Church, State, Christian, Government, GSUMC & the DNC

I'm getting ready to step into the middle of it this Sunday.

A stand-alone sermon that I pray deals honestly, delicately, and forthrightly with the prickly subject of Church and State.  And Christian and Government.  And GSUMC and the DNC.

Why would I do such a thing?

Because the greater Charlotte area will be in the epicenter of the political world in the coming week.

Because a lot of voices claim to have the inside track on God's will for this nation and this election.

Because churches often say either too much or too little when it comes to the political world.

If you're expecting something as simple as a presidential endorsement, you'll be disappointed.

If you want a look at some of the surprising New Testament voices and New Testament history on the matter, well, bring your bible Sunday.

At 8:30.  Or 10:00.  Or 11:30.

"When You Fast . . . "

I read with interest those things that Jesus takes for granted.

For example, in Matthew 5:16, he says, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting."

Not "if you fast."  Not "please think about fasting."  Not even, "A command I give you: fast." 

Simply "when you fast . . . ".  Jesus assumes the people hearing his words and following his path will have fasting as part of their living relationship with him.

And then Jesus adds those words that make teaching on or testifying about fasting quite difficult:  "do not look somber as the hypocrites do . . . .[but fast] so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father." 

With fear and trembling, then, let me offer a couple of benefits I have "heard about" from regular fasting:

1.  A reminder of your true hunger.  While in the middle of a fast, hunger pangs remind you that your truest hunger is for the presence and power of God.

2.  Physical and spiritual cleansing.  Physically, a fast helps clear your system of toxins and excess.  You feel noticeably lighter and more alert at its conclusion.  I believe the spiritual benefits are much the same: feelings of inner cleansing coupled with heightened awareness of the Spirit's word in your life.

3.  Corrective to our natural self-indulgence.  Regular fasting allows you to overcome your natural tendency to govern your life by your feelings.  "I'm hungry so I'll eat."  "I'm really hungry so I'll gorge."  And for some, as you know, it's "I'm sad, lonely, anxious, so I'll eat."  Fasting trascends all that:  "I feel this but I have a higher commitment than my feelings right now." 

Some folks I know have one 24 hour fast per week -- from dinner one night all the way through dinner the next night.

So I invite you to start out that way.  Don't tell anyone what you're doing.  And see if you finish the fast more refreshed, more alert, and more alive in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Clear And Obvious Communication

Many times in speaking or in writing people try to reinforce the strength of their points by adding the words clear and obvious.

As in, "it's obvious from the context that John 3:16 means . . . "

Or:  "this is clearly the direction our church needs to follow . . . "

The problem is that by using those words we actually undermine our argument.

If a contextual truth from Scripture is obvious, then it will emerge with its own forceful logic.

If a congregation's direction is clear, then the leadership's consensus will speak for itself.

So in writing and speaking, then, trust the power of your own words and put them together in a way that the points you are making don't need additional decoration.

Let your words speak for themselves and resist the temptation to pile too many of them on.

Then your communication will have its own inherent strength.

Obviously.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five College Campuses

I grew up just down the street from a college campus (see below).  Since it was so close and since my father worked there, I spent a lot of time as a child walking around it.

I suppose that's why I still like investigating and appreciating what it is that makes college campuses so unique.  The combination of spacious courtyards and timeless architecture make a stroll through a nice campus one of life's great pleasures.

Here are the five that I've liked the best . . . and consider the best looking.

5.  Princeton University.  I spent more time walking around this one than any other.  The Gothic buildings on the upper, original campus never fail to impress, especially when covered with snow.

And the archways form a rite of passage from dormitory to classroom.

So since it's my alma mater and the Gothic structures are so classicly beautiful, why isn't it higher on the list?  Because the lower campus is a disappointing hodgepodge of architectural styles that renders the campus as whole much less than the sum of its parts. 

4.  UCLA.  It's hard for anything to be unattractive in Southern California, isn't it?  That includes this gorgeous campus known for its covered walkways and peaceful gardens.

3.  SMU.   Isn't it true that when you grow up around something you take it for granted?  So it is with me and the SMU campus.  When I return there as an adult, I'm always impressed by its clean lines, clear landscaping, and classic Georgian Revival architecture.

The entrance to the Boulevard is simply breathtaking:

2.  Davidson College.  Just up I-77 from Good Shepherd is this elite Presbyterian college that's home to good basketball and great scenery.

1.  Rice University.  Houston's Rice University has one of the best schools of architecture in the country.  It's obvious where they do their first -- and best -- work.

A District Superintendent On Fund Raisers

As part of yesterday's message in the Money Talks series, I shared these words from Mary John Dye, who served as the Superintendent of the Statesville District of the United Methodist Church for four years:

If churches would advertise the worship of God half as much as they advertise their barbeques and chicken pie suppers, a lot more people would know about Jesus.   I have been amazed at how many churches don't have signs up about when worship services are, but, when it is time for a fundraiser, they advertise to beat the band. 

Yet another reason why we don't have Consignment Sales, Craft Fairs, or Spaghetti Suppers to raise money at Good Shepherd.

We don't need fund raisers in church because God already gave us one that works just fine, thank you: giggling generosity when it comes to the offering plate or giving basket.

Teach that, live that, celebrate that, and your church can have freedom from the tyranny of next month's effort to raise the money that people should be giving.

Money Talks Week Four -- Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

It's a cliche, but it's also a question.

As Good Shepherd has a series called Money Talks, does this church put its money where its mouth is?

Are we doing as an organization what we want you to do as individuals?

Find out this Sunday.

8:30.  10.  11:30.

Bringing The Human Trafficking Fight HOME

This is a busy week around the Good Shepherd campus when it comes to the fight against human trafficking.

First, we hosted a Breaking The Chains Conference on Tuesday, August 21.  That event filled our church with social workers, law enforcement personnel, and elected officials who brainstormed together on ways to combat the modern day slave trade that is the sex industry in the U.S.

We were honored to provide space to the cause.

But it doesn't stop there.

This coming Saturday, August 25, we are providing space for a Pre-DNC Restore Freedom Rally held by NC Stop Human Trafficking, an anti-human trafficking outfit with whom we are good friends.

That event will be in our Corner Campus (directly across Moss Road from our main campus in what used to be a Hollywood Video Store) and runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  You can read the Charlotte Observer's coverage of the rally here.

The upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will of course brings thousands of visitors to Charlotte which, unfortunately, brings hundreds of additional workers in the sex trade which, in turn, involves many young women who are trafficked into that work in the first place.

So: during the first week in September, Charlotte will not only be in the middle of the political world but in the tragic epicenter of 21st Century slavery and forced prostitution.

Lest you think sex-based human trafficking is a partisan issue, organizers and advocates expect the same surge in both demand and supply during the Republican Convention in Tampa next week.

Being part of this modern-day abolition movement is nothing new to Good Shepherd.  As a lot of you know, we celebrated Christmas 2010 in a most unusual way.  Instead of mangers, sheperds, stars, and babies, we talked about slavery, brothels, freedom, and money.  And the people of the church responded by giving $207,000 to our partners at the International Justice Mission.  I posted on that movement of this church here and here.

Yet, as the name of our partner implies, that money went to win freedom for sex slaves overseas -- India, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Our efforts this week bring the battle home to the Carolinas where trafficking is much more prevalent than most people suspect.

How can girls who are enslaved have a living relationship with Jesus Christ if they can't first have a life?

We hope and pray our hospitality this week makes a difference and gives some life.

What's The Source Of Our Unity?

As some of you know, the United Methodist Church elected a new slate of bishops over this past summer. 

The elections and subsequent assignments involve a lengthy process that has grown more and more complicated in the 200+ years Methodism has been in the United States.

And the vast majority of newly-elected bishops had some version of George W. Bush's "I'm a uniter, not a divider" as their rallying cry.  In other words, our bishops-to-be and bishops-that-are seek to unite all the disparate theological, ethnic, and political voices that make up our denomination.

(Just once, wouldn't it be fun for an episcopal candidate to proclaim boldly, "I'm a divider, not a uniter!"? That one might get my vote.)

But all the bishop-speak has me thinking:  what, exactly, is the source of our unity?  People who are unified must coalesce around something; so what is that something for United Methodists?

I can think of three levels.

1.  At the lowest level there is institutional survival.  Most of us in the connection have heard the dire statistical trends with the promise that if we don't do things differently, there will be no United Methodists left in 50 years.  (I will be 100 by then and probably won't much care.) 

Well, survival is never a particularly compelling vision to use in uniting people together.  And after all, Christianity has endured the departure of a number of groups through the century -- anyone been to a Millerite Church recently? -- and survived well enough. 

2.  At the middle level there is the mission.  As a denomination, it's "to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."  As mission statements go, that's a strong one.  I'm partial to our congregation's "inviting all people a living relationship with Jesus Christ" but in terms of an entire denomination, ours is pretty good.

The problems arise when we try to define what is a disciple?  United Methodists living in Northern California would define that very differently from those living in Mississippi.  One group might emphasize serving in soup kitches while others define displipleship in terms of bible memorization.

And there is even greater disparity in our understandings of what the transformation of the world looks like.  Some UMs might describe that as the Romney-Ryan tax plan. Others would focus on a more equal distribution of income.  Still others define it as eradicating pornography and abortion while another group believes a transformed world means Christians involved in persistent and effective acts of charity.

So while we have a strong mission statement, United Methodists can't find unity around it because they bring their own definitions to it.

3.  Instead, the highest level source of our unity is, as Paul says in I Corinthians 1:23:  Christ and him crucified. 

Not a left-wing Jesus who wants us to stop eating meat and whose theology bears an uncanny resemblance to the platform of the Democratic party.

Not a right-wing Jesus who we use as a weapon against our opponents and whose words we twist out of context to reinforce our worst prejudices.

But a hanging, bleeding, and ultimately risen Jesus whose words and actions provoke, confound, and save us.

Lift him up, declare the decisiveness of his story in human history, and unity -- real unity with its glorious mix of racial, ethnic, and political diversity -- might just happen.

Because Methodist unity, you see, is never the goal.  It's the result.  The result of preaching Christ and him crucified.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Current TV Shows

When it comes to modern television, I can't watch reality shows.

I'm not big on most current sitcoms.

The Office isn't the same without Steve Carell.

And I'm not going to watch America's Next . . . Top Model, Food Network Star, Wedding Dress Designer or any of the other inane contests out there.

Now that all that is off my chest, I will admit there are some shows I like. Won't miss them, in fact.  Will even DVR them to make sure Julie and I can watch them together.  Here goes:

5.  Criminal Minds.  One thing about this show: you never finish an episode and think to yourself, "Well I feel better about the human race now."  Creepy, disturbing, addictive.

4.  Tennis Channel Signature Series.  OK, this is one I don't DVR to watch with Julie because she's not especially interested in hour long biopics on the greatest figures in tennis history such as Rod Laver, Martina Navratilova, and Vitas Gerulaitis.  That's fine that she's not interested; I am.

3.  Pardon The Interruption.  This show invented the subject / countdown graphic on the margins of the screen.  Now every ESPN show has it.  Warning: PTI is only good if both Wilbon and Kornheiser are there.  When they, it's magic.  When they're not, find a good book.

2.  The Closer.  This one started as one of the first-ever summer-specific series.  And what a series it is: witty, poignant, and provocative all at once.   The Closer is so closely identified with its lead character played by Kyra Sedgwick that I'm not sure its successor, the Sedgwick-less Major Crimes, really has a chance.

1.  The Good Wife.  How did I miss the first three seasons of this?!  The lead characters, played by Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi, are full of mixed motives, personal mystery, and subtle glamor.  Add some inventive courtroom drama and office politics to those two and you've got a winner. Thank goodness the early seasons are available on DVD.

What Does August 18 Have To Do With December 2?

I spent Saturday at one of the neighborhoods near our church in which a large percentage of the residents speak Spanish.

So our Latino ministry team descended upon that community and hosted a Back To School Block Party.

We had crafts and school supplies for the kids . . .

Provided soccer instruction . . .

Cooked and served lunch . . .

And gave out bibles and invitations . . .

So as the post title asks, "what does August 18 have to do with December 2?"

Well, our core group is pointing to and preparing for the launch of our fourth worship service on December 2, 2012:  an all-Spanish worship gathering to be held in the Corner Campus.

While I lead the English service in the Worship Center, Pastor Sammy Gonzalez and team will be hosting friends and neighbors who wish to hear the Gospel in their heart language of Spanish.

Saturday's outreach event was part of a long line of "seed sowing" events the team has planned between now and December.  Judging by how hard they worked, how engaged they were, and the new friends from Saturday who showed up at church on Sunday, I think the plan and its execution are spot on.

As our tagline says:  No solo venga a la iglesia . . . VENGA A VIDA.

If you can't read that (yet), it's Don't just come to church . . . COME TO LIFE.

I'm sort of partial to venga a vida myself.

Money Talks, Week Three -- Take The Money And Run

No, I won't be telling the story of Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue.



But I will be telling the story someone else who for all intents and purposes took the money and ran.

To see what I mean and to prepare for the message, check out Luke 16:1-12.

We'll try to make sense out of a story that seems to have none.

Along the way, we'll get some fresh insights on Jesus' design for our dollars.

Sunday.

8:30.  10.  11:30

Don't You Just Hate It When . ..

• Drivers  cut across three lanes of traffic to turn left while coming out of the convenience stores that line Carowinds Boulevard?

• People talk on their cell phones while working out at the Y?

• Friends tell you long stories that don't have a good punch lines?

• Your neighborhood close talker also has halitosis?

• You check the mirror after an important meeting and realize that you did in fact have something stuck in your teeth?

• The people changing your oil tell you that you just "happen" to need a new air filter?

• Preachers make lists of things you hate?

The Intersection Of Theology And Strategy

Where, exactly, do theology and strategy meet?

Simply put, how does what you believe (theology) influence what you do and how you do it (strategy)?

I ask that question because when a disconnect occurs between theology and strategy the results are negative for both Christians and the churches they represent.

But when solid theology and innovative strategy intersect, the kingdom advances.

Three examples:

Example One
Many of you know the oft-quoted line attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:  Preach the Gospel at all times.  When necessary, use words.

There's theology: the Gospel -- the good news of Christ -- needs urgent proclamation.

And there's strategy: Proclaim it wordlessly.

Well, there's a de facto disconnect in the St. Francis quote because the Gospel is words.  It's history with an exclamation point: the weekend involving the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Jesus is the fundamental event of all human history.  Eternity rests on how people respond to that story and those events.  If we don't tell that story with words, people won't know it.

So we'll adopt strategies that combine word and deed and hold hold worship gatherings that tell the old, old story in new, new ways.

Example Two
Or another issue, some would say the issue of our day: homosexuality.

There's theology, as I posted recently:  exegetical study of biblical texts leads to the conclusion that homosexual practice is outside of God's will for the human race.

But then there is a strategy that we at Good Shepherd reject unconditionally:  the hate-filled speech of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church (no link provided because it's so despicable).

Sadly, if you adopt the theology of the former, people assume you adopt the strategy of the latter.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

We hope and pray and endeavor to make sure that our conversation on that sensitive subject is seasoned at all points with love.  It's a balancing act, but one we are committed to -- which is why we have a number of people who identify themselves as homosexual who attend our church. 

They do so knowing they won't hear pastoral approval to surrender to their impulses but instead pastoral encouragement to surrender their impulses to a holy God.

Come to think of it, that's what our heterosexual attenders will hear as well.

So we pray we have adopted strategies that communicate difficult and personal truth in loving and compassionate ways.

Example Three
Since we are a church that is inviting all people in to a living relationship with Jesus Christ, we have a theology that says a living relationship with a living Savior is the human race's foundational need.

Out of that we have a strategy of welcoming people to area neighborhoods through a ministry called Bless This House. 

Yet when we knock on the door of a new mover to our area -- here's a strategy within a strategy -- we don't ask the unsuspecting door answerer:  "if you died tonight, do you know where you'd go?"  That's not our style.

Instead, we have a high touch, low threat approach which gives a "World Famous Refrigerator Magnet" to our new neighbors, along with an invitation to church, colorful postcard, and an offer to pray a blessing over the house.  It's a strategy that flows out of our personality as a church.

And it's been effective through the years, as over 250 people who now call this church home first met us when their houses got "blessed."

So although we're still in the middle of figuring a lot of this out, those are our best practices in uniting theology with strategy. 

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Beatles' Songs

In honor of the recently completed London Olympics, today's Top Five salutes the original British Invaders: the Beatles.

It's almost sacreligious to say, but I've never been an especially ardent fan.  While I admit that they are by far the most influential and enduring of all rock bands, my personal tastes have leaned more towards the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and even the Eagles.

Yet even if I wasn't one of the screaming, fainting fans at LaGuardia when they landed here in February of 1964 -- OK, I was barely two years old -- some of their songs have moved me.  Here are my five favorites:

5.  Norwegian Wood.  A haunting, inventive tune that catalyzed the transition from the pop vibe of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"  to the art rock that characterized their later career.



4.  Yesterday.  One of the reasons I like Paul more than John.



3.  Let It Be.  In its lyric, its tempo, and its tune, this one belongs in a hymnal.



2.  Golden Slumbers Medley. It's almost not fair to regard this epic collection that closes out Abbey Road as one song . . . but I'm going to anyway.  As the saying goes, "it's all good."  And all of it is.



1.  Hey Jude.  The first of rock's true anthems, a song that by virtue of its length, lyrics, and variety paved the way for Stairway To Heaven, Layla, and Hotel California.  I love the (possibly apocryphal?) story of Paul McCartney ruining a Mick Jagger party by playing an early demo of this song . . . and everyone in the room knew it would be more popular than anything the Stones were preparing to release.

Sermon By Committee

I didn't exactly preach the sermon Your Money Or Your Life, our second installment of Money Talks.

Instead, I facilitated the conversation for those who actually did the teaching:  Jason Handschumacher and Kelly Starnes.

Who are they?  Not hired guns.  Not preachers-in-training.  Not even experts for a day.  Instead, they are regular people from the body of Good Shepherd.  Jason is a physical therapist and Kelly is in pharmaceutical sales.

And yet both have walked the long, difficult, faith-filled journey from financial crisis to financial stability.  From debt-full to debt-free. From  keeping to giving.  From anxiety to peace.

So they shared their stories with the church yesterday.  I simply asked the questions and then tried to stay out of the way.

Here are some of Jason's keenest insights:

• Making a budget with your spouse is more of a communication tool than a financial one.
• Talking about money connects generations . . . some of us will need to change our family trees when it comes to the philosophy of money while others get to pass on what we learned.
• You should talk about your will with your heirs while you are still alive rather than using it to "get back" at a family member from beyond the grave.
• Tell your children than when they have $10, they really have $7 . . . one of those dollars automatically goes to God while the other two are put in savings.  Adults should live the same way.  (Most American adults spend $11.50 of every $10 they have!).
• God is a giver.
• To live into our status as made in the image of God, we will need to be givers as well.
• There IS such a thing as "selfish giving":  when you give in order to get something in return.
• When it comes to mission trips, those who give are as heroic as those who go.

Kelly added the perspective of a single adult to the mix:

• Cash money and plastic cards create very different emotions in us.  When we use cash, we feel it.  When we use plastic (credit or debit), there is a sense of unreality to it . . . and that's why we typically spend 12-18% more with plastic than with cash.
• Singles need a good financial plan because there is no fall back for them when crisis hits.
• The flow of money in a family represents the value system under which that family operates.
• Singles: choose ye this day who you will serve.  Decide your values today, not when you meet someone who may or may not be "the one."
• Sometimes singles size up a potential mate based on his or her financial statues.  Many times, singles look for a new mate who will be grant security; one who will "save" them.  The truth is, we already have a Savior and He can't be improved upon.

We usually do whatever we can to avoid serving on a committee.

But I can tell you that sermon-by-committee works pretty well indeed.

Money Talks Week Two -- Your Money Or Your Life

Here's the way it was with Jack Benny:



Are you "thinking it over" as well?

We've come up with a creative way to talk about money, stuff, time, and faith this coming Sunday.  I'm glad to be part of it and think you will too.

Sunday.

8:30.  10.  11:30.

Some Lessons I've Learned

While these aren't all the lessons I've learned in 23 years of full-time parish ministry, they are the ones freshest on my mind this week . . .

• People like it when you remember their names.
• The more digital our culture becomes, the more effective are hand-written notes.
• Breath mints and deodorant are under-rated tools in ministry.
• If you resent the success of other pastors, you probably won't achieve your own.
• The more satisfied/righteous/vindicated you feel when you hit the "Send" button, the more likely you are to have made a serious mistake.
• Sometimes the people you think aren't listening are being the most influenced by what you say.
• The Gospel has its own power and you need to resist every temptation to dilute it.
• A good novel will give you as many sermons as a collection of . . . sermons.
• The more people tell you how much better you are than their last pastor, the more likely you are to become their next former pastor.
• People who yell the loudest have the most to hide.
• Two-by-two door knocking ministry still works.
• When you notice that people have missed a few Sundays in church and you call them up, simply tell them that you miss them.  They'll either offer an explanation or not.  Most people like being missed and don't care for being interrogated.
• Ministry works so much better when you express daily thanks for the fact that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead as the first fruits of your own ultimate resurrection.

New Language For Funeral Ministry

As a lot of you know, we take the ministry of funerals very seriously at Good Shepherd.

I've blogged about it here and here.

But in talking with other staffers here about how to design and deliver a eulogy that is helpful, faithful, and redemptive, we've landed at some new language that helps articulate an old concept:

Don't talk about the PROMISE before you talk about the PERSON.

In other words, early in the eulogy you haven't earned the right with the congregation (often at funerals full of not-yet-believers) to talk about the promises of the Gospel.

Only when you communicate to that congregation that you knew and loved this person whose life they've come to remember and death they've come to mourn can you then move on and talk about what the Gospel promises regarding eternity.

So funeral eulogies don't begin with John 3:16.  Or Ecclesiastes 3:1-4.  Or Philippians 3:12-14.

They begin with the person folks have come to remember.  Their qualities, their quirks, their loves, and their faith.  The nicest thing people say to me after eulogies is "Your description of him was spot on, preacher."

After establishing common ground in that way, then you can celebrate the promises inherent in the Gospel:

To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord.  II Corinthians 5:8

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.  I Corinthians 15:42

And so we will be with the Lord forever.  I Thessalonians 4:17

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.  Matthew 5:4


Once you've talked about the PERSON, celebrate the PROMISES.

.




 

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Biggest Chokes In Sports

My occasional glance at this year's Olympics has again brought home the most troubling reality in sports:  choking.

There are two ways of choking in sports.  The first happens when the athlete is so overwhelmed by the situation that he or she never really shows up to compete in the first place.

Like when I lost 6-1, 6-0 to my opponent from our most hated rival during my senior year of college tennis.

The second kind of choking is even worse: when the athlete is on the verge of a big win and somehow finds a way to turn the expected victory dance into tears of defeat.

Like when I had match point against a favored opponent in the 1979 National Boys 18-and-Under Grass Court tournament, hit a forehand (of course) into the net, and found a way to lose 7-6 in the third.

Not that I'm still haunted by those losses or that choking.

For this post, I'll focus on the second kind of choking.  I'll also stay away from Olympic sports as those are almost too cruel:  in every other sport a choker can come back next year for redemption.  An Olympian has to wait four.

So what are the top five "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" chokes I've seen?  Here goes:

5.  Arthur Ashe loses to Ilie Nastase in the 1972 U.S. Open.  You have to know that Arthur Ashe was my hero when I was ten years old.  And he was playing beautifully against the Romanian Nastase in the 1972 finals, leading two sets to one and 4-2 in the fourth.  But then . . . he let Nastase's antics and the pressure of the moment get to him, and an hour later he was giving the runner up speech.  Thank God he eventually won the 1975 Wimbledon.

4.  Boston Red Sox lose to New York Mets, 1986 World Series.  Everyone blames Bill Buckner for the Red Sox' loss in Game Six.  What they fail to remember is that the game was already tied when Buckner made his error, thanks in large part to relief pitcher Bob Stanley's erratic pitching.  In any event, it only took a matter of minutes before the Sawx went from surefire Game Six winners to no-way-they-could-take-Game-Seven losers.

3.  Greg Norman loses seven stroke lead, 1996 Masters.  Watching this happen in real time was like watching a car wreck in slow motion: you know what's going to happen, you know it will be ugly, but there's nothing you can do to stop it.  Norman was so much better than the rest of the field for the first three days of Augusta.  Unfortunately, they don't give prizes for 54 holes.  Nick Faldo (you'll see him again) was the beneficiary of Norman's gag.

2.  Memphis loses to Kansas, 2008 NCAA Finals.  Led by Derrick Rose and coached by John Calipari, the 2008 Memphis Tigers were the best team in the land yet they had an Achilles' heel: free throw shooting.  Bill Self's Kansas squad knew that, fouled incessantly over the last two minutes, and Memphis clanked enough from the line to turn a 10 point lead into an overtime loss.

1.  Scott Hoch misses 18 inch put that would have won 1989 Masters.  This one is just sad for two reasons:  1) "Hoch" rhymes with . . . "choke"; and 2) Hoch never really recovered and never won a Major.  Guess who gained from Hoch's missed gimme?  Nick Faldo.  Of course.  Maybe that's why he such a good golf announcer these days.

Divine Dirt Maker

So yesterday we started Money Talks, a new series about faith, time, stuff, and money.

Taking off from Psalm 24:1 -- the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof -- and inspired by Tony Evans, we landed together at the cautionary reminder:  Don't confuse the resource for the source.

When we regard our resources -- bank accounts, work ethic, ingenuity, financial planning -- as our source, than that resource comes to own us.  The results of that are never good.

In contrast, when we recognize that God is the source of all of it -- raw materials, talent, perseverance, everything involved in making us money -- then we are free to live more abundantly.

Along the way, we talked about what phenomenal things the human race has done with raw materials:  we've built skyscrapers, bridges, rockets, and dams.

But do you know the one thing we haven't done?  We've never made dirt, the ultimate raw material.

We may be masters with raw materials, but we are not masters of raw materials.  That belongs to God and God alone. 

To reinforce our notion of God as source and "divine dirt maker" we invited the people of Good Shepherd to come forward at the conclusion of the service and pick up a small card with Psalm 24:1 inscribed on it.

Except the cards were all places in large containers full of . . . dirt.  The people of the church had to stick their hands in dirt as a reminder of the One who made that dirt in the first place.

It all makes me think of David Crowder's Wholly Yours, one of my favorite of the new generation of Christian pop songs.  We've done this one before in church but it didn't exactly fit yesterday's service flow. 

So I give it to you here, and I pray you'll appreciation the lyrical insights & innovation as much as I do.

Money Talks, Week One -- Show Me The Money!

Money talks.

But what does it say?

What does it say about you?  Your values?  Your priorities?

Your relationship with others?

Your connection to God?

Most talks about money in church include only two exhortations:  spend less and give more. 

This series is different than that.  It is a comprehensive look at what Scripture says about money, stuff, time, and faith.

Money talks.  Let’s take some time to hear what it’s saying to us and about us.

August 5:         Show Me The Money!

August 12:       Your Money Or Your Life

August 19:       Take The Money And Run

August 26:       Where Your Mouth Is 

Thursday Observations

A random sample of some things I've noticed recently . . .

• Based on my drives past Rivergate Shopping Center on Wednesday, Thomas Menino and Rahm Emanuel have done Chick-Fil-A a huge favor.
• Tennis in the Olympics is a bit like football in March: it's nice, but who really needs it?
• We've never elected a bald president in my lifetime.  We won't this time, either.
• Some people in church want to remain anonymous for awhile and others want all the attention you can give them . . . and it's difficult to know in advance who falls into which camp.
• If you buy a car at a certain dealership, they will call you three years later offering to "buy your car back" and put you in a new one for the "same monthly payment."  Except that doesn't count all the payments you already made.  People evidently fall for it or the dealerships wouldn't keep doing it.
• Based on his words in the Gospels, Jesus seems much more interested in creating a movement of followers than in raising up the next generation of leaders.
• Charlotte survived Southpark's temporary closure.  Barely.
• If medical care was like veterinary care -- meaning, you pay for the services directly -- our health care issues would be much different.  Not easier, just different.
• Newspapers may be on the way out but I can't eat breakfast without one.
• Tanking in badminton?  Whoda thunk it?
• It takes a certain amount of ego to stand up in front of a crowd believing you have something to say that is worth hearing.  Some preachers are good at reigning in the ego that is inherent in the task.  Others are not.
• The left thinks that Western Europe has the ideal economic system.  The right thinks it's in Singapore.
• If you work in an office, you should have a day of sending no emails to other people in that same office.  Personal interaction does wonders for office camaraderie.

Common Ground

I remember moving into the parsonage at Mt. Carmel UMC in Monroe in June of 1990 and on that first day receiving visits from neighboring Methodist preachers in the area.

Those visits and the friendships that emerged out of them became manna from heaven for me during those first few years of ministry.  The same ones who welcomed me later took the time to mentor me.

Life is so much richer when you make connections with people going through the identical celebrations and disappointments as you.

It's why writers form writer's groups.

It's why moms start moms' groups.

It's why workers join unions.

It's why people in recovery attend support groups.

And it's even why people at Good Shepherd connect in LifeGroups.

Who shares common ground with you?

And how are you sharing life with them?