One Year Ago...

It's Gotcha Day, which in the adoption community is a huge deal.  It's the day we received the Minion into our family.

One year ago today, this...

And what a year it's been.  What. A. Year.

Happy Gotcha Day, Maggie Mei.  Our life hasn't been the same.

8 Years and 8 Lessons

Today, I roll 8 years of ministry at Heritage Park, which just so happens to be the greatest church on planet earth.

It's a time of reflection, so here are 8 lessons learned along the way.

First, the whole darn thing is really - no, I mean really - not about me.  Not even a little bit.  The moment I equate the needs of my ego with the Kingdom's agenda, I'm off the rails already.  There's a particular danger I face (and if you are a pastor or have one, he does too) because the Enemy loves to let the accolades turn into ambition which turns into an agenda.  And since I'm the pastor and doing the Lord's work, that agenda MUST be holy and right and good...right?  The aspiration to be a pastor (1 Timothy 3.1) is not the same as the ambition of an agenda.  The one has "Spirit" as a root.  Enough said.

Second, preaching regularly is the hardest and most rewarding calling on the planet, but no one will remember too much of what you've said.  It took me about 4 years of preaching as the pastor of Heritage Park before I slept on Saturday nights with any soundness.  That wasn't because I hadn't preached a lot beforehand.  I had.  It was the weight of being the pastor and speaking to God's people on His behalf.  Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2.16)

Third, the church is both organization and organism, both Trellis and Vine.  I like working on the Vine but the Trellis needs attention too.  And frankly, I'm not the best organization / administration / leadership guy.  I have a friend who lives two years ahead in his organizational thinking.  My sense of things from the Spirit is that is why his church is larger.  I'm genuinely not jealous.  I just don't know that I have the leadership capacity for that.  Which leads to...

Fourth, if you find a weak spot, it's worth working to improve it.  I have so many I won't enumerate them.  But I'll give you an example.  I have always struggled with Evangelistic Preaching, the kind of preaching that lays out the Gospel and invites people to follow Christ.  This past year, I took a class in my doctoral program called Evangelistic Preaching.  One particular chapter of one particular book was worth the price of the class in terms of my comfort level with that task now.  I know guys who either reassign their weaknesses or hire to compensate.  I'm not saying that's always bad, but I also know that improvement is a good avenue.

Fifth, the greatest compliment I've been paid as a pastor of this people is not that I'm a good preacher but that I am a good preacher who genuinely loves my people.  That happened two weeks ago.  I want to be a good preacher-teacher-communicator.  But they won't know I'm a Christian by my preaching.  It's love (John 13.34-35).

Sixth, living the trials I'm enduring in a public manner encourages people who are going through trials of their own.  We have seen this with the adoptions our family has pursued.  The waiting for Peanut (publicly) and dealing with the Minion's sickness (publicly) has borne fruit in our church family.  I'm not sure it's for everyone.  And I know that some use trials as an attention-getter.  But they can be beneficial.  If you want to see someone who did that incredibly well, look at Matt and Lauren Chandler when they went through Matt's cancer.  Well done.

As a corollary to #6, when we focus on church health good things happen.  The trials we went through in 2014 showed just how healthy our church was.  I couldn't be prouder.  Could. Not. Be. Prouder.

Seventh, our staff works like a basketball team and that makes for a terrific environment.  We implemented two rules when I started:  we'd always be honest with one another and we'd always talk to one another before talking about one another.  Each person plays a role and it works very very very well.  Our strengths play off of one another, and there's absolutely no gift to a leader like a loyal #2.

Eighth, there is no way I'm any good at any of this without my wife.  I cannot say enough.  And what I might would be a paltry portrait of the reality.  She. Is. Amazing.

Bodyguards and Trusting God

Ezra and a group of exiles were returning from Babylon to the land of Israel.  By a powerful move of God on the heart of a king (whose heart is in the hand of God anyway - Prov. 21.1), they are going back with resources and a mandate from the king to rebuild the temple.

But they had to make the journey.  Depending on the source you consult, it's a 900-mile journey that could take 3-4 months.  It was a long way and it was fraught with peril.  Normally, a group with the commission of the king would get to travel with bodyguards or soldiers.

But not them.

Some people read this next passage with an improper and misaligned focus on the word ashamed.  I think when it says "ashamed," it's talking about a spiritual lack of trust in horses and chariots (Ps. 20.7) but proper focus and faith in God.  Here's the passage:

Then we proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.  For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy while on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him." (Ezra 8.21-22)

I think they were willing to take the risk to show how capable God is and how powerful He really is.  I think the shame would've been in trusting in horses and chariots.

This isn't against common sense.  It isn't against being grateful for and using the common graces of doctors, police, and whomever else God grants.  It's a case of having them in the right perspective and depending on God in a way that He will get the most glory for it.

That land anywhere on you today?

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

On the Fear of the Lord and Ming Vases

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, recently released a book on prayer.  In the book he outlays a perfect illustration of how to approach God with fear, particularly in your prayer life.

Imagine yourself holding a priceless Ming vase (you know...vase like "vaahs" instead of vase like base).  You might tremble in its presence.  You will be fearful.  But it won't be because the vase will suddenly reach out and strike you.  It won't recall all your previous failed attempts at holding vases.

You will be fearful, scared, even trembling because of the value of the vase.  You will be fearful, scared, even trembling because you're scared you'd hurt it.  Drop it and your klutziness gets you on CNN!

So it is with the fear of the Lord.  We, as Christians, don't have to be scared that He will hurt us.  Jesus has taken away the reason He would be angry (our sin) and has purchased for us His favor through His own righteousness.

In an important way, we can't hurt God.  Every illustration breaks down somewhere.  But we can "hurt" God by our actions, attitudes toward others, unforgiveness, etc.  And when we pray we are in the presence of the Value of values.  So the fear of not being and doing what is appropriate in the presence of Someone like that prompts us toward obedience.

For me, that's a really helpful picture of the Fear of the Lord.  Hope it spurs your prayers today.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Objective Measures, Part Deux

Yesterday I argued that there are a couple of objective measures in the spiritual life that help us determine how we're really doing.  One is the keeping track of our treasure (whatever form it might be, but especially and uniquely our spending) to determine the state of our hearts.  In my particular ministry context of suburbia, it's a good one to keep handy and steadily employed.

The second is how we deal with trials.  Peter talks about trials as walking through fire, being refined as you go.  There are multiple other images to go with that, but here's the essence of it:  how we respond when trials come is an objective measure of the state of our spiritual lives, of our hearts.

If we respond with griping, we are probably struggling with entitlement.

If we respond with multiple Facebook posts about how hard our lives are, we are worshiping the idol of attention.

If we respond with withdrawal, we are living with and in anger - at God, at ourselves, at our spouse, at our kids, etc.

If we respond with blame, we are either unwilling to accept our part (whatever it might be, big or small) or we are struggling with the victim mentality.

If we respond with joy, then our hearts are in pretty good shape.  So Paul (Romans 5) and James (James 1) both command us to rejoice in our trials.  And if that's what comes out of our hearts when trials come, we're in good shape.  

No, it may not come at first.  The Lord knows I'm prone to griping and withdrawing.  But an objective measure of the state of your heart is whether joy is present in trial.  It's never because of the trial itself.  It's always because of what the trial is working in us, uniquely the transformation of our hearts.

Treasure and Trials.  Two gifts (though not always wanted) to help us self-diagnose our hearts.  Strange gifts.  But good ones.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Baylor Football, Objective Measures, and So Forth

On New Year's Day, I was sorely disappointed to watch my Baylor Bears blow a three-score lead in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl.  But if you're "America's #1 Offense" and can't put any points on the board in the 4th quarter, I'm not sure you deserve to win a bowl game.

What it told me is that although Baylor is a very very good football program, one of the most exciting in the nation to watch, we're not quite top-tier...yet.

Bowl games (in that sense) are a good, objective measure of the entirety of the football program.  It puts appropriate stress on coaches, players, logistics, fan base, and so on.  When you're not quite ready for the big-time, it shows.  It's an objective measure.

There are a couple of objective measures in our spiritual life, though admittedly they're not as exciting as a bowl game and there's no national television coverage.

Jesus said it this way:  "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  If you want to know the status of your heart, look and see where your treasure is.  Treasure, in this sense, is most easily and significantly monetary resources.  But it can be expanded to anything you count as a resource:  time, relational capital, unique abilities, and so forth.  The heart is the inmost part of our selves, the part Jesus lovingly lays siege to, captures, and ultimately conquers so that He can renovate it to His liking.

In an important way, that's a real gift.  It allows us to really see what the status of our spiritual life is, not what we think it is or hope it might be.  Where our treasure is, there our heart will be too.

But that also works the other way:  if we learn to redirect our treasure, our heart can come into line.  Our priorities determine our passions, not vice versa.

So here at the outset of 2015 with all our resolutions and diets and regimes anew, I hope we all take a moment and take stock, objectively, of the state of our hearts.  I hope we clear some path for our priorities to be realigned as necessary so that when 2016 rolls around the state of our heart is better off than it was today.

Priorities determine passions.  That's objectively true.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Goodbye 2014 - You Won't Be Missed

According to the date of the most recent post, it's been about 2.5 months since I last tried to say something that you might benefit from reading.  It has felt that long too.  There was some much needed recouping and regrouping to do after such a year.

Goodbye 2014.  You won't be missed.

Instead, I'm going to look forward to this coming year.  I won't let the struggles of the past become my identity of the present, knowing there are Stockholm Syndrome-like dangers of becoming the person who doesn't know how to live apart from the pain and the past.  Telling the story of 2014, we hope, will spread God's name far and wide.  But I don't want to live with my identity in our struggle but in our Savior (the Queen gets all the credit for boiling that down to its core).  May it be true for all who encountered life-shaping struggles in this past year.

I look forward to fighting for the things that matter:  belief in God's goodness and His sovereignty as really real and truly true, the transformation of my own heart before I seek it in others, the fidelity and mutuality of marriage to an amazing woman who devastates me, the hearts of kids who apparently are eating Miracle-Gro, conversations that are not mediated by a device, a neighborhood full of people who need Good News and a Friend to Sinners, a world full of brokenness that I can do something about, a church who deserves a better pastor, and a prayer life that enjoys the conversation more than the results of it.

I look forward to more time in God's Word without weaponizing it to make sure I get my way.  Had that happen.  It feels worse than a flu screen (also happened).  Both are painful and awkward.  I'm confident I've done that before.  Somehow being on the receiving end reminds me all the more and makes me more acutely aware how precious the words are and how they can perform as a two-edged sword to do His work without my help or hijacking of His agenda.

Goodbye 2014.  You won't be missed.  Here's to 2015, whatever it holds.  And to Him who holds it.

Houston, we have a (Constitutional) problem

There are multiple reports from across the nation about the insanity that is unfolding in my metropolitan area (Try:  Here or Here or Here or Here).  I pastor a suburban church, so until this blew up I was basically unaware.

Here is one man's perspective:

1.  This is a constitutional issue at its roots.  No government entity or representative should be able to demand, subpoena, or stomp their feet until churches do what they want.  The whole idea of the First Amendment is to let churches continue to be and do as churches see fit.

2.  The whole Separation of Church and State bit is a treasured Baptist principle (one of the good ones, as opposed another one like pronouncing their own names with two 'b's instead of a 'b' and a 'p').  But man, it needs some clarity these days.  The church is separated from the state so it can continue its important work of being the conscience of both culture and government.  Furthermore, by all accounts, IRS regulations allow tax-exempt organizations like churches weigh in on issue-related politics and even participate in petition drives.  So what's the problem in Houston?

3.  The Mayor's and City Attorney's stories keep changing.  Uh...no, it wasn't me.  It wasn't my hand in the cookie jar.  My hand was in the bubble gum jar.  Uh...wait, it one time was in the cookie jar.  I took a selfie while doing it.  Uh...hey, did you see the Texans game?  My bet is that they continue to hedge until the story falls below the fold.  Then people will basically forget.

4.  In our social media culture, I think winsome responses win more often than angry responses.  What if (as a few did but a little too late) the narrative of response to the subpoena was, "@AnniseParker can get my sermons anytime. I preach almost every Sunday and she's welcome! #InviteAnnise."  Being winsome so often wins (think internet memes).

5.  Being winsome isn't enough though and I'm glad the Alliance Defense Fund has stepped in to call the government of Houston to account.

6.  No one from the Mayor's office wanted the sermons and private correspondence pieces of liberal-leaning churches who supported their HERO issue.  Churches advertised for the HERO issue (like this one).  So yes, it was 100% about vengeance politics.  Let's not pretend otherwise.

7.  Ultimately, there are still various people of various stripes, persuasions, and orientations who need to hear the Gospel.  I hope none fall prey to the temptation to ride this outrage to a very temporary fifteen minutes of fame.  I hope instead we all speak to the First Amendment issue (like Paul appealing to Caesar, so we appeal to the Constitution) and then just get up and go about our business of sharing the Gospel.

There will come a day when preaching the Gospel will cost us a lot more.  I don't think that's today...but it's coming.

The Bears vs. the Longhorns: Ugliness and an Implication

I'm a Baylor Bear.  Those words haven't always been as fun to say as they are these days, but it's true.  I am a Green and Gold kind of guy.  The Queen and I met there.  I still love the school.  We did ministry there.  We have friends there.  On and on.

We squared up against the Longhorns this past Saturday in Austin.  That usually ends up very poorly for us as a football team.

But not this Saturday.  Granted, it was as ugly as two aardvarks and a mud puddle, but we did walk away with the W.

At one point, I tweeted that we looked more like butter knives than steak knives.  We needed to be a lot sharper.  Outside of a blocked kick returned for a touchdown, we were anemic at best.  But we stuck it out.  Our team kept doing what they needed to do - defense, tackling, blocking, and so forth.  We won.  28-7, in case you're keeping score at home.

We won because we kept doing what needed doing.

Keep doing what needs doing.

Spiritually dry?  Keep doing what needs doing - prayer, Bible, service.

Marriage running on empty?  Keep doing what needs doing - talking, time.

Relationship frayed?  Keep doing what needs doing - forgiveness, mercy, blessing.

I could keep going but you get the idea.  Personally and pastorally, I know there are seasons of my own life and those I love in which things are easier, more fruitful, etc.  But in the hard seasons, just doing what needs to be done is how you keep walking, keep going, and stay faithful.

The emotions have to come along with it eventually.  The energy does too.  But just keep walking

Keep doing what needs doing.

Rock of Remembrance #7: A Story to Tell

Throughout the history of God's people, He has always left them with stories to tell.  The Red Sea splits open by an eastern wind and it's dry enough to cross, afterwards swallowing Pharaoh's army.  David bullseyes a loud mouth pagan, his ego being the only attribute of his that was larger than the target on his forehead.  Elijah trash talks the prophets of Baal and the Lord sends fire.  The only thing better than a single person escaping a lion's den is three of his friends escaping a furnace so hot it made Death Valley feel like a fridge.  

Or the second member of the Trinity, God in the flesh, conspiratorially invading the earth, living a perfect life, dying in the place of and for rebels and traitors so that the Father could turn them into sons and daughters, then rising again because death couldn't hold Him.  That's another great story.

Stories carry so much weight, communicate powerful truths, and impact memories because of their emotional content.  

And now we (for now) and the Minion (later) will have quite a story to tell.  Her journey from orphanage in China to the U.S. to our family to the hospital to her mother's arms to the PICU to other floors to the PICU again to other floors to rehab to the road to recovery is quite a testimony, a story that has touched many lives and caused many to think about how their lives are lived in light of eternity and ponder what's truly valuable and what really matters.

We don't want to relive the story.  Honestly, I still shudder at parts of it when I think about it.  But it's ours to tell and will be hers.

So a specific prayer request:  that we would be good stewards of this story.  I don't think it was meant to be contained to a family tree.  I think God wants it spread widely because of how awesome it makes Him look (and it does...and He is).  We need to be good stewards of it.

We're planning on sharing it in a few places, including a sermon series with our church family.  So for all the places that are planned and all the places that will come, you can pray that we tell it well.