noodlestatic

Wedding Reflections

Tonight we attended another wedding and reception. This is about the fourth in the past three months. Our friends, Phil and Jennie, invited us and others to celebrate as their daughter Nicole married Nick. I did the premarital counseling, and another pastor friend did the ceremony. For a couple of hours we forgot about the sadness of our community (more on that later), and we were immersed in the joy that comes from celebrating God's gift of love. Food, laughter, music, dancing--it was a blast.

Just a few weeks ago, I officiated a wedding for another couple I got to know through the place I get my hair cut. Even though you rehearse and rehearse, you can pretty much count on something going wrong at just about every wedding. At this wedding, as the bride and her father came to the front of the church, before I could ask, "Who gives this woman to this man to be united in holy matrimony?", the bride dropped her dad's hand and sprinted the last six steps to her groom, whom she hadn't seen all day. Her eagerness to join with her man was beautiful, although I must admit I felt a little sorry for the dad. I came home and told my daughters, "The wedding doesn't start until daddy says it starts!

The Bible frequently uses the metaphor of the wedding. Jesus is the groom, and the Church is his bride. If only his church would run to him with the same abandonment that this bride ran to her groom!

And if only the sober, proper, uptight church could get a glimpse of what a real wedding party is like! As John Eldredge says (my paraphrase), "When Jesus says at the Last Supper that he won't drink of the fruit of the vine until he drinks with us in heaven, that means that when we get there, he's going to pop a cork in our honor!"

Here's to bride and grooms everywhere. Continue to throw great parties (with free food) and we'll continue to be reminded of the incredible love that Jesus has for us, his bride!

A Real Friend

I heard a story about a 7-year-old who was sitting at his desk in school when all of a sudden there was a puddle between his feet, and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop, because he knows when the boys find out, he'll never hear the end of it. And when the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy puts his head down and prays: "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Do something before someone finds out!"

He looks up from his prayer, and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he's been discovered. As the teacher is coming to snatch him up, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl filled with water. She stumbles and dumps the goldfish bowl full of water in his lap. He pretends to be angry but prays, "Thank you, God!" Now, rather than being the object of ridicule, this kid is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. When he comes back to class, all the kids are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. This sympathy is wonderful! But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her: "Go away before you make things worse!" As the day progresses, his sympathy gets better and better, and her ridicule gets worse and worse.

Finally, at the end of the day, they are waiting at the bus stop, and a light bulb goes off for the kid. He walks over to Susie and whispers, "Susie, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."

Must See Tonight

Since I was a little kid, I've been entracned by the Perseids meteor showers. Growing up in western New Mexico at 6500 feet elevation, I'd sleep outside in a lawn chair to see them during the first part of August. Tonight, at around 2:18 a.m. MDT, astronomers expect one of the best shows in recent memory. read more It's cloudy here now, I'll probably set the alarm and get up to take a look around. If visibility is good, I'll wake the kids. I've dragged them out of bed more than once for a meteor shower. Some have been great, some so so, but all memorable.

Few things in nature remind me of my purpose more than these particles of dust. Just a speck can blaze for seconds. How much more can a life devoted to eternal purposes brighten up the darkness?

Cycling and Serving

From July 2nd through the 24th, the entire world will be focused on the Tour de France details here as Lance Armstrong goes for an unprecedented seventh victory. Armstrong, the undisputed king of cycling, has already announced his retirement following this year’s race.

With all the attention on Armstrong, casual observers may fail to notice the role his team plays. Riding this year for Team Discovery Channel meet the team, Armstrong will lead a team that includes eight other world-class cyclists, all who are clear from the beginning that their job is to help Armstrong win. There are 20 other teams, each comprised of a team leader and eight others called domestiques.

Domestique is a French word for servant. A cycling domestique serves the team leader. His purpose it to sacrifice himself any way that is necessary to help his team leader win.

Armstrong and other team leaders draft off their domestiques, allowing them to spend 40% less effort riding in their slipstream. It’s an incredible advantage for the leader, but requires great effort for the rider in the lead. A perfectly functioning team has domestiques rotating to the lead, while all the while their leader is drafting behind them. They retrieve food and drink from supply cars, so the leader doesn’t have to take risks or lose time. They surround him to keep him from crashing into other cyclists or being trapped in the back. They will chase down breakaway riders to keep them from getting away from the pack. Some domestiques are better on flat terrain, others in mountains; and they serve accordingly. While several of Armstrong’s team may win individual stages, everyone knows the that at the end of the 21-day, 3600 kilometer race, Armstrong should be the overall leader.

What an example of servanthood. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves when we are taken for granted, what if we expected to be taken for granted, knowing that we were advancing the Cause, not for our own glory, but for His?

Summer time blues

After a year of living in the new house, we're finally selling off the children to pay for landscaping. We may not actually sell them, maybe more of a lease/purchase deal. Anyway, Susan and I have spent the last two days visiting local nurseries, looking for shrubs that will work well at 7460 feet elevation. We did get the bed up by the front door looking pretty good.

Jim, from Black Diamond Excavation, is going to build the retaining wall out back, pour the patio, and move a bunch of dirt for us. When he gets here. Hopefully before winter.

Then, our friend Tom is helping me plan the landscaping, and we'll put in irrigation, and lay some sod. So sometime between now and September, we should see a dramatic difference in the house on Mount Rowell.

Growing a healthy church is a lot like landscaping. The work that goes in on the front end doesn't give you much to look at. But if you don't do it right, you'll regret it from now on.

Forget Ambiance

Yesterday we took the administrative staff to lunch to celebrate what used to be known as "Secretary's Day." The card section at the store now calls it, "Administrative Assistant Day." We just call it "Paying Homage and Tribute to the Sources of All Organization, Wisdom, and Free Candy Day." Personally, I wouldn't want to do ministry without Kirsten's help. I'd want to recognize and celebrate her regardless of whether Hallmark created a holiday or not.

We went to a little sandwich joint in Palmer Lake called "Sweet Pea's." You have to hire a guide to find this place; it is not in the phone book and there's no discernible sign. It's in a building that doesn't look like a likely place for a restaurant. But there it is, and has been for years.

It's not much for ambiance. Stark white walls. Plastic picnic tables like you'd find at Walmart. A couple of laptops available if you need Internet access while eating a BLT. What it has instead of ambiance is personality. Specifically, it has Keith, the owner, chef, and host. This one man show thrives because of a guy who loves food, loves people, and has an indefatigable sense of humor.

Keith enlists customers as his staff. After you give him your order at the counter, he's liable to hand you three plates and say, "Here. Take these over to those ugly guys in the corner." When you finish your meal and are trying to decide if this is like a fast food joint where you bus your own table, or is someone going to do it for you, Keith will direct, "Over here in the tub. And wash that sink full of pots and pans, will ya?" It feels like home.

Keith eavesdrops on conversations and shouts his opinions and corrections across the room for everyone to hear. (This is not the place to go if you need to have a serious conversation with someone.) He asks about your spouse, your kids, your job. He makes fun of the regulars, especially when they can't make up their mind, but with a twinkle in his eye. And people love it.

There are restaurants all over the place, some nicer, some more affordable, some with great "ambiance." But Keith is building a business based on his passion and by tapping into our universal need to be known, to be useful, and to belong.

Maybe we could all learn something about our work from his. As for me, I think Keith has all the makings of a great pastor.

Debrief from Gettysburg

I regret not posting sooner after our return from Gettysburg. Its no exaggeration to say the leadership experience we participated in with Jay Lorenzen If Properly Led was nothing short of life-changing.

I'll be commenting on it for some time to come. Don't miss the photo album at right to see some of what we saw.

To stand where great leaders stood and pondered; to walk the ground where 51,000 casualties gave testimony to the weight of those decisions; to see monuments for some and anonymity for others who stood shoulder to shoulder--all these experiences touch something deep inside a man.

Some might question what a pastor/leader could learn from a battlefield commander. To doubt the relevance is to misunderstand the nature of men and war and the spiritual realm.

Watch for specifics, quotes, reflections on our experience in the days and weeks ahead. And make plans now to attend If Properly Led next spring.

Why I Love Snow Days

Yesterday, citizens of the Colorado Front Range learned a lesson about the power of God through nature. We saw about 30 hours of heavy snow and wind that shut down the interstate, churches, and most businesses. Total accumulation is hard to measure because of the drifting--somewhere between 20-30 inches is my guess.

Although I was initially antsy about cancelling services (it was the right call) I eventually settled down to read a great book Cry, The Beloved Country, play cards, and watch a DVD with the family. While these may be ordinary events to some, for our family they are too rare occurences.

Had we not been forced to stay home, our afternoon would have seen us all heading in different directions. I'm reminded once again that family time does not come automatically, but must be diligently planned and guarded--unless we are content to make do with a snow day or two each year.

By nine this morning, the sun was out and so were the neighbors. The snow gives us a common enemy to rally against. Since I have a snowblower, I am everyone's favorite neighbor on a snow day. We talked with John and Brenda, Tom and Vanessa.

In past storms, we've helped each other dig out. With my shoulder throbbing, I left the snowblower with Tom and I can hear it roaring now. Brenda had the answer why the snowplow has still not arrived--two cars off the road blocking both entrances to our street. There's a new house being built to our east, next winter we'll have another family to join our snow day support group.

The more I think about why genuine community is so rare in our lives these days, the more I am aware of all the good, worthy things that cause us to overextend ourselves and make it rare rather than reality. A snowday is a gift--a glimpse of what could be.

Father, give us the wisdom to see those things that rob us of the relational time we need, and the courage to do something about it.

Submarines and Little Fishies

My friend Bob with YWAM stopped by yesterday to catch up. He had a great analogy on handling the pressures of ministry and life in general.

He told me that every submarine ever built has a "crush depth", that depth at which the hull will give way  to the tremendous pressure of the ocean outside it. Yet at whatever depth that might be, you can look out the window and see fish swimming around.

How can there be enough pressure to squash a titanium hull like a coke can and yet those little fish, made of nothing but flesh and tiny bone, seem to be doing just fine?

The difference says Bob, is that the submarine must keep surface pressure on the inside for the survival of the crew. It's that difference in pressure that creates the potential for implosion. The fish on the other hand have equalized pressure, the same on the inside as what is on the outside.

The key then to surviving the pressures of life is not to try and "reinforce the hull" to withstand more pressure, but to be changed on the inside. This cannot be accomplished by stress management techniques, vacations, or changes in circumstances. It can only come from taking whatever time is necessary for God to do His work within us.

Aren't I blessed to have friends like Bob? I thought about that all day.

Just before I went to bed last night I re-read these words in Henri Nowen's In the Name of Jesus here. "Are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word, and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?"

I want to be that kind of leader. I desire it more with every passing day. That's why the Psalmist said, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--the Lord, who remains faithful forever!" Psalm 146:5-6 (NIV)