Read a great book yesterday!

It was one of those reads that sneaks up on you then kicks you right where you sit down—but in a good and positive way.

My friend Jimi Calhoun wrote “A Story Of Rhythm & Grace” which intends to import God’s values of live, acceptance and inclusion from the world or Rock & Roll into the church.

Importing biblical values from the world of Rock seems like a difficult task until you read the book. In many ways the secular arts are more concerned about brotherly love than your average evangelical church—white, black or otherwise.

Jimi played with most of the great names of the 60s and 70s including Stone, Hendrix, Dr. John and even John Lennon. He tells their story and those of many others… like the night he took Mick Jagger into black clubs to listen to the music. The important thing about that story is that Jagger was never “out of his element.” Here was white rock royalty hanging out with people not only different, but decidedly lower on the totem pole—yet he was there as a friend and a learner.

Jimi is pretty open with his feelings. He tells stories from growing up that will bring tears to most eyes. When you are done with the book you’ll feel frustrated and warm and fuzzy at the same time.

You’ll remember good, perhaps great, friendships you’ve had with people from other cultures which is a definite feel-good. But you’ll understand how your view of the friendship may have differed from theirs. You come away understanding the importance of understanding (of the mutual variety).

I remembered the day my black friends showed up to defend me from a white bully who menaced me after school. And I remembered the day I “remembered” that my best friend at work was black—I had simply seen him as a friend and brother. Those are good memories.

I also remember a friend saying the mountain where I took him snow-skiing was “too white” for him. I first thought he was talking about the snow. I’ve heard people say the same thing about a church I pastored even though we prided ourselves in reaching out to all peoples. The book caused me to re-assess lots of things about our church and ministry.

In the end it caused me to think institutionally and intentionally. Admit it, your church is an institution and as such it can expand its love base. But only if you are intentional about it. Not intentional as in quotas, but intentional as in creating opportunities for understanding what the other person feels.

I am biased because it was written by a friend. But this is a good read!

Got into an interesting discussion the other day.

Our team was talking about the spiritual dynamics of our “down days.” You know, those days when the enemy seems to have stolen all your hope.

Two events came to mind. The first was an afternoon sitting on the back pew in a tiny chapel that was about to become Hope Chapel–Manhattan Beach, California (The church that would eventually move to Hermosa Beach). 

My wife and I were praying desperately in that building that seemed so cavernous. It actually was designed for 66 people, but we’d never sustained a youth group of more than 30. And, we had yet to hold a service.

We were scared, very scared.

In the midst of our pity-party/prayer-session a young man stumbled into the small auditorium. His hair was greasy, and he smelled bad. He was living on the road and asking for money to buy food. We gave him what little we had and never saw him again. But, I believe God sent him to us and our response to him became the key that would open the door in the spirit for hundreds like him to be born again in that tiny chapel. 

In other words, while we were down Jesus sent us a key to unlock the treasure held in our prayers. Had we turned that young man away I doubt that Hope Chapel would have ever amounted to anything.

The second event occurred just a week ago. We’d had a disruption in our relationship with a nearby drug and alchohol treatment center. They’d been allowing clients to visit our services on Fridays until there was a misunderstanding. Several of our staff met with their staff to mend the relationship.

We’ve done well with men from that facility, but poorly with the ladies. Seems no women in our church could catch the vision to reach out to these folks, despite a dozen or so accepting Christ each week.

We went into the meeting feeling pretty down–didn’t look like much hope for the future. But we came out with one of our Women of Hope pastors excited about engaging the ladies from the center.

In the past few days several “middle-class” women have volunteered to give rides and to make disciples as God opens doors. Again, I believe in the midst of our “down days” God presented a key to future blessing.

It is nice that our church reaches out to folks in treatment, but until the people who make up the heart and soul of the church get in the act the ministry is just a toy to brag about. As long as we leave ministry to addicts solely in the hands of former addicts we really aren’t living the love we talk about. All that changed a few days ago.

I believe we’ll now see the ministry to addicts expand, but more importantly I think our church just became more blessable. I think this simple act of love in one of our down moments was a test from the Lord of the Harvest to see if he could trust us with more acreage. This time I think we passed the test. I’m sure we’ve failed a few along the way, but this time I think we passed.

My friend just turned himself in to the government for not paying taxes for ten years.

When asked why he was doing this, he gave a reasonable answer, “I’ve been immature, but God is working in my life and I want to do the mature thing. I’m ready to give you whatever you ask… be it money or jail time. I just want to make things right.”

The very interesting thing is how that straight up answer brought favor from the government. When my friends tax adviser talked to the state a woman said she is working to dismiss any penalties. The reason she gave was his plain-spoken conviction and willingness to make things right.

On the federal level it looks like, after late-penalties, he may be getting a refund. No kidding, a refund!

I’ve been lately praying that God will let me see the brighter side of his work in this world. Those who are spiritually sensitive are too often sensitive enough to be alert to principalities and powers, etc. We need the encouragement of eyes open to the sometimes hidden work of God and his messengers. 

Since praying that way, I’ve been encountering lots of these quiet stories of God at work. It’ll never make the headlines. No one will write books about it. But, this is spiritual reality. God is alive and at work on behalf of those whose hearts are devotedly his.

Just got back from a men’s retreat in Missouri. They do it up right. Great food, good ministry and tons of fun!

The fun included a bass-fishing contest and several other off-the charts events. But the best for me was shooting guns–real guns and lots of them.

I got to shoot a shotgun but missed the clay pidgeons. And I got to shoot three different large caliber pistols. There was a 1911 Colt sidearm, the kind officers used in both World Wars. I shot a 45 caliber six-gun just Bat Masterson or one of those old Western marshalls. And I shot a very modern 44 magnum–the thing is a cannon.

But here is the kicker… I actually put all but two of eighteen bullets in the target paper. Most were within the rings of the target and one even clipped the bulls-eye. All this from a fair distance

Contrast that to my experience a little over a year ago. We were on a staff outing when I shot ten 22 caliber bullets at a target a mere 25 feet away. Only two shots hit the paper, none even touched the target circles.

I sure got good over the last year. Think about it, heavy guns are harder to shoot than Or, perhaps more realistically I got good coaching in Missouri and had none at the local target range.

It wasn’t much coaching. Just a few words from each gun owner about how to best use the sights on his particular weapon. But coaching changed me from a total failure to a pretty good shot. For a few minutes I was even thinking of buying a gun and taking up the sports. Probably won’t do that but I sure did feel better about myself after shooting than I did before (while I was so sure I would be the laughingstock of the day).

My point is that disciplemaking extends to every area of life. Whenever you intentionally invest in another person, you have the potential of building the kingdom of God into that person’s life. Coaching includes far more than just the basics of faith–how about the basics of family, parenting or money skills.

We’ve found that personal, intentional coaching makes just about everybody’s life a little richer.

I’m sure those guys who helped me shoot their guns though little about the investment they made in me. But, I will never forget it. Usually a failure at physical sports, I excelled for a day and I owe it to a few well spoken words. I’m thankful and I’m mor-than-ever stoked about coaching others.

Last week I had an epiphany–you know, one of those experiences where the Holy Spirit blows open the windows of your brain.

The only problem was that this happened while I was in the middle of a sentence, in the middle of a sermon. I suddenly “saw” something I’ve known for a long time. By that I mean that it became real and alive.

The passage is in Acts 8 where Philip had great ministry effect in Samaria (Remember this is the same Philip who needed Peter and John to get the Holy Spirit stuff right). The Bible says two interesting things about his ministry. First that he was preaching the good news of the Messiah. The second mention is of healings and people being set free from evil spirits.

As I was waxing elequent about Philip as a prototype missionary it hit me… He preached a fuller gospel than I do. I talk a lot about the cross and about forgiveness of sin. But almost never discuss the implications of messianic thought or the claim a true messiah would have on every life. And, like so many others I shy away from all that stuff about evil spirits.

The problem with my sanitized approach to the gospel is that it ain’t turning the world upside down. It seems that doctrine never does. The historical record is that the early church upended a hostile culture, mostly through the miraculous. If you read the early history you find that freedom from evil spirits was a strong, if not the strong, element in the growth of the church. These people had a stronger life message than I.

We certainly must teach the cross. But the cross is all about having turned our backs to the Messiah. We need to certify the Lordship of God through Christ over his creation. Life simply works better when lived according to God’s plan. Violating that plan necessitates the cross. And in turn the cross opens the door to freedom from those spirits that instigate rebellion against the creator. It’s a three-legged stool: Lordship, forgiveness and deliverance.

Now before you load me up with comments about there being more than three important facets to the gospel, take my simple point–we’ve reduced something wondrous and full to something simplistic and often legalistic. A gospel of forgiveness without deliverance leads to an unhealthy reliance on personal discipline which leaves us on our way to heaven but entirely dependent on our willpower for any victory.

I don’t know about you, but I am looking for ways to broaden my message.

Recently talked to a person with retail experience. They spoke of the fear that online commerce would “cannibalize” their business.

Guess they were asleep these past few years. Amazon.com is now the world’s largest retailer. If cannibalization is the issue, the elephant is half eaten.

My friend would have done well to consider the path of Borders or Barnes & Noble. Both joined the party early and both have substantial web-presence. Sure web-sales took away from the brick and mortar stores, but the companies still got the business.

And, both are thriving, which brings me to the point of this short piece. What about those pesky house-churches, “simple-churches” or “organic churches” depending on who you talk to? Won’t they cannibalize Christianity?

I recently heard from a denominational official opposed to them for that very reason. According to this person any success the house churches have will come at the expense of his organization. In reality, he is rejecting whatever success house churches might have brought to his group. He has aligned himself with maintenance instead of opportunity.

Just like Barnes & Noble, any spiritual movement ought to welcome new technology (Think printing presses in the Middle Ages or movie projectors in the 20th Century).

But better than technology is Spirit-driven innovation. House churches and the like are simply a new “distribution system” for the gospel, which is our product.

New distribution systems have a way of cannibalizing old ones. Does anyone remember when milk was distributed from house-to-house by the local milkman? The milk came by horsecart at the beginning of the 20th Century, by milktruck by mid-century and via the supermarket when the century came to a close.

If milk and books are any example, we the church, should be alert to any shift in distribution which the Holy Spirit invents. Instead of rejecting it, we should hop on asap. Cannibalization is never an issue–starvation is!

  I just read an interesting article in Time Magazine called “The Biology of Belief.”

 Even reading it was kind of a drag. News mags are a kick to me, but articles explaining away faith through biology seem sappy and I usually skip them—read one you’ve reac them all kind of thing.

   But this one caught my attention because I thought it might fit with some sermon prep. Did it ever. The message was about the Seven Sons of Sceva, those exorcists who tried to turn away evil spirits using the “name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” They took a beating because one particular spirit was stronger than them and apparently knew they had no right to use the name if they weren’t followers.

 The upshot of the message is that we should re-assess our “Christianity.” Are we mere bystanders, lukewarm believers or total Jesus freaks? (Hint: Correct answer is “Jesus freaks”).

 Here’s where the Time article came in. They reported more than 6,000 sociological or scientific studies of prayer, faith and healing just since the turn of the millennium. That’s a lot and they are controversial with some atheists claiming (correctly) that most studies are tainted—you never know if a guy in the non-prayer group has his brother-in-law praying secretly on the side.

 Messy details aside, the article held some fascinating conclusions based on two of the easier to measure factors—depression/happiness and longevity. The psych & sociology guys can build better control groups because they measure narrower factors.

 One study shows that you are probably happier while participating in this recession if you attend church every weekend. Happier yet if you are helping people worse off than you. It is measurably better to give than to receive.

 Other research uncovered the fact that churchgoers are more purposeful than their stay-at-home counterparts thus better weathering winds of depression.

 The kicker was research done on longevity of churchgoers (they don’t use words like “Christian” in the article). If you show up every week, your chances of being alive eight years from today double when compared to folks who do not attend. You might note that your chances of being alive eight years from now are probably pretty good anyway. But it is a measurable statistic coming from insurance company actuarial tables, etc. in fact the same study said regular weekly attendance can kick your longevity up by 2.5 to 3.5 years. Churchgoing is as effective as regular excersize or statin therapy (used to ward off heart attacks and strokes).

 The part that grabbed my attention was the further conclusion that people who go to church but less often than weekly have less chance of being alive in eight years than their more faithful cousins. They fare better than heathen but not as well as the more regular attenders.

 It seems that Jesus promise of “abundant life” has some strings attached. It isn’t for bystanders and doesn’t work all that well for half-hearted believers. The benefits come when you go all out.

 Think of the term “lukewarm Christian.” Its an oxymoron and a waste of time. How can you be a lukewarm-Jesus-freak? Or a lukewarm-anything-freak, for that matter?

 I wonder if we don’t spend too much time talking about faith and too little about works, as in “show me your faith by your works.” Or “you were saved by faith, not by works… but unto good works that you should walk in them.” I have serious doubts about lots of people who pray the prayer in my church but never end up walking the walk. Many just do the salvation thing and then walk away. Perhaps blinder still are those who get saved only to live a casual Christian life.

 If the good folks at Time are right the benefits come to those fully devoted to Jesus Christ.

 Note: You can catch the article at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1879016,00.html

Did you ever notice that nowhere in scripture tells us to plant churches? 

Someone in a recent pastor’s conference told me that. They were somehow opposed to the idea of multiplying the church–but they were right in their observation. 

They went on to state that Jesus only told us to make disciples–right again.

However, he told us to make disciples of all nations. You have to decide if he meant make “a few disciples in every nation.” Or did he, “make disciples of the nations surrounding Israel” as was done in the first century? Or, as I believe, did he mean to “disciple all the nations of earth into his kingdom.”

But back to our original thought. He never said to plant churches. In fact, nothing in the Bible tells us to hold a single church service. It is all implied throughout Acts and in the epistles. We learn church by example rather than by command. 

But, here is my problem… Most of us believe in planting churches and we all believe in holding church services. Why is it that so few of us are actively, agressively involved in disciplemaking? 

We talk about making disciples as though it was happening all around us. But it isn’t. Sure we have a few programs, etc. But when you compare our ability to hold church meetings with the direct command to make disciples we appear weak.

Here is the question, “Who are your three personal disciples?” Another might be, “Do they even know that they are your disciples?”

Hawaii has had it’s share of Super Bowl heroes.

But this year was something special. The big game had high school classmates playing on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage.

That’s right, Kahuku High School in Oahu’s North Shore, was the home to both Chris Kemoeatu (Steelers) and Aaron Francisco (Cardinals). Not only did they play for the same school, but at the same time and on the same championship team. They graduated together. So you can guess that our community is pretty proud of both men.

Honolulu’s Mayor, Mufi Hanneman, threw a kind of impromptu party at the Windward Mall to celebrate these guys. Both were home for the Pro Bowl.

The party was fun. The town came out in force and our church was well represented (We’ve been praying for God to give our neighborhoods more hope and a better self of community spirit, so we work overtime to support things like this).

Several NFL greats from the past showed up and we heard lots of good words about the potential within every individual. Much was said about character and moral fiber.

But, what I liked best was the Mayor’s speech. He congratulated families for staying together, for keeping their kids on the right path and focused on school. In other words he used his position to promote family values. I know the man and believe in him, but was still surprised. I’ve never heard a politician speak so directly along those lines–ever.

And, his words were well-received. The large and noisy crowd listened intently as he brought family members on the platform, posing for photos with them.

In a day when we complain of our schools failing and moral concerns abound it was good for someone to raise the flag of family obligations and trust. To honor people for doing the right thing when no one is watching.

As I watched and listened to the player’s speeches I heard lots of reference made to God and family. NFL is big on character and I kind of expected young players to thank their families. It’s the part about the community embracing the strong need for family in the age of divorce that was refreshing.

I’m writing from Sapporo Japan. The snow is beautiful and preparations for the Ice Festival are interesting.

Brought along an extra suitcase filled with winter clothes only to find the daily weather unusually warm, but still freezing overnight.

We get fresh snow each morning. Then enough sun to make the snow soggy. Each night the temperature drops enough to turn the soggy stew of snow into a mass of ice. And it is here that our story begins…

Snow is really pretty stuff. Don’t know if no two snowflakes are truly ever alike but I do know that they are pretty.

Snowflakes drifting down feel kind of friendly. They wrap the world in a blanket of loveliness, even hushing the harsher sounds of everyday life. Easy for them to lull you into inaction. And that is what happened to the owners of a couple of bicycles I found entombed in an icy snowbank .

These bikes were frozen in place. Encased in a mound of ice that rose higher than their axles. You couldn’t get them out without breaking, melting or destroying them in some other way.

The owners had made a crucial mistake when snows first appeared. Perhaps there had been a couple of days when the snow didn’t stick. Or maybe they got lazy. Either way, lethargy left their bikes useless while other bicyclists regularly traverse the white stuff as they go about their daily business. That’s not all, the bikes could be lost. Snowplows regularly toss the stuff into man-high mounds which are often bulldozed into parks or other off-road locations. A snow covered bike might be crushed under a mountain of ice.

What’s that got to do with you and me?

Well, sometimes we get fresh new ideas—ideas so good they lull us to sleep. They seduce us into lethargy. Their very freshness is seductive. We find ourselves wrapped in a sweet blanket of innovation only to succumb to the wax and wane of cultural temperatures. In short our fresh ideas melt a little over time. If we’re not careful they can freeze into institutional snowbanks.

The problem with those Sapporo bike-owners is that they settled for ownership rather than ridership. In an unholy mix of metaphors, they got off the pony and left it to freeze to death.

This is no cry against long-standing church tradition, though the metaphor would apply. My concern is for lively young churches that get caught in the very ideas that gave them life. Routine can lead to a kind of spiritual paralysis resembling the fate of those bikes.

I think the key is preferring ridership. We gotta keep moving to stay out of the icebank.