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Steven Curtis Chapman Interview

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Man. How does 2 months go by without a post? (Not including bulletin articles, that is. Thanks, Ray.) And what could possibly draw me out of my hibernation? This interview with Steven Curtis Chapman, his wife, Mary Beth, and their oldest three children. As you no doubt remember, Steven's and Mary Beth's youngest daughter was killed in an accident back in May. One of their sons, Will Franklin, was pulling into the drive way when five year old Maria ran in front the car. This interview appeared on Good Morning America on Wednesday, 08/06. Go get yourself a box of tissues and have a look. I know I have a reputation for making folks cry, but I'm not just trying to get you all worked up here. I am in awe. I am in awe of how this family is courageously grieving this unimaginable loss. I am in awe of a dad who could have the presence of mind to show such Amazing Grace to his son, even in the early moments of this tragedy. I am in awe of these parents and kids who are finding a way to grieve and how yet how their faith remains intact. I don't know if I would be that strong. I don't ever want to find out. When you have ten minutes or so, go watch it by clicking here and then leave a comment below. Astounding.

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Good Advice

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Back in 1991, author H. Jackson Brown published a book entitled Life's Little Instruction Book: 511 Suggestions, Observations, and Reminders on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life.  It was a small book, each page containing a single nugget of wisdom.  They were written by Brown to his son upon graduating from school.  So you can imagine that, when I graduated high school in 1992, Life's Little Instruction Book was a hot little graduation gift.  I received multiple copies. Interestingly, the other day I looked everywhere and couldn't find a single copy in my house.  Fortunately I was able to find quite a few samples on the internet.  Here are some of my favorites, taken from the website http://www.flatrock.org.nz.
  • Accept a breath mint if someone offers you one.
  • In disagreements, fight fairly.  No name calling.
  • Accept the fact that regardless of how many times you're right, you will sometimes be wrong.
  • Don't confuse comfort with happiness.
  • Check for toilet paper before sitting down.
  • Marry a woman you love to talk to.  As you get older, her conversational skills will be as important as any other.
  • Never say anything uncomplimentary about your wife or children in the presence of others.
  • Every once in a while ask yourself the question, If money weren't a consideration, what would I like to be doing?
  • Never eat a sugared doughnut when wearing a dark suit.
  • Love someone who doesn't deserve it.
Today we're beginning a new series of messages from Paul's letter to the church in Colosse (In your bible it's just called Colossians).  And there's a lot of great advice to be found in there on how to live out our Christian faith.   I'm going to be sharing some of it with you. But this morning we're going to get an introduction.  Paul's advice doesn't just materialize out of thin air.  It grows out of a certain type of soil-the grace of God through Jesus Christ.  It's because of what God has done for us that Paul can turn around and dispense advice.  I'll explain more later. In the meantime, let me encourage you to be reading Colossians on your own.  It's a short book, only four chapters.  And it's a good one for personal devotional time.  And then send me an email with your thoughts and questions.  I want to hear what stands out for you.

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Testify

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Perhaps you've been following the story of the two former Navy SEAL's who are currently serving a life sentence for committing murder back in 1995.  Billy Joe Brown and Dustin Turner were both convicted of the murder of Jennifer Evans outside of a bar in Virginia Beach. At the time of their arrest, the two defendants accused each other while proclaiming their own innocence.  Turner did, however, admit to helping his former SEAL "swim buddy" dispose of Evans' body and cover up the crime. The story has been in the news again recently because Brown is now testifying that Turner is telling the truth.  Back in may, Brown appeared in court and gave testimony saying that he alone was responsible for the murder and that Turner was only responsible for helping him cover up the crime after the fact. The hearing was convened to determine Brown's credibility.  Of course the big question that everyone wanted to ask was, "Why change your story now?"  Brown testified that it was because he had become a Christian.  He told the court room that he was "here to glorify Jesus Christ by telling the truth."  Later he said that he "knew immediately in (his) heart (he) had to tell..."[*] Just recently, the circuit court judge found Brown's testimony to be credible.  Turner is petitioning for release from jail based on the time he's already served for his part in covering up the crime. This is still a tragic story.  Brown and Turner both committed a terrible crime.  The Virginian-Pilot article included a picture of Janet Evans' mother wiping away a tear at the hearing.  Brown's confession can only do so much good. But it's compelling to hear Brown talk about how his relationship with Christ has changed him.  Part of me is cynical about this sudden conversion.  But it's hard to tell how Brown has anything to gain.  At the end of the day he went back to the jail where he'll spend the rest of his life. In court, Brown was asked what he expects to happen next.  Brown replied: "Whatever the good Lord wills.  I'm not worried...because I have a clean heart before God." God's grace can bring people to offer up pretty powerful testimonies.  When God changes a life, it's hard for that person not to talk about it.  The question for us this morning is: "What would our testimony be?  What do you have to say about how God has changed your life?"  I hope you'll think about it this morning.
[*] All of the quotes from this story come from Bill Sizemore's article in the 5/29/08 issue of The Virginian Pilot.

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Harvest

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22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23) As you probably know, this church chooses a theme for each year.  This year's is "Changing Lives Through Jesus."  One of our previous themes was "Let the little children come to me..."  Throughout that year we focused on the many ways we are called to minister to the children among us.  We reminded each other how much Jesus loves children.  We reminded ourselves that this congregation has A LOT of children and how it seems that God is calling on us to focus on our ministry to children.  We highlighted all of the different ways this church cares for kids. Sometimes I feel like it's our theme every year.  I love this year's theme and mission, but I look around and it's clear to me that our mission to care for children hasn't changed.  And I'm so thankful that there are so many in this congregation who haven't forgotten that either.  Long before we ever had a theme that highlighted our ministry to kids, there were people who worked tirelessly to care for the many children that God brings our way.  And, even though that theme has come and gone, the ministry continues. Last week reminded me of that.  If you look around the auditorium you'll see evidence of it.  You'll see the stage is decorated to look like a farm.  You'll see kids covered in fading tattoos that remind them to "Chews Love" and "Jump for Joy." It was all a part of VBS 2008-a week where over 50 kids came here every day to have fun and learn about Jesus.  They made crafts.  They played games.  They had snacks.  They sang, REALLY LOUDLY.  And they learned about Jesus. All week, the kids learned about how God grows fruit in our lives.  The fruit you can see talked about in the quote above.  But, more than learning about it, they saw it.  They saw it in all of the people who took care of them-the people who showed love, the people who exhibited patience, the people who filled their lives with joy. This morning, we're going to look at that those same fruits.  It's a pretty great way to talk about how God changes lives.  And showing those fruits is a pretty great way to teach our kids about them.  I'll say more about that later on.  For now, let me just say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.  To those who have already demonstrated the fruits of the spirit this week.  God Bless you.

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Son Harvest County Fair

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Welcome to Vacation Bible School week at Norfolk Church of Christ. Countless hours have been put in organizing, preparing and decorating for the grand opening tomorrow morning. This year's theme will allow the children to focus on the fruits of the spirit while participating in crafting projects, Bible stories, skits, and fun outside activities. We hope that all our children will come and bring a friend to share God's word. Vacation Bible School stands alone as one of the greatest outreach tools we have for young children. We encourage you to take advantage of it. Here's what you need to know about VBS this week. It starts tomorrow at 9 a.m. sharp. Pre-registration is not required, but it is helpful. Vacation Bible School is available for all children Kindergarten through 6th grade. If you are helping with the program, a nursery and a preschool class will be available for your child. VBS is Monday through Friday. On Friday at noon all parents are invited back to see their children in a special program. The kids will be learning songs and stories. They will help retell everything they've learned during the week. The program will be followed by a light lunch in the fellowship hall. See Deborah Cuthrell to find out what to bring. Vacation Bible School is an exciting program for everyone who participates. If you need further information or want to know how you can help see Jill Lowell after the services this morning. We'll see you at the fair!

Vacation Bible School

Preparations for this year's VBS are in full swing. You'll find registration forms in the lobby. VBS starts June 23rd and runs from 9 a.m. until noon. If you would like more information about VBS or if you can help with the preparation or during VBS week, please contact Jill Lowell. We need a few craft supplies donated: - 2 liter bottles - Large (20 oz) soup/veggie cans - Empty plastic bottles - Small bottles of acrylic paint (any color and used is great!) A box is in the Welcome Center for drop off.

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New Perspective

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So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view... (2 Cor. 5:16) A while back we took the kids to Nauticus to look around and to see the USS Wisconsin. At the time, Nauticus was featuring an exhibit on mapmaking. I was especially intrigued by an ancient map called the T and O map. The T and O map (see picture) is a representation of the world as described by a 7th Century bishop named Isidore of Seville. The map gets its name from the basic layout of the map. It is essentially an O representing the known world divided by a T representing the seas and rivers that divide Europe and Africa from Asia. I find a couple of things very interesting about this map. First, you'll notice that the center is Jerusalem (i.e. The Holy Land), which is not surprising when you remember that it's based on the descriptions of a Catholic Bishop. Second, on this map, north is not up; east is up (and north is to the left, west points downward, etc.). By the way, this may be where we get the idea of "orienting ourselves". Orient is another way of referring to the East. What I love about this map is that it forces me to look at the world in a different way, or (I can't help it) reorient myself. It's just widely accepted now that North is always up and south is always down, etc. So it's strange to think that there's another way of looking at things. (If you really want a head trip, go Google "Reversed Map.") Today's scripture is one that forces us to readjust our perspective when it comes to other people. Paul says that Jesus has changed the way that he looks at people: the value he places on them, the potential he sees in them. All of that is changed by his relationship with Jesus. As Jesus followers we are called to look at others with his perspective. We'll talk more about it today.

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The Shack

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In a message a while back I mentioned a book that I was reading entitled The Shack. I first heard of this book at the Wineskins website. They were describing it as the little book that could. It was first published on a shoestring budget by Windblown Media. They spent less than $200 on advertising. The rest has been word of mouth. Boy, have they gotten their money’s worth. I called around to some of the local Christian bookstores to see if anyone had a copy, thinking that would be the best place to look. Then on a lark I called Barnes & Noble at MacArthur Center. At the time it was their #2 seller. Charlotte K. informed me that, last week, it was number one. So this book has really caught on. After reading it, I can see why. The Shack is a faith statement dressed up as a novel. And the faith that it articulates is inspiring and moving. The basic plot is as follows: Mackenzie (Mack) Philips’ youngest daughter is abducted and assumed murdered. In the midst of his anguish, Mack receives a mysterious note, supposedly from God, inviting him back to the supposed scene of the murder, a shack in the woods. He makes the difficult decision to return only to find that the shack has been transformed by the presence of God. Mack spends a weekend with God, Jesus and the Spirit. They serve him, they teach him, they change him. There is some critiquing to be done. The book is better as theology than as literature. The English Major in me was not always happy with the writing. And some will find the images he employs for God to be disturbing as well. That’s all I’ll say about that for now. I’m hoping that some of you will read it and send me an email or comment here on the blog. And let me be clear—I heartily recommend it. (I like that word. I don’t do enough things heartily.) It’s a quick read. It’s very moving and thoughtful. I feel sure it will challenge the way you think about God. It also bears some uncanny resemblances to our own Eric Harrell’s play, An Inch of Rope. Those of you who saw the play will not have any trouble seeing what I’m talking about. I think Eric’s play takes a daring step that Young’s book either misses or avoids. But I don’t want to say too much until some of you have read it. It would make excellent summer reading. Why not take it to the beach with you? I’m sure your kids don’t need you to watch them. There are plenty of highlighted sections I could share with you. Here are a couple on the concepts of trust and control. At one point, God says this:
“The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie is that you don’t think that I am good. If you knew I was good and that everything—the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives—is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me, but you don’t.”
Then later Jesus and Mack have this conversation:
“Mack, do you realize that your imagination of the future, which is almost always dictated by fear of some kind, rarely, if ever, pictures me there with you?” Again Mack stopped and thought. It was true. He spent a lot of time fretting and worrying about the future, and in his imaginations it was usually pretty gloomy and depressing, if not outright horrible. And Jesus was also correct in saying that in Mack’s imaginations of the future, God was always absent. “Why do I do that?” asked Mack. “It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can’t. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn’t even real, nor will it ever be real. You try and play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try and make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear.”
So there you go. Let me know if anyone out there decides to read it.

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Extreme Makeover

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"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."
1 John 3:2 It's always interesting to me when it happens. And, since I've spent most of my life living in the suburbs, it has happened quite a number of times. Maybe an old building will sit on the corner of an intersection, unnoticed and uninhabited. Then one day it will just be gone. Or maybe a plot of land that was, just yesterday, part of a cow pasture is now a tilled-up square lot. As you drive by, you are startled by the jarring change to something that you have known for years. Then the construction vehicles show up: excavators and bulldozers, scrapers and dump trucks, cranes and cement trucks. Every day the lot is a flurry of activity. Hills are flattened or created. Holes are drilled. PVC piping shoots upward from the dirt like reeds in a pond. Little orange flags begin to mark out the dimensions of whatever is coming. And that's the question that's on everyone's mind. As we drive by we all say to ourselves or the person in the car with us, "I wonder what they're putting in right there." And our passenger will just shrug and make that universal "I don't know" grunt. Meanwhile, progress continues. What everyone's waiting for is a sign. We're waiting for one of those big signs with three, four, or maybe five words. The first two words are always the same: "COMING SOON..." Finally we get to know what all of the hubbub is about. It is revealed to us what business is taking shape right before our eyes. Hopefully, it's not just another Walgreens. Hopefully, it's something I'll like. But the exciting part is waiting to see what it's going to be. (Reading this, it strikes me that we're hurting for entertainment out there in the suburbs.) Today, I want to suggest that everyone has a sign. Not the kind of sign that that redneck comedian is always talking about, but a different one. A sign that says "coming soon..." Which is just another way of saying that we're all works in progress. We're all changing from what we are now to something else. The apostle Paul says we are all "new creations." And we can put the same question to ourselves as the one that ask about those corner lots under construction: "What do you think is going in there?" What is coming soon? That's the question for all of us today. What are we becoming? What kind of building are we being made into? God wants to turn you and me into a building that brings glory to him-one that saves our lives in the process. We'll get a better idea of that from scripture this morning.

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Love Your Neighbor

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"The question of bread for myself is a material question, but the question of bread for my neighbor is a spiritual question" --Nikolai Bordyaev "It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor" --Eric Hoffer There is a legendary story told about Catherine Booth--wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth and preacher in her own right. While on a speaking tour of the States she drew enormous crowds of people coming from every level of American Society. It's said that, after a particular engagement, she was received in the home of a local aristocrat. At one point Mrs. Booth's hostess remarked to her, "My dear Mrs. Booth, that meeting was dreadful." "What do you mean, Dearie?" asked Mrs. Booth. "Oh, when you were speaking, I was looking at those people opposite to me. Their faces were so terrible, many of them. I don't think I shall sleep tonight!" "Why, dearie, don't you know them?" Mrs. Booth asked; and the hostess replied, "Certainly not!" "Well, that is interesting," Mrs. Booth said. "I did not bring them with me from London; they are your neighbors!" This particular woman wasn't much different from the rich man in Jesus' parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus. She was able to live her life oblivious to the suffering of those around her. So she was shocked when she came to a place that she couldn't look away. She was confronted by the plight of her neighbors. Jesus' call to love our neighbors is unmerciful and unrelenting, because he does the same thing with it that he does with all of his other instructions. He refuses to limit in some way that will make it easier on us. He says, "Don't just avoid committing murder; don't hate others." He says, "Don't just avoid revenge, love your enemies." He does the same thing with our definition of neighbors. According to Jesus, our neighbor is basically anyone we see who is in need. Neighbor is not a matter of proximity or status or shared values. Our neighbor can be anyone, and we are called to love them. It's the second greatest command. I can't help but wonder if it's not the hardest one, though. We'll take a closer look at loving our neighbor today. Glad you're here.

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Called Up

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Our tradition doesn't talk a whole lot about being "called" to ministry. Other traditions seem to use this language more prominently. I've heard questions like: "When did you receive your call to the ministry?" I'm still not sure what they mean. Should I have a "call" story? Was I supposed to get a memo or an invitation or some kind of acceptance letter from God? Am I supposed to have one of those stories like in the Bible? There are some pretty famous call stories in the Bible of course. Abraham is living in the land of Ur before Yahweh calls him to leave the gods of his ancestors with the promise that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Moses is looking after his father-in-law's sheep in the land of Midian when the angel of the Lord appears to him in a bush that is burning but doesn't burn up. Samuel is just a boy living as a temple-servant when he keeps hearing God's voice in the middle of the night. David the smallest of all the sons of Jesse is summoned from the fields only after Samuel asks if Jesse doesn't have any other sons whom God could possibly choose to be King of Israel. Then there are the call stories of all the prophets where, over and over again, scripture tells us that "The word of the LORD came to _______." And in turn each prophet was commissioned to take that word to the people. An angel appears to Zechariah in the temple and tells him that his wife will soon bear a son (we call him John the Baptist) who will turn the hearts of the people back to God. Shortly afterward an angel appears to the young girl, Mary, and tells her that the son she will bear will have a Kingdom without end. When I look at all those stories (and that's not even close to all of the ones in scripture), I can understand why people have this expectation of a call to ministry. And yet I have no such story. I'm not aware of any burning bushes or visits from angels in the middle of the night or hearing the voice of God. Of course, knowing me, I could have just missed it. Right as I drove by the burning bush, I was probably messing with the car stereo. And God would have had to scream pretty loud to be heard over the sound of my snoring (just ask my poor wife). But that doesn't mean I've completely given up on this idea of being called to ministry. If anything I feel it more strongly now than ever before. I just feel that my call has been more generic in nature. It's the kind of call that Paul speaks of numerous times in his writings. I have been called to be a child of God. I have been called for his purposes. I have been called to serve the Lord. Only this call has happened numerous times and all along the way. I'm kind of glad for that. Instead of one giant invitation I have benefited from a consistent flow of gentle reminders that I am called God's child and I am called to serve others. This morning we're going to be talking about how God calls all of us to serve. We're going to be looking on as Jesus invites his disciples to come and follow him. We'll be listening for that invitation in our lives as well. I believe that, whoever you are, Jesus is calling you to follow him. I hope you can hear that Gospel/Good News this morning.

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