Jesus and football.

It has been an interesting thing for me to follow after re-forming much of my learned evangelical and pentecostal beliefs ..this concept of Christianity and sports.

I used to thank God for getting me a great parking spot yesterday and then wonder why I had to walk 1/2 mile in the rain the today. Did I lose favor? What did I do? (Another discussion for another time)

ANYWAY~
You have players like Tim Tebow that boldly claim their faith on their face, you have players thanking God after touchdowns or big plays.

But my question I wrestle with, is does God even care?

Really. Lets look at this.

Last night you had the Florida Gators led by all-star stud Tim Tebow poised to dominate the SEC and take the National Title. Time to go 24 -0 and become the most dominant football team seemingly ever.

But they lost. No, they got KILLED! At the end of the game, you have a shot of Tim Tebow on his knee with eyes wet, trying to hold back the tears. Now understand..some people really scoffed at his tears.."It's just a game!" "Is he REALLY crying!?"

But I understand where he was at. It was the end of an era for him. It was the finale in a culmination of huge wins and history. And they-got-killed.

No National Championship, no re-do, no next year. That was it. So I totally get it. He gave his all in football as he should and as God calls us to with whatever it is we do. So, some tears. Good for him. It hurt. Because he gave it everything!

But here is what I also noticed: Tim Tebow praying on the sideline somewhere in the first half. What was he praying for? That God give him favor? That God allow him to play his best?

That God turn the Tide around?

See, I do not doubt that God had his hand in allowing a man like Tim Tebow to be in the spot-light like he has been. From what I can tell (from the outside) Tim has done an amazing job of representing Christianity and a man of character and integrity. I have great respect for him.

What I ponder is whether God allowed all the fame and dominance so Tim and the Gators could understand humility? Did God allow Tim to flourish and refine so he can show us what a man of God really looks like in the face of adversity?

Or is it that God is not really that interested in the game and how everything plays out,

but more interested in who we are regardless of our circumstances...?

Instant vs. Slow Drip.

Anyone ever had instant coffee? As a kid, my parents had it when camping. I tried it one day. It is disgusting! And why? It is INSTANT, and anything mix-and-serve is never a good idea.

So then...Have you ever noticed the difference between a cup of coffee from a slow drip brewer vs. a cup from an quick drip? With the schedules and meetings and rush, there is rarely time for a slow drip machine these days. And to be honest, the quick drip machine can give you some pretty good coffee!

But...There is something unmistakable when it comes to the slow drip. It gives the water and grounds time to really mix and blend. It allows more time for the aroma and flavor to mature and come alive. There is just something so much better when it comes to the slow drip process. The result is unmistakable.

Now lets look at church today.

We want things our way, in our time and QUICK!

When it comes to growing a ministry or congregation, we want to see it explode with growth and be able to reap the rewards right away. Really, if you talk with anyone in ministry, (despite what they might say) that is the deep down desire.

We want to sound super-spiritual and say "We are willing to do what it takes to insure the depth and deep roots necessary to make this ministry what God has destined it to be!" (Actually, that is the rhetoric of pastors and ministry people that have fledgling ministries or congregations to make is sound good. ;-)

But what is the reality? There are those rare (and let me emphasize rare) ministries that explode with growth and get all the attention. They are asked to speak at all the conferences and events and are the poster children to how it can be done. The reality is, most of us will never, ever see that.

Here is my revelation:

For most of us, me included, what God desires is a slow drip ministry. He could allow us to have fast growing ministries with lots of people, but what would happen in time? What kind of roots are there? How deep are they? What happens when the conditions get rough, is the ministry able to go to the deep reservoirs of water with the deeply embedded roots to find the life sustenance needed? Or would the roots be shallow and wide and dry up when hard times hit?

Unfortunately I see this often. A mile wide and inch deep.

God has not called us to this kind of community. He has called us to a community of depth and vibrancy, deep roots and rich flavor. We can settle for instant community, or we can take the long, slow road of investment and time..bucking the nagging voices to do it quick and stay the course of methodical investment.

I have not had the fortunate experience to see Re:Wired be one of those ministries that just shot off and became an instant success. It has been a hard, long road. But the stories I hear and the methodical God that keeps drawing new people in one by one to be added to our community.

Slow enough for them to be known, invested in and become a part of our family.

Then the roots grow.

The right elements mix, and it becomes strong and rich. The process never ends,

but the flavor is unmistakable.

It is the flavor of our transforming God!

How a mug becomes a sermon.

For all of you (or the couple of people out there) that are interested, you have (in my latest and first blog) been given insight into what is to become my next sermon here at Van Dyke. You will be able to watch it live streamed at 11am EST on Sunday, September 6th.

You will be able to go to www.vandyke.org and click on Watch Live Online. Poof. You will see this blog come to life in a new and (hopefully) insipring way..LIVE!

If you miss it, the Tuesday after you can do the very same link and go to the archives and see it then.

Thanks and blessing!

Painting coffee mugs

I would have to say that life is a lot like painting a coffee mug.

You start with a blank slate, a course whiteness that is gritty to the touch. You get to dream about how you will create a masterpiece and wow the world with its pure awesomeness. The perfect piece of art, just the right balance of colors and smooth to the touch. It will be a piece destined for the Louvre.

Then you begin the actual journey of creating. You formulate the picture and pick the colors, you choose the brushes that will create that "just right" stroke to allow your creative potential to come to full existence. You sit down...you are all set.

Then...

You begin.

But wait. The you cannot tell what the color will ACTUALLY look like! Have you done enough coats? This is taking WAY longer then you figured.

"AND FOR THE LOVE OF.....CAN I JUST MAKE A STRAIGHT LINE!?"

As frustration mounts, you come to grips with the idea that the picture of perfection you had formulated in your head was but an unrealistic dream never destined for realization.

The outcome was never going to be what you had imagined or intended.

What is worse, is in the process of the journey you became so frustrated with attempting to keep this from becoming a complete disaster, (to no avail, mind you) that you had absolutely no fun on the journey of creation.

What about those on the journey with you (because who goes to paint pottery by themselves..can we say LOSER!)? Were you able to look at THEIR creation and enjoy what THEY were making? Were you able to have a great conversation while in process of this train-wreck of artistic venture?

No. So it became an unpleasant experience for you both to some degree because of your expectation of what your masterpiece was to be vs the companionship that is. And what memory will you have of that day? Will you laugh at the hideous creation that you now prize in your possession because it marks a journey of life and conversation with someone that is of value and loved? Or will your memory be of frustration and uncomfortable silence because you were so caught up in the mis-adventured project, and not the person....

Interesting how this parallels life.

In our daily walks, we have expectation of how things should be, how we are going to "make" them. And when life does not go as planned, we try with everything we have to steer it back on course. What happens when you come to the realization that life will not end up as you planned? What happens when all attempts to "fix" your life fail? How will you respond? Will you throw your mug away? Will you shelve it behind everything else in the cupboard?

When all is said and done, I don't believe any of our lives, like my sad, ugly excuse for a mug, will turn out like we expect. But the sad part is what we may have lost on the journey. The lives and conversations ignored because we were so caught up in trying to put our lives "back on track". The God moments, the joy of simple companionship, the laughter, the tears,

life.

Gone.

You never get those moments back. That is a hard realization, and the truth.

But the good news is there will be more opportunities to torpedo more helpless mugs in the name of art. More time set aside for real conversations, whimsical expression, and hopefully good coffee.

When I get to the end of life, I want to look back at all of the hideous mugs I have created and smile.

Because every mug was not about the atrocious paint job,

it was about the person who was next to me during the creation.

This mug was about the next adventure in Dana's life. This mug was about the relationship that just ended for Joe. This mug is filled with questions about faith and life by Stephanie...and guess what.

This mug..right here?

It holds eternity the day that Mike surrendered his life to Jesus.

May we never forsake the journey of creation for our "masterpiece" that will never be.