GROWING IN SPIRITUAL FOCUS

Sayid Qutb was born in 1906 in Southern Egypt. He was sent by his government to America to study special methods of education. Upon returning from the United States, Qutb joined the hostile Muslim Brotherhood movement. His experience in America left him with opposing emotions of envy and hatred. He later wrote, Nowhere else on earth could I find people that excel in education, knowledge, technology, business and civilization like the Americans. However, the American values, ethics and beliefs are below the standard of a human being. His conclusion was Americans waste their resources on materialism.

It's the following statement that gripped me like the stomach flu. No one else in the world has built more churches than the Americans....You will find Americans in church on Sunday, Christmas, Easter and special religious occasions, yet they are so empty and do not have a spiritual life. The last thing that an American would think about in everyday life is their religion. This statement was written some fifty-five years ago.

They are so empty and do not have a spiritual life........I spent years as a church leader from the pulpit guilty of this man's accusation. If spirituality took awhile to break in on an up-in-front-of-everybody church leader, how must the person in the pew struggle with similar issue. More importantly I find myself greatly lacking, yet. While strides of improvement are experienced, I don't believe I'll ever arrive.

My great sadness over this man's observation also serves as my ambition. America is sick while church houses sprinkle our metro, suburban, and rural landscape. We are faint being without God; yet, full of church gatherings. Our spirituality has suffered setback precisely at Qutb's observation; materialism. We are ill in our dividing up our wonderful communities into competitive churches and gathering in our Sunday School classes to peck away at the ignorance of the "other" and "those" church teams. Accusation of being unfaithful to the Word of God should settle in on every divisive church group including those of us reading this blog. We've terrorized our own land without the Muslims. We've polluted the glory of God's heart with our doctrinal smugness and, worse yet, our indifferent shrugs. The result? They are so empty and do not have a spiritual life.

Sayid Qutb? He is regarded to be the founding father of the radical Muslim jihad. He received his ambition to arise to power by living among us and noting our basic lack of spiritual connection. Muslim terrorism is a world problem. America didn't create it. But we had a strong influence as the jihad pot began to boil.

We will want to consider how it is we develop a healthier spirituality by being as faithful to God Monday morning as on Sunday morning. Uniting over the name of Jesus will be a good start.

NEEDY LEADERS

If you are anything like me you want to do twice the work you possibly can; yet, possess only half the confidence needed to pull off the nagging interruptions of an average day. Mediocrity bugs us while great success intimidates us. We dream of extensive productivity while fearing the embarrassment of failure. What kind of leaders are we? Men (women) or mice (mousettes)? The good news is I believe we are the latter. We are basically too little for such a big life.

I know a few whom we would regard as powerful and influential leaders. They run scared. Yet, they trust God. Abraham Lincoln is a famed and respected American leader. He admitted, I have been driven to my knees many times on the overwhelming conviction I had nowhere else to go!

The reason I write this is for the giants of men and women out there who never had it occur to you that you are marvelously enough. You've got what it takes. If you are believing the great successes are those who one day reach that glorious crest after working their way up in confidence, you simply don't get it. All human leaders come equipped with ideal "impossibility awareness" which keep us dependent upon the "possibility" God. We can't. He can. That's the formula for effective living. The we can't must not be denied; but must be trumped with our personal He can faith.

There is no leader quite so powerful as a spiritually needy leader. There are no decision makers who make better decisions than those unsure leaders who must have God's help with deciding. (Calvin Miller)

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Mary and I attended the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Jackie and Mackie Chestnutt at the Southside Church of Christ in Rogers, Arkansas this past Sunday. The placed was packed and the spirit of love and gratitude toward this couple was just as one had hoped. Marshall Brown, who is on staff there, did a superb job of keeping the celebration moving along as he possesses great leadership skills to make that sort of thing work well.

Mary and I got to eat with Jim and Martha White from Nebraska. I'd never met them before. They were easy to visit and interesting to hear of their work. Martha mentioned having done mission work in Brazil and it hit me: how many of our people have been in the field? It must be that huge numbers have spent time reaching into zones not called home.

So, where have you been? Would you type in your name and then list places you have served, whether a full-time missionary or went with a group on a mission trip. I'll give you a sample list:

• Nova Scotia
• Brazil
• Mississippi
• Mexico
• Michigan

John/Jane Doe

Let's see how many areas we can list. I think it will be encouraging. I'm not asking you to brag. I'm asking you report....WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

HOW DO YOU KEEP A GOOD OUTLOOK ON LIFE?

Why is it so many struggle with the answer to the above question; especially Americans? How is it we live in the most wealthy nation, but so many consider themselves living in poverty? And, why is it so many who are living well financially are brooding as if they live in attitudinal poverty?

I've lived in all of those zones and God set me free from it. He doesn't solve such conditions by developing Christian Pollyannas. He doesn't send every convert off to a Positive Thinking Rally. He simply ruined the stronghold of death. The Resurrection of Jesus is not a holiday in April. It is the standard for common living.

In every situation that wants to level the final blow to our hopes, we possess perfect confidence that we live in and with resurrection power. Nothing negative is permanent. Neither is anything injurious. Resurrection power can take death (and anything that leads up to it) and blow it to smithereens! Nothing can stand in our way!

This does not make us tyrannical citizens. We don't swagger our way through Wal-Mart with a daring chip on our shoulder antsy for a good quarrel. Rather, we are confident that every moment is life-loaded. Easter Sunday is not a holiday......it's every day to the Christian. Therefore, dismiss your cemetery thinking. That's a dead concept. Develop resurrection thinking. That's the way to live. And....the outlook is so good.

We don't approach life positively; we approach it faithfully. There is a difference. Sometimes the former is canned. The latter dares the dark enemy to bring it on, because even the dooming days of death have been shattered by the Leader who broke from the grave so we could break from ours day by day and moment by moment.

Read the Book. We win...Romans 8:37!

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF EDUCATION

(I will be away from the office for a few days. This most likely will be my final post of the week and will hope to get back to you early next week.)

I'm not certain many or any young ones read this blog. However, if some adults notice value in it, maybe you could pass it on. The importance of education is......well....important! Up front, I'm not one who has accumulated various levels of higher education. I am a full-time student of Life. While I have no degrees, I've grown to appreciate the enormous value of learning. God surely has room for me to serve in His kingdom. Yet, I so admire those who have their Bachelor's, Master's and some their Doctorates. What an applaudible and admirable accomplishment.

Learning never quits until the last breath. It's too fascinating, marvelous, essential, and necessary. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that at age 60, compared to all there is to be known, I am merely in kindergarten. This isn't a shameful thing but a compliment to God in all of His creative glories which still remain undetected by man's brilliance. I don't feel left out as I am positively engaged in the information process day by day.

I urge every young one to enthusiastically attend to their education; not to go to classes to just to put in their time, but to learn of matters most important to the value of benefiting mankind. I encourage you to get the best training by the sharpest mentors known. Excel. Study the good stuff and trash the junk food for the mind. Be one to break the code of mediocrity. Let nothing (location, finances, etc.) restrict you from dreaming of obtaining everything phenomenally available to equip you to be the best you can be.

Everyone can learn. Often when I pray, I will ask God what it is He wishes some preacher would learn that no one ever thought to explore up to this date. I really believe education is not the end. It is the perpetual process for productive life. Neither does it only register on the Richter scales of numbers and equations and formulas and theories. Education lives as a flower garden blooming into lush bouquets of respect and sensitivity for people.

I love to learn. As long as I choose to do this, I believe I'll never grow old. Rather, I will grow into newness day by day because even the Spirit of God knows the "mind" of God. Of course education can puff up. But, so can many other things. We will do well to take in the maturing processes of adjusting, failing and succeeding, trying, and wrestling with the educational possibilities that dance all around us.

Your mind: use it or lose it. I say let's use it to enhance the lives of others by willingly submitting to the course of determined training. We must not give up. If doors close in some areas, it seems they are opportunities for opening others. Learn. May it take us deeper into the undiscovered truths of God.

AN IDEA FOR THE STUDENT OF THE WORD

Dear Reader,

I've spent nearly an hour writing this morning's post. It was in detail about cross-referencing your Bibles with your library. The format, when posted, would not come out the way I typed it and it lost it's clarity.

Therefore, the post has been deleted as a second try at correcting it was in vain. It would not translate from the original page setup to postville.

Therefore, there is nothing for today. But....hey....even nothing is advantageous. The article wasn't that good and evidently the BlogAngels knew it. So, I guess today I have been a blessing to you in some strange way as you discover not everything I try works out....but it sure is fun trying.

Have a great day. Don't flinch over the small stuff. And, stare the big stuff down. Jesus is the resurrection and the life............and we are directly attached.

Strange post...I know. However, considering the source, it is quite understandable, huh?

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION OF EMOTIONS

What about all of this emotion which has erupted and continued to escalate in the church over the past twenty-plus years? Is it really new? Is it a liberal fad? Is it a good thing? Is it of Satan? Various opinions are expressed.

Stuffiness and unfriendly silence coupled with scared to move and the assurance when you do you'll get it wrong is not the mood of the church Jesus builds. Joy and peace and patience seems to be among the highly enjoyed fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Contrary to the belief of some, the church has always been filled with emotion. The sentiment, though, seems to be that of being happy, celebrational, and expressively joyous. It seems these are the traits deemed emotional. The immediate insinuation is to question whether such is a good thing. Further implication by some is that such a sensation cheapens the body of Christ.

But the church has been filled with emotion since the day I was introduced to it. Emotion is not new. The character of it is. In my early years in the church and even at Memorial Drive there was abundant emotion: anger, frustration, agitation. Our assemblies were filled with fear, suspicion, nervousness, and moodiness. I was in on all of it. I was a yeller and a fearer and a sulker. The restrictive church order and I were an immediate match.

So we are yet today, but we've both changed. We have passion upon peace upon excitement upon gratitude upon calm. Abundant emotion reigns. It's the conversion of our emotions which continues to thrust us into the style of the early church, and they kept feeling a sense of awe. Feeling. Sense. Awe. Those three words didn't live in my church world very often. They do today....abundantly so. We have made a transition from emotion based in fear to emotion supported by faith. I like the latter better.......and it's much more biblical.

REACHING TO ONE WHO DOESN'T WANT REACHED

(Yesterday I posted my review of Christopher Hitchens' book, god is not Great. You'll need to read that one first.)

My blog regarding my unfavorable review of Hitchens' book yesterday has been forwarded to him. I sent it. I didn't send it to "show him" or to win an argument or to join in on a yelling match between documented fools. I did it in effort to do something he would, at this time in his life abhor....win his soul to Christ.

We must never be duped by the rigors of spiritual warfare and blindness into believing one could never change his mind. Nor, must we ever accept the temptation to hate disgusting opposers of the cross of Christ. We are most challenged to love even our enemies in an age when Christianity has many.

I thought about Hitchens reading my post the entire time I was writing it. I wrote from his perspective; frank, critical, and honest. He did not write a dishonest book as much as he wrote a piece from honest, yet blind, bias. We all have such a tendency. But, would it not be something if this man were to be a second Saul of Tarsus? It's happened to a many of us!

Bluntly, once Hitchens reads my post I doubt I'll be invited as a dinner guest. To make matters worse, if he learned I was trying to win him over I would likely be a target of his resentment. Yet, we must never give up on the Spirit of God extending redirective grace. It has been done and can be repeated. I wrote my rejection of his book with proving him wrong in mind; not about Christians or religion, but that apparent enemies can love which could only come from God.

For me to say or write anything to put Hitchens in his place just is not going to happen. We have an awkward combination; he's too smart and I'm admittedly dumb. Nor do I need to pop off at my keyboard in front of friendly blogvillers. What is needed is objection to his insulting material with a respect and love for his soul. I urge you to do two things:

• Pray for him although he doesn't believe in it or want it.
• Reach to your own found in opposition. With God weirder things are possible.

BOOK REVIEW OF god is not Great

Early this morning I finished Christopher Hitchens' book, god is not Great. The 283 page volume is a robust diatribe against religion of every sort. Hitchens is smart as a whip and his research is admirably extensive. And, it is extremely and bullishly biased. His heart and mind are clearly set on annihilating any valid support for religion; regardless of brand or slant. He wants it out o' here!

In his brilliance, he totally missed an important truth in two basic areas:

• God, too, is against religion. God did not call man to religion. He called him to life. There is a big difference. Religion neither equates nor represents God; regardless of how animated it surely tries. One is invented by moody and notional man. The other is the Eternal Creator who will not submit to man-court, man-trial, or man-judgment.
• He had no arguments against God. He attacked all believers and our stupidity. He has a valid burr which anyone serious about spirituality would agree. But, he expressed no point to diminish God. He took it all out on God for followers of any religion being so blatantly blind and inconsistent.

There is no doubt, Hitchens is well-versed in anti-religious viewpoints; yet, his book is frankly mis-titled. It should appropriately read, believers are not Great. He is widely traveled and deeply informed. While I envy his education coupled with experiential connections/observations to many religions, I fault his clear arrogance to use God as a whipping post when God never called man to be religious. In his staministic detesting of religious hypocrites, Hitchens simply fell for an age old trap in which all of we blind fellows fall; human intelligence lures us to believe ourselves as gods if we would only smart up.

God Is Great. His seekers and followers and ambassadors are full of obvious and worthy criticism. Hitchens is right to point out flaw after flaw after erroneous flaw. But he simply missed the mark when he blamed God. His intelligence, once again, betrayed him and revealed him to be a fool along with the rest of us.

The book reveals documentation proving religious leaders to be worse than I had imagined. The writings are most informative. But as hard as he tried, Hitchens did not dent in the slightest the validity of the Living God. He gave it his best shot......and missed.

JESUS THEN AND JESUS NOW

When Jesus was restricted to one human body, his passion seemed twofold. He spread good news in a land approaching ransack and control by foreign soldiers. And, he loved, loved to attend to the underdogs. He healed and encouraged and healed and motivated.

All through the years we've had those among us who have led exemplary lives of caring for the stranded and the upset and the ignored. Don Pittman, who passed away a year ago, saw a church built powerfully on the twofold passion of Jesus. He would not quit accepting those who would/could likely be judged out of most fellowships. The heart of Jesus lived in Don's and the two of them ministered steadfastly to Jesus' favorite sort.

My daughter, Wendy Chapel, is of the same nature. At an early age she developed a love for complete strangers who touched her heart so deeply simply because they were deprived in some way. Once she had us pack and ship her first (and only Bible at the time) to an unknown (by us) five year old boy in Burlington, Iowa because she heard me preach that his family was found to only have a bottle of Heinz to eat (true story). She was seven.

Joe Almanza amazes me with his drive for the down and out. The man will not give up nor in. He risks and he aches to see new life come to old, weary spirits. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses: Pat Casey, Larry Wishard, Paul Whitmire, John Dobbs, Brenda Hughes, Tiffany Ferguson, Jeffery Sikes, Liz Moore, Greg England, Eric Magnusson, and on and on and on..........the list doesn't end. Listen to me now, it doesn't end.

Be encouraged today. If the present body of Jesus were to be suddenly extracted from society there would be such a stark and cavernous gap. The mountains of good being accomplished through the Spirit of Christ right now is an awesome, indescribable, unreportable, immeasurable fact. Be delighted to be connected to such a race of people which lives to love and loves to accept and accepts those who yet do not realize the beauty of our glorious God.

Day by day even more join us in spreading the same good news which kept the fire burning in the heart of God's son. Who can imagine the stories of God's most fascinating action...every day?

I THINK HE SAW ME COMING

What in the world just happened to me? I just got home from church. I've surely been Slick Willied.....by a little kid!!!! Eli Thornton is the older child of our staffers, Jason and Heather. Ordinarily he is too distracted with kids his age to pay attention to this old man. Not the case tonight. I must be special. Eli had me in his sight from a distance....and I walked right into one of the most amazing traps of my life.

I noticed he was unusually enthused to see me at church tonight. This delighted me. Eventually, I realized why. He flagged me down with a fund raising catalog from his grade school tucked under his arm. Hey Terry, he called out with unusual excitement over my appearance in the foyer. My school would hardly believe it if your name was to show up on this order blank!!!!!

So, what can I say? I guess Eliot Elementary will simply be wowed because my name SURELY IS on the roster having paid twelve bucks for some Christmas wrap. I usually don't buy as so many of our kids sell neat items. However, if his school would be half as excited as he was to get my name on that order form, then let's have at it!

As braced as I was to tell Mr. Slick No, I couldn't resist. If my name would mean that much (and upon inquiry he assured me it would) to his school, then I say I've got to do my part. Should any of you pass by Eliot Elementary tomorrow, you'll most likely know some kind of holiday is in force. Not really. The shouting must be because Eli showed them my name.

I think he saw me coming!

MEMORIAL DRIVE ALIVE!

You gotta know I love this church where I get to attend. Of all things industriously exciting on earth, I never dreamed it could possibly be church! Who would have guessed? If one were to ask what best characterizes this family, variations of strengths could be offered: the Spirit, the warmth, the generosty. Maybe the worship experience?

My estimation is our heartfelt theme of A Place to Start Life Over. We live it, love it, and believe it. Richard came after experiencing a divorce and being away from God for over 20 years. He was invited and when he stepped toward the welcome mat at the door his very first Sunday he read, A Place to Start Life Over, and wondered if this might be for him. He is now one of our best Bible class teachers. Bill and his wife visited us on a Sunday morning and when he saw the sign printed across the canopy, A Place to Start Life Over, it struck him he was home. They have been with us ever since that first visit.

Gail was headed for another congregation. She had gone through some challenges and decided she needed to return to her roots and see if it wasn't about time to reconnect with God. She was on her way to another church and made a wrong turn. She passed by our drive and saw the sign, A Place to Start Life Over. She thought that sign was just for her and came on in. We were explaining we would be having baptism Sunday in three weeks and those interested were invited to a special class. She attended. She learned. She found we were truly A Place to Start Life Over as she was baptized into Christ that special Sunday and will celebrate her first year anniversary in a few weeks.

On and on the stories warm our hearts as broken and wounded ones enter in to His perfect joy of finding A Place to Start Life Over. When any of our lambs experience heavy difficulty and sin, we know what (and Who) we are about. We know that 70 x 7 backs this great theme. No one can be so broken in the sight of God they cannot be refurbished by the love of Christ. We are his body and we hope that when any come across us they get a sense they, too, can start life over....and over.....and over.

In a time when so many are broken down, disjointed, and disconnected, the church is in a perfect position to help our friends, neighbors, and even our enemies get a shot at starting life all over. Nicodemus thought it to be a strange concept. But it remains most needed.

That's my observation for where I attend. What's the striking trait for where you are?

NATIVITY CHURCH?

I was preparing for a funeral a couple of weeks ago. I noticed the entrance to the front doorway slightly undone, so I took a stab at straightening it for company. The work seemed to expand and before long I was vacuuming the outdoor mat which says, A Place to Start Life Over. From there I noticed a few discarded cigarette butts left over from two AA meetings that week. As I picked them up in the two coffee tins, I noticed the stench of those butts which made their way into the cans now combined with rain water. It was like holding two quarts of cigarette soup. Before the job was completed I had black slosh spots on my white shirt from emptying the two cans of mixture into the dumpster. For the rest of the day, including the funeral, I smelled like cigarettes.

It's possible some may have noticed my new Philip Morris cologne. But, I didn't mind. As I worked to clean up the trash left behind by our AA friends, I thought how proud I was to be a part of a church that touches the lives of real people. I'm glad for the times when we have a wedding rehearsal on Friday evenings that guests have to work their way through 45 to 70 community neighbors smoking at our entrance to the church as they wait for AA to start. I'm glad we sometimes smell like smoke.

Here's why. What do you think it smelled like when Jesus landed on earth? Lemon-scented PineSol? Don't you get it that Jesus was born in a manger where variations of barnyard sounds and scents were abundant? That's what makes God reliable. He knows how earthlings live. The Nativity was not sanitized. It was raw life.

If you ever visit our church I hope we are cleaned up and presentable. But should you encounter a poopy diaper in a classroom or a can of cigarette butts just outside the entry way, know you have found a pretty neat church! We've kept the Nativity tradition going: real people doing real living in front of a real God.

Jeff Childers and Frederick Aquino wrote, The Lord came into the world as it is, no prior cleanup necessary. In fact, he seems eager to face the world's ugliness head on.....showing us a Creator whose strategy for rescuing us out of our pain begins with a gesture of humility: joining us in it. Church isn't when you give God your best. It's when you give God what you have where you are........no clean up necessary. We don't get ourselves right and then go to God. We give ourselves to God.....and He alone cleans us up and makes us right.

LEARNING TO TAKE MY SEAT

Memorial's elders asked me a few months ago to work a couple of guys on staff into the pulpit a couple of times each quarter. I like it. Of course, it feels terribly awkward to sit still for an entire hour. Originally, I got into preaching so I could keep from getting bored! Yet, the opportunity to be present while these guys train is rewarding. Jason Thornton preached today and Bobby Smith speaks in two weeks. These guys are already good. Jason probably preached one of his best this morning. Memorial is blessed to have such talent.

I think it takes, though, ten or twenty years to begin to feel at home in preaching. You realize that's only my opinion and it could be that I have been extremely slow in catching on. It could be that some don't believe me when I say I feel I am in kindergarten in preaching/ministering. Here are some key things I've learned just in the last five years:

• Church health does not revolve around the preacher and his sermons. It revolves around the Holy Spirit of Christ.
• God will show up in so many assorted ways in our assemblies all a leader can do is watch for Him to make His move......and enjoy it.
• My wisdom is so shallow that if I project much of it onto the church as necessity, it interferes with stable, productive progress.
• There is immeasurable joy in the fact that there is so much good going on all around. Preach about it. Teach about it. Praise about it.
• We are free/encouraged to anticipate God's surprising and mysterious moves. He's got the knack of abundant life and, finally, the church is beginning to believe it!

Too sit back and let the younger guys arise is not a problem for me/us. I'm not old; I am older. It is a right move to be training younger men. One of my main roles in this is to sit down and shut up. Simple enough; yet, oh so needed to give Jason and Bobby and others down the road the room to develop in God's aggressive style. They won't turn out like me. They'll turn out like Jesus because that's Who runs the church.

How exciting to get it that decreasing is, in reality, increasing under His graceful terms. I have liked yesterdays in the church and the tomorrows coming are packed with hope. But my biggest thrill in learning to take my seat is......I simply like right now.

SO MUCH GOING ON...WHO CAN IMAGINE?

I believe while I type this article Christianity is making huge progress in China and South Africa and Mississippi. I believe brave Christians may find women clutching to their children beneath bridges in New Jersey and Mexico City. It could very well be there are prisoners in Uganda and Detroit who are about to make terrific decisions to consider Jesus as their master.

Most likely there are teens in Indiana and Seattle doing homework across their beds as they listen to A Cappella CDs and the Spirit of God is sinking into their hearts. It could be that in the next thirty days a baby will be born who will become the President of the U.S. in 2052. There is a strong chance that within the next two hours a family who is about to part harsh ways find reason to abort bailing out.

It's not far-fetched to wonder if the Word is marvelously affecting Dublin and Durant before day breaks again. The imagination can wonder if there are couples in tears in Canada and Chicago as they make risky plans to leave their families and careers so the husbands can become students in a preaching school. Great are the possibilities that saying "I'm really sorry" and "I must apologize" are reversing tattered relationships in New Orleans and Calcutta.

Missions are effectively advancing in Taiwan and Duluth because of special days of giving back in 1946 and again in 1978. Angels may be applauding simple and sweet good deeds of gentle souls in Amsterdam and Panama City. Yielding to the name of Jesus may be developing in Liberia and Iran.

My point is exhaustively unimaginable. If the earth could not contain all the books which could be written about Jesus in his day, what in the world could be exaggeratedly said about the amount of books it would take to report all God is presently doing in the body of Christ now?

IN SOME AREAS I LIVE PERPETUALLY DEPRESSED

I know some believe me to be naive. Some view me as over-positive. Others see me as never having a discouraging day. Well, let me tell you I have plenty of bummer moments and that's precisely why I am so pumped about faith and hope and love and encouragement. We need it! I need it! God wants us to have it....Hebrews 10:25.

I finished my day, indeed, very sad. I attended a funeral at a high church denomination. The sudden loss of this middle-aged friend was squarely overshadowed by the completely empty and methodical ritual we all endured called a funeral. It was unmistakably absent of heart. Everything was a well-orchestrated officiality with zero feeling. There were no tears, no laughter, no emotions, no charges, no reflections, no nothing of meaning. I'm not exaggerating. It was an empty hour.

I sat there thumbing through the manual counting the number of recitations yet to be made; first by the officiator followed by the audience. It made me reflect on Jesus and how far have we, in religious orders, smothered his bright eyes and bouncing step with church foo-foo. No wonder nations leave God. They've understood Him to represent motionless, actionless, heartless, and useless religious repetitions and they got to where they couldn't take it. They quit because they died on the way to their death.

I encourage you that, as usual, I had a good day in the center of my bad afternoon because I had another vision of what good news Jesus is. I am so thankful there are a great cluster of believers roaming earth today who love and adore a Man who lives both There and Here! I love it that Jesus rescued us from lethargy! I love it that Jesus insists we abandon our own man-made doctrines.

Well.....I think I feel better just getting to tell you about it. It grieves me to see precious hearts assume cold, damp church buildings are an exact reflection of God. He died to get us off of dead-center. Don't you feel refreshed by His blessings and actions day after day and week after week?

We need Him. He wants us. May we find ourselves renewed to fight for the ideas that matter and love all of the people in the process.

ARE WE DOING LIFE TOO SMALL?

(THIS IS WRITTEN FOR THURSDAY MORNING ON WEDNESDAY EVENING. IF IT'S STILL WEDNESDAY WHERE YOU ARE, DON'T READ THIS ONE YET. READ THE ONE BELOW. COME BACK TOMORROW.)

I carry a book in my car for study at moments of delay; i.e. doctor's office, waiting for breakfast at the cafe, scheduled appointment running late at the coffee shop, etc. I don't want to miss out on opportunity. Life is fascinating, don't you think?

So, how does one enjoy now? Many don't, you know. If we can make the slightest hint of progress, maybe bigger life will unfold for some here and there. I once lived a life without God. Now, everything is so new all of the time. Thinking positively and faithfully brings about a macro-shift in our normal trek through the rigors called "here and now". Here are some ways to begin a bigger life:

• BE THANKFUL
• BE APPRECIATIVE
• BE GRATEFUL

Here's how I got started. I'd think how I would feel if things went really badly. For instance, what if my arm was paralyzed? What if I was blind and couldn't see a snow storm? What if I didn't have the ability to drive myself to work? What if I lived in a nursing home? What if I were a leper and couldn't feel touch so I would never know if I stepped on a nail. What if I went deaf? What if I had no friends? What if I lived in an iron lung? What if I had a son killed in war? What if I couldn't talk? What if I didn't have thumbs?

Next, I would ask myself, How would I feel if any of the above were a part of me and suddenly they were restored to perfect health? Well, I would feel so excited I would shout and smile and tell God and people how grateful I was. I would constantly tell about my miracle. And then, I would go ahead and do just that out of gratitude for not having to lose any of it before I told Him how happy I was to enjoy them. I live multi-miracled days....and so do you.

We have exorbitant living to do, friends. Let's not wait until it diminishes to begin appreciating it. Like right now! Calvin Miller wrote about how deep sea divers parallel our spirituality. Real spiritual divers are so in love with the depths that they don't spend much of their lives trying to make oceanography real in a world where birdbaths define smaller passions. Hurray for Mr. Miller......and for us. Determine to refuse birdbath living when there are oceans to explore!

Shall we begin to go swimming.....now.....in our oceans?

NOT EVERY DAY BRINGS SMILES

We live in reality. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we cry. I enjoy life every day, but there are those many moments when I get down. I'm terribly insecure. What's ugly is I'm much better than I was when I first came to Memorial. My feelings got hurt over air. It didn't take much to rush me headlong into moody sulking. I was notorious at suffering from self-induced misery. Actually, I led most effectively in the monumental and treacherous zone of self-pity.

The Word has changed much of that for me. It's most daring, really, in its call to gain better perspective over our days. I've focused on these passages and they have worked me over:

• Everything that happens is a "Yes"....II Cor. 1:18-20. If it is a "Yes" then I must seek such a term in every event. Scoot over moodiness. Hello happiness.
• All days are good days.....Rom. 5:1-5. Those that are good are good. Others which are bad are good. Something good is always going on in the center of the disparaging.
• God can make cinnamon rolls out of dented fenders....Rom. 4:17. The terminology is an admitted stretch on my part. However, this verse says God can do anything....anything. I've become accustomed to expecting it.
• I can completely discard my nature to control people and situations.....Rom. 9:16. Circumstances are not up to me to guide nor to fix. They are up to God. I will be available to apply myself with fullest energy, but I will not take the reigns of worry and begin to press. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, then I must be having another good day!
• Everything will be okay....Rom. 8:28. I don't have to question the discouraging stuff. God's alive in the very essence of the moment which is causing me tears. I am free to cry, but I don't have to assume defeat. Even the struggles contain buried blessings.
• In all matters the believer is victorious....Rom. 8:37. Whether life or death, etc., God has decreed His children victory. We win in the birthing room and at the funeral parlor. We win at the revelation of a miracle and the discovery of a tumor.

Yes, I still find myself dealing with frustration, opposition, and discouragement. The good news is it is so much more contained than in my earlier days. Increasingly, He calms the struggle of being human as we grow in taking on His divine nature. Growing in the Spirit of Christ is not a religious exercise to take up our time. It's His life being super-imposed onto/into us. The more we allow it, the more we enjoy being us.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

Life goes stale when nothing new is expected. New and expectation are ideal neighbors. Revival and renewal are loved. The search to capture a younger look is funded by mega-bucks. The resurgence of new life in an old company is hailed as remarkable; even thrilling. New car? New glasses? New shoes? They all reflect something special about the day. One can buy a used car, but because it's new to them the excitement runs just as strong. To expect new to arise from routine is like a breath of fresh air. Regardless of our age, we never tire of finding the new.

One of the reasons I like the church so much is it's always new. Life in Christ is new. The Bible says we are new day by day. I love that truth. Even when we tell the old faithful Story, today's hearts take it in and it makes us.....new. For any reading this who have become burnt or at least bummed due to church, I want to encourage you about its new life. The church is alive! It isn't a repeat of the repeated! It's alive because we are growing to be less devoted to man's religiosity and more committed to the stability of Jesus.

Henri Nouwen wrote, Many have walked into that dead-end street and found themselves imprisoned in a life where all the words were already spoken, all events had already taken place, and all the people had already been met. We say it another way: Been there. Done that.
But what I find fascinating is we haven't been there with Jesus and done that with Jesus yet. Take a look at his ministry and rehearse the time the crowds left him and a said, Ah, not so interesting. He's losing it. He's always healing people and feeding crowds from sack lunches. The guy is losing his touch, don't you think? Such isn't being said because the very nature of Jesus is a strong and new life.

What I love about it is we are free to expect it. Every Sunday God does something amazing in our assemblies. I can't wait to get here to see what it is. It never comes from the same person. It just gets here.....somehow. He shows up. We've come to expect it.

There are those who want lots of things. But there's something wonderfully weird going on in the invisibles when we expect; not demand, but anticipate. My your life grow in believing God is the Provider; even in those matters which you can't explain.....you can only expect.

PUBLIC SCHOOL AND CHURCH COMBINE....AWESOME!

Happy Labor Day! God has given us a most wonderful work just down the street. I can't tell if God sent Memorial Drive the nearby Lindbergh Elementary School or if He sent Lindbergh the Memorial Drive Church of Christ. Either way, I'm loving it!

It always excites me to see the church move from its four walls and into the community. But this Lindbergh connection is such an amazing plus. Their staff is humble. They most naturally make us feel we are a welcomed team. Our partnership is entering its second year and I can't express enough greatness about their crew.

There's a Mrs. Nance who is the principal. Her ability to keep order without being Miss Bossy is fun to watch. Marilyn exemplifies grace and devotion. I learn positive leadership skills when around her. And then Jennifer and Claudia and Linda and Kathy and Dametta....and on and on is the roll call of a powerful unit of teachers and workers. I'm always telling Jennifer Campbell I think the parents are absolutely crazy about me. She just rolls her eyes....and laughs. And I may not know how to spell Dametta, but she has to be one of the most wonderful, delightful school nurses this side of Mars.

Our God is an awesome God. One of the best things He has done for this little congregation is give us opportunity to serve beside some of our best citizens in our community....public school teachers and staff. Memorial talks about this group as if we are all family. We don't just try to help where we can. We have fallen in love with the school: the entire staff, the children, the parents. Our hearts have surrendered. Memorial is not in partnership with Lindbergh out of religious duty. We team with them from hearts of respect, admiration, and love.

Really, I show up only in smattering situations. Jennifer Curtis and Jason Thornton are the main bolts for this wheel. Yet, I do enjoy my slightest interaction whether is be dropping in with special coffee for the secretaries or speaking at Library Night or packing a grocery bag with art supplies. As you can tell, I'm pumped about our public neighbor. We've needed them for a long time. Finally, we've met!

Lindbergh Elementary...................the Church of Christ down the street salutes you!

THE GREAT UNVEILING

If you are anything like me you feel the pressure of life. There is so much to track, so much to know, so much to attend, so many to help, and so much to discern. Do you ever feel you are about to explode because you can't cure the stresses?

I literally grieve over three kinds of people:

1. Those who can't find God, but really hunger to know Him.
2. Those who were raised in some kind of church where their spirits were killed and they now live in resentment and bitterness toward the God of Life and Love.
3. Those who are poor and find themselves farther behind at the end of every day.

Need. It's everywhere we turn. Much of humanity is bankrupt. I've stood in state prisons where human beings are caged as animals at a zoo. The look in their eyes is disturbing. I grieve. I've sat in cafes in Malibu and watched some of the rich at nearby tables. Their skin is leathery from surfing and their eyes are glazed from drugs. They are present in body and not home in mind. I grieve. I've visited with grown ups who were killed off in churches. They are such a decent sort who didn't survive the rigid rules of sub-doctrinal inflexibility. All of these groups appear they know they are lost. This look haunts me.

The strange, yet good news, is that in the center of this dark grief I find my motivation. The secret to where you can minister best is hidden in the areas you lament most. Being burdened over the burdened is a God-send. If there was ever a time mankind needs strong and powerful voices of hope, now is the time. Yes, I very much feel the pressure of so many in need. Yet, this is the very reason I have a most wonderful job.

You have purpose and meaning in life. A significant segment of our people are oblivious to their most exciting role. I encourage you to take note of the pressures you feel. Those burdens most likely identify your calling. If you hurt over something, I promise you there is a need for ministry in that very spot.

Blessings to you as your heartache unveils your purpose in life.

SOME BARGAINS AREN'T

I found a T-shirt with a pale picture of an island across the chest; palm trees and water. I like it. A friend said to me last night at church, it looks like you've got you shirt on wrong-side out. The picture seems faded. No, see the tag is inside the back of my collar. When I took my shirt off late last night, sure enough there was this brightly colored picture on the inside. The graphic had been misplaced onto the inside of the shirt. No wonder I got it on the sale rack at Wal-Mart for little money!

Upon investigation I thought maybe I could clip the tag and no one would notice. It won't work. The sleeves and the collar and the hem seams all pooch out if I wear the shirt inside-out for the screened picture to be right. No matter what I do I can't get it right.

Upon further investigation of our regular lives we eventually come to the same conclusion; we can't get it right. Our course is turned inside-out and/or upside down in so many screwy ways we are stumped as to what to do. Adjusted management or recycled approaches seem to offer little improvement. What are we to do with us? We are backward and tend to live faded.

First, don't look for solutions on the bargain racks at the Quick-Fix-It mall. The more we turn our lives in and out the more frustrated we will become. Second, go for the complete solution. Jesus is the Savior of this mess. Church isn't. Self-help books aren't. Massaged self-esteem simply becomes more demanding. Jesus is the beauty of real life.

Anyone can find him, but not on the bargain rack. He's found once hanging on the most expensive rack and the cost is immeasurable. That's how valuable God believes you to be. You are no bargain. You are very expensive and God made the full purchase with no discount that your life might be right-side out and beautifully worn.....no tags, no seams showing.

TOUGH HOPE

If tough love is needed at times, how about tough hope? Abraham had hope against hope and proceeded to believe.

Dusty called me yesterday afternoon. Crystal began a new third grade teaching job in their huge Arkansas public school system. She taught at another elementary school the past two years. In the transfer they also moved their two boys from yet another school to go with her to the same new school within a block of their house. This all began last week.

Yesterday Crystal was informed that she was being involuntarily transferred to yet another school far across town to teach first grade. Dusty called me to say, You may want to call Crystal tonight and give her your Terry talk. He went on to explain the superintendent is new on the job and has been handed a tough assignment as the school system is millions of dollars in debt. He has the trying task to trim everywhere he can to temporarily keep a sinking ship afloat. Due to necessary pruning, he's not popular.

I reminded Dusty of this perfect soul winning opportunity. This new superintendent needs to hear of Dusty's immediate support by letting him, who just pulled the rug from beneath Crystal's stable footing, know he has the Rush's sympathy and understanding. I shared with Dusty that if the man were to hear from him because Crystal just got a raise it would be lightly impactful. But to hear from a husband whose wife just took a hit and find support in that conversation....well, that would open wonderful opportunities for kingdom matters to proceed.

Dusty emailed the man immediately expressing their personal pain; yet, complete support of such a bold move. The superintendent called him within fives minutes thanking him and expressing his need to go to lunch one day soon. I talked with Crystal last night. She shed only a few tears, but mostly expressed her understanding.....and I guess maybe we did find places to laugh.....a lot!

I encourage you about your day. Diamonds show up best against dark backdrops. Shine all the time. Be sure of a sturdy truth about your day: you never shine brighter than when pinned against dark and gloomy backdrops. Even when something is going wrong....something better is going right. Those are the rich moments calling for tough hope.

THE QUESTION TO STOP ALL PROGRESS

Men debate. Verbal scuffles disturb the camp. Defensiveness builds. Dividing lines are drawn. Minds are set. Next, opportunities and possibilities find themselves with fewer champions. Where states argue for churches to be separate from politics, it is the church which suffers from politics' unwelcome intrusion.

Truth is claimed by all sides. Neither Wyatt Earp nor Matt Dillon faced so many duels on main street. The great temptation is to play it safe and withdraw from debate. But we can't. It isn't about who's right. The battle is over Who being right. Jesus is our right-eousness. We cannot afford to slip into ecumenical uselessness. It isn't that some are right and all others are wrong. The truth is we are all wrong and only Jesus is right. This truth seems to go unheralded.

To cover our irresponsible denial that we might have just a few things wrong, we mount an offensive by hiding in the three (or five) things we believe to be truth. From there we take our stand. Yet, within said ranks Truth will peck away at the consciences of faithful men and women. They will begin to question the present stance as they begin to wonder if the Word really does say things like it's wrong to have garage sales, it's wrong to sing during communion, etc.

The big question intended to shut down all questions is usually, Where will this lead? This usually extracts the teeth from the lion-hearted. But there is often an answer to that question which carries positive faithfulness. It just might lead to the truth. It will lead to freedom to do things in the kingdom which bossy-butts had deemed unbiblical because their parents didn't approve.

What is the this in the big question? Freedom. And, just where will this lead? It will lead to keeping our young people in the church. It will lead to intense love of God. It will lead to confidence to try again after horrendous failure. It will lead to expectation of the God of mercy to accept each of us. It will lead to meaningful respect for the simple Word rather than frustration and confusion over what the church says the Word says when it doesn't say it.

The big question is intended to buckle the knees of young faith. Howard Macey said, The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed. The sacrifice of courage upon the taming altar of strong-armed tradition has killed off many hearts who simply wanted to serve God; yet, they couldn't keep jumping through the strange church hoops.

The question to stop all questions need not be eliminated. It's not an unwise question. The problem with it is when it is used as a bully's whip to shut down the freedom of truth Jesus anticipated for us. Therefore, even the big question deserves the freedom to be asked. But it needs a passionate drive for hope, rather than the usual cringing of fear when presented.

FAITH GONE FLAT

What's going on with Christianity: yours, mine, and ours? I wonder if the Great Commission has been hijacked. While many congregations (including where I reside) emphasize some outreach, there is magnanimous and united focus on the part of general Christianity to see that we do church right. Translation? Churches are doing and saying biblical things inside of our unbiblical church buildings at the expense of setting God's front-burner goal on the back burner. Considering the most basic believer, how much of his time and meaning involve (not a hint of outgoing, but) choosing up sides for the perpetual religious tug-o-war of Which kind of church does the most things right?

Abe Lincoln (not the President but a Christian leader from Lubbock) sat in a meeting with elders and me one Saturday afternoon to help us wade through church philosophy and standards (arguments). He made a statement I could not understand at the time. Eventually I realized his profound, yet seeming backward, observation. He said that our doctrines will change when we take our faith out into the community. My thought was, If truth is the truth, why would it change on the street? That's still a good question and I've discovered the answer.

Until the church takes the Good News out, it has nowhere to arise to its intended purpose. The Good News is designed to bring life to the lifeless, hope to the poor, and recovery to the sabotaged. When boarded up within church walls, eventually the good news becomes merely a topic for monotonous debate with undertones to most members of, This ain't ever going to go anywhere. Quarter upon quarter and decade upon decade we keep circling the same protective wagons, while avoiding the adventurous trail of purpose and meaningful service toward others.

As a result, churches have shifted His message of hope to theirs of a lesser standard. Come join us and let's go nowhere together! has become the weak word toward a pleading-for-something-which-could-help society. Churches (all brands and shapes) have sucked the air out of His great commission and, therefore, have been forced to scramble for something (anything) of substitutional interest.

Can the drive of the church be re-inflated? Absolutely. We have a wonderful future in our presence! From experience I can attest to the accuracy of Abe Lincoln's bewildering comments. Every time we make a move into any community to offer hope rather than distancing judgment, our doctrine of what we really count to be meaningful arises. Jesus was on target. If we will lose our lives for the sake of others, we'll discover ourselves coming alive. If, however, we sit in church houses and play-it-safe we will find the air going out of our faith. Eventually, we will not be able to breathe. Finally, as Jesus promised, we will die.

Got life? Want to give life? Put some air back into your faith. Buy a barefoot child a pair of shoes. Stand in line at McDonalds and buy a poor family a warm breakfast. Acknowledge a toothless old woman who walks as if she doesn't have a friend in the world. Look outwardly. See people in need. Risk. Replace judgmental rolling of the eyes with extending helping hands in a community which so needs someone, just one someone, to applaud.

KNOWING GOD ONLY SLIGHTLY IS HUGE

Any debate as to whether God exists saddens me. How illegitimate of any man to doubt the Beautiful One's existence. The authenticity of the Creator: His role, His purpose, His style need not submit to super-ambitioned whims or disproportioned boastings of the created. Yet, such a contest continues.

I'm reading a book, god is not Great, by Christopher Hitchens. It's a mis-titled work. believers are not Great, is the more accurate assessment, but Hitchens takes our noticeable absurdities and transposes them onto to God as if our bumblings were a divine iron-on patch of sorts. Hitchens' estimation of Christianity's many pitfalls has misled him to conclude God, Himself, is a sham. His own intelligence betrays him. Value is in the writings as it will bolster faith; the very thing he had intended to undermine.

Hitchens places extreme confidence in man's wisdom. He pits man's intelligence against the backdrop of what he passionately desires to regard as our flimsy faith. He has credentials galore; yet, his inability to know God is revealing as to his own mere foolishness. Didn't God have something to say along that line in First Corinthians 1:20-31?

We are to conclude from the book God is only god....and completely made up in the imagination of the mind at that. According to this very biased author, science is supposed to have proven God to be a folklore and faulty god. However, from faith's perspective it seems science's fascinating purpose ought to more accurately give estimate and observation to creation. It cannot arise to the level of Creator. GOD fulfills that role alone.

Science is to detect life, not provide nor invent it. We are most blessed by its continual and immense discoveries. We are most endangered when man tries to impose science's brilliance by asserting it is man's newest god. Science will never track down nor explain the Immeasureable Living God of the world. It will forever be limited to just now finding out yet another host of undiscovered discoveries God had hidden all along....even from the most bizarrely brilliant.....because God is so Clever the cleverest cannot detect by a mere fraction of a percent of Him after all of these centuries!

That's my opinion. How do you see it?

GOD CAN USE YOU FOR GREATNESS

I had an opportunity a few years back to join area pastors in a special meeting with Jim Cymbala who had flown in from New York. Jim is the pastor of the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle; a church he began with 25 members thirty-five years ago and today reaches the 10,000 number. His three books Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and Fresh Power and Fresh Faith may have crossed your desk over the past ten years. Under his wife's leadership the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir has gained world fame.

What kind of person and personality would you assume Cymbala (pronounced Sim'-ball-a) to be? From his writings I felt I would meet one special servant of God. I was right on target. It was a joy to interact with him.

After a few of us had waited about twenty minutes, two or three men entered a small hall adjacent to a huge sanctuary in Broken Arrow. Two entered crisply dressed and with flambouyant cadence. The third entered in a drab suit, white shirt, and plain tie. I was correct. The latter was the man of the hour. If Cymbala appeared reserved he was even more shy. As he spoke to us about leadership, he was soft spoken; yet direct. He had strong marks of being a vessel but not a star. He was a bright light with zero glare.

However when he addressed a packed house of thousands some two hours later, again he was as I had envisioned. When this nobody special stepped up to the mic he still was not a yeller nor a star, but he surely had profound command of our attention because he spoke as if he had spent time with God. His message was simple, basic, and biblical. He mixed mild humor with compassionate pleas for us to adhere to the heart of the one Lord Jesus.

The special part I got from that evening was not what I heard Jim Cymbala voice. It's what I saw his demeanor say. It said, Whether famous or common, the Spirit of God will work from the hearts of men and women who will trust Him over themselves. It's been nearly four years now since that evening. I've not forgotten the message of hope I saw in a man who began ministry spooked and scared to hardly try.

God works. He uses people just like you; like me. We live a most privileged life. Don't faint at the task ahead. God isn't looking for conquerers. He's looking for any who believe He's already conquered....Romans 8:37. I give you a vote of confidence today. You are special. Spend time with God. We have a world to reach.

WATCH OUT FOR CAR SALESMEN AND PREACHERS

Bob and I happened to show up for coffee at the same time every morning. He sold used cars. Along with other locals, we had enjoyed this routine for over a decade. Another of the dozen or so who gathered for the day's caffeine jump-start was Ken. He was a moody man in his late 40s. Everyone knew everyone and we regularly Howdy and How are ya'd one another. The coffee version of Cheers is duplicated across America as an important thread of society.

One morning grouchy Ken announced for all to hear, as Bob I were perched to his far right at the end of the counter, There are two kinds of people I can't stand: car salesmen and preachers. Whoops! I may be slow, but I think I just got busted. I looked at Bob and whispered, That's the first time I've ever heard that. How about you?, and we both smiled. I had studied Ken for some time. I really liked the man, but he seemed to live on irritability's edge.

A few days later we were the only two in for coffee; Ken sitting in the center of the row along the counter and me at my usual residence at the end of the horseshoe. It occurred to me what was eating at him. His misery dangled from his sleeves. As I moved over beside him, he muttered some acknowledgement of my presence. I said, Ken, I know what's wrong with you. Oh, yeah? What? I've figured it out. You are afraid to die. There was slight pause and then, covering his face with both hands, Ken gushed into tears. He bawled like a baby.

Ken poured out his heart informing me of severe heart abnormalities and, indeed, he was scared. We had a lengthy conversation as I assured him I understood. He simply needed someone to listen; whether it be a car salesman or a preacher. Two weeks later a sixteen year old boy called my house. Are you Mr. Rush? inquired the young man. Yes. Well, I'm calling because my dad's name is Ken and he just died of a heart attack. The other day he came home from coffee and told my mom that if anything ever happened to him, he met this preacher at the coffee shop that he really liked and he wanted to do his funeral. Would you help us? I gladly assisted the family and officiated at Ken's funeral.

Each of us possesses embedded fears. Most revolve around impending death. Everyone needs someone to care. Advice may not be sought as much as a compassionate ear. We live in wonderful; yet, complex times. Ultimately, even the most boisterous against their perception of religion are afraid to die. Unfortunately, they've sawed off all the God-limbs. Ken wasn't mistaken. Car salesmen and preachers are an odd sort. But don't let us keep you from researching the authentic hope found in the man named Jesus. We men may mislead. He can be trusted.

The GOD WARRIORS

Christianne Amanpour was Larry King's guest last night hailing her documentary series, The God Warriors. King's additional panelists were a Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leader. Another Christian was interviewed by remote. The two Christian men made Amanpour's point as they could not find much air time in which they did not clearly oppose one another.

Thus it is with each sect. Regarding their call to go by their true "Bible", each division finds battle lines drawn within as unyielding interpretation is disputed. The discussion of war between Jew, Muslim, and Christian is dramatically sabotaged by the shameful glut of in-fighting of each. None can reach the souls they wish for their (our) own obstinate and self-centered determination to render "all others to believe like me".

While I'm not usually a MacArthur fan (See, there even I go in my own discord), he did a superb job of defining the Christian's ultimate role. While MacArthur's view was a clear stance upon Jesus of the Bible, he called for us to rescind our vocal judgment upon mankind and leave that up to the Judge. His noting Jesus' call to put away the sword and awaken to the fact His kingdom is not of this world was a breath of fresh air.

Each religious representative did sound the call for harmony in their united protest of the blatant damage done by the extremists of each party being handed the microphone and given the camera lens of the media. I agree with all three.

I urge you to continue your quiet development in Jesus. Learn to serve in submission to whatever government, whatever political party, whatever slant the powers that be enforce. Christians are dependent neither on who's in office nor what continent they live. Ours is a most confident faith because the Christ was victor while he lived and while he died. We are not dependent on circumstances, votes, nor court decisions. We are to be the embodiment of good news in the center of decadent, corrupt, and shameful blanketing of a negative spewing media. We have a story to tell in the market place....His.

Be consumed with good news and then pass the word along. Our day holds the perfect environment for something positive.

GLOBAL WARMING

It's Saturday, a day I usually don't write an article. However, God just placed this on my heart so I'll write for whatever it's worth and leave it through Monday? Maybe? My mind just keeps going back to the dear hearts all over the world which give warmth to their communities. Thus, Global Warming of the sure kind gets notice for the moment.

We hear of government projects (ours and others) which amount to dollar terms of millions, billions, and trillions. Have you ever wondered what the total would be from the generous coffers of Christianity? I'm not discussing "church contributions" here. That's another huge story. I am only drawing attention to benevolent giving. Try to imagine the amount of money given per year by:

• YOURSELF as you both write out checks to your church or community organizations or simply hand out cash when you see a need when at church or in the marketplace.
• YOUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS within your congregation doing the same as you.
• OTHER CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY doing the same.
• OTHER CHURCHES OF DIFFERENT BRANDS IN YOUR COMMUNITY: individuals and corporate efforts.
• ALL CHURCHES IN YOUR COUNTY
• ALL CHURCHES IN YOUR STATE
• ALL CHURCHES IN AMERICA
• ALL CHURCHES ON ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS

I believe the amount to be both significant and immeasurable. Would the dollar amount exceed millions? Billions? Trillions? I believe our government (of which I am not against) may be outdone by the GLOBAL WARMING of the human heart. And, note I have only referred to money. We have yet to discuss precious and abundant time given.

So it very well may be true after all. The chill may be rescinding from the world's cold shoulders as Global Warming is melting it's way into icy waters of resistance.

There. This has been brought to you by God. I didn't think of it on my own!

THAT LOVE MIGHT ABOUND

At age 60 and having preached for 33 years, I am still, still, still, trying to enter into the zone of loving like Jesus loves. After all these years, I still don't get it. I am far too enmeshed in my own thrashing criticism, complaint, and suspicion issued toward others.

He says don't complain, and I am so judgmental I ruin His order. He says love does not take into account a wrong suffered. I seem to be a CPA when offended. I am ashamed at how far I miss the mark....embarrassingly ashamed.

Regarding sin, our lists would be flooded with those committed. Yet the one omitted, love, seems to race by us without awareness we sinned against His highest nature. Loving my neighbors? I don't even know half of them. While I like those I know all right, I don't see God's love pouring through me to them. Loving my enemies? I do genuinely pray for them by name that they receive enormous riches from God's kingdom, but I find I still don't really like them.

My perspective is we each have light years to grow in His call to love. How exciting! I speak it without condemning heart....else I would condemn myself. I speak it to awaken our awareness to treat humanityhood with the heart of Jesus. What an untapped, unspeakable wonder of a future we yet have if we gain even the slightest momentum in the urgent call of our Lord.

Love your neighbors and your enemies. And, should they happen to be one-in-the-same, then may they run into the perfect and happy face of God......yours.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: HALLELUJAH, THE CHURCH IS IMPROVING!

What's changed? Church differences and man's conflicting traditions consume brotherhood papers and quarterlies. But what's changed about the people? Surely repentance and obedience has brought about profound modification. Right? I mean, since you were introduced to Jesus, what has been revolutionized about you? Are you the same person you always were with, now, additional and possibly burdening church things to do? Or, has God done an extreme makeover on you?

My life has encountered abrupt adjustment. The following are only a few things different these days:

• I want to read. Before conversion I would read only the Sports page...nothing else. Reading was a repulsive thought to me. All through grade school I lied to the teachers as I read very few of the books I said I did. Today, although I am a poorly-paced reader, I love to study. He has changed me to desire (hunger) to learn.
• I want to give my money. Before, I was as cautious as the next guy about my pennies. As a kid, my family was below middle-class in America but middle class in our region, I guess. Either way, we didn't spend. God has taken me the opposite direction.
• I moved from paranoidic pessimism to trusting optimism. Caution would again fit the former me. I thought positive thinking was a scam and that faith was a hoax. I regarded opportunity as always having a suspicious catch. Our God, however, can create something out of nothing and give life to the dead....and due to His call, I actually belief it.
• I have confidence. Before, I was a complete neurotic. I didn't believe anything good would happen for/with/or to me. The short straw was always assumed. Not so today.
• This will most likely be the biggest makeover for me: I learned to speak to people; I mean I learned to say Hello to everybody. Before, I couldn't. Those who know me today assume I was always an extrovert. Not! True, I've always been a friendly sort....among my friends. My range of friendliness had tall borders. I could not approach strangers with any confidence. Years after I graduated from the my little Dallas preaching school, a former deacon at White Rock (who supported me while I attended school) picked me up at DFW to be a guest speaker at an evangelism seminar for his congregation. He said something to me that I can still hear. Terry, I must tell you how happy and how proud I am of you. You are being used by God. To be honest Terry, I didn't think you would make it. When you were in school you were the most introverted person I ever met. An extreme makeover in me is, today, the ability to sit with total strangers, whether celebrity or pauper, and feel perfectly relaxed because of what I've learned from watching Jesus move about in his day.

What about you? What is a part of your testimony of transformation? The robust change going on in the church should be a wonderful witness that God is residing in the common people and making significant differences in our lives. Share with us where you've made adjustment (or He's made adjustment in you) as you witness His marvelous grace. Your tesitmony will inspire so many readers. Would you mind sharing a portion of your makeover?

KEEP SINGING EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW ALL OF THE WORDS

Our daily pattern must be protected from the Robber. Jesus came that we might have life knowing the Thief comes to steal. Good life is often stolen. In my earlier years, little suited me. I seldom felt like I was good enough. I wished I could have been born somebody else. I envied those who had jobs they enjoyed. As some of you may have felt, I believed I was one who drew the short straw.

Jesus changes life. That's not Sunday School jargon, either. Authentic transformation of common, normal people is for today. The aches and pains of living continue, yet our perspective shifts so dramatically it appears humanity really can and should be born over. What makes the transition stick? What gives us the boost for enjoying the moment?

Dependence upon God's Spirit rather than ourselves is a start. His ways are much more exciting and useful. Coffee Shop critics of faith do not realize they, too, have been robbed by the Thief. Even those who are vocal against God's system privately wonder about Him when they close their eyes at night. Therefore, attitude adjustments count. When we develop a spirit of thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation, the bitter dregs of disappointment shift to shadow. The sweet taste of appreciated blessings begin to dominate both our talk and our walk.

In 1979 I battled hyper-thyroid disease. It nearly claimed my life. I was so weak I could not shave, shower, and dress of a morning without taking naps in between each duty. To this day, some twenty-eight years later, I notice each morning I can do all three in a breeze. I love right now.

Take note of the things going well all around you. Speak of the good things. Shift from grump to grateful. True, there are many thugs and brats planted along your path intending to rob you of your life. I cheer you on to also notice the courtesies and kindnesses of each gentle day.....that put a smile on your face. My four year old grandson, Hayden, was overheard yesterday by his mother as he was singing in the bathroom, "Ourrrr Father is short in Heaven, Hal, oh why be thy name." What a singer!

Even when we don't get everything right and not everything comes out as we had hoped, we still have reason to keep on singing.

HOW BIG AND STRONG DO YOU THINK WE ARE?

I don't pose such a question from a zone of pride. I'm not meaning to induce us to bragging for none of us are anything more than a nobody. But, I often ponder just how big and strong and effective the corporate body of Christ is today....and this includes us.

I wonder what terrible uprisings to humanity by humanity have been quenched and never reportable because Spirit-led believers behaved in faith in such terms that the corporate us pulled off a major coup and never knew it because we are properly blind to our enormity. I wonder how often evil is thrashed by goodness; yet it was such a big story no one could see its size.

Who takes a magnifying glass to the Rockies? No one, I assume. Our eyes surrender all thought of measurement and submit to enjoyment. Political issues, mine collapses (as well as bridges), and homicides rant day in and day out. Yet, last night I saw John McCoy receive his Eagle Scout Badge.

As I watched younger boy scouts participate in the ceremonies I wondered, once again, of the positive impact goodness is having on earth. I believe the kingdom of God is tied in on these things. From this to Girl Scouts to smiling greeters at Wal-Mart to gentle nurses putting in long hours, society has a lot going for it. Teachers, in schools and churches, who mold little children surely are having unknown impact upon Life....the Life connected to Christ.

For too long we have reduced God to buildings (even to specific, restricted brands of buildings) called church houses. I encourage you to ponder the next time you drive by American Airlines or Tyson Foods or Target or places like them to just wonder how much God has going on.

We are minor, but how can we fathom the size of Jesus being major? Be encouraged. Much awe is taking place.....all around.

THE NEAT FRIENDS YOU MAKE ALONG THE WAY

I was spending my annual week in baseball camp with the St. Louis Cardinal old timers two winters ago. We were in their Spring Training facility at Jupiter, Florida. I had just begun the infield drills when I sprinted over to retrieve a foul ball. I stepped in a hole and my knee twisted. Down I went. Oh, the pain was sorta strong but I did not want to acknowledge anything being awry.

My team manager loaded me up on a golf cart and Whitey Herzog drove me to the training room where the team physicians began probing. How badly I wanted them to put a wrap on it and send me back out, but no such luck. I could not walk and eventually had surgery.

However, I did have a good thing happen (it always does when watching for God to make His move). A present day player who had been a special friend for about four years passed through the training room while I was stretched out on the table. We always seemed to find at least one surprise occasion each camp where I would turn some corner and there he would be in Cardinal camp getting ready for the season.

He came over and sat on my table. Terry, what have you done? How special it was he would take the time to attend to me. I could tell he was disappointed for me. He stayed awhile, wished me luck, and then disappeared into the workout gym the next room over.

Thursday he was called up from Triple A Memphis to the Bigs; this time as an outfielder instead of a pitcher. He slugged a game-winning home run that night and then hit two home runs Saturday. Rick Ankiel had earlier faltered as a star big league pitcher. Rather than quitting, he fought his way back through the minor league ranks as a slugger and is now enjoying Disney-like heroics.

I am happy for Rick and especially happy God linked our paths these last few years.

THE PAIN OF BEING A HAS-BEEN

Philip Yancey sent me a book a few years back by R. T. Kendall, The Anointing, which discusses three types of leaders: Yesterday's man (Saul), Today's man (Samuel) and Tomorrow's man (David). The account notes the treachery of today's man breaking from Yesterday's man and passing the Spirit baton to Tomorrow's man.

The church is often in this position needing to break from yesterday, today, in order to prepare for tomorrow's church. It's a tedious and, at times, wobbly tightrope.

Yesterday's man endures the pain of irrelevance, having known what it was to be used of God. And yet if he thinks he is still under the same anointing he once had, he still suffers by knowing in his heart of hearts that he is struggling with great effort to convince himself and others that he is still on the cutting edge of what God is doing today.

The pain of being tomorrow's man or woman is that you have to wait----sometimes much longer than you thought. The preparation is hard, God having to mold and shape you for your usefulness at the proper time.

The pain of being today's man or woman largely comes from the degree of courage required with the job. We never feel up to it. We may well feel like Gideon. The Lord addressed him as a "mighty warrior". His response: "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

God has used me. I am moved-to-tears grateful. The day will come when I am no longer on the cutting edge (Year after year, I soberly question my ministry at Memorial as to whether I still am His man). I practice being all right with no longer being Today's Samuel as God raises up Tomorrow's Davids. I practice stepping aside. Our brotherhood lives in dense struggle because Yesterday's men (who were mightily and rightly used at one time) believe they are invincibly Today's men and Tomorrow's as well. Such might actually be the case for a rare few...but not many. Most of us are, or soon will be, has-beens. Saved has-beens, but has-beens just the same.

May God be glorified as we servants have the courage to step down just as bravely as when we first courageously stepped up. May we read His call on this matter for we all feel as Gideon...even when we are in our prime.....the least even while we serve.

CELEBRATE NOW!

I'm a preacher. Therefore, it should be understood I love exaggeration! Furthermore, I think it quite fitting we lead out in such a terrain. What is the kingdom of God if it does not take routine life and explode it into the unpredictable regions of wonder? What do we think terms as joy inexpressible and exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can think or imagine reference? Reason? Understanding? Of course not. Jesus moves us to speechless, analyticaless, and chartless awe!

Wonder is the only way we can grasp the enormity of our outrageous reality. Our phrase, You'll never believe what God has done, is a statement of inexplainability. Fourth century Gregory of Nyssa said, Concepts create idols. Only wonder understands. Really, isn't it fairly accurate to note everyone is filled with one of two lifestyles: wander or wonder? Wander can't get comfortable with rote direction nor mundane purpose. Wonder, on the other hand, can't explain the wide-eyed wow of every moment.

Brian McLaren wrote, Only wonder understands. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man who plants seed and then waits for a while and then sees the seedlings rising to the sun and in the end, he "knows not how". It is a mystery and a wonder to him.

I like wonder! It shows up when I see the pavement of an early morning, when I note a special soul waiting at a bus stop, and when I turn to watch a bird soar simply being grateful my neck still swivels. Do this: pretend five things which do work don't. Make up a list; i.e. your garage door opener fails, your bank closed its doors overnight (never to reopen or explain why), your sense of hearing leaves you, your purse is stolen, and you find a dismissal slip from employment when you report to the office tomorrow morning. Having taken each of your five items for granted has left you immune to wonder. Therefore, I cheer you on to celebrate these few paragraphs you've just read because a significant number in our world are illiterate and another group is blind.

Marin Luther was on track when he said, If I could understand one grain of wheat, I would die of wonder. Open the eyes of your heart as to who, what, and where you are! Dive into the wonder of it all! Celebrate now!

A SACRIFICIAL GOLF BAG

Doug Ferguson is a word-artist. He writes newspaper columns. He would be about twenty years my junior, but we have been great friends since day one. As an aspiring writer for the Associated Press, his beginning beat called him to randomly stir up something (anything) to report from the Tulsa surroundings. One could tell he had a gift for writing; but that he knew he had not yet struck gold.

We are alike in many ways; he's a golf nut and I, too, have clubs. Maybe fifteen years ago I beefed up my erratic game by buying a sharp looking golf bag. The snazzy Wilson red, white, and blue had pockets which had pockets. I paid good money for it (maybe two weeks earlier) hoping I could at least look the golf part when I suited up. Lavish praises came from Doug one entire Saturday morning round regarding what a sharp looking new bag I had. I couldn't decide if he liked the bag that much or if there was little else about my game in which to make comment.

Afterwards our foursome stopped at a nearby convenience store. I was inwardly struggling as to whether to sacrifice my special (and brand new) Wilson bag. Decisiveness needed to be quick and accurate. While Doug was buying his Pepsi, I swapped my new bag for his lesser one and reloaded the clubs. My friend was both surprised and pleased. I could tell I had made the right decision.

Later on Doug struck gold being promoted to chief golf writer for AP. About twice a year UPS delivers surprise packages to my door from him. Everything from Masters' shirts and caps to British Open ties to new clubs come from this dear friend. Yesterday Doug passed along over $2000 worth of tickets for this week's PGA Tournament at Southern Hills.

Doug's nature would be to do all of this for me if I had never given him a thing. However, more than once, I have surely been glad I handed over my treasured new golf bag. It may have been pretty, but it has given so much back to me over the years. And, if truth be known, I feel that I played a major role in shaping Doug's career. No man can cover golf's Major Championships week after week and year after year with a rattly golf bag.

The next time you read a golf story which has Doug Ferguson AP beneath the headlines, you just remember it was me who got this man his job!

TARGETED BY THE ENEMY

Our world is at war. It's not the terrorists against America. It's not the Democrats versus the Republicans. Neither is it the kids against the parents. There is a much bigger battle and we are in the center of it: the seen world against the unseen. We become frightened over Iran but indifferent over our personal spiritual blindness. As long as we feel fairly comfortable minus any great danger, life seems to be going well.

We do not see our days as extraordinary. Yet, they are! We have foolishly bought into mundane and hassle as normal. They aren't! Our lives have become a dime a dozen. They aren't! One of the things which saddens me is to find much of humanity sitting at the back of the bus in life. We've lost our drive. Negative experience and bad breaks have barked us into a corner in which we've believed we've learned we should obey their bossy voices.

Jesus, however, came to set the captives free. Why do we, then, volunteer to be arrested? Why do we dumb our lives down to fit the status quo of average? Why is it we have lost our backbone for life? One main reason seems to be we have misplaced the fact we live in a truly great mystery.

C. S. Lewis wrote, The value of ....myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by "the veil of familiarity". John Eldridge follows Lewis' comment with, You are not what you think you are. There is glory to your life that your Enemy fears, and he is hell-bent on destroying that glory before you act on it.

You have been targeted by the invisible enemy to be reduced to mundane existence. Jesus, however, targets you for "resurrection-kind-of-power" life. May we inform our hearts to awaken to the call of really living. My we not allow anyone to short-sheet our awesome destination of living life to the maximum!

DON'T QUIT.

When the War ended in the 40's a struggling Tokyo company made efforts to rebuild its business. However their rice cooker didn't seem to fare well in the marketplace. To keep their heads above water the technicians repaired short-wave radios for a time. Eventually the company discovered what it was created to be, renamed itself, and took off. The name of the company? Sony.

Don't be discouraged as you move about in the kingdom barely keeping afloat by faith. The day will come when you will turn a corner and there will be your Sony. God is the One with the gift bag. He hands them out and you want to be positioned to receive. There is that special niche carved just for you. Do the little things well. Repair the short-wave radios for a time and do your job well. God will be rewarding you for endurance so important to ministering servants.

Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't close your eyes. Don't sigh in frustration. Awe is on it's way.....a whole lot bigger than Sony!

THE SECRET DOORWAY: VULNERABILITY

When Henri Nouwen shifted from a twenty year career of teaching at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard to living as a caregiver in Canada in a house for mentally handicapped adults, his notoriety completely vanished. Those he was assisting could not read so they had never heard of his many books. They hadn't gone to school. Thus, they could not be impressed with his academic credentials. When he offered meat to one of his assistants, a handicapped man said to him, Don't give him meat, he doesn't eat meat, he's a Presbyterian.

Nouwen found himself reduced to sudden and frightful nothingness, except for the dependent value of the moment. It forced him to discover his true identity. Referencing his new living quarters and friendship circle, Nouwen wrote, These broken, wounded, and completely unpretentious people forced me to let go of my relevant self---the self that can do things, show things, prove things, build things---and forced me to reclaim that unadorned self in which I am completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments.

The pressure is on us to get the pressure off of us. This would seem to come about by reduction of self; not escalation. We seem to be sluggish from "The Ladders": social or career or financial or fame. What if we could self-dismantle? What if we could learn the sweet joy of appreciation, gratitude, simplicity, contentment....unpretentiousness?

It could be we are the ones handicapped. It may be the mentally handicapped have a grip on reality which defies us. Don't we spend a significant amount of time trying to conquer before we are conquered? Wouldn't it be wonderful to like right now? Reflect on Nouwen's next statement: I am telling you all this because I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.

Experience tells me vulnerability opens the weirdest and most wonderful doors, but most leaders waste time by trying to enter through windows of opportunity using "Ladders" to success.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Vulnerability.
Vulnerability who?
Me.
Well then, come on in!

"THEM"

There are two kinds of sinners: both are ruined. One knows it while the other is clueless. Both, however, are wreckage in need of the blood of Jesus. Guilty, ruined, and broken are not at all what I expected to surface as of major importance in ministry. For my first few years my pulpit was more like a fox hole I used to separate me from "them". I would toss sermonic hand grenades at the guilty sort and duck as they returned heavy artillery fire throughout the remainder of the week. I knew one thing: I wasn't like "them".

It was a shock to my system to realize I was, indeed, worse than "them". I was forced to park my high-horse at the rail and dismount. My judgment of "them" was not necessarily faulty. My assessment of myself was skewed. The church and I, the brotherhood and I, we were all in this quagmire together. Several things arose to importance when I encountered such a disappointing, yet necessary, discovery.

• As Jesus left heaven to experience earth, I needed to leave my self-appointed perch to experience the truth about "us".
• It dawned on me how desperate I was for His grace and mercy. In turn the flock was as needy to exchange the same with one another.
• I began to notice the beauty of Jesus from this ugly pit. I had never noted his gentleness before.
• The Word jumped out with redefined meaning.
• I found myself ruined of any defense or explanation. If I am going to breathe in the church I must live; yet not I, but Jesus in me. My proud stance turned out to be a facade and it had been shattered.
• Brokenness is what every young leader must experience. Otherwise, he'll live as a thorn to God's people always accusing, always surmising, always judging, always condemning; mistakenly stroking self as to assumed importance.

If you still find yourself believing the brotherhood would be stronger if it held values more like you, you are in the way of God's progress. If we are to be of anything good, it has to be because of the lively and effective rescue of Jesus and no other.

Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.

May "they" become "us" as "we" can do nothing apart from "Him".