Time to Go

As I ran 5.2 miles around the lake this morning, I reflected about my time here at Lake Junaluska this week. I've been attending the 2011 Holston Conference Ministers' Convocation on "Worship ... Faithful and Relevant." First I was excited about attending because I love worship and want it to be faithful and relevant. Second, (as you may know by now by reading these blogs) I love "...", so when I saw "..." in the title of the Conference ... well ... I had to come.

My reflection led me to realize that I haven't gotten a whole lot out of the lectures. Yes, here and there, I was challenged by some theological positions, but my knowledge hasn't grown dramatically. What I have experienced this week is a closeness to God that is transformative.

I'm in a beautiful place in the mountains. So, I couldn't help but think about The Transfiguration (this Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, as it is Children's Sunday, we will not celebrate it at First Farragut). I share the experience from what we would have used this Sunday ... from the Gospel of Matthew ...

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

No, it has not been a huge knowledge time for me. But, it has been a huge spiritual time for me. Part of this experience has been my running around the Lake in the morning, even before sunrise. Thinking and praying ... truly feeling a closeness to God, my Creator, Jesus, my Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, whom I have experienced as the source of my calling. In worship with my brothers and sisters in the ministry, I have experienced the closeness of God through words of prayer for each other and sharing celebrations and concerns. There is nothing more powerful than sharing a concern and having someone place their hands on you and pray, thanks to my friend Micah Nicolaus.

I find myself like Peter ... with a deep sense of wanting more! Unlike Peter, I'm ready to come home. [Honey, I've not bought any property at Lake Junaluska] Yes, it is good to be on the mountain with God, experiencing God's closeness. Lake Junaluska IS a very special place. But, Jesus knew something that Peter didn't. If they had built some homes and stayed ... eventually ... Peter, James, and John would have missed the other disciples, their friends (those back "home"). Eventually, their calling in Christ, would have compelled them to get back to their work, their mission ... a will would have made them long to practice the insights and inspiration from their time with God. They would have missed their family and friends. My good friend Betty Furches said it to me today at breakfast, "It's day three, I'm ready to go home." [That was really what I should have said to my wife in a previous blog -- I REALLY miss you by day three and REALLY want to get home] Then she said how much "Honey" (her spouse) was also ready for her to get back.

BIT: It is time to go home. Time to get back to my work in Christ at First Farragut. And, I bring an energy and a wholeness that I did not have before coming up to the mountain. [I believe I also have a new sermon series for the Fall]. So, make sure you spend some time ... as God says in our scripture ... "LISTEN TO HIM". Have you spent some time just listening to him? I promise, you won't regret it.

4 Life

I allow my oldest to control the radio in the mornings on our way to school. It was a bad decision when we had satellite radio and ALWAYS listened to Radio Disney. Then it was only a 5 minute commute to school and then 5 more minutes to work with the youngest, still listening to Radio Disney. That was bad. Now is worse. I don't know what I would call it. It's like pop rap. It's not pop and it's not rap ... The words flying by so quickly. I don't even know what they're saying, except when they silence out a word or string of every other word -- Even though it's silent I can figure it out.

It's the same kind of stuff they play at The Rush (except they evidently only paid for 10 songs that they play over and over again). Even though it's bad music at The Rush, I can put in my ear phones and crank up some good tunes (I'll share in a later blog post about my work out music selection ... something to look forward).

Not so in the car. I am captive. Every once in a while I will use the time for a teaching moment when I hear something particularly offensive. My oldest is open to these discussions which I appreciate. At his age I probably wasn't quite as receptive (mom doesn't have internet, she can't add comments).

It has only gotten slightly worse since my oldest has discovered that he can "mix" the sound on the car stereo. Please note this is a Saturn L300. It is by no means a jam machine. Nonetheless, my oldest can get the bass low enough to emit a slight "thumping." So when Dev's Bass Down Low comes on we do thump, some.

Today I was half listening to the radio, when I caught a lyric (again it is rare). It was "'cause everybody dies but not everybody lives, ah!" "Ah!" indeed I thought. I tried to get some of the other lyrics to see what she was really "singing" about (I'm not convinced Bass Down Low doesn't have some other meaning). I asked my oldest about the song. He didn't know the title but did tell me it was Drake. My response was, "Is this Drake singing?" It was the question that got me the "you have got to be kidding me look." I knew I had crossed some parent stupidity line so I dropped it.

Online, this morning, I found it. It's Moment 4 Life evidently by Drake but sung by Nicki Minaj, how could I have been so stupid. I began reading the "clean" lyrics (which should have been a clue to "stupid"). They started off well: I fly with the stars in the skies / I am no longer trying to survive / I believe life is a prize / But to live doesn't mean you're alive. Then it talks about slaying Goliath with a sling ... that she's not lucky "I'm blessed." Then it really falls off a mountain.

BIT: I was still thinking about our fantastic youth leading worship services yesterday, when the Moment 4 Life song came on the radio. We had 5 messages spread over two worship services that focused on "Walking with Jesus". Each young person shared about how they were striving to always (24/7/365) walk with Christ. Each was a different story. All were powerful. To Sarah White, Joe Wasileski, Ashley Wilcox, Nicolas Henderson, and Caroline Dyer, I say thank you for sharing your witness in such an inspiring way. I know I would not have been able to do what you all did on Sunday when I was your age. To all those who read scripture, lead us in prayer, played and sang (wow! Amanda Cleveland, Erin Lewis, and Jordan Kirchner -- that was recordable kind of music, what a blessing!)

I came away with two things from worship on Sunday. One, I am so proud to be a part of a congregation of such talented, inspiring, devoted followers of Jesus Christ (pinch me, it says on my door that I am the Lead Pastor of such a group). The second thing was that walking with Jesus is really about light and life. Whoever wrote, "'cause everybody dies but not everybody lives, ah!" got that part right. Life is a prize. Paul wrote about the prize (Philippians 3:12). To live doesn't mean your alive. Again, Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, "to live is Christ." So, while Nicki Minaj is singing about rising from the bottom of her life to what she thinks is the top - her "empire." What is she listening to? Is she held captive in a car with some questionable music, or what?

I'm going to put my money on our youth, because I believe they've discovered what is truly life -- a life built on the one who said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (btw, that's Jesus in John 10:10)

BITTER: Nick White, with those smooth dance moves, You my friend are way cool, like Jesus! My heads still bobbing ...

Put A Ring On It

Our administrative assistant, the fantastic Stefani Hudson, noticed it almost immediately this morning. As we were talking about the day she exclaimed, "You're married!" Of course she knows I'm married, but you wouldn't know that if you had just met me. I have not been wearing my wedding ring for the last couple of years. I had gotten to a point where the ring no longer fit and it had become uncomfortable. So, I took it off. My wife was not too excited.

Yesterday I decided it was time to tell my wife that I would be out of town next week. She has never liked it when I go on trips. Especially since, what I've come to term, "The Great Gaffe" After one such trip away from each other, my wife and I were talking about missing each other with some friends. She had said how much she missed me and had trouble sleeping when I was away. I responded with, "I really don't miss you until the third day." (WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!). I had an explanation for what I really meant, but it didn't work then, and probably won't work now.

So, I've known for a while that I would be away, but she's been under the weather and I was looking for a good moment to tell her. That moment was not availing itself. As I was reaching the critical point, I noticed my wedding ring on the dresser. My thought was, "I wonder if that fits now?" Having lost nearly 40 pounds! It did.

So I had a plan ... Drop the news of my trip ... Wait for the response ... Take it like a man ... Then flash the bling and cushion with, "Look, honey, it fits." So I dropped the news of my trip. Her response was that it was okay. So I went ahead and showed her the ring and said, "Look, honey, it fits. It's still a little tight, but it's not painful." What I didn't realize was that I had set her up.

"I'm not so sure that I like that it's not painful." Of course she smiled.

BIT: Rev. Grady Winegar on Sunday, June 2, 1996 [yes! 15 years this June] held my ring and my wife's and said, "These rings are the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, signifying to all the uniting of John and Gincy in holy marriage." Over nearly 15 years, we've had some painful and uncomfortable times (what the ring had come to be). But I'm reminded of a print I gave to Gincy by Brian Andreas which says, "while it was a little scary at times, mainly he could not even imagine the world without her there." So, my outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace is now proudly displayed for all to see ... and it fits!

BITTER: I know you've not gotten past "The Great Gaffe". What I meant to do was to put much more emphasis on the "really" word. I REALLY miss you by the third day ("don't" should have been completely left out.) See, it still didn't work.

Access the Pump

We ended our "Get Pumped!" worship series on Sunday. I have really enjoyed it. The good news is that Colemun (my fit coach) and I were talking during the week and he mentioned the slogan for The Rush, which is "Stay Pumped!" Could there be a sequel? You know I love sequels!

Just because the series has ended, doesn't mean that "getting pumped" is over. One of the illustrations throughout the series has been my weight loss/getting healthy. That will continue ... until I reach my goal. Today I sit in my office wearing pants I have had folded in my closet for at least 6 years! My belt is in the first notch (not the last).

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me ... I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12ff)

Of course Paul is not talking about my weight loss or my getting in better shape, but it does challenge me to strive for all the goals Christ desires for me (especially the ultimate goal that Paul is talking about). My third point on Sunday answered the question "How to Pump?" and related to what Paul shares with the Corinthians in 3:21, "All things are yours, whether Paul or Appollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future -- all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." That's some pretty power-filled stuff! One of the pumps from the first sermon in the series was that Paul gave thanks for the Corinthians because they did not lack any spiritual gift. Paul knows of the potential that the Corinthians have in Christ and he is trying to get them pumped.

BIT: Getting pumped is not over! As Christians ... as a church that follows Jesus Christ ... as "God's coworkers ... God's field, God's building" (3:9) ... as God's "temple" (3:17) ... God has given us every gift and resource that we need to do God's work and to reach the goals God has set for us. All we have to do is ACCESS THE PUMP! Yes, the sermon series is over (with a possible sequel in the pipeline), but something we must continually do is access the pump ... use the tools that God gives us to build our spiritual lives. GET PUMPED FIRST FARRAGUT! "All things are yours ... all are YOURS, and YOU are of Christ, and Christ is of God."

Deflated

We continued with our "Get Pumped" worship series yesterday. The first service was challenged to get on "Jacob's Ladder" to grow in spiritual maturity. Of course there was a play on words. The hymn "We Are Climbing Jacobs Ladder" was used along side the exercise equipment (aka torture device) given the name Jacob's Ladder.

In the second service we were blessed by the presence of Colemun Ricker, my fit coach at The Rush. We did a short interview before the message. He shared about his passion and love for training and helping others. We looked at how he works to help others reach their objectives, which includes lots of encouragement, but sometimes requires challenges and corrections. We related this to what Paul was sharing with the Corinthians. Colemun also shared what a fantastic student I was, and about my agility and quickness (he may not have used those exact words, but I'm sure that was the gist of it).

In both services we looked at how Paul knew the Corinthians had huge potential, but had gotten off the track. They had not matured and were stuck on "milk". Milk is good because we need to start with the basics before we move on to solid food. Yet, sometimes we need coaches and teachers to help us make the move -- to grow in our maturity. We need encouragement. We need challenges that we would not normally put in front of ourselves. Sometime we need a shove to get out of our comfort zone. And, ff we're doing things the wrong way we need correction.

The challenge was to Get Pumped! Find the area in our lives where we need to keep on maturing. Maybe it is getting more fit so that God can use us as God's temple (This coming weeks topic). Maybe it is getting more fit in our spiritual life so that God can use us as God's Co-worker, God's field, God's building (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)

BIT: So, if the worship theme is "Get Pumped!", why the title "Deflated" for this entry? Well, my goal for this week is to have lost another 3 pounds. This would put me at the 30 pound mark! One of the things that has made me nervous as I have been losing this weight is the possibility of having excess skin when all is said and done. So far it's not a problem. I am doing it the right way. Good nutritious food, portion control, and exercise. But, I've watched the "Biggest Loser" enough to know that sometimes ... well they can turn out looking like a deflated balloon. I'm hoping that is not the case. But, nonetheless, I did some online research ... which is always dangerous.

There were several suggestions. Lose the weight slowly. Exfoliate (how in the world do you exfoliate your entire body, please don't let me know). And then came the holy grail of suggestions ... soak in sea salt at least twice a week. I love to soak! I love salt (even though I have done away with it for this weight loss)! So, I looked online to find how I could get sea salt. I found I could get genuine Dead Sea Salt! Isn't that like Holy Salt? So I ordered some. Being the frugal person that I am, I saw that I could get free shipping if I ordered 20 pounds of Holy Dead Sea Salt ... so I did. Unfortunately my better half saw the salt when it arrived. I don't know if you know how much salt is in 20 pounds ... it's a lot of salt.

BITTER: Needless to say, I believe the entire faculty at Karn's High School now knows the story of Giny's crazy husband's sea salt adventure. That she has a barrel of Holy Dead Sea Salt sitting beside her tub. That's okay. I can look at that barrel of salt in the bathroom and say to myself, "Self (I call myself Self, while God calls me Dude), you've lost more weight than that barrel of salt! I think next time I'll order 40 pounds so I can look at that for a while! Get Pumped! My Friends!

Get Pumped!

We started our new worship series on Sunday, "Get Pumped!" It is on three texts from 1 Corinthians. I shared that I wanted to talk about "Why I Love First Farragut" as we celebrated the one year anniversary of our "Stepping Stones to the Future" campaign. I was drawn to 1 Corinthians because I was looking for what Paul shared with the churches. He always starts out his letters with a Thanksgiving, even when he's going to have to share some things that might be hard to hear. After reading Paul's Thanksgiving for the Corinthians, I saw that 1 Corinthians is featured in the lectionary as the readings for January and February. So, I read those texts as well. What happened was: I read 1 Corinthians + it was the lectionary for this time + our Stepping Stones Celebration + coming off "Becoming" (our last series) + my working out + doing cardio + watching what I eat + losing weight + getting in better shape = this series, "Get Pumped!"

That's what I think Paul is doing with the Corinthians -- he's pumping them up. Later he's going to let them have it. But right here in the first part of Corinthians, he's pumping them up. I connected "Why I Love First Farragut" to four of Paul's pumps: 1) I give thanks to my God always for you because ... of the "testimony about Christ was confirmed among you" (1:6). I Love First Farragut because you step with commitment. 2) I give thanks to my God always for you because ... "you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:7). I Love First Farragut because you step with sacrifice. 3) I give thanks to my God always for you because of the ... "grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge" (1:4). I Love First Farragut because you step with faith. 4) I give thanks to my God always for you because ... "you are not lacking in any spiritual gifts" (1:7). I Love First Farragut because you step with vision.

BIT: On Sunday we celebrated that First Farragut United Methodist Church now owes less than $3 million dollars!

No Ninjas

We got my son's report card. He is in kindergarten and has struggled with keeping his hands to himself, respecting others, disrupting the class, not listening, not following directions ... yet, he is incredibly bright. His first report card reflected both of these attributes. He got all fantastic grades in subject areas and then the conduct grades: N in class, N in music, N in Art. Each day he brings home a face representing his conduct that day. He gets a smiley face if he's been good, a dot face (dot for a mouth) if he's been corrected twice, a line face if he's been corrected four times, or a sad face (which he has not gotten). Slowly the string of smiley faces has increased ... 2 in a row ... 3 in a row ... 4 in a row ... 5 in a row (his Aunt Jen got him a prize for the monumental feat). Recently, we got to 7 in a row.

So, on this recent report, we got all "S's" in conduct. And we celebrated!!!

Then it happened. The little girl would not share her crayons. My son did not use his manners, he did not tell the teacher, he took action. We came home with a note and a dot face.

As part of his corrective measures, we asked him to write the little girl an apology letter. He likes to write and began drafting the letter. My wife asked him what he was doing, as she could not make out what he was writing/drawing. He replied that he was drawing a ninja. To which my wife said, "We don't draw ninjas on apology letters." It struck me as funny. Who goes into parenting thinking that some day they will put together that sentence, "We don't draw ninjas on apology letters."

I guess ninjas on a letter would not convey sorrow for an action. His ninja (which he drew after completing the apology letter without illustrations) was quite good -- better than my ninja could ever hope to be.

BIT: How often do our apologies contain a ninja? Sometimes we know we should apologize but really don't feel like it was completely our fault. It's like we want to say, "I'm sorry, but ...". Can there be "buts" in an apology? Jesus was teaching about what to do when a brother or sister wrongs you. Peter trying to get his mind around what Jesus was teaching asked a question:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive
someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you,
not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

No, Jesus didn't address the question about the appropriateness of ninjas in an apology. But I'm thinking he would say what my wife said, "We don't draw ninjas on apology letters." And, if by chance we get an apology letter with a big ninja on it. Forgive, "not just seven times, but seventy-seven times." But make sure you keep the ninja. You never know if the artist might become famous.