Congratulations, President Obama!

I watched the inauguration this morning. I don't typically watch this sort of thing live, because I'm not all that interested in politics. I am, however, fascinated with history and today was an historic occasion. Although I chose not to vote for President Obama, and although I hold differing viewpoints on several issues, there is something that swells up inside of me as I realize how much has changed in my brief lifetime.

When I was a boy, it was commonplace to make comments or tell jokes which are now patently offensive. Even in church, it was acceptable to use terms which are now completely out of bounds. I remember changing words to certain songs sung in Sunday School and getting a laugh from my teacher. I wonder now how any of these actions were supposed to square with the gospel.

So to see now that we are ready to bring in President Obama with a greater mandate than we have seen in several elections speaks to progress. It is sad that much of the church world had to be dragged toward this progress. We should be at the forefront of "judging a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character". Regardless of your political persuasions, President Obama is our president. You can't say, "He's not my president, I didn't vote for him". He is America's president, and if you are an American, he's your president. I am praying that he will be the best president of my lifetime, and that God will protect him, bless him, and give him uncommon wisdom and understanding as he leads us through the many difficult challenges we face during the next four years.

Something new to think about

In a couple of weeks Carole and I will be going to East Africa to some work with a group that is doing humanitarian work in southern Sudan. A new dynamic for me is that my daughter is concerned for our safety because of our relationship to our grandson. In fact, we are going on this trip at the invitation of Elizabeth's mother-in-law, so three of Tyler's grandparents will be on the other side of the world in a part of the world with well-documented unrest. We accepted the invitation to go just prior to Tyler's birth, and it honestly didn't dawn on me that it might cause concern for Elizabeth. We have been going on mission trips nearly all of Elizabeth's life, but her relationship to us has changed since she became a mother.

Obviously we have returned from every trip we have made, but this is the first time to a country that is currently having the level of unrest that Kenya and Sudan are having. Please pray not only for success in the work we will be doing, and for our safe return, but also for peace for Elizabeth while we are away. I know that for me, personally, I am compelled to go to places that are in chaos, because it is during times of chaos that the message of the Gospel is heard most clearly. Carole and I have a new freedom to go to those places since we are empty nesters, but there is a new tug on our hearts to stay home because of our grandson. I can only imagine that this tug will become greater with additional grandchildren. I am sure that we will continue to go, but it is a factor that will need to be dealt with.

Holiness

In our culture it is the fate of holiness to be banalized. Holiness is reduced to blandness, the specialty of sectarian groups who reduce life to behaviors and cliches that can be certified as safe; goodness in a straightjacket, truth drained of mystery, beauty emasculated into ceramic knickknacks. Whenever I run up against this, I remember Eileen Glasgow's wonderful line in her autobiography. Of her father, a Presbyterian elder full of rectitude and rigid with duty, she wrote, "He was entirely unselfish, and in his long life never committed a pleasure."
But holiness is in wild and furious opposition to all such banality and blandness. The God-life cannot be domesticated or used- it can only be entered into on its own terms. Holiness does not make God smaller so that he can be used in convenient and manageable projects; it makes us larger so that God can give out life through us, extravagantly, spontaneously. The holy is an interior fire, a passion for living in and for God, a capacity for exuberance in the presence of God. There are springs deep within and around us from which we can drink and sing God.

Eugene Peterson- The Jesus Way, page 128

The Way of Jesus

Excerpt from The Way of Jesus by Eugene Peterson (pge 120)

One of the bad habits that we pick up early in our lives is separating things and people into secular and sacred. We assume that the secular is what we are more or less in charge of: our jobs, our time, our money, our opinions, our entertainment, our government, our house and land, our social relations. The sacred is what God has charge of: worship and the Bible, heaven and hell, church and prayers. We then contrive to set aside a sacred place for God, designed, we say, to honor God but really intended to keep God in this place, leaving us free to have the final say in everything else that goes on outside that space.
Prophets will have none of this. They hold that everything, absolutely everything, takes place on sacred ground. God has something to say about every aspect of our lives, the way we feel and act in the so-called privacy of our hearts and homes, the way we make our money and the way we spend it, the politics we embrace, the wars we fight, the catasrophes we endure, the people we hurt and the people we help. Nothing is hid from the scrutiny of God; nothing is exempt from the rule of God; nothing escapes the purposes of God. The ground is holy; people are holy; words are holy: Holy, holy, holy.

A Good Day in Oklahoma

It was a good day for the Oklahoma sporting world. None of the OU underclassmen are leaving for the NFL, meaning that next year is not a rebuilding year. I think it really speaks well of the caliber of young men being recruited to OU and the atmosphere created by the coaches when the desire to remain a team overcomes the desire for big bucks a year early. On a side note, the incoming freshman receiver who was dismissed from the OU team last summer has been arrested. I wondered several times during the season what he was thinking as OU progressed through the season and he realized that he could've been part of that had he not made bad choices. It doesn't appear that introspection is one of his attributes.

The OKC Thunder is now the team we hoped they'd be at the beginning of the season. They beat a team with a winning record. Can a 2 game winning streak be far behind? They are playing well and there seems to be good team chemistry. I'm hoping in the second half of the season they will win most of the games they should win, win a few that they weren't supposed to win, but play competively in every game. Hats off to Scott Brooks, who seems to be making the most of his opportunity to be head coach.

The Roller Coaster

I enjoy listening to the Bible teaching of Alistair Begg, who pastors a church in Cleveland, Ohio. I listened to a message of his recently in which he gave an acrostic for the word "faith".


Forsaking
All
I
Trust
Him


What I like about the message of this is that it doesn't describe faith as something I use to get what I want. It assumes that I forsake all, meaning all of my desired outcomes, to trust Him, who knows so much more about what I need than I do. Faith is not a ticket to peace and prosperity. It is a ticket to a roller coaster. But if we watch, we will see that everyone who gets on the roller coaster gets off with a grin on their face.

Share Learn Go

In our Discover Greatness Banquet last Sunday night it was my privilege to share the goals of the capital improvements we wish to make to our facilities. I will get to the point. We need to improve our facilities only to the extent that these improvements improve our ability to fulfill the vision that Pastor Darren explained; that of Share, Learn and Go. We do not need a nicer or more comfortable place for us to meet. We need a more effective place to bring in others to experience commuity, grow in Christ, and impact the culture. Our facilities cannot be our crowning glory. They can only be tools used to build the kingdom of God. Remember the disciples admiring the architecture and grandeur of the temple? Jesus wasn't all that impressed. He knew that the temple would be around as long as people valued its existence, and no more. The next generation may choose to tear down our facility and do something new, and if I am around I will applaud that decision if it is carrying out the Great Commission. All buildings are temporary. What is eternal is the life that is changed.

We at Lakeside are at this point in time because God brought us here for this time. It is not a coincidence that He is calling us to simplify at a time when external situations are difficult. And He will supply all our need out of his unfathomable riches in Jesus.

What could we do better if our best efforts were not diluted doing the many things that are good but not great?

Over the Top for Jesus

The battles of World War I were fought in a fashion that is unknown to us today. Airplanes were very new, small, and fragile. Their use in battle was in its infancy. The effective range of artillery was much less than our current laser guided systems. Battles were fought mostly in up close in hand to hand combat. The soldiers would be staged close to the battle in long trenches. These were dirty and disease ridden, but they offered some protection from the bullets of the enemy.

When it was time to fight, the command would be given to leave the trench and engage the enemy. To fight the battle, it was necessary to go "over the top". The soldiers would hear the bugle blast calling for the charge. With their rifles loaded and bayonets fixed, they would head toward the enemy, not knowing who would finish the battle unharmed and who would be wounded or killed.

In 1918, near the end of World War I a song was written entitled, "Over the Top for Jesus". It was written in march time. Today it seems quaint and disturbingly militaristic, but it contains a truth that cannot be denied. We are in a spiritual battle and we must be fearless as give our lives for the cause of Christ. We must be as Paul in believing that to live is Christ and to die is gain. This realization that we must be willing to sacrifice all to serve Christ is not a new idea. Previous generations understood it and lived it. It has been obscured by the temptations of comfort from time to time, but the message has been around for centuries and it can be found in songs from every generation.

Over The Top For Jesus
There’s a battle raging over the land and sea,
True to Christ our Captain we will be;
Satan’s hosts are mighty, fighting for ruin and sin,
But in this great conflict right is sure to win.

Refrain
Over the top for Jesus bravely we will go:
Over the top for Jesus, routing ev’ry foe,
Never delaying when we hear the bugle blow,
We’ll fight for right with all our might,As over the top we go.

There’s a cry of sorrow rising from hearts oppressed,
There’s a world in sadness and unrest;
But the hope that thrills us, looking out into the night,
Christ, the Lord of battles, leads me in the fight.
Refrain

When the pow’rs of earth before our Redeemer shall kneel,
When the joy of triumph we shall feel;
Then with Christ Who conquered, into the realms of the blest,
We shall march in vic’try to eternal rest.

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

There is an old song that was written in 1918 entitled, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are." Even though its phraseology may seem strange today, the message is just as current now as it was the day it was written.

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.

Refrain:
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!

Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;
Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,
Brighten the corner where you are.


We might not be able to be a gospel "superstar" and preach to thousands or go to the far reaches of the earth, but there are no insignificant believers and no unimportant days.

Brighten the cornere where you are.

National Championship Game

At this point I am sure that the national championship game is nearing its end and I don't have any idea of the score. I have intentionally kept myself from watching or even getting updates on the progress of the game. Those of you who know me know that this is extremely unusual behavior for me. The reason I am doing this is because I have let something that is intended to be a recreational diversion become something that is too important to me and I am doing something about it. In a way, I am fasting this game. In recent seasons, I have let my emotions erupt too quickly in these game situations. I cannot enjoy an OU game unless they are winning handily. I can enjoy a close game between teams in which I have no emotional investment, but I have seen myself become a person I don't like when OU plays. I have allowed ESPN commentators to send me into a rage when they have disrespected OU.

I have let OU football become an idol in my life. It has become far too important to me. I take the taunts and cheers of the other team personally. I want to hate the the other team, their coaches and their fans. I have to let it go. I hope that I can get to the place where I can just enjoy the strategy, the talent and the athleticism and enjoy the contest. If I can't, I've got to let it go. I've got to give it up. It's just not that important in the whole scheme of life and eternity.

Simplification

Every year there are lists posted of top new years resolutions. Of course, every year there are such staples and losing weight, working out, promotions, etc. Then each year there are trendy picks that change from year to year. One of the top trendy picks this year is to "simplify my life". This means different things to different people. Buying a 2 million dollar home instead of a 4 million dollar home may define simplifying to some people; getting along on one income may define it for another.

At the World Missions Summit it was discussed that many young adults feel that they have a special call on their lives to do something special for the kingdom of God, but the realities of life such as marriage, student loans, mortgages, and car payments keep them away from the work they feel they have been called to.

How do we change the expectations of young adults when they don't see anyone else living simply? When all of popular culture celebrates excess and conspicuous consumption? When televised ministries promote books that tout prosperity messages such as "How to get rich and have everything you ever wanted?"

There is an incredible amount of wealth tied up in real estate owned by churches, denominations and individuals who profess Christ. I don't know where I am going with this, but I do know that we underutilize the assets that God has entrusted to us by using them for our own comfort or for the comfort of a group of believers instead of using them to reach a lost world who is unconcerned with the value of our properties and portfolios. I know that Carole and I are looking at what is in our hands and finding much that we could do without. The coming years will, in my opinion, see a tremendous shift in the priorities of the Church (the whole Church, not just Lakeside) as we hand off the work to the next generation.

WMS2 report

The World Missions Summit II has to be judged as a great success. It was very well organized, the venue was very well suited to the event, the exhibits were interesting and informational, and the services were incredible. Kudos to everyone who was involved in organizing and administering this event.

The message on Wednesday evening delivered by Dick Brogden was a highlight for me. I feel that my generation has failed to engage the young adults in large part because we have made church too "nice" and have catered to the wishes of the members so that we won't lose their "partnership" which is church code for offerings. Because of this, many young adults find church boring and irrelevant.

The message Dick Brogden delivered was neither boring nor irrelevant. His outline was simple and strong. He said that we must be willing to try, willing to cry, and willing to die in proclaiming the truth of the gospel to the "inconvenient" lost. I can't imagine many pastors feeling that they could survive preaching a message with a point entitled willing to die, but it is the exact message we are needing to hear. Those who attended the WMS2 want to be a part of something real, life changing, and eternal, and the gospel is all of that. (The real, ancient gospel, that is, not the north american 20th century version)

I have had confidence for several years that this current generation will use the tools developed by earlier generations, benefitting from the incredible sacrifices of pioneer ministries around the world, and make an impact that is unimaginable for the Kingdom in these last days.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be in the room with 4000 world changers for these last few days.