The Year of Living Biblically

I just finished reading a great book, "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs. This book is, among other things, very funny. I have not laughed as hard reading a book for a very long time. Jacobs chronicles his attempt at an impossible feat - to live every word of the bible in its most literal interpretation for an entire year. Jacobs begins his journey an agnostic, and completes his journey as an "enlightened agnostic." However, he also has a new appreciation for his own Jewish heritage. The book makes so many great points about the bible, I will simply recommend reading it. However, Jacobs does make one point that I think is worth mentioning. He explains - whether intentionally, or not - very well the relationship between holiness and the law. To paraphrase, the law is not terribly effective as an end in itself. However, as a "means of grace," a method by which we might know God more intimately, it serves a valid purpose. The trick is (as it has always been) how to understand and interpret the law. But, that is a discussion for another day. In the meantime, read "The Year of Living Biblically." You won't regret it.

The Devil's Highway

When I worked in Garden Grove, I used to think the 22 freeway was "the devil's highway" because it was always so crowded. It didn't matter what time of day or night. Well, they have since widened the 22 and it seems to flow pretty well now, considering. However, now that I work in Anaheim Hills, I have truly come to travel the devil's highway - it is the 91 freeway, especially as it travels through the Santa Ana Canyon. I have traveled this puppy at all different hours of the day and night. The picture accompanying this blog was taken at 11:30 a.m. (Yes, I know it is pretty foolish to take a picture while driving a car - believe me, my car was not moving). Why is any of this important? Why does it matter? It matters because this is the world that we live in and things like traffic and pollution and everything else involved in living in an overcrowded community have an impact of the state of our souls. We just finished our sermon series on "The Fear Factor" and one of the things that I pointed out to the congregation was that in these crazy times we are living in, it is easy to give in to fear or cynicism. But, for Christians, that is not an option. Faithfulness means that we continue moving forward in faith, that we face our fears, that we continue to share the self-giving, sacrificial love of Christ with others. This is our calling, even when we are on the devil's highway.

Graduation

Today was the last day of school for my son. The lad is now officially a second grader. Corran's transition got me to thinking about other (perhaps, more substantial) graduations that are going on this time of year. It reminds me of a sermon I preached some time ago. There is a myth that I have heard spoken at almost every commencement ceremony that I attended during my many years of youth ministry. Invariably, some well-meaning student would stand up to speak and share about the wonderful time that they had in high school. Then they would say something to the effect, “when we look back, we will realize that these were be the best years of our lives.”
Well, I want to say that that is absolute rubbish. It is rubbish because it ignores two very important realities. First, it ignores the reality that, for many, joyful participation and inclusion into extracurricular activities did not characterize their school experience. Instead, many experienced school as a source of alienation and deepening despair simply because they were different in some way from the expected norm. However, the second reality that this pronouncement ignores is the reality of God’s constant presence in our lives, and God’s constant call on our hearts. It ignores the fact that while you some may experience a degree of freedom from responsibility as young people, what no one ever tells you is that the responsibilities of adulthood come with freedoms all their own. The best is not behind - it is ahead. It is always ahead. Because that is God's way.

I Need A Hero - part II

After writing my last post (rant) about needing a hero, I remembered a wonderful story that everyone should read. Just follow this link. I humbly (as humbly as I am able, anyway) submit this young man as a candidate for the position of hero. I was an assistant coach for my son's coach pitch team this past spring and this young man was on our team. In fact, I am the coach that threw the pitch in the story. It is a great story, and he is a great kid. Check it out.

I Need A Hero

Do you remember that 80's song by Bonnie Tyler (reprised wonderfully in the movie "Shrek") "I Need A Hero." It was a sappy pop song that was about 100 times more sentimental than necessary. But lately, I am kind of liking the idea of it. I need a hero. We all need a hero. It seems like we live in a society (and I am speaking specifically to those of us who live in suburban America) that has completely lost a sense of its moral compass. I am not talking about this specific moral principle or that one (those we will continue to argue about until we have beaten one another into submission - another problem with our culture, by the way). I am merely talking about the sense of actually just having a moral compass. It seems like the prevailing attitude is whatever I feel like is right. When I was young, they used to say, "if it feels good, do it." But, it seemed that we at least acknowledged that some of the things that felt good that we were indeed doing were wrong. Now, it seems like, if it feels good, it is good. What I feel, what I want, what I need, are how the universe should go. Consider the display of poor sportsmanship of Lebron James in the Eastern Conference Finals last week. Because Lebron is a gazillionaire and a "world-wide brand" (Coke is a world-wide brand, Lebron is a world-wide celebrity - just my two cents), none of the Nike officials who endorse him, none of the management of the Cleveland Caviliers basketball team, probably not even the NBA, will admonish him because they do not want to upset him. So, this 24 year-old kid gets to pout and whine like my six year-old (who does get in trouble when he behaves that way), and no one says anything because we don't want to offend. Here's the problem, somewhere, someone is actually going to have to say, "enough." Someone is going to have to say the obvious - there are actually more important things in the world than the NBA playoffs (like, for example, the fact that the Detroit Tigers are atop the American League Central Division). As far as I have been able to observe, most (not all - most) professional athletes that reach the "elite" status ultimately care more about there own situation than anything else. And they have people around them who encourage that because they make money off of it. That is fine. That is their right. I do not begrudge anyone riches or fame. However, act like a stinkin' adult once in a while. When I was a kid, athletes were heroes. Today, they are "international brands." I need a hero...any ideas.

The Right Thing?

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership, a great resource for church leaders, encourages people to not be so concerned with having the right answers as much as asking the right questions (this comes as a relief to those of us who are not the "sharpest tools in the shed"). Often, we begin worship at Light of the Canyon with a question, or series of questions. Last week, the scripture text was Mark 2:23-3:6. We opened worship with the following questions. How do we know what is the right thing to do? How do we know what God desires? Is the right thing that which is legal? Or is it something more? Jesus cared very deeply about his followers doing the right thing. Only sometimes, the right thing did not seem like it to others? How do we know what is the right thing to do?

Vacation Bible Camp is Coming

Start your summer vacation off right with a wonderful experience of Vacation Bible Camp. It begins on Monday, June 22 and continues through Friday June 26 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The theme this year is “Fruits of the Spirit,” and activities will include singing, games, arts and crafts and a whole lot more. Follow this link for an application. If you have any questions, please e-mail Children and Family Ministries Coordinator Minnie August. Come and experience the “fruits of the spirit.”

Voting Matters

I voted this morning. And if the pundits are to be believed, I am one of only 25% of all eligible voters that will go to the polls today to cast a ballot in this special election. When I walked into the polling place this morning at about 9:00 a.m., I was the only voter in there. I am happy to report that there were 5 or 6 voters by the time I left. But, it felt a little creepy. It forced me to ask myself the question. Why do I vote? Maybe everyone else has already figured out that it doesn't really matter and I am simply to naive to recognize that fact. Then I thought, no way; there can't be that many people in California that are smarting than me...can there? Well, my intelligence (or lack thereof) relative to the population notwithstanding, I want to tell you why voting is important, and not just for the political process. Voting is important because...

1. Whether we like it, or not, it is our responsibility. And it is not a terribly difficult one to carry out. But, when you measure the sacrifices that were made in obtaining the freedoms that we enjoy (it is painfully ironic, by the way, that this low turnout election is just a week before Memorial Day when we actually do recognize those aforementioned sacrifices), taking a little time to familiarize ourselves with the issues and to cast a ballot doesn't really seem like much.

2. Voting, regardless of how you vote, is an act of hope. Even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion, taking the time to cast one's ballot is a declaration that hope remains in the human heart. And, in that sense, voting is a spiritual discipline, a "means of grace" to use the Methodist term. Voting is important, not just because it is our responsibility, and not just because it can have an impact in the world, but it is also important because it helps us to be people of hope. And hope is never a bad thing.

So, vote. It is good for your soul.

Stand By Me

Today, in worship, we continued our sermon series "Breaking the Chains: Learning to Live in Healthy Relationships." Today, we talked about my least favorite subject, when the church hurts. In a perfect world, the church would only be a source of healing and redemption in the world. But, ours is not a perfect world, and sometimes the church hurts. Jesus warned against the leaven - the yeast - of the Pharisees and Sadducees. I take that to mean the tendency in religious people to be self-righteous and judgmental. The service was wonderful today. The music from the praise band was outstanding. At the end of the sermon, I played a video that someone turned me onto. It is the song "Stand By Me" sung and played by people from all around the world. To me, it is a wonderful image of what the church can be. Enjoy. http://tinyurl. com/clxyfd