Well ... the KFA Fantasy Football Staff Draft was today at noon. Unfortunately, I was driving back from Minneapolis at that time and had to set my draft on 'automatic.' So I took whatever the computer gave me when it was my turn. Very disappointing.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
FANTASY
Well ... the KFA Fantasy Football Staff Draft was today at noon. Unfortunately, I was driving back from Minneapolis at that time and had to set my draft on 'automatic.' So I took whatever the computer gave me when it was my turn. Very disappointing.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
GRACE-FILLED
One of the core values we believe God is calling KFA to is being a grace-filled church. We’re all in process at being grace-filled. Sometimes we blow it big time. On other occasions, we’re brilliant with grace. But it is in our hearts to be a church that increasingly becomes a place filled with the grace of God. The reason we should be that is because grace is something each one of us has already personally received. God has been gracious to us ... and so it should be a default attitude for our own hearts to be filled with grace toward others.
When people walk into KFA, the first thing that should hit them is the love and grace of God. Not the singing – if people want great music, they can go to Chicago or Milwaukee or Ravinia or the Symphony. What they should feel and sense is God - and His grace and love.
Isn’t THAT what wins people to Christ? It isn’t great programs. It isn't a great facility. It isn't great preaching. Nothing softens the heart more than when people sense the love and grace of God.
And if we don’t have that, what good is it if the oratory is skillful – if the preacher has it all together doctrinally – if everybody onstage has perfect pitch and never hits a sour note – if there’s all kinds of cool things happening with children and youth -- but there’s no passion for God – there’s no heart – there’s no love and grace?
'So God, help us not just stroke those who stroke us – and love those who love us – even pagans and those in the world do that – but give us a heart for people who are unlovely – even people who are against us … hurt people … wounded people … difficult people … different people … people who don’t have it all together … people with broken hearts … people with damaged emotions … people with crushed spirits.
That’s ALL of us in some way, isn’t it?
God, help us see people the way You see them. Help us not to be small and just see what people are doing on the outside, but give us an understanding so we can pray and serve them better -- to cry over our city the way YOU did over Jerusalem …
God, give us a grace-filled spirit … even in the face of opposition and unkindness and judgmentalism … even when there is nastiness … fill our church with grace. Take away harshness and the remembering of wrongs … take away unforgiveness ... so when people come into our church – even before they hear the singing – even before they hear the message – give them the sense that You are present because they can see Jesus manifested in the grace that fills the place.
Amen.'
Saturday, August 28, 2010
BYE
It's bittersweet today. Saying 'goodbye' to our youngest daughter as she leaves for North Central University for her sophomore year tomorrow. It's a lot different than last year - for all of us - but it's still sad seeing her go. Very proud of the young woman she is turning into.
Friday, August 27, 2010
PACK
Well - just some fun today. It was a great time last night as about 35 of us went to Lambeau Field in Green Bay to watch the Packers BEAT THE TAR out of the Indianapolis Colts in a pre-season game. We even had a couple of Colts fans in our group - fully decked out in bright blue - to our everlasting shame.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
BUTTON
STORY ONE: I was having a conversation with our youngest daughter several years ago and I casually used the word 'typewriter' in the sentence. She straightforwardly and honestly asked: "What's a typewriter?"
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
SMALL GROUP
There is a theology out there that claims the Christian life is one silver-lined cloud after another - just constantly soaring. It isn’t. Sometimes the Christian life is a dark cave. The making of a saint takes a lifetime. You may be the lowest you’ve ever been right now, but God is going to have the final word in your story. God is not going to give up on you - and neither are we.
This is one of the reasons I’m so adamant about small groups at KFA. It isn’t the only function of small groups -- but sometimes we just need a refuge. That’s one of the many things I believe small groups can provide.
I’ve heard people say, “Small groups aren’t for everybody.” I don’t believe that for a second. We are made for community. You just haven’t found the right small group that works for you yet -- and you need to keep trying until you do.
An author by the name of Chuck Swindoll talks about a buddy of his who became a believer a few years after being discharged from the Marine Corps. Chuck was shocked when he heard of the guy’s conversion because he was one of those people you almost never picture being interested in God. He cursed, he got drunk, he chased women, he gambled. The only time he used the names ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ was when he was mad.
But he came to Christ one day and not long after, Chuck ran into him. As the conversation turned to the man’s new salvation, he looked Chuck in the eye and said: ‘Chuck, the only thing I really miss is the old times the guys in our outfit used to have down at the base tavern. We’d sit around, tell stories, laugh, drink a few beers - man, it was great.’ Then he paused. ‘I just haven’t found anything in the church to take the place of that great time we used to have. I don’t have anybody to admit my faults to. I don’t have anybody to put their arm around me and tell me I’m still OK the way those guys did for me.’
And that makes my stomach turn. Not because I’m so shocked, but because I think I have to agree. The man needed a refuge - a safe place just to be heard.
There is a book called, “The Edge of Adventure,” and it reads:
“The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His church. It’s an imitation though, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than answers. It is an unshockable fellowship. You can tell people secrets and they don’t even want to tell anyone else. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.”
With all my heart I believe God wants His church to be a fellowship where people can come in and say, ‘I’m sunk. I’m beat. I’m done. I’ve had it.’ That’s why we push small groups so strongly at KFA - because sometimes ... you need a shelter ... you need someone to put an arm around you when you’re hurting ... you need a listening ear and some good counsel that small group settings can provide.
Our new small-group-tied-in-message-series called "FLAVOR" begins in 2 weeks. Don't miss it - and don't miss getting in a small group.
And be blessed.
Monday, August 23, 2010
WILDERNESS
Growing up, I never got a really good theology of the wilderness. That’s a place I wanted to avoid. If you had a friend who was in the wilderness, you thought: ‘Oh, boy. He must have taken a wrong turn. God must be punishing him for something.'
You could go online and find all KINDS of books about how you never have to go thru a spiritual wilderness. Read this - pray like that - say these words - skip this way - there’s a way out. And I’ll tell you ... a lot of that is anti-spirituality. It’s a cultural religion that lifts up happiness and personal comfort beyond where they belong -- to a place where self-actualization is the highest goal of life. That isn’t a Jesus-Gospel.
Jesus’ Gospel is a rugged spirituality where you sometimes find yourself in trouble. That happens so you have to rely on Him. If you’re never in trouble, you’re never going to sense a need for God.
Because when everything’s going all right and someone asks you: ‘What’s going on today?’ you say: ‘Well, I’m going out to dinner ... maybe catch a movie.’ But when you’ve just come back from the doctor and he tells you some news you don’t want to hear and then somebody asks you: ‘What’s going on?’ you’re not talking about the movies then.
When your wilderness is that your marriage isn’t going well ...
When your wilderness is that your parents are considering a divorce ...
When your wilderness is that your health is in serious trouble ...
When your wilderness is that the bank is calling again ... you become acutely aware of what is going on in your life.
The other thing that happens in the wilderness is, we desperately try to locate God. How many of us have said it when we’re in the middle of our own desert: ‘God, where are You? Where did You go?’
And God works powerfully thru His hiddenness ... because in the wilderness you’re listening ... really hard. You’re paying attention ... really hard. You hear every leaf rustle ... you hear every twig snap. And God, though He may seem hidden, still sees you - still hears you. Often it is His very hiddenness that grows us because we quit looking at the moment and we start looking at the season ... at the whole story ... not at this one emotional day ... and we start listening harder.
We start to trust that the hiddenness of God doesn’t mean He isn’t active. He’s breaking some things over here - He’s molding some things over there - He’s re-creating some things over here. And if we do all we can to avoid the wilderness, we’ll get to our 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and have gone backwards because those times are meant to grow us.
And be blessed.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
CHANGING
I pretty much grew UP in church and you knew there was this certain question you were going to get asked at some point by your youth pastor or somebody. It was: ‘So, what has God been doing in your life lately?’
And I have to confess that I would often THINK when people would ask me that: ‘I don’t have the first CLUE!‘
Well ... THAT never sounded good. So, you learned pretty quickly that you needed to make up some stuff - because whenever you said, ‘I don’t KNOW,’ they’d give you that look like - that’s BAD. GOOD Christians are always aware of what God is doing in their lives.
So, I’d MAKE UP things. (Don't pretend you haven't done this.) ‘What is God DOING in my life? Oh, my goodness, where should I start? Ummm -- well -- ABUNDANT. Yeah. He’s doing some ABUNDANT stuff - and GREAT, too. ABUNDANT ... and GREAT. THAT’S what’s happening.’
Then I figured maybe I needed to make some stuff happen - have a spiritual experience -- maybe jump and shout -- get emotionally charged -- cry or shake a little -- if I could just get more Biblical KNOWLEDGE -- if I could KNOW more -- if I could out-SERVE somebody ... and FINALLY -- I realized God had been doing stuff in my life from the moment I began having a life with Him - that whole time He’d been personally at work in me -- doing the same kinds of things in ME that He’s doing in all of YOU who call yourselves followers of Christ -- conforming us to the image of His Son, Jesus.
So if you get asked the question: “What is God DOING in your life?” you can say, ‘He’s changing me into the image of Jesus.’
Let's PRACTICE that together. Ready? I'll say the question -- and then you say, "He's changing me into the image of Jesus." (If there are people around you right now, I would seriously consider saying this in a low voice right now.)
OK. All set? Here we go ... "SO ... WHAT IS GOD DOING IN YOUR LIFE?"
Your turn. " ___'_ _________ ____ ______ ____ ________ ____ ______."
Very good. I LOVE IT. Let's try it one more time.
"SO ... WHAT IS GOD DOING IN YOUR LIFE?"
YOU: "_____'_ _________ ____ _______ ____ ________ ____ ________."
And then if they ask, ‘HOW is God doing that?’ then maybe you can say, ‘I honestly have no idea. Right now it seems like my life is totally falling apart. It's a train wreck, but I know God is at work.’
That is spirituality. It’s messy but it’s real.
And be blessed.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
VALUES
Over this past week I have communicated to you our KFA mission statement and our KFA purposes (see August 17 and August 19 blogs).
‘Mission’ describes the bottom line for a church - what is the one main thing we are here to do?
‘Purposes’ describe the ‘what’ of a church - what are the specific things we should involve ourselves in?
While most churches will have the same general ‘mission’ and same general ‘purposes,’ because those things are already given to us in Scripture, our church ‘values’ may be quite different from the church down the way.
Church values are unique to each local congregation.
Church values are not doctrine - we already have that.
Church values are not theology - we already have that.
Church values are not purposes or mission - we already have those.
Church values are HOW we do church - the attitudes that make up a church - the heart behind what we do - the motivations. These are the things, if we stopped someone on the street and asked them, ‘WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT CHURCH OUT NEAR THE INTERSTATE?‘ This how we’d hope they would respond.
A few months back, we had a great time meeting with about 100 of our leaders. We posed the question to them: ‘WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE THE VALUES OF KFA SHOULD BE?’ Not, ‘WHAT ARE THEY RIGHT NOW?’ but ‘WHAT SHOULD THEY BE?’
That conversation and others like it helped us formulate what our church values should be - the heart and the how of KFA.
So here they are - our KFA VALUES:
Christ-Centered
Outward-Focused
Grace-Filled
Relational
Relevant
Compassionate
Creative
Integrity
Feel free to commit these to memory with us.
And be blessed.
Friday, August 20, 2010
BANANA
Sometimes I 'disconnect.' My wife tells me I do all the time. I'm right there in the room having a conversation, and 2 minutes later she'll ask me something about what we were just talking about and I'll act like I'd never been in the room. It happens frequently (according to her).
Thursday, August 19, 2010
PURPOSES
PERSONAL GROWTH -
COLOSSIANS 1:9-11 ...
Discipling people to grow and mature in Christ
ENTHUSIASTIC SERVICE -
COLOSSIANS 3:23 ...
Using our gifts for the church and the world
PASSIONATE WORSHIP -
JOHN 4:23, 24 ...
Praying, fasting, giving, singing, kneeling, bowing, meditating, journaling, sacrificing and doing all those things that ascribe worth to God.
AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY -
ACTS 2:42, 44 ...
Becoming involved in small group life and meaningful friendships
OFFERING HOPE -
EPHESIANS 1:17, 18 ...
Praying for doors of opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone we see
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
IRRESISTIBLE
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
EASY
TRIBAL
There was so much interesting e-mail, Facebook, and in person feedback on the last blog that I thought I'd capitalize on that today.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
E-CONFLICT
Friday, August 13, 2010
ELIAS
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
NEAR
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
GRADUATION
Thursday, August 5, 2010
TRANSPARENCY
I often reflect on and reconsider the amount and level of transparency I put out there - in my messages - in my counseling sessions - in my conversations. Sometimes Joelene will wisely caution me that I might have gone too far. I probably do now and then.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
BICEPS
A few years ago Dove soap launched an ad campaign featuring a split-screen of a model's face. It was a 'before' and 'after' shot. "Before," meaning - before make-up, hair and post-production re-touching and re-re-touching. The extent of the re-touching on the 'after' shot was astonishing. The model didn't just reflect smoother cheeks and flawless skin tone. The size of her eyes was increased. Her neck was lengthened. Her limps plumped up. Her jawline completely modified. It wasn't really even the same woman. I'm not sure she would have recognized herself in the 'after' shot.