joy in pressure and stress

I've been going through Psalm 119 in the mornings, and it's become one of my favorite Psalms. It presents such a unique relationship between man and his Creator. The psalmist (most likely Ezra or David) pours out his love for God in verse and says repeatedly, "I love you so much that I am willingly subservient to Your commands; they are life to me." (that's my paraphrase of the whole chapter)

I find this verse to give a particularly fresh perspective in today's fast-paced, worry-filled culture:

As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.
Psalm 119:143 (NLT)

giving free stuff away on black friday

I'm going for a more raw, gritty, in-your-face post title today. I figure that will bring in the readers in droves.

I'm not sure why today is called "Black Friday". (By the way, Tony, it's acceptable in British writing to put the punctuation outside of the quotation marks. I lost sleep over that after your tweet the other day because I'd forgotten why I started doing that. I am henceforth pretending I'm a Briton.) So anyway, I'm not sure why they call today "Black Friday". If it were called "White Friday" would there be any accusations of racism? And is it called "Black Friday" because it's a dark day for the people who decide that it's worth battling the massive crowds to save a few percent on an item? I'm curious. Not curious enough to Google it, though. I'm fairly contented not knowing for sure.

Our Jr. High "Guy" at Wall Highway, Josh Harris, coordinated an event that several of us enjoyed this morning. At 4:00 AM we left the Wall Highway campus, taking boxes of donuts (the ones in a pre-packaged tubes of six) and things, along with two of those big tailgate cooler-looking dealios filled with hot chocolate. We arrived at Best Buy around 4:15. I thought the line (as seen in the photo) was long, and then I talked with someone who let me know that the line went around the corner, and had extended around the corner as of 3:30 AM (probably earlier -- that was when they'd arrived).

Our intrepid band of Christ followers, armed with food and hot drinks, began to hand out these things to the people standing in line. Several people were obviously shocked that we were giving this stuff away. A few refused it until I said, "It's free," with a smile. Their faces immediately brightened and their eyes widened. We had the opportunity to tell people that we were doing this because we love Jesus Christ and just wanted to serve other people.

It was a small; one that lasted about 15 minutes. Josh had set aside junk food rations for about 100 people.

At one point I walked nearer the end of the line to give out donuts, and as I was coming back around the building, there was a man walking toward me next to the line, holding up the tube of donuts I'd given him less than a minute before, saying, "$10.00! $10.00!" I said, "Man, don't do that," and turning to the people in line, with a smile said, "I just gave him those things for free." People started to laugh. He smiled and looked at me and said, "Hey, I was just kidding," and walked back to his place in line. In retrospect, it may have seemed like I was saying that we'd done something good. In reality, I just didn't appreciate him wanting to rip people off.

That was our experience this morning. Getting up at 3:00 wasn't as tough as I'd anticipated, and being able to go back to sleep from about 6:30 until 10:00 made for a great, lazy day.

Hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic, and may you always set aside a time of daily thanksgiving to your Creator!

thanksgiving and instant hand sanitizer

Happy Thanksgiving! I noticed that this is my 601th (even better than "601st") post. I suppose that's appropriate somehow, but in what way I'm not exactly sure.

God has blessed us, and has allowed us to be blessed, with so many material things that my prayer is that we will be able to love Him with all our hearts, fix our eyes firmly on Him, and obey Him in spite of all these things; not just because of them.

Some time last week I sent a tweet (a message on Twitter) that said something like this: Waterless hand sanitizer is excellent for discovering small cuts and scratches that you were previously unaware of. (I chose this particular image because at first it looks like the burn of the hand sanitizer has actually stripped the skin clean off of a hand. In actuality, the image is made up of lots of things that the sanitizer sanitizes.) That tweet was automatically posted at my Facebook page, and friend and commenter Preston noted there, "I'm sure there's a biblical analogy in there somewhere!"And so there is!

If you have a different or better analogy, you're invited to leave a comment explaining it. Here is mine...

I've been reading through Psalm 119 in one of the many "read the Bible through in a year" plans, and it's striking that the author (taken to be either David or Ezra) repeatedly communicates this idea to God: "I love you so much that your commands are life to me, and I hate sin because I love you so much." So one analogy would be that the hand sanitizer represents sin, and its presence should cause stinging pain to the person whose life is centered on their love for God.

There are other analogies to be had. One, for instance, would be that the hand sanitzer represents the Holy Spirit, and when we are made aware of sin it hurts horribly.

As with many sermon illustrations that are given from pulpits across America, this analogy does little to help anyone in his walk with Christ, in my opinion. The best way that I can see for it to have any lasting impact in reminding us that we're to live a life of holiness (1 John 2 is a great chapter for this -- read the whole thing) is to make it into a physical experiment:

Gentlemen, when you've just finished shaving, be sure to have a bottle of waterless hand santizer... ah... on hand. When you've just gotten through scraping your face with the razor and wiping off the excess shaving cream (or when you've put down your electric razor), use the sanitizer instead of aftershave.

Ladies, use this process after you shave your legs. (Is this inappropriate for me to put on a blog? I'm not sure, but I don't think so, because it's pretty much a day-to-day occurrence in America.)

I believe that taking physical steps to drive the illustration home will go a long way in reminding us that our body's pain receptors are reacting in the same way that our hearts should react to sin in our own lives. It's something that we won't want to keep doing.

how biblical is too biblical?

I had a great discussion with a friend this evening. We talked about several things, but one that kept me thinking was the fact that sometimes Christians don't hold to the same standards. That's pretty much fact.

A question that came to my mind -- one that I'd like for you to respond to -- is, how Biblical is too Biblical?

I won't qualify the question further for now, though it's admittedly a very broad question. You're free to take whatever angle you'd like, whether it touches on legalism, liberalism, literalism, or any other "l" word.

sunday's music - november 1, 2009

It's been quite some time since I participated in Fred McKinnon's Sunday Setlists Blog Carnival. It's good to be back!

I'd laid out the music for today's service a while back, long before I got the sermon topic and outline from our senior pastor. It was extra cool that he happened to be speaking on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and the focus of the music was the return of Christ and the beauty and awe of His holiness. Here's our list of music:

• Sing to the King (Charles Horne/Billy Foote) - key of E - It was Jan Owen who introduced me to this song several years ago. It's based on a hymn that was written in 1910, though the melody is completely different.
• Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Bancroft) - key of D - I'd never known it, but this one was written 'way back in 1865, and apparently was first sung with the tune to "Sweet Hour of Prayer". The modern musical rendition is quite different, and in my opinion, delivers a far, far more accurate "feeling" than the older tune. You've really got to listen to this clip of the SPIN 360 version of this song from volume 45. Unbelievably powerful.
• Holy, Holy, Holy (traditional) - key of D - All about God. What better to sing about? This song paints fantastic visual imagery of God's holiness.
• Sanctuary (John Thompson/Randy Scruggs) - key of D/E - Continuing with the theme of God's throne, this song was a reminder that we are the body of Christ, and until the new Heaven and new Earth, we are His living place. (I didn't want to say "dwelling place")
• Glory to God Forever (Steve Fee/Vicky Beeching) - key of G - Not sure why I've waited so long for us to introduce this song. Sinple and with a slightly repetitive chorus, it doesn't bother me to repeat the words "Glory to God forever!" a bunch of times. (We should have played this one in the key of A, by the way. B, the original key, is slightly too high for large group singing and G was too low.) The link for this song goes to Amazom.com's $0.99 MP3 download. I encourage you to begin using this song as a vehicle for corporate worship.

The choir closed with a song with a Southern Gospel feel: "God Says You're Gonna Make It". Similar underlying theme to the congregational songs, with a tighter focus on standing firm because of the hope that we have.

It's an amazing privilege to be able to sing in worship to our Creator with those who know Him. It's always a huge prayer that those people who don't know Him but still attend services would respond as the Spirit draws them.

participating in life

If we view our entire lives -- day by day -- as an opportunity to participate in what God has planned for the earth on that particular day, our spiritual ears are more open to what the Holy Spirit says moment by moment.

If, however, we view our personal goals and comfort as being primary (and this is much easier to do than it sounds), we're far less likely to even be able to hear what the Spirit says.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

Galatians 5:13-17, NLT

save me from myself?

This morning I set my coffee cup on top of a three-ring binder that was on a table in the den (or whatever the proper word is for that room). It wasn't one of those with the huge 2" or 3" spine, but there was an incline to it, so my coffee cup was sitting there at an angle. As I stood next to it and put my houseshoes on, I said a short, silent prayer: "Lord, please don't allow that coffee cup to fall." I knew that if it fell it would wake my daughter, who'd slept on the pull-out bed in the den thingy room.

It struck me pretty much instantly that if I do something that intentionally invokes the results of the law of gravity in a bad way, it's a little silly to ask God to adjust the laws of nature for a few minutes while I put my shoes on.

To be sure, I thought there was a pretty good chance that the coffee cup wouldn't slide off and crash to the floor. Otherwise I wouldn't have put it there. But I thought it was a pretty good insurance policy to ask God to take up the slack.

Here's where I think that we Christians are prone to take verses out of context. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (1 John 5:14, NASB) Could I have confidence that God would hear my prayer and respond the way I asked Him to?

Maybe you've offered such prayers as, "Lord, I'm so late because I had to change clothes because I didn't like that other shirt. Please help me get there on time," or "Please don't let the computer lock up on me before I send this e-mail, even though I don't run antivirus software and haven't defragged in three years." Things like this and my goofy coffee-cup prayer are instances in which we ask God to take up the slack of our own stupidity or lack of planning and preparation.

I'm talking about the things that are obviously nuts, but it goes even deeper than this. Very often we will do things a certain way, out of the will of God or without so much as a thought about Christ, and then ask God to make the results turn out in an unlikely way.

If we've spent the whole day living outside of God's will, it's a misconception to think that He will wrap all of the day's events up in a way that glosses over our intentional wrong actions and say to us, "No problem. Well done, my good and faithful servant!"

Many times, praise God, He is merciful and gracious in these situations. But remember the resounding words of the psalmists and prophets like Jeremiah (I paraphrase from many different passages): I have been faithful to walk in Your ways, Lord. Please remember your servant and protect me from calamity and those who would harm me. (have a look at Psalm 58 and Psalm 91, for instance.) Looking at Scripture, I don't believe we can hope for the latter without having done the former.

day one in the "secular" world...

Today began my move back into the workforce outside of the office at Wall Highway Baptist Church. Yesterday I made the announcement in both of our AM services that I would be moving back into bi-vocational ministry and church leadership. I went into this at length in a previous post, but I thought I'd share my announcement here, since it varied a little bit from my long post.

I wanted to touch on some of the reasons I believe that "tent-making" is critical in the ministry, without alienating people to the point of tuning me out (old habits die hard). From the feedback I received, my point was understood.

I think that this will mark the last post about what's been up here lately. I still haven't gotten to a post that commenter Robby asked about -- what do I believe a church meeting should look like? So without further ado, here's the announcement I made yesterday:


About two years ago I began an investigation, almost unintentionally. I wanted to know if what we consider “church” today is actually what God laid out for His people when He founded His Church on Jesus Christ.

I want to share a couple of things that I’ve looked at over that time, and how Callie and I are following God as a result, and I’d love to talk to you about it over lunch over the coming weeks if you have any questions. Find me after the service and we will plan it.
 When you hear Pastor Lee mention that he talked with someone in Starbucks about Jesus, there’s a note of encouragement that says we need to be doing that. That’s the point! But underlying everything, I’ve seen that there’s usually an expectation that says, “Hey, he’d better be doing that! We pay him to be a preacher and talk about Jesus all the time and wear his hair like that.” When we hear about a pastor or a preacher who’s caught in some sin, especially a famous person, not only do we shoot our wounded, but we are amazed at how a man of God would be able to fall so far.

 One of the things I have seen from observing the modern Church is that in our minds we have so separated “pastors” from “laypeople” – in an unbiblical way – that from my observation, we fully expect that paid professional Christians should be the better Christians.

But I’ve noticed that my Bible doesn’t differentiate in its standards of following Christ, and I’ll bet yours doesn’t, either. Every single person in this room who calls himself or herself a follower of Christ has been given a spiritual gift, or gifts, that God requires us to use for His glory in the community of believers, and each of us is held to this standard by God Almighty: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. This command is not for a small subset of Christians.

And then I’ve considered how I serve God and how I serve you. I’m not rich, but I’m paid well. And I’ve looked at the salary I make and contrasted it with how much we as a congregation at Wall Highway get up, get out, and give to those who are truly in need. The church in America has become a very comfortable group of people.

 If you look at how we spend our time and our finances, it’s very stark how inwardly-focused we are, and I have a hard time seeing Biblical actions or Biblical intent in that.

I am now moving forward in the spirit of what Paul said in Acts 20 when he spoke to the elders in the Church at Ephesus: “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:32-35, NLT)

This is exciting and will present its own set of challenges, but having been at Wall Highway for 18 years, many of those in bi-vocational service, this is not new to me. There may not be a change on the surface, if the only time you ever see me is on Sunday morning. But I do want to see change – change that sees the Church growing spiritually, and the community of believers working and serving together with a new perspective on what it really means to “Be the Church."

Come and talk with me after the service if I can clarify anything or if I can share more about what God has been doing. I love you guys.

Thank you!

when coffee grounds attack

For some time now, I've been looking for the perfect analogy for that deal when coffee grounds get into your coffee. If you're a coffee drinker, this has surely happened to you. What's the thing you remember about that cup of coffee? How good it was? Probably not. Even if it was otherwise perfect, the process of picking/spitting grounds out of one's mouth seems to supersede any thoughts of how the coffee itself actually tasted.

Finally, the wife of staunch friend and commenter Leroy presented the perfect analogical material: don't try to ruin a great movement of God by getting legalistic, because that's bound to leave residue.

For background, Leroy is one of those hardcore Christ-following friends who gets all kinds of brain matter from me. He's good about being wise and telling me that I'm nuts, that I might just be onto something, or that I should stop talking and do something, a la the People's Front of Judaea (Python fans will understand this). One of a handful of great thermostat kinds of friends. Apparently his wife is at least that wise.

If you've been following this blog, you'll have seen some ideas that run counter to typical modern church cultural thinking. I have pointed out several ideas, activities, and philosophies in the Church that I hope I've shown (by using Scripture) are not in line with Scripture. I intend to be vocal about those things and active where action is required.

However, I've found that in the process of trying to make the coffee just right (which usually means "strong enough"), it's very easy to put so much raw coffee in there that it winds up tainting the end product.

My goal is the centrality, glory, and fame of Jesus Christ, and for every person alive, more than head knowledge of a god, but a relationship (a corporate relationship as well as an individual one) with the singular God of creation.

I think I pollute that sometimes by helping God along (just in case He needs it, you know).

stem cell research - an ethical dispute

This is a guest post, and an unusual one, at that. I'll be right back to the more "normal" topics (there's at least one coming up that will tackle some heavy issues concerning the Church and worship) very soon.

The following is a research paper written by friend and commenter Ted. I read it a couple of weeks ago and was so intrigued that I could have been so woefully off-base on the facts of this issue that even though it's a far cry from typical EGBDF fare, I asked him if I could post it. He readily agreed. I'm a musician, not a scientist, and I'm interested in your thoughts.

Just to annoy you, I removed the footnotes for the sake of formatting. He did provide them and I'll be happy to post them or e-mail them to you if you'd like. Just to annoy Ted, I put some key phrases in bold.


Stem Cell research is a tinderbox waiting for the slightest spark to ignite another ethical divide across America, conservatives versus liberals, Republicans versus Democrats, ‘intelligent design’ versus evolution, and Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice. What is it about Stem Cell research that has everyone up in arms? The ethical dispute concerning stem cell research centers on the definition of life; if we are a product of ‘intelligent design’ then all life is sacred, but if we evolved, should we not use every means available to improve our lives? To understand this ethical dilemma we must define what stems cells are. In an article by stemcellresearchfacts.com entitled “Adult versus Embryonic Stem Cells”, we find this definition:

A stem cell is essentially a “blank” cell, capable of becoming another more differentiated cell type in the body, such as a skin cell, a muscle cell, or a nerve cell. Microscopic in size, stem cells are big news in medical and science circles because they can be used to replace or even heal damaged tissues and cells in the body. They can serve as a built-in repair system for the human body, replenishing other cells as long as a person is still alive.

There are two major classifications of stem cells, embryonic and adult. PhD Kane, a veterinarian, explains, “Adult -- stem cells are obtained from a variety of tissues, including bone marrow, adipose tissue, muscle, cartilage, trabecular bone and tendon”. PhD Kane has used stem cell therapy to treat soft tissue and tendon injuries on horses for several years with encouraging results. What makes this treatment promising is the capacity of stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types. “Adult stem cell treatments have been successfully used for many years” to treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers through bone marrow transplants. Additionally, this kind of treatment has about a zero percent chance of rejection because the donor and recipient are one in the same. “Embryonic stem cells are obtained by harvesting living embryos which are generally 5-7 days old. The removal of embryonic stem cells invariably results in the destruction of the embryo”; which is the main cause for the controversy. Steven Ertelt states, “Embryonic stem cell research has never cured or helped any patients to this point. Only the use of adult stem cells and treatments derived from them have cured or reduced the effects of any diseases or conditions afflicting patients”. Another major disadvantage with embryonic stem cells is that have a tendency to cause tumors and have a high rejection rate.

The use of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryo, a potential human life, which fuels this ethical debate. Additionally, embryonic stem cell research is commonly associated with abortion and many of the issues tied to it. Since the Roe versus Wade case of 1973, there is a great ethical divide across America – Pro Life versus Pro Choice. Creationism and Darwinism are also associated with embryonic stem cell research, because one’s belief in either Intelligent Design or evolution determines his understanding of life. Political ideologies and agendas add more dissention to this debate; topics such as separation of church and state, liberalism versus conservatism, gay rights, and health care are often referred to when stem cell research is mentioned. Time Magazine correspondent Karen Tumulty wrote the following:

The politics of stem-cell research, just like the science of it, is turning out to be far more complicated than either side would like you to think. From the press releases, fund-raising appeals and victory cries that were going up in the hours after President George W. Bush used his veto for the first time, it may have looked as though the Democrats had finally found their golden issue--and a social one at that. "With one stroke of his pen," declared Democratic chairman Howard Dean, "President Bush has once again denied hope to millions of Americans and their families who suffer from diabetes, spinal-cord injuries and Alzheimer's."

In actuality President Bush’s veto only “banned the use of federal funding to support research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 2001, it is not illegal”. There is no law or regulation against destroying human embryos for research purposes. Anyone using private funds is free to conduct embryonic stem cell research. According to Howard Dean, any attempt to deny funding for embryonic stem cell research is denying hope to millions of Americans. The following statement from the National Review is a perfect example of how political agendas are more important than finding a possible cure:

On Nov. 20, scientists announced that they had discovered a way to create stem cells with the same potential as embryonic stem cells--but instead of destroying embryos, they had done it by "reprogramming" adult cells. Supporters of the embryo-destructive research, especially Democrats, started to carp. The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said that it would take years for scientists to figure out how to keep the new methods from causing tumors. Instead, it took less than two weeks. Eventually, the naysayers are going to have to face the fact that we have had some good news.

The exploitation of women to donate their eggs is big business on many campuses nationwide. Political pressures to develop a viable embryonic stem cell treatment are endangering women. A recent headline in USA Today, “Egg Donor Business Booms on Campus”, depicts how research facilities target women to donate their eggs. Jim Hopkins states, “potential risks, including nausea and diarrhea, from a condition known as "ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome”, and there is a ‘remote’ chance of death”.

Public confusion, political ideologies and agendas, along with media sensationalism continue to distort the issues over stem cell research. Politicians and the media rarely disseminate between embryonic and adult stem cell research during any discussion or debate; this technique adds confusion and distorts the truth. “Most types of stem cell research are morally acceptable and laudable. Only research using embryonic stem cells raises insuperable moral objections”.

The only way to eliminate the confusion is to eliminate the double-talk. Stem cell research is not, and should not be used as a platform to promote anyone’s ideologies. Research and examine the facts; ask medical professionals and doctors for information; then and only then can one develop an informed and conscientious opinion.