That's Some Plan

Most people list genealogies as some of the most boring passages of scripture.  I have learned to appreciate them.  The genealogy of Jesus is the specific example that isn't as boring as it may seem.

You see, as we read through the genealogy, a lot of those names we have heard before in the Old Testament.  There are some really great people in there.  There's David and Solomon, and there's some lesser-known good guys in there, too, like Hezekiah and Josiah.  It's really a testimony of how God has been at work all throughout history to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

They aren't just good guys in Jesus' genealogy, though.  There's some bad guys.  There are some stories tied in there that are rather despicable.  Solomon's mom was the woman that David had an affair with, remember?  Don't even get me started on Tamar.  This is significant, too.  God has a plan for all of us--even if we are failures.

After the genealogy ends, Matthew begins to tell the Christmas story.  After hundreds of years of God planning for this, things still weren't silky smooth and worry-free.  Joseph considered leaving Mary during the pregnancy.  That's a lot of drama.  And the next time someone asks you if you were born in a barn--don't worry about it--Jesus was.

I see some lessons in that genealogy.  First, God has a plan for each of us.  No matter how good of a job we've done to screw it up, God can still use us.  Second, things aren't always neat and easy, and that's okay.  It isn't an indictment that we've screwed up or that we aren't in the will of God--stuff just happens.  Finally, culture is over-rated.

10 Commandments of Small Groups

I've been thinking about what small group ministry should look like.  What if we applied the Ten Commandments to small groups?  I think it would look something like this:

1. You shall have no other gods.  Small groups should be focused on God.
2. You shall have no idols that distract you from God.  That includes your cell phones, televisions, and grandfather clocks.
3. You shall honor the name of God.  That includes being sincere and truthful when talking to and about God.
4. Remember the Sabbath.  Your group should have regularly scheduled time set aside to meet together.  Meeting "whenever we can" will soon translate into meeting "never."
5. Honor one another.  (Jesus said that those who do the will of God are his brother and sister and mother.  Honoring one another is to keep the commandment to honor our parents.)
6. Have an attitude of reconciliation.  (This is the opposite of murder.)
7. Nurture healthy relationships.  (This is the opposite of adultery.)
8. Allow each member of the group to share their thoughts and gifts as they are comfortable to do so.  Don't force it or try to one-up one another.  (This is the opposite of theft.)
9. Speak with love.  This means offering truth, encouragement, and confidentiality to each member of the group.  (This is the opposite of giving false witness.)
10. Appreciate and respect what each member brings to the group.  (This is the opposite of covetousness.)  

This blog may or may not include original thought. It was severely influenced by Gareth Weldon Icenogle's Biblical Foundations for Small Group Ministry: An Integrational Approach.

Putting Yourself Out There

As a kid, I got to spend a lot of time with my grandparents over the summers.  I would go for a week at a time, sometimes with my brothers, sometimes with cousins, sometimes with both, and sometimes with neither (but never with my parents).  This is a great experience for a kid.  I highly recommend it.

During those visits, I really got to know my grandparents.  You can project yourself to be whomever you want to project yourself as for a day or two, but over the course of a week (and several weeks in a single summer), day in and day out, your true self will shine through.  I got to discover the authenticity of my grandparents.  Those totally awesome people on Thanksgiving Day?  They're like that 24/7.  I also got to learn their stories.  They told me about growing up, courtship, working in an orphanage, raising children (which is more entertaining when those children are your dad, aunt, and uncle)...all sorts of stuff. 

One of the stories my grandma told me was about when she and my grandpa first started dating.  Apparently, my grandma had a nasty habit of dumping guys for sport.  Well, not for sport.  Basically, she was happy with single life and didn't want some guy to mess that up.  (I can relate.)  What changed when she met my grandpa?  Nothing, really.  Her mother (my great-grandma) told her that she couldn't break up with my grandpa unless she had an actual reason.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I never asked if my grandpa knew back then that my grandma had been a serial break-up artist.  I got the impression that he didn't, but I should have asked him.  I wonder now if he would have pursued her if he had known the high probability that she was going to hurt him.  Would he have put himself out there and taken that chance?

I think he would.  There's two reasons I think my grandpa would have risked his heart to pursue my grandma:

1. Grandma is that awesome.
2. Grandpa was that awesome.

Love is crazy like that.

That got me thinking.  Jesus put himself out there for us.  He knew what it would cost him.  God keeps on extending grace, even though He knows full well that more often than not, we're going to hurt him--and we all have.  That's some crazy love right there.

What's the appropriate response to a crazy love like that?  Crazy love is the only response to that.  If you aren't a fanatic about your response to God, I daresay you're not doing it right.

How do you know if you're loving God like you should?  Jesus said outsiders would be able to tell by the way we love one another.  That means it's our turn.  Have you put yourself out there to extend crazy love to someone today?

I Agree with Katy Perry.

Confession: I like Katy Perry.

I know she's some kind of she-devil, but Katy Perry is good looking, and her music is fun.  I know I'm supposed to be all up in arms because she sang "I Kissed A Girl" (and she liked it!), but, um, I kissed a girl--and I liked it, too.  Did you know that Katy Perry is a pastor's daughter, and that before she started her career as "Katy Perry" she was a Christian artist under her real name, Katy Hudson?  Yeah...she's all kinds of messed up now.  Still, even though she kissed a girl and she thinks ur so gay, I like a lot of what she has to say.



As an ultra-conservative Christian, I'm supposed to be repulsed by that video somehow.  I mean, there's like homo love and a fat girl in her undies.  I'm not.  Granted, I don't really want to see homo loving (I don't really want to see hetero loving, either.  Most people just aren't attractive enough to make the view enjoyable), nor do I really want to see big folk in their skivvies.

The thing is, we're supposed to love people.  Even if you think, for example, that homosexuality is a sin, shouldn't we be still be more offended when they are made to feel isolated, rejected, and unloved than when they act on what is in their heart anyway?  Seriously, is this how Jesus would treat people?  If they feel isolated, rejected, and unloved, then they are in the same position (just unhappy).  The real difference is in us--we are the ones doing wrong.

There's pretty much no denying, if I think someone is gay, I'll probably be the first to say so, and if I think someone is fat, I'll probably be the first to admit that, too.  There's no value statement attached there.  People are still valuable, regardless.

What Katy Perry is singing about in "Firework" is really what the life of Jesus is all about.  God has this incredibly high view of who we can be--who we should be.  Each of us is unique.  Each of us hold the potential to be great.  Through God, we can reach that unique potential.  Jesus came to get us there.

If we cannot manage to love one another, can we really call ourselves followers of Jesus?

Happy Christianity

I am increasingly aware that the key to being a happy Christian is learning to laugh at all the other churchy people.

Please don't make me explain it.

Shut Your Mouth

I know "Shut Your Mouth" isn't a title anyone expected in the title of one of my churchy blogs, but I said it.  I also know that probably most of my readers will think I am being funny or dramatic or something, but I am not.

I am increasingly tired of a culture that wants to tear everyone down.  We wrap it up as "good clean fun" and "friendly teasing" and all that.  I call bull-crap.  There is nothing good or clean or fun or friendly about it.  It's mean and nasty and I'm done with it.  I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I am going to give you all permission to hold me accountable and set me straight.  And if you can't handle controlling yourselves, I have one simple message:

Shut your mouth and read 1 Thessalonians 5.

Be self-controlled (verse 8).  Encourage one another and build each other up (11).  Respect those who work hard among you (12).  Hold them in the highest regard.  Live in peace (13).  Warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone (14).  Always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else (15).  Be joyful always (16).  Pray continually (17).  Give thanks in all circumstances (18).  Avoid every kind of evil (22).

Is that too tough?  Can't manage that?  Then just shut your mouth.

Seven Things I Hate About Church

I have absolutely no reason to submit this post now, which makes it a great time to do it.  This is something I wrote quite a while ago when discussing why so many men in America dislike going to church.  Enjoy!      -mike

In all honesy, I am a man that does not really like church. (I have been known to say things like, "I love Jesus, but I am no fan of his leprous bride.") I cannot speak for everyone, obviously, but here are some things that I do not like about church:

1. People pretend to care. I do not honestly mind if they care about me or not, but the fraud bothers me.
2. I am asked personal questions by people I barely know.
3. People assume that I am a hugger just because they are.
4. We sing songs that have no value in either the music or the lyrics.  These songs are just lousy music, and only a Christian could love them (because they are vaguely spiritual).
5. "Testimonies" are offered that are not really testimonies at all. Sometimes this comes in the form of someone who talks for minutes about how terrible their life is and then conclude with something spiritual, such as, "but I know God will bring me through" or something, which would be a lot more meaningful if the person had not first convinced us that their problems are the focus of their life. Others are incoherent altogether. Some are merely some person who for whatever reason want to share the lonely thought that has ventured into their head before it dies of loneliness. I am embarrassed for the person giving the "testimony" and I am embarrassed for myself for having listened to it.
6. Too many sermons are focused on proving the preacher's eloquence or academic skills, rather than on delivering the Word of God with authority.
7. If you allow yourself to be open to people in the church, often times those good Christian people will take the opportunity to hurt you in ways you would have never imagined.

Emphasis on number seven.