I'll be honest, I think that the most consistent period in my personal spiritual development might have been in eighth grade. I had a reading plan and worked through the entire Bible in a year. Sometimes I feel guilty because I would rather read a John Grisham book before I go to bed at night than the Bible. Finding consistent spiritual community in college has been a challenge. The potential for incredible community and accountability is all around me. I go to a Baptist university and am an active member in a fraternity filled with some of the wisest and spiritual guys I have ever met. Only recently have I started meeting with a group of guys to help hold me accountable and encourage me in my walk, but even there I sometimes give a half-hearted effort to our conversations, but as the wind blew across my face at the sunrise service this morning, I actually caught a breath of fresh air and began to understand why Easter is a big deal.
If there was a popularity contest between Easter and Christmas, hands down, Christmas would win. Christmas is easier; we have so many festivities and distractions going on, we don't have to confront our own sin and brokenness. Something clicked with me this morning:. the empty tomb means everything and all of my meager efforts at spiritual righteousness aren't the point, because on my own I will never be good enough. I could never earn enough "Bible points" or mentor enough people or go to church enough to earn my keep. Jesus got that.
Jesus was fully human and fully God which means that while he was on earth he felt the pain that we feel and knows what it means to hurt. When he climbed onto the cross on Good Friday he wasn't wearing a cape because he wasn't a super hero. Jesus didn't engage in an epic Satan vs. Jesus HBO special smack down to defeat sin on our behalf, he died on our behalf as a sacrificial lamb because he understood that he could do for us what we could not do for ourselves. On Friday there was mourning and Jesus' disciples and followers thought that everything was over and then...the tomb was empty!
Easter means that there is no way that I deserve to be in a relationship with God and take part in the abundant life that he promises. I could never be good enough, even if I memorized the entire Bible it wouldn't be enough. Easter means that God looks past all of my sins and shortcomings and loves me just as I am, not because of what I have done but because of the empty tomb and what Jesus did. Give all your guilt to God, quit feeling like you're not good enough, none of us are, but on this day Jesus was good enough and he conquered death on our behalf. Embrace grace, embrace Easter.
An evolving story of trying to follow Jesus in the midst of brokenness and an attempt to invite others on the pursuit of abundant life with mixed random bits of frat humor and brief moments of wit.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Stories that the couch can't tell
I'm about to take a plunge, a leap of faith; Over the next eight months, with a team of six guys, I am going to raise 100,000 dollars, build a house and put on a concert like Baylor University has never seen. Am I scared? a little bit; could I fail? yes; will it be a great story regardless? hell yes! Will I have any time to be bored? nope. I'm talking about the 45 year old Kappa Omega Tau tradition of hosting Christmas on Fifth, a campus wide concert event and Christmas celebration.
Today, I met with the head of the Waco area Habitat for Humanity along with Cramer and John, two of the Christmas tree chairs, to discuss what a partnership for this event might look like. I have spent the past week calling band after band, everyone from Pat Green to Josh Abbott to Randy Rogers gathering pricing info, but today, as I sat across from the Waco Habitat for Humanity president, it all became real. I'm about to start writing a story that I have an obligation to finish because if I don't, people will be let down, a Waco family will stay without a home and I will be known as the guy who lead the charge for Christmas on Fifth and failed. Sounds like a pretty good story right? Of course it does, the hard part is, now I have to write it.
It's no secret that Christianity is in decline in America. It's not too hard to figure out why. As Christians we need to tell better stories with our lives. Smiling and being friendly only gets us so far. God created us to play a role in the domain that he has placed us in. He needs each one of us to step up and be who were created to be, to run after him and to tell a good story with our lives.
What makes a good story? Think about all of the movies you love, what do they have in common? Characters you like and a cause worth fighting for. Take "The Hangover" for example, even as crude as this movie is, we all love it because Alan is hilarious and Stew is likable and we all genuinely want this group of friends to find Doug. All good stories involve a character or characters who want something who go through conflict to get what they want.
What kind of story are you living? Is it one worth reading or are you in the same boat as so many of us are where you go to extensive lengths to stay comfortable? Comfortable is boring. As humans, we always seek the way of least resistance, but sometimes as Christians we are called to take the narrow road and I can guarantee you that this road is filled with resistance. Have you ever read a story about someone who sat on the couch all day and watched TV? No, of course you haven't, there's no story there.
This is not a guilt trip trap where you are supposed to feel like you should move to Africa or go live in a box (unless that is really where God is taking you). All I'm saying is that in Matthew 10:39 Jesus says, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Losing your life for Jesus' sake involves risk. Right before this verse, Jesus talks about how hard it is going to be to forsake everything and follow him. He goes so far as to say that he has not come to bring peace, but a sword. This is not to say that Jesus is not peaceful, but that he did not come to hold our hands and walk us through the daisies of self-help sermons. Jesus is calling us to live better stories and live up to what we have already attained in him. Our faith demands it. What better way to spread the Gospel than to live engaging lives the exude the joy that God has given us? What are you waiting on? Get writing!
Today, I met with the head of the Waco area Habitat for Humanity along with Cramer and John, two of the Christmas tree chairs, to discuss what a partnership for this event might look like. I have spent the past week calling band after band, everyone from Pat Green to Josh Abbott to Randy Rogers gathering pricing info, but today, as I sat across from the Waco Habitat for Humanity president, it all became real. I'm about to start writing a story that I have an obligation to finish because if I don't, people will be let down, a Waco family will stay without a home and I will be known as the guy who lead the charge for Christmas on Fifth and failed. Sounds like a pretty good story right? Of course it does, the hard part is, now I have to write it.
It's no secret that Christianity is in decline in America. It's not too hard to figure out why. As Christians we need to tell better stories with our lives. Smiling and being friendly only gets us so far. God created us to play a role in the domain that he has placed us in. He needs each one of us to step up and be who were created to be, to run after him and to tell a good story with our lives.
What makes a good story? Think about all of the movies you love, what do they have in common? Characters you like and a cause worth fighting for. Take "The Hangover" for example, even as crude as this movie is, we all love it because Alan is hilarious and Stew is likable and we all genuinely want this group of friends to find Doug. All good stories involve a character or characters who want something who go through conflict to get what they want.
What kind of story are you living? Is it one worth reading or are you in the same boat as so many of us are where you go to extensive lengths to stay comfortable? Comfortable is boring. As humans, we always seek the way of least resistance, but sometimes as Christians we are called to take the narrow road and I can guarantee you that this road is filled with resistance. Have you ever read a story about someone who sat on the couch all day and watched TV? No, of course you haven't, there's no story there.
This is not a guilt trip trap where you are supposed to feel like you should move to Africa or go live in a box (unless that is really where God is taking you). All I'm saying is that in Matthew 10:39 Jesus says, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Losing your life for Jesus' sake involves risk. Right before this verse, Jesus talks about how hard it is going to be to forsake everything and follow him. He goes so far as to say that he has not come to bring peace, but a sword. This is not to say that Jesus is not peaceful, but that he did not come to hold our hands and walk us through the daisies of self-help sermons. Jesus is calling us to live better stories and live up to what we have already attained in him. Our faith demands it. What better way to spread the Gospel than to live engaging lives the exude the joy that God has given us? What are you waiting on? Get writing!
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