Lately, there’s been something churning inside of me. A feeling that there’s something bigger going on.

Have you ever felt that? It’s a sensation that there’s more to what you’re doing than just going through the motions. More than just working, cleaning, watching, attending, singing, or learning. Like a bee retrieving pollin from flowers in order to make honey. He’s doing more than making honey, he is cross-pollinating and helping the flowers to flourish. Maybe he doesn’t know he’s doing it… but then again, maybe the bee has that churning inside of himself as well.

If you much about me, you probably have figured out that I’m an idea person. I think of myself as a BIG idea person though. I don’t like to aim low. I like BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). The problem is that I often never reach the lofty goals (personal and professional) I set. I get discouraged by that sometimes. Then I hear someone say what they’ve seen me do as I was a busy bee chasing some big idea I never reached. I was trying to make a huge honeycomb, but had to settle for a small one. I was such a busy bee I did not notice all the flowers I cross-pollinated in the process. If I slow down for a moment and look around, I see the beautiful blooms around me. Something bigger was going on.

I’m not saying this to give myself some sort of pat on the back. The bee can’t really take credit for the side effects of him fulfilling his purpose. Actually, this is a reminder to myself as I currently have many friends, family, and colleagues who are dealing with serious, life-impacting issues. I sit and wonder whether or not I’ve done any good for them.

Maybe you’re a BIG idea person also. Take a moment to notice the roses in your life that you helped flourish… maybe unknowingly. Listen to the compliments that people pay you on your life, career, family, your encouragement that meant so much to them, the time you spent with them when they felt lost and alone. Don’t dismiss this. Accept them. Embrace them. Hold onto them long and tight. Realize that even though you may have aspired to do so much more, what you did was meaningful.

Sometimes the beautiful thing about an idea isn’t seeing it being completely fulfilled. Sometimes the beautiful thing is what happens as we pursue the BIG idea. What was it that John Lennon said? "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So, may you open your eyes and see the open flowers surrounding you today. May you pursue your purpose in life and continue to breath life into others… one flower at a time.

(Dedicated to some special “pollinators”: Max, Betty, and in loving memory of The Dunhams)

I get so fed up with the idea that we're worms.

The Bible doesn't say that. It tells me that I'm the righteousness of Christ and I am a new creation. God's word tells me that I'm the temple of the Holy God.

Hold on.

Don't run past that.

We're (those of us who have accepted the call to follow Jesus) the temple of the Holy God? God is IN us? What does that mean?

I can tell you it doesn't mean we're worms. It means we're caterpillars.

Yep, caterpillars. What? You don't see the difference?

It's inside. A worm is a worm. Inside and out. A caterpillar is a butterfly on the inside. Stealing from John Lynch (author of True Faced), a caterpillar and a butterfly are genetically the same.

So, we're not worms. We aren't filthy creatures who struggle with complying with God's nature. We're renewed by God as a new creature with a new nature, who struggles with the training that was heaped upon us by this world. And in order to truly understand WHO I am on the inside, I look to the one who created me. I hear/read what He says about me. Then, I have to believe it. I believe it by renewing my mind. And when I believe it, I act like the person inside me.

That's when people see the butterfly inside.

If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you? All creation and its bounty are mine.
Psalm 50:11-13

Do we really believe our God is lord of all creation?

Lord of ALL creation.

"Is Jesus your lord?" Well, of course He is. The question is whether we've accepted that truth.

Do we treat the people and things of this world as God's creation? Do we recognize His lordship over them? Do we accept that God is working in the lives of those who don't even acknowledge Him? He is constantly in pursuit of His creation. He is reclaiming, redeeming, and renewing His creation. And sometimes... sometimes... we get to play a small part in that. Sometimes, we just need to be aware that it's happening.

Job's friends questioned God and were rebuked.

The psalmist questions God throughout the book of Psalms.

Do you see a difference?

Can we question God?

It seems like we hesitate to do so. We think that we are unfaithful if we question Him. Yet, if our children question us, we see it as an opportunity to speak into their lives. They're inquisitive and full of wonder.

So, why are we afraid to question God? Maybe we've lost our wonder. Maybe we feel like we are safer to know what we "know" and not question that knowledge. It's scary to question your beliefs when they don't make sense. We'd rather not know we're wrong than to know that we're right.

But it's not really about right and wrong. It's about reality. God's reality.

I believe God is so very eager to have his children question Him, so he can reveal His reality to them.

I've been reading a book called Velvet Elvis. It is amazing! It's the type of book that keeps me up late at night because I can't stop reading it. It is written by Rob Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church outside Grand Rapids Michigan. I was first introduced to his teachings through videos from Nooma. Bell gives his understanding on a lot of questions I've raised in this blog. He does it in a way that helps me understand why Jesus said what He said, and why He did what He did. The Gospel just makes more sense after I read each chapter. That's the exciting thing!

Reading this book, along with an encouraging email from my nephew Ryan, prompted me to start posting on this blog again. So, I resume journaling what God lays on my heart as I attempt to paint a picture of my faith.

Well, the combination of business stuff and my wife's birthday have not left me with much spare time. So, I thought I would create a list of posts I hope each visitor to my blog will read. These are the ones I feel are homeruns:

Brand Christian

Living Without A Face

Embracing Change

The One-Legged Grasshopper

Multi-Level Christianity

Scars


And here's the winner of the "What was I smokin'?" Award: God's Surreality

Sidenotes:
1. I wish I had more time to address this, but I don't. I'm thinking of writing a series on this topic.
2. The above picture has nothing to do with this article. It just says "Kingdom of Heaven" and I thought it was cool.

All my life when I read scripture that talked about the kingdom of God, I always thought of heaven. I thought of the pearly gate, streets of gold, and mansions of glory that serve as some sort of celestial retirement community. Lately as I read scripture, I wonder what Jesus is talking about when He mentions the kingdom of God.

Luke 17: 20, 21
20Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. 21Nor when someone says, "Look here!' or, "There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you."

So, what is Jesus talking about? I'm not exactly sure, but I do know one thing: many of us don't get it. It seems like Christians today are focused on the future. We are anxious about the rapture, tribulation, the white throne judgment, the bema seat, etc. We get so caught up in what the future holds that we forget to live today. Have you noticed that the weatherman can't even predict the next day's weather with complete accuracy? Yet we're gobbling up books and movies based on people's interpretation of a very vague book of the Bible, Revelation.

As we focus on the apocalypse, we lose sight of what is important. We forget to show love to those around us. We fail to steward the kingdom God has placed around us - our family, our finances, our communities, and our environment. The kingdom of God is close at hand, it is already among us. It is not a doomsday proclamation, it is a call for us to see God at work in our very lives TODAY! How exciting is that? My pastor put it this way, "Around any corner, there may be a burning bush waiting for us." What a great reminder that we serve a God of the living.

of Christian branding:



What exactly does it mean to refinance your home the Christian way?

Go into debt so you can keep tithing? So you can put new carpet in the sanctuary? So you can send your kid to a Christian school? So you can buy more Left Behind books? So you can support your favorite televangelist?

I just don't get it.

Here's the kicker: This was spam email. Come on! At least email the Christian way. Jesus wouldn't spam.

OK, I already addressed my difficulty with differentiating between Christian and secular. I've started to recognize something about the designation "Christian" on items (books, movies, fine art, music, TV, and merchandise). This is not a discussion about what makes a person a Christian, but what makes things "Christian."

I think what I dislike about Christian merchandise in general, is the use of the word "Christian" as a brand name. As an aside, there are some fine authors, musicians, artists, etc. whose work you can find in a Christian bookstore. We don't ride in Christian cars while wearing Christian jeans with our hair styled with Christian hair gel as we eat our Christian burrito. What would that be like? Would the car not allow you to run red lights or cut off people in traffic? Would the jeans hide the shapeliness of your body to ward off lustful eyes? The hair gel? Maybe their slogan would be "Jesus had beautiful hair, shouldn't you?" I wouldn't use it anyway since I'm nearly bald. The burrito? Maybe it would just have scripture on the sauce packets, like Taco Bell's cute sayings. Or maybe they'd adopt Robert Tilton as their spokesperson. I don't know. Just make sure you have Christian mints if your Christian burrito had onions. What would Christian mints be like? Oh yeah, they actually sell those already.

As much as I don't like the idea of Brand Christian, it still exists. When people see the adjective "Christian" before a product, they have preconceived notions. People within the church might think, "Great. I can support my brothers and sisters. I feel like I can trust them." I don't think everyone thinks that. Outside the church, I think the Christian brand has other implications. The sad thing is that it often represents poor craftsmanship based on past experience. Honestly, it doesn't even warrant trust either. Claiming to be a Christian isn't an indicator of spiritual maturity. It isn't even necessarily an indicator of honesty.

The piece de resistance for me is The Shepherd's Guide. The ad above is actually from The Shepherd's Guide (I love how God loves us with same day service). This guide is touted as a Christian yellow pages. The idea is promoted as an opportunity to "let your brothers and sisters know" you're a believer. I don't think this is a good idea on many levels. First, it segregates us even more from the rest of the world. We're supposed to be salt and light. What good does salt do if it's just spread on more salt? What good is a flashlight outside in the middle of the day? Not to say our only ministry is to non-believers. I am a huge proponent and participant in discipleship. I just think we have to be careful in becoming spiritual segregationists. My second point relates to my earlier statement that this is not necessarily an indicator of honesty or maturity. Third, I feel like it is a profession of failure. "I can't compete with everyone, but the competition wouldn't be so stiff in this directory." I feel as though this enables believers' standards to remain lower than the rest of the world's (isn't that a paradox?). Also, that's not someone I necessarily want to buy from. If they can't compete, they need to do better or pack it up.

When it comes down to it, The Shepherd's Guide is an indicator of the Christian brand their directories contain. It's smaller than other directories (it only lists three churches in Tulsa... THREE churches?!? There's four on every corner here!), it looks cheaper, and it's message is flawed. Notice I'm saying THEIR message is flawed, not GOD'S.

So, before you label something you've done as "Christian," ask yourself one question. Whose standards does it meet? Contemporary Christian culture's? Or God's?