than it actually was. The truth is that the first Christmas came in a context of darkness, uncertainty, fear, and confusion.

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury reminds us, “The story of the first Christmas is the story of a series of completely unplanned, messy events – a surprise pregnancy, an unexpected journey that’s got to be made, a complete muddle over the hotel accommodation when you get there . . . Not exactly a perfect holiday.”

If we spend time asking God for favors that will make our life easier, we’ve missed the point of following Jesus. Sure, no one likes the kind of mess and loss that seems magnified this time of the year. But God’s invitation is for us to enter His story – not a promise that He’ll make our stories less difficult.

It struck me so deeply this past Sunday in worship as we were listening to the story of Mary’s visit with her cousin Elizabeth found in Luke chapter 1. God invited both these women to enter His redemptive story to save the world. Both would be “blessed” by having sons who would die violent deaths because they were willing to say “Yes!” to God’s invitation.

Isn’t that interesting? Mary and Elizabeth didn’t have an easier life because they said yes to God’s proposal. Who knows, they may have suffered less or more if they had ignored God’s angel. But when they said, “Yes,” their mess, their uncertainty, their confusion got wrapped up in God’s great story of salvation for the world. Their mess became a source of hope because it was now co-opted by God! God has this amazing track record for taking messes we make and turning them into something surprisingly good.

Whether you follow Jesus or you follow your own best ideas about how to live, you are going to deal with a mess. I’m so glad God gives us the option and invitation to live in a mess that will one day be seen as good news of great joy.

As Rowan Williams signed off on a recent BBC radio program he said, “I’m never sure whether to wish anyone a peaceful Christmas, because it hardly ever is. But I can wish you joy in the midst of the mess, and every blessing from the God of ordinary, untidy, surprising things.”

Merry Messy Christmas and every blessing from the God of ordinary, untidy and surprising things.

Greek Yogurt and Jesus

It is so good!

While visiting my sister’s house during Thanksgiving I looked in her refrigerator for something to eat for breakfast and I saw several packages of Chobani (Greek yogurt). I had never had that kind before. And when I asked if I could have one, my sister said, “Sure! Those are JD’s (my 3 year old nephew). He loves them.”

Wow, it is so good!

I bought some Chobani when I got home and one morning this week I started singing a song about Chobani. Goes like this, “Chobani, Chobani! Everybody loves Chobani!” I said to my daughter Julia, “You would like this yogurt. It is so delicious.” And I was spontaneously led to post this status on Facebook: “I just want to thank my nephew JD for putting me onto Chobani. What a delicious breakfast treat!”

God pointed something out to me in the middle of all this. It’s not hard to be an evangelist for something you love and is so good. You don’t have to work at telling others about something you love. You just do it. It’s not a chore to break out in song about something you love (even if it might be a little off key). When you love something that is so good, you invite people to try it not because you think they will go to hell if they don’t, but because you think their life would be blessed if they did.

The first time I told Julia about Chobani she looked at me with that “That’s nice dad, glad you like it, but no thanks” look. I didn’t berate her for not trying it. I just kept singing about it. It was a few days later when I was tasting another delicious spoonful and saying, “MMmmm!” that Juila said, “Ok! Can I have a Chobani?” Of course I said, “Yes! God gave Chobani for all people who wish to receive it as a gift!” (No, I didn’t really say that.) I just cracked one open, stirred it up, handed it to her and said, “You’re going to love this.”

It seems weird, but God put this thought in my head, “Don’t you think Jesus is at least as good (if not better) than Chobani?”

Yes. Good in a way that a root canal is good. Good in a way that learning math is good. Good in a way that a belly laugh with friends is good. Good in a way that seeds planted, grow into fruit and vegetables is good. Good in a way that sharing a meal with your enemies is good. Good in a way that saying, “I’m sorry” is good. Good in a way that resurrection from the dead is good.

“Yes, God. Jesus is far more disturbingly, interestingly, surprisingly good than Chobani.”

We’re going to sing, say, "MMmmm," fill the communion cup this Sunday at Spring of Life and have a party because of Jesus. I’ve invited some friends. How about you?

It is so good!

Unwrapping Christmas Hope

It’s hard not to think about Christmas in economic terms.

When extra money is tight or non-existent we think, “I don’t know if Christmas will be the same this year or if we’ll have it at all.” When we work retail and our livelihood depends on sales we think, “Christmas is going to put us in the black!” When we are a kid and we see ads for toys, gadgets and stuff all over the place we think, “I wonder if I’ll get what I want this year?” When we hear about homeless, unemployed or underemployed families we think, “I’d like to help them have a Christmas this year.” When we are the pastor of a church and giving hasn’t recovered from the “summer slump” we think, “Christmas will help us make up some ground financially so we can keep doing ministry at our current levels.”

I pray that God helps us unwrap Christmas from its bondage to money so we might discover its real hope.

God gives an answer to this prayer and it’s called the season of Advent. Advent begins four weeks before Christmas, but should not be confused with a countdown for how many shopping days are left until Christmas.

Instead, Advent is a season to reflect on the mystery of a God who chose to make himself known to the world as a homeless child in an obscure village in the middle east called Nazareth. A season to be “awake and watchful” for the ways God continues to reveal himself today in equally surprising ways. And a season to live in anticipation of a future we have glimpsed in the resurrected Jesus, but is yet unfulfilled until He returns in final victory.

Advent begs for space where we can be quiet and contemplative, giving us eyes to see the presence of God all around us in unexpected places. But it never fails that all the additional clamor of this season makes it easy to ignore Advent's begging for this extra space.

So my question is this: Does the redemptive work of God in this world stop because we’re too wrapped up in other things to notice it? Does our clamor, confusion and idolatry tie God’s hands behind his back, hold Him hostage and render seasons like Advent a slave to the almighty dollar? (Ok, two questions).

No, even our attempt to rid the world of God by hanging him on a cross didn’t work. John’s gospel reminds us that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (1:5).

But as my friend and colleague Rev. Jan Richardson puts it so eloquently, “This blessing wants our company.” (See Blessing for Waking).

The whole purpose of God’s mission to enter the world through Jesus is about God’s longing for our company. His love for people who are so bent on not only ignoring him, but killing him is baffling.

All this is proof that hope is not dead. It doesn’t depend on us, but it does relentlessly pursue us to share company with us.

This week I read an article about the United Methodist Church that Jerry Sandusky (former Penn State coach accused of child molestation) has been a member and active participant in for the last 30 years. I was struck by the words this church has printed on a card that is given out to all their first time worship guests. “Do you know that God’s love can and does achieve great things, even amid the turmoil of today’s world?”

Advent is the space for unwrapping that kind of Christmas hope. It doesn’t quit if we ignore it, or even try and kill it, but it isn’t satisfied until we join its company and share its surprising joy.

Two recommendations for you during this Advent season:
1. Jan Richardson’s blog www.adventdoor.com and her ebook “Through the Advent Door.”
2. Mike Slaughter’s book, “Christmas is Not Your Birthday.”