Let me start off by saying that if you’ve ever watched “The New Yankee Workshop” on PBS, you can appreciate what goes through my mind every time I watch it:

Norm Abram is ridiculous. With a million-dollar (at least) shop complete with every imaginable tool he’d ever need to build anything he’d ever want to build…I mean it’s no wonder he can do what he does. I don’t mean to totally discount his talent. I’m just saying, give me a woodshop like that and I could do much the same work. Many times, it IS about having the right tool. And he has this way of saying, “See, it’s just that easy.” Well sure Norm, it WOULD be that easy if my shop looked like yours.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Next Saturday morning turn on PBS and watch for yourself. Norm Abrams is ridiculous. Okay, Norm rant over.

The other day my oldest son was sitting at the breakfast table and said, “Dad, counting sheep doesn’t make you fall asleep. It makes you a shepherd.” So true, son. So true.

There’s a great verse for pastors/leaders found in Proverbs 27:23 that I refer to often:
“Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds…”

In that comical statement by my son the other day, God reminded me of what it means to be a pastor–a shepherd–a person who cares well for other people. In a word, its investment. Not investment for dividends’ sake (anyone in ministry can tell you that we’re not here for the paycheck), but investment for the sake of seeing people find, understand, and embrace the key realities of life; realities that so many miss out for a myriad of reasons. Realities like:
-We’ve all been created by God, our Creator.
-Our Creator not only loves us, but has come to us, and has a spectacular plan for each of us.
-That plan is best (and sometimes only) seen through the decision and acts of selfless living.
-Selfless living mirrors the life of Jesus, the One whom our Heavenly Father is pleased with.
-It is only through Christ that we find redemption; both future tense and present tense. (This statement is often labeled as narrow-minded, though it is anything but.)
-The ultimate selfless act committed on our behalf and for our benefit was that of Jesus’ death on the cross. It was in our place that He died and for our sake that He rose from the grave, so that we might have a re-established relationship with our Creator.

I could most certainly go on, but I want to keep the key realities central.
And it is for these truths that I live.

I was leaving work yesterday to run home and grab some dinner before having to come back for student ministry night. I was sitting at a red light in my ’92 Crown Victoria, when all of a sudden a felt a really hard BUMP and was jarred in my seat. Driving the old clunker that I do, I immediately thought, “Good Lord, the engine just fell out!” Then I looked up at my rearview mirror and saw a vehicle that seemed to look closer than it should. That’s when I realized, “I just got hit.” Not only did the car behind me run into me, but he seemed to be PUSHING on my car! I bore down on the brake and put on the emergency brake pedal. When I decided that I wasn’t going any further forward, I got out and walked back to the other car, a cute compact car with the engine revving, seemingly against my back bumper. It was like a dog pushing against a horse. I approached the driver’s window and saw an elderly man in the driver’s seat with his wife in the passenger’s seat. He was calling something out to me, but his window was up, so I couldn’t quite make it out. What was he saying? “Buy soot!” “Fry boot!” What was he saying? I opened the door and heard a clear “My foot!” (Turns out he didn’t want me to buy soot.)

He was telling me in his “old-man-I’m-panicked” sort of way that his left foot had slipped and was stuck underneath the brake pedal, while his right foot was still on the brake pedal trying to brake. I reached down, grabbed hold of his foot (after surmising that he was not injured, but only panicky), and moved it from behind the brake pedal. Oh did I mention? I first made sure his car was in “park”.

I thought I’d be cordial. “Hi, how you doin’? Are you okay?” They were both fine, but I grew increasingly confident that this gentleman had no business driving a car. And I hope that if necessary, somebody tells me the same thing when I get to that point in life. And then provides me with a chauffered luxury vehicle.

His wife seemed to have her head on a bit straighter and was able to give direction to her dearly beloved. Why she wasn’t driving, I’ll never know. So, I got his insurance information, checked my bumper and his fender and found that there was no apparent damage to either, and went on my way. Actually, an un-uniformed official of some type showed up soon after the bump, made sure we were okay, ensured we were exchanging information, and asked if we wanted a uniformed officer. I told him I thought we were fine, and that we’d be done and gone shortly. He then left. On the way home, I began to imagine that my neck was a little sore. And I began to wonder, “Maybe I should have called the police.” and “A helicopter ride would have been cool.” and “I’ve never lit a flare.”

So, that was my slice of drama on the road yesterday. And not that I wasn’t appreciative before, but I definitely was glad for being the larger car.

When its time for my next vehicle, I’ll likely forego the car lot and head to the army surplus store.

Its Friday morning and its my day off. Before my wife went off to work this morning I asked her, “Is there anything you’d like me to do today?” Her response:

“Oh, I could give you a huge list of things that need to be done. But its your day off.”
(Is it any wonder I’m so crazy about this woman?)

So, here I am sitting on our front porch, sipping coffee, lounging in our Adirondack chair, watching an insanely beautiful butterfly gently open and close its wings, seemingly for the sheer joy of showing them off. The grass is cut, the breeze is cool, and the perfection of the morning has just been interrupted by an electric hedge clipper down the street.

My blog well has been dry for the past several days, so its good to get back and try and eek out another post. Hopefully it’ll include some worthwhile things. I honestly don’t post when I don’t feel like anything is worth sharing. Some people can post everyday and always seem to have something interesting to say. Maybe I’m just too busy living to be able to pull that off.

So, let’s see. I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, “Jesus Loves You…..but I’m His favorite.” Maybe you’ve heard that Jesus loves you so much that if you were the only person on earth, He still would have come and died just for you. Well, I don’t know how that stands up to theological/doctrinal scrutiny, but I DO know that such a thing was never His plan or desire. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus came for ALL people, everywhere, for all time. Sadly though, not all will embrace Him as Savior and Lord during their lifetime. But all people WILL call Him King of Kings, for that is what He is.

Years ago I was a youth pastor in Nyack, New York. I served at Simpson Memorial Church (which has since been renamed, thank the Lord) for 7+ years. I joined a multi-staff ministry team and LOVED every one of them. But as time went on, one by one they felt called to other places and ministry roles. Until I finally found myself as the only pastor on staff. Can you imagine the youth pastor running the church? Even with a couple Godly and committed confidants to lean on, there were times when I simply felt…well….lonely. For some reason, I found encouragement in Kirk Franklin’s song “Hold Me Now”. There were times when I would literally be on the floor of my office, praying for wisdom, and listening to that song. Sounds silly, I know.

Somewhere in those 14 months of being the solo pastor at Simpson Church, I went to our denomination’s annual assembly called “Council”. It was held that year in Nashville, TN. I stayed at the beautiful Opryland Hotel. There was literally a canal boat ride that went through the palatial atrium/lobby of this huge facility. During that week, I bought a worship music cd because I had forgotten to bring any music with me (uncommon for me). On that compilation cd, I listened for the first time to a song called “Here I Am To Worship”. Today, that song is well known by so many. But that was the first time I had ever heard it before. And not to exaggerate, but the words to that song both met the need of my heart at the time as well as taught me what it truly means to worship.

[A side note: During an adult small group Bible study years later, I heard the best definition of worship I had ever encountered: “singlemindedness.”]

So, in that hotel room at Opryland hotel, I listened to that song repeatedly. It wasn’t but a few minutes later it seemed that I could sing every word as an expression of my heart to God…
“Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God.
You’re all together lovely,
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me.”
To this day, I consider this song one of my favorite songs to sing to the Lord.

And in those days as a young pastor, my perception of being in ministry began to change. Truth be told, it changes every day as I experience more and learn more; I hope that it will never stop changing. When it does, that means I’ve stopped learning and growing. I couldn’t stomach that.

That might be why I seem to thrive in an ever-changing environment. The sense of sameness that many churchgoers seem to find comforting, I find unnerving. Doing things the same way, even if its “working” isn’t something that appeals to me. I’d rather change the way things are done, even if that way works just fine. Some say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I’d say, “If ain’t broke, break it.” To me, the risk of going after a new thought, a new paradigm, a new path is completely worth the chance of falling flat on my face. I should also mention that I truly believe failure is more valuable than success…much more, in fact.

Whereas I would had previously thought (years ago) that being in ministry was summed up by “Keep people happy”, I would now contend that being a leader in ministry is better summed up by “Love Jesus and don’t fear it when people aren’t comfortable with all He expects us to do.”

Well, when you’re not sure how to end a blog post, its never a bad idea to ask, “What do you think?”

The Four-Fingered Pianist from Family First on Vimeo.

There’s a show on television that I find intriguing. It’s called “Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.” Basically its a guy who pretty much explains how every “magic trick” or illusion is done. How you make an elephant disappear? How do you walk through a steel wall? How do you levitate? How do you impale the pretty assistant on an iron spike and have her end up being just fine? This guy shows it all. And I eat it up with a spoon. I’ve never been a real fan of magic tricks or illusionists. I’m embarassed for guys who take being so silly so seriously. So, needless to say that when someone comes up to me and says, “Pick a card.” I say, “No.” Because we all know that look. The look they give after they’re done doing that trick. The look that says, “I know how to do a card trick and you don’t.” To me, it’s very similar to the look that says, “Punch me.”

So, this TV show is kind of like showing behind the scenes at Disney World. The result is that the sense of magic and wonder is gone, but its still kind of fun.
I’m guessing all other illusionists hate him. That’s probably why he wears a mask.

Jesus had a lot of followers who were only there to “see the show.” We’re not sure how many came for that reason, but we do know that many were changed once they realized that this was no magic, no slight of hand, no illusion at all. Jesus’ power wasn’t dependent on a stage hand just out of camera shot who pulled the cable on cue. Jesus’ power was and is from His identity as God.

And so as crowds came, crowds believed. Word spread. More came. More believed. But in John 20 Jesus says something interesting and it actually has something to do directly with you and me.

These words were spoken by Jesus to Thomas (called Didymus), after Thomas saw Jesus with his physical sight and only after did he believe that Jesus had risen from the dead:

John 20:29: Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

I remember laying in bed one night and talking to God about how I really wanted to see Him. Not someday, but right then, in my room. I know it sounds really ridiculous, but that’s okay. I’m kind of ridiculous with God sometimes. I remember being there in my bed and trying to explain to God that if I could just see some kind of physical something-or-other, then I would REALLY be able to believe Him hardcore. It was essentially a “show up in this room and I’ll be even more convinced” kind of thing. It was essentially (in hindsight) the words of Thomas. The one we affectionately still know as “Doubting Thomas”.

But when I read John 20:29, Jesus called me “blessed”. The Greek word is “makarioi”, and its an adjective. The “blessed” is a descriptor for anyone today who has not seen Jesus with their physical eyes, but yet know who He is and call Him Lord because of their spiritual eyes. The word blessed means “supremely blest, fortunate, well off.”

So, as it turns out the prayer I prayed in my bed that night so long ago was a naive request at the time, but God answering “no” actually kept me in the camp of those who are “supremely blest, fortunate, and well off.”

This morning on my way to work, I stopped at the $3 car wash. It’s worth about $3, maybe less.

Well, when you pay your $3 and go through the car wash, you are entitled to use the vacuums in the parking lot for free. So, I slid my Crown Vic into a spot and grabbed the business end of an industrial strength vacuum hose. As soon as I started vacuuming, I noticed that this huge steel tank vacuum was industrial strength wimpy. It barely picked up sand, let alone the other more substantial stuff on the floors of my car. I put my hand against the nozzle and felt almost no suction at all. Like an optimistic dunce, I kept vacuuming and hoping things would improve. They didn’t.

Then, I decided that what this vacuum hose needed was minor surgery. After looking around to make sure no employees were over my shoulder, I disassembled the hose and found the source of the wimpy suction. It was a Taco Bell taco sauce packet. Taco sauce was killing my suction.

After extracting said taco sauce, I put the hose back together and I’m not kidding, I could have picked my car up with the suction I was getting now. No doubt about it: This vacuum sucked.

What’s the taco sauce packet that’s keeping God’s power and potential from being fully engaged in my life? What’s just below the surface in me that is way too much about me that is keeping God from leading me forward into more fruitfulness?

Never thought I could learn so much from a taco sauce packet.