Where's the Salt?

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus says, "You [we] are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

I was reading a book called The Message of the Sermon on the Mount by John Stott and was completely halted upon reading the following statement:

"When society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt?"

Take a minute and reflect on that.

Catalyst 2010 - The Tension is Good

The Catalyst Conference is always a worth-while investment. This year was no exception. Something incredible happens when twelve-thousand leaders converge in one place - God speaks. For instance, just standing during one of the many times of worship, looking across the convention center at nearly every hand raised, twelve-thousand church leaders crying out in one voice,

"There is no one higher, no one greater; no one like our God! There is none more able, Christ our Savior, Great and Glorious."

The hair on my neck stood straight in the air. God was speaking in that moment.

"You are not alone. Look around you. I am raising up the next generation. I am with you. There is none more able. There is no one greater, no one higher. You are not alone."

It's always something when God speaks. It's something to think that, this vision that He has given Rock City is part of something so much greater, so much bigger...that Christ Himself is building His church, placing all of the pieces in perfect order, in perfect harmony.

God also spoke this year through the theme of the conference - through every speaker and guest that graced the stage -

"The Tension IS Good; The Tension IS Necessary."

Every wish the tension would just "go away?" Ever wonder what life would be like, what ministry would be like without the tension? Listen to what Reggie Joiner says of tension -

There is not one aspect of life where tension doesn't have critical value. Tension between the parties and branches of government creates a needed system of checks and balances. Tension in science can lead to remarkable insights and discoveries. Tension in the family provides an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and unconditional love. Tension within a team pushes them to better perspectives and deeper relationships.

Tension is good. It is absolutely required if you want to have an authentic faith. It is critical if you hope to engage in God's story of restoration and redemption. Tension compels us to respond to a higher calling. Tension helps us face our doubts. Tension challenges who we think we are. Tension clarifies what we believe about God. Tension prepares us to live our lives with a deeper message as a part of a bigger story.

So invite it. Create it if necessary. If you avoid tension as a leader, you are potentially robbing yourself and your team of the kind of defining moments that shape their character, stretch their faith, and clarify powerful insights. So choose to embrace it, even pursue it. By doing so you add an essential ingredient to your team that will give them the potential to change the world around them.

So here we are...living in the tension. We love the church, but at the same time, we want to reclaim it, redefine it. We want to build a community committed to loving and serving one another, but at the same time, we want to build a community that is focused on taking the love and message of Jesus to the lost, the hurting and the oppressed in our cities and around the world. We want the Spirit of God to lead us, but at the same time, we resist Him when it disrupts our schedule or becomes too uncomfortable. We want change within the church, but at the same time, are we willing to do what it takes, to sacrifice everything, to have skin in the game?

It's the tension that makes us. It's the tension that creates our need to rely on God.

Andy Stanley says that "there are problems that shouldn't be solved and tensions that shouldn't be resolved. Progress depends not on the resolution of those tensions, but on the successful management of those tensions."

The Tension is Good.

They Smell Like Sheep

I read a great book this week - They Smell Like Sheep, by Lynn Anderson.

It's about leadership.
Leading like a shepherd.
Leading like The Shepherd.

The shepherd metaphor is referenced more than 500 times in scripture. Throughout the Bible, the cause of Christ to rescue a fallen humanity is illustrated in terms of a shepherd rescuing his lost sheep. Isaiah used this metaphor by saying that, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is 53:6)," clearly eluding to the coming Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who would love us so much as to lay down His life for us.

In Jesus' day, the concept of shepherding was widely understood. It was a familiar way of life for many of the people to whom Jesus spoke. It's easy to understand why the concept of shepherding is viewed, by many, as equally as totalitarian and dictatorial as the leadership encountered most in today's culture, as in, a shepherd mightily ruling over his sheep, however, that view of shepherding is improper and inaccurate. 

To the contrary, a shepherd is one who deeply loves and cares for his sheep. Anderson says that, "for the family of a shepherd, the food on their tables and the clothes on their backs, not to mention the family honor, was inexorably linked to the way they cared for their flocks." To that end, a shepherd is not one who lords his power over the flock; rather, he is one who intimately shares his life with his flock.

A shepherd knows each sheep by name; he nurtures the young, bandages the wounded, cares for the weak, and protects them all.

A shepherd smells like sheep. 

What's intriguing is that Jesus led in stark contrast to what's normally defined as leadership. His definition of leadership is one who is last and servant of all (Mark 9:35). Jesus' definition of leadership is servanthood. Try typing in servanthood once and you'll see that it isn't even a recognized word in our dictionary.

Jesus definition of leadership, and His revolutionary display of power through servant leadership, is apparently why many of the Jewish people did not recognize Him as Messiah. While they waited for a messiah who would physically restore Israel and lead them into a messianic age of global peace, Jesus, The Messiah, presented Himself as a suffering servant and not as the conquering king they were expecting.

It begs the question, have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership?

As the church of Jesus, rather than embracing shepherd-like leadership, have we somehow been drawn to, eerily attracted to an authoritarian, totalitarian form of leadership rather than the shepherding-style servant form of leadership modeled by Jesus?

Israel longed for a leader who would cast down their enemies and redeem their place in the world. They were looking for, in their leader, a physical display of strength, of power and of might. I have to ask, do we look for the same in our leaders? In our pastors? 

Have we embraced the wrong kind of leadership in the church? 

People long for pure leadership, an honest and caring shepherd. Servant leadership shines in stark contrast to the leadership of modern American culture, and quite frankly, the leadership of most modern day churches. 

Gene Edwards, in the preface of A Tale of Three Kings, speaks of what I believe we have come to not only embrace, but expect of our leaders, inside and outside of the church:

"I noted some years ago a growing number of letters from Christians devastated by the authoritarian movement that had become so popular with many evangelical groups. A reaction to this totalitarian concept eventually set in. A mass exodus was soon under way. The stories being told by these spiritual fugitives are often terrifying and sometimes unbelievable...I have never seen anything that has damaged so many believers so deeply. The wreckage appears to be universal, and recovery from it is almost nil."

So it was in Jesus' day, as it was in 1980 when Edwards wrote those powerful words, and it continues to be true even still today. Jesus modeled for us the purest and most powerful and effective form of leadership the world has ever known. It is the responsibility of the church to not only study Jesus' methods and model of leadership, but to adopt it and institute it.

The church should be known for its strength, but not the kind of strength that has created this mass exodus.

Jesus said they will know you are my disciples by your love.

Jesus smelled like sheep. His hands and feet were always dirty because of His lifestyle of engaging people, particularly those who were considered the least. He modeled leadership in the form of a humble servant and loving shepherd. He did not lord His power over people, rather, engaged them with a caring, gentle and loving spirit. Jesus met the needs of those to whom He ministered. Out of His deep love and compassion for people, He equipped others to do the work that He was physically unable to do Himself.

The message of Christ continues to this day. His healing and hope continues to bring light and life to a dark and broken world. Jesus modeled strength through servanthood, power through sacrifice. His selfless love, His willingness to be intimate and serve the least, and His enthusiasm for suffering loss for the sake of rescuing even one lost sheep, makes Jesus the perfect model of leadership, standing above all who have come before and whoever will follow.

A Church Re-Presenting

Groundbreaking research by the Barna Group several years ago revealed that, among 16 to 29-year-olds, the perception of Christianity is anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, too political, sheltered and proselytizing. Statistically, of the emerging generation of Americans, the percentage of people claiming the Christian faith is a mere 4%. Wondering about the drastic decline we're witnessing in the American church and these overwhelmingly negative perceptions, what should the church look like? How should people perceive us?

I think Jesus was painting a picture of what the church is supposed to look like when he was speaking to his disciples in John 6. Jesus said, 

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." 

What's he saying? He's saying that he came to show people the love and grace of God. And he's painting a picture of the church. The church exists to re-present Jesus to the world, to show people the love and grace of God. Why then, when people look at today's church, do they see judgment and hypocrisy? Abuse of power and arrogance? 

It's easy to say that it's not our problem, but theirs. It's much more difficult to listen to what Jesus says here,

"And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day."

He takes ownership for every single person who looks to him. He understands that the will of his Father is that anyone who looks to him would not be lost. And sure, the church isn't Jesus. But it is his establishment. It represents him. It re-presents him.

So what do we have to do to take on the mindset of Christ and be known for our compassion and love and grace instead of all of this other nonsense?

When Words Fall Short

In a well-meaning attempt to spread the gospel, often we've stockpiled for ourselves an arsenal of information and one-liners to combat anyone and anything that could possibly pose a threat to, or disagree with our core beliefs. What gives then, when two people can't agree. For instance, an atheist and a Christian trying to agree on the creation and purpose of creation for all of mankind. Any evidence provided by either side would be quickly discounted by the other. That's an argument going nowhere fast. Yet, both are loaded, heavily armed with facts and figures to prove their point and convert the other. But there's something terribly wrong with that, particularly on the part of the Christian.

I learned something, something that I actually already knew but hadn't quite yet learned, from a book I'm reading called The God Delusion, written by atheist and scientist Richard Dawkins. In his book, on page 130, he makes the following statement, 

"Believing is not something you can decide to do as a matter of policy. At least, it is not something I can decide to do as an act of will."

And there it is!

He says that in response to a very popular argument made by a man named Blaise Pascal, an argument I've heard used, and have used myself, on many occasions. The argument goes something like this:

However long the odds against God's existence might be, there is an even larger asymmetry in the penalty for guessing wrong. In other words, so what if God isn't real? What do you have to lose if you convert to Christianity, believe heart and soul in Jesus as God, and then find out there is no God? Not much apparently. But, on the other hand, if God is real, and your denial of Jesus as God means you'll be eternally punished for your disbelief, why not just believe?

Thus, Dawkin's honest answer.

Which brings me to the point. It's never been about our facts and figures. It's never been about our eloquence or ability to persuade. It's not about us at all. It's about the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't matter how hard we try or how noble our attempt. It doesn't matter how persuasive our speech. It doesn't matter how impassioned our plea. Without the inner conviction of the Holy Spirit, Dawkins is right. One can not believe as an act of sheer will. That's when persuasion fails and words fall short.

Jesus said in John 14:26, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things..." In other words, it's not our job (completely), but His.

And in John 16, Jesus said, "When he comes, he (the Holy Spirit) will convict the world of guilt in regard to their sin and righteousness and judgment...But when the Spirit of Truth (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will guide into all truth."

That should be welcomed news to us all. When words fall short...

Anatomy of a Movement

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, outlines three common elements that define a Movement.

    1. A narrative that tells a story about who we are and the future
        we're trying to build.

    2. A connection between and among the leader and the tribe.

    3. Something to do - the fewer limits, the better.

What I see when I look at those three elements is ministry done right. 

First, Christianity is built on the foundation of the greatest narrator who ever lived (Jesus) inviting us to be a apart of the greatest story the world has ever known. How we take it to the next level and reach people where they are is by connecting that story to the changed lives that make up our tribe. It's not just a story. It's life. The future is made up of imperfect people being spiritually transformed by Jesus.

Second, as Christian leaders, it's time we take off ours masks. Enough pretending already. How many pastors or Christian leaders do you know who could never admit a fault, a struggle, a sin? That's bogus. The way we connect people to the Savior is by authentically living the greatest story ever told from the inside out. Take off the mask. Live by example; not by insinuated perfection. I think Jesus would call it hypocrisy (again). A leader who leads with an authentic vulnerability isn't a sign of weakness but of confident strength. 

Third, we've not only been invited to be a part of the greatest story ever told, but we've been given a critical role. Christianity isn't about attending church and listening to a pastor tell stories from scripture and then waiting a whole week before the process repeats. No. Christianity is about following Christ. Living the story. Being the story. Christianity is about action. Movement. And movements get messy. I've seen this. I've lived it. Rules and limits kill movement. Throw aside boundaries and limitations and engage and enable the tribe to run and move and be and you'll have a movement uncontainable.

Clouds

 



I never really noticed them before,

Clouds.

They're everywhere. But different everywhere. At least they must be. Because I never noticed them until now. I've seen them, but never really thought much about them. I don't remember another time when I've been so captivated with them, taken by their brilliance and beauty.

I've lived on Lake Erie most of my life; spent ten years in Toledo. But I never noticed the clouds before, that is, until my first few days in Columbus. Driving around the city I realized that I was seeing such magnificent displays of clouds rising seemingly out of the earth. And I found myself causing several near traffic jams as I tried to maneuver my car through crowded streets while trying to snap the perfect picture of these perfectly white and fluffy clouds with my phone (I wish I could say iphone, but I can't).

So why now? Why suddenly have I realized the beauty of clouds? 

I don't know. I just did. 

God is like that isn't He? The magnificence and mystery of Who He is, the wonder and perfection of His creation. 

It all cries out,

"God is beautiful and extravagant".

What is it about clouds that is so alluring? So inspiring?

Perhaps it's that, throughout scripture, the presence of God Himself was in the clouds,(Exodus 19:9; 24:16; 34:5) and that His glory filled the place where the cloud was (Exodus 16:10; 40:38; Numbers 10:34).

Perhaps it's that God chose to introduce Himself to the people of Israel in a cloud. 

"Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him, and proclaimed His name, the LORD."  Exodus 34:5

Well, that's Old Testament right? What's the New Testament have to say about clouds?

Jesus says in Matthew 24:30, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." 

And in Matthew 26:64, while on trial for His life and standing before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, Jesus says, "In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."


Clearly, there's a pattern. Mark and Luke both give witness to the same (Mark 13:26; 14:62 & Luke 21:27) and in Revelation 1:7 we read, "Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So it shall be! Amen."

Imagine the traffic jams on that day!

I guess clouds are meant to allure, to inspire, to command our attention. They stand as a interminable sign reminding us of Who God is and of what is to come.

So to wrap things up, and I mean, all things, take a minute and think about this. Just as Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:9), He'll return for His bride, the church, in the same way.

"And after that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Are you ready? 

Exponential Part 3 of 3 - The Holy Spirit

There's been a lot of talk in Christian circles about being an "Acts 2 Church". But what is an Acts 2 Church? What leadership model did the Acts 2 Church use? What church did they borrow from before implementing their small group strategy? Were they Missional or Attractional? And did they even know that they were an Acts 2 Church? Did they set out to be an Acts 2 Church?

It's interesting the amount of benchmarking and model swapping and idea stealing that goes on in the church world. We all do it. We read the latest and greatest book, grab the next big idea, slap the newest sticky word on everything we do (Missional) and then wait for the next latest and greatest book to come out so we can start all over again. We watch other big churches to see what they're doing. And we piece meal our strategies together, a little from here, a little from there, and then wonder why we always end up in the same place - waiting for the next latest and greatest book to come out, again.

What did the Acts 2 Church know? They certainly couldn't have gleaned ideas from other churches. They were the first. What did the Acts 2 Church have? They certainly did not have extensive manuals and leadership models and the latest and greatest small group curriculum.

What then, did the Acts 2 Church have?

1. The Acts 2 Church had "Jesus' Teaching".

And more than that. Most of them walked with Jesus, were right there with Him. They not onlyheard His words first hand; they felt His touch, they breathed in the scent of His clothes, theyshared of the same bread and drank of the same wine. They were intimately connected with the Son.

2. The Acts 2 Church "Witnessed the Resurrection".

Not only were they with Him in life as He lived and taught; they were with Him in death as He suffered and saved. Then, after witnessing the death of their Savior, they were with Him in His resurrection and viewed first-hand the fulfillment of His promises afterward witnessing His ascension from earth to heaven as He promised the Holy Spirit.

3. The Acts 2 Church had the "Power of the Holy Spirit".

Perhaps what we most lack today is a true understanding of the work and power of the Holy Spirit. We easily pray, "Lord send Your Spirit; Let it have it's way." When in fact, the Holy Spirit isnot an IT; the Holy Spirit is a HE. And we often misunderstand the Holy Spirit's leading. Perhaps more in certain circles than others, the Holy Spirit is viewed as a pocket genie. Rub Him when you need Him and He'll open up that front row parking space, get you a sweet deal on a new car, and make you a millionaire.

I suppose Jesus got everything He asked for, it just happened to be a front row parking spot on a rough wooden cross with huge, heavy nails forced through His hands and feet to make sure He didn't lose his spot. And He worked miraculous miracles through the same power that lies in us today, but they were always for other people, not Himself. And thinking back to His baptism, right after the Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove and His Father God announced that in His Son He was "well pleased", the Holy Spirit didn't lead Jesus into a position of honor but into thedesert to be tempted by the devil for forty days. Some initiation that was! Thanks Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit isn't an IT, He's a person. And He is powerful. He is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and He has been given to us until Jesus returns. He is our counselor, our comforter, our best friend, our guide to all truth, our power to overcome all sickness and disease and every temptation and sinful desire.

We don't lead the Holy Spirit and make Him do what we want Him to do. He leads us. And often into difficult and ugly places. Without Him, there is no formula, no leadership model, no small group curriculum and absolutely no amount of skill or leadership ability that can build an Acts 2 Church. There is only one way to be the church that God intended for us to be. That is,

We must be intimately connected to the Son,

unshakably emboldened by His Resurrection

and abundantly led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Exponential Part 2 of 3 - Missional Church

When Jesus was asked by his disciples which is the greatest commandment, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. Everything hangs on these two commandments."

Jesus modeled for us the perfect church, the perfect leadership style. He loved God with all of His heart. He loved people so much that he suffered on their behalf. And to prove it, to show God and people the endless bounds of His great love, He did what few are willing to do - He made himself second.

As the church, we should be gratefully thankful that we've been invited into God's family and given an opportunity to work in His Kingdom. We should respect and honor what has been given to us, this abundant life and Kingdom work. And we should be responsible with how we handle it and with what we do with it.

We've geared our weekends and outreach ministries as "in-house", "all-you-can-eat buffet", "one-stop-shop service centers".

Interesting Jesus never chose a mountain or hand-picked a temple to make His job easier by sending mass emails and posting giant billboards along the donkey trails to get the people to come to Him. If anyone could have been successful at one-stop-shop ministry, Jesus could have certainly done it.

Fish & bread? Jesus will hook you up!

Prosthetic leg? Forget prosthetic, He'll get you the real thing!

Trouble with Demon Possession? One word and out they go!

Jesus didn't make the people come to Him. Not to say our churches can't be attractional. Jesus certainly knew how to both attract and wow a crowd. But He was always on the move. And He expected his followers to do the same.

So what does missional look like? That's simple. It looks like loving God and loving people - all people.

Ed Stetzer summed up the Missional Church as movement - A missional church should 1. Serve Locally, 2. Send Nationally, and 3. Adopt or Serve a People Group Globally.

Movement. Action.

If Satan had a strategy to derail the church, what could that strategy possibly be? Perhaps it could be to get the church more internally focused than externally purposed - buildings over people.

If we really walked our city streets, I think it would be nearly impossible not to become missional. Problem is, we don't. We walk the halls of our churches instead. If we truly became outward focused and asked God to break our hearts for what breaks His, I think He'd do it. Problem is, it'd mess up our schedules and suddenly Sunday School classes and softball tournaments would seem a bit irrelevant.

People need Jesus. They also need some practical needs met. And they need to see Jesus in action, through us, His church.

If we really loved our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, what would life suddenly look like for us? What would we keep for ourselves? What would we demand be given away? How would our time be spent? Where would our money go?

Francis Chan said it best when he addressed the financial commitment he and his church had made - If we truly loved others as much as we love ourselves, we'd give as much to others as we keep for ourselves. The church Francis Chan pastored now gives 55% of it's entire budget away. That wouldn't even cover facility expense in most churches! That surely wouldn't cover staff and salary expense in most churches either. Yet, they're doing quite well.

Jesus met both the physical and spiritual needs of the people he met while traveling. He didn't make people come to him. He went to them. And whether it was food for the hungry, healing for the sick or counsel for the emotionally troubled, Jesus did it all.

I guess the point is this.

Remember how Jesus first officially introduced himself to the people of Jerusalem- He rode into town on a donkey.

Then what did He do?

He got off his donkey and got to work.

I think it's time we did the same.

The Art of Suffering

Awkward? Just a bit. Francis Chan, the keynote speaker at the Exponential Church Plant Conference just resigned from his church days earlier. Yes, awkward. And everyone wanted to know the exact same thing. Why?

First, he quoted Amos 6:1. "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come."

Then he began to share the thing that was most stirring in his heart. The thought, the coming moment when each one of us will fall before God while He looks down upon us and says, "Well Done, my good and faithful servant".

Along with probably everyone else in the room, I'm still waiting for the answer. Why? Why walk away from sixteen years of leading a growing and successful church? Why walk away from a position of worldwide influence? Why now?

His answer didn't resonate with me until I returned home from the conference. I have to credit my 3 year old little girl for actually helping daddy see what Francis was trying to say. His answer - a lack of Suffering.

A lack of suffering? Anti-prosperity gospel?

Do we have to suffer to hear God say, "Well Done"?

The night I returned home, after having been away from my daughter for almost a week, the revelation of suffering captivated my heart. And it came most unexpected.

The night before we left Orlando for home, while getting ready for bed, I was moving a large industrial sized fan into the doorway of our bedroom to create the kind of white noise that helps Katie and I sleep well. To my dismay, the large, round, sharp, heavy base wasn't very well attached. And, at the most inappropriate time, most likely when the base was at the highest elevation possible above my bare and naked foot, it dismantled and dropped - right on my big toe. I'm still amazed at how well our bodies can respond to pain when inflicted on such a tiny extremity. It hurt. Bad.

After walking in the door and being greeted by my 3 year old, I felt it necessary to take off my shoes and socks and give my newly black and blue and bloodied big toe a bit of refreshing air. Morgan said she wanted to see what was underneath the bandaid. So I thought, sweet, she'll love this. Doesn't every kid love the sight of a big black bloodied toe? Um, NO!

She was mortified. She grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. She wept and wept and wept almost like I have never seen her weep before. She was shaken at the core. I was a bit surprised actually. She was in turmoil. She kept saying over and over, "Daddy, I don't want you to have a boo-boo". And no matter how much I tried to convince her that daddy was okay and that my boo-boo didn't hurt (even though it most definitely did), her concern only seemed to worsen.

All throughout the night, while reading a bed time book with mom, while enjoying a fun episode of Dora the Explorer with dad, she would look at me with an exaggerated quivering lip and pouty face and say, "Daddy, I don't want you to have a boo-boo". And then she'd cry. What in the world did I just do? I think I scarred her for life!

Then, some time late into the night, while I lay in bed, it hit me. I finally made the connection between comfort and suffering, between suffering and love.

I don't think the suffering Francis spoke of had much to do with success, money or good health. Suffering doesn't mean we have to be poor, afflicted or sick. It means we hurt. It means that in us, love and suffering are one and the same, they're connected.

My little three year old taught me for the first time in my life what it means to love and suffer because of love. Jesus, help us all if we don't get this! Woe to us who feel complacent and secure in Zion...

My daughter so loves me that even the thought of daddy hurting was enough to overwhelm her soul. For her, daddy's hurt was her hurt. Daddy's pain was her pain. For her, love and suffering are naturally connected. Even if she wanted to, she can't separate the two.

After a bit of reflecting, I took a deep hard look at my own heart, the heart of a church planter. When have I loved someone so deeply that I suffered because of it? Do I suffer because of the pain in my family, in my neighborhood, in my community, in my city?

Do I suffer for the lost, the broken, the hurting, the spiritually restless, the orphan, the widow, the abused, the addict, the hungry, the poor, the rich, the depressed, the outcast, the sick, the oppressed?

Could Jesus have endured the physical suffering that he had to endure on the cross without first enduring and embracing the spiritual suffering so intimately connected to his ever-abounding love for us?

Oh, that we could have faith like a child, eyes like a child, the heart of a child. Oh, that our hearts could break for the lost and the broken, hurt for the pain in our world so much so that out of our deep and gruesome suffering would rise a compelling and divine resolve to offer hope and healing, restoration and reconciliation with the Creator God.

Are you willing for God to break your heart? Are you willing to love so deeply that the rest of your life will be filled with the suffering that Jesus feels for every single man and woman, boy and girl?

The Hills Run Red

"The Hills Run Red". No, this isn't a movie review. No, I haven't seen this movie. But if you're like me, you've roamed the isles of your local movie rental store so many times over the years, covers like this barely catch your eye. We glance past the half-naked National Lampoon College Break cover positioned right next to Madagascar 2 and then move on down the row until we find a movie fit to take home.

The other night, I decided it would be fun to take Morgan with me to the movie store. Morgan is my 2 1/2 year old daughter, and some times a little road trip is my way of getting a little quality alone time with her. Sometimes it's the book store. Sometimes it's the animal store. And sometimes it's the movie store. I thought I'd let her pick out a movie from the kids section before I picked out something for her mom and I to watch later that night. She picked out her movie in like 5 seconds flat, "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning", or something like that.

I walked through most of the new release section. Morgan was holding my hand. Then she said the line that gets me every time, "Daddy, hold you." I hope she never stops saying that. Kids grow up so fast. I picked her up and continued walking through the new release section. I stopped in a corner and proceeded to pick up a cover that looked like a real possibility. I stood there for a few minutes reading the back of the box and trying to ask all the good questions husbands should ask when renting a movie without their wives present. Is this something she will like? When is the last time I threw in the towel and rented a chick flick? That's usually something I do once or twice a year! She's always very appreciative.

As I stood reading the cover, holding my daughter and debating my rental I noticed Morgan was zoned out, head turned almost 180 degrees. As I turned to look at what had grabbed her attention I found myself face to face with Babyface. Not a cute baby face, but that Babyface. The one on the cover of that atrocious-looking movie.

I quickly turned around, telling her not to look, but to my surprise, the faster I turned and tried to shield her eyes the faster she turned the opposite way keeping her gaze fixed on that scary cover. She was frozen. She couldn't turn away. Maybe she thought if she turned away Babyface would jump off the shelf and bite her. I don't know. I kind of thought that myself to be honest. I walked around the corner, this time glancing in every direction possible to make sure my daughter was protected from the terrible covers plaguing the entire store (never really noticed them before).

I knelt down to have a daddy talk but before I could say anything she said, "Daddy, is that guy scary? Is that guy scary daddy?" I told her that that guy wasn't real and couldn't scare her and that daddy doesn't like to see her scared. I asked her what I always ask her when she shows a little fear, "Has daddy ever let you fall? Has daddy ever hurt you?" "No", I say. "And daddy won't ever let you fall or get hurt, okay?"

We walked out of the store and for the next few days she's asked about the scary man. When I was taking her from Red Robin to the book store she asked me if the scary man was going to be there. She's mentioned him a few times and usually every time she mentions him she says, "But he's not real daddy, he's fake." I can tell though, that she's still a little worried about the scary guy on the cover showing up somewhere while she's playing or taking a nap.

I saw the loss of innocence that day. I saw evil present itself to my precious little girl. I saw fear sting her through her eyes. And I've watched the effect of that one small, seemingly insignificant moment over and over as her mind continues to hit rewind and those images continue to surface. And I can't do anything to stop it.

Then I had to wonder, is that what Jesus feels?
It must be.

Jesus was there in the beginning when evil presented itself to his perfect and innocent creation. He watched his spotless creation become tainted and dirty, shameful and painfully aware of their nakedness.

The love He must feel for us, and yet the horror.

Jesus is there every time the thought of lust rises up within me. It must pain him so deeply. Jesus is there when we are led down the dark paths temptation often takes us. Paths of addiction, paths of selling ourselves short in order to feel accepted, paths of risky behavior, paths of binging to quench our feelings of insignificance, paths so shameful we could never utter the words, paths so lonely nobody must understand.

But like a father, Jesus doesn't stop loving us. If anything, He loves us more. Like a father thrust into protection mode to shield a little girl from the things he knows will hurt her, Jesus must be moved to do the same.

Ultimately, we sin because we choose to sin. But truly, we were born into this mess. Truly, we were made innocent and sinless. Truly, our Creator has a perfect and painless plan for us. And though we choose to sin, and though we often make it harder on ourselves than we have to, rather than feeling condemnation and judgment, rather than feeling unworthy of God's love and mercy and forgiveness, we need to find a way to trust that God's love is beyond our ability to fully understand.

If we could just picture Him like a father in a movie store trying to shield the eyes of his child; if we could just picture Him as a father who, rather than moved to anger is moved to a deeper and more passionate love for his children; if we could just picture Him as a father who hurts so deeply because of the pain He watches His children endure and inflict upon themselves...

I imagine that when Morgan is a mommy with children of her own, I'm not going to see an independent and imperfect 30-something year old. I'm going to forever see that 2 1/2 year old beautiful and perfect little girl saying with innocent eyes, "Daddy, hold you."

I imagine that's how Jesus sees us.

I'm not loved because of my perfection. I'm loved, because in my imperfection, I find freedom and wholeness, forgiveness and safety in a Savior who never stops loving me but whose love continues to grow deeper and deeper, until I am fully rescued and forever free from the evil and sin and imperfection of where I now stand.