My Favorite Brennan Manning Lecture

Dropped Darlene off at Tres Dias (I almost typed Queso Dias)

Praying that she'll have an awesome weekend and that I don't do anything stupid with the whole Mr. Mom deal. This was a very busy day.  Getting all the letters for Darlene together, dealing with Sunday prep, putting small group material together, a couple of counseling deals, lunch with my main man David Hawkins, emails flying all over Hendersonville, going to Tres Dias sing off, picking up Caleb at school, taking him to wrestling, picking him up... (all this is certainly interesting to anyone-- right?:-)

How to mock a writer

"How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice litte story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protaganist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? Yea, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? (voice returns to normal) No, no, you deserve some time off."

TFG

How much does God love you?

back from Tres Dias

I had a wonderful time at the retreat.  I made a commitment to approach the weekend expecting God to speak to me and He certainly did.  I would recommend the weekend to anyone seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus. Some people are turned off by the fact that you don't know what will happen on the tres dias weekend but if you knew details it wouldn't be as powerful. I'm now off the mountain and beginning to work again refueled.  (I am a little tired)

oh.....my.....goodness

he's gonna have some spainin' to do!

Something happens when we worship

We worship a God who changes everything. He apprehends our destiny and forges new trails in our lives. In the midst of our brokenness, like holy putty put in the eyes of a blind man we are only asked to be still and obedient to the instructions. I often lose the simplicity of transformation. I can’t transform myself any more than I can jump to the moon. It’s a surrender to something bigger than me. I must jump in the rocket and hold on. Even though I can’t do it on my own I have to acknowledge that he is changing me constantly. We can either be changed by worship or we refuse to worship and we can be changed by life. When we’re changed by life, it’s rarely for the good.

Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, was changed by life.  I read her words in the book of Ruth and I am reminded of people I know who share her experience:

 “Don’t call me Naomi. Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.  I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty.”

Suffering through the death of her husband and both of her sons, she echoed a deep sense of hopelessness and yet God wasn’t through with Naomi, even though it seemed as if she was through with God.

Worship is a relentless act of engaging God.  We take the focus off of ourselves and cry out to the one who gave us the breath to cry out. As a worship leader I realize that there can be no pretences, no masks, and no bartered exchanges. It must come from deep in our bones or it is nothing. It’s like serving make-believe food or wearing the emperor’s new clothes. It’s shallow, trite, and powerless. It’s luke warm water and baby food bland. But as painful as it is, when we come broken before Him privately he comes to us in the sanctuary of worship.

When I honestly engage Him, He engages me. Remember the night long rough and tumble bout of Jacob fighting God’s ambassador. At the end of the night before the sun rose again, this otherworldly man asked him, "What is your name?" 

 "Jacob," he answered.

Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

God changes us when we come into His presence. He changed Simon to Peter, Abram to Abraham, and Saul to Paul. Each name changed in a time of clarity and sudden unexpected worship.

Every weekend we have the same people coming into our places of worship. Their names are wounded, worried, hopeless, doubting, skeptical, broken, trite, distracted and weary.  As you read their names, I would bet you know their faces! But something happens when we gather together. When God is exalted our names begin to change. We look around and see the faces now hopeful, trusting, peaceful, submissive, humbled and blessed. At least that’s what we pray would happen. And when it does we can say to each other. This is church. This is worship.