Observations on Faith

Steve Nash Documentary!

2011-05-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Can't wait...

The Realization is Now

2011-04-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

This post by the always insightful Seth Godin has really inspired me this week. Seth is talking about the sea change that touches us all in the new economy. The old ways of work, simply put, don't work. Having found myself unemployed 2x over the past half decade I totally agree with what Seth lays out here regarding the challenges, and opportunities, of making a career and contributing in the new economy.

But this post also inspires me when I think of my walk of faith. The old ways of doing things are evolving. Change can be scary. When I face change I have a chance to dig in and halt progress. Or it can be a beautiful opportunity to step out in faith, be a blessing and be a part of a story much bigger than anything I could ever dream up on my own.

I love that God trusts us and loves us enough to give us that choice.

I'm in the middle of the new Rob Bell book, Love Wins, which has caused so much controversy over the past few weeks. I'll post more on my thoughts once I finish, but to me, so much of what Rob is talking about is also what Seth is saying in this post. Things are evolving. That doesn't mean we abandon core fundamentals or that our past is irrelevant. But we are not called to be the same today as we were yesterday. We're called to learn, grow and evolve into something more. The choice is ours. And the time is now.

The realization is now
by Seth Godin

New polling out this week shows that Americans are frustrated with the world and pessimistic about the future. They're losing patience with the economy, with their prospects, with their leaders (of both parties).
What's actually happening is this: we're realizing that the industrial revolution is fading. The 80 year long run that brought ever-increasing productivity (and along with it, well-paying jobs for an ever-expanding middle class) is ending.
It's one thing to read about the changes the internet brought, it's another to experience them. People who thought they had a valuable skill or degree have discovered that being an anonymous middleman doesn't guarantee job security. Individuals who were trained to comply and follow instructions have discovered that the deal is over... and it isn't their fault, because they've always done what they were told.
This isn't fair of course. It's not fair to train for years, to pay your dues, to invest in a house or a career and then suddenly see it fade.
For a while, politicians and organizations promised that things would get back to normal. Those promises aren't enough, though, and it's clear to many that this might be the new normal. In fact, it is the new normal.
I regularly hear from people who say, "enough with this conceptual stuff, tell me how to get my factory moving, my day job replaced, my consistent paycheck restored..." There's an idea that somehow, if we just do things with more effort or skill, we can go back to the Brady Bunch and mass markets and mediocre products that pay off for years. It's not an idea, though, it's a myth.
Some people insist that if we focus on "business fundamentals" and get "back to basics," all will return. Not so. The promise that you can get paid really well to do precisely what your boss instructs you to do is now a dream, no longer a reality.
It takes a long time for a generation to come around to significant revolutionary change. The newspaper business, the steel business, law firms, the car business, the record business, even computers... one by one, our industries are being turned upside down, and so quickly that it requires us to change faster than we'd like.
It's unpleasant, it's not fair, but it's all we've got. The sooner we realize that the world has changed, the sooner we can accept it and make something of what we've got. Whining isn't a scalable solution.

Vans Road to Redemption

2011-04-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Pass The Bucket with Tony Alva from Off The Wall TV on Vimeo.

The worst moments are your best opportunity.

2011-03-04T12:25:00.001-08:00

Love this. Posted today by the always awesome Seth Godin:

The worst moments are your best opportunity
That's how we judge you and how we remember you.
You are presumed to be showing us your real self when you are on deadline, have a headache, are facing a customer service meltdown, haven't had a good night's sleep, are facing an ethical dilemma, are momentarily in power, are caught doing something when you thought no one else was looking, are irritable, have the opportunity to extract revenge, are losing a competition or are truly overwhelmed.What a great opportunity to tell the story you'd like us to hear about you.

Great words. Easy to say. Very hard to do. But worth trying...

Grace over Karma

2011-02-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a very excellent interview Bono did with Michka Assayas. I really love his thoughts on how Grace trumps Karma.

Bono: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that's my religion. Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now that's not so easy.

Assayas: What about the God of the Old Testament? He wasn't so "peace and love"?

Bono: There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Assayas: Speaking of bloody action movies, we were talking about South and Central America last time. The Jesuit priests arrived there with the gospel in one hand and a rifle in the other.

Bono: I know, I know. Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building. [laughs] A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit. Discipline replacing discipleship. Why are you chuckling?

Assayas: I was wondering if you said all of that to the Pope the day you met him.

Bono: Let's not get too hard on the Holy Roman Church here. The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. The physical experience of being in a crowd of largely humble people, heads bowed, murmuring prayers, stories told in stained-glass windows

Assayas: So you won't be critical.

Bono: No, I can be critical, especially on the topic of contraception. But when I meet someone like Sister Benedicta and see her work with AIDS orphans in Addis Ababa, or Sister Ann doing the same in Malawi, or Father Jack Fenukan and his group Concern all over Africa, when I meet priests and nuns tending to the sick and the poor and giving up much easier lives to do so, I surrender a little easier.

Assayas: But you met the man himself. Was it a great experience?

Bono: [W]e all knew why we were there. The Pontiff was about to make an important statement about the inhumanity and injustice of poor countries spending so much of their national income paying back old loans to rich countries. Serious business. He was fighting hard against his Parkinson's. It was clearly an act of will for him to be there. I was oddly moved by his humility, and then by the incredible speech he made, even if it was in whispers. During the preamble, he seemed to be staring at me. I wondered. Was it the fact that I was wearing my blue fly-shades? So I took them off in case I was causing some offense. When I was introduced to him, he was still staring at them. He kept looking at them in my hand, so I offered them to him as a gift in return for the rosary he had just given me.

Assayas: Didn't he put them on?

Bono: Not only did he put them on, he smiled the wickedest grin you could ever imagine. He was a comedian. His sense of humor was completely intact. Flashbulbs popped, and I thought: "Wow! The Drop the Debt campaign will have the Pope in my glasses on the front page of every newspaper."

Assayas: I don't remember seeing that photograph anywhere, though.

Bono: Nor did we. It seems his courtiers did not have the same sense of humor. Fair enough. I guess they could see the T-shirts.

Later in the conversation:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.

Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.

Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?

Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched

Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:

Bono: If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.

Suffering my way to a new tomorrow

2011-02-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there. It's been a while. Frankly, just haven't felt like blogging much. Good to rest and recharge and let the well fill back up sometimes. I will share this great post Rob Bell wrote recently for CNN. Good stuff, as always.

My Faith: Suffering my way to a new tomorrow
Editor's Note: Rob Bell is the Founding Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His latest book and DVD are called Drops Like Stars.

By Rob Bell, Special to CNN

One Friday evening in the fall of my senior year of college I got a headache.

I took some aspirin, laid on the couch, and waited for it to go away. But it didn't; it got worse. By midnight I was in agony, and by 3 a.m. I was wondering if I was going to die.

As the sun rose, my roommate drove me to the hospital where I learned that I had viral meningitis. A neurologist explained to me that the fluid around my brain had become infected and was essentially squeezing my brain against the walls of my skull.

So that's what that was.

The doctor informed me that it would take a number of weeks in bed to recover.

This didn't fit with my plan.

I was in a band at the time. We'd been playing shows in the Chicago area for a while and had just landed our biggest club dates yet in the city - all of them scheduled over the next several weeks.

We had to cancel all of them.

As this reality hit me, laying there in that hospital bed miles from home with a brain infection, I distinctly remember asking no one in particular "Now what?"

I was devastated. This was not how it was supposed to go. The band was my life, my future, my singular focus. We had just canceled our biggest gigs ever. Eventually I recovered enough to return to school but things weren't the same. Whatever had been driving us in the band wasn't there like it had been before and so we came to the mutual conclusion that it had been great while it lasted and now it was time for the band to come to an end.

I don't think I'd ever felt more lost. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I had all this energy and passion and I wanted desperately to give myself to something that mattered, but I had no plan.

I would walk around campus in a daze, muttering the same prayer over and over, which took the form of "Now what?"

Do you know that feeling when you're playing soccer and you lunge for the ball but you aren't fast enough and the player on the other team has already kicked it quite hard and the ball travels with ferocious velocity and force into your groin region and you keel over, gasping for breath, your voice several octaves higher?

It was like the existential version of that.

And then, things took a strange, beautiful turn.

In the days and weeks following the band's breakup, people I barely knew would stop me out of the blue and say things like, "Have you thought about being a pastor?" Friends I hadn't talked to in months would contact me and say, "For some reason I think you're going to be a pastor."

Me, a pastor? Seriously?

The idea began to get a hold of me and it wouldn't let go. A calling welled up within me, a direction, something I could give myself to.

I tell you this story about what happened to me 19 years ago because I assume you're like me - really good at making plans and plotting and scheming and devising just how to make your life go how it's "supposed" to go.

We are masters of this. We know exactly how things are supposed to turn out.

And then we suffer. There's a disruption - death, disease, job loss, heartbreak, betrayal or bankruptcy.

The tomorrow we were expecting disappears. And we have no other plan.

Suffering is traumatic and awful and we get angry and we shake our fists at the heavens and we vent and rage and weep. But in the process we discover a new tomorrow, one we never would have imagined otherwise.

I have interacted with countless people over the years who, when asked to identify key moments, turning points, and milestones in their lives, usually talk about terribly difficult, painful things. And they usually say something along the lines of "I never would have imagined that would happen to me."

Imagined is a significant word here. Suffering, it turns out, demands profound imagination. A new future has to be conjured up because the old future isn't there anymore.

Now I realize that what happened to me - the fluid around my brain swelling up and squeezing it against the walls of my skull – is nothing compared to the pain and tragedy many people live with every day.

But that experience irrevocably altered my life. Nothing was ever the same again. My plans fell apart, which opened me up to entirely new future.

This truth, about the latent seeds of creativity being planted in the midst of suffering, takes us deep into the heart of the Christian faith. We are invited to trust that in the moments when we are most inclined to despair, when all appears lost and we can't imagine any way forward - that it is precisely in those moments when something new may be about to be birthed.

Jesus hangs naked and bloody on a cross, alone and abandoned by his students, scorned by the crowd, and yet defiant, confident, insistent that God is present in his agony, bringing about a whole new world, right here in the midst of this one.

This is a mystery, and one we are wise to reflect on it, because of the countless disruptions we experience all the time.

God is in those moments, grieving with us, shedding tears with us, feeling that pain and turmoil with us, and then inviting to trust that something good can come from even this.

So keep your eyes and your heart open. Be quick to listen and slow to make rash judgments about how it's "all going to turn out," because you never know when you'll find yourself miles from home, laying in a hospital bed with a bad case of brain squeeze, all of your plans crashing down around you, wondering how it all went wrong, only to discover that a whole new life is just beginning.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rob Bell.

Throw It Down

2011-01-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

I just finished an excellent book that you've got to pick up. Throw It Down by Jud Wilhite (he of Deadly Viper fame and pastor of Central Christian in Las Vegas) has written a book for those people whose destructive habits are keeping them from the lifelong freedom they long for. I'm his target audience!

Jud is a great storyteller. Here he is sharing part of his story and the basic premise of Throw It Down.

Ron Artest on Jesus Christ's stats as a BBaller

2010-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

Ron Ron is like a Christmas gift everyday. His quotes and perspective are always a surprise and most definitely always awesome. Here is his take on what type of NBA stats the savior of the world would have put up.

“It happened in the past, it happened in the present, it happened in the future,” Artest said. “Not just for him. All players (get ejected). That happens a lot of times. You see guys get ejected. Rip Hamilton got ejected (recently) in Detroit. Bob Cousy got ejected … The only person who never got ejected was Jesus.”

Artest was asked if he had checked Jesus’ box scores.

“No ejections,” Artest said. “He was 10 for 10s, a lot of 20 for 20s (in shooting). Perfect from the free-throw line. Infinity rebounding stats.”

May you and yours have a very blessed Christmas. And may you have infinity rebounding stats in 2011!

Thankful

2010-11-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

Thankful that God believes in second (and third, and fourth...) chances.

Thankful for a beautiful family and access to plenty of food and clean water.

Thankful for friends who help me carry the load.

Thankful for the sound of an open G played through a Marshal stack.

Thankful for the high pick n' roll and the lost art of the mid-range jump shot.

Thankful I get chills everytime I hear Rocky Top.

Thankful for the sacrifice of many others who came before me.

Thankful for the promise of many others who will be around long after me.

Thankful for the work of Rob Bell, Francis Chan, Timothy Keller, Dr. Jim Flemming, Robin Sharma and Dr. Chris Stephens.

Thankful to have tix to see U2 in concert.

Thankful for the book of Psalms.

Thankful I live just down the street from Litton's and the best burger in the world.

Thankful for good friends that make me laugh until I cry.

Thankful for the Beautitudes.

Thankful for a job where I get to write, think big ideas and be creative.

Thankful for the chance to shine.

Thankful for Stella Artois.

Thankful for family movie night w/ my kids.

Thankful for stories of redemption.

Thankful I survived my freshman year in college.

Thankful for two wonderful parents.

Thankful for a healthy body and the ability to exercise.

Thankful for a blue eyed girl.

Thankful God can make something out of my messes.

Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. - Lance

PART II: Homeless but not faithless, an inside look at life on the street

2010-11-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

PART II: Homeless but not faithless, an inside look at life on the street

2 minute Testimonial

2010-11-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was asked to speak in front of our congregation (gulp!) at Church Street and share what I love about our church. Here's what I said.

"Good morning! As I thought about what I wanted to say about Church Street, the main word that kept coming to mind was “grateful.” I am eternally grateful for what this church…and the people of this church…have meant to me and my family. My lovely wife, Terri, and I were married here almost 14 years ago. To that point, our wedding day was the single greatest day of my life. In part because knew I had somehow managed to outkick my coverage and marry WAY up…and in part because we started our journey as husband and wife, surrounded by friends and family, inside this beautiful building.

Like many people, we were first drawn to Church Street by the outside beauty of this amazing Gothic structure. But we quickly learned that it’s the people on the inside that set Church Street apart.

We found all types of things that helped us grow spiritually…like getting involved in Sunday School…taking Disciple Bible Studies…and attending Jim Flemming’s lecture series…which we look forward to every year.

We also found tons of ways to connect socially. I love to play basketball. Every Wednesday night our Men’s Church team gets together in our gym to play pickup hoops for a couple hours. It’s a great way to exercise and blow off stress with some really great guys. We always pray before we play. And while my prayers to be able to shoot 3s like Chris Lofton have remained unanswered…this is often my favorite part of the evening, as we lift up each other’s struggles and concerns…and share in our celebrations.

Church Street has also provided plenty of ways to serve….including volunteering for service projects… serving food at Community Worship on Thursday nights….or simply buying some of the goodies at the Hunger Helper Market. And no discussion about what I love about Church Street would be complete without mentioning the Hunger Helper market…and specifically the homemade bread that Loretta Best makes. That stuff truly is “Manna from Heaven.”

Eventually, Terri and I would enjoy two days that even surpassed our wedding day…the birth of our daughter, Grace, and son, Luke. As we now find ourselves navigating the ever-changing, ever-demanding world of “parenthood”, we are truly blessed by all that this church provides us for that journey. Terri has been very involved with Vacation Bible School, which has to be one of the most inspiring and important weeks in the church all year. The sheer amount of planning, coordination and hard work that Sue Isbell and so many people behind the scenes put into VBS is staggering. But the reward is more than worth it…as hundreds of children are exposed to the life and love of Jesus Christ in meaningful ways. I feel blessed that my kids are a part of this…and many other incredible programs provided by our Children’s Ministries.

So far, I’ve focused on the ways Church Street has been there for us during the high points in life. But that’s only part of the story. Because, as we all know, life loves to throw curve balls. I know many of you have experienced grief and burdens far greater than what I have had to bear. But I have found that when life has been at its worst, Church Street has been at its best. Whether that was the sudden death of Terri’s mom, her dad’s declining health issues over the past year and a half, me being unemployed on two occasions…or the random call that my son has stuck a rock up his nose and we have to head to Children’s Hospital…Church Street has responded. Throughout all of these trials and tribulations…Church Streeters have put us on their prayer lists…prepared us a delicious meal…sent a quick text or email with an encouraging thought…or watched our kids to help ease the burden…whatever was needed at the time. This support has meant the world to us both.

As John Lennon once famously said “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” What we have come to understand is that when life throws us the unexpected…both good and bad…we can expect Church Street to be there for us. Church Street is a place that has helped me grow on my spiritual journey…and helped lay a spiritual foundation for my children. The people of Church Street have laughed with me when life is at its best…and ministered to me when the days are dark. Church Street is a warm, caring community of believers with an incredible history. But I truly believe that our brightest days are still ahead. And for all of that, I am grateful. Thank you!"

Henry's Story

2010-10-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Feeding the homeless in Knoxville

2010-10-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a tremendous front page article in today's News-Sentinel about a couple from Church Street United Methodist who have made feeding Knoxville's homeless their mission in life. Inspired to do more by this example of faith. Well done on so many fronts!

Sharks...Beluga Whales...Oh My!

2010-10-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Super excited to be bringing the awesome to the ATL. We're heading down for fall break with the kiddos to check out the Georgia Aquarium. Home to lots and lots of fish. And this guy. Can't wait!

Not Afraid

2010-10-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Love him or hate him, Eminem's story from the streets of 8 mile to where he is today is a pretty incredible look at redemption and overcoming all odds. Here it is as profiled on 60 Minutes.

Audience of One

2010-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

I have a very addictive personality. Sometimes this is healthy (see: obsession with playing basketball). Sometimes, not so much (see: drinking in college). Often, the thing that I obsess over the most is a particular band or song. That was the case this week, as I literally have listened to Audience of One by Rise Against 47,834 times. Yes, I counted.

I've been a fan of Rise Against for a couple of years. But or some reason I had missed this song, until my new musical BFF www.grooveshark.com randomly played it for me. So good.

Here's the video, which also shreds. Love the line: "We're ok, until the day we're not. The surface shines while the inside rots..." Rock it!

Vegas Baby?

2010-09-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm about to take off to Sin City. I'm going for business, but let's be honest, they'll be plenty of fun mixed in there, too. It is Vegas, right? But I head their with totally mixed feelings. Not that I won't have fun. Actually, it's for fear that I'll have TOO much fun.

Having worked in advertising forever, I've always been impressed by the genius of the "What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas" tagline. It's brilliant. It perfectly captures the essence of what our dark sides want Vegas to be.

Big thrills. Total indulgence. Zero consequence.

But we know better, don't we?

You can drink all night, but the hangover will be there in the morning. You can open your heart to lust, but eventually realize there's no way to quench its thirst. You can spend money like there's no tomorrow, but there always is.

The check always comes due.

Maybe THAT should be the tagline for Vegas. It's not nearly as catchy as "What Happens In Vegas..." but it contains much more truth.

Rainbows

2010-08-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine told me a great story. He looked out the window one morning and saw this incredibly beautiful rainbow. He said it was so stunning, he got super excited.

OK, not as excited this guy.

But that was only because he saw a SINGLE rainbow, not a DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY!!! Nonetheless, my friend said it was incredible and so he went downstairs to grab his younger daughter to show it to her.
So she comes upstairs, looks out the window and screams with delight. I'm not sure if she broke into tears like double rainbow guy, but she was estatic.

After a minute or two, she belts out "OH THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!"

So my friend, naturally, thinks about what an awesome dad he is and says to his little girl, "You're welcome, sweetie."

At that point, he said she shot him this look and said, "Not YOU...I'm thanking God!"

Which is just so brilliant.

I think that story perfectly illustrates what Jesus tells us about having a heart and faith like that of a child. So many times we think it's all about us. But it's really about the maker of us. That level of appreciation and gratitude is what God wants.

So while it's easy to make fun of double rainbow guy for being so over the top, the more I think about it, maybe he's onto something...

Yesterday Ended Last Night

2010-08-13T12:41:00.001-07:00

Here's a tremendous thought that I read and adapted from the always tremendous Dr. Chris Stephens:

"One of the greatest issues holding you back today is your yesterday. Jesus' death on the cross paid for ALL of your sins and shortcomings. So if you are going to reach your peak performance and potential you must put the past where it belongs: behind you."

Or as the great Zig Ziglar (who has the greatest name this side of Peerless Price) says "Yesterday really did end last night and today really is a brand new day."

Sacred Hoops

2010-08-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

"Like life, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game -- and life -- will take care of itself."
--Phil Jackson, Sacred Hoops

I've never cheered for a Phil Jackson coached team. Growing up a die-hard Detroit B-Boys fan, his Bulls were always "the bad guys" to me. (I know, I know...) But I may actually cheer for him in the coming year. In part, that's because he's about to retire and the Lakers are the only team that can stop LeBron and company this year. But it has more to do with his amazing book I just read: Sacred Hoops - Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior.

I was hooked right from the title. Basketball and Faith aren't just two of my favorite topics. To me, they are woven together as one. I can find as much beauty and inspiration from a beautiful sermon or testimonial story of redemption as I can in the perfectly executied pick and roll. Jackson is of this camp, only he's executed it at the highest level of professional sports.

It's amazing to hear his take on his spiritual journey, and his journey to winning 3 consecutive NBA titles (which he's going for again for the third time). He describes himself as a "Zen Christian". I'd always heard his handle of "The Zen Master" - but what was really eye-opening to me was to read about his upbringing. He was the son of two hard-core Christian fundamentalists. His father was a pastor and his mother about Bible-drilled Phil and his brothers to death. It's cool to see how he still embraces the compassionate, redemptive side of Christianty, while adding those same elements of Zen/Budahism into his coaching philosophies.

Trying to convince MJ to do less so the team could win more being the ultimate test of faith.

If you're into bball and spiritual journeys, this book is just for you.

Two week test

2010-07-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

A speaker at my church shared this concept last weekend that I thought was really cool. His theory was to imagine seeing everyone you come into contact with for the next two weeks as God sees them.

Everyone?

Yes, everyone.

That means for two weeks, even the most annoying, self-centered, high-maintenance people (Lebron, I'm talking to you) would be greeted with grace, understanding and forgiveness.

This would transform the world, at least your world, in just two weeks time. But man, is it hard to really do.

I've wanted to do this over the past week, but must admit I have failed miserably.

Because everyone means everyone.

The debby-downer co-worker that just wants to complain...

The old lady driver in front of you that doesn't know how to merge and thinks 45 mph is just fine on the interstate...

The Bama or Gator fan in your life...

The "YouTube video guy" that swears the clip is going to get hilarious in another 6:23....

The reality show contestant or latest celebrity trainwreck...

The black-hole on the basketball court who never met a shot he wouldn't take. Wait, that's me...

The test is to see EVERYONE you see as God sees them. I'm going to start my two week test over again next week. Give it a shot yourself and let me know how it goes.

Mistakes

2010-07-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have made some unfathomly stupid mistakes. Things that make me cringe when I think back on and just wonder how mind-blowingly insensitive, selfish and immature one person can be.

Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.

But rather than rewind these mental tapes constantly and berate myself for my lack of control or lack of judgement, I've asked for grace. Grace to be forgiven. And, equally importantly, the grace to LEARN from the mistake. Suffice it to say I've got plenty I can learn from.

But I come to believe that it's one thing to do somehting dumb. It's quite another to KEEP doing something dumb. Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana tells a story that sums that idea much up much better than I can:

“As if screwing up on the field in front of millions of TV viewers wasn’t enough, the Monday after every game I got to relive my mistakes—over and over again, in slow motion and with commentary from the coaches! Even when we won, we always took time to review our mistakes. When you’re forced to confront your mistakes that often, you learn not to take your failures so personally. I learned to fail fast, learn from my mistakes and move on. Why beat yourself up about it? Just do better next time.”

So take it from Joe Cool when you make a mistake. Learn from it and move on. Easier said than done. But worth it.

Summer Reading

2010-07-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

This Summer, I haven't been blogging much due to the job change and, to be honest, the well has been pretty dry. Those who know me would say that my well has always been dry. Nonetheless, I will get back to a more regular blog posting schedule soon. At least that's my goal. I have been reading some excellent books of late that I wanted to recommend:

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner.This guy is a huge music geek, has a popular blog Jesus Needs New PRand has lived in Nashville. It's just like me, except for the having a popular blog part. Anyways, he's a tremendously funny writer. His chapter where he dedcided as a teenager that God was calling him to "become the Christian Michael Jackson" is one for the ages.

Nine Ways God Always Speaks by Mark Herringshaw and Jennifer Schucmann. I read this duo's first book and was blown away by the depth of the stories and inspiration it generated. This book picks up where the last one left off, and tackles the great struggle of trying to truly know and hear when God speaks. As the book says, that whether you are a Christian or not, many people have unusual experiences, conditions, or encounters that have left them wondering, Is God trying to tell me something? The authors say that God does indeed communicate with us all the time. We just need to learn how to hear his voice. This book will help you tune in to the right frequency to hear what God is saying to you everyday.

Jesus Calling Devotional by Sarah Young. Simply one of the daily devotionals I've ever read. After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to "listen" to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her. It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but they were helping her grow closer to God. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages. They are written from Jesus’ point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. Highly recommended.

What have you been reading this summer? I'd love to hear about it...

Looking Back...

2010-07-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that I have a J-O-B! In fact I am finishing up my first week at the new gig. So far the people could not be cooler and the professional opportunities for me on the horizon are tremendous. I am truly thankful.

So what have I learned through all this? As I look back on the rollercoaster of unemployment over the past four months I am more convinced than ever at one thing:

Life is hard but God is good.

My lastest bout of unemployment was no picnic. It depressed me at times, caused major friction in my house and even brought me to tears in a very popular bakery.

But through it all, God provided.

He provided friends who dropped what they were doing to help me brainstorm job leads or send gift cards for groceries in the mail.

He provided a family that drew closer to me and, with apologies to Bob Marley, ensured that everything was gonna be all right.

He provided a series of freelance jobs to help me make ends meet - in fact of the 16 weeks since I was laid off I ended up working 14 of those weeks as a freelancer.

He provided great outlets to relieve stress, including my weekly run with my basketball brotherhood, my weekly coffee with my Silas, and a unexpected retreat to the Mountains with my lovely wife.

No mortgage payments were missed. No child went unfed. While I in no way want to diminsh how scary this was, or what someone going through an unexpected job loss is feeling, I have to check myself by asking: "What was I so worked up for?"

Probably to learn the lesson of trust. To be equipped to help another who walks down this path in the future. To learn the value of what makes me truly rich - a loving family, unbelievable friends and a loving God that has my back no matter what.

If you're reading this, no doubt you have helped me through a prayer, a job lead or just by making me smile. For that I am truly grateful. THANK YOU!!!!

God bless,
Lance

The World's Awesomest Drummer

2010-06-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

Recycling

2010-06-14T11:12:00.001-07:00

Last week, I had the privilege to have a meeting at Knox Area Rescue Ministries. I’ve long been a fan of the incredible work KARM does in the community, so it was great to visit to hear about some of the exciting new projects they have coming up.

One KARM team member shared a really interesting concept with me. She said that these days, so many people are into recycling. And rightfully so. You can’t turn on the TV without seeing something about being green or reducing, reusing or recycling.

The thought my contact shared was that what KARM does best everyday is recycle. Only instead of plastic, they are into recycling people. Those who have been discarded or used up. Those who have been “thrown away” by society have a chance to become useful again.

That's a great concept. And it’s a reflection of what God does everyday. Providing second chances for all of us who need them.

The choice

2010-06-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

Everyday we have a choice.

We can either listen to the voice of fear or faith.

The voices of fear are louder than ever. Terrorism. Job loss. Oil spills. Climate change. The list is endless. It's any mental tape lodged in your brain that says some variation of you're not smart enough, strong enough or stylish enough.

The voice of faith is much quieter. It whispers while fear rants. It promises that someday all the struggle will be worth it, while fear screams to "get yours now!"

These days I've been trying more and more to silence the voices of fear. Most days I fail more than I succeed. But I'm slowly learning to trust. To be still and know that God is God.

More faith. Less fear. I like the sound of that.

Henry Granju

2010-06-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Please pray for my friend Katie Granju and her family, whose oldest son Henry passed away last night. Hug your babies tight and please keep this incredible family in your thoughts + prayers. Below is a beautifully written tribute by Katie's friend and excellent blogger, John Cave Osborne.

Rest in peace, Henry.

My beautiful friend Katie Granju is living every parent’s nightmare. Last night, she lost her eighteen-year-old son to complications stemming from a drug overdose coupled with a brutal assault. As I expressed in a recent post called The Trail, no amount of effort, dedication, or planning can prepare us for every single scenario that’s out there. The same holds true for parenting. All we can do is all we can do. The rest is up to someone else. Katie was reminded of this the hard way.

Still, she decided to detail every step of her family’s hellish journey in hopes that their story would serve as a grim example from which the rest of us could learn. Her platform became enormous as tens of thousands of people waited for her every post with bated breath. Her virtual community of readers cried tears that were real as they prayed alongside Katie and her family for the miracle that never happened.

But what did happen was a healthy conversation which encouraged all of us to tackle the issue of drugs with our children even more aggressively than we already were. A few cowards anonymously sprang from the woodworks during those conversations to sling their putrid arrows of insecure hatred, but Katie didn’t care. Perhaps because she knew the overwhelming majority of her readers saw her for what she is–an incredible mom turned heartbroken hero, tenaciously fighting for her son to the bitter end while simultaneously contributing to the greater good of her community, both virtual and real.

Thanks to Katie’s candor, bravery, and incredible writing, Henry’s legacy will live forever, and lives will be saved.

I strongly encourage each of you (particularly my Knoxville peeps) to read this post by fellow Knoxville blogger Shane Rhyne, who works with Katie at Ackerman PR. He details how you can reach out and help Katie and her family during this devastating time.

May God reveal the perfect path of healing to both of Henry’s biological parents, Katie and Chris, as well as to their spouses and their entire family. You have all been in my thoughts and prayers and will continue to be.

God bless you, Katie.

And, Henry, may you rest in eternal peace.

Heaven is Whenever

2010-05-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

My roller-coaster search for a job continues. Lately I had a job interview where I was quite sure that I nailed it and a job offer would be forthcoming.

The people I interviewed with didn't get that memo.

So while I was bummed about that gig not working out, I have had several other opportunities come up. I get cautiously optimistic, not wanting to get too excited for fear that I will "jinx" it and lose out once again.

The whole process is very draining. But I do sense that I'm traveling along the path and that there's a bigger picture being painted. My problem is that I just want to hit fast-forward and get to the end, where I have a great new job and my life becomes Easy Like Sunday Morning.

God doesn't really work that way. I want him to, but where's the fun is that, really?

I was reminded of that recently with this great quote I saw by Craig Finn in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Finn was talking about his excellent band (The Hold Steady) and their excellent new album (Heaven is Whenever). As The Hold Steady like to do, it's a concept album, and Finn was explaining his concept behind the record:

"I was thinking a lot about struggle and reward - about how the struggle is part of the reward. With anything you care about, from having a relationship to being in a rock & roll band, there are going to be days that suck. The key is understanding those days as part of the euphoria. If you're playing a show for 20 people somewhere in the middle of South Dakota, you can't think, "We just have to get through this, and it'll get awesome.' It has to all be awesome."

I've got to fully adopt this state of mind. That whether it's finding a new job or finding my path and becoming the man God wants me to be, some days are going to be a struggle. But that's part of the beauty. It only magnifies the view from the top when you get there.

It's time to experience heaven wherever and whenever.

God Is In the Gaps

2010-05-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

As someone who is spending a lot of time "in the gaps" these days, I really appreciated today's blog from Dr. Chris Stephens. Hope you do, too.

Hey Friends,

We are in our third week of the series, Eyes Wide Open. The series is about dreams and helping others you love achieve their dreams. This weekend we are going to deal with delayed dreams. All dreams are delayed to a certain extent because when we achieve them, they are no longer dreams.

Remember, life happens while we are on our way to our dreams! The journey is more important than the destination of our dreams. Let’s face it – we get discouraged in the meantime. We get discouraged when there are delays in our dreams. I think we will call them the “gaps.”

By definition there is a gap between the receiving of a dream and achieving it. We hate the gaps, but as Chuck Carringer said: “God is in the gaps.” Abraham had a gap, Joseph had a gap, and so did every other biblical character that actually achieved their dreams. For some of them the gap was decades long. Some gave up before the dream became reality.

Do you sense God in the gaps? Do you look for God in the gaps? When our kids were younger and we went on family trips (purgatory) they would ask, “Are we there yet?” “I wish we were there.” It is so easy to wish our lives away and try to skip the gaps when they really are the biggest part of our lives. To enjoy them is to experience the life Jesus bought for us on the cross.

You may be in a gap right now and He is with you. He promised He would be. I love receiving dreams and achieving them, but God’s revealed desire for us is to delight in the journey.

Are you?

Pastor Chris

Anything's Possible - Dr. Chris Stephens

2010-05-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Amazing story of God's faith and redemption on an amazing man: Dr. Chris Stephens. Watch this when you can...

Plan B

2010-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for a great book. But the best books somehow have a way of finding me.

That is what is happening with me right now with Plan B by Pete Wilson. I'm just a few chapters into it, but already I can tell it is just the right book at just the right time. The fact that one of my best friends surprised me by buying a copy for me to read only makes it even more providential.

Pete is a pastor of Crosspoint Church in Nashville. I've been following him on Twitter for a while. And recently I've been impressed and inspired by the work he and his church have been doing in the wake of the terrible Nashville floods. Being a Nashville native and having seen the damage first hand (my 2 sisters both had flood damage to their homes) I was very thankful and moved by how Pete and his congregation have witnessed and worked in the midst of this tragedy.

As I kept hearing about Pete's work in Nashville, I also kept hearing about his book. Plan B is about what we do when things don't work out the way we wanted them to. What do we do when God doesn't come through the way we thought he would or could or should? How do we deal with disappointment?

It's so ironic, because in many ways my hometown is going through one great big Plan B experience. No one expects the greatest amount of rainfall in over a Century to happen in a matter of 24 hours. But it did. So what is our response as Christians?

Personally, I feel like I'm going through my own Plan B right now. Actually, somedays it feels like I'm on Plan G...or H...I...J...K...

Some days I feel like my plan is like a big bowl of alphabet soup.

I didn't expect for my agency to hand me my last check almost 3 months ago and say "we're closing the business." I didn't expect to still be out of work. I didn't expect my father-in-law to still be living with us, almost 1 year after he first got sick. But that's where things are. So do I whine, complain and moan about "the good ol' days"? Do I spend my time and energy wishing things were somehow different?

The healthier response is to stop clinging to Plan A and trusting God that Plan B can work. Notice I said it was healthier...not easier. In fact, being ok with Plan B has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

But I'm trying. And I have a feeling that by reading Pete Wilson's book, it's going to help me tremendously along my new path.

My hero

2010-05-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Steve Nash is a total bad-ass. His performance last night was so beyond next level. That went into Willis Reed/Chuck Norris territory. Draining 30 footers and dishing Magic-esque dimes in a NBA playoff game w/ one eye!?!?!? AMAZING!

Favorite. B-Baller. Ever!

Word to Your Mother

2010-05-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is upon us and the older I get, the more I realize that mothers rule. Seriously. I have a wonderful mom and am married to an equally awesome mom to my 2 wild childs. Hopefully that's enough to compensate for the crazy father of theirs.

Here are two posts from some amazing moms and good friends of mine:

Patti and her awesome adoption story of her son Samuel.

Katie and her inspiring story of her oldest son who is struggling with drug addiction.

2 amazing stories. 2 amazing mothers.

To all of the other amazing moms out there...HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Knox Area Rescue Ministries Jubilee Videos

2010-04-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

The amazing organization KARM has the videos about their 50th Anniversary Jubilee uploaded to YouTube. It was such a blessing to be a part of this production. Please take a look and support KARM any way you can.

Check out all the other videos here.

Hypocrites

2010-04-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

We had some tree work done at our house this past weekend. Tree guys are definitely a different breed. One of the guys doing the work told me how he eats poison ivy leaves to "build up his immunity."

Like I said, these cats are a different breed.

But the poison ivy eating tree guy wasn't even the most memorable one. That distinction goes to a guy named Brian.

Brian has stage-4 cancer in his esophagus. While he still has a full head of hair, he is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. He is rail thin and it looked as if every step he took caused him great pain.

Yet here he was, helping the guys up in the trees clear the brush and carry the branches out of the road. I felt bad that he was doing this work, but he insisted. Said "I don't really want to do it, but I want to do it..."

I knew exactly what he meant.

When they were done with the job and about to head out, I had a few moments to talk. I asked him about his cancer and what the doctors were saying. He said the outlook wasn't good, but he was going to fight with all he had.

I told him I'd be praying for him. He paused and looked down for several moments.

When he raised his head, he had a fire in his eyes that I hadn't seen all day. "You know, it's a damn shame that most churches are full of hypocrites."

I asked him what he meant and he told me a story that pains my heart just to think about it. He said he has been going back to church and trying to get more involved. This church that he has been attending has some type of mission to provide food and clothes for those in need. I got the sense that Bryan was definitely a hand to mouth type of guy, not that there's anything wrong with that. But he didn't have a home, and it seemed like whatever money he made was from the occasional odd job. Add in the stress and expense of dealing with stage 4 cancer and, well, the outlook isn't bright.

It seemed that Brian had gone to this church several times. He had been losing a great amount of weight, due to the cancer. He was rail thin when I saw him so this seemed very legit. Evidently the person at the church charged with giving out the clothes told Bryan he had "used up his allotment" and he wasn't welcome to any more items.

Now, I realize there are two sides to every story. And every church and non-profit has to gracefully deal with those who are out to game the system.

But really? There had to be a better way to deal with this situation. ESPECIALLY in a church. Somehow I can't see Jesus getting caught up with the fact someone in need had already passed through the line once.

Brian said it best, "I told the guy I'm already losing my life...now you're telling me that I can't even get a free pair of jeans that fit?! You need to find Jesus in your life!!"

Pray for Brian. That he his given strength as he battles his cancer. And that the next time he has an encounter in church, it is marked with more grace, mercy and compassion.

The Kindness of Strangers...and Gators

2010-04-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's been two months now since I lost my job. Still no firm offer of full-time work. But in many ways I feel more hopeful about the situation than ever. That feeling has little to do with my new job opportunities, which frankly don't always seem that promising. It comes rather from the overwhelming kindness of strangers, friends and family.

Like the great Ben Harper sings, "You can be rich, and not have a dime."

This feeling comes from the countless job leads and prayers from those who know my situation.

It comes from cards in the mail from anonymous senders that contain gift cards for groceries.

It comes from a brother who loads up a Panera gift card for me because he knows I'll be spending a lot of time there.

It comes from my parents who tell me not to worry if I can't make my mortgage.

It comes from a Sunday School class full of people who spring into action the moment I sent an email saying I needed help.

It comes from my brotherhood of basketballers, who help me clear my mind on the court, and lift me up off of it.

It comes from one of my sisters, who is working two jobs as a single mom and still sends me a gift card for groceries.

It comes from my other sister who did the exact same thing.

It comes from a good friend, who's only discernible character flaw is his love of the Florida Gators. He and his wife not only gave us a gift card for groceries, but a portion of their tax refund.

Did I mention that he was a Florida Gator? And it's not Tim Tebow.

When you have a die-hard Gator lifting up a die-hard Vol like myself, why wouldn't I feel good about this whole thing working out?

God bless you all.

Resurrection: Rob Bell

2010-04-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Happy and blessed Easter to you and yours. Rob Bell's latest work was released for free today on his Facebook page. Do take a moment to check it out when you can.

Resurrection: Rob Bell from The Work of Rob Bell on Vimeo.

Building Through Breaking

2010-04-02T11:15:00.001-07:00

Is it ever cool to be openly crying in a Panera?

I can speak from experience that the answer is no.

But there I was, tears streaming down my face. Feeling like my entire world was crumbling all around me. Feeling like the mayor of Loserville.

Let me set this up. Since my last post, my world has been and endless stream of frantic calls, interviews and frustrating run-arounds in trying to find a new job. The weight of my responsibility to my kids, my wife and my father-in-law who lives with us now, seemed heavier with each dead end. The knot in my stomach grew with each person who looked at my resume and said some variation of, "This looks great, but we just don't have anything right now..."

In my search, I adopted various Paneras around time as my temporary office. It's good for decent coffee, free wi-fi, and to meet with my connections and (soon to be!) employers. But after 3 weeks on the job hunt trail, even the staff at Panera seemed to wonder why I kept showing up.

So there I found myself, at Panera on the strip. It was Friday at 5:00. I was literally one of 2 or 3 customers in the place. I was waiting on a phone call where I was quite certain, I was going to be offered a job. I had finished a week's worth of interviews with the company. Everything in my gut told me I had it. I had every prayer warrior I know throwing up prayers on my behalf to the Big Guy.

But when the call came, the job offer didn't.

Ouch.

$$@#$&*$!!!!!

As I hung up the phone, the weight of 3 week's worth of frustration over my situation came crashing down on me. Outside, it was pouring rain. Which was perfect, because inside I sat with tears streaming down my face. In a Panera for crying out loud!

I felt like a loser. I couldn't understand why God would forget me now. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong to lose my last job, the agency where I worked just closed up shop. So why wouldn't God help me out now? Was there really something valuable to be gained from me sitting in a Panera sobbing like a baby?

Apparently so.

I gazed out the window. Outside, a hospital is going through a major renovation. An entire new wing is being added, so the place is covered with scaffolding, construction equipment and debris. You can start to see what it will look like once complete. A beautiful glass facade at the entrance is just starting to come together.

But at the moment I looked, crying in Panera and feeling hurt and hopeless, the hospital looked like a big ugly mess.

And it was at that precise moment, I felt God speak to me.

Not in the big, booming, Voice-of God kind of way you see in the movies. It was a quiet message that I felt tug at my heart. And what he said was:

I am building through breaking.

To build that hospital I was looking at requires a lot of breaking. Rocks get blasted. Metal gets bent. Concrete gets jackhammered. But through all these violent, painful actions, something beautiful is built. The architect's dream is realized.

The master architect was telling me the same thing was going on in my life. Through these hurtful, broken episodes, he was building something beautiful. So my job really wasn't to question why I didn't get the job offer. My job was to trust that it was still part of God's blueprints for my life. To trust that he was building something amazing for me. But to do that it means that certain things have to be broken.

Some things also apparently have to be wired with TNT and blasted into oblivion.

So the Monday after my little "episode" at Panera the place that told me "no" called back offered me a 2-3 month contract gig. In many ways, it's a better situation. No I can see how much I like them as much as they can see how much they like me, while continuing my search for a full time gig.

God has a plan. While I often have no idea what He's doing, I really can't wait to see what he will build out of my brokenness.

Job Search

2010-03-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last week, I lost my job.

Actually, everyone in our agency lost his or her job.

So many lives put into a tailspin.

I was faced with joblessness about 3 years ago. Thanks to good friends and help from above, I landed on my feet.

For a time, anyway.

The feeling of not knowing where your next paycheck will come from is scary. Especially when there are kids and wives and other family at home depending on you.

But since this bomb went off in my world, just six days ago, the overwhelming support from friends and business colleagues has been incredible.

It's friends listening and passing along job leads.

It's my son's principal waving our fees for his tuition for two months without being asked.

It's a friend dropping off a 12 pack of Stella Artois and hiding at $75 gift card for groceries.

It's friends from my Sunday School class leaving voice messages of support along with reassuring Bible verses, like this one.

It's neighbor's adding my situation to their church's prayer lists.

It's business colleagues finding time to grab a coffee and brainstorm options.

It's all this and so much more. Many things, that I might not even been aware of.

As me and my family go through this stormy time, I ask that you keep us in your prayers. I truly believe God will provide a beautiful opportunity...I just at this point have no idea what (or where that will be).

And that's both exciting and frightening.

I prolly won't post here for a while. At least until I land in a new gig. But whenever that is, I'm sure there will be great stories to tell about the journey.

Thanks for reading...and God Bless!
:)lance

Haiti (The Day Before)

2010-02-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

My talented friend Josiah Morgan was in Haiti just 24 hours before the tragic earthquake. Read his amazing story and see some of his incredible photos like these on his blog.

And let us all continue to pray for the people of Haiti.

KARM Jubilee

2010-02-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes work is just work.

But sometimes it is something much, much more.

Such was the case for me recently. My agency was blessed (and I do mean blessed) with the opportunity to help Knox Area Rescue Ministries develop a campaign to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.

Day after day, heroes at KARM do incredible work for the hurting and lost in the Knox Area. Consider these facts:

• KARM serves up to 1,400 meals a day to the poor and homeless.

• Over 400 men, women and children call KARM home each night.

• 139,479 spent the night at KARM last year.

So it was an incredible opportunity for me - both creatively and spiritually - to come up with a campaign for such a vital organization.

The concept came straight from the Good Book.

“Sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty to everyone. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you.”
Leviticus 25: 9 -12

The Old Testament teaches of Jubilee—a special time of celebration that occurs every fifty years. It was a time where sins and debts are forgiven, slaves and prisoners are freed, and the gift of new life from God rejoiced.

Perfect!

2010 is a Jubilee year for Knoxville Area Rescue Mission. A time to celebrate 50 years of helping the poor and needy of the Knox Area. It’s a celebration of thousands of nourishing meals provided to the hungry. A time to rejoice how those addicted to drugs and alcohol have been given shelter and help for their addiction. And a time to honor how KARM has helped those in search of their own personal jubilee a way to find new life through Jesus Christ.

This served as the cornerstone message through all the materials we created - - including the KARM Jubilee Logo, microsite (that you can check out at www.karmjubilee.org,)various print materials and campaign videos.

Check out the site to see some of these elements and to learn more about the Jubilee year-long celebration. The videos we filmed should be added to the site soon. (I'll be sure to share them right here when they make it to the YouTubes, as well.)

I was also thrilled to be a part of the KARM Jubilee kick off event last week. An incredibly inspiring event to see and hear first hand how KARM has changed lives - like the one of former KARM resident, gifted musician and rock n roll evangelist, Davis Mitchell.

Davis' story is incredibly inspiring and a beautiful portrait of God's grace. Meeting him and getting to learn his story - and what he's doing with his second chance - is one of the greatest blessings I experienced through this entire project.

But that's another post for another day.

In the meantime, visit www.karmjubilee.org to see how you can support this incredible organization. Whether it's your time, your talents, your money or your prayers, KARM needs your support more than ever this year.

Together, we can all help KARM accomplish so much during this special year - and for 50 more to come!

Dead Sea Thinking

2010-02-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am becoming such a fan of the thoughts on faith that Dr. Chris Stephens churns out daily. Dr. Chris has a pretty amazing story. He's the lead pastor of Faith Promise Church. And while I've never heard him preach in person, that's something I definitley want to work into my to-do list.

I've come to appreciate his thoughts and his heart through a daily email he sends out. It comes like clock work (around 10ish) and always seems to give me some good spiritual manna to chew on. Check out his blog or sign up to receive his email, if you're interested.

Below is his post from today, which was just too good not to share. Love his thoughts about that God can’t bless selfishness and that we are all blessed to be a blessing. Good stuff!

Dead Sea Thinking

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 09:01 PM PST

Hey Friends,

The Dead Sea is beautiful. I have driven around it and have gone for a swim in it. It is below sea level and NOTHING can live in it because everything flows in and nothing flows out. It is dead! It is dead because this is not how the Lord designed the world to operate.

We are all supposed to take things in and we are all supposed to give things out. This is true in the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm. Far too many people, and even some in the church today, are dead seas in their lives and in their thinking.

Life is all about them! Everything flows to them, but never away. They are like the Dead Sea and nothing can really live in them or around them. The Dead Sea is selfish and God can’t bless selfishness. I hope you caught that last sentence because it is so true.

I wonder if some of the churches today are “Dead Sea” in their thinking. If the life of God is flowing in, then the life of God should be flowing out and giving others life.

Does life flow out of you? Are you a giver of yourself? Of your money? Of your time?

Look around you – do you see life? Are the people around you flourishing, thriving, growing, and giving life to others? That is the plan of God. We are blessed to be a blessing. People are like plants; they need water to grow and we are called to water them.

Who are you blessing?

Just some thoughts…

Love you,

Pastor Chris

This is the day...

2010-02-12T06:39:00.000-08:00

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Today is a very special day.

A gift.

But then again, each one is.

I thank the Lord for all He has done and continues to do in my life.

Blessed with health, a beautiful family, and friends that help pick me up, make me laugh and make the journey worthwhile.

Blessed with the chance to work with amazing, inspiring people, like this guy.

Blessed to play the game I love with a group of guys who are like brothers.

Blessed for you, dear blog reader, in forgiving all my numerous grammatical errors and half-baked blog posts.

Seriously.

I am so thankful for you. And for this day.

Let us rejoice!!!

Inskip

2010-02-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

Thoughts and prayers to the two principals shot today at Inskip Elementary. My agency is literally right next door to Inskip. So we've spent most of the afternoon on "lock-down." No one allowed to come in or out. Cops everywhere around our building. Helicopters in the sky. A very surreal, scary moment.

Today has made me think of a couple things. One, it has renewed my hatred of guns. I personally see nothing but pain and heartbreak when a gun is involved. I get that it is a person's "right" to have one. I just don't understand it. But given my history with them, I guess that makes sense.

Second, today was a good reminder that sometimes God may have more going on than we realize. Today Knox County schools closed early for the snow. Now, I hear DC has 28 inches on the ground. We have a light dusting of snow that was already off the roads as I went to pick my daughter up early from school. Throughout the day I, and others, cracked jokes about the fact that Knox County was letting out because of the "blizzard" we are experiencing.

But, if I understand the timeline correctly, all students were out of the building at Inskip when the gunman came to the school. Because of the snow.

A tragic day, but a good reminder of how God works miracles in the midst of this world's chaos.

Be Blown Away

2010-02-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

Loved this post by Jud Wilhite over at People of The Second Chance. Tremendous thoughts on how to imagine God, and how to live a life blown away by His power.

BE BLOWN AWAY
Posted by Jud Wilhite:

On any given night, it is estimated you can see about 30 stars from downtown New York City, about 3,000 from most rural areas, and up to 30 billion with a large telescope. We do not know how many stars exist, but we know there are over 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone. One of the largest known stars has a diameter of almost a billion miles!

An explosion of energy on the surface of the sun, known as a solar flare, recently sent a magnetic cloud toward the earth at a million miles per hour. The cloud was over 30 million miles in diameter. Think of the size and speed of this cloud and remember that God is bigger and faster.

Richard Swenson writes: “If we witness a magnetic cloud thirty million miles in diameter moving a million miles per hour—is God bigger than that? Can He move faster than that? If the center of the sun has temperature of fifteen million degrees centigrade and pressures of seven trillion pounds per square inch—could God walk into the core of the sun, take a nap, and walk back out? Every impressive structure or event in the universe should remind us of a God who is greater than all his works.”

Maybe if I regularly spent more time beholding the vast expanse of the starry heavens—and meditated on the sovereign God who established them and upholds them—I would spend less time questioning his ability to control things in my life.

Maybe we all need to look up tonight at the stars and be blown away again?

Father/Daughter Dance

2010-02-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

This weekend looks to be legendary. Possible snow. Peyton gets Super Bowl Ring #2. And one of my absolute favorite nights of the year: The Annual Father/Daughter Dance in Fountain City.

To prepare for this year's dance inferno, Grace and I have been watching all the classics for inspiration. Travolta's intro on Stayin'Alive.

Elaine's dance on Seinfeld.

The ever-smooth Lionel Richie "Dancin' On The Ceiling."

But our main inspiration shall come from the epic masterpiece Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Grace has proven to be a natural with the art of the Pop N' Lock. Take a look at the YouTube clip below to see some of the moves that we will be unleashing. We will also be dressed like Turbo and his lady friend. Oh yes we will.

Counterfeit Gods

2010-02-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

Timothy Keller has already written two of my all-time favorite books on faith. The Prodigal God and Reason for God were both game changers for me. Full of insight and provocative answers for those who are both skeptics and believers. Some days, I'm a bit of both.

Well, I just finished his epic third book in the trilogy, Counterfeit Gods. And this one in many ways is my favorite of the bunch.

The book deals with our idols and the empty promises of money, sex and power - and how none of these ever truly quench our thirsts.

I must admit, I never really thought much about the Commandment to "have no other God, or idol, before me." But God put that Commandment first, so he must find it important.

Even so, I have always held a very uninformed view on idols. That they were lifeless creations worshiped by a more primitive people. And while that's true, it is also true that idols are still very much worshiped in our modern, "sophisticated" generation.

In some ways more than ever.

The idol of success. The idol of "having it all". The idol of sex without any commitment. The idol of all pleasure with no pain. The idol of staying forever young. The idol of total convenience. The idol of getting now but paying later.

Just this week I began to worship of the new idol from Mac - and the iPad isn't even in production yet!

The list is endless. But Keller's book helps open your eyes to modern day idol worship. Better yet, he gives you information and inspiration on how to replace these idols with the worship of a God who surpasses them all.

Read an excerpt of the book here. Or better yet, read the whole thing as soon as you can get to it.

An Atheists Take On The Haiti Situation

2010-01-28T05:21:00.001-08:00

My boy Phil ran across a blog from uber-Atheist, Richard Dawkins, who shared his thoughts on God's role in the Haiti Situation. Phil picks apart Dawkins' points like Manning did the Jets' secondary. Well done my man!

(Dawkins points in bold. Phil's smack downs, not bolded)

An Atheists Take on the Haiti Situation

I was browsing around on one of the blogs I frequent to kind of wind down from the state of the union address when I came across a ranking of the top religious blogs on the net at http://teampyro.blogspot.com/

So it turns out, rather unsurprisingly, that one of the top "belief" blogs is one led by an atheist. So I thought I'd check it out, and this is what I ran across:
http://friendlyatheist.com/2010/01/26/haiti-god-evil-and-richard-dawkins

The blog begins on the next line. I'll "bold" the blog.

Blog begins:
Richard Dawkins is responding to Christians who are looking in all the wrong places for some sort of supernatural “reason” that the earthquake in Haiti caused so much devastation. Obviously, Pat Robertson isn’t helping any Christian PR campaign, but neither are pastors who say “God did this for a reason”:

You nice, middle-of-the-road theologians and clergymen, be-frocked and bleating in your pulpits, you disclaim Pat Robertson’s suggestion that the Haitians are paying for a pact with the devil. But you worship a god-man who — as you tell your congregations even if you don’t believe it yourself — ‘cast out devils’. You even believe (or you don’t disabuse your flock when they believe) that Jesus cured a madman by causing the ‘devils’ in him to fly into a herd of pigs and stampede them over a cliff. Charming story, well calculated to uplift and inspire the Sunday School and the Infant Bible Class. Pat Robertson may spout evil nonsense, but he is a mere amateur at that game. Just read your own Bible. Pat Robertson is true to it. But you?

First comment: This won't come as a surprise to Christians reading this, but yes, scripture does tell us that Jesus did these things. I have a hard time, however, understanding how Pat Robertson's claims that the Haitians "had made a pact with the devil centuries ago" has any relation to Jesus Christ exercising control over demons and healing those afflicted by them. Also, there's an implication here from Dawkins that pastors are preaching things they don't themselves believe. I'll acknowledge that there most likely are pastors out there who say things from the pulpit that they don't believe, but this just means they're normal fallen sinners in need of the same grace as the rest of us. Preaching what you don't believe should definitely disqualify someone from the pulpit, but there's no sense in denying that it happens. Accountants shouldn't cheat on their taxes, but some do. Lawyers and judges shouldn't break the law, but some do. Doctors and nurses should never seek to harm their patients, but some do.

This is what Christian pastors do best. They instill this (false) belief in people that awful occurrences like natural disasters don’t just happen randomly or in certain, pre-determined parts of the world; instead, they occur in placed where God wants to make a point. And if you live in a Christ-filled, God-fearing area, you’ll be spared.

People who want any sort of hope will cling to that like rope on a cliff.

I'd love to see a link or some sort of reference that shows where a pastor has said that living in a "Christ-filled God-fearing area" is some sort of holy shield against disaster. Matthew 5:45 in the bible clearly says -- and this is quoted often by secular and religious folks alike -- that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." We read in Job that God allowed the devil to bring great ruin on one of the most righteous men who ever lived. Cancer strikes within the church just as often as it strikes those who don't believe.

The bible clearly tells us that this is God's world, and He can do with it whatever He chooses to do for whatever His purposes are. We also know that God does things on a much greater time scale than our feeble minds can comprehend, and what may seem like a short-term disaster can eventually become an event of great healing and power. Jesus showed us this EXTREMELY clearly with His death on the cross, taking a symbol of capital punishment, despair, loss, and extreme pain and converting it to a symbol of hope, resurrection, and life.

It’s a shame. There are reasons Haiti (or New Orleans or Southeast Asia) was susceptible to such disasters. We can understand this better with scientific knowledge.

Bad things happen. Sometimes, there are no reasons for it. Other times, there are understandable reasons. The Haitian earthquake falls into that latter category. There’s no need to bring a god into the mix.

So which way is it? Does "scientific knowledge" give us all the answers, or doesn't it? Which makes more sense...that science can occasionally give us the answers to life's questions, or that a God who made everything have the right to use His creation in ways that we don't understand? Dawkins et al often attempt to elevate science and rational thinking to the level of god-hood, but suggest that there might actually BE a God who controls every single solitary thing that goes on in the world, and suddenly it's people of faith who are ignorant?

Daniel Dennett is especially frustrated by God getting a pass when disasters occur:

The idea that God is a worthy recipient of our gratitude for the blessings of life but should not be held accountable for the disasters is a transparently disingenuous innovation of the theologians. And of course it doesn’t work all that well… All the holy texts and interpretations that contrive ways of getting around the problem read like the fine print in a fraudulent contract — and for the same reason: they are desperate attempts to conceal the implications of the double standard they have invented.

Maybe some pastors don’t believe this characterization. If that’s true, then they need to be the voice of reason when members of their congregation say that God had any type of role in this tragedy, good or bad.

Otherwise, they’re just part of the problem.

By my way of thinking, Mr. Dennett's frustration is completely misplaced. If he's acknowledging that God did indeed create everything we know, see, feel and touch...everything we can even possibly conceive...then why is it not that very same God's right to do whatever He wishes to do with what He has created? Why (again) is it not conceivable that God is telling the truth when He tells us via scripture that He knows who we are and what we will be before we are born, that He knows the length of our days, and He knows how they will end.

God indeed has a role in the tragedy of Haiti. He created Haiti. He created the people who live there. He created the people who are rushing there to offer hope, healing, rescue, and restoration to those injured or rendered homeless by the disaster.

I acknowledge this: that it is impossibly hard for me to understand why bad things like Haiti and 9/11 and cancer and war and death and divorce and hurt and all the bad things in the world happen. I also acknowledge, however, that if we believe that God created all this, we must recognize His right to do whatever He wishes to do with it, and that in the long run, that He has reasons for doing things that I am not able to understand. I also know that this same God knew in creating us that we as human beings would someday come to understand that we are imperfect, that we need a Savior, and it was God's plan that once we acknowledge that aspect of our humanity, He would provide an alternative to the punishment we deserve for the evil that we've committed. It's this alternative, in the form of His perfect Son, that allows us into the presence of His holiness.

It's normal and natural to question why bad things happen. I'd hope that it would also be comforting (and convicting) to know that there are answers to these "why" questions that only the Creator of the universe could provide.

Nash!

2010-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Steve Nash is such a hero to me. Here's a very inspiring story in new Fast Company about how he is shining in both business and bball.

Or just watch this. Nash is the only NBAer who could pull this off and keep it funny...

Add it up

2010-01-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am horrible at math. Guess that's why I went into the creative services field. Not much advanced calculus or trig required. But this awesome post by the always insightful Dr. Chris Stephens made me realize I can still be a math person. To quote the great Violent Femmes, I wanna add it up!

What Kind of Math Person Are You?
By: Dr. Chris Stephens
Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

Hey Friends,

I guess this is an odd question, but what kind of math person are you? Some people add to you and some subtract. Some divide you and some multiply you. What kind are you to the people you come into contact with? Here is a list of some of them. Look it over and see where you find yourself in the equation:

1. Some people add to others. D.L. Moody said, “Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can.” Great advice from a man that rocked the world. Don’t you love to be around people that add value to you? Chuck Carringer, our Pastor of Fami ly Ministries, does it to everyone with whom he comes into contact. He is amazing. He not only is growing our family ministry, but he is a life coach for individuals that want to improve.

2. Some people subtract from others. ”Subtractors” are not there to help you, they add to your burden. They don’t help you carry your load, they want you to carry yours and also help them with theirs.

3. Some people multiply you. My assistant multiplies my time and my effectiveness. Almost twenty years ago a friend of mine named Melvyn Smith told me that one day I would have a great assistant and life would get better automatically.

4. Some people divide you. They take away from you. For some reason they want you to seem less than you really are. It is an odd thing. I guess some people’s lights burn so dimly that they have to blow out the lights of others to make theirs seem brighter.

Leaders want to take everyone to the next level. They want to add value to, or even multiply, people’s lives so they reach the peak of their potential. That is the reason I wrote The Climb of Your Life – to help people scale summits that seem impossible.

Which kind of math person are you? To make a difference you must build others up. There are more than enough people in the destruction business so let’s be in the construction business – building lives one at a time. I don’t know about you, but I surely am grateful for those that added value to me. It’s pay back time.

Just a thought,

Chris

Get Me Right

2010-01-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, you hear a song that strikes such a chord that you remember everything about the moment you first heard it. It's happened to me only a handful of times in my life. The first time I heard "Ain't Talking About Love" and realized Eddie Van Halen was from another planet, one which I would try with all my might to visit. The first time I heard Metallica's "Battery" which was perfect fuel for my years of high school rebellion. The moment I heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as a freshman in college and realized that Kurt Cobain had (thankfully) killed 80's Cheese Metal with 4 beautiful chords (and heavy debt to the Pixies, which I would discover later).

Well, this week it has happened again. Dashboard Confessional's "Get Me Right" is mesmerizing. To me, it's a perfect soundtrack for my struggles and yearnings in my faith journey. Plus, it absolutely shreds. Can't. Stop. Listening.

Here are the lyrics. Everything except the line about "cutting your hair" makes total sense to me. :)

Get Me Right
I made my slow way home
Limping on broken bones
Out of the thickest pine
Across the county lines
On to your wooden stairs
I know you can repair
I know you've seen the light
I know you'll get me right

Right
Right
Right

I own a sinners heart
I know the rain falls hard
I know the currency
I know the things you'll need
I hope he hears my prayers
I see you cut your hair
I know the saving type
I know you'll get me right

Right
Right
Right

But, Jesus I've fallen
I don't mind the rain if
I meet my maker
I'll meet my maker clean

But, Jesus the truth is
I've struggled so hard to believe
I'll meet my maker
I'll need my maker

To cure of my doubting blood
And drain me of the sins I love
And take from me my disbelief
I know it should come easily
But it remains inside of me
It battles and devours me
It cuddles up the side of me
And whispers it convinces me I'm

Right
Right
Right

MLK

2010-01-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

The first thing my daughter said to me when she woke up today was "Yay for MLK!"

Can't really improve upon that. Do yourself a favor and go back and listen to MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech. Amazing. Revolutionary. Riveting.

May you and I do our part today to keep that dream alive.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" - MLK

What Gospel Does Pat Robertson Read?

2010-01-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

Seriously. Pat Robertson talks, thinks and acts like no Christian I know. Yesterday he inexplicably said Haitians brought the earthquake on themselves because the country has been "cursed" since it made a pact with Satan in the 18th century. (An assertion disputed by this Haitian minister.)

Really Pat? So where does Jesus' message of loving one's neighbor and helping the poor and lost come into all this? These people somehow "deserved" this!? Instead of calling a country cursed during a national tragedy, Christian leaders should be focusing on what so many Christians already are doing—leading the charge with prayer, sacrificial aid and demonstrating the love of Christ. Christians should be known for healing, not causing more hurt.

And if you can't get down with that Pat just start by shutting your mouth. Please. You speak and act like nothing I read about in the Gospel of grace, mercy and love.

Rob Bell on power of Social Media

2010-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Here's an excellent interview w/ Mr. Bell as he takes break on his current tour. He talks about his next new project (post Nooma) and the power of social media. Good stuff.

Handbook 2010

2010-01-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

A friend passed along this list which I thought was a tremendous way to look at your 2010 resolutions. If I could just really do half the things on this, 2010 will be legendary!

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2.. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants...
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12 Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that t life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. God heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up..
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, be thankful for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Open by Andre Agassi

2010-01-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

Even thought we're just a few days into 2010, I just finished reading what has to be one of the best books of the year. Andre Agassi's Open is an amazing, inspiring page turner that I simply could not put down.

I'd always been a fan of Andre's, mainly because he brought such flair and attitude to a sport that frankly, I could care less about. (Also because we're both follicly-challenged and have world-class return games). But in this book you learn that he literally hated the sport that made him a worldwide icon.

It's all in here: his admission that he smoked crystal meth. The epic battles (and frequent losses) to Pete Sampras. The horror over going bald and even wearing a hairpiece that was falling apart before one of his biggest matches. Hustling NFL great Jim Brown out of $500 in a game of tennis at the age of 11. Dating Streisand and finding himself in a marriage to Brooke Shields that he wanted to escape.

But at the heart of the story, is an epic father wound. Andre's father building him a home made tennis ball machine (Nicknamed "The Dragon") and making a 9 year old boy return thousands of tennis balls shot out at over 100 mph a day. Andre's dad pulling him out of class to play tennis and sending him to an infamous tennis "boot camp" at the age of 15. All in the name of one day becoming the #1 tennis player in the world.

Which Andre did, at two different points in his career. He was also one of the few players to win all four slams. He's used his fame from his game to create his own school for disadvantaged youths in his home town of Las Vegas and has donated millions of dollars to the cause.

But his new identity and purpose came at a great cost. Open captures all the highs and lows, like the best VH1 Behind the Music episodes do. (Think Motley Crew)

Read this one now.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

Funny how in this Holy Week, a time that's supposed to be calm and peaceful, seems anything but. Thousands of deadlines seem to pop up and threaten to steal our joy, if we let them. To paraphrase the great Chuck D (love you, too, Flavor Flav) we've got to fight the powers that be on this one. We must do what we can to carve out space to be filled by God's message of grace and peace and hope during this special week. It's a battle to do it to be sure, but very much worth it.

I ran across this paragraph from a Max Lucado devotional that says it better than I ever could:

"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior."

May you and yours have a most joyous and blessed Christmas and 2010!

And yes, I just name-checked Flavor Flav and Max Lucado in the same blog post. That's how I roll.

Parker Christian Orser!!!!

2009-12-17T05:51:00.000-08:00

So stoked for my little sis, who just delivered 7 lbs 12 oz. of awesome into the world. Welcome Parker Christian Orser!!! | http://ow.ly/N0DY

Our gifts

2009-12-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I got one of the best early Christmas presents ever. I had taken my two wild childs out to buy their Christmas gifts for Mommy. I was proud because they used their own money that they had earned from doing chores. And they picked her out some great things, wrapped them and made personal notes for each one. My wife is gonna love all they put into these gifts that literally each cost less than $4 each.

But I guess my son thought I was being left out. So he went outside, found a walnut, brought it inside and wrapped it for me. In tin foil.

It was seriously one of the greatest gifts I'd ever been given. Because it was so heartfelt and genuine. Because I wasn't expecting it. Because it was from him.

Reflecting on it later, I felt like God probably wants more gifts like that from me. Less big wordy prayers full of boastful promises (I'm NEVER gonna lose my temper again! I'm not going to have a lustful thought ALL WEEK!) and more real, genuine praise and love. Why get caught up in how "fancy" or "perfect" my accomplishments, wants or desires are...and instead just give him more of myself?

Yeah - that makes too much sense. No wonder I hadn't thought of it before. Thanks to my 4 year old for showing me how it's done.

Tebow does it again

2009-12-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

Timmy has done it again. How can you not be down with Tim Tebow? Even as a die hard UT fan, I've got to give it up for him. Amazing.

What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

2009-12-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

Shane Claiborne has a radical Christian's ministry for the poor, The Simple Way. He was also recently asked by Esquire magazine to address those who don't believe. His first line had me hooked:

"To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians."

Read the whole letter now. It is tremendous.

Dream big. Live small.

Genius

2009-12-03T08:11:00.001-08:00

Can you imagine if Hendrix hadn't played his guitar? If Picasso didn't paint? If MLK didn't share his dream?

Shine your light greatly and share your genius boldly today. The world will be a better place for it.

Jennifer Landon

2009-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Thoughts and prayers to the family of Jennifer Landon. She ran such a great race, fought the good fight and lived a life that inspired many, including yours truly. Heaven got a new angel.

LANDON, JENNIFER LEE MAY - age 43, October 14, 1966 - November 29, 2009. She lived a wonderful life almost four years after being diagnosed with melanoma in January 2006. Please be aware of the early signs of melanoma as it can be caught early and treated. Jennifer's most important mission was being involved in the lives of her family and friends. Many people were positively influenced by her caring and helpful ways. Jennifer was a graduate of East Tennessee State University and has a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and is also an LCSW. She was very active in Church Street UMC and enjoyed participating in the Crossroads Sunday School Class, the Stephen Ministry, and a variety of other ministries. She also enjoyed being involved in various school organizations for her children. Jennifer was preceded in death by her father, John C. May. She is survived by her husband Rick; daughters, Meg, 14 and Molly, 12; mother, Sharon May; brother, Jeff May and wife Tamera; in-laws, Dick and Joan Landon; sisters-in-law, Kim Anthony and Lori Cason; brother-in-law, Michael Landon and wife Cheryl; nieces, Emily May and Alexandra Anthony; nephews, Tyler and Ryan McMillan; uncle and aunt, Phil & Kris Wilcox, Holly Springs, NC; cousins, Scott Wilcox and wife Megan of Key West, FL and Matt Wilcox of Ohio, and Andrew Wilcox and wife Stephanie of Holly Springs, NC. During her illness, Jennifer was especially appreciative of her devoted mother and in-laws. The family will receive friends from 5-7 pm Thursday, December 3, at Church Street United Methodist Church with a 7:00 funeral service following. The family will meet at 1pm Friday, December 4, for a private family graveside service at Woodhaven Memorial Gardens. Honorary pallbearers will be Crossroads Sunday School Class. Memorials can be made to The Stephen Ministry of Church Street United Methodist Church, the Capstone Endowment of Church Street UMC, or the Crossroads Sunday School Class of Church Street UMC. Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, 160 Edgemoor Road, Powell, 865-945-3461, is honored to serve the Landon Family. To share your thoughts and memories of Jennifer, go to www.woodhavenfh.com.

Thankful

2009-11-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

in no particular order...

I am thankful for second chances.

I am thankful that God continues to love me even though I continue to fall for the same struggles sins, time and time again.

I am thankful for the sound of The Edge's guitar mixed with the voice of Bono.

I am thankful for the beautiful art of a perfectly run pick and roll, and that I am healthy enough to still play the sport I adore.

I am thankful that I outkicked my coverage and have been married to my beautiful wife for 13+ years now.

I am thankful for parents that took me to church and modeled what faith is about.

I am thankful for the work of contemporary Christian thought leaders like Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Mike Foster, Eugen Peterson, Timothy Keller and Francis Chan.

I am thankful for weekly a.m. coffee talks with my brother in faith and my Silas along my journey.

I am thankful for two beautiful children and what they inspire me to be.

I am thankful every time I hear Johnny Cash.

I am thankful what Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin are bringing to Rocky Top.

I am thankful to live in freedom in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

I am thankful for whoever came up with the www.iamsecond.com campaign.

I am thankful every time I see Steve Nash play.

I am thankful I survived college, and the night of February 12, 1994.

I am thankful for less than I should be.

I am thankful for you, and the fact that you've read this far. Many blessings to you and yours this Thanksgiving.

Quote o' the day - Warren Buffet

2009-11-23T13:54:00.001-08:00

"Every saint has a past, and every sinner a future." -Warren Buffet

Rob Bell 2.0

2009-11-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a very cool interview with Rob Bell about what he's working on next. Sounds like there won't be any more new Nooma videos, but he's got some exciting ideas in the works. Can't wait!

Faith Requires Hiking Boots

2009-11-18T07:37:00.001-08:00

Excellent post this a.m. from Knox Media Powerhouse, Hallerin Hilton Hill. (Triple H, Holla!!!) Enjoy as you strap on your hiking boots!

"This morning I was stopped by a 3-verse miracle in Matthew 15.

This miracle is a quickie on the way to the feeding of the 4 thousand.

Here's the passage:

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked s beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Ok, so that, at first blush it looks like a run of the mill miracle.
(Think about that. Jesus was working miracles on the way to work miracles. BTW there are no "run of the mill" miracles)

Look closer.

I saw 2 things in this passage this morning that I had not seen.

1. Jesus was a mountain climber.

2. The people CLIMBED the mountain to get to him. They were willing to make the effort to get to him.

Not only did they CLIMB to get to him, they took some broken people with them. I imagine some people had to CARRY other people up the mountain to put them in front of Jesus.

WOW! That challenged me.

Had to ask myself a couple of big questions: "Am I willing to make the CLIMB?"

Reality: Sometimes faith requires hiking boots.

What about the broken people I know? Am I willing to exert the extra effort to guide or CARRY them up the mountain and put them in front of Jesus?

Truth is, I've been CARRIED up the mountain.

Bottom line: make the effort.

If He's on the mountain don't wait at the base for him to come down. Put on your hiking boots and get to steppin'. And take someone with you."

It's Not What You've Been...

2009-11-16T12:39:00.001-08:00

I caught one lesson from the always excellent Jim Flemming over the weekend at Church Street. He always brings it (this was the 12th year in a row that our church has had him back for a lecture series) but there was one thought he shared that stood out the most to me.

He said it's not about what you've been (i.e. a liar, a thief, an adulterer, an addict, etc.) but rather through Jesus Christ what you can become.

You can become forgiven. You can become joyful. You can become the person God created you to be.

I like the sound of that.

Second Serve

2009-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Like these guys, I'm a big believer in second chances. That's why I applaud Andre Agassi's new revelations from his book Open. He also shared his powerful story last night on 60 Minutes.

Among other things he talks about how he hated tennis. He feared his father. He didn't want to be married to Suddenly Susan. He was depressed. And, oh yeah, he did crystal meth and lied about failing a drug test.

Plus his famous locks were really a hair weave (!!!)

Seriously, watch the 60 Minutes interview for a new look at this sports icon. I can't wait to read the book.

While many cynics have come out now and said Agassi is just saying this stuff now to sell a book, I don't buy it. (no pun intended). Watch his reaction and plea for "some compassion" when told about what some (very famous) tennis players are saying about Agassi's story. I think this is a man who was a child prodigy that made mistakes but has turned things around and wanted to come clean. And you can't argue with the work his foundation has been doing for education in his hometown of Las Vegas.

Quite a turnaround from a guy who once known for saying "Image is Everything."

Clean Your Window

2009-11-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

Clean Your Window
The smudges and stains from your past will only cloud your future if you don't wipe them away

by Roy S. Johnson

They're there, and they're not. Windows. They stand between us and the world, offering a view. We see what we want and ignore what we want.

We all possess our own figurative window, too. Like the glass version, it stands between us and the world, offering a view. We see what we want and ignore what we want.

Your view shapes your perspective, your attitude about the world outside. It determines how you treat others, how you approach the challenges of each day. It also shapes how you see yourself and how you perceive your own prospects for the day, the week— for your life. When you don't like what you see outside, it drags down your attitude, your personality, your spirit. It drags down you.

It makes you resentful and critical, of even the smallest things. It makes you look for flaws everywhere—at work, at home, and even in people you first meet. Makes you frown at every encounter. Makes you perceive every challenge or opportunity as yet another chance to fail. It drains your confidence. In a word, it makes you miserable.

No matter your goals—for today, tomorrow, or for the rest of your life—they're unattainable when your view is clouded, gloomy, and critical. Misery loves company, not success.

Think about the miserable people around you every day—people who are always critical, always mumbling and blaming someone else for their frustrations or their setbacks of the moment. If you're waking up each morning with a critical, resentful attitude, waking up mad at this person, mad at that situation, mad at work, just plain mad, try this: Clean your window.

That's right. Scrub off the soot of past failures. Hose away the dinginess of broken relationships. Take some elbow grease to the splotches of betrayals, losses, and bad breaks.

Then, take a look. Suddenly, the world outside looks much different. Things are clearer, brighter. It's almost as if there's no window there at all.

You might even decide to throw the sucker open and step outside, where your perspective can now be shaped by fresh air, fresh aromas, fresh opportunities.

I once knew someone whom I just dreaded seeing because no matter the topic, she had something negative to say about it. This woman could have spoiled a kid's birthday party. I said "once knew" because ultimately I had to wipe her out of my life because simply being around her was affecting my own view. I had to clean her off the window.

Progress begins with a positive attitude. No one ever got anywhere by saying they couldn't. Dreams are not made from dread.

The smudges and stains from your past will only cloud your future if you don't wipe them away. Today.

Onward,
Roy S. Johnson
Men's Fitness
Editor In Chief

First things First

2009-11-02T06:18:00.000-08:00

The first command that Jesus gives in the Sermon in the Mount?

"Rejoice and be glad."

No matter how bad it seems or what's stacked against us, Jesus says that through him it is possible to rejoice and be glad, even in the face of tremendous adversity. Amazing.

Thanks and props to Rob Bell's Twitter pagefor this reminder. Man, I needed to read this today.

God and Football

2009-10-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Time.com just ran an interesting profile on the NFL's spiritual advisors. It takes a good look and the men and women who serve as team chaplains and help your favorite NFLers with their faith journey.

It also answers that age-old question: Who caused the fumble - Jesus or Julius Peppers?

Awkward but Awesome

2009-10-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Genius interviewing skills on display here with a chat with Rob Bell at Catalyst in the ATL.

Favorite line: "All of your books have touched me.....in my hands." Classic!

Fearlessness

2009-10-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! I really needed to read this post from Mark Batterson's blog today. It's about taking Jesus at his word and living a life without fear. It's excellent and is posted for you below.

No fear!

"According to psychologists we're only born with two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. That means that every other fear is learned. Which means that every other fear can be unlearned. Here's a definition of faith: the process of unlearning ungodly fears.

The enemy is a fear monger. He wants to scare the heaven out of you. But I John 4:18 says: "Perfect love casts out all fear." In other words, as we grow in a love relationship with God we unlearn our fears until the only fear we have is the only healthy and holy fear: the fear of God. And when you fear God you don't have to fear anything else! Perfect love results in fearlessness.

I think there are moments in life when we have to make major decisions that will determine our destiny. And we will spend the rest of our lives managing those major decisions. And if you let fear dictate your decision you'll end up with a ton of inaction regrets at the end of your life. Fear is a great friend, but it makes a terrible master! Don't let fear dictate your decisions. You have to face your fears. And what you'll find is this: the thing that scares you to death is very often the thing that brings you to life.

Here's another lesson learned: few things are as liberating as what you fear actually happening. You realize that God is still there and life goes on."

Why Death is the Best Invention of Life

2009-10-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is the text of the Commencement address at Stanford University by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much."

When You Are Low on Hope

2009-10-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Got this passage from an e-newsletter sent by Max Lucado. It's a wonderful take for those whose tanks are running on empty. Stay strong, my friend.

When You Are Low on Hope
by Max Lucado

Water. All Noah can see is water. The evening sun sinks into it. The clouds are reflected in it. His boat is surrounded by it. Water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the west. Water.

He sent a raven on a scouting mission; it never returned. He sent a dove. It came back shivering and spent, having found no place to roost. Then, just this morning, he tried again. With a prayer he let it go and watched until the bird was no bigger than a speck on a window.

All day he looked for the dove’s return.

Now the sun is setting, and the sky is darkening, and he has come to look one final time, but all he sees is water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the …

You know the feeling. You have stood where Noah stood. You’ve known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, stress at the office, anger at the disability in your body or the inability of your spouse. You’ve seen the floodwater rise, and you’ve likely seen the sun set on your hopes as well. You’ve been on Noah’s boat.

And you’ve needed what Noah needed; you’ve needed some hope. You’re not asking for a helicopter rescue, but the sound of one would be nice. Hope doesn’t promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one. Sometimes all we need is a little hope.

That’s all Noah needed. And that’s all Noah received.

Here is how the Bible describes the moment: “When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!” (Gen. 8:11 NIV).

An olive leaf. Noah would have been happy to have the bird but to have the leaf! This leaf was more than foliage; this was promise. The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. For isn’t that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.

Don’t we love the olive leaves of life?
“It appears the cancer may be in remission.”
“I can help you with those finances.”
“We’ll get through this together.”
What’s more, don’t we love the doves that bring them?
Perhaps that’s the reason so many loved Jesus.

To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a fleck of hope, he proclaims, “Yes!” And he comes. He comes as a dove. He comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of hope.

A Love Worth GivingHave you received yours? Don’t think your ark is too isolated. Don’t think your flood is too wide. Receive his hope, won’t you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it.

Love always hopes. “Love … bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NKJV, emphasis mine).

From A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado

Writing A Better Story

2009-10-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

I just finished the new Donald Miller book, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. It is outstanding! And, what do you know, here's an excerpt of it on Don's web site you can read for yourself.

The story essentially comes down to one question: how do you write a better story? In the middle of working with the film directors who were turning his book Blue Like Jazz into a movie, Don realized that his life story was, well, a little boring.

So what do you do to write a better story? To be a hero to someone who needs it. To take up a cause bigger than yourself. To have epic experiences that are worth writing about. And then remembered. For Don, it meant taking a chance with a girl he loved, biking across America (!) and starting a new organization to help provide fatherless children with mentors.

What does it mean for you and I? If our life was made into a movie, would anyone want to watch it?

Great questions. Ones that I find myself asking myself more and more since reading this exceptional book.

Dude Perfect

2009-10-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing basketball shots for a good cause? Dude, that IS perfect! Check out this crazy video and the site: http://dudeperfect.com/

Post Secret

2009-10-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

Bring the Pain

2009-10-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

I was bummed to recently miss Rob Bell's Drops Like Stars tour when it recently hit the ATL. I hear it was excellent. While not the same as being there live, here's a cool interview w/ Rob about the tour and his insights on personal suffering and pain.

Alice Cooper on Being a Christian

2009-10-07T13:52:00.001-07:00

Words fail. God won't.

2009-10-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

Romans 8:26 (New International Version)

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

I never really understood this verse until recently. But the stress of life these days has gotten me to a point where now I get it. In my prayer life, I have always given God a pretty good idea of things I want. "Heal this ankle injury from basketball", "I need a door open on a better job", "Please, no swine flu!"

This arrangement has always worked for me. I tell God what I want. He comes through.

But dealing with the rapid decline of my father in law's health has shaken that arrangement up. Because I've given God a very detailed list of things that I want to happen. "Please help him get better.", "Please help my wife have less stress", "Please let our life go back to normal"

But it would be wrong to say those prayers haven't been answered. They just haven't been answered the way I want them to be. It's been hard to watch a strong, great man of God go from being able to put out a giant garden last year, to not having the strength to stand up, feed himself or use the bathroom on his own.

In this process, I've been frustrated and mad that God "wasn't coming through for me." It's taken me and my wife and our little family unit to the ends of our collective ropes. But in the process, somehow my prayers have become less about me and more about what God really wants to happen. There's been times when I honestly have no idea what to pray for. Not mine, but thine, so to speak. And it's in those moments of our brokenness, where God does his best work.

The stars shine brightest just before dawn, to quote the great Johnny Cash.

Oh, and while I've been busy thinking God wasn't coming through, He's been busy coming through. Through a neighbor who is also a nurse to help with my father-in-law's care. Through friends who are bringing by food and helping with our kids. Through a family who helps lift the burden by doing everything from helping with kids to replacing broken appliances. Through friends who simply ask how we're holding up before we shoot hoops or drink a beer.

It all just goes to show how sometimes the best way He answers our prayers is when we have no idea what to say.

Refresh

2009-09-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

I just got an e-newsletter that had this classic opening line:

"We should have a "refresh" button for everything: a bitter coworker, a lame bar scene, the National Hockey League. Just a click or two would give us instant improvement."

How awesome would that be? It'd be like those great Staples "Easy Button" commercials. Only any time we need to refresh, just click the button and your good.

But the more I thought about it, I believe we have something better. In Jesus, we have someone that knows all about our past, but loves us anyway. What's even more mind blowing to me is that he knows all about the ways we will fail him in the future, and he loves us anyway. His disciple, and close friend, Peter, looked him in the eye three times and promised he'd never let him down. Jesus knew better. Within 24 hours Peter would deny Jesus three times and skip town in an attempt to forget it ever happened. Yet, Jesus never gave up on Peter. How refreshing is it to know that our limits are no limit to God?

Our failures and frailties are nothing to the one who created the Universe. All he asks is that we love him and those he created with all we've got. Do that, and we naturally start becoming the type of person he created us to be.

Which is like having access to the ultimate "refresh" button.

Grace Amid the Vices

2009-09-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

As one who has struggled with seven out of the seven vices (if this were baseball, I'd be batting 1000%!) I really enjoyed this interview with author Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung. She's written a book called Glittering Vices which takes "a new look at the seven deadly sins." Haven't read it yet, but from the interview she gives, it sounds like it's worth checking out. Anyone else read it?

Also, on another note, I really enjoyed a couple of recent posts from the always entertaining and enlightening Rob Bell. (follow him on Twitter @realrobbell). Some good thoughts on thinking about the Sabbath...in 140 characters or less.

Sabbath reminds us that we are human beings not human doings.

Sabbath reminds us that our worth does not come from how hard we work or how good we are or how much we produce or what people think of us.

Same Kind of Different As Me

2009-09-23T13:46:00.001-07:00

I'm kind of late to the game on this one, but just got finished reading Same Kind of Different As Me. Truly outstanding. The story of a drifter, an art dealer, a devoted woman, and how they all came together to experience things so incredible, no novelist could make it up. Because it all really happened. A must read for your list.

Stay Classy, MJ

2009-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

As a die hard Detroit Pistons fan, I have never cheered for Michael Jordan. But I always respected him. How could you not? To me, there is no reason for people to put "arguably" in front of "the greatest basketball player of all time." The man was simply the most gifted, determined, dominant force ever to lace them up. Kobe's great, but it kills me when people want to say he's the "next MJ." I've seen stretches of games where Kobe isn't even the best player on his team. That NEVER and I mean NEVER happened with MJ. Think of all the Hall of Fame players who's only sin for not getting a ring was being born around the same time as MJ. (Most of the '92 Dream Team)

But all that dominance comes at a high price. There has been a lot said about MJ's "acceptance" speech into the hall of fame. There wasn't much "acceptance" in it. MJ came off as bitter and petty. Blowing up fools and airing grievances that go back decades. The high school coach that cut him. Byron Russel for saying he could guard him. Isiah Thomas for ignoring him. Even Jeff Van Gundy for, I dunno, being Jeff Van Gundy.

But was all this really necessary?

I mean, MJ, my man...you just got introduced as THE GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME. Do you get bonus points for then blowing up Jeff Van Gundy? You made the guy go ringless and then hairless. What more do you want?

One camp says, like the superb Michael Wilbon, say it was a glimpse at the ultimate competitor doing what he does. Another camp, says it was petty and vindicitve.

One thing I noticed was the contrast between the speeches of MJ and David Robinson. The Admiral spent the first part of his speech thanking each of his 3 sons, telling them how much he loved them and how proud he was of THEM. He then told his wife how much he loved her and how she "made him want to be a better man."

MJ on the other hand told his family "I wouldn't want to be you" because they have to live in his enormous shadow.

You win, Mike. You're the greatest of all time. But, in the end, is that really gonna be worth it?

The Personal Side of Pearl

2009-09-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

My man crush on Bruce Pearl (or as he dubs himself: "The second best basketball coach at UT behind Pat Summitt") continues to grow. Check out this tremendous article that shows a glimpse at the private side of the guy that has been known to go to Lady Vols games dressed like this.

Colbert!

2009-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Stephen Colbert is a funny, funny man. He's also now a Rolling Stone cover boy and was just named by the esteemed mag as "The #1 Reason to Watch TV." And here all along I thought that was re-runs of Saved By The Bell. My bad.

The feature interview by Nil Strauss, "The Subversive Joy of Stephen Colbert" talks about what makes Colbert's show so insanely funny. It also touches on Colbert's "controversial" faith. Controversial, I guess, because he openly admits to be a believer and practicing Christian. The byline to the article sums it up best: "How a God-Loving Square Became TV's Most Dangerous Man."

Hey, whatever sells a few magazines.

The article does have some great nuggets on what makes Colbert tick. Sure, it says that he's like "Ned Flanders" because he teaches Sunday School class, doesn't swear, and dresses like, well, Ned Flanders. But here's a guy who's gone through some incredibly painful experiences — including his father and brother all dying in a plane crash. Yet, he remains on openly positive believer, in an industry dripping with cynics. He says that is only possible because of a deep faith in a loving God. In my favorite moment of the interview, Colbert shares something his mother taught him that helps him maintain perspective amidst his crushing schedule and Hollywood lifestyle:

"I think all the time about something my mother said to me many times as a child: "In the line of eternity, what does this matter?"

That, as the great Stephen Colbert is some tremendous truthyness.

It's Time!!!!!

2009-09-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

Boys and girls, it's time!!! Oh yes it most certainly is....

GO VOLS!

The Word According to Wilco

2009-08-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

The new issue of Relevant is outstanding. Great stuff per usual from cover to cover. And speaking of the cover, I was stoked to see Wilco's own Jeff Tweedy on it. The guy is a brilliant artist. Interesting to read his takes on God, Death, Religion (um, did I miss anything?)

Check it out online here.

Notes from Nooma

2009-08-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Had an amazing discussion in Sunday School class yesterday. I went back to do an "oldie but a goodie" - Rob Bell's 10th Nooma video, "Lump" If you've never seen it, visit the fine folks at flannel.org and order a copy today. (If you're a Church Streeter, you can check out a copy in the Church Library).

It's a great story about God's unconditional love and forgiveness. Two things we can really not be reminded of enough. Especially in these often dark, cynical times we live in. The discussion was powerful. The Holy Spirit was present. I'll never really capture it in words, but I'm just so thankful to have been a part of it.

I wanted to share the description of the video here on the blog. It really captures the spirit of the video, and is a good thought for us to kick off our week. Live blessed this week, my friend!

LUMP - NOOMA VIDEO #10
"A lot of us have done things in our lives that we're ashamed of. Some are small things, and some of us have really big and devastating things. some of us even have things that people close to us don't know about. Personal junk that we keep to ourselves so we don't have to deal with it. Because we don't know how to deal with it, do we? We're afraid that if we try it's just going to make everything worse. But no matter how big our junk is, no matter how much what we've done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn't changed how God feels about us. God loves us, he always has and always will, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Dungy on Vick

2009-08-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a really good article where Tony Dungy is interviewed about his faith and a follow up to how Michael Vick is doing. When he first met with Vick in his cell, Dungy wanted to know "Where was the Lord in all this?" Really good read.

You Might Be A Loser If...

2009-08-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a FaceBook message from an old pastor friend of mine.

Hadn't heard from him in a long time, so that was cool.

Cool, until I actually opened it.

I should have known something was up from the subject head. It just read "L.O.L!"

So I open up the message and see there's a link. So I opened it up.

Bad mistake.

It takes me to some hard core porn site. My mind was reeling, because I'm still thinking that my former pastor has sent me this!

It doesn't take me long to figure out this is one of the latest attacks on the Interwebs by some Internet Spam Pushers, er, LOSER! Within moments there's a real message from my friend saying "IF YOU GET A MESSAGE FROM ME ON FACEBOOK DON'T OPEN IT!"

Too late for me.

But it did get me thinking: is there a bigger loser than someone who spams Internet porn into unsuspecting boxes? Seriously. Look, I am no angel. I have seen these sites and filled my mind with garbage. But what kind of loser tries to "sneak" their amateur porn site into people's FaceBook pages!? Imagine the time it took to "hatch" this plan. Write the code. Figure out how to trick people into opening this up. Guess what you proved to us all: that you are a LOSER!

Look. It's a free country. If you want to get down and make your own porn, that's your call. But you have no right to try to trick somebody into looking at it by sneaking it onto their social network, mobile phone, whatever.

The fact that this message looked like it was coming from a former pastor shows how random this was. I'm sure the same message landed on FaceBook pages of soccer moms, high school students, grade schoolers, grandmothers, etc. Anyone and everyone was probably exposed to this trash.

Under the title "L.O.L."

Yeah, that's hysterical.

If you're so depraved that you somehow get off on doing something like that, there's absolutely nothing funny about it. Your life is the only thing that's a joke.

Vick's Second Chance

2009-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I've been wrestling with what to think about Michael Vick for a while. He appeared on 60 Minutes giving his first interview since being released from prison. The more I think about it, I'm glad he's getting a chance and applaud the Eagles for giving him a shot.

Let me be clear: I in no way, shape or form condone what Vick did. It was inhumane and disgusting. He deserved to go to jail and lose his status as a franchise NFL Quarterback. (not to mention $135 Million in endorsements).

But I believe that he deserves a second chance. Not because he deserves it, per se, but because God is a God of second chances. Time and time again in the Bible, God is in the business of giving second chances to people who made serious mistakes or lapses in judgement.

Imagine if Moses didn't have a second chance after killing the Egyptian.

Imagine if Paul didn't get a second chance before he got on that road to Damascaus.

Imagine if David didn't get a second chance after falling for Bathshebia.

Imagine if Peter didn't get a second chance after denying Jesus three times.

And on...and on....and on...

Whether or not Michael Vick makes the most of his second chance is up to him. But I do believe that good can come from his life and example going forward. I'll be pulling for him to make the most of it. (Just not the 2x of year that the Eagles play my Cowboys.)

Great Quote by Bono

2009-08-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Just finished up The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. Mind blowing. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. I'm still processing a lot of it, but wanted to share this one exceptional passage that appears in the book (pg. 229) It's an interview with U2's Bono with Michaka Assayas:

Assayas: Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that far-fetched?

Bono: "No, it's not far=fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me a teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying:"I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John thhe Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no, I know you're expecting me to come back with an army and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was — the Messiah — or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson...I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's far-fetched..."

Amen.

I'm Alright Now

2009-08-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

My new theme song...courtesy of the Man in Black.

Oh how I love the Gospel of Johnny...

The Reason for God

2009-08-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am about half way through the most excellent book by Timothy Keller, The Reason for God. It was written, in part, as a response to the "new atheism" movement led by best-selling authors like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. Keller's book offers thought provoking responses for why believing in God makes sense. Whether you are a true believer, a total skeptic or somewhere in between, Keller's book is a tremendous read for those with an open mind and looking for an honest debate about the Christian faith.

Here's a passage (one of many) I really liked. A response from Keller about "Christian fanatics"(pg. 57)

"Think of people you consider fanatical. They're overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving, or understanding—as Christ was. Because they think of Christianity as a self-improvement program they emulate the Jesus of the whips in the temple, but not the Jesus who said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7). What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and his gospel."

Now More Than Ever

2009-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

There are a million things that make me proud of my 7 year old daughter, Grace. But one of the biggest is her developing taste for truly awesome music. The girl makes requests for Johnny Cash. She knows Jack Johnson by heart. And she famously once said "Daddy, Bruce Springsteen is SO much better than Hannah Montana."

That's my girl.

So I was stoked, but not surprised, when I went to her room over the weekend and she was playing "Now More Than Ever" by John (Cougar?) Mellencamp. I've always loved the song. It was an under appreciated gem off the under appreciated 1991 classic Wherever We Wanted. I wore that thing out my sophomore year in college.

The song remained under appreciated until some car company used it as their theme song. And while that move got it overplayed, it never stopped being a truly profound song about faith and devotion. Check out the lyrics:

If you believe
Wont you please raise your hands
Lets hear your voices
Let us know where you stand
Dont shout from the shadows
Cause it wont mean a dammn
Now more than ever

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

If I was to buy you
A diamond ring
Make you my princess
Would it mean anything
Would you take me for granted
And just curse my name
Now more than ever

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

Who am I to say
What needs to be done
I am just nobody
Another lost one
Caught between whats left
And what needs to be done
Now more than ever
The loss of love
The loss of our dreams
Its not too late

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

Plus the music just rocks, as this video sample, courtesy of the You Tubes, will attest.

Now more than ever.

Homeless Man Leaves behind $4 Million

2009-07-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Another incredible NPR story (notice a trend this week?) about a homeless man who recently passed away. Oh, and left behind $4 Million to varous worthy charities. Huh!?!?!