Matthew's Genealogy

If you've been at Shepherd of the Valley over the last several weeks, you've heard me talk about the great stories we read from Matthew's genealogy.  If you're not familiar with this, go ahead and get your Bible open to Matthew chapter 1.  This is the first book in the New Testament, and in the first chapter we get a story that most readers (let's be honest) usually skim at best.  It's the record of historical genealogy from Abraham leading up to Jesus.
Now, in church we talked about why Matthew would do a such a thing.  From a theological standpoint, this line of ancestry shows that Jesus comes from the line of King David and before that even, from Abraham.  So, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies we see in the Old Testament about being the Messiah, the Savior.  In order to be the Messiah, Jesus' heritage matters, and so Matthew makes that case.
We also talked about, however, the spiritual side of this genealogy.  I stole a line from another great preacher that Matthew wrote this genealogy, and included all the names that he did, because they are "The point of the story."  The people listed in this ancestry were sinners and outsiders, just like Matthew was himself.  They prove the point of why Jesus came - that He came for sinners and outsiders.  He came to offer grace and forgiveness and wholeness to all.  That's a pretty cool message.
But Matthew's genealogy offers a couple of tough questions for the serious student.  One - it's different from the genealogy written in Luke 3.  How can that be?  And two, possibly of greater concern, if Joseph wasn't Jesus' "real" dad, then why does his ancestry matter?  Shouldn't the genealogy trace Jesus' heritage through Mary, since she at least is related to Jesus by blood?
Two good questions.  And, I'm not sure if you'll find the answers satisfactory.  There are many possible answers as to why the two genealogies are different.  One answer says that the genealogies follow different lines back to David, certainly very possible in such a tight-knit and inter-married community.  Some say that Luke does trace the lineage back through Mary, hence the difference and an answer to both questions.  Most scholars actually don't find evidence for either of these possible answers, but that doesn't mean you can't find truth in them.
As to Joseph not being Jesus' "real" father, I'll admit my perspective on that has changed a bit now that I'm an adoptive dad myself.  Because that's what Joseph is with Jesus, he's His adoptive dad.  And just as I would defy anyone to tell me that I'm not Sage's "real" dad I bet Joseph felt just as fiercely paternal towards Jesus.  Blood doesn't make you someones parent, Love does.  Something I think God understands fully as He uses adoptive language throughout the Bible in terms of how He sees us - His adoptive children.  Since God looks at us that way, what a perfect image for Joseph and Jesus.
But, again, if you're a strict student of things, I don't know that any of these answers truly satisfy.  Which bring us to our last point.  The thing is - the early Christian church apparently wasn't bothered by this at all.  After all, they could all read just as well as us.  They saw the same Gospels that we read today, they saw the same issues.  And we have no record of the early church struggling with these issues.  Our two big questions didn't appear to make their list of things to worry about.  It's hard for us, we want so much certitude from the Bible that, honestly, the Bible isn't all that interested in providing.  I guess that's why they call it Faith. 
For Matthew, the point of the genealogy is much more important than any problems with it being "right" or "wrong".  Matthew knew where Jesus came from, and why He came.  That's what mattered.  And the challenge to us is, are we able to see that as well?

Don't go to church, Be the Church!

Bill

Lightsabers and Wands

So, I had the chance to watch Harry Potter 7 over the long week.  It was a snowy week here in Washington and I had to get out and do something with the boys.  Or, at least, that's what I told Sarah.  And Harry Potter was an excellent choice.
If you're looking for a movie review, here's a bit of one.  I thought the movie was brilliant.  I think David Yates, the Director of the movies since HP 5 is by far the best director yet.  Each Director did well with what they were given, but David Yates has stopped just turning out "Good Harry Potter" movies and is turning out Good Movies.  These last three movies remind more of the Lord of the Rings trilogy from that standpoint.  A fantastic combination of source material, great cast, and excellent production.  And I can't believe we have to wait until July to see part 2!
A couple of notes along with that.  Is this a movie for kids?  Yeah, if your kid has read the book they're not going to see too much that will bother them more.  The visual of Nagini is pretty creepy.  And the scene of Hermione getting tortured was actually fairly disturbing.  But, again, J.K. Rowling did such a good job with those moments in the book I would say if your child has read those scenes, they can probably see those moments.
But the bigger, philosophical question many Christian families ask is: should their kids watch this movie?  Much has been made about the magic/Witchcraft connection of Harry Potter and the Bible's clear prohibition about dabbling with that type of stuff.
As a parent, I certainly don't want to argue that a kid has to see Harry Potter.  Yeah, they're really well written books, and well done movies, but there are lots of good books and good movies I don't need to let my kids read and see because I disagree with their content (No child should be subjected to Grease 2 as an example.  Wow, what a stink bomb of a movie.  Oh, and the morals are questionable too :) )
But, as a Christian parent let me be clear that I've let my kids read the Harry Potter series, we own the movies, and I've read and watched all of them myself.  My thoughts on this comes from a couple of things. 
First, I don't discount the Bible, but I see a big distinction between Magic and Witchcraft being part of a story and actually trying it myself.  When I watch movies about the Mafia it doesn't mean I'm going to change my name to Fat Tony and start conducting my business in the basement of a bar.  I am able to separate the two things, and I want to teach my kids they can do the same.
And, on a related note, my kids are exposed to magic all over the place.  There's magic in the above mentioned Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and in the Narnia books.  And, if you've ever watched Star Wars just trade the Lightsabers for Wands, and call The Force "magic" and you'll see it's really no different from Harry Potter on that issue.
Do I ban all such magic related pop culture from my house?  My response is no.  When I watch and read Narnia, or LOTR, or Star Wars, or Harry Potter I see the same things.  I see good triumph over evil.  I see heroic sacrifice.  I see friends laying down their lives for others.  I often see great, relatable Christian ideas - whether that was the authors intent or not.  That's just how I'm wired.  I see Jesus everywhere.  And I think He's pretty glad about that.
So, I want to instill the same gift in my kids.  If something is truly irredeemable (I'm looking at you G-Force.  Super hero rodents.  Really?) I see no need to support it.  But much of pop culture can be seen in a variety of ways.  I choose to err on the side of Grace.  And fun.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

A Christian response to an unjust government

So, I've heard some positive feedback on my sermon from this week.  If you haven't listened to it yet, you can find it at http://www.svlccommunity.org/  I spoke about Politics, and in particular about how we as Christians are Biblically called to engage in politics.  I won't recap the whole sermon here, but I got one question from a number of people afterwards that I thought would be good to address in this format. 
I argued that, Biblically, Christians are called to "support" our government.  You see this a number of times in Paul's writings and I believe in many of Jesus' actions as well.  But the question that was raised was, "What then do we do with an unjust government."  What are Christians supposed to do in Germany under Hitler?
It's a great question.  And one I don't think I have all the answers to.  But, I did a little thinking and some research and I have a few ideas.
One, the truth of it is, Paul and Jesus lived under governments that were pretty unjust as well.  They probably didn't have it as bad as life in Nazi Germany, but they were much worse off than life in most First World governments in our day today.  So, for Paul to say to that Government leaders were put there by God, is a pretty bold step in his day.  That shouldn't be discounted.
However, we also shouldn't discount that Paul almost certainly believed that Jesus was coming back very soon.  In most of his writings it's very clear that Paul believes Jesus' return to be imminent.  That colors much of his commentary on life style choices.  It colors his thinking on marriage, and I think it colors his thinking about governments.  Why worry too much about an unjust government when Jesus is coming to bring a new Heaven and a New Earth and all this be wiped away anyway?
But, as we have seen 2000 years later, although Jesus' return is imminent, God's time frame and our time frame don't seem to be similar.  So, we still wait for Jesus.  We still wait in a broken world where governments can be bad, and sometimes truly evil (again, the image of Nazi Germany comes to mind.)  As Christians, do we just wait for Jesus to come back, or do we step into unjust situations and do something to combat that?  Do we take a page from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the great Lutheran leaders, and plot to kill Hitler because he is that evil?  Good questions.
Again, I'm drawn to the Bible for answers, and here I'm afraid it's a little less clear.  And it requires much humble thought on our part.  To begin, let's look at a specific example with Jesus.  Many are familiar with Jesus encounter with the crowd and the woman caught in adultery.  In that instance, Jesus challenges the crowd who is seeking "justice" (blood, really) "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."  And after all of the woman's accusers walk away He sends the woman away forgiven, with the command to not sin again.  For me, this provides a great example of Jesus' response to an unjust situation.  The woman, although guilty, was being treated without justice.  By Jewish law, the man she was with should have been brought along with her for accusal.  The whole scene reeked of a set-up, and flew in the face of Jesus' message of forgiveness and grace for all, regardless of sin.  So, instead of letting the unjust action slide, Jesus stepped in, and acted.  He did so in a very unique way, but He acted to subvert the unjust action no matter how you look at it.
Paul does something similar in his letter to Philemon.  This is a story about Philemon, a slave owner, and his runaway slave Onesimus.  Paul has come into relationship with Onesimus, and has discovered that he knows Philemon quite well.  In fact, Paul brought Philemon to faith.  So, Paul takes the radical step and sends Onesimus back to Philemon and urges/commands Philemon to forgive Onesimus and treat his as an equal in Christ.  Paul sees slavery as unjust, and knows that if Onesimus is caught as a runaway slave he'll be killed.  But instead of hiding Onesimus, Paul sends him back to his "owner" and says you can't hurt him, you can't punish him, you have to treat him as Christ treats you.  Paul steps into an unjust situation and challenges it.
So, what do we learn.  Well, my reading is that Paul and Jesus chose not to try and change the un-justices of the world, but they did stand up to the unjust actions before them.  They did what they could when they could, and expected others to do the same.  So, yes they didn't fight the unjust governments under which they served.  In their wisdom, that wasn't where they thought they should spend the majority of their time (this was spent on bringing the Gospel to the World.)  But, they didn't ignore it either.
So, that seems like our calling, to do what we can when we can.  Sometimes that means individual action.  A modern example might be to stand up to bullying in our schools when we see it, a real problem right now.  But yes, sometimes that needs to be done on a large scale.  To stop Hitler, or Stalin, you couldn't do that one encounter at a time.  It needed to be done with millions working together, forcefully.  On this, Reinhold Niebuhr did some great work arguing for Christian Realism, in direct contrast to those Christians arguing for a pacifist reaction to the Nazi's.  Niebuhr argued that in this clear case, pacifism was not the Christian response at all, direct action was needed.  It's not always easy to see when that is, but when it is clear, then our Christian response should be equally clear.
So, a few thoughts on a difficult idea.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or further questions if this gets you thinking as well.  Have a great week, and as always. . .

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

116 - 3

You may have noticed a decent gap between my last post and this one.  That's because I try to maintain the blog a little more during the summer months, as a way of checking in on things when so many of us are out and about.  But, I'll try to do a few new pieces throughout the Fall and Winter as well just to keep you all intereted :)
And this weekend, what better way to spark your interest than 116 - 3.  I knew it was a bad weekend for Washington Football, but until a friend posted that on his Facebook status I didn't realize just how bad it was.  The Huskies, Cougars, and Seahawks all lost this past weekend by a combined score of 116 - 3!
Seriously.
What do you do with that?
First off, I've got to say that as a guy who never played a lick of "real" football, I certainly hand it to our guys for going out there and playing week in and week out - taking a physical punishing I can only imagine.  300 pound linemen don't try and hit me when I play Tennis or go Sowboarding you know.
But, as an interested observer, it's hard to not to question what's going on with the players and the coaches.  I guess, I think we just start to to all become experts in something that we spend that much time watching.  Or at the very least, something that we're invested in.  And, let's face it, there are a lot of Americans invested in Football.  I'm willing to bet (I hope I'm wrong, but this is still my hunch) that more Americans watched Football on Saturday and Sunday this weekend than went to church.  They probably spent more on Footbal related stuff too.  Now, that's an investment.
So, after 3 good old fashioned poundings, what do you do?
I"m thinking that we need to remember, that it's just a game.  Yes, it's an industry that is responsible for Billions of dollars.  Yes it's their jobs, and our work ethic means we should all strive for our best every day in whatever we do.  But, it's still just a game.  So, three of my favorite teams lost their games this last weekend.  It was frustrating.  It was annoying.  But, did anything bad really happen?  No lives were lost, no wars were started.  And, after it was all said and done: I played with my kids, went trick-or-treating, played Crazy Eights with Princess cards with my daughter.  Those were the things that mattered to me this weekend.  Those memories will last a lot longer than the bad football ones, as well they should.
So, I hope you had a great weekend.  I hope your favorite team won a game somewhere.  But, I hope you also were reminded this weekend of what matters in your life.  And what really doesn't.  Who knows, you may get the chance to remember it again next weekend.  After all, the Huskies are playing the Ducks!

Don't go to church, Be the Church!

Bill

A perfect game for one

So, Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter yesterday.  Only the second such gem in MLB post season history.  He was one walk away from pitching a perfect game, and being the only guy to have two such games in the same year.  In a year when we had a whole lot of bad baseball to watch around Seattle, it was pretty amazing to read about, and see such a wonderful display of baseball might.
From one guy, at least.
It's funny.  Maybe it's because I'm a Mariners fan, but as excited as I was for Roy Halladay, I couldn't help but think that his no-hit game means that at least 9 guys on the other team "failed" all game long.  Their job was to go up and score some runs.  Heck, the way Halladay was pitching, I think most of Cincinnati would have been fine even just getting a few hits.  But, no dice.  No hits.  No runs.  Nothing.
So, we celebrate Halladay, and we should.  But what does that mean for the other guys who barely got wood on the ball?  Do we fire them?  Ship them down to the minors?  Nope.  They'll all be back at it at the next game, having put their colossally bad night behind them.

We can learn a lot from baseball.  When we fail in our lives we beat ourselves up, we blame others, we get depressed.  Most Baseball hitters fail 7 out of 10 times for their whole career.  Yesterday, an entire team failed at their jobs.  But they're back at it today, none the worse for wear.  Kudos to Roy Halladay for a thing of beauty.  And Kudos to the Cincinnati Reds for a lesson we all need to remember.  We're can't be perfect.  We learn from our mistakes.  And tomorrow is another day to do better.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

A Fascinating Conversation

So, I know I've posted a lot of videos lately but, really, does that surprise anybody that knows me.  The one for today is fascinating conversation between three of the more well-known Christian leaders particularly on the west coast.  The background is that Francis Chan left what, from all outside appearances, is a very successful ministry in order to play a big role in small, community needs based ministry.  These three are friends and clearly have more insight into the situation than I do.  So, I don't offer this as a way of saying I think I agree with on e guy more than another.  But, it's a beautiful snapshot into the heart of a Christian who feels compelled to do something radical in order to follow Jesus, and the friends who lovingly challenge his decision.  I hope you find it interesting as well.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

http://www.outofur.com/archives/2010/09/ur_video_why_di.html

A Vision of Students Today

on Book Burning and Mosque building

So, I've been struggling over the issues that have made the news over the last few days, and whether or not it was at all relevant or necessary for me to add any comment on the happenings. The two biggest struggles for me have been the issues surrounding the potential construction of an Islamic Center (or mosque, I'll admit I'm not interested in debating the specifics of that point.) near Ground Zero, and the "Pastor" (and I do use the term loosely) who plans on burning Korans on the anniversary of 9/11. As I've heard, and seen, and read more about these two stories two old quotes keep coming to the fore for me.

The first is my favorite line from Jurassic Park: "You guys were so interested in whether or not you could, you never stopped to think about whether or not you should." That seems like a very relevant question in both instances for me. I'm no legal expert, but it would appear to me that both the building and the book-burning can be done. But the much bigger question is should they be done. That's a different conversation, and one I'm not hearing as much in the rhetoric.

The other quote is one I can't attribute, because I don't remember where I first heard it: Not every act of stupidity demands a response. I really like this quote. It's pretty loaded, aggressive even, and I'm not saying that either of these two acts are 'stupid'. It's just that it seems in our 24-hour news cycle world, stuff that probably wouldn't get any publicity 10 years ago becomes BIG NEWS, because a news vacuum abhors a void. But really, just because a guy wants publicity, does that mean we have to give it to him? There are a lot of idiots in the world. Do they all require our response?

Still, as evidence by this post, I came to the conclusion that I at least wanted to add something. It's not that I think my opinion will necessarily change the outcome of either event coming to be. But I thought it might be worth a challenge to those of you who read this to see if you've thought something similar, or are looking for a healthy venue to share your own thoughts and struggles.

My first thought, is that I have much more to say to the "Pastor" than I do to those considering building the Islamic Center/Mosque. I have an opinion on the Center/Mosque, I'm sure most of us do. But, and here's part of my struggle, it's something being done and planned by people outside of my influence and background. I'm not a Muslim, and I cannot imagine what the thinking is behind this proposed building. So, I don't know that my opinion is going to be a helpful addition to this conversation.

As to the "Pastor", I feel differently. Because this guy is claiming to be a Christian Pastor, that's something that hits very close to home for me. This is my area, and if someone in that zone is going off the rails, I feel much more of a duty to speak to it. As I see time and again in scripture, Jesus was always hardest on the "insiders." He really went after the flaws and hypocrisy of the religious leaders. Why? Well, at least one reason is because He was one of them. He spoke their language, He lived in their world, and at some level they were a reflection of Him. This "Pastor" in Florida is a reflection of all Christian Pastors, and I find his actions unacceptable to stand without a reasonable challenge. And just to be clear, I can't imagine there being anything positive from this book-burning. On simply one point alone this is so frustrating: If you're a Christian, ask yourself how this guys actions make us look to the Non-Christians we're supposed to be evangelizing. Isn't he simply fulfilling every negative stereotype Non-Christians already have of us: Angry, Judgmental, Intolerant, etc. (By the way, that's exactly what I overheard at lunch the other day. It made me cringe.)

Does that mean I ignore the Center/Mosque and only speak to the Book-burning? I don't really know. Again, regardless I'm not sure my thoughts will change any outcome. But, just because it might not do much doesn't mean I should also say nothing.

Hmm, well I don't know that I solved anything, but I think I feel better for having written. If you've been looking for a healthy format to share some thoughts please do so here. Good, honest responses are always welcome. Even disagreeing opinions, as long we do so without being disagreeable to each other. In the end, I'm drawn to hope that all of us might take the words I use to end this blog as a response to all this as well:

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

A Mega Niche?

So, after a brief but necessary break to celebrate 9-02-10 day, I wanted to bring back the idea of Mega churches vs. Niche Church and what that means. Again, this comes from my latest look at the Emmys, which showed a whole lot of rewards for those programs that appeal to a very specific, and usually small audience, as opposed to the wide spread winners we've seen in years past (although, I will say, it's been a while.) Is it time for churches to do the same? Should the appeal to a broad "market" be abandoned as churches hone down to a narrow target?
To be fully honest, I think 10 years ago I would have had a definitive answer for you on this. Now that I'm older, and possibly wiser, I'm not really sure. I've seen both sides do it, and do it well. I've been fortunate to be around, and even work at, what would be described as a Mega-Church, able to reach a lot of different people across a lot of different ways. It was fun, and I think very effective at sharing Jesus to a variety of different people.
And, I've been around smaller churches that have intentionally chosen to narrow their focus in order to share Jesus effectively with a specific range of people. And, I would say objectively that seem to have been pretty effective as well.
I couple that with what I've seen a little too much of: Small to Mid-size churches who try to be all things to all people, and in so doing do a rather average job of that. Yes, we reach some people for Christ, but it always feels like we could be more effective if we were either larger, or more focused.
So, what to do? Help our churches grow bigger? I'd be okay with that. It would mean we're doing something right. I'm not one of those who thinks big churches are inherently bad (and believe me, there are plenty of people who think that.) If all the churches in one area grew bigger it would mean they're not stealing "sheep" but they're really reaching the unchurched which is our main purpose anyway. That's a pretty good outcome in my book.
But somehow, I don't know that we can pull that off. God could make it happen, sure, that's not the issue. It's just, we seem to get in the way. We're unable to do that when it all comes down to it. So, is the Niche way of thinking a better way? What would it look like if a community had 10 different churches all focused on different things? One church did Small groups really well, and another did Children's Programs really well. One church focused on International missions, and another Mission closer to home. As I write that, I'm not sure that works either. It seems like people with our varied passions and desires would get frustrated by having such narrowly defined churches. I think I might even get frustrated by that.
But again, I'm pretty quick to say that I really don't know. And, as so many churches continue to simply spin their wheels and not reach anybody new for Jesus, is it worth a big bold risk if there's a big, potential upside?
Lots of questions today, and not many answers. But I hope it gets you thinking. It's done that for me.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

Happy 90210 Day

Well, as today is 9-02-10, it's a perfect time to take a break from my previous post and remember one of the "best" shows from 90's, Bevery Hills 90210. Seriously, I will freely admit that this show was one of my guilty pleasures. I took fashion cues from Brandon and Dylan. I had a crush on Kelly, and sometimes Brenda. The plots are ridiculous in retrospect, but at the time, I was drawn in. And, in my defense, I really think the acting level of Jason Priestly and Luke Perry is way better than people gave them credit for. The rest of the cast. . . well let's just remember them fondly. How about you? Got a favorite 90210 episode? Got a different guilty pleasure you'll fess up to?

My favorite ep. - The one where Brandon was elected to be the College President. Because I didn't see that ending coming.

My favorite season - The second College season, where Tiffani Thiesen was brought on to replace Shannen Doherty.

My favorite outfit - Dylan or Brandon wearing a suit jacket and plain white T underneath. I tried so hard to pull that off.

Now just try and get that theme song out of your head.

Bill

The Emmys

So, last night I didn't watch a single minute of something I used to watch "religiously": The Emmys.

Those of you that know me know I'm an entertainment kind of guy. I love Movies, TV, Books, Music. I'll watch stuff because I want to, or because I think they're culturally relevant, or because I want to stay hip to what's up (and by using the word hip there I realize I'm proving that I"m not :) ) So I used to love the Emmys. I loved the awards, the skits, the presenters, and I loved to see who won. But this year, I just had no interest whatsoever.

What's changed? Well, me a little bit of course. I'm older, have 4 kids, and way less time on my hands. Last night was my second oldest's birthday, and hanging out with him was much more important than watching any TV show. But, honestly, it was something else as well.

Being the entertainment geek that I am, I knew all the nominees for the awards last night, and some of them got me really excited. All the nominations for 'Lost' were fabulous and well deserved. The noms for 'Modern Family', 'Big Bang Theory', and 'How I met your Mother' (hey, that's a good name for a blog) were very welcome. But most of the nominees and the anticipated winners were for shows I never watch, and truly aren't interested in. I've watched 'Mad Men', 'Breaking Bad', 'Glee', and the other nominees a few times, sure. They're fine shows, I don't disagree with the quality of the acting or writing. But, as shows, they don't interest me. Really at all. And, as their ratings show, I'm not alone.

As I talked about a few weeks back, the era of a 'Cosby Show' where 30 million plus people watch every week is over, but to have a show win an Emmy with only 3.5 million viewers is a big shift. This type of niche programming has taken over television. And by the Emmys rewarding and honoring shows watched by dwindling numbers, they are rewarding that type of programming. Is that good for television? I suppose only time will tell.

All this highlights a particular struggle for modern churches as well. There are a few churches in every area that are now considered mega-churches. They are usually 1000+ for attendance, and they offer a whole host of programs and ministries for everyone they touch. But, these churches are few and far between. Much more common are the "smaller" churches, 150-300 for attendance, who feel the need to compete (if you'll pardon the word) with the big guys. But you can't. They don't have the money, staff, or resources to do what the mega-churches are doing.

So, should they try niche ministry? Should a smaller church become the "Mad Men" of Ministry? It's an intriguing question, one to which I don't know that I have the right answer. But I think I'll explore it over the next few days.

In the meantime, enjoy your last few days of Summer, wherever you might be. And don't spend all of it watching television. There's nothing good on anyway :)

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

Spider Webs

So, I've spent a little bit of time this morning observing a Spider build a massive web outside my office window. Honestly, on a beautiful sunny day, it's hard to not just stare outside when you live in Washington, so don't begrudge me my wandering gaze too much. And it caused me to think about a couple of things.

First off, as much as I hate spiders inside, outside their webs can really be a work of art. Boy, was God clever when He made this creation around that a Spider can be an artist.

But webs generally bring up a different image for me than beauty. When I run into a spider web outside they drive me crazy. Because they're so thin nearly invisible, but once you hit them, they stick to you. They stick to you and you can't seem to brush them away. Know what I mean? Once you've got the invisible wisp of silk somewhere on your skin you can rub and brush all you want, but it seems to be impossible to get off. A huge annoyance.

And a great metaphor. How many times in our life do we bump up against things that just stick to us. A bad commute that ruins our morning. A rough encounter with a co-worker that sends us grumbling on to lunch. A fight with our spouse or kid that casts a drag on our evening. It's amazing how these little things stick with us. So many of us are simply unable to apologize, or to forgive, and move on. We let these invisible strands stick to us and distract and "bug" us for far too long.

Just like Spider Webs, this kind of stuff drives me crazy. I'd love to be the mature one that can easily brush these things away, but it's just so hard. Still, today, I'm inspired. I'm inspired by the beauty of the Spider web outside my window, to try and do a little better job this week of not letting things stick to me. Unless it's a real spider web I walk into. I still can't handle that.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

Just for laughs

Hot enough for you?

What's your comfort zone?

On the issue of heat, I think Washingtonians are wimps. I can say that only because I am one, but I'm trying very hard to not be a wimp this year. Here's the deal. Most of us seem to complain at the rain and cold we have far too often, but then any time the sun comes out and it gets really hot around here (you know, like 80 or something) we complain about that too.

I think most of us would be pretty content if we could control the outside temperature much like we control the inside. And if we were to do that, we'd rarely move it outside of our comfort zone.

Do you remember those old thermostats? They actually had a range written on most of them that said, "Comfort zone." It was the range of temperature that most of us like to keep things in our house or room: not too hot, and not too cool. And honestly, it kind of makes me laugh to think about it.

Because, other than a few times and places, we can't do it. We can't control the temperature of our outside world to be only in our comfort zone. And our comfort zone is usually pretty different from other people around us so even if we were comfortable we'd be making other people uncomfortable. But we still complain about it, and still wish for personal comfort.

I preached on this not too long ago, but when you think about that from a Christian standpoint, it should strike us as even more foolish. You can, at great cost, control your comfort zone in your own house. You really can't control it outside in God's creation, however. And if you call yourself a follower of Christ, you definitely cannot control it at all. Because following Jesus is not meant to be comfortable. Look at the lives of any one of the Disciples from the Bible and you will not see lives of comfort. They were lives of great highs, and deep lows. They were lives of excitement and fun, terror and fear. They were lives on the edge of chaos, not comfort. But, at the end of everything, none of them would have had it any other way. That's the way life is supposed to be. So, this week, I hope the weather pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Because I hope it reminds you that that's where Jesus calls us to live. It's not easy. But following Jesus rarely is. Enjoy the sun. And the Son!

Don't go to church, Be the Church!

Bill

VBSurf

So, we're in the midst of our Vacation Bible Surf week here at SVLC. It's always a fun time and this year has proven to be no different. I know because so many people are working hard in their specific area, that not everyone gets to see all the things that I'm able to each week. So I wanted to share a bit of a story about why I love how we do things around here. At the end of each day I quickly run out to the parking lot so I can wave to everybody as they leave for the day. I see it as good face time for me with both kids and parents. And, when it's sunny, who wants to be inside anyway? But, yesterday something kept happening that drove home the joy of our VBSurf program. At least a dozen kids ran up to me on their way out yesterday and they gave me a big hug. Honestly, I didn't even know most of them. But every single one was super excited about the day, and after getting an awesome hug I asked all of them, "Are you excited to come back tomorrow?" The response, every time, was "Yes!" We've got all kinds of kids excited to come to our church campus in the middle of Summer. If that's not the Hand of God, I don't know what is. Thanks everybody for all your hard work. It's making an impact.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill

Vacation

Hey all,

I'm off on vacation for a few weeks. I'll post some new thoughts when I return. Enjoy the sun. And the Son!

Bill

Church Changers

So, there are game changers every where we go in life. We see them a lot in entertainment. But do we see them in our workplaces? Do we see them in our churches? Some are pretty obvious. Email was a total game changer for work and social interaction. Texting has done the same thing. What's next for your workplace?

In a church setting this is a harder one to define. There are some pretty obvious game changers in our history. Martin Luther and the Reformation stands out. But you could easily put the Pentecostal movement begun in Azusa and the Vatican II document from the Catholic church in the same category. All three of those events affected churches all over the world, they changed how we are/become churches.

Some of you have heard me argue that I think one of the more recent examples of this is Willow Creek in Chicago. Not so much in how they became a mega-church, but in the Willow Creek Association they helped form. That has really put the era of "denominations" on notice, and will produce great lasting change for how churches relate and work together for years to come.

The thing about each of these church game changers, is that, eventually, every church had to change because of them. It always hasn't been willingly. In fact, sometimes the change is to compete against the change movement coming their way (you see this particularly with the Pentecostal movement of the early 1900's.) But, no church can ignore game changers forever. They eventually have to respond.

I bring this up, because I think we're in a time where a lot of different people are seeing a lot of different game changers in the church world. We get pushed to react to all kinds of events because they are touted as being the next big game changer and it demands our response and attention. In my career alone I've seen game changers touted like: The end of Denominations, the Alpha movement, The Social Justice Gospel emphasis, A return to liturgy, Contemporary Christian Music, House churches, Emergent churches, Online churches, Mega churches, and more all get mentioned as the next thing that will restore/destroy church as we know it.

Perhaps in no other field than the church are we both so fearful of game changers, and willing to see them everywhere we look.

So, what do we do with that? I certainly don't know. But I would preach caution. I would guess most things don't end up becoming the game changers we think that they will. And if we trust the Holy Spirit, and are listening to Him, He will direct us to the ones we need to see, and help us determine how we can transform accordingly. There are game changers happening for our church right now, I do believe that. But I also believe God will show us how to change for His glory and His gain if we ask Him.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church.

Bill

More Game Changers

So, if not Television, have you considered my friend: the Movies?

We're talking about game changers here, things that impacted their area so greatly, that the "game" has been played differently ever since. In Movies there are a number of classics that still fit the bill. "Citizen Kane" is still probably the greatest example. It absolutely transformed how people made movies in a way that most modern movie-goers rarely realize. But, there are many others. "Psycho" was a huge game changer, if for no other reason, than that Hitchcock killed the "lead" in the first 1/3 of the movie. Nobody did that! It was revolutionary. "Star Wars" changed movies for better, and worse, by becoming a global phenomenon.

The latest, and most obvious example, is "Avatar". After it came out it was loved by many and dismissed by others. I heard often that it was a pretty picture, but with no substance. Well, to each his own, but it would be foolish to not see "Avatar" as the game changer that I think it will be. James Cameron went all in on the art of 3-D movie making, and he showed what was possible if you did it intentionally, artistically, and not just for lame effects. Much like Color movies ended the era of Black and White, "Avatar" throws down the gauntlet to modern 2-D movies and says, "Yeah, but can you do this?" Will it affect all movies to come in the future? It remains to be seen. But it's very possible all of us are in the middle of a game change for movies, like it or not.

Anybody see where this is going in relation to the Church, yet?

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Game Changers

I've been thinking about this image a lot lately. A Game changer. Something that comes along, and just profoundly affects things so much that it affects how the "game" is played from then on out. It's often hard to see a Game changer for what it is at the time. It's usually only after years have passed that we're able to see with hindsight just how affecting a particular event/thing/moment can be. But they happen, probably more often than we realize.

So, I thought I'd talk about a few, and see if we can get a little feedback in the process. Most of these will start out not having much to do with the church, but that's where this is leading so follow me until we get there, won't you?

Those of you who know me well know I've got a love of entertainment, so I had a hard time deciding between Movies or TV to begin with. But, I'm choosing TV, because I'm hoping to see a game changing movie in the next day or so.

Anyway, TV gamechangers: Think about how MTV has completely transformed how music is packaged and "sold" in the world. Think about how ESPN has completely changed how whole sports are played. Basketball is a lesser sport for me year after year, and I think ESPN shares a great deal of the blame for that. Guys play to be on a highlight reel, they don't play to win. As networks I can't think of two greater examples that have changed the "games" they market to than those.

As to TV shows, "Hill Street Blues" is still probably the biggest game changer affecting television drama today. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was doing multi-arc, large cast television before Hill Street Blues went on the air. Nobody moved between workplace and home life like they did. Every drama on television today pulls from HSB more than we often realize. And for Comedies, I've got to say "Who's the Boss." No, I'm kidding. For comedies I think the game changer that influences the game more than any other was NBC's Thursday night comedy night starting with "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" o' so many years ago. That night dominated television for years, and as much as every quirky comedy today claims they're happy with their niche audience, everybody secretly wants the universal acclaim that Bill Cosby and Michael J Fox had for that run.

So, what do you think? Am I on to something here? Do you see TV game changers that I've missed? Art you interested in where this continues to go from here?

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Failure is Success

This is one of those things that no one likes to hear when it's happening, but I'm absolutely convinced it's true.

We learn much more from our failures than we do from our successes. Would you agree? I think about the many times I've failed at something, and my learning curve from those times is much, much higher than in the times when I got every thing right. That was true in all of my relationships. I'm a much better husband today because of my abysmal track record at being a boyfriend (thank to all my Ex's by the way :) ) I'm a better Pastor because of my mistakes made at other churches (Thanks to all my former parishoners.) I just think we see the truth of this across the board in our lives.

So, why do we celebrate success and hide from failure? If it's about learning, and growing and improving, and all that, is success really something to celebrate?

I mean, it is, of course. But, I worry that we celebrate our successes at the expense of 'celebrating' our failures too. If we're going to lift up the one, I'm thinking we should lift up the other as well. And, since we all fail (quite often for some of us) wouldn't it be nice to see that in a better light?

Just a random Tuesday thought.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church!

Bill

Sun or Son

Which is stronger: the Sun or the The Son?

In Washington we crave the Sun most of the year. We get a little exctied when we see it. We make plans for what to do when it's around. Its mere presence can alter the course of our whole day, or even our weekend, when we want to spend time with it. None of this is bad of course, but for me it raises a question:

Do we act the same way about the Son?

Epic

So, today two amazing things have happened. The U.S. won their World Cup soccer match with a thrilling goal in the 91st minute. And then, half a world away in England, two tennis players played a match that lasted 10 hours (and still isn't even done yet.) Two epic sports events on the same day. One matters a whole lot to an entire nation. One probably matters most to those of us who love and play Tennis (although playing Wimbledon-level tennis for 10 hours is mind-boggling.) For both events, however, I come back to the same image: Don't give up.

In the World Cup match, the U.S. team wouldn't give up. After bad calls, and near misses, they never hung their heads, they never gave up. When the game moved into bonus time, 4 minutes to go before the end of their quest was over, they still didn't give up. And those Tennis players? Forget about it. It would have been so easy for one of the players to drop a game after, say, 7 hours of tennis. But neither did. They just would not give up.

Where does that strength come from? Where do you see that kind of resolve? From our Creator. The original "Don't give up", guy. No matter how many times we fall away from Him, no matter how many ways we seem to run far from Him, God just doesn't give up on us. He's always loving, always pursuing, always coming for us, until we're right where we're supposed to be, in His grip. Congrats to U.S. Soccer. Congrats to Isner and Mahut. And thanks be to God, for never, ever giving up on us.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Swagger Wagon

For any Dad, or Mom, who's out there driving something slightly less than their dream car, this video is for you. Check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

Happy Father's Week!

Bill

Dads and Quail

So, there's been a family of quail that have lived outside of my office for the better part of the last year. Not being a hunter, I don't really know that much about quail, but seeing this family nearly every week for months, I've observed something about their behavior. The dad of the family is very, very protective of his wife and kids.

As a group they'll wander through the grass, all hunting for food. Except Dad. More often than not he hops up onto the BBQ in the middle of our grassy area and he looks for danger. When he's not up in the "high ground" he's down among the family, running from front to back, always checking for predators, always keeping his guard up so that everyone else can have lunch with a sense of peace. I see him every now and then grab a bug, or worm while he's on the job, but he never lets down his guard while the family is out in the open.

I admit, I'm humbled by this bird. What a roel model to being a caring and protective dad. Sacrificing of himself to make sure that his family is okay. I hope that if someone were to observe me from afar they might see a similar committment to my family, but would they? This week, I'm inspired to try and be more like this father quail I see. And, I'm more committed than ever to not go hunting :)

Don't go to Church, be the Church

Bill

Father's Week

Leading up to Father's day, I thought I'd take advantage of the situation and focus on Dad's for a bit. I'm biased on this, of course. I trying hard to be a good Dad for my own kids, and I've got some great role models to follow as well. Sarah's Dad, my Father-in-law, was a wonderful man, and we miss him terribly 7 years after his Homecoming with Jesus. We always say he's up in Heaven, patiently having some Ice Cream waiting for the rest of us to join him someday. And, of course, my own Dad has been an incredible role model and influence on my life. He's so encouraging, and really just a big cheerleader for me and my family, I'm very thankful to be able to call him whenever I need him.
But, all of us earthly Dads have one more model as well. Our Father in heaven, who actually is perfect in ways that the rest of us can only strive to be. That can be intimidating, but it should also be encouraging. We were made in His image, after all. So, if we're striving to be like him, we're doing something right. So, for all the Dads out there, and for anybody who's got a Dad, I encourage you to check back in this week as we celebrate the Dads here in this world, and the greatest Dad of all as well.

Don't go to church, Be the church

Bill

Sun then Rain then Sun then Rain then. . .

First off, I'm thinking we might actually get Sun for Maple Valley Days. Now wouldn't that be something! I don't want to jinx it, but it would be kinda fabulous.

And, on a somewhat related note, it's on days like this that we can be thankful Jesus is here today, and tomorrow. He's here in the great days, and here in the dark days. He's here no matter the weather, no matter the circumstances of life. Lots of stuff changes in our life, most of it well outside of our control. But Jesus loving us and forgiving us, that's one thing we can't change or control that is very, very good. Have a great Wednesday.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Story

So today, for the Sermon, I was emphasizing the wonderful gift that the Gospels are because they're more than "just" History but they're Story. What I mean is, in a time and place when stories really resonate with people, what a blessing that the Gospels fit that genre. You see, I love the Lord of the Rings books, and the Harry Potter books, and Watership Down is one of my favorite books of all time. Those stories strike me, they change me even. They affect how I see courage, and brotherhood, and Faith. Are those stories true? Not factually, of course, they're fiction. But what they say is really true to me.
The Gospels work on a similar level, only better. Because those stories also change me and affect me. When I read them for the "facts" I find that pretty interesting. But when I just read them, as stories, that's when they really come alive. And, in the case of the Bible stories, they really are true, factually as well as subjectively. What a gift. I hope you get a chance to read one of your favorite Bible stories this week. And enjoy it as a story. Who knows how it might change you.

Don't go to church, Be the church!

Bill

Absolutely loved this video. It's hilarious and profound at the same time. I hope the link works, cause it's too good to miss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

Let me know if it worked.

Don't go to church, Be the church!

You know you're from Washington when. . .

You're going to an Elementary School track meet in the rain. I hope to see some of you other Parents out there as well! Perhaps we can huddle together for warmth.

Jimmy Kimmel

So, on the JKL episode after Lost, Jimmy started off by saying: So in my religions, Christianity being one of them, they see life as a Test.
Here's the deal. Most of the modern media has no idea what Christians really believe or think. For someone to have the impression that as Christians we believe life is a test to be "passed" is so missing the point. But, how do we respond?
I feel like often we respond in anger, or frustration, or just dismiss the media as wrong and move on. But we can't. The modern American Media is portraying Christianity inaccurately. They portray us as mean-spirited, judgmental, and often put statements or beliefs in our mouth which are nowhere accurate or true.
In my opinion, the bestway to change that is to live out an authentic Christian lifestyle that is different than this perception. As Christians we need to be seen as bringing joy to dark places. We need to be seen as welcoming and gracious. We need to articulate our core beliefs, and not worry so much about the minor stuff. If we can do that right, people will notice. They'll notice because we won't be acting like we're portrayed to be. And when we're noticed, people are drawn to find out more about the one who we live for, which is the whole point in the first place.
I really hope Jimmy Kimmel has a solid Christian somewhere in his life who politely corrected his statement about life being a test. But, more importantly, I hope that Christian lives life in such a way to make Jimmy really watch, and wonder. That his pre-conceptions are challenged. And that he comes to want to know more about the real Jesus in whom we have faith and belief. Who are the Jimmy's in your life?

Don't go to church, Be the church.

Bill Walles

Lost!

Well, for those of you who watched the show, and watched the series finale, what did you think? I consider myself a pretty true Lost fan. I didn't love season 3, but then who did until they pulled that flash-forward? Regardless, the end finally came, the show really is over, and it provided a number of answers, some heart-felt reunions, and left a lot of questions still hanging.
Personally, I kind of loved the first 90 minutes of the finale, and then started to like the last hour less and less as it went along. As a Christian I had to chuckle at the "One Mountain many paths" silliness at the "church" at the end. And the Titanic ending was kind of a cop-out for me. But, with the expectations laid on this show, I think they did alright simply by not setting off riots from fans all over the world, so there you go.
One thing I had been thinking about that I wanted to pass on. It's been funny to hear people react to the Jacob vs. Man in Black dynamic the past several weeks. As it became clear Jacob was, at some level, a god of the Island, the arbitrariness of his actions really bothered people. They wanted rules that "god" had to follow. They wanted fairness. And yet, Jacob seemed to make his own rules, and do what was right in his eyes, his eyes having a much bigger scope and picture than anyone else.
It made me think that, on that issue, the writers were doing a better of painting some Christian themes than they might have even realized. How many people do you know that are frustrated and angry with God? They're mad at His seemingly arbitrary nature, how He doesn't always play by the rules. Good things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good ones. Life isn't fair, and the real God should always be fair (at least, what we think fair should be.) I thought it was funny. Many of the complaints thrown around about Jacob in the show, could be made about the one true God in heaven. And, they might have the same sting, if not for one thing: Jesus.
The thing about Jesus is that He's not arbitrary, He is infinitely fair. Jesus came and died for everybody. His forgiveness is available to all who ask. He loves everyone. Jesus changes everything. God doesn't have to explain Himself to us, His view of our lives is greater than our own. The inconsistencies and unfairness that surrounds us don't need to be explained away by Him. Because He asks us to focus on something greater. He asks us to believe that the frustrations of this world are temporary. That this world is not our home. And instead of wasting so much time trying to make sense out of this world, we should give thanks and praise for the Kingdom to come through His Son and through His sacrifice.
Lost was a bold and stimulating show. I'm not sure we've had anything like it before on television. And if you didn't get all your questions answered I understand how that can be frustrating. But, to quote the Princess Bride, Get used to dissapointment. We aren't promised the answers to all our questions in this life. We're only promised a life to come, where the answer probably don't matter to us nearly as much as we think.

Happy Monday,

Pastor Bill

Winter Break

In the interest of full disclosure, I figured I would only do the blog over the Summer. Hence the long break. But, for those of you interested, it will be back in just a few months. See you then!