broken//stained//glass

Rockbridge

Tomorrow morning I head to Lexington, VA to speak at a two-day retreat with a few hundred middle school and high school students. The retreat is held at Rockbridge, a camp owned by Young Life (an organization that is close to my heart). Rockbridge is nestled in the mountains of Central Virginia and is a great location for a retreat. I've spoken there two other times and I am really looking forward to going back.
It's absolutely beautiful, especially this time of year. 
It will be a tiring and quick trip (I'll be back Tuesday night) but I am really looking forward to it.

Traditional Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
turn their pain into joy

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe you that you can make a difference in the world
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

The Pursuit of Wisdom

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of accepting an invitation to speak at the Baccalaureate service of my alma mater in Charlottesville, VA. It was great to be back and see old teachers and families that I remembered from my high school days. We had a great time seeing friends, visiting the house I grew up in and even spending a few moments with some family members. Charlottesville is one cool city and it was one cool place to grow up.

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since I graduated from high school.
I wrestled with what to say to a group of high school students as their final charge before entering their post-high school world, let alone speak to students who are graduating from the same high school that I did. 

I landed on the importance of intentionally pursuing wisdom in your younger years (Proverbs 1:4).
I taught out of Proverbs 8 and 9 - the beautiful imagery of two women - Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly - calling out to get out attention, to woo us, to persuade us that their way is the pathway to true living.
I said that much of our role as young adults in pursuing wisdom is being active listeners - discerning between the two voices and responding appropriately to the voice of Lady Wisdom.

It's amazing what one simple three word question can do to help us if we carry it with us at all times: "Is this wise?"

The feedback was positive and I had a blast looking out and remembering that I sat in their seats a decade ago listening to some give a final charge to me. It was surreal to be "on the other side."

Even after the speaking engagement I have been ruminating on this idea of wisdom.
Let me ask you this: when you think of someone who is wise - a wise women or man of God - who comes to your mind? and why?

Traditional Franciscan Benediction

This beautiful traditional Franciscan benediction has been a difficult blessing for me. Over the past few days it has been difficult to say, to pray, to believe and to embrace but it is necessary in order to live in the ways of our Master Teacher Jesus.

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace

May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

Ted Haggard and the woman caught in adultery

If you've been tuning into the national news over the past week there's no doubt you've read the stories concerning the scandal of mega-church pastor Ted Haggard at the 14,000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs who has been caught (and has admitted to) having a relationship with a gay prostitute and buying meth.

A few have asked me why I haven't posted any thoughts on the events that have transpired this past week.

The reason?
Because this is hitting close to home for me.

I've been quite emotional the last several days whenever I've thought about the situation.
The shock, the surprise, the betrayal, the hurt, the confusion.
Lots of questions, few answers (if any).
As a pastor who sees a high profile pastor fall like this, you hurt for them. But when you've actually interacted with that pastor and know several of his staff and congregants, the hurts run deeper.

Four and a half months ago my wife and I moved from Colorado Springs where I left my position as one of the pastors on staff at Woodmen Valley Chapel, the second largest church in Colo Spgs, in order to begin a new ministry in the Philadelphia area at Calvary Church.

The largest church in Colorado Springs is, in fact, New Life Church. Everyone in Colorado Springs - Christians and non-Christians alike - were familiar with Ted Haggard and New Life Church, the large blue-domed building that sits on the north side of town across from the Air Force Academy towering in the distance as you're driving up Interstate 25. Now the whole world knows about Ted and New Life.

When you're one of the pastors on staff at the second largest church in Colorado Springs you certainly know a lot about the New Life Church.
You run in similar circles, you have mutual friends, you connect with their pastors.
This situation hits close to home because I have names and faces of hurt people running through my head when I log onto my computer or when I see the newspapers.

I would get together for lunch with the pastor of young adults at New Life once a month (along with two other young adult pastors in town) to pray for the young adults in our city.  These monthly prayer times were so refreshing. We would rotate who hosted these monthly get togethers. Last spring we had a new idea: whoever hosted our time together would invite their Senior pastor to join us for lunch so we could get to know him a bit better, pick his brain about ministry, ask questions about leadership.

The last young adult pastors prayer/lunch meeting we had together before I moved to Philly was held in June at New Life Church in Ted Haggard's office.  I had respected Ted from afar based on what I read of him and from the things I had heard from others who work closely with him (he's very charismatic theologically - not my leanings - but I respected him as a leader) but this was my first opportunity to spend time with him face-to-face. For  an hour and a half eating Red Robin burgers and fries we (the four young adult pastors in Colorado Springs) admired the exotic artifacts from all over the world on Pastor Ted's desk, looked at the volumes of books on his shelf, noticed the great view of Pikes Peak out his office window and asked him a range of questions on topics such as leadership, home life, pace in ministry, how do we remain spiritually refreshed, the importance of the Sabbath, preaching preparation methods, what he was currently reading and (of all things) integrity in ministry.

I'm not exactly sure what to think or feel at the moment.
I've been in silence out of sheer shock.
I've shed a few tears out of sadness and feeling betrayed.
I've shaken my head in disbelief.
I've prayed.
I've placed calls and sent emails to friends and New Life staff members I know.
It's just  so daggum hard to take it all in right now.

I'm grateful for the good leadership at New Life Church and the way that they have handled the situation with swiftness and wisdom, with a perfect mix of confidence and humility.

It's tempting to want to be eloquent, to say something profound in this blog post, but I'll resist that temptation and just say this: I've been thinking of the story of Jesus interacting with the woman caught in adultery.
Jesus didn't condemn her to death...and he didn't condone her actions either. Jesus didn't need to tell her that her actions were wrong - she already knew that.

Certainly, Ted was wrong. And he knows that. There is no doubt about it.
But with all the stones that have been thrown at Ted in the last few days in the media, on blogs and in chat rooms, I'm certain that Jesus is wanting to wrap his arms around the Haggard Family and extend comfort, grace and forgiveness.

The world is watching to see how we as Christians respond to the events of the past week.
Will we show love and forgiveness or will we pick up stones and start hurling them?

We need to pray for Ted and Gayle Haggard and for New Life Church leadership, staff and congregation. Healing will not be easy, but it is necessary.

This week has provided a striking reminder that we are all in need of grace...and Ted is no exception to that.

Unterror cells

Recently I read an article by Brian McLaren called 'Unterror Cells' that was quite interesting. (Thanks for the article, Bob). Here's a snippet of it. Enjoy.

"Recently I heard someone describe terror networks. All nodes of the network innovate, he said, and all nodes coordinate to share their innovations. In this way, all nodes influence the direction of the network as a whole, and any node can lead. All nodes recruit, too, and all nodes share a common and clearly defined enemy - an enemy big enough and bad in enough (in their minds) to keep them tightly unified. What would happened if more of us saw our faith communities - churches, small groups, circles of friends, monastic communities, mission teams, whatever - as nodes in an unterror network that was constantly plotting goodness and hope, not evil and destruction?"
        -Christianity Today/Leadership Journal

Forgetfulness and Worship

I'm finding myself in the book of Deuteronomy - the longest sermon in the Bible - reading the words of Moses as he speaks to the nation of Israel. This book is an absolutely amazing book and I'm so glad that I've found myself captured in the story of this book at the moment. It's especially well-written in the language of the Message.

I was thinking this morning, 'if you could boil down the entire book of Deuteronomy into one word what word would you use?'

Much of the book revolves around how the Israelites are to worship the Lord their God. This is a big theme. However, that's not the word that I would use.

For me it's the word: "Remember."

Everytime I read the word 'remember' or the phrase 'do no forget' I circle it. It seems that Moses says it over and over again.

How forgetful we are as humans. I don't mean remembering as in the realm of where we left our keys or when our wife's birthday is (though those are important things to remember). What I mean is we too often forget the many ways God makes himself known in our lives, we fail to remember the ways he loves us, the ways he blesses us.

Plain and simple: we are forgetful people.

God commanded the Israelites to erect Stones of Remembrance throughout the land. When these stones were erected they were to trigger memories of God's involvement in saving the nation that He loved so much. The text says that when the Israelites' children asked, "Daddy, what are those stones for?" they were to tell them that they were because of God's involvement in their lives. It was a tangible reminder, a symbol of God's goodness.

I've been pondering the connection between our worship and the importance of remembering. Deuteronomy chapter 8 says that if we forget the hearts of the Hebrew people would become proud. It's true for us today as well.

If worship is my response to God for who He is and what He has done in my life and in the world that means that I have to have an element of remembering in order to worship properly.

Is it even possible to worship God if I forget Him?

If the word 'remember' is used over and over again, what will it take for me to constantly remember Gods goodness in my life?

What are the Stones of Remembrance that I need to erect as a tangible reminder of God's involvement, love, care and pursuit of people of the world?

Appearance matters

Frequently I am asked to do a Pastor's Recommendation for people from our Pierced community who are are applying for graduate school, a missions program, seminary or job that needs personal references.

I don't mind doing things...in fact, I really like doing them and honestly bragging about individuals from our community of faith who lead with confidence, humility and compassion.

Recently I was filling out a reference form for someone who is applying to a reputable seminary. The forms are fairly standard, containing questions with boxes to check that range poor/fair/good/above average/superior/uncertain. The questions are almost always the same from application to application, but one question really jumped out at me on this form:

"Is the applicant neat and appropriately dressed?"

Now, I am not sure how to take that. Are they asking if this female applicant is walking around in a bikini around church or if she wears cut-off jeans that drag at the ankle. Are they asking if they shop at Abercrombie or Old Navy or even the Thrift Store? Do they want to know if they have a nose ring or bleached hair? Is it the difference between wearing a suit and tie everyday versus a t-shirt, jeans and a hat backwards?

What if I checked every box "above average" or "superior" for issues such as character, leadership, servant's heart, walk with God and relationships with others but checked "poor" or "fair" with the neatly dressed question Would that keep them from being accepted to this seminary?Should it keep them from being accepted?

I am not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill here, but I guess what I deciphered from the question on the seminary application is that appearance does matter. As I read 1 Samuel 16:7 what do I do with that question?

What if they aren't dressed 'appropriately' (a petty subjective adverb) because that's their style? Or what if they are unable to purchase clothes from any other place but from the Thrift Store? Are we wanting the pastors and spiritual leaders of the future to look preppy?

Is that an 'appropriate' question for a seminary reference form? Does that question reveal values or am I reading into this too much?

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Piper diagnosed with cancer

John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis was just diagnosed with cancer. 

Be praying for John, his family and his church.

The Christian Mecca?

Everyone says that Colorado Springs is the Christian Mecca.

When people find out I am a pastor they utter something that makes me want to grind my teeth or laugh: "Oh, it must be so easy to do ministry in Colorado Springs..."

Contrary to popular misconception, doing ministry in Colorado Springs is not a piece of cake and not every resident spends four nights a week doing church activities. Here's an interesting story from the Saturday paper by Paul Asay, an acquaintance of mine, at The Gazette (our local Colorado Springs paper).

Check out the article here.