Church Visit

This past Saturday night, Kristan, the kids and I went to a worship gathering in Goodyear. The church we attended was Palm Valley Church. They are 8 years old and meet at a high school. I thought the pastor was genuine but the worship team entertaining. I was most impressed by their emphasis on the bible reading plan. (As a side note, I think that reading through the bible in a year is guilt producing and not life changing.)So overall not bad, not good, just contemporary vanilla with lots of people.

It seems there a similar ingredients in contemporary vanilla churches:

• Good location
• Hip pastor with fashionable clothes
• Use of technology - videos, extra screens, light shows, fog machines
• Kids rooms designed by disneyland or rainforest cafe
• Starbucks
• Multiple services
• Class 101, 201, 301
• Small groups
• Colorful signage and bulletins
• Topical Sermon Series about current events or sex

I think (which means I could be wrong) that contemporary vanilla is the new traditional. As we shift from a modern to postmodern culture in 20 years there will be few churches that will be hymnal led singing or legalistic preaching. Instead people will be fighting to keep a certain style, technology, program or coffee brand.

Christmas Pagan

On the night there was no room at the inn for Joseph and Mary... I will be travelling to a hotel to celebrate Christmas the next day. I could help myself feel better by rationalizing that you will be overeating after overspending on the holiday and I won't be but I still feel pretty paganistic.

Advent Hope

Excerpt from A. W. Tozer

It is precisely the "yearning" and the "fainting" for the return of Christ that has distinguished the personal hope from the theological one. Mere acquaintance with correct doctrine is a poor substitute for Christ, and familiarity with New Testament eschatology will never take the place of a love-inflamed desire to look on his face.
If the tender yearning is gone from the advent hope today, there must be a reason for it; and I think I know what it is, or what they are, for there are a number of them. One is simply that popular fundamentalist theology has emphasized the utility of the cross rather than the beauty of the one who died on it. The saved man's relation to Christ has been made contractual instead of personal. The "work" of Christ has been stressed until it has eclipsed the person of Christ. Substitution has been allowed to supersede identification. What he did for me seems to be more important than what He is to me. Redemption is seen as an across-the-counter transaction which we "accept", and the whole thing lacks emotional content. We must love someone very much to stay awake and long for his coming, and that may explain the absence of power in the advent hope even among those who still believe in it.
Another reason for the absence of real yearning for Christ's return is that Christians are so comfortable in this world that they have little desire to leave it. For those leaders who set the pace of religion and determine its content and quality, Christianity has become of late remarkably lucrative. The streets of gold do not have too great an appeal for those who find it so easy to pile up gold and silver in the service of the Lord here on earth. We all want to reserve the hope of heaven as a kind of insurance against the day of death, but as long as we are healthy and comfortable, why change a familiar good for something about which we know very little? So reasons the carnal mind, and so subtly that we are scarcely aware of it.

A Pastor's Vacation - II

so here's what I did...

drove to Vegas, ate at a buffet, didn't exercise, walked the strip, joined the journey church staff prayer time, went off my medication, hung with dave c., went to a bookstore, ate memphis bbq with steve p., visited an antique bookstore, checked out central christian church (a seeker sensitive MEGA church), saw the James Bond movie, played $20 at video poker (lost $17), walked around retail outlets, ate taco bell, drove home.

watched judge judy, went to the gym, hugged the kids, kissed the wife, missed wed church, hung with chris c, dropped the dog off at my mom's, went to the doctor to check my testosterone, went to the gym, packed.

drove to San Diego for Point Loma's homecoming and Kristan's 15 year college reunion, changed my name to jimmy waldfogel, had Miguel's white sauce, met a pastor who got burned because he wanted the church to help the poor, went to the park, saw some good friends, went to the baseball game then basketball game, heard my testosterone is low (188), attended Smee Hall dedication, ate at Adalberto's, made smores, went to 1st church (classic and contemporary service), checked into a hotel, drove to Coronado Island: visited Hotel Del, walked the beach, picked up sea shells with kennedy, buried jameson in the sand, held kristan's hand for a few paces, ate a big dinner, then a big breakfast, exercised and drove home.

watched tv, had lunch with some pastor types Ron Lush gathered, got a prostate check, ate wings, went to the gym, tried to avoid phone calls and emails from people who know I'm on vacation but think I should still be working, slept in, went to the gym, hung with some old biltmore friends at EJ's : david, bonnie, chantelle, jimmy, bj, kathy, brent and kristan.

had Thanksgiving with kristan's family and my family combined at our house, remembered some were without food and family, watched football, sang the doxology, went to a movie with the kids (Bolt)

stayed in bed and watched the Mork and Mindy Marathon, went to gym, dinner (yard house) and movie (4 christmases) with Kristan, didn't shave, went to City of Grace church (saw Gary K who cancelled preaching at my church; thanks scott), went shopping with the kids, visited the emergent desert cohort with dave, saw ron and sarah, cancelled staff meeting, ate chipotle, watched the suns game, went to bed hoping to wake up ready to head back to the church office.

A Pastor's Vacation - I

Why does a guy who only works one hour, one day a week need a vacation???

First because of comments like those plus...

I'm burned out; addicted to thinking about church; too attached to my phone, email and the clock; life and work are out of balance; people withdraw more from a pastor than they deposit; I don't have a hobby; I care much about people and the organization's future and need a space where I don't have to care; I haven't taken a vacation this year; I've worked extra hard this fall; I'm taking an anti-depressant; My wife told me to; My counselor told me to; I need to clear my head; I have nothing left to give; I'm empty and drained; I am always tired; I need new clarity and focus; My staff needs me to be nicer; My kids need their dad to have more energy; I haven't taken care of myself; I need to re-prioritize marriage and ministry; To love others I have to love myself; I need to stop. I'm stopping.

ReClaiming Paul Conference

Nazarene Theological Seminary and Emergent Village partnered together to host the conference devoted to a fresh look at the apostle Paul. Some have viewed Jesus and Paul as being antagonistic towards one another or telling a different story of God. I have never had issue with Paul while looking at him through the lens of Jesus.

The presentations were academic and the conversations were practical. It was beneficial for all of us to mix university and church worlds, Nazarene and Emergent worlds. It seems to me, this is what is needed to advance peace talks rather than smack talk.

It was fun to visit with Ron Benefiel, Tony Jones, Doug Paggit, Tim Keel and hang with friends Brent Peterson, Jim Wicks, David Charlton, Dave Curtis, Scott Comfort and Dave Sharpes.

A Politcal Prayer

Found this on Tim Keel's blog who found it on J.R. Brigg's blog:

A Prayer of Confession

Forgive us O Lord: A Prayer for American Politics
Forgive us O Lord, for being divisive rather than working to build unity.
Forgive us O Lord, for striving to be right more than striving to be kind.
Forgive us O Lord, when we desire to be understood more than to understand.
Forgive us O Lord, for placing our hope in a person, a system, a government - rather than in you alone.
Forgive us O Lord, for complaining about politics rather than thanking you for our freedom.
Forgive us O Lord, when we use our mouths - and our email forwards - to tear down "the other."
Forgive us O Lord, for spending more time and energy thinking about the Empire than the kingdom.
Forgive us O Lord for speaking poorly and wishing ill will on another candidate.
Forgive us O Lord, when we are known more for following a party than for following the Risen Christ.
Forgive us O Lord, for claiming that God is only on "our side."
Forgive us O Lord, for claiming and proclaiming that one political party completely and accurately represents the politics of Jesus.
Forgive us O Lord, when we forget that the heart of the king is in your hands.
Forgive us O Lord, for being more excited to speak to others about our candidate than about our Savior.
Forgive us O Lord, when we think this prayer is for someone else we know and not for ourselves.

Give us grace to treat others with dignity and respect, even in the midst of our differences. Give us wisdom - not just with what we say and do, but how we say them and do them - so that we may not represent our political party, but that we may represent the one who has given us True Life.
Amen.