out of bounds

As I continue to learn about the Down & Out of our community, I am coming across a variety of resources that put flesh onto the bone of poverty. You might consider checking some of these out:

An incredible, 1987 Life magazine photo essay on homelessness [NOTE: some strong language]

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger resource that gives one perspective of the global issue

Fort Worth and Arlington Plans to End Chronic Homelessness

A timely collection of music from known artists to support compassion

the homeless count

I have continued to be personally challenged by all that I am reading and studying regarding the poor and marginalized in our world. Truth is, the more I read, the bigger the issue becomes. What I thought was a social topic actually proves to be economic, political, global and spiritual. I have been grateful for those who have accommodated interviews for me to learn more about showing compassion to those in need.

All of this is in preparation for a sermon series starting next Sunday, February 1, titled "Down & Out: Reaching Beyond to Our Neighbors in Need." I am so hopeful about each message and initiative that we will take on as a church to make a difference in our community.

To gain a bigger picture, I am excited to ride out with Stephanie Gillespie, PBC attendee and officer with the Arlington Police. This Thursday evening, Grant and I will join her for the Tarrant County Homeless Count. We will venture into wooded areas, under bridges and among vacant buildings to count and connect with those who won't be sitting on their sofa watching a sitcom this evening.

Please be in prayer for this series and all of our hearts and we learn more about what it means to "go BEYOND".

you are here

I hope you caught each installment of George Lynch's explanation of his triptych "You Are Here"--a 3-painting series designed specially for Pantego Bible Church. Each 4' x 6' canvas is designed to illustrate a piece of our spiritual life pathway. We come out of darkness into the place where we BELONG. As we discover what it means to belong to Christ, His church and community, we move into the current of life-change. This is the place where we BECOME more like Jesus Christ. Through this life-transformation, we overflow into the world BEYOND. This is the place of personal mission.

You can catch George explaining each canvas under the "You Are Here" series archive at the Pantego Bible Church sermon site.

You can enjoy more of George's art at http://www.glynch.com/.

Explore more about the spiritual pathway for your own life at http://www.inagodplace.com/.

the habit of enjoying the disagreeable

As I continue to reflect on my previous post--leanring to resolve and reconcile conflict in relationships--I am reminded of a profound devotion by Oswald Chambers on May 14. You can read more from the late Chambers at www.myutmost.org.

May 14th
THE HABIT OF ENJOYING THE DISAGREEABLE
"That life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4:10

We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It is not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life. Do I manifest the essential sweetness of the Son of God, or the essential irritation of "myself" apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy the disagreeable is the keen enthusiasm of letting the life of the Son of God manifest itself in me. No matter how disagreeable a thing may be, say - "Lord, I am delighted to obey Thee in this matter," and instantly the Son of God will press to the front, and there will be manifested in my human life that which glorifies Jesus.

There must be no debate. The moment you obey the light, the Son of God presses through you in that particular; but if you debate you grieve the Spirit of God. You must keep yourself fit to let the life of the Son of God be manifested, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means of manifesting how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure the Son of God is. The thing that ought to make the heart beat is a new way of manifesting the Son of God. It is one thing to choose the disagreeable, and another thing to go into the disagreeable by God's engineering. If God puts you there, He is amply sufficient.

Keep your soul fit to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on memories; let the word of God be always living and active in you.

falling forward

Our Home Group is still reading Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas--a fresh and insightful book that challenges ideas we all have about relationships. Last night, our chapter 9 discussion focused on the intentionality of marriage and the inevitability of conflict along the way. The more I thought about those two ideas, the more I see their connection: My intentionality in my relationship with Tiffany will often stave off conflict. However, when conflict does arise, it's that same intentionality that carries us through to reconciliation.

Thomas calls this "falling forward." He uses the image of once jumping a wide creek bed. His friend warned him to remember to fall forward. In other words, if you miss the mark, be sure to fall toward safe ground, not backwards into the water. Similarly, couples must choose to fall forward as they attempt to jump the choppy waters of their relationship. The question isn't if we will occasionally fall short, but which direction will we choose to land.

for the new year

In the post below, I mentioned that Tiffany was going to start memorizing a verse from a different book of the Bible each week in 2009. She has started a blog, WordAWeek, to invite others to join her and encourage them along the way. I'm going for it and I'd challenge you in this spiritual discipline.

new year's resolution

I was walking with Tiffany last week and she mentioned her new year's resolution: Memorize Scripture. That's a great spiritual discipline [see 1 Timothy 4:7-8]. We began to talk about which verses would be the best to commit to memory. I suggest that she and her friends memorize 1 verse from each book of the Bible. Fifty-two weeks...66 books...merge a few prophets...skip a couple of books....you could end up with quite a catalogue of spiritual truth at the end of the year.

It wasn't long before I began to reflect on the verses that I would propose:

Genesis 50:20
Exodus 34:6-7a
Numbers 23:19
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (add vv. 6-9 if you can!)
Joshua 1:8
Judges 21:25 (theme of the book of Judges)

OK. If you dare, that gets you started. I'll continue to work on the rest of the list.

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
[Psalm 1:1-3]

the challenge of Christmas

Christmas morning was incredible in the Daniels' living room. Not surprisingly, the kids required no second call to get out of bed. I flipped gingerbread pancakes [from one of my favorite restaurants in Austin, Kerby Lane Cafe] and we gathered around our Duraflame log to read the Christmas story. To keep our conversation lively, I posed several questions from Luke 1-2:

1. How many angelic appearances are listed?
2. How many "songs" are sung?
3. What was the significance of Zechariah's occupation?
4. What was Zechariah made mute?

Then, we proceeded to open our gifts to one another. Tiffany and I both came from backgrounds (me especially) where Christmas was the "grand haul." Kids could expect 10-15 presents on Christmas morning. Parents could make up for any failure of the year at Christmastime. All was forgiven with stacks of presents that took multiple trips to carry to our bedroom. So, for years, we showered our kids with similar extravagance.

Then, not long ago, we made a family decision. We explained that we would purchase 3 gifts: a "large," meaningful, very personal gift; a medium gift; and a small gift. We've made it three years, but it hasn't been easy, I promise you. While, I know that volumes of gifts don't make Christmas any more "christmassy" and I'm sure that my kids don't estimate our love for them by whether they have 3 gifts vs. 12 gifts under the tree, it's still strangely difficult. There's a cultural battle that Tiffany and I fight each Christmas. It's a war against expectations [truly loving parents don't put a price tag on gift giving, do they?] and against comparisons [the kid across the street also got an XBox, but it was gold-plated...and plugged into the rear seat headrest of his new BMW]. More than that, it's really a war against security: Do we really trust that our kids [and other kids] know how much we treasure them apart from any gift we give?

As I wrestle with this, I conclude that greater confidence will come from the way we lead our children and love them throughout the year. And then, whatever gifts we give them along the way won't become substitutes, but symbols of our affection for our kids.

OK...if this doesn't make sense to you, it may be because it is still trying to make sense to me. Post your comment and let's encourage one another.

old thoughts for the new year

I just finished Ron Sider's The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience and was quite stirred by his insight of the dilemma facing American Christianity. His subtitle poses the indicting question: "Why are Christians living just like the rest of the world?"

For such a brief read, Sider does a great job of highlighting the moral apathy of Christians [especially in the areas of divorce, compassion, fidelity, racism and physical abuse] and puts forth a call to counter-cultural living that rejects individualism and isolation and embraces community and accountability in order to model Jesus' intention for the church. Though published in 2005, Sider's reflections resonate with the church today.

You can read Sider's book in a day or two. But, his challenge will stick with you for a long time. I'd highly recommend this book.

i'm still here

OK....I haven't posted for 2 weeks. Most of you probably have given up on me. But, I've been busy. To give you a peek into my top 12 activities during the 12 Days of Christmas:

1. Raked leaves.

2. Wrote and delivered 4 sermons.

3. Hosted Christmas parties for friends and teenagers (not the same group....).

4. Started reading Religiously Transmitted Diseases. Lost interest. Started and almost finished The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience by Ron Sider. About to start reading Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by the same author.

5. Met with Faith Nibbs to talk about social justice and gather my Christmas reading list for research and study.

6. Worked on a new set of ministry brochures for Pantego Bible Church.

7. Walked with my wife.

8. Went bowling with my boys.

9. Watched Elf and The Grinch with my girls. Snuggled with my daughter for a late-night movie: Prince Caspian. Great film!

10. Enjoyed great evenings at the Mission Arlington Christmas Store and Oakcrest Church. Marveled at the generosity of folks at our church!

11. Wrangled with car repairs. Thanked God for my friend, Carl Deaton, who has come to my auto rescue on more than one occasion.

12. Put my Home Group community in danger with a Christmas gift exchange battle. Hysterical!

props to our photo phriend

Terry Ip, a friend and professional photographer, just delivered our family portraits. To be honest, this was an investment that I've been hesitant to make for many years--one of those expenses that makes you think, "I'm in the wrong business." But, the final product was worth it. Terry was patient, creative, professional and we're thrilled to have a great picture of our family, captured in time. Check out Terry's work on his website.

quest for compassion

This year, my dear friend, Don Wisthuff, gave me a copy of Same Kind of Different as Me. I read the touching journey of two unlikely friends on our flight to Spain and I highly recommend it! It's the story of a high society art dealer in Fort Worth and his unsuspecting connection with a sub-poverty plantation worker from Louisiana. By the end of the book, both lives have been dramatically changed and compassion is awakened.

2009, is "The Year of Community Impact" at Pantego Bible Church. As I prepare for a series of messages on social justice, poverty, prejudice and other topics, I am scheduled for several ridealongs with Arlington and Fort Worth police; interviewing directors of our church-supported compassion agencies; and inviting Ron Hall and Denver Moore, authors of this life-changing book, to join us at Pantego Bible Church for this series. Our desire is for PBC to become the kind of church--the kind of people--that compassionately changes our world as God changes each one of us!

an ongoing conversation

Alejandro, Nikolas, Herman, Hector, Fernando, Cesar, Mattias... We have connected with some incredible students at the Sefovan Seminary in Madrid. I have completed my conference, we have served our American Thanksgiving meal and my family has visited the beautiful cities of Toledo and Segovia. We have enjoyed a fantastic introduction to the ministry of our friends. I am looking forward to the continuing conversation for many years to come. Thanks for praying for us!

happy thanksgiving

not lost in translation

We arrived in Madrid on Saturday--15 hours in flight and layovers and very little sleep. I preached this morning from Luke 18 and Manny did a great job translating my sermon on prayer. Of course, that's only from my perspective. I'd have no way of know for certain. We're the minorities, subject to our hosts and the rules of a different culture.

Tonight, we toured downtown, sipped an over-priced Starbucks, watched two street performers play dueling Hammer Dolcimers, stopped by the oldest restaurant on the planet [1725], stood in the plaza where Christians were burned at the stake during the Inquisition, gawked at architecture fit for kings...literally. Madrid is a beautifully bustling city that begins its nightlife after 9 p.m., right when we were getting in our minivan to return home. 

The most exciting part of our trip is the opportunity to connect with a handful of present and future church planters in a conference setting starting Tuesday. Less than 10% of the Spanish population is Christian with less than 1/2 of 1% proclaiming evangelical Christianity. The harvest field is very white, but reaping is difficult business. To make an impact, our missionaries and all who partner with them will need to stay committed to the task. Please continue to pray for the work ahead. 

give thanks always

A mystery-lover take his place in the theater for opening night, but his seat is way back in the theater, far from the stage. The man calls an usher over and whispers, "I just love a good mystery, and I have been anxiously anticipating the opening of this play. However, in order to carefully follow the clues and fully enjoy the play, I have to watch a mystery close up. Look how far away I am! If you can get me a better seat, I'll give you a handsome tip."

The usher nods and says he will be back shortly. Looking forward to a large tip, the usher speaks with his co-workers in the box office, hoping to find some closer tickets. With just three minutes left until curtain, he finds an unused ticket at the Will Call window and snatches it up. Returning to the man in the back of the theater, he whispers, "Follow me." The usher leads the man down to the second row, and proudly points out the empty seat right in the middle.

"Thanks so much," says the theatergoer, "This seat is perfect." He then hands the usher a quarter.

The usher looks down at the quarter, leans over and whispers, "The butler did it in the parlor with the candlestick."

Give thanks always for everything [1 Corinthians 1:4].

no bull

Before you can say Ole!, the family and I will set sail (actually fly) to the other side of the world to spend Thanksgiving in Spain. I have been invited by our good friends and missionaries, Manny and Jamie Fernandez to teach a conference at the Sefovan Seminary in Madrid. I'm honored to teach church planters my "3B" spiritual lifeway and give them some tools to disciple those in their churches. God willing, I will also have opportunity to preach at two churches represented by leaders who have previously studied at the school.

During the week, Tiffany and the kids will be helping to shop, prepare and serve a special Thanksgiving meal at the school for students, faculty and their families. In addition, we'll have the privilege of joining students in open street evangelism. We're also looking forward to learning more about the rich history of the country.

Remarkably, Spain is an extremely unreached place. The opportunities for church planting and other ministry abound and we are exploring future possibilities of sending others from Pantego Bible Church to join the movement there. Please check out the Fernandez' web site and consider supporting the Kingdom commitment they have made. Like the apostle Paul in Acts 20:24 (my favorite Bible verse), they consider their calling "no bull."

24,000 pieces

The front page of the Fort Worth Star Telegram noted the story of a young girl who just completed the largest jigsaw puzzle in the world--24,000 pieces! It took her more than 4 months and, I'm guessing, a lot of patience. The creator of the 14 foot by 5 foot puzzle titled it "Life"--a panorama of our planet fitting together.

The news article reminded me that the church of Jesus Christ is the largest, interlocking wonder of the world. The church isn't simply a local congregation, but the universal collection of all Believers everywhere. No two "pieces" are the same; Each member is unique [1 Corinthians 12:12]. Each piece has something to contribute to others around it and, likewise, each piece has a "gap" to receive the blessing of others. Each piece is indispensable, necessary for the whole composition [1 Corinthians 12:21-26]. And, when all the pieces come together, each in its proper place, a picture of the "life" of Christ is revealed to the world around us.

My in-laws typically have a jigsaw puzzle in process at their home during the Christmas season. A card table is set up in the living room, two chairs, and a floor lamp moved closer to the workspace. The table is an open invitation for anyone to contribute to the final piece. Sometimes, we work for 15 minutes. I can remember years where I sat for several hours until the puzzle was finished.

The church is an open invitation to anyone to come, sit for a while, search and connect. As we linger with the pieces, we begin to see where we fit into God's greater picture. And, we discover the incredible blessing called "Life."

now the work begins

Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them. [Daniel 2:20-21]

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. [1 Timothy 2:1-2]

indelible

In less than 48 hours, the next President of the United States will be elected by the people. Whichever candidate claims the victory, enormous change is in store for our country. The truth is, the whole world is changing around us, whether we notice it or not. In just 20 short years, music transitioned from clumsy 8-track tapes to cassette to compact discs to MP3s. Today, my son’s matchbox-size audio player holds 1500 songs. I expect and embrace the changes in my world that benefit me.

However, I despise the changes that are difficult and unexpected. Several weeks ago, the Stock Market plummeted more than 800 points, Hurricane Ike landed on the Gulf shore of Texas sending thousands of evacuees fleeing from their homes and the fuel pump went out on my SUV. These unexpected events are like a discordant note struck in the melody of life. It’s the change nobody likes.

How do we stay focused and balanced in the midst of so much change? What can we cling to when our world seems to be turning upside down and inside out? When life is topsy-turvy, we need an anchor. We must hold tight to what never changes in an ever-changing world.

The subtitle description of Psalm 102 is “The prayer of an afflicted man.” While it’s impossible to determine the writer or the circumstances behind the verses, it’s clear that he was in the crisis of change. He was anxious, frustrated, weak and beat up. He suffered sleepless nights and wasted days. Depending on the day of the week, I can probably identify with one or more of the emotions expressed in verses 1-11.

However, the author comes to a conclusion that climaxes in verses 23-28:

In the course of my life [God] broke my strength; he cut short my days.
So I said:
“Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”

I notice a repeating confidence in these lines. In the midst of my fleeting days, God’s years go on (v. 24). God was in the beginning before time even began (v. 25) and, when everything is done, God will remain (v. 26). People and life change like old t-shirts that tatter and are thrown away, but God is unchanging.

He’s indelible.

I watch my daughter write on the sidewalk with oversized chalk sticks. She’ll spend half an hour creating a giant masterpiece in front of the house and, in a moment, her creation can be washed or swept away. But God is immutable and immovable. God is like a Sharpie marker: waterproof and permanent. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God is the only thing that never changes in an ever-changing world. When life gets unpredictable, I cling to three aspects of our indelible God: His perfections, His precepts and His purposes.

If you're wrestling with the imminent change in our world, check out my sermon "Indelible" [Psalm 102] from January 13, 2008. You can find it here.