Safety

I had the opportunity to witness a S.A.F.E. (Students All For Education) graduation this morning at one of our local schools. A group of 5th graders had been learning about making wise choices and keeping good habits to benefit them throughout life. This program was taught by the county sheriff's department and sought to teach about drugs, alcohol, violence, anger, stress, and other issues that can be so troubling. The idea is to help students learn how to keep themselves safe in a treacherous world.

Safety is one of our primary needs. We all know how anxious it feels to be placed into a situation where we do not feel safe. Though the officers were teaching about things like drugs, gangs, and the like, there are all kinds of places where surprisingly we don't feel safe. This might be due to another person, environment, event, or some other situation.

This really came true for me a couple years ago when I had done something in church that rocked the boat. I thought it was a great idea but for some reason, it didn't work in my setting at the time. I remember going to one of my mentors and pouring out my soul about it. His words were something to the effect of, "It might have been a good idea, but was it safe?" Safe? It was a church activity of all things! He went on to say that one of the first things people will discern when entering into a new situation or environment is if it is safe or not.

The more familiar we are with something will dramatically improve our location on the safe meter. We cannot, however, take this for granted for those who are not as familiar with our church, home, school, business, hangout, etc. We simply need to be mindful about creating an environment, and giving folks the opportunity to answer for themselves, "Is this safe?"

The S.A.F.E. program was all about helping pre-teens make good decisions, but this is something from which we all can learn. Proverbs 28.18 says, "He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." May we live our lives in such a way that we stay in the realm of safety. For those who have the power to help shape environments and experiences, may we do our part to practice meaningful hospitality to help make people feel as safe and comfortable as possible. And when we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, may we remember, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18.10)

In God we can always feels safe and comfortable. May we live our lives in faith trusting Him and knowing there is always safety in Him.

From the hymn, Leaning On The Everlasting Arms:

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

On Being A Pin-Head

During my message in this morning's worship service, I challenged the Lighthouse congregation to spend some quality time today with someone who needed it. I hate to say it, but for my family, that referred directly to us. Tiffany, Ethan, & I have been so busy with a myriad of things (all positive, mind you) that we haven't been able to spend a lot of quality time together. Between both of our jobs, school, church activities, karate, and cub scouts, we have been like Toyotas passing in the streets. So today, as soon as we got home and I got the pertinent Sunday afternoon work put to bed, the three of us went out for a fun-filled family afternoon, sans my second brain, AKA, my Blackberry.

We went to Junction Lanes in Newnan for some bowling and arcade games. Since we're making some necessary ch-ch-ch-changes in our eating, we snacked before we left. When we got to the bowling alley, we each got our shoes, picked out a ball (something was wrong with mine, it was lopsided; that's the only explanation I can come up with for how often it landed in the gutter), and went to our assigned lane. We bowled til our heart's content, leaving me with a smile as Ethan learned that real bowling isn't quite as easy as it is on the Wii. But I digress.

After bowling, and hoping to erase the sting of getting pounded so completely by my wife (who took bowling as a PE elective in college; that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) we headed over to the arcade game to blow those last few dollars I had in my pocket.

Ethan took his tokens and proceeded to carefully pick out the games he wanted to play. Bear in mind he is quite deliberate when making such choices -- he isn't one to just blow through his tokens. He ended up settling on skee ball. He spent virtually all of his tokens on the skee ball machines.

As he was on his last token, he looked at Tiffany and me, and then invited us to take turns with him throwing his last round of skee ball. It touched my heart deeply. We were taking time out of our insanely crazy schedules to spend time with him and him alone. He rewarded us by sharing the precious last several throws at the skee ball machine with his last token. It was sweet.

He racked up quite a few tickets. Once we counted them all up, we went to the redemption center to see what kind of junk my pocket money was going to turn into, compliments of the Junction Lane Arcade machines. There was this one item he really wanted and was jumping up-and-down with glee at the thought of acquiring this little toy. The only problem was he was one short. ONE lousy ticket!

Tiff and I both went through our pockets hoping against hope we could come up with another quarter so Ethan could get that last ticket he needed, but to no avail. I then began formulating my plea in hopes that the man behind the counter would be so gracious as to grant a generous little 7-year-old his heart's desire. I don't like doing that kind of thing, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The look in my son's eye, thinking he would not be united with that piece of plastic and paper, was enough to motivate any calloused heart to action. And then it became unnecessary.

I spun in a circle there at the redemption counter as though I would find the words to what I needed to say on the walls, ceiling, or anywhere else for that matter. And then I heard the squeal of my one-and-only as he realized I was standing on one lonely renegade ticket. I don't remember seeing it before, but it was there then. As I moved my foot totally out of the way I could not recall seeing that ticket there before, but it was there then. He squatted down, one knee practically touching the floor, and picked up the ticket with a hand full of excitement and wonder.

I looked at Tiffany and said, "manna from heaven", referring to God's promise to Moses in Exodus 16 that He would provide for the Israelite's needs on their wilderness journey. Exodus 16.4 says, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions."

I could not help but draw a parallel to my practicing what I preached, Ethan's generosity in including his parents in his last skee ball token, and the mysterious arrival of that last necessary ticket, but I'll tell you this: it is 100% true.

When we get so caught up in our daily activities that we neglect those who need us the most, we certainly are being pin-headed. But when we take some time -- in our case less than two hours -- to invest in someone who really needs it, well, that's a gift that has a way of multiplying itself.

My bowling score was putrid -- Tiffany beat me by some 40 pins (did I mention that my ball must have been lopsided and she took bowling for college credit?) -- but the afternoon was a resounding success because we were together, free from interruptions and distractions. I really want to impress upon you to do the same. It's time, and in our specific case, money well spent. And you never know when you might just be paid a visit by the Divine.

Til Death Do Us Part?

1 Corinthians 13.1-8, 13

I heard a story on the news this morning that puzzled and concerned me. It appears some in Australia and Germany are trying to establish a renewable 7-year marriage contract. The thought is with 50% of marriages ending in divorce these days, if people entered into their blessed union knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel, maybe the divorce rates would decline. Egad!

Now one thing to consider is something that’s been called the 7-year itch. For some reason, it appears the 7-year mark is one when people take inventory of their relationships and must deal with how reality is measuring up to one’s dreams, ideals, and hopes. There doesn’t appear to be anything scientific behind it, but it has been noted that divorce rates tend to be higher in the 7th year of marriage. So a 7-year contract might seem to make some sense if it gives couples the knowledge that they can take their marriage out on something like an extended lease, knowing they have the option to buy-in for the long run, or turn it in for another model.

In my honest and humble opinion, this temporal notion of marriage is a problem. When I officiate a marriage ceremony, I tell every couple that their vows are a promise they are making between themselves and God. They are deliberately inviting the eternal into their relationship, making a serious promise that requires endurance, perseverance, compassion, communication, and of course, a supernatural commitment to a love deeper than we can comprehend. The vows I lead couples in taking are as follows: "In the name of God, I (name), take you, (name), to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part. This is my solemn vow."

That 'til death do us part' line is important. When we invite the eternal God into our relationships, death is the only thing that should be able to separate our earthly marriage (but acknowledging that nothing can separate us from the love of God, including death). And at that point, our love for each other exists in eternity until we are reunited to all live with God. Within this 7-year marriage contract is an interesting underlying thought, and that is that some people shouldn't get married in the first place; knowing there is an out helps take away some of the sting and pain of divorce. But does it?

Let's face it: whenever relationships end, it's painful. I think back to some of my own fleeting dating relationships that might have lasted only a matter of days. When those breakups happened, it usually hurt in one way or another. Whether it's a loss of a dream or ideal, whenever we see something end for which we had hope, it hurts; therefore, I don't think a 7-year marriage contract will prevent or alleviate any agony if the relationship doesn't work.

In 12-years of ministry, I have run across many couples in crisis – some made it, some did not. For the ones that did, without exception, there was a commitment to the eternal nature of marriage. For those who did not have a commitment to the enduring and eternal power of love, there was no hope. Now as a caveat, some marriages that didn't make it did have that commitment, but they still couldn't make it work. Those really hurt.

May we embrace the eternal in marriage and frankly every aspect of life! Looking past our own issues and problems, and into the unending power of God's love is the only way we can make life work when it seems life isn't working for us. No marriage is perfect, and sometimes we need help. A way out after 7-years, however, does not appear to me to be the answer.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

It's nice to knock the dust off the ole blog. It's certainly something I need to do more frequently, especially since it's been linked to from several outside sources.

Things are changing! I love it. Pastor Shannon, my colleague and friend at Lighthouse, was charged last fall with making a big statement in our church and the way we use technology. Boy, has she! We have a new web site, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and personal blogs. The church's technological profile is growing, as are the people we're able to reach in free, quick, & fun ways. Not to mention we're keeping up with the times. It's absolutely fantastic! The only thing is I have to do a better job of writing and updating my stuff.

But something else is changing ... me! Lent and Easter did me some good this year. I dedicated myself to prayer and fasting this Lent and found myself comforted and challenged in ways I haven't experienced since seminary. God was really working within me to grow closer to Him and in my understanding of ministry. It worked.

The very first day I fasted, I sat with my Bible and asked the Lord to reveal to me something I needed. This is the passage that I was immediately led to read: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2.2-5, emphasis mine)

WOW!!! It was me, right there in 2-thousand years worth of print. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I had begun to lose my first love and it was time to realize that though I might have been forsaking my first love, God had never forsaken me. It started changing me from the inside out. I began to rediscover a couple things that had brought me closer to God in the midst of my teen angst when I first became a Christian and heard my call to ministry: music, my guitar, and a commitment to care for the temple God had given me. (1 Cor.6.19-20)

Then came Easter Sunday and this picture that was taken as the Easter Bunny from the Wyndham-Peachtree Conference Center came to offer me "Easter Greetings." When I saw the shot, I could hardly tell myself from the egg. At that point, I was reminded of a morbid thought I had while at Disney with the family last February: I am closer to the age when my dad (and paternal grandfather) passed away than I was the age when I heard my call to ministry. I don't want to go that early if I can help it, and if I continued eating and gaining weight at the alarming rate I was, then I could pretty well guess what my fate would be.

With the last morsel of chocolate cake following Easter dinner, I rededicated myself to caring for the temple God had given me. Since that Monday morning, I have been far better with my health and nutrition than I had done the last five years, or so. I cannot tell you how many pounds I've lost because I'm not getting on a scale right now. I'm just eating much much better and exercising every day. I am feeling infinitely better after just two weeks and based on a picture I saw of myself from a day or two ago, it's already paying dividends.

So here I am: endeavoring to lose weight, grow closer to God, and become a more effective servant in His Kingdom. I invite you to join me as we walk this journey with God together, for as the Bible tells us, we all will be changed (1 Cor. 15.51). Let's make sure we're being changed for the good of ourselves, the world, and of course, God!