Odds and Ends

Still no baby as of 11:52 pm Thursday night. I'll keep you up to date.

Tonight Beck (4), said, "Mom, if you know Jesus you won't die when you have the baby, but if you don't know Jesus, you will die." Leatha said, "Beck, I could die, but since I know Jesus, I'll be with God forever." He said, "That's true. Good point, mom."

Darrell Green's hall of fame speech relates to my post on "Sex and Faithfulness." The whole thing is good, but at least start listening at 4:40. It reminded me of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, saying at the end of his life, "I fought the good fight."

Also, good thoughts from Alex Tuckness on diamonds: click here.

I've enjoyed getting caught up on the New Perspective of Paul from Scot McKnight's blog: click here for the posts. This is one of the more important theological discussions going on right now. It's become John Piper Vs. N.T. Wright, with McKnight's blog representing the Wright camp. Great things to think about, but if you're not inclined to enjoy deep theological debates, don't waste your time... I'll consider writing a blog post summarizing what's at stake.

That last sentence was totally worthless.

So was that.

I'm going to bed.

Oh yeah, Salt was awesome tonight. I met a new guy that wandered into Cornerstone today seeking help in his relationship with Christ. He came tonight and met some great guys and got in their connection group. And once again, tons of international students were there. Two Chinese guys said, "Wow, someday we might be able to have the excitement that's in you guys."

This is church!

Welcome Yo

Scheibe, thanks for the vine (apparently via Dave Ramsey's Facebook page)

Thoughts on Sex and Faithfulness

"Sex isn't all it's cracked up to be."

I'll never forget that quote from a newly married TSC guy 10 years ago. I was not yet married, and thought to my 22 year old self, "Yeah, right. That dude must've gotten stuck with a bad wife. Bummer for him. I'll do better."

Now I think, "Dude had a point. It's nothing like I thought."

You see, immorality and promiscuity are more thrilling than purity and faithfulness. But only in the way that robbing a bank is more thrilling than going to work there.

Working for a paycheck is not always fun, but it's always good.

Sex is better than going to work, but you get the point.

Here's a related thought... Should you really say to your spouse, "I will NEVER cheat on you?"

Isn't that a little proud to say such a thing? After all, we're sinners in need of grace, and we are not beyond any sin. Right? "If you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall..." (1 Cor. 10). How can you know you'll be faithful? The demon of adultery is just around the corner for all of us, waiting to jump out and overtake any helpless human being it seeks to devour.

Can you tell I'm setting you up?

I told Leatha tonight, "I will NEVER cheat on you."

It's not pride. It's not arrogance. It's merely restating a vow I said to her 9 1/2 years ago in front of about 300 friends and family. I think we should say this often, to our spouse and to ourself. And, in this case, to the world wide web. By God's grace, I will keep my vow. I will never be unfaithful.

And faithfulness is not necessarily as fun, but always in my best interest.

It's better to work at the bank than rob it.

Duh.

Be faithful (Proverbs 3:3-4).

Charlie V. Mom

I've been thinking about parenting recently, having taught last night on the fifth, sixth and seventh commandments. Implicit in "Honor your father and mother, that you may live long and that it may go well with you..." is the assumption that parents will expect obedience as they instruct their kids to the live according to wisdom.

Today at the pool a mom put on a parenting clinic.

What not to do. The details of the following story are not exaggerated. In fact, it was much worse.

Now here are two disclaimers:

1. This is probably how I would parent if I didn't have a wife who read many books on parenting.

2. My purpose in posting this is not to deride this mom, but to remind myself and others what not to do.

We'll call this boy Charlie.

Charlie (6 years old) V. Mom (36 yrs old):

Mom: "Let's go Charlie!"

Charlie: in the pool, ignoring her

Mom: "If you don't get out, then I'll just come and drag you out."

Charlie: laughing

Mom [now resorting to scare tactics]: "I'm leaving." starts to leave

Charlie: comes out to the door and starts crying

Mom: opens the door as if to leave

Charlie: "Can I just jump in one more time?"

Mom: "Sure."

5 minutes later...

Mom: "Let's go now"

Charlie: Running away

Mom: Starts to chase him around the pool, but stops because she couldn't catch him... "One.."

Charlie's friend in pool [laughing]: "...Two...Three..."

Mom: "Charlie, don't make me come in and drag you out."

Charlie: laughing and swimming away

Mom: starting to leave again

Charlie: crying and throwing a fit in pool

Mom: "If you don't get out, you're going to stay in your room all day long." (she said this at least twice...)

Mom: pretending to leave

Charlie's friend: "Charlie, are you going to stay here the rest of your life?"

Charlie: exasperated, gets out of the pool

Mom: "Say good-bye to your friend"

Charlie: pouting, ignoring her words

Summary of things not to do:

1. Count

2. Give empty commands

3. Raise voice

4. Empty threats

5. No consequences for disobedience

6. Pacifying

7. Exasperating him

What to do is another post for another time... I need to go ask Leatha.

Cha Ching

I hit the jackpot today.

I was looking for something to engage my mind as I was cleaning the floors and windows when I stumbled upon Peter Kreeft's website. Click here for some mind calisthenics.

What better to break the monotony of our often brain dead cultural routines than some thoughts from a great Catholic philosopher? There are a lot of great downloads on the audio page for different topics that might pique your interest (i.e. pro-life arguments, C.S. Lewis insights, sex, heaven, arguments for God's existence...a little something for everyone).

Here's the opening page of the website...

Augustine tells of a vision of seeing a little boy at a beach scooping up the ocean thimbleful by thimbleful and emptying it out on the sand. Then he sees an angel who tells him that this boy will have emptied out the entire ocean long before Augustine has exhausted what can be said about God.

This site's Featured Writings and Featured Audio about the ocean of God's love are only a few thimblefuls. No—less. For God's love is literally infinite. It is the shoreless sea we are destined to swim in, surf in, and grow in forever.

Under the Mercy,

Peter J. Kreeft

I just found out that he will likely be our speaker for the Veritas Forum that we'll be hosting at Iowa State in February. I'm looking forward to spending some time with him and being a sponge for a couple bitterly cold Iowa days.

Here's the youtube link I listened to while cleaning the floors. There's not really much to watch, just visualization stuff...

On a philosophically related note- For those of you who remember Plato's "forms", I saw this car and cracked up. It's the car I drew as an artistically challenged first grader. It's the purest and most ideal form of "car".

Potty Training

I came home to find something brown in the middle of our yard.

On a related note, Makai was so happy to take me out back to show me something when I walked in the house.

As far as Makai's concerned, our backyard is one big, grassy, fenced in toilet. With a play set.

Leatha wouldn't let me throw it in the compost.

Update from Asia

I can't say where because we want to protect our workers overseas. But we have a team of college students in the country where the Olympics took place in 2008. Another hint- it's a big country in East Asia. Anyway, I knew I could count on Ben Hunt for some hilarious updates from the front lines...

"My final thought, the funniest thing of the week. So, one of our [insert country] brothers, Robby, came to hang out with us at our apartment. He sat on the couch next to Jase, whose belly was hanging out to combat the heat of our city (it's VERY hot and sticky). Robby looked at it and asked “Can I touch it?” (everyone in [insert country] is ridiculously skinny). Robby put his hand on Jase’s tummy and gave it a tender squeeze. He then looked up at us, smiled, and said “it is very comfortable.”

Now Jase finishing the story…

After Robby said my belly was very comfortable, he said, “You have a lot of…what is it called?”

“Fat?” I replied.

“No, not fat, the material between your skin and…”

“Fat,” I said, “It’s called fat.”

“No, do you have a dictionary?” He asked. I gave him my iPod which you can write Chinese characters on to look them up. I watched him write a Chinese word then hit search. The result: Body Fat. Robby continued to argue that body fat is not the same as fat.

Ben and Jase, I'll be laughing all afternoon about that. I'm not sure the world is ready for you guys...

The Smart or Stupid Game

Tonight when I was praying my usual bed time Psalm over the kids (click here for more on that), I hit the brakes on my prayer mid-sentence, as I realized it wasn't so age appropriate.

I think it was when I got to the part of my prayer that went, "...and Lord, help the kids not to be stupid idiots who live in rebellion to You..."

My next words were, "Never call someone a stupid idiot. But let's talk about what stupid idiots do." 

I then went on to play the "smart or stupid" game. I made it up, but it's not very original...

Me: "Smart or Stupid... Jimmy really likes Jane, so he kisses her."

Ava, Cameron, Beck: "Stupid"

Makai: "Sooopid"

Me: "Smart or Stupid... Jessica sees something she wants in the store, so she takes it without paying for it. She steals."

Ava, Cameron, Beck: "Stupid"

Makai: "Sooopid"

Me: "... Everyone is making fun of a kid who is sitting alone at lunch, so Brian goes over and sits by him and asks if he wants to play at recess."

Ava, Cameron, Beck: "Smart"

Makai: "Mart"

I realized they were a little too black and white, so I added some moral ambiguity...

Me: "... Someone keeps cutting in line during kick-ball, so you run in and tell your parents."

Cameron, Beck: pause "Smart"

Ava: "No, it's stupid, because they need to work it out with the person before they tell an adult."

Makai: confused

Me: "Yep, Ava is right. Work things out with the person before running to tell on them."

Then I threw this in just to see if they remembered what sex is:

Me: "...Johnny has sex with a girl who is not his wife." 

Beck: pause as he looks at Ava and Cameron for a clue.

Ava and Cameron: "Stupid!"

Beck: "Stupid" 

Makai: "Soopid"

I guess the moral of the story is don't be soopid.

Spiritual Dryness and Free Book

Great post about it from my friend Ed (click here). Warning: it ends with a shameless plug for the Leadership Summit.

Every dad needs to read this short book by Mark Driscoll (click here). It's free and a quick read. I couldn't sleep tonight so I read it all from about 4:30 to 5:20 am. He made some extremely helpful points.

An American Tragedy

A couple years ago, Leatha and I enjoyed spending an hour of our Monday nights watching a fun loving couple, Jon and Kate, raise their 8 children (twins and sextuplets). Last year, we slowly lost interest and stopped watching. We noticed that something was changing about this family.

Tonight we watched about 15 minutes of the show to find out that Jon and Kate were getting a divorce. Another American tragedy- for many reasons...

1. The recent explosion of communication mediums has been an incubator for narcissism and cult of personality. 

But in our present age, the heroes worshiped are normal people, not dictators. 

One of my mentors, David Churchill, who taught me how to watch movies, told me that the most prophetic movie of our time is the Truman Show. There is profound depth to the movie, but the basic story is people watching other people live. 

Spending our time watching other people live...what have we become? What have I become? (After all, I was one of those 20 million viewers...)

2. The "me" generation knows nothing about faithfulness and sacrifice

Jon and Kate looked like they had turned into a couple of teenagers- Kate with her new immodest wardrobe, and Jon with his earrings and skull tshirt (which had replaced the Isaiah t) arguing over such pettiness. 

Kate talked about how she feared they would be labeled as just another statistic. I think her real fear is that there will be consequences for their sin. There always is. And what is more... her kids will inherit the consequences of her unfaithfulness.

If you happen to be reading this and you have thought about divorce as an option for your current situation... send that thought back to hell. Don't say it or even think it. 

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and men." Proverbs 3:3-4

3. "Better a little..."

We live in a culture of much. But wealth is such a trap. 

At some point the show went from a nice way to document their children's upbringing to "We're going to Hawaii...moving into a ??? million dollar home...traveling the U.S. to autograph books..." 

A mother of 8 on a book signing tour?

We look at people like that and are tempted to think, "They have it all and they are happy. Why can't I have that kind of life?"

If you're struggling with that, just watch the Madame Blueberry Veggie Tale DVD and remind yourself what great gain really is.

1 Timothy 6 and Proverbs 15 are well worth reflecting on. 

4. To the singles out there...

If you're dreaming about a great marriage someday, here's some advice: Be faithful today. Be pure today. Love God in a way that He's all you want and need today. 

In doing this, you will become a kind of person. 

You'll become the kind of person that is faithful and walks on a path of righteousness. 

You may have watched Jon and Kate and thought, "It can happen to anyone of us. Satan just snuck around the corner and zapped them. It could be me next." 

Not really. 

Over time they decided to let greed, fame, selfishness, pride, pleasure, and unfaithfulness turn their hearts from Matthew 6:33 "Seek first...". 

Those sins were welcomed into their home one compromise at a time. At some sad point, those 32 year old teenagers I was watching tonight opened wide the door of destruction, becoming another American tragedy. 

"God, reveal to me the ways in which I've allowed apathy, complacency, lukewarm faith, and languid service to creep into my soul. Release in me a longing for the unseen, where Christ is all in all. Guide me on a path of righteousness for Your name's sake, chasing me with goodness and mercy, leading me not into temptation. Give me a dangerous faith that involves sacrificial love-first for my wife and children, and then to those you put in my path. I am a sinner saved by grace. And in grace I will now stand. Amen."

Good Movies

Gran Torino

Wow, this is one of the most redemptive movies (i.e. it tells the Story) I've seen in awhile. 

This has a thick story line, with so much to reflect on afterwards. Here are some thoughts, in no particular order. If you haven't seen it, only read #1...

1. Gran Torino told the truth about the world: it's a jacked up place where hope is found in a very unusual place. 

The movie was extremely vulgar and boldly offensive. And yet, by the end, I was in no way tempted to sin. In fact, I hated sin for its death-giving effects. My mind was engaged, and emotions moved. I had the thought, "That was worth watching."

Cicero is famous for naming the three functions of rhetoric: docere (teach), motivere (motivate), and delectere (delight). In my mind, Gran Torino accomplished all three.

Warning: spoilers ahead... read after watching...

2. I rarely see the complexities of life in the inner city so up close and personal

- The fighting and hate among ethnic groups such as Hmong, Hispanic, African American, etc

- The diversification of "white" neighborhoods. One thinks, "Why can't you move out?" while the other, "Why did you have to move in?"

- Racism is often overcome when we actually take the time to get to know people. There's something to love about every culture. God is as much Hmong as American.

3. The power of sharing a meal. 

Americans are not good at this, but in other cultures, sharing a meal is a participation together in something spiritual. That's why it was really throwing down when Paul says about the immoral "Christian" in 1 Corinthians 5, "with such a man do not even eat." It also reminds me of the power of communion- what it means to share from one loaf.

4. The challenges of generational conflict.

I loved and yet hated Walt. That generation in particular was not good at showing their emotions, unless it was a fit of anger. But they were fiercely loyal and patriotic citizens (Notice how much the American flag was in the camera shots?). How insightful that he considered not reporting $900 on his taxes to be one of his worst sins.

This is such a "Me" generation, with no respect for elders. His granddaughter was basically waiting for him to die so she could get his couch. 

The generational issues were also depicted at the party in the juxtaposition of the older Hmong upstairs, while the teenagers were in the basement. 

I think one of the points in the movie was that this is an issue that we're all going to have to address, whatever our ethnicity. It's especially hard for immigrants to lose their ethnic identity in this melting pot called America. I wonder how the early immigrants dealt with this.

5. What manhood is

The movie had an interesting take. It was some truth mixed with worldly nonsense. I'm in the middle of listening to a great message from Mark Driscoll on manhood. This would be a better source for information about Biblical manhood:

6. The challenges of Father/Son relationships

As far as his son was concerned, Walt had become a means to get tickets to a football game. Walt was to blame, and that was his greatest regret in life.

That should cause us to pause: What are we doing as parents that we'll look back and say, "I wish I would've _________ (or wouldn't have__________)" 

Walt's true friend became Thao. This was a form of redemption, as Thao became the relationship he never had with his sons.

7. The crucifiction scene

Amazing. Notice how he was laid out on the ground.

8. The heaven scene

This was beautiful and stirred so much emotion in me. The image of a road along a beach that never ends. There was no line on the horizon both vertically (the road) and horizontally (the beach), representing eternity.

Walt died so Thao could be free.

9. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

For me, this was the most important take away from the movie. The aftermath of the drive-by shooting scene was unbearable. Everything within me wanted justice. My flesh wanted it now- for Walt and Thao to throw down on those abhorrent thugs.

But in a twist of irony, justice was accomplished through a courageous act of sacrificial love. 

In spite of the aforementioned "heaven" scene, the movie rightly left us with the tension that we experience in this world: joy mixed with sorrow, satisfaction filled with longing, and a hope infused with the sting of loss.

There's so much more to say about this movie... Walt's baggage of guilt for having killed men in war, the role of the priest in Walt's conversion, the power of confessing sin to another human...

I was moved by this movie.  I'm not sure how many readers I have under age 18, but I would definitely ask your parents before you watch this.

Movie #2= Seven Pounds

This was another great movie. Brilliantly told. To me, one of the greatest apologetics for Christianity is guilt. Why do people feel guilty? How do we solve the problem of guilt?

Notice Ben Thomas' job: tax collector. 

Spoiler Warning...

The only way for him to get redemption was to offer himself as a sacrifice to atone for his guilt. 

This was another great movie. Once again we see that Hollywood can't help but telling the Story. It's written on our hearts. 

If the past could only see what we've become

Click the image to enlarge

Harrison Barnes V. Mark Arant

There's this dude in our church that's supposed to be one of the top 3 best players in the world of his class. ("top 3 best" may seem redundant, but it works in this case). A "one and done" as they say. That means one year of college and then the NBA. 

I don't see what all the hype is about, as I clearly held my own against him. I'm thinking about leaving the ministry and entering the draft. NBA, here I come...

At this point, I really think I'm going to swat him. I'm a VERY optimistic person.
Right here I'm thinking, "Wait a minute, how is he still going up and I'm coming down?"
The inevitable result... My consolation, however, is the fact that my jeans and skate shoes didn't launch me to my usual heights.
Me, about to take it to the rack.

Pinned. Blocked. Swatted. That's how it went, but then I got one over him and in. (not this one) I think the one I made almost hit the rafters.

C'mon, give me a little credit for getting close on this.
Not.
Then I challenged him to a 3 point contest. This is Cody contesting his shot.
I went 9 for 20. He went 17 for 20. 

Maybe I'll keep my day job after all. 

Ministry Success

We had a ministry event the other day that totally bombed. I was expecting 70, 100 maybe even 200 people to show up. 

I think 16 showed up. 

That's counting me, the band, the sound guy, janitor, and me again. You know it's bad when you pad the numbers by counting everyone in the room, and then go ahead and count yourself again because you couldn't remember if you started by counting yourself or the person next to you. And of course you don't want to do a recount- since counting 16 people takes soooo long...

And, as every good pastor does,  you round up to the nearest 10.

Let me start over.

We had a ministry event that bombed. About 20 showed up. Now I feel a little better about myself

Truth be told, it's probably the best thing that happened to me all week.

"Successful" would be an appropriate word to describe the ministry I've inherited.

But what, after all, is ministry success?

Was the event with 16 people unsuccessful? If 300 had shown up, would it have been a success? What about the implications for the minister(s)? If more people are coming, does that mean God is more pleased?

I don't think God and I shared the same view of that event. It wasn't a bomb. The only thing that made it unsuccessful was my failure to see the kingdom of God that night. What I didn't tell you about was a particular girl who came. She was not a part of a church, and was clearly looking for relational connection. I totally overlooked her, because I was focused on the wrong things. 

I was stepping on an orphan, as it were, while complaining to God about not giving me more orphans to look after.

So my conclusion in the matter is this....

God's pleasure is not in:

- Our ability to get people to show up at our stuff

- The fact that we are a part of a dynamic ministry

- How many people liked our sermon, or small group discussion, or worship set, or ______

Rather, it's based on something much deeper. As deep as the motives that drive us.

Was I doing this for my glory or His?

Was I driven by the approval of man or God?

Was I faithful?

Did I love God's people?

I still hope more people show up next week.

Happy B-Day Makai

Makai turned two today. 

We went and picked strawberries this morning. He was a big help.

I don't think he managed to get a single strawberry in his bucket.
Happy Birthday "Kai-Boy"!