John Piper Quote

John Piper on How to Help a Spiritually Stagnant Church:

My goal in fixing the love problem is to fix the prior-satisfaction problem. The reason people aren't loving each other is because they think that satisfaction is found only in having the last word in arguments, revenge, or personal securities (which keep them people getting out of their comfort zone in order to bless other people). But all such satisfactions are lies of sin. They lie and say that more satisfaction is to be found in unloving ways than by going back to Jesus, finding complete satisfaction in him, and letting that spill over onto others, even if it costs you something.

You must start with what will make people happy in God, namely, a display of the beauty and the glory of God.

Office Prank

I came in to my office this afternoon to an office prank. An unknown assailant was inspired by my message on Sunday (which included a story of a previous post here) and chose to cob web and spider my desk up. I really couldn't stop laughing. I ran out and got Kara from the car before she left so she could see it too. It is still there now. I can't stand to destroy this artwork.

Wednesday Night Recap

We had a really cool night last night at youth. I have wanted to experiment with “worship without music” for awhile, and last night we did. We set out 6 tables with three chairs at each one. On the table there were four pieces of paper, a Rembrandt painting depicting a story of scripture, the story from scripture, song lyrics printed up that related to both, and a piece of paper with some encouragement to respond.

We told them to study each of the pieces of paper and write thoughts, prayers, and at one table, there was candles to light as you lifted someone up in prayer. It was pretty cool. I thought that it would last for 15 minutes and we would be thinking, "What are we going to do with the rest of our time"? It did not. It lasted 45 minutes and then some.

They all went to the tables and started to interact with worship song lyrics, scriptures, and paintings of scripture. They were encouraged to respond to God in the way that they felt led to do so. I wasn’t sure if this idea would tank or fly, it most definitely flew. I really can’t communicate the rawness and the power that is on the pieces of paper with scribbles and words and underlines and circles and arrows, but here are some responses from the tables.

Table 1

Painting: The Resurrected Christ and Disciples worshiping

1. Jesus you are the light of everyone’s life. You died on the cross for our sins and now please forgive me for mine.
2. Light unto my path & lamp unto my feet

Song: Here is our King, Crowder

1. I need healing now and I look to you my King
2. We all need healing help us to ask for it
3. He will always be there to love us
4. Rest, god is right next to you
5. He has made me believe and He will come for me

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

1. Thank you for the real life!
2. I am learning to live without fear
3. (circling “he has risen” in the text) Thank You God
4. Thank you God for being there when I needed you most
5. Jesus will always keep his promises, so we know he’ll forgive us.
6. Help me not be afraid of my future. You are always there for me
7. Please Lord help me be brave

Response Paper: What portions stand out to you the most?

1. The be quiet part touched me for our lives become a bond w/ schedules, Lord help us to be quiet for you & to know when to speak!
2. Help me to be good
3. I wonder what you will really look like, what you see when you see me, what is the expression on your face? I hope it is love. I want you to be able to call me yours.

Table 2

Painting: Christ revealing his spear wound to Thomas, as he places his finger inside

Song: All I Can Say, Crowder

1. I am never alone because God will always be by my side.
2. All that you can give will always be good enough for Him.
3. (adding to the line “I didn’t notice You were standing here) But now I do
4. Please help me now!
5. Lord the dark is creeping up to swallow me. Help me, Hold me!

Scripture: John 20:24-29

1. You have to believe to see
2. Believing is seeing
3. Pain makes believing hard. Remember to believe in the hard times!
4. Never have doubt in the lord or scripture have faith know they are there

Response Paper: write down any thoughts, feelings, prayers

1. Do not live with doubt
2. Sometimes I forget you’re right beside me. I’m sorry.
3. Help me to follow you always
4. I am lonely but I shouldn’t be b/c you are there for me
5. I have questions that shake the conviction of my soul. I struggle believing, but everybody does.
6. I struggle & still a choice that I hope he’ll give to me. I pray 4 the answer, I will search 4 it till I fell it. Eyes, hand, & ears mean nothing unless you fell him.

Table 3

Painting: The prodigal son being held by the father

1. (drawing lines to people in background) servants (noticing they are not being held)
2. Comfort (triple underlined)
3. father (line drawn to the father)
4. “dead” son now “alive”
5. Bring others (sons/daughters) that are lost, help them to be found
6. Forgiveness
7. Loving

Song: He is the Love, Crowder

1. My hands, I want to be your hands Lord.
2. Lord thank you for giving me a home to be safe in.
3. (circling the line, “And He is the love) You are my one true love (even though I may not show it) YOU are
4. (circling the line, “I’ve grown to trust, And I believe) I’ve found in hard to trust anyone other than God, he is the only one that I can trust

Scripture: Luke 15:11-24

1. No matter how wrong we are, you forgive. Sometimes I wonder how.
2. Thank god for taking care of us and giving us a second, third, fourth…chance to be worth to be called your daughter.
3. Lord I was lost until I found you.
4. We do not need money it belongs to you
5. (circling the word “worthy” from verse 19) You are worthy Lord
6. He is love
7. Forgive us as the father did his child
8. thank you God for forgiving me time and time again
9. (bracketing verses 22-24) We aren’t worthy but you still give it all to us. Thank you.

Response Paper: Light a candle as you say a prayer for someone who is lost or suffering

1. Lord I pray for the peoples in Ohio
2. Lord I pray that you would help my brothers come to the Lord, ad realize how wonderful you are
3. Please help them Lord, they have given me so much to lose everything.
4. Forgive them as I do
5. Forgive those who persecute me for they have not seen the light
6. Lord please protect my cousin when he goes to Iraq in March and bring him home safe
7. Don’t let me waste anything you give me

Table 4

Painting: Jesus standing before the crowd with Barabbas

1. Lord please give me the strength to tell people that you sent your son to die for us
2. Lord help me to be more like you and less like the people who put you on trial.
3. *Give me confidence to let your words pour from my mouth
4. Our Father being rejected over a filthy murderer. That’s wrong.
5. He’s perfection
6. It hurts me to admit that I would have been a scoffer. But HE is good

Song: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Townend

1. He will love us forever
2. He will love us no matter how much we sin we are in
3. (pointing to the line “that he should give his only Son) Thank you God. Thank You!
4. Circling the lines “I will not boast in anything, But I will boast in Jesus Christ) Lord help me to do this.
5. I am proud to be his, and humble at the same time
6. Thank you god for this paper
7. God made me he loves me & thinks I’m beautiful.
8. (pointing to the line “His wounds have paid my ransom) Am I doing my best to be worthy of that price?

Scripture: Mark 15:1-15

1. (pointing to “many crimes” in verse 3) We are all guilty
2. He will not lie
3. Silence is powerful. Very few master it, but you knew!
4. To many times we try to please others instead of doing the right thing
5. (circling the word “crucified” in verse 15) I thank you for dying on that cross
6. How shallow can people really be? (another comment added to this one) Would we be ay different?
7. We all envy, I think that that should stop

Response Paper: Write down any thoughts you may have

1. God is love and LOVE IS REAL
2. please forgive me 4 the times that I have tried to please others instead of you
3. Please help me to focus on you and your will, and not on me and my own. I am sorry that I have been mad at you. (mad is triple underlined)
4. You could have called out and saved yourself, but you didn’t. You are the bravest man I will ever know.

Table 5

Painting: Jesus hung on the cross with the two thieves next to him

1. Thank you for going through it so I did not have to.
2. Thank you Lord
3. God, I thank you for giving your son to us. With this please forgive all my sins.
4. You gave your life so we could live with God & leave all our sins behind
5. You suffered worse than I have and that keeps me going.
6. You suffered for us. I push through the pains I endure because yours were harder and you never gave up on us!

Song: The Glory of it All, Crowder

1. Thank you for your sacrifice for me.
2. Forgive me for my sins
3. Thank you Lord for being there when we need it most
4. Things will never be the same now that you are in my life
5. Its you that keeps me going
6. Thanks for giving us the chance to live
7. Thank you for not coming down off that cross. I am sorry for being a sinner

Scripture: Mark 15:21-41

1. You are my true father
2. (pointing to “king of the Jews” in verse 26) Lord you are the King of all
3. Thank you Jesus for dying for me
4. God will never abandon us. He does everything for a reason

Response Paper: Write down any thoughts you may have

1. The perfect father
2. (answering the question who do you relate to in this story) the soldier for I am the same
3. Lord you are the King of Glory
4. (answering the question who do you relate to in this story) The bystander standing, questioning, wanting to help, unsure as to how. Forgive me.
5. Lord you are everything we need and you always forgive, thank you.

Table 6

Painting: Jesus and his disciples on the boat in the middle of the storm

Song: My Hope, Crowder

1. Salvation without faith is worthless
2. God hold me tight I need you and I love you. Help me to get on my knees and ask for your help because I am sinking!
3. (pointing to “wash me clean”) Cleanse me of my sin
4. Dear Lord, please wash me, cleanse me, set me free, hold me close and cover me.
5. (circling the line “needing You”) Always
6. I trust you
7. The sea may rage, but your hands hold fast to mine

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

1. (Circling the line, “waves breaking into the boat) things that break me down; everyday.
2. (Circling, “Lord, save us!) Please save me Lord.
3. I will praise you in my storms
4. I am not alone, even in the fiercest of storms
5. I will always have faith in God and trust what he is going to do.
6. We are like the boat. The scared disciples our doubts/fears that we have about God; as long as we have Jesus in our life also, there is no need to fear. He will calm our storms and stop the storms.

Response Paper: Write down any thoughts, feelings, prayers.

1. You will heal my storms. I will praise you in the storms. Thank you.
2. a storm may come and take me down, but you Lord will raise me up from my shipwreck
3. You have always lifted me up. You always will. Be glorified in me.
4. God please show me that you will always bee there through any hard time I might have.
5. This world is filled with hopelessness and despair, I look to you but find you no where, just when I think that I am going to sink, you lift me up and help me carry on through this storm that is called life.
6. God will save us through any storm

Amazing Story

I am just heard a story from Rob Bell attributed to Parker J. Palmer, it tells of a 3 year old girl whose mother is expecting a baby. The little girl is adamant that she get to spend a moment in the new baby's room alone with her new sibling when they get home. The parents are a little nervous, but let her do it because they installed an intercom system to listen in on the baby's room. They figure that if they hear anything weird going on, they can be in the baby's room in an instant. They let the little girl go into the room and close the door, and then they rush over to the intercom and listen. They hear the little girl's footsteps go over to the crib, and then the little girl speaks, "Tell me about God, because I have almost forgotten."

Chap Clark on Youth Ministry in the Church

Chap Clark in the Professional Inaugural Lecture to Fuller Theological Seminary said this about youth ministry:

Chap Clark

The social hierarchy that we’ve handed off to our kids, it starts as early as preschool, kindergarten, first grade. We learn there are some cool people and not so cool people and we figure out our place as we go on our own way to assimilate ourselves into society, a society that is fragmented and abandoned us. This has happened in the church, as we sought to care for kids in the church, we actually fragmented ourselves away from any sort of community. And we are creating a system where we teach kids, we love you enough to hire someone to listen to you, but we don’t what to take 10 minutes to be your friend. And we are paying a price for it…Why do such huge percentage of kids that are deeply involved in youth ministry when they hit college they tube their faith…they are never grounded in a community, even while they are growing up in the church. Adults don’t know how much abandonment has cost us. Adults are so busy and so survival oriented that we rarely have the time to step back and reflectively consider how our lives and structures are affecting our young. We are simply trying to take care of ourselves out of necessity.

I am a seminary professor [of youth and family ministry] because this matters. Our kids have been cut off. And even in the body of Christ where we proclaim the truth of community and integration, and love, and care, and knowing one another, and having space, and a sense of the sacred. We don’t live that. First we don’t live it with ourselves and secondly we don’t live it with our kids, and they look at the adults in the church and they say, “What a fraud!”

I had one of our d-min students that did an interesting deal, he was doing a study of a very large church of the Jr. High kids in their program, and he gave them a survey on how they are feeling, and all the things you would think they would say, nobody listens to me, nobody takes me seriously, I hate the service, I hate the music, the preacher never talks about anything involved in my life, and it was typical, he read that and thought, I’m going to give this same survey to the senior [citizens]. Statistically the results were identical. Children, adolescence, the elderly, fragmented isolated, systemically abandoned from the church. Divorced folks, single folks, people struggling with identity issues, people that are struggling with their own sense of self, folks that have addictions, we can go on and on and on of all the ways that we somehow pushed to the corners those things are going to be costly to us as we try to do church in the 21^st century. We have failed to receive and embrace those people that need the church of Jesus Christ.

What Kind of Reader are You?

Thanks to Ben for this cool little quiz. I have read about 30-40 books since June. I have this new passion for reading and learning. Here are the results of my quiz:

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Bacon anyone?

Snapped this at a McDonalds in Grand Rapids. Not sure if it made me proud or ashamed to be an American at this point. I sure was thankful that I live in a place where bacon is an option. (please note that I did not add bacon to my meal)

The Upside to Living in the Country

This is the view from my prayer chair outside our bedroom.

The Upside to Living in the Country 2

This is also my Backyard

The Upside to living in the Country

This is my backyard.

The Down Side to Living in the Country

As it is probably common knowledge now, I hate spiders. I hate them with a passion. Why God created them and called them good is a question I will save for later when we meet in heaven. This said, I was in the garage looking for some tools to do something and I noticed a large something on our love seat that is still in the garage.

I went over and saw this atrocity of nature. I ran in the house and got Kara to come and look at this freak of nature that is in our house. She looked and also had the expected response of awe and disgust. I ran inside to get the hairspray (it really works folks). I gave the hairspray to Kara and also my flip flop so I could get the camera, (and she could handle the spider.)

I came out and we got these shots. Kara was brave enough to place this pen there for size purposes, and then she took it away without flinching. Next on the agenda was the task of ridding humanity of this monster. we had to do it, it was for the good of mankind. Kara proceeded to spray the beast with hairspray, it lasted for about 30 seconds, then she slammed my flip flop down upon the beast. I, being a bit inspired now to be a man, then proceeded to punch the flip flop repeatedly.

Kara then lifted up the flip flop and made a squeely eeky noise as the beast rose upon its legs trying to free itself of the sticky hairspray, it was unsuccessful, for Kara then slammed the flip flop down upon the beast, and I then proceeded to punch it again and again, until I heard crunching noises and I think a small groan come from below the flip flop.

Kara lifted the flip flop to find that the beast was indeed crushed and dead. She is the knight in shining armor, and I am the traveling minstrel and armor bearer who helps out when I can in this story. And there you have it, and now I do not go in our garage anymore alone for fear that his family may come too seek repercussions.

Isaac's Tractor Ride

Isaac has always had an enthrallment with tractors. He loved it when we had construction going on in front of the house. He would love to watch the heavy machinery go by. At his Papa's house a few weeks back, he got to ride on the lawnmower. His face communicates nothing less than awe. He still talks about it today.

Our Zoo Trip Video

Back in July, we took our family to the zoo in Battle Creek. It was a pretty small zoo, full of lots of trees, squirrels, and chipmunks. They did have a few animals there too. It was a total disappointment until we came to the giraffe pen. You get to feed the giraffes these wafers for $1 a cracker. A bit pricey, but we got a few and broke them up for Isaac to feed the giraffe. Some adults were buying $25 worth of crackers for their kids! That is more than the cost of the zoo tickets! We had a lot of fun watching Isaac's awe of the giraffe's tongue.

The Tolerance Rant

I love Mark Driscoll!

Thoughts on Ephesians

I have been studying Ephesians for the last few months. I have been reading all I can on the history of the area, reading all the commentaries I can on the scriptures, and listening to all the messages I can that are preached on the subject. As a result I have been speaking on Ephesians since the beginning of the school year, and I plan on going until December. I was specifically thinking about this verse and marriage today:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul prays this prayer for the Ephesian people. I have been praying this prayer for our church and youth ministry as well. I sense the passion Paul is speaking with here as he makes this prayer. Why is he so passionate about this section? This is important, if you don't know this information, you don't really know God (I'm not talking salvation). Paul is passionate about people knowing how high, how deep, how long God's love really is. When you come to the realization that God is the best there is, you can live fully for Him.

When you come to a realization that God is all you have and God is all you need, you can love Him. When you come to the realization that God is better than drugs, sex, money, career, family, marriage, food, shopping, gadgets, toys, books, vacations, television, video games, sports, movies, church, government, politics, news, school, information, children, (you get the idea) then God is all you need.

If, in an instance, you have a choice between two things, engaging God in some form of spiritual activity, or satisfying physical things, and we pick satisfying the physical consistently, we are either lacking the knowledge of what the spiritual activity is for, or we actually believe that the physical activity is BETTER than engaging God. Both result in the same thing, death of the soul. I think that in America, our problem is not a lack of anything, but an overabundance of distractions that kill the soul.

I said that I was thinking of how this verse pertains to marriage. I believe that marriage is a picture of what heaven is like, marriage is a picture of our relationship with God. But if marriage can be a picture of heaven, than it can also be a picture of Hell. I think that the state of a marriage is mostly based upon the man. God made us men to lead in the marriage. Now some women femi-nazis get all frazzled about this idea. But if you look at a passage in Corinthians, you see that God loves to use foolish things. My self-esteem just took a leap off a building.

Well anyways, God chooses to use the man to lead the marriage, Satan then chooses to get in the way and make the man passive. That is the soul of the issue in marriage today. I think that if men would actually BE who God created them to be, the divorce epidemic would end. If men would love their wives as Christ loves us, wives everywhere would be inspired to be who God created them to be. How much did Christ love the church? Many say, well he died for it, yes, but I take it a step further, HE LET HER KILL HIM. Whoa. Am I to love my wife to the point of letting her kill me? Well in a way. You are to give your life to her so that you can present her to God pure.

We are to be the protector of our wives and families. We are to be the active pursuer and lover of our wife, the active defender of our families. We are not to be passive. Many men are passive in different ways, they sit in front of a television and call it family time, or they can be busy, busy, busy at work and ignore their families that way. Either way results in the same thing, a passive man who does not inspire his wife to pursue him or God.

Think about how we spend our time, being entertained or seeking entertainment. What is the focal point of most families homes? The "Entertainment Center." Our souls are dead because we would rather ignore and be distracted from the deep issues, questions, and problems that plague us. We would rather ignore the fact that our souls are starving than do something about it, because it is easier. It is so much easier to sit in front of a television and watch something, and call it family time, than to interact with and play with and get to know our children. It is so much easier to get busy, and stay busy with our work, than it is to sit and eat a meal with our families and talk.

I am not preaching "Kill your television" so much as I am asking you, what do you use it for? Is it to keep you distracted, is it because it is easier? Take the test, turn it off for an evening and see what happens. If you don't know what to do with yourself or your family, there is a problem, and you can do one of two things, turn the tv back on and pretend that there is nothing wrong and keep yourself distracted, OR fix things. If you find that you have a wonderful time together, great, why not do it more often?

Let’s inspire, Let’s Lead.

Life comes through Death

I had some students over our house to do some painting and eat some grilled cheese and listen to the new Crowder CD. We were having a blast and one of the students said a remark that got me thinking. She said, "I am not ready to die, I have so much life to experience before I go." Now this remark came from a young lady who loves God and life so much and said this remark out of that love. This is not the first time that I have heard this remark. I have heard it from many Christians, and have said these words myself. But there is something in this quote that is not quite right.

I was reading Deitrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, a book about what it means to live in true community, not just what we American's call community, and he said something that hit me as so true, "You cannot experience true life until you are ready to die." Wow. If you think about it, the Christian faith starts with death. We are to join with Christ in the crucifixion of our old man, all the attachments to this world. Our sin demands that we die.

Bonhoeffer also said, "The cross is laid on every Christian. It begins with the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death -- we give over our lives to death. Since this happens at the beginning of the Christian life, the cross can never be merely a tragic ending to an otherwise happy religious life. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time -- death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call. That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life."

I am finding this to be true. Christ calls us to bring death to areas in our life where we want to control, and then He brings new life there, but he cannot bring new life to areas that are not dead yet. As Christ said, I cannot put new wine into an old container. Following Christ means more than saying some prayer and hoping to "make the list" when you die. It is the call, come and die, bring the old wretched sinful man here and crucify (public shameful death of a sinner) him so that I can bring you new life.

Most people wonder why they do not experience God. They do not hear him, or have a desire to. Many people never take their faith off of the basic level of forgiveness to a level of new life. Why do our lives stink, our marriages stink, our jobs stink, our families stink, our faith stink, our church life stink... It is because dead things stink, they rot and decay and smell awful. Jesus wants us to bring our lives to him fully so he can bring new life to our rancid deadness that we call life. But this will never happen if we do not bring death to EVERYTHING that we control in our life. If there is ANY area of our life that is not fully surrendered over to God, it will stink of rot and decay and death, until we bring it to Jesus for new life.

But the thing is, we have to believe it. We have to believe that what Christ offers us is far better than anything that we could come up with on our own. And then we have to have courage to put to death our attachments to this world, only to find that Christ brings life more full than what we were experiencing. This is the basis of our faith. You shall have no other god's before me, the first commandment.

We're in

As you may have noticed, there has been a lack of blogging going on here the last few weeks. We have been cleaning and packing and moving and painting and fixing. We are in our new house now and loving it. I am so very happy to be in our house. It is quiet, and peaceful, and ours. We love it so much. things should be back to normal next week. Whatever normal is.

Eight Dollar Hot Dog

Wow. This made me cry. I don't think that he meant to make us guilty as much as to make us act. Sponsor a child through World Vision please. Ask yourself, how can I consume less?