Random Thoughts in Ministry: February 2009

Manny Being Manny, Part II

I wrote about Manny Ramirez around last season's trade deadline when he was traded to the Dodgers. I said back then that he would "work hard to try and get the Dodgers into the playoffs." Indeed he did. After his trade to LA, Manny hit .396 with a .489 OBP, 17 HR's and 53 RBI's in only 53 games. He was the spark that helped the Dodgers get into the playoffs and sweep the Cubbies in the first round before bowing out to the eventual World Series champion Phillies in the LCS.

Well, Manny is at it again, only this time it's not on the field. He is pulling his usual antics and causing a media circus. Okay, this time, it cannot all be attributed to him. Infamous agent gloryhog Scott Boras probably has something to do with it as well. Manny has turned down at least 3 different offers that the Dodgers have made him this offseason. Most recently, it was a $25 million/1 year deal with a $20 million player option for 2010. In other words, he would be paid an average of $22.5 over the next two years to play baseball. Let go a little further on the math on this one, shall we?

At best, Manny will play 324 regular season games in this two year span, which is laughable because he hasn't played in more than 154 games in any season of his entire career. In fact, a more accurate guess of how many games he'll play in that span is 284. That number comes from his average games per season (142) over the course of his career once he started playing full time in Cleveland. So, what's $22.5 million dollars divided by 284 games? He'll be making $792,253/game with that contract. And you know, let's be honest, he's not much of a defender, so he'll be doing nothing for more than half of those games.

Now, let's put this into the "Matt's insanely jealous about the amount of money that this guy is going to make" telescope. The lowest base salary for a United Methodist pastor is roughly $31,000. I would have to work for 25 years to make what Manny just turned down for a single game. So where am I going with this?

Manny, take the contract. Whatever it is they offer you. Take it. Put it into perspective. The fans that work so hard to make it out to one of your games will never come close to seeing that kind of money. I physically feel ill when I look at the disparity between my annual salary and your paycheck for a single game. I'm not even joking. My stomach is a little upset right now.

The Video Kick Continues...

I found this on YSMarkO's blog the other day. He works for Youth Specialities, which is one of the larger youth ministry organizations out there right now.

This video is pretty funny based on sheer cheesiness alone. It is about one of those topics that Christians don't really like to talk about all that often - tithing. Tithing is one of the more touchy Christian disciplines with people. You can talk about fasting and prayer and Scripture reading, and nobody says much about it. But you talk about tithing once, and suddenly, you're meddling. I guess that reflects how much focus there is on money in our day.

Let me just say before you skip to the video that tithing is not about money. It's not an equation where if I give God so much, He will automatically bless me. That's not it at all. That suggests a God that is too small and can be controlled by what we do. Tithing is about priorities. Where are your priorities? They say you can look at your checkbook to find that out. Anyhoo...

Remembering the Ashes

The following is the Ash Wednesday sermon from the Ash Wednesday service at Veedersburg UMC. The text for this message is Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.

As you know, this evening, we are observing Ash Wednesday. While it is unclear exactly when the tradition of Ash Wednesday began, it’s origins are believed to be found in the early 7th century. We are officially in the season of Lent now – a time of remembrance, repentance, commitment, humility and, ultimately, forgiveness. Tonight, you will have the opportunity to come forward and have the cross placed on your forehead in ashes. I know it seems like an odd thing to do, and I’m certainly not going to force anyone to do it, but it is a way that we can enter into Christian history and remember that we are a part of a larger story.

In the Old Testament, ashes symbolize two things. First of all, it is a sign of humility and mortality. In the book of Genesis, God creates with merely the spoken word. He calls forth light, and light appears. He tells the waters to separate, and they do. He tells the vegetation to sprout from they ground, and it still does to this very day. He speaks again and the animals are created. But when it comes to man, God does something different. He doesn’t just speak and create humanity.

In reading Genesis 2, I get this mental image of God, the Almighty Creator of all things, getting down on his hands and knees, and forming humanity from the dust of the ground. But by merely forming man, God doesn’t create humanity. Humanity does not come to life until God breathes into the formed dust. It is only when God’s very breath is involved that man becomes a living creature. And while humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation, it is only dust apart from the breath of God. And what I find so interesting here is that the Hebrew word for breath is the same word that is used in other places for spirit. Apart from the Spirit of God, we are nothing more than dust. How is that for humility?

We also recognize that we are mortal beings. In Genesis 3, after humanity has sinned against God, it is said that humanity will return to the dust from which it came. No longer is humanity allowed to live in the presence of God in the Garden. Humanity’s sin is too great to live eternally in the presence of God. As Paul says, “the wages of sin is death.” And death comes when we are without the Spirit, or breath, of God, which leads us to the second thing which the ashes symbolize.

The ashes also symbolize sorrow and repentance for sin. We recognize that our sin is too great. Because of our sin, we are separated from an eternal and holy God who cannot bear to look upon our unrighteousness. However, in repenting from our sin. We are doing something significant. The Greek word for repentance literally means a change in one’s mind. Sin is more than just an action; sin is a mindset as well. There is something deep within us that causes us to sin, and it is only through the transformation of our minds by the power of Jesus Christ that we can move past our sins. That is what repentance is about – recognizing that we have fallen short in our lives and moving forward in life by the power of Christ, knowing that this is only possible by relying on the Spirit.

When Paul says that the wages of sin is death, he doesn’t leave his readers in this state of hopelessness. He goes on to say that eternal life is possible through the free gift of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, we are no longer slaves of sin, but we have been freed from sin so that we can become servants of God. In Ash Wednesday, we come before God as humble, mortal beings truly full of sorrow and repentance. We leave this night knowing that Christ has forgiven us our sins, and we spend the next 40 days preparing ourselves for the celebration of his resurrection.

In the Gospel reading tonight, we are reminded of Jesus’ words regarding how we are to approach living a life of faith. The life of faith is a life that is the authentically lived life. It is life without hidden agendas and false signs of piety. Jesus tells us to be aware of practicing our piety so that others will see it. It is about the motivations within our hearts. If we are doing these works of piety so that others will be impressed by the way we live our lives, then our hearts are not in the right place.

Jesus begins by mentioning our giving. In the first century, the word for hypocrites often referred to actors in Greek theaters who wore masks. The true person was hidden behind the mask, and all that the world would see was what the actor wanted them to see. Those who gave as a public act of piety were not concerned about their gifts helping those in need; they wanted the attention that came with giving large sums of money. Jesus looks at the heart. Giving as an act of devotion and piety is giving that is not flaunted for others to see.

Jesus says the same about prayer. There were those who would pray aloud so that everyone would hear the holiness of their prayers. Jesus is not condemning public prayer, just the prayers that are intended to draw attention to oneself instead of God. Again, the question is, “Where is your heart.”

It should be no surprise at this point that Jesus says something similar about fasting. Fasting is more than just going without food for a few hours. Fasting is an act of recognizing what is important in life. It helps us to set priorities. Are we more concerned about our daily meal times than spending time with God? If so, then a fast would do us some good in order to help us with those priorities. Fasting is not just abstaining from food. There are legitimate medical reasons why some people don’t fast; however, this doesn’t mean that they are off the hook and don’t have to worry about this particular command of Jesus. If fasting is about setting priorities, then one can fast from a variety of things – not just food. Typically, people will give up something for Lent. Some will give up candy, sweets, soda – all sorts of things. The focus shouldn’t be what is being given up, but what is being put in its proper place because of this abstinence.

Jesus looks at giving, praying and fasting as three things that really show our hearts. If we are doing these things publicly so that others can see them and be in awe of our own righteousness, then our hearts are not in the right place. It is this type of faith that Jesus constantly rails against in the gospels. Jesus is concerned about where our hearts are.

He sums it up very well in the final paragraph of this passage. He tells us to not store our treasures here on earth, but to store them in heaven. Things that are stored on earth will eventually fade away. Things that are stored in heaven have an eternal value that will never fade away. It is a matter of the heart.

So this Lent, let me encourage you to enter into the Christian story in a variety of ways. Perhaps through sacrificial giving, or through cultivating a deeper life of prayer, or fasting a couple times each week. Maybe there is something else you can do during this 40 day period in which we journey towards the cross. Whatever it is that you decide to do to prepare yourself for this journey, remember that it begins and ends with your heart. Make sure your heart is in the right place and then go for it. I think you may be surprised at how God will work in your life.

Epileptic Dogs...

This is a cause that I am not unfamiliar with. Growing up we had a border collie named Beth who had epilepsy. She had a few seizures until we got the medicine figured out, and then went on to live a normal canine life. She was a sweet dog.

This clip is from the HBO show Flight of the Conchords, which is quickly growing on me as one of the funniest shows around. And just an FYI, Katie will vouch for me on this, I totally called the ending of the clip...

Spartantubbies....

I always knew that Teletubbies were tougher than we ever imagined, I just didn't know the extent...

More Than Meets the Eye

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, February 22, 2009. The text for this week is Mark 9:2-9.

Today is the last Sunday before we enter into the Christian season of Lent. Lent was historically a season for fasting and preparation for baptism by converts. It has since become a season of repentance and preparation for all Christians and a time to examine our lives in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Today is what is known as Transfiguration Sunday. It recalls Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, which we just heard from Mark’s gospel. Throughout their time with Jesus, the disciples knew that there was something different about Jesus. In Mark 8, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. They know who he is and now they start a cycle when Jesus reveals something to them and they don’t quite get it. Now, to be honest with you, I think we give the disciples too hard of a time. We often find ourselves shaking our heads at the disciples. But, really, I don’t think we would have faired much better if we were in their shoes. There is a whole lot more to Jesus than we realize, and the transfiguration showed that Jesus really was more than meets the eye.

When I was a kid, there were a couple of toys that were really popular, but one of them was both fun and frustrating at the same time. As you probably guessed from the sermon title today, that toy was the Transformer. Transformers were vehicles like cars and trucks. And if you were to look at them in this form, there is nothing all that special about them. They just looked like normal, everyday vehicles. But as the television show said, they were more than meets the eye. They would transform, which is why they were called Transformers, into giant robots. Somehow, these spectacular, complex robots were able to appear to be something simple and mundane to most people, but when necessary, they would become amazing machines capable of great things. Transformers have made a comeback in the last couple of years. The toys were back on the shelves, a live action movie came out a couple years ago, and a sequel is on the way this summer.

In some small way, I think Transformers capture something deep down inside each one of us. We all wish in some way that we can change into something spectacular; that we can do amazing things. We all see ourselves as normal people, but we wish that we could be extraordinary. I think that is why shows like Heroes and movies about comic book heroes tend to do well. There is a deep yearning to be extraordinary. The simple truth, however, is that we can’t change ourselves into something else. We are who God has made us to be. As much as we may want to, we cannot suddenly gain superpowers and fight the forces of evil around the world. And as much as we may want it to, our vehicles will never transform into something else that will help save the world. However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t fulfill that yearning to be extraordinary. Better put, we can be a part of something that is extraordinary. Through identifying with this, we can fulfill our purpose and be a part of something so incredible that the world will be changed – not might be, not could be, but will be.

While many of us know that Jesus had a group of 12 that he spent a good deal of his time with, something we may have missed in reading the gospels is that there seemed to be an inner circle of disciples. We see that in today’s passage as well. Only three disciples go with Jesus to the top of the mountain. Peter, James and John seem to be the ones that were closest to Jesus. Two of them, Peter and John, turned out to be the pillars of early Christianity. James was martyred by Herod Agrippa some time in the late 30’s/early 40’s. Again, this shows us the importance of relationships. Those who were closest to Jesus were the ones who laid a solid foundation for the Christian faith in the first century.

If we want to be a part of changing the world, we need to focus on our relationships with one another and with those who do not share the Christian faith. There’s a saying that goes, “People don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.” And it’s true. People really don’t want to hear about your faith unless they have seen it in action. And the only way they are going to see a major difference is if we develop that close relationship with Christ as his disciples. People will see a change in us, especially those with whom we’ve built solid relationships. But other people will notice our actions as well. And we need to not be afraid of saying to them that our lives are different because of Jesus Christ.

Marks writes that Jesus was transfigured before them. The word that is translated as transfigured comes from the Greek word metamorpho. Sound familiar? It’s where we get the word metamorphosis. It suggests a total transformation. In the New Testament, this word is only used four times. It appears here in Mark and in the parallel passage in Matthew. It also appears twice in Paul’s writings – Romans 12 and 2 Corinthians 3. When it is used in Paul’s writings, it refers to the change that can happen in us. In both cases, the verb is in the passive form, which means that these are not changes that we can do to ourselves, but that they are changes that occur to us from an outside source. The obvious source in both cases is the transforming power of God.

Romans 12 talks about how we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds and that we can know the will of God. 2 Corinthians 3 talks about how, in removing the veil and seeing the glory of the Lord, we can be transformed into the image of God through the Spirit. In both cases, we are no longer who we were, but we move closer to who we are supposed to be. We can be transformed by the power of the Spirit at work in our lives. Who we really are is revealed in this transformation. Sadly, too many people never come to this point in their lives. They just go day to day without ever realizing that there is something more to life than what we see before us.

When Jesus was transfigured on the mountaintop on that day, Peter, James and John truly got to see who he was for the very first time. Just a chapter earlier, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but we get the sense that he doesn’t understand the full implications of his confession. But let’s not be too hard on Peter here either. Those who make the same confession today still don’t understand the full implications of it. There are still times when God does something so amazing in my life that I’m just floored and I realize that my view of God is still too small. I’m sure many of you have that same experience as well. God is bigger than we could ever imagine. Jesus is more than we thought he was.

I find it interesting to hear people who don’t confess the Christian faith talk about Jesus. Historically, there are absolutely no grounds for denying Jesus’ existence. The reality is that Jesus was a real person, who really lived on this earth. The difference between the believer and the non-believer is what to do with what is said about him. A lot of non-believers will say that they believe Jesus was a great moral teacher who wanted everyone to treat one another with love and respect, but that all of the stuff that happened after his death was just propaganda from ignorant Jewish fishermen. They will take the fact that Jesus was a person who lived on this earth, but they will not accept what Christians have said about him since. They see Jesus as the disciples saw him at first – a great teacher and a good guy, but nothing special and not that different from each one of us.

Maybe that is where you are today as well. Maybe you think that Jesus was just a good guy and a moral teacher, but all this faith is just a bunch of hoopla and doesn’t amount to much. First of all, let me say, I’m glad that you’re here this morning. I’m glad that you have taken the time to come and at least listen a little more to what this whole faith thing is all about. Secondly, in just a minute, let me challenge this point of view. And perhaps, there is nobody here this morning who is thinking this, but I can guarantee you that every person here knows at least one person who thinks this way. Don’t expect to change their thoughts in one conversation, but don’t shy away from having these conversations either.

I love the C.S. Lewis quote from his book Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis was an author in England who is well known for his writings on the Christian faith and for the Chronicles of Naria series, a couple of which have been made into movies in the last few years. Mere Christianity is probably one of his most extensive books on the Christian faith. I would definitely recommend it, and I would also recommend taking your time going through it. Lewis is a brilliant writer and he packs a lot of information in a small space.

Here is the quote: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

If we are going to take what the Bible has to say about Jesus, then we need to take all of it, not just the parts that fit best into our worldview. There are times when I wish I could just ignore parts of Scripture because they hit too close to home, or because they are too uncomfortable for me to reconcile with my point of view. But we can’t do this. Scripture is what it is, and we can’t simply change it by wishing it away or coming up with some kind of interpretative gymnastics to tame it. And those areas that we struggle the most with when it comes to Scripture may be the areas that we need the Spirit to be at work the most in our lives. Jesus said some things about himself that challenge the very notion that he was just a great moral teacher. He was so much more. This episode on the mountain shows that there is more to Jesus than what meets the eye.

When we reach a point in our lives when Jesus is truly revealed to us, perhaps our response may not be much different than Peter’s. I love what Peter says here. “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.” Really, Peter? Is that all you’ve got? But in all fairness, what do you say? All of their misconceptions about Jesus were just blown out of the water. Jesus was seen as one who is far beyond anything that they could have imagined. Mark writes that they didn’t know what to say and that they were terrified. Would our reactions have been much different? What do you say when something like this happens? Peter wants to hold onto it. He wants to stay there.

For as much flak as we give Peter here, I think what he says reveals something important about each one of us. When we have those experiences where the presence of God is so crystal clear, we have a tendency to want to stay there. We don’t want to go back to our lives as they used to be because they don’t seem as important as they were before. Our perspective has changed. We often refer to these as “mountaintop moments”.

It’s a point in our lives when we can see everything so much better, and we are filled with joy because of this glimpse into the fullness of life. The problem is that we don’t know where to go from there. Actually, we do know, but we don’t want to go there. Once you are at the top of a mountain, there’s only one direction to go, and we don’t want to face the fact that we have to go back to life as it was before because something deep within us has changed. The next challenge is to incorporate the mountaintop into the rest of our lives. Take that new perspective with you and change those around you. That’s what the disciples did after the resurrection.

We are here today because of a group of people who had a mountaintop experience and took that experience into the world. It says that Jesus didn’t want Peter, James and John to tell what they had seen until after his resurrection. At the time, they probably didn’t know what he was talking about, even though he had already told them about it. And that’s what it is like sometimes after we have a mountaintop experience. We hear something from God that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, but when the time comes, we know exactly what He meant.

So the question is, “Now what?” Now that Jesus has been revealed to the disciples, and to us, as something far beyond what we have ever imagined, what are we to do? Well, the disciples let some time pass and let the new reality sink in once everything had come to fulfillment. But we live in a time when Jesus has already risen from the dead. So, now what? Well, now we enter into the season of Lent. With Ash Wednesday we begin a period of reflection, repentance and preparation. We will begin a 40 day period of reflecting on what it is that Jesus did for us, and how we can take it into the world. What is “it”? Well, you’re just gonna have to come and find out.

Fantasy Baseball Team Has Been Drafted!

All the more reason to get excited about the spring! My fantasy baseball team is in, and it looks pretty good. I got the #2 pick in my league's draft, which netted me my periennial #1 choice, Albert Pujols.

So here's the lineup:

Starters

C - Pablo Sandoval

1B - Albert Pujols

2B - Jose Lopez

3B - Carlos Guillen

SS - Stephen Drew

OF - Torii Hunter

OF - Raul Ibanez

OF - Delmon Young

Bench

SS - J.J. Hardy

OF - Michael Bourn

1B - Joey Votto

OF - Skip Shumaker (could also be listed as 2B if the Spring Training switch happens)

Starting Pitchers

Johan Santana

Tim Lincecum

Brandon Webb

Jake Peavy

James Shields

Oliver Perez

John Smoltz

Relief Pitchers

Brad Lidge

Carlos Marmol

There's bound to be some changes along the way. I could probably trade one of my starters for a closer, and there's definitely some room for flexibility on the bench. All in all, I'd say that's a pretty good team. The offense is decent, and the pitching is great. We'll see how the season goes. It's baseball, anything can happen.

Why I Love Pujols...

Albert Pujols is quite possibly one of my favorite players of all time. He is open about his faith, and I don't think it is for show. He seems genuine, and his life reflects a man of faith who has accepted the responsibility of living out his faith in the public arena. Here is a great interview that I came across.

A Cosby Classic

Katie and I watched a little bit of the Cosby show last night, and it reminded me of this clip. Great stuff.

Ahhh...

...the sounds of spring. For those that don't know it. I like baseball. No, that's not right. I have an unhealthy obession with baseball, especially after a cold, snowy winter. If baseball were a person, I might consider picking up stalking as a hobby. Okay, that just sounds creepy...

Anyhoo! Here is one of my favorite things to see in February.

Don't Forget to Train

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on February 15, 2009. The text for this week's message is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

Today’s text picks up where we left off last week. Last week we were challenged in a pretty serious way to share the gospel with those who we know. We have to live it out and look for opportunities to share the good news with those we know, and not worry about our qualifications. Each person here today is qualified to share the gospel with those they know because all you need to know is that Jesus Christ, through his life, death and resurrection has made it possible for us to live in relationship with God. And out of our relationship with God and in the context of our relationships with other people, we will be able to share the gospel by our words and our actions as long as we make the decision to do so. We don’t accidentally share the gospel with other people, we share the gospel with others because we make a choice. Another area in our spiritual life where we have to make a choice comes in our personal walk with Christ, and that brings us to today’s text.

Paul is pretty heavy on the sports metaphors in this very brief section of the letter. Now, as you probably have picked up on by now, I love sports. Sports metaphors resonate with me, but I also realize that when it comes to sports, there are some people who temporarily black-out and miss everything. For those people today, just stick with me for the next 15 minutes or so, and you can have your temporary black-out this afternoon when the Daytona 500 is on, or alpine skiing, or whatever it is that ends up on your television this afternoon.

Paul begins the section with a question. There are a few places in his letters where Paul asks a question, but it is more of a rhetorical question with a very obvious answer that is asked so that everyone can start the discussion on the same page. That’s what he is doing here as well. He says, “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize?” Well, yeah, everyone should know that, especially in Corinth.

Corinth was a city that was very familiar with athletic competitions. Most people know that the Olympics were started in ancient Greece, but what many, including myself before this week, don’t know is that the Olympics were not the only majors games in Greece. In the years just before and just after the Olympics, Corinth hosted what is known as the Isthmian games. These games were originally held in 582 B.C. and continued to be held for centuries afterwards. In fact, these games were so important that a truce was typically granted so that athletes could have safe passage to the games, and in 412 B.C., although Corinth and Athens were at war with one another, the Athenians were invited to participate in the games just as usual. These games were a huge part of the culture in the city of Corinth and everybody would have known about them. For Paul to say what he does in v. 24 would be the equivalent of me saying, “You know that only one team can win the Super Bowl, right?” Of course! Even a person who can’t distinguish between a running play and a passing play knows that only one team can win the Super Bowl. It is a huge part of our culture today. That is what these games were for Corinth.

What Paul is doing here is pointing to something in the culture of his audience and drawing out a spiritual principle that people and understand and to which they can relate. When it comes to sharing the gospel, we can do the same thing. We have a common language and a pool of examples from which to draw. We can use these examples as a means by which we share the gospel. Books, movies, music – they are all means of communication that have been adopted by our culture, and we can use them to connect with people and share the gospel. Now, I’m not suggesting that we should read, watch and listen to everything that’s out there. We have to have some sort of discernment when it comes to what we allow in, but we can look at the things that our culture produces from the lens of our faith. Discernment is necessary, but don’t be afraid of using what our culture has to offer and transforming it for the glory of God. And that discernment only comes when we discipline ourselves to hear the voice of God.

Paul says in v.25, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.” Now, unfortunately, given a couple of major sports stories that have come out in the last couple of weeks, we know that not all top athletes exhibit self-control in every aspect of their lives, but that does not diminish Paul’s point here. The point is that those who want to be successful in what they do must work hard in order to achieve that success. I don’t know a single couple who have a successful marriage without working on it. I don’t know of anybody that every woke up one morning and just so happened to be at the top of their profession. And I don’t know many athletes that don’t work hard at their sport either. Natural talent can only get you so far; hard work is what puts you over the top.

Our spiritual lives aren’t all that different. If we want to be successful in our spiritual lives, then we need to work at it. And before I go much further here, I want to clarify something. I’m not saying that we are saved by what we do. Our salvation comes through Jesus and Jesus alone; however, to continue to cultivate one’s relationship with God, we have to make an effort. We do have to do some work. In order to share the gospel with others, we have to make an investment in our personal spirituality as well as an investment in those relationships we have with non-Christians. In a world that tries to pull us away from God, growing in relationship and sharing the message with others doesn’t just happen naturally. There has to be some sort of effort put in.

If we are to live our lives in such a way that God is glorified, then we have to be intentional and watch what we do. We have to show self-control in every aspect of our lives. Nothing will ruin your witness more than a momentary lapse of judgement that is seen by those around you. Do you know what one of the biggest criticism’s against Christians is? That they are hypocrites. There are a lot of people that won’t go near a church because they feel like churches are full of hypocrites. Now, of course, my natural response would be, “Come join us, you’ll fit right in!” There is certainly some truth to it. When Christians don’t act like Christians, what is the world to think? If we are intentional about how we live in the light of our relationship with God, and exhibit self-control in all areas of our lives, we give those who have such criticisms nothing to hold onto. Remember the passage from 1 Peter last week. Here’s my paraphrase, “Do everything with gentleness and respect and don’t give those who would speak against you anything to speak about.”

We don’t give them any excuses. There is something different about those whose lives have been touched by God, and we have to let others know about it. And we have to be intentional about cultivating that relationship so that everything we do is by His strength and reflects His love; otherwise, we will fall short from time to time. There is forgiveness when we do fall short, but there is also some fallout. Think of some of the big name Christian leaders who have been caught up in scandals. I’m sure they have come to a point where they are rebuilding their relationship with God and with others, but there will always be some sort of negativity associated with their name.

Paul talks about the athlete’s prize being something that is perishable but that we receive something that is imperishable, something that will not fade or lose significance over time. In the Isthmian games, the winners received a wreath that was made out of pine needles. Over time, pine needles dry out and that wreath would fall apart. Athletic glory fades in the same way. Now, remember, I’m a huge baseball fan. I can probably name every World Series champion back to 1982, but in another 30 years, even I will forget that. For example, who won the 1940 World Series? The Cincinnati Reds. Now, in all fairness, that was nearly 70 years ago. So, how about the 1970 World Series? That is a little closer to the present? It was the Baltimore Orioles. Some of you may have gotten that, but do you see what I mean? In another 40-70 years, we won’t remember that the Phillies won the Series in 2008. But we will remember those who have made an impact on our faith. We’ll never forget those people because they impacted our lives in an eternal way. Their impact will never fade away; it is imperishable.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that those people who made an impact on your spiritual life didn’t just fall into it. It was not an accident. They probably also spent time training. They read their Bibles; they had conversations about spiritual things; they read books about Christianity. They connected with people in practical ways, ways that were relevant to the culture at the time, and shared the gospel with them as well. They put in the personal time in order to cultivate their spiritual lives. They spent time with God on a regular basis, and they poured themselves into others.

Paul writes, “I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” The personal time investment in your spiritual life is crucial. There will certainly be bad days along the way; days that you don’t feel like reading your Bible or praying. Do you know what you do when that happens? You push through. And when you don’t push through, you get up the next morning knowing that it is a new day.

I want to take just a minute to remind you of the challenge I put out at the beginning of the year. I want to see if everyone can spend 15 minutes each day reading their Bibles. Some of you may have forgotten about that challenge and haven’t touched your Bible in a couple of weeks. Some of you may be spotty on it, and some of you may be going at it full force right now and haven’t missed a day yet. Wherever you are right now, I want to encourage you to do what Paul talks about in Philippians 3. Keep running. Press on towards the goal. Commit to starting up again this week. Just take it a day at a time and see where God leads you.

The thing to remember is that we have to be in training. We have to develop our own spiritual life while we are investing ourselves into other people. Imagine that you have two cups – one is full of water and the other is empty. You can pour water from one cup to another, but eventually, it will run out of water unless you refill it from the source. That is what our spiritual lives need to look like. We need to be pouring ourselves into others, but we also need to take time to refill ourselves. So this week, don’t forget about your training. Try spending at least 15 minutes each day reading the Bible. Set aside some time to connect with God in prayer. And don’t forget to pour yourselves out into other people as well.

Favre Retires... again...

Well, it's the fourth annual Brett Favre retirement party! I came across a story saying that Favre is finally hanging it up... again. As you may remember, Favre has been rather indecisive regarding his playing status for the last several seasons. Apparently his shoulder is injured and he really is retiring this time. We'll see...

It Doesn't Happen on Accident

I apologize for getting this out later in the week than usual. It has been a busy couple of days, and the next couple of days look pretty full as well. The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, February 8, 2009. The text for this week's message is 1 Corinthians 9:16-23.

Have you ever stopped to think about what evangelism is? It seems like such a vague term sometimes, and usually I can say the word “evangelism” and there are just as many images in our minds as there are people sitting here this morning. But I’m almost willing to bet that there is a common thread in nearly everyone’s thoughts when it comes to evangelism. It’s scary; it’s awkward; and it’s best left to the “professionals.” However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Evangelism doesn’t have to be scary, awkward or somebody else’s responsibility.

In this section of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, he begins by talking about why he shares the gospel. He doesn’t do it for the attention that it brings him. He doesn’t do it to draw attention to himself. He does it out of necessity. This reminds me of the story of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 20, Jeremiah seems like he is upset with God. He is actually complaining about the things that happen to him because of his call. Now, you have to understand. Jeremiah went through a lot of stuff in his day. He was called at a young age; he was not allowed to marry; people plotted to take his life; he was whipped and locked up; nearly killed by a mob; left to die in a pit of mud. He certainly had reason to complain about his calling. Yet, through it all, he was able to praise God. Even though there were times when he faced great abuse for being God’s messenger, he continued to praise God, and he couldn’t help but share the messages that God had given him.

In the midst of his complaint in chapter 20, Jeremiah says, “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” The message of God was shared by Jeremiah out of necessity; he couldn’t hold it in. Likewise, look at Paul in Acts 17.

Paul is another person who certainly had every reason to complain about his calling. If you want to see his list of “accomplishments,” check out 2 Corinthians 11. Paul was beaten with a whip, stoned, beaten with rods, shipwrecked, and so much more. Paul certainly suffered for sharing the gospel. In Acts 17, he is waiting for Timothy and Silas to join him in Athens, he couldn’t help but preach the gospel there as well. That’s the thing about the gospel. It is such a powerful message - a message of hope, love, forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption – that he couldn’t help but share it with others, even though he had not intended on doing it at first. There is a certain amount of necessity in sharing the gospel that the Christian Church especially in America has lost. People don’t know how to share the gospel, because they either haven’t taken the time to learn or their leaders have not taken the time to teach them. There are so many misconceptions about what it means to share the gospel in the first place, that many don’t know how to start.

At my retreat a couple weeks ago, we did this goofy exercise where we read some old books on Methodism and put together a 3 minute skit presenting some material from our book. I don’t remember what our book was about, but there was a section on evangelism. So, we decided to do a skit talking about different ways of doing evangelism. The skit took place as a meeting for all those who are interested in evangelism at a particular church. There were only three people in the group. One played the part of the pastor, while two of us played interested members of the congregation.

For my part in the skit, I was supposed to be somebody who thought evangelism meant standing on the street corner, condemning people and telling them that they were going to hell unless they changed their ways. Sadly, this form of “evangelism” – if we can even call it that – is something that I have witnessed before. I had some fun with it, after all, how often do I get to stand in front of a bunch of pastors and yell at them about how they were going to hell? It was so over the top, that everyone in the room knew I was kidding and laughed at the idea that this was considered evangelism. But there are some people who do this that aren’t joking around with their colleagues.

Paul also talks about how he is entrusted with a stewardship. He has been entrusted with the responsibility to share what he has received. And what did Paul receive? New life. Remember, Paul wasn’t always the super evangelist that we read about in the later chapters of the book of Acts. Paul once persecuted the church. Paul was on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus, when he had a profound encounter with Jesus Christ on the road. That encounter forever changed his life, and he recognized his calling to be the one that would share this message with all peoples. Paul was to be the apostle to the Gentiles. This was an incredible turn around from who he was before; that’s the power of the gospel. The gospel can turn us around from who we were to who we are supposed to be. And then it is our responsibility to share that with others. That is an awesome responsibility, and we have to be good stewards of what we have been given and share the gospel with those around us. But it still comes back to the fact that we don’t know what to do, and that is scary. We still think of evangelism as something that is best left to the “professionals.” And notice, I am saying “we” because this is something that I struggle with as well.

If you go to Google and type in “evangelism techniques” you find literally thousands of websites devoted to different ways of doing evangelism. You can go to a Christian bookstore and find all sorts of books on the topic as well. There are a ton of different studies that are available on the topic as well. In fact, there is so much stuff out there on “proven” evangelism techniques that most people don’t even know where to start so they just give up from the very beginning. I have sat through a couple of evangelism classes like this and have been both impressed and disappointed at the quality of different materials that are available. The one I was impressed with the most was called, “Go Fish,” and it came out of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, GA. Down the road, this might be a short term study that we offer through the church; I think it would totally be worth our time, but for right now, we’ll tuck it away in our memory banks.

But in the first session of this series, the pastor, Andy Stanley (the son of well-known preacher Charles Stanley) talks about how it is easier for the people in the congregation to share the gospel because he is a pastor. Most people would think that it would be other way around; that it would be easier for the pastor to do evangelism because he/she is a pastor, but the truth is, and this is from my own experience, once people know that I’m a pastor, it’s like they put on this fake “holy mask.”

When I worked at Sears during college and seminary, I wouldn’t tell people that I was studying to go into ministry because when I did, they changed their behavior when they were around me. Once people found out that I was going to be a pastor, they would watch what they did and said around me. Often the casual curse word would be followed by an apology in my direction. And it was an apology that wouldn’t have come if they didn’t know that I was going into ministry in the first place. It is difficult to be real and honest with people when they put on this mask.

Stanley mentions another reason why it is easier for people who aren’t pastors to do evangelism. People expect the pastor to talk about God, and so most of them will simply humor the pastor, but not actually listen to what it is that he/she has to say. It like they have a switch that just gets turned off once they know that the person they are talking to is a pastor. Nothing really gets in, and it turns into a wasted conversation full of empty promises about wanting to find a church to go to and wanting to turn their lives around without any real intent to do so. And there’s a point in the conversation, where you can almost see that switch get turned off. It is the switch that controls whether or not we are honest and up front with people. It’s the same look that Katie gets on her face when I start talking about baseball, or the look that I get on my face when she starts talking about clothes. It’s the “Yeah, I hear you, but I stopped listening a long time ago” look. I’m sure that many of you know what I’m talking about.

Now, I’m not saying all of this to excuse myself from doing evangelism. Don’t get me wrong here. What I am saying is that, believe it or not, you are in a better position to share the gospel on a daily basis than I am. I’m willing to bet that most of you know a handful of people who you talk to frequently that don’t go to church anywhere and may not be all that interested in going to church in the first place. You work alongside them; you see them at the high school for sporting events or concerts; you live right next door to them. These are people with whom you have already built some sort of relationship. Just as Jesus was doing before he called the disciples, you live in community with these people who don’t know Jesus.

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Penn Jillette. He is a comedian/magician who has a show out in Las Vegas. He’s fairly well known as an atheist. He is very open about it and doesn’t pull any punches. He has flat out said that he “knows” there is no God. A while back, there was a video on YouTube that was getting passed around, and you may have even seen it. He is talking about how a guy came up to him after the show one night and gave him one of those Gideon New Testament. He wasn’t trying to convert Penn right then and there, he simply gave him the Bible and some contact information. Sometimes that all it takes. Now, Penn didn’t have a major, life-changing experience, but he certainly had a lot of respect for this person, and this is a way that we can share the gospel with others.

Another way of sharing the gospel is simply by living it out and not being afraid to talk about spiritual things with people that you know. In Matthew, Jesus talks about how we are the light of the world. We have to be willing to let our light shine before all people and give praise to God. We have to live our lives in such a way that God is glorified, and when we do this, people can’t help but notice and they will ask us why we live like this. And that’s when, as Peter says, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

Paul talks about this as well. He says that he became a servant of all so that some may be won to Christ. He lived his life in such a way that people noticed that there was something different about him, and he did not shy away from sharing the gospel with them. He came to understand who they were and shared the gospel in such a way that it made sense to them. This is what we do when we live in community with people. We get to know who they are. We begin to understand things about them, but we don’t take that next step to openly share our faith with them. We can talk to them about nearly anything else in our lives, but when it comes to faith, we don’t think we are qualified enough to talk to them about it. Let me just tell you right now. That is not true.

You are qualified to talk to others about your faith. Do you know the deepest theological minutiae? No, but to be honest with you, it’s not really all that important. Trust me. I’m standing in front of you with a Masters degree in theology, but you can understand what I’m talking about – at least I hope you do. If not, we definitely need to talk. But the point is, you don’t have to know the solution to the problem of evil. You don’t have to know the intricacies of the Arian debate in the 4th century. You don’t have to know the order of the popes or the Roman Catholic Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. What you have to know is that through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has redeemed you from your sins; that because of Jesus, you live in relationship with the Almighty God, who created heaven and earth; and that this is too great a message to keep to yourself.

We don’t share the gospel because it is something we “have to do.” It is a choice that we must make; it doesn’t happen on accident. We share it because it is a message of healing for a hurting world. It is a message of love for a world that doesn’t know what true love is all about. It is a message of light for a dark world. It is a message of hope for a world in despair. And it is a message of redemption for a world that is in desperate need of it. We talk to others about the gospel because it is a story that has the power to change everything we think we know about this world.

100 Things, Finale!

And to close it out, #'s 81-100.

81. I recognize that someday I may be appointed to Seymour and will have to deal with my irrational hatred of that town. But for now, I'll let it fester. (Not sure what I'm talking about? Check out #80 on yesterday's post.)

82. I wrote more blogs in December of last year than I did in 2006 and 2007 combined.

83. I finally realized that I don't have to put anything terribly profound up on my blog. It's my blog, an online expression of who I am.

84. I secretely want to write cool things and be published, but I don't have the time or the discipline to actually write a book.

85. I spent 10 years from the time that I first felt called to ministry to the time I received my first appointment. In another 2 years, I'll be fully ordained... hopefully...

86. When people asked me how I felt about North Indiana and South Indiana Conferences of the UMC merging, I told them that I haven't been around long enough to know the difference, but it seems to make sense to me.

87. I keep up with pop culture by watching The Soup on E! It's one of my favorite shows each week.

88. I also like to watch: The Unit, Chuck, Heroes, House, Scrubs, The Office, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, and Criminal Minds.

89. I rolled my eyes when my wife wanted to buy all the seasons of Friends and proceeded to watch them all the way through. Now, I want to buy all the seasons of Scrubs and watch them all the way through.

90. The whole reason I bought an iPod was because I got speakers and an iTunes gift card at my wife's family Christmas party. Before that, I never put a lot of thought into getting one.

91. My wife has 348,923 people in her immediate family. We had been doing birthday parties on a monthly basis, but now I think it is going to be every other month.

92. At my wife's family birthday parties, we sing to each individual. At the last one, I lost count after the 9th person.

93. When we got married, I suggested buying a pool table and building a cover for it so that it could be used as a dining room table. My wife said no, but I still think it would be a great idea.

94. I used to be a big Miami Dolphins fan. My dad and I would go just about every year to see the Dolphins take on the Colts at the Hoosier Dome. I was there when Dan Marino broke the career TD record, and still have the ticket stub.

95. After Marino retired and Peyton Manning was drafted by the Colts, I have become more of a Colts fan. I still also root for the Bears, which made the Super Bowl a couple years ago rather difficult.

96. 2004 was one of the most difficult years for me when it came to sports. The Cardinals won 104 games, best team in baseball, but lost to the Red Sox in the World Series. The Colts lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Illinois college basketball lost 2 games all season - their final regular season game, and the championship game.

97. I still don't like Sean May because of the way he got away with so many fouls in the Illinois-UNC championship game. Illinois' center wiped his own nose and got called for a foul in that game. May knocked over people and walked away foul-free.

98. I'm not a big fan of just plain pepperoni pizza. I don't mind pepperoni's with other things, just not by themselves on a pizza.

99. I'm kind of specific about the pens that I use. I like the ones that you click on the end, but not the fancy ones like that.

100. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to come up with 100 things about myself!

100 Things, Part 4

#'s 61-80

61. I played raquetball when I was in seminary, and absolutely loved it. I haven't played since I moved away from Wilmore.

62. I was a three time champion at intramural softball in seminary. I was also on two teams that lost in the championship game, and on two teams that combined for 1 win over the course of two semesters. I was out of town on the night that we won.

63. I love playing softball. I don't hit for power, but I would guess that my batting average was around .700 for 8 semesters of intramural softball.

64. I have more books than I could reasonablly read in two years. Yet, I still buy more and try to read them.

65. I have a case of ADD when it comes to reading books. I tend to be reading 2-4 books at a time, and it is a miracle if I ever actually finish one of them.

66. Probably the most enjoyable part of being a pastor is noticing that people are actually paying attention when I preach.

67. I'm still in a bit of a honeymoon phase with my new churches. I'm wondering what it will be that finally makes somebody mad at me.

68. I'm re-booting an afterschool homework help program with other churches in the community. I'm wondering if any students will actually show up on the first week.

69. I've sent an email from my Blackberry while sitting in front of my computer.

70. I tend to pile things up. Eventually I go through them and sort them, but the pile always comes back.

71. My wife and I have put together a debt repayment plan that should pay off all our debt, vehicles and student loans within six years.

72. People say that economy is slow, but I haven't really seen any effects from it in my personal life. But then again, our first year of marriage, my wife and I brought home about $1000/month if we were lucky. I'm used to living on the verge.

73. I like to toast bagels and use them for bologna and cheese sandwiches.

74. We bought a Wii about a year ago. It's so much more fun than my Super Nintendo.

75. I have recently purchased LEGO Star Wars, Call of Duty: World at War, and the Nerf game for the Wii. I haven't touched the Nerf game yet, but it was marked down from $60 to $40 dollars.

76. My wife and I give ourselves an allowance each week. It has helped taper some of our unnecessary spending.

77. I have unlocked the Prestige Level on Call of Duty multiplayer online. I spent the last month getting ranked up to #65 only to start all over again with the Prestige Level, but I'm having so much fun!

78. When we lived in Noblesville, we didn't even have a landline. A year before that, I had never owned a cell phone.

79. I almost froze to death trying to make it home for Christmas one year. Our car kept getting stuck in snow banks, so I was pushing it out for about 5 hours. Then, when we finally gave up, we got a hotel room that was being renovated and didn't have running water. My entire body was red and shivering when we finally got into the room at 2am.

80. Seymour, IN will always have a poor place in my heart because of that trip. We were stuck in Seymour with 30 inches of snow.

Oops...

Well, I just read through Part 3 of my 100 Things blog, and, well... um... apparently I forgot to remove numbers 61-100 when I put it together. Oh well, basically, the next two posts will be recaps of what was on today's posting. Well, crap...

100 Things, Part 3

#'s 41-60 for your boredom pleasure.

41. I don't typically like Chinese food, but I love Chinese buffets. I think I don't want to be limited on my choices. I prefer a little bit of everything as opposed to a lot of one thing when it comes to Chinese food.

42. All this writing about food is making me hungry.

43. I have recently made quantum leaps in my technological savvy. I have purchased an iPod and a Blackberry since Christmas.

44. I almost enjoy listening to podcasts more than listening to music on my iPod.... almost.

45. In spite of being a huge Cardinals fan for my entire life, I didn't go to a game in St. Louis until 2002. I have since been to three games in St. Louis - Cubs, Giants, and Dodgers. The Cardinals are 1-2 in those games, but the win was a blowout over the Cubbies.

46. I have been to a game in all the Major League ballparks in the state of Texas (the Juicebox, and the Ballpark in Arlington). I have only been to Texas three times in my life.

47. My wife and I went on a roadtrip during Spring Break of my final year of seminary. We went to Hershey, PA; the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH; and visited what turned out to by my first ministerial appointment in Noblesville, IN (unknown to us at the time).

48. We almost made a detour to see Niagra Falls as we drove from Cooperstown to Cleveland.

49. We left Cleveland the day that the Indians were supposed to have their opening game for the season. It got snowed out. Yes, I said, snowed out.

50. February is one of my favorite months. Not because my birthday is in February, but because it is when Spring training starts.

51. When we went to the Ballpark in Arlington, we sat in the section with the all you can eat tickets. Two of our closest friends from seminary were there, and my buddy's brother invited us to his office's box sweet once the 7th inning started.

52. The Orioles were in town for that game, but they sat Tejada, Roberts and Hernandez - three of their best players. We left just before the 9th inning, and at that point, there had been a combined 12 hits and the lone run came in the first inning.

53. After we left, Tejada, Roberts and Hernandez came into the game, tied it up in the top of the 9th and scored 5 runs in the 10th inning. The final was 6-3, and the teams combined for a total of 20 hits.

54. For our second anniversary, my wife and I went to see the Cardinals play on a rainy night in Cincinnati. Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds all homered and the Cardinals scored 4 in the 11th to win it, 9-6.

55. I remember being at both of those games, but I actually took the time to look up some of the specifics on mlb.com. I'm a total baseball dork.

56. I didn't have trouble finding the boxscores for either of those games... because I'm a baseball dork.

57. I have been to Las Vegas. Katie's aunts got together and paid for our airfare and hotel as a wedding present. I now know what a "dry heat" is. After three days, I was tired of being in Vegas.

58. Katie and I were having lunch at the ESPN Zone in Las Vegas when Scott Rolen was traded to the Cardinals. They have some awesome nachos there.

59. I remember mostly baseball and food related things. I have difficulty remembering to do simple things sometimes.

60. Even though my last name is "Swisher," I'm not very good at basketball.