Out of nowhere

About 1 month ago, I felt like I was getting into a groove in life - family, full-time church ministry and the Seattle area. Something happened since then. It seems like every possible commitment or opportunity that was put on hold turned into a YES. From there, I let my schedule book up - early morning (6 AM or sometimes 5:30 AM), normal morning, afternoon, late afternoon, evening, etc.

I feel like the temperature has been turned up on life and I didn't see it coming.

This blog, among many other things, has taken a direct hit.

I am stepping away from my normal schedule at the end of this week to gather with my seminary friends for a time of reflection, ministry feedback, study and rest and fun. I know that I need that in order to reset and get ready for whatever God wants me to do in the coming weeks, months and years.

I thought that I would post something in order to show that I was alive (seemingly)

Never Study Alone

I wrote on my other blog (part of the MVPC blog crew) a few weeks ago about a book that I have never read - "Never Eat Alone."

I saw this book at a book store while working on a paper at Princeton Seminary a few years ago. The title captured my attention but I never read the book. I was captivated by the idea that no meal should pass without connecting with another person or group of people.

Recently, I saw a similar a pattern in my study life. I didn't make a conscious decision to do this but I found myself in numerous studies with others. I realized that I had made the decision in order to keep myself engaged in a life of learning but also realizing that I could not set aside the amount of time that I would like for solo study.

I now should write the book "Never Study Alone" because I am living out the primary theme that if I am going to read a book or study the Bible then I should engage in that study with another person (much like a person should engage in conversations over a meal with another person).

Here is a sample of my current "Never Study Alone" gatherings:
- 1 Peter - weekly coffee meeting
- It by Craig Groeschel - bi-weekly lunch
- Confessions by Augustine - bi-weekly coffee meeting
- Dogmatics in Outline by Karl Barth - monthly theological forum with Earl Palmer
- Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels - bi-monthly gathering with small group ministry coaches
- Reading the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart - monthly lunch meeting
- Future In-formation by Ron Carucci and Josh Epperson - blog discussion started from a monthly leadership gathering

Music DNA

Many posts ago, I shared that I was convinced that each person has a unique "Top 10" list of songs. I think that we can all agree that every person responds to a song differently based on their music preference. The next level of connection to a song comes from the memories and/or season of life associated with the song.

There are some songs that resonate with me today that would not have resonated with me 1 year ago, 5 years ago or 20 years ago. The opposite is true as well - songs that resonated with me 1 year ago, 5 years ago or 20 years ago do not always connect with me now.

With that said, a friend's status update on Facebook said, "I'm thankful for the person who told me about Pandora." I looked it up and now I am hooked.

Pandora is based on the music genome project and it attempts to bring together songs based on a complex algorithm that assesses aspects of the songs. The theory is that each song has its own DNA.

In turn, I would say that sets of songs (like a top ten list) have the complexity of combined DNA that must be unique for each person.

Is there anything out there that lets you put in your personal top ten list of songs and have it match up with others?

Would your top ten list ever be the same at any instant in time?

Let's start small, if you have a top 3 songs, then what are they?

Disconnected analysis

I am learning a basic lesson right now. The lesson is that church ministry decisions should be based on actual conversations with real individuals as opposed to theories from books or other ministry models. Yes, this should be a basic observation.

The pull toward stepping away to "figure things out" is a strong pull for me. In many ways, I have attempted to apply a logic-driven approach to analyzing a small group ministry. The outcome has often been disconnected from the reality that I have (re)discovered from talking with real individuals who are participating in the small group ministry.

The phrase "incarnational ministry" has been tossed around in more ways than I can count. I will, however, venture to say that I have experienced a facet of that elusive term in recent days as I have "dwelled among" friends who want to connect with God and other people through small groups.

Simple.

My Dad has always said, "People before process" but I apparently missed the memo...

It is time to listen.

It is time to act...

How have you seen systems receive the primary focus as opposed to people in your area of responsibility (work, family, etc)?

Stirring up apathetic spirits

I was battling some apathy the other morning so I asked God to wake me up through meditating on a section of Scripture. The Old Testament book of Haggai immediately came to mind.

I read through the first chapter. After reading a vivid description of apathy, I read this in vv 13-14 - “Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to his people, “I am with you,” declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God.”

The people of God drifted toward apathy regarding God’s honor and purposes in the world. At that point in time, God’s honor was seen and experienced in the temple. Instead, the people drifted toward only focusing on themselves. In 1:4, Haggai shares, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in the paneled houses while this house (the temple) remains a ruin?”

In other words, he was asking "do you only care about yourselves?"

God then addressed these people through his messenger Haggai and God stirred up their apathetic spirits toward his purposes in the world.

What are some ways that the church needs to hear this word today?

In what ways, do we merely care for our own private worlds as opposed to responding to God’s invitation to participate in what he is doing in our community and the world?

Does this reminder stir you? It stirs me up.

Always surrounded...

I am sharing at a men's ministry event this Wednesday morning (yes, 6 AM!). I will be sharing about my childhood family. My parents scanned in some old pictures and sent them over to me. The picture above sums up my life - always surrounded by females. Now, I live with my wife and 3 daughters...

Look at my face! Look at my position on the chair. I am being pushed out! :)

The Apostle Paul's Facebook wall?

I hit the height of my Facebook "use" a few months ago and I am no longer on it every day (hour) of the week. I still enjoy the reconnects that I have made through the site and the memories that I have recalled in light of the conversations.

I remember the first time I realized that my Wall was available for my friends and the world to see. A person can start to get a sense of a person from scanning his or her wall. The standard information (Activities, Interests, Favorite Music, etc) given in the Info section provides an initial snapshot of a person. The wall, however, provides a dynamic view of a person through his or her interactions.

I was reading through Colossians for my small group study the other night and I came to the final section of the letter. In the past, I have often skimmed the descriptions and exchanges in this part of the letter because I (naively) found them to be repetitive and not as interesting as the rest of the letter.

I changed my view on this the other night. In many ways, the final greetings from Paul reveal the nature of his relationships with others from various "networks" (do you see the Hierapolis Network, Colosse Network, the Laodicea Network?). The final section is like a Facebook wall - the Apostle Paul's Facebook wall.

Of course, the individuals did not post to the letter directly but you can see the nature of the relationships and the personal interactions between Paul and others in this section. In many ways, the exhortations that Paul gives in chapter 3 of Colossians are lived out in chapter 4 and seen in these real relationships.

Go ahead and read Colossians 4 with eyes toward these relationships. You can then see other "posts" from his other letters such as 2 Timothy...