Javelin Warrior's . . . Cooking with Love

The shrinking church: What's to be done?

2019-05-26T17:29:00.005-04:00

Have you ever been a part of a church? Maybe as a kid with your parents? If you’re like me, maybe you left because you were afraid of what other church members would think of you now that they know your secret. Maybe, like me, you were afraid of God. Maybe you were hurt, let down, betrayed, abandoned or pushed out by your church. Maybe, when you needed the church the most, no one was there to help. Maybe you’re just sick of the hypocrisy - preaching love, forgiveness and mercy but withholding those very things from anyone deemed “lost”, unrepentant or undeserving.

You’re not alone. In fact, ever since I was a kid growing up in a small church, I’ve heard a common sentiment repeated over and over again. I've heard it at every church I've been a part of and it won’t surprise anyone: “We want to grow our congregation, but there’s a mass exodus of people leaving the church.”

This is followed by grim determination (or a desperate wringing of hands) and rehashing of common brainstorm proposals: 1) mimic what mega churches are doing with coffee shops & rec centers, 2) host Christian rock concerts to attract young people, 3) add “contemporary” or “praise” services to shake off the cobwebs and 4) flood the local community with a slew of a new branding and mass-marketing materials (like slick mailers, spiffy logos, catchy ads, social media blasts, etc).

Yet none of this stuff seems to be working. People are not flocking back to church. Membership continues to flatline (or drop), giving tapers off and the head-scratching continues.

I think all of this stuff is well-intentioned. And there’s nothing wrong with adding new things, mixing up worship, reimagining who we are and branching out into new ministries. We feel better when we make a plan, pick a direction, take action, shape our own destiny. But we’re overcomplicating the solution - because none of this stuff is it. These things are band-aid distractions in response to “we-have-to-do-something”. Yet none of it can staunch the blood-letting.

If we put a pin in all our well-intentioned distractions and listen closely, we already know WHAT to do. We already know HOW to do it. And it hasn’t really changed in 2,000+ years.

Get skin in the game. Jesus took real action to meet the needs of people in desperate need. He didn’t pay other people to do it for him, and he didn’t screen the masses to weed out the undeserving. Jesus went out, got his hands dirty and met people where they were with food, healing and hope. He calls his followers to do the same thing. If we want to attract people to Jesus’ message, we must live Jesus’ example and put our own skin in the game. We have to leave the safety of home (and church), take a risk and give of ourselves. We have to get our hands dirty and bring relief, healing and hope to the marginalized, desperate and hopeless in our local community. This is not a “someday when we’re ready” or “if they deserve it” kind of thing. This is everyday life with everyone we meet everywhere we go.
Authentically practice what we preach. Jesus’ sheep follow his voice, but they run from a stranger’s voice. If we preach about Jesus but fail to radically live out Jesus’ example in our daily lives, guess what? We are that stranger and Jesus’ sheep will flee from us. They don’t belong to us, they belong to him. They will flock to the places where what they see matches what they hear from Jesus. That means admitting and rooting out our hypocrisy, fostering inclusive communities without barriers, cracking open our hearts to love the people who oppose us and devoting our lives to service. Those illusive young people that churches are always trying to woo? They’ve got highly attuned BS detectors and aren’t interested in joining in religious ritual that isn’t matched by authentic action.
Share the good news with ALL people. The good news is simple: God loves you. The proof is that while we are unworthy, God sends his son Jesus, not to condemn us, but to save us. That’s the message. Not ten commandments. Not twenty creeds. Not ninety-five thesis. Not the Augsburg Confession. Not our political persuasion. Not “5 ways to be a better Christian”. Or ultimatums, threats of damnation or a litany of required convictions. The message is simple so stop overcomplicating this, and trust God to grow what's planted.

In order for us to be eager to share this good news, we first must grasp why it’s life-altering, turn-my-world-upside-down, this-is-all-that-matters good news. We have to grasp it not with our heads, in a religiousy, cerebral way. But grasp the impact with our hearts. Then, like the early apostles, we too are transformed from despair and fear (desperately trying to shield our safe, comfortable lives) into fearless, joyful witnesses who cannot contain our need to share this good news. When our fearless joy and love is radically visible in our lives, neighbors, coworkers, family and friends take notice. We become the aroma of Christ’s good news.
Model radical love within the congregation. It’s not enough to know what love is - it must thrive and produce visible fruit within the congregation. Love is patient, kind, gentle, self-controlled. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn’t insist on its own way. If love is thriving, it is simultaneously choking out crippling weeds: fear, back-biting, malicious gossip, grudges, infighting, revenge, scheming, slander, factions and divisiveness. People outside the congregation are watching, forming conclusions and spreading the word about our crop of fruit or weeds. Guests and new members are tentatively grasping for this love - and moving on if they don’t authentically experience it.

Attracting new members and growing the body of Christ doesn’t hinge on contemporary music, artisan coffee or programs to woo the young people. It doesn’t depend on sophisticated strategies, the hipness of the pastor or deep church coffers. There’s nothing wrong with that stuff, but it’s how we distract ourselves from the truth: WE ARE IT. You and I are hands and feet of Christ. We are his chosen instruments. We are the aroma of God’s love wafting into the community, attracting new people. It’s each one of us, living out our everyday lives with radical fearlessness and wastefully extravagant love. It’s not up to just the hired guns. Or the leadership we elect. It’s not just the young energetic people or the retirees with spare time or the people with disposable income or the single people or the people with families. It's each of us, each day. You and me, living as God purposed us - we are the magic bullet.

And that’s really good news too. We’re not helpless, floundering, without purpose. We have a purpose, we know what it is and we’re already equipped to do it! To put our skin in the game, to practice what we preach, to reek of good news, to model undeserved love. If you’re anything like me, then we all have a lot of opportunities to grow in each of these areas. And we don’t need a strategic 5-year plan, visionary leadership, creative capital campaigns or a flood of new members breaking down our doors to get started. We can start right now. That’s it. That’s all. There is nothing else to wait for.

Reflections on #Pride for #RLCPride

2019-05-20T12:02:00.001-04:00

I am a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church, and for the first time, this year we are participating in Indy Pride and our theme is #RLCPride: Respect, Love, Community. As part of #RLCPride, I am reflecting on something very uncomfortable for Lutherans: Pride. There's a passage in the Bible where the apostle Paul reminds Christians that none should be boasting - except about Christ. Because everything we have, everything we are, everything we will be is a gift from God. We earn none of it, we can’t take credit for any of it, so who can be proud? But regardless of this, I’m forging ahead and admitting: I’m proud.

I am proud to be gay. I am proud to lift up the extravagance of God’s love shown through me. I am queer - and most churches still believe that’s sinful (or at least the result of sin). Yet God has used this part of me, the very part I grew up believing to be evil itself, to change everything in my life. To renew and deepen my faith. To draw me closer to God. To keep pulling me back to God.

After ignoring, running away from and struggling with God, it was my objectionable sexuality that God used to flip on a light and reset my perspective. In trying to come to grips with being gay - yet still wanting desperately to somehow be included in God’s love - I had to face that I was totally at God’s mercy. I could not earn God’s love or prove my innocence. I couldn’t make myself right with God. I needed love that didn’t have to be earned. God’s love, extravagant and undeserved, changed everything: the gospel, the law, what it means to love, what it means to follow Christ. What it means to be Christian. I am no longer a Christian DESPITE being queer. Thanks to God’s love, I am now a Christian because I AM queer.

As part of this reflection, I re-read a story I wrote 15 years ago. It’s about the first time I fell head-over-heals in love. I can still feel the power of that love, welling up inside, hurting so badly. And when I read the story, I can still feel it. Desperate, fearless, hoping beyond hope that somehow the love I felt could survive.

As proud as I am to be an example of God’s extravagant love, I am NOT proud of my journey. It’s a mess littered with mistakes. Selfish, self-centered, willful, leave-me-alone-God kind of mistakes. The story takes place in the midst of that littered trail of mistakes. It’s when I was still afraid of God. I believed differently then, consumed with fear, measuring myself against laws to determine how to please God. I wrote the story in 5 days immediately following the events described in the story. When I named the story “Rupture”, I thought I was being clever. I had no idea how true it was - that my whole life was rupturing. Tearing part, exploding into pieces, burning everything to the ground.

Looking back from 15 years, I ask myself, “What if I had just been honest?” Instead of lying and covering up, what if - even knowing with absolute certainty what the outcome would be - I had just told my family the truth. “I think I’m gay.” “I don’t want therapy.” “I don’t want to be turned straight.” “I don’t know what it means for my faith yet.” “I’m falling for this sweet and funny guy.” “I really want to go to New York to meet him.” “I love him so much it hurts.” “I want you to meet him.” What if I had said THOSE THINGS out loud? What might God have done with me, with us, with our lives?

Maybe we could have had a conversation about love. About first loves and first dates. About patience, self-control and safety. Maybe the conversation would have come full circle back to Christ’s love and how that love shapes and guides us.

But maybes and “what ifs” are just that. The past, littered with mistakes, can’t be changed. And if I am honest now, there are parts of that weekend in New York 15 years ago that I would NEVER change. That love for another person, fearless and hurting so bad - I can’t imagine my life without that being a part of it.

Reflecting after 15 years, I ache when I read this story. I wish I could pluck the love - raw and transformative - out of this story and drop it into a beautiful, praiseworthy epic where the protagonist isn’t a liar, isn’t selfish, isn’t consumed with fear. Where that love blossoms and thrives and transforms. Where it changes the protagonist into a good guy, with a story to inspire.

But maybe it’s good I can’t change this story. Life is messy and love isn’t some isolated element. It’s mixed in with the ugly and undeserving. And God is also down in the muck, riding in the overheating car, wrapped about us as we fall apart, sharing our inexpressible ache. God hurts as we hurt others, follows after us as we run away. Crawling under the rock where we’re hiding. Taking our hand and coaxing us back out, back into the light, back into community.

Sitting here, drying my eyes, and trying to wrap this up, there are a few things I keep on learning, again and again. Things our kids need to know, that we need to model, that churches need to lift up. We need to foster an environment where these things work:

Don’t lie. Lies don’t work and secrets tear us apart. Be authentic, be honest and tell the truth. Even if it wrecks your secure life - and it often will.
Trust love. Follow wherever it leads, even when it goes against all logic, doctrine and conventional wisdom.
Don’t avoid God. God created you, God loves you, and unlike humans, God is not looking for a way to condemn you.
Confess your screw-ups. We all make a mess of things and hurt people along the way. Sooner than later, we all need to own up to the mess we’ve made, the hurt we’ve caused and ask for forgiveness.
Be proud. God has created you to accomplish God’s purpose. You are uniquely designed and purposed by God to complement all of God’s other unique creations. Shine bright.

Easy Baked Applesauce

2016-10-12T15:32:00.000-04:00

If this recipe sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Five years ago I came up with this baked applesauce recipe to achieve three primary objectives with my applesauce:

Consistent texture: There’s nothing worse than rolled-up, pointy spiked apple-peels in your applesauce. So I thoroughly peel all apples before dicing and turning into sauce.
Use the peels: Much of the nutritional goodness from an apple is in the peels. Think vitamins, minerals and fiber. So rather than pitching the peels, I cook and puree the peels and then stir into the apple sauce. That way I keep all the nutritional goodness in my applesauce.
No sugar added: Apples are sweet enough and adding extra sugar seems pointless. So I decided to use the oven concentrate the apple flavor and caramelize the natural apple sugars for a sweeter taste.

Basically, I wanted a healthier applesauce but I didn’t want to sacrifice texture or flavor. And the recipe worked.

But I quickly started looking for ways to simplify things. Who wants to be tied to the stove stirring apples so they don’t stick to the bottom? Not this guy. And who wants to waste apple cider on making applesauce? I’d much rather enjoy it in a glass, as it was intended.

After five years and a dozen batches of applesauce, I’ve found an easier way to make the same applesauce in roughly the same amount of time. Best of all, it’s just as healthful and flavorful. What’s missing are the extra steps and ingredients.

This is truly baked applesauce. Start to finish. No stovetop, no boiling pots, no waiting by the stove. Revolutionary concept? Well, at least evolutionary.

Photo Tutorial
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Easy Baked Applesauce

by Javelin Warrior on October 12, 2016

Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 3 hours 30 min
Total time: 4 hours 15 min
Yield: 2 quarts (8 cups)

Easy and nutritious no sugar added homemade applesauce recipe with robust flavor.

Ingredients

8 pounds (20-25) mixed apples, washed, peeled, cored and diced (reserve peels)
1 cup purified water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350℉
2. Add diced apples to large 7 to 9 quart dutch oven and cover; add apple peels and water to separate oven-safe pot and cover
3. Bake apples and apple peels covered 2 hours until 3/4 of apples have broken down into sauce and peels are mushy; stir pots every 30 minutes
4. Transfer cooked apple peels and cooking liquid to blender and puree until very smooth; stir puree into baked apples
5. Increase oven temperature to 375℉ and roast applesauce uncovered 1.5 to 2 hours until sauce is thickened and caramelized, stirring every 30 minutes
6. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature before refrigerating for up to a week or freezing for up to a year

This recipe was first published on cookinwluv.blogspot.com.

Recipe Tips

Roasting: Roasting the applesauce is critical for caramelizing the natural sugars in the apples, resulting in a sweeter sauce. Roasting also helps to concentrate the apple flavor by evaporating much of the liquid and so thickening the sauce. Skip the stovetop and use your oven.
Apple variety: The best-tasting applesauce is one packed with a variety of apples. I try to use at least 3 types of apples: something sweet, something crisp and something tart. I personally love to mix Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious and Macintosh. But use whatever mix you like.
Spice or no spice: This applesauce doesn’t require spices to give it flavor. It’s got lots of flavor thanks to the caramelization and the puree of peels. But if you like spices such as cinnamon or cloves, stir some in along with the puree. Or don’t. This sauce is bursting with flavor no matter what.
Water: NEVER add water to applesauce - it results in watery flavor and texture. If you bake the apples instead of cooking on the stovetop, you will never need to add water. Apples release plenty of water throughout the cooking process.
Apple "seconds:" You can save significantly on applesauce if you pick up "seconds" apples from your local farm. In fact, "seconds" are typically about 2/3 the price of apples sold even at bargain stores like Walmart. So if you can find apple seconds, stock up and make a few batches of sauce.

Circling Truth

2016-09-28T15:14:00.000-04:00

Have you ever considered what circles you are part of?

I am part of two family circles, a church family circle, a loose professional circle, and a circle of friends. Then I’m part of broader circles like a circle of shared beliefs, circle of shared political views, and circles of shared interests like cooking, swimming, writing, films, etc.

Circles can be very comforting and provide a sense of safety and security. We know who is in our circles, we share commonalities, we sometimes even agree on things. I think we naturally gravitate towards forming circles. Circles help us define who we are - and who we’re not.

I was raised in a conservative family circle, both politically and spiritually. My dad was a Pastor for a conservative Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) church. Together with our church, we formed a circle of tightly-knit Lutheran believers alone in a vast sea of predominantly Catholic believers. Our small church circle shared potlucks and picnics, VBS and Sunday School, weddings and funerals. We studied together, worshiped together, celebrated together, wept together.

As a child, the absolute certainty of being a part of this tiny Lutheran minority was a comfort and a kind of security. We all knew what everyone in our circle believed and why we believed it. We knew our circle had true answers for true believers.

Some of the beliefs we shared included:

The body and blood of Christ should only be shared between those who are in full agreement on matters of faith and confession.
Prayer and worship should only be shared between those who are in full agreement on matters of faith and confession.
Abortion is murder and laws permitting any form of abortion violate God's law.
Sex, outside of a one-man, one-woman marriage, is sinful.
Same-sex relationships (assuming some sexual aspect) are sinful.
Wives must submit to their husbands in all matters.
Women may not become pastors or exercise spiritual authority over men.
Evolution is a flawed theory undermining the authority of God’s word.

As a child, I knew that even if others around me didn’t agree with me, I still knew the real truth. Even if I couldn’t convince them of the truth, I was still right to believe it. I resisted any teaching that conflicted with what I believed to be true. I viewed myself as a witness and defender of God’s truth.

I am no longer a part of these same circles of belief today. Yet these are not arbitrary beliefs based on arbitrary rules. Those who adhere to these beliefs can reference passages in the Bible to support them. Many of these beliefs have deep roots in the church history and teaching. And those who hold these beliefs are not swayed by those who challenge their beliefs. They persevere on, zealously defending these beliefs. They are faithful witnesses to what they believe to be God’s truth and relentless fighters striving to preserve the purity of God’s word.

From experience, there is great comfort in being a crusader for truth. You know you have something real to lean on. You know that no matter what happens, no one can take the truth away from you. And in the end, you will have persevered, you will have stood firm in your faith, and you will have done your part in defending the truth.

I believed very deeply in the necessity of these teachings all of my growing-up years. In fact, challenging these beliefs seemed both pointless and dangerous. What good could come from challenging God’s truth? On several occasions, I listened as others in my childhood church challenged one or another of these points of teaching - and watched as they were gently but firmly silenced. Told to take the discussion behind closed doors. Told to meet with the Pastor privately. Relieved from teaching, reeducated in the truth.

And it all made sense to me. As a child, nothing could be more dangerous than corrupting God’s truth. Nothing could be a greater threat to a flock of believers than the diluting of the truth. I often heard many reminders of what could happen to those who “turned away” from these beliefs. I was often warned not to be deceived by “slippery-slope” teaching.

Fear of corruption, fear of losing purity, fear of dilution of truth - these are powerful fears and they can be crippling. Instead of love, fear can produce all kinds of bizarre responses. I remember one Sunday a former member who was also a young, expecting, unwed mother returned to visit our church. I was gently instructed not to ask about the baby or make her feel too special for having a baby. Because if she received too much attention or felt too special for having a baby, we might lead her astray and make her think that we were ok with premarital sex. And if she thought we were ok with it, then she might conclude God was also ok with premarital sex. Fear of leading her astray resulted in restrained compassion and love and an absence of physical assistance and general warmth. Instead, I mostly ignored her stomach and murmured in a sad voice, “We’re praying for you.”

She found herself outside the circle we had drawn. It’s tempting to think this is unique to certain churches. Or certain political affiliations. Or unique to judgmental people. But we are all naturally like this. Our first response is to evaluate those around us, judge them according to whatever standard we believe is correct, and then draw a circle around ourselves. Those outside the circle do not agree with us and are therefore wrong, while those inside the circle do agree with us and are therefore right. If we seek to invite others into our circle, it is to convince them to agree with us. But we don’t invite them to redraw our circle.

Churches are certainly guilty of this. But they are by no means alone. Politics is no different - those who agree with us are right and those who don’t are wrong. We make fun of, we verbally (and sometimes physically) attack, we bully and badger. We stop talking to people we were once friends with because they don’t share our political views. We de-friend them, unfollow them, shut them out. And even if we do none of these things, we have still drawn a circle around ourselves and view those outside our political circle with suspicion and judgement. We invite others to join, but we’re not interested in redrawing our circles.

Circles are always going to exist for two related reasons: 1) we don’t all agree and 2) we want to define who we agree with. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with finding ourselves in circles - it’s an unavoidable part of living and it helps us make connections, form relationships and find support and encouragement.

But here’s the problem with human circles: we want to enforce the boundaries of our circles. We only want the “right” people in our circles and we seek to enforce exclusivity. And that’s the problem because humans are imperfect and sinful with limited knowledge and sight. Even at our best, we cannot see all things, we cannot understand all things. Our judgements are imperfect because our understanding is incomplete and limited. Therefore are circles are imperfect and incomplete and whatever screening process we use to enforce the boundaries of our circles is also imperfect and flawed. Within our own circles, we may feel we have found the completeness of truth, but our vision is incomplete. We may view everyone outside of our circles as uneducated, uninformed, or just plain wrong, but our vision is again impaired.

We are all part of a bigger circle, which is humanity. We are all creatures belonging to the same Creator and same savior. God is the only one who is without sin, who knows all and sees all. God is the only one who can save, redeem, and teach us the truth. He is the only one who can preserve the purity of truth. So God is the only one who should be drawing a line in the sand or enforcing circle boundaries.

I think most people of Christian faith would agree.

So why are we still trying to enforce circles of inclusion or exclusion between ourselves? Well, we have still found a slick way to cheat to allow humans to enforce our own circles. It’s clever and super-effective. And best of all, it let’s each of us enforce own little circle of truth. It goes like this:

God’s word is the only truth.
We in this group understand God’s word, therefore we understand the truth.
Having understood the truth, we now share the truth.
If you disagree with the truth we share, you disagree with God.
If you reject God’s truth, you have turned away from God and excluded yourself.
Therefore, we have not drawn the circle - God has drawn the circle.
Loop back to the beginning.

I call this reasoning a cheat because while it sounds logical and points to God’s word as the source of all truth, it fails to take into account the imperfect, sinful human factor. It’s a really good cheat because it says all the right things, it provides us with a sense of spiritual security, and it justifies enforcing exclusion boundaries. But breaking it down exposes the errors in this cheat.

God’s word is the only truth. This is the first building block in establishing a boundary. It sounds good but it’s only a half-truth. Christ said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Christ is the ONLY source of truth and he guides the believer (through the Spirit) into all truth. Which means, there is no truth without guidance from the Spirit. Simply reading or quoting Bible passages isn’t truth without the Spirit to teach our hearts and guide us into full truth. So really, the statement, “God’s word is the only truth” doesn’t quite present the full truth. Which brings us to the second conclusion.

We in this group understand God’s word, therefore we understand the truth. This is the second building block in the boundary wall and it rests on the incomplete half-truth of the first building block. Truth doesn’t come from simply reading Bible verses. Without the Spirit’s guidance, we can read what the word of God says without understanding what the word of God means. Basically, we can understand the words but not the truth. Understanding is also not a finite, static state. Understanding comes through the Spirit to those who believe Christ and it is a life-long journey of learning and development.

Part of that development is also recognizing our own limited understanding. We see only partially, as God allows us to see. We are granted insights only into that which God has granted us insight. We cannot see all ends or see how all things fit together. God tells us, “Your ways are not my ways, neither are your thoughts my thoughts.” So we should be careful not become arrogant or complacent in our understanding. We should not conclude we have learned all there is to know or that the Spirit has finished speaking to us. Or that he speaks ONLY to us. We must be willing to humbly listen for the Spirit to speak and be willing to follow where he guides. Only then will we remain in the truth.

So to claim that “We in this group understand God’s word, therefore we understand the truth” again fails to accurately represent what is actually involved in understanding the truth.

Having understood the truth, we now share the truth. We should absolutely share what the Spirit teaches us, assuming we are listening to the Spirit. But sharing the truth is different than dictating truth. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only source. So our job is not to convince everyone else to share the same points of faith we believe or to agree with us on every point of faith. Or to conclude that if they don’t agree with us, they must be wrong. Rather, the job of a believer is to share Christ with everyone. Period. Christ will send his Spirit to those who believe him. Christ’s Spirit will guide them into all truth. And that’s just the point - Christ will do it, not us.

We share Christ and point to him as the source of truth. We provide encouragement, support, comfort and even correction to the best of our limited human capacity. But we do not define truth. We do not own truth. The truth comes from Spirit and is revealed to whom the Spirit chooses and how the Spirit chooses. In fact, the Spirit may use the lives and perspectives of other new believers to guide long-time believers into a new and deeper understanding of Christ. So rather than claiming “Having understood the truth, we now share the truth” we should should instead say, “Having the truth about Christ, we now share Christ with others.”

If you disagree with the truth we share, you disagree with God. Here’s where things really fall apart. In order for this piece of the boundary wall to hold, one must first conclude the Spirit is no longer actively revealing new depth of truth. Only then, in theory, could humans - with enough devoted, Spirit-guided study - ultimately grasp the fullness and depth of Christ. Assuming such a possibility, one must now assume that some favored humans have actually achieved this level understanding - with the same clarity as God - and that these humans can now serve in place of Christ as a source for the fullness of truth.

This is epically, emphatically wrong. First, Christ is, and always will be, the only source of truth. Second, the Spirit is still actively teaching believers. Third, humans will always be humans - imperfect and limited. They will be never a unfailingly reliable source of truth.

Finally, a disagreement between humans is not the same as challenging the authority of God. In fact, disagreement can be a necessary part of growth and deepening of understanding. If led by the Spirit, disagreements between believers can refine our faith and lead to a more robust and expanded understanding of the truth. It can also lead to the strengthening of both the believers involved and the broader church. Even when disagreements are unresolved, it does not mean one person has rejected truth or is in opposition to God. In fact, differences of opinion or differences in faith can serve to advance the spreading of Christ in new and unforeseen ways.

The statement “If you disagree with the truth we share, you disagree with God” should instead be “If you disagree with our understanding of the truth, we welcome an opportunity to grow in understanding together.”

If you reject God’s truth, you have turned away from God and excluded yourself. This statement, one its own, is true. If one rejects Christ, what is left? Christ is the way, the truth and the life and rejecting him separates one from God. As long as we reject Christ, we have rejected truth and excluded ourselves from his mercy.

But let’s be clear: disagreements over points of faith is not the same as rejecting Christ. Rejecting Christ and the Spirit’s guidance to instead willfully pursue our own ways - that is rejecting God and his truth. That’s how you exclude yourself from mercy. But asking difficult questions, searching for answers, challenging the status quo, examining long-held teachings, and sharing new insights from the Spirit is all good. Necessary, actually. It can absolutely lead to disagreements, discomfort, and even disruption. It can alter the course of history. But it is not equivalent to rejecting God or truth. Following the Spirit IS following the truth, even when it leads to disagreements or a shake-up in understanding.

Therefore, we have not drawn the circle - God has drawn the circle. God desires ALL to experience new life in him, without exception. The circle of his love is big enough to include us all. The only question is whether we believe him. Do we believe his promise? Do we believe Christ is really the way, the truth and the life?

If someone does NOT believe God’s promise, know that God is still relentlessly pursuing them with love and new life, every moment of their life. And as members of Christ’s body, we should follow his example. How can we demonstrate love to that person? How can we better step beyond our circles to welcome them?

If someone DOES believe God’s promise, they are our sibling in Christ, no matter what disagreement we have with them. No exceptions. Therefore, they are already encircled in God’s love so we have no business enforcing our own human barriers. Don’t exclude your siblings, don’t shun them, don’t malign them - no matter the difference in faith, politics, or sin they’re accused of. Embrace them with love and compassion. Humbly, let the Spirit guide you both to grow into understanding and unity. Watch for and encourage fruits of the Spirit in the life of the believer and trust the transformative power of Christ - in both of your lives.

Enforcing circle boundaries is a broken human construct. The comfort I felt as a child in staying within the safe circle of those who agreed with me was just an illusion. Instead of focusing our energy on attempting to defend the legitimacy of our human, self-defined circles, we believers should be seeking to break down every barrier. Christ is for everyone and we are his fearless ambassadors. Christ reaches out to the rejected, to the worthless, to the shame-filled, to the refuse of the world, to those furthest removed from any circle - and we should go and do likewise.

Those people we haven’t yet reached - they are missing members of our own body and we are incomplete without them. They don’t look like us, sound like us, dress like us, worship like us. But we need them. We need their skills, we need their perspectives, we need their disagreements, we need their Spirit-filled lives, we need their love.

When it comes to our circles, we have to admit the truth. We cannot bring about unity - but Christ can. We cannot ensure the purity of truth - but Christ can. We cannot see the complete fullness of Christ’s body - but Christ can. We cannot control the direction of unity within the body of Christ - but Christ can.

Here’s what we can do. We can tear down our boundaries. We can go out from our safe circles. We can boldly, unreservedly share Christ’s love with the most undesirable, the most unfit, the most disagreeable. We can forgive. We can embrace them, love them, welcome them into our circles of friendship, family, and love. And we can trust Christ to encircle us, bless us, and unify us all in himself.

#Orlando

2016-06-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

I’m broken, people. I keep thinking about all those people, frightened and crowding into a bathroom. One of them sending his mother a text telling her he loved her. And that he was going to die. He saw his death coming and there was no where to run. No where to hide. He just had to wait, knowing what was coming.

I can’t stop crying.

What the FUCK is wrong with us?

We fucking hate each other, right? Just mow each other down. Bathe in our enemies blood. 49 people are dead and no one is going to do a damn thing.

The president calls for gun reform. The presidential candidates sling mud and politicize the deaths. Politicians call for thoughts and prayers. And I’ll see you in a month when the next 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200 people are mowed down. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH US!?!!

Have you the seen the bloody map of America’s mass shootings? Red everywhere. Have you listened to the rhetoric spewing from politicians' forked tongues? Hate and fear in every sentence. Have you listened to the loud religious leaders? Cloaked Pharisees preaching bigotry and intolerance masquerade as humble servants of virtue, holiness and love. Are you listening to the responses to this very massacre in Orlando? Ban the Muslims, lock our borders, buy more guns, arm ourselves to the teeth, blow each other’s brains out in self-defense.

I am starting to comprehend how incalculable tragedies like the Native American genocide, human slavery and the Holocaust can be allowed to occur. I am starting to see how monsters come to power with thunderous applause. And I’m starting to grasp what could drive a God to reign down burning sulfur on cities or send a flood to drown humanity. We are a swirling cesspool of hate, fear, greed, corruption and violence. Our love has grown cold. We’d rather bicker and fight and build walls than love each other. We’d rather win a fight than show mercy and compassion. We’d rather pine after the America of yesterday than unite in love for our future.

49 people are dead and NO ONE is going to do a damn thing.

Except, that’s not true. Love has already stepped forward. Police have stepped up patrols to guard other queer clubs, parades and gathering places. Thousands around the world have raised funds at a record pace. Leaders and cities around the world have offered encouragement and support. Rallies and vigils are being held around the world. Companies like Disney have donated millions in support of families and loved ones. Thousands have lined up to give blood. Others have donated water, food and other supplies. Churches of many religions and denominations have condemned the massacre and offered prayers and intercessions.

That’s incredible and so generous and gives me a whole new reason to cry. That kind of selfless outpouring of love and support lifts us all up. It gives us all a reason to hope and reminds me that despite all the horror, love is still there. Still stronger.

I still don’t want to be back here in a month saying these same words. I don’t want to accept that I WILL be back in a month for the next 100 dead. I don’t want to believe this is the new status quo. I don’t want to accept that. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT. I REFUSE!

This is NOT the new normal. This is fucked up. This is hateful, evil, wicked. And I am not going to accept hate. I am not going to give in to evil. I am not going to shrug off wickedness as unchangeable.

And I’m not to going to waste time pining after the things of yesterday or the way things used to be. My focus is on today and the tomorrow to follow. I am not going to cling to the nostalgia of what has been lost - I am going to reach for hope and joy and love. Today, I am not going to fear death. Today, I am going to fearlessly speak and act in love. I am going to find a new way to improve tomorrow.

Orlando has proven there are no safe places and no guarantees. We only have this gift of love for a finite moment. One minute we’re dancing, the next we’re on the bathroom floor facing our killer’s AR-15. There’s no time to fear and hate. It’s already ripping us apart and cutting us down. We only have time to love.

There are now 49 people who will never have that opportunity to love again. And the rest of us will never feel their love again. That’s tragic.

So in memory of all those who were robbed of life and love, choose love. I’m begging you: choose love.

In memory of all those lost and those who love them

Too Much Sugar and What to Do About It #Health

2016-05-13T17:29:00.002-04:00

“Have you seen this video?” I ask my other half. He leans over my shoulder as I start the video over and crank up the volume. It’s the same video I’ve embedded below. It’s all about the evils of soda and the deceptive way it’s marketed to us.

My other half watches for a moment and a little smile creeps over his face. “Well, it’s pretty much true,” he says a moment later.

We finish watching the video and I beam up at him unbridled zeal. “This is so true. It’s basically sweet caustic chemicals with good marketing.”

He rolls his eyes and shrugs. “Most people know pop is bad for them,” he says. “They just don’t care. And the companies making it know that. So add some nostalgia and people drink it up.”

While I think most people probably have heard at one time or another that drinking soda isn’t good for them, I don’t think most of us really think about why. Sugar is the real evil, not soda. And while soda includes a ridiculous amount of sugar per serving, sugar itself is everywhere and in almost everything we eat.

If you’ve watched the video and you’re outraged by how soda is marketed, I don’t blame you. But to be fair, soda companies cannot hide the sugar in their bottle labels if you bother to look. So while the advertising doesn’t mention how damaging a daily diet of soda will be to your body, you at least know it’s sugary because it tastes sweet. And sugar is the only significant number on the nutrition label - another tip off that you’re basically guzzling sugar.

That’s more than can be said for many other foods we eat. Sugar - and a lot of sugar - has worked its way into most preprepared food items you buy. Just take a look at the labels for things like tomato sauce, sandwich bread, crackers, mayonnaise, soups, pie crusts, yogurt, and even bread crumbs. Manufacturers add sugar because people prefer the taste of food when they add more sugar - and the more people enjoy, the more they eat and the more they buy. If you want to read more about food and taste manufacturing, check out this article from the New York Times.

But there’s still more sugar in our diet and it’s super sneaky. It’s the sugar - and carbs that easily turn into sugar - hidden in alcohol. Wine, beer, mixed drinks, and hard liquor are all high in sugar and carbs. And while alcohol producers have to disclose the carbs, they do not have to disclose the sugar. Light beer can still be hopped up on sugar and low-sugar hard alcohol is filled with carbs that the body easily converts into sugar.

If only sugar stopped there. But we’re not done yet. Refined ingredients - like wheat flour, rice flour, corn meal, potato or corn chips, pasta, etc. - are not technically sugar, but our bodies can easily convert refined food into sugar. And unless you’re a super-active athlete, that’s likely what your body is doing with refined foods. Which means, most of us are eating a steady diet of sugar even if we never open a bottle of soda or eat a slice of cake.

And we’re STILL not done with all the sugar in our diet. There’s the naturally occurring sugar. Did you know milk, fresh fruit, and most fresh vegetables all contain naturally occurring sugar? Bottled fruit juice is about as high in sugar as soda and bottled vegetable juice mixes aren’t much better. If you were outraged after watching the above video, just think how outraged you would be if someone examined the deceptive marketing of bottled juice as “healthy”. Sure, fruit and vegetable juices contain some vitamins and fiber, but it’s mostly sugar.

I don’t know about you, but I feel kind of light headed just thinking about all that sugar. It’s like there’s sugar everywhere, in everything, all the time. And there is. Because sugar is literally everywhere. I’m not a medical professional, but the evidence is piling up regarding the severe health dangers of consuming too much sugar. And with so many sources of sugar in our daily diet, it’s scary to think how much sugar each of us is unwittingly consuming.

It’s also true that not all sugar is the same. Again, not a heath expert, but studies show that our bodies handle different types of sugar differently. So granulated sugar is treated one way, high fructose corn syrup another way, naturally occurring sugars another, processed flours another, etc. But it’s still an AWFUL lot of sugar.

That makes me want to take a really hard look at what I’m eating. I don’t want all that sugar destroying my kidneys, dissolving my arteries, packing on extra weight, and ultimately gifting me diabetes and heart disease. I already know I eat too much sugar, especially in the form of refined flours. If I really wanted to do something loving for my body, I’d eliminate more sugar from my diet.

This isn't about losing weight or fitting into a pair of jeans or looking trimmer. If I want my body to perform 50 more years of active service, I have to treat it right and plan now for the future. 50 years on a steady sugar diet won’t work. And ignoring the ever-increasing flood of sugar into my food won’t work either.

If it were just a matter of not eating spoonfuls of granulated sugar right out of the Diamond bag, I’d be good. I haven’t done that since I was 15. But getting a handle on sneaky sugar is really tough.

If you’re like me, you could happily live on a steady diet of bread and cheese. Or if you're like my other half, you could live on soda and ice cream. And if you’re my mother-in-law, you would be quite content with bread and fruit. And if you’re one of my friends, you simply couldn’t live without biscuits and beer. But all that stuff is either sugar heavy or it’s treated like sugar by the body.

So here are a few things I’m trying in order to cut the sugar out of my diet. Cause I want my body to keep going for another 50:

Spot the sugar in your food
So this is really just checking labels on jars, cans, bags, boxes and whatever else you’re buying. Look for sneaky sugar terms like “evaporated cane syrup”, “cane syrup”, “corn syrup”, “high fructose corn syrup”, and “fructose”. Check the grams of sugar per serving. And watch out for artificial sweeteners like “sucralose”, “aspartame” and “saccharin”. Personally, I’d rather eat sugar than the artificial stuff.
Spot the sugar in your drink
Fruit juice is about as bad for you as soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi. Some “vitamin” waters are also adding sweeteners. And don’t forget about all the sugar in a simple glass of milk. Again, read the labels and check the grams of sugar per serving. Now days, I mostly drink water.
Create a shopping list
If I plan a menu and build a shopping list off that menu, I rarely pick up splurge items like Oreos or bakery items. That helps me avoid sneaking extra sugars into the house. Because if it’s not in the house, I can’t eat it. Try to build menus and shopping lists off seasonal ingredients. Seasonal stuff is cheaper and fresh food is almost always the best food for your body.
Eat fresh
So fresh fruits and vegetables have naturally occurring sugars, but they are also loaded with fiber and vitamins. It’s easier on your body to eat fresh than eating a bunch of processed foods. So eat plenty of raw foods. Eat plenty of whole foods. Skip the cooking and processing whenever you can. It’s harder than it sounds - but it’s also easy because raw, whole foods don’t require a lot of prep.
Make your own food
This may not work for everyone, but here’s the logic that works for me: if I have to make it first, I’m less likely to want it. Like cookies or cakes or ice cream or brownies. If I have to go through all the effort of making it, then I won’t bother unless I REALLY want it. This works surprisingly well most of the time. Except with cookies. Because cookies are so easy and I’ll happily bake cookies just about any time.

The other great reason everyone should make their own food - control. Control over ingredients, control over quality, control over SUGAR. Who says mayonnaise needs sugar? Who says granola has to taste like candy? Who says? You choose.

These are the strategies I’m using. Because I’ve got to try something before I drown in all this sugar. If you’re doing something different that works, please share.

Foods to Bring When You Travel

2016-04-19T17:06:00.001-04:00

I have been traveling a lot recently. Or I should say, I’ve been tagging along for travel a lot recently. My other half will have a continuing education conference in Milwaukee, a professional development course in Seattle, or an industry leadership roundtable in Vegas. And I get to tag along for the ride and sample new hotel rooms.

So far, my favorite hotel is the Westin in Kansas City, mostly because it has an outdoor, temperature-moderated, full-length lap pool available year round. That's pretty awesome. Last week, I spent a good portion of my time in the pleasant Chicago Hyatt Regency. The vistas from the 24th floor are stunning. And over the next few months, I'll be sampling a few more hotel rooms.

The real challenge when I travel is what to eat. I don’t really like to traipse around cities on my own, so I spend many hours alone in the hotel room. With a laptop and internet connection, I can keep up with just about everything including recipe writing, Etsy listings, and remote work for my day job. Solitude and sweeping vistas is a recipe for getting a lot of work done.

But what to eat? I hate eating alone in restaurants. If I’m going sit there, alone, I’d rather not go. And while I could dine on room service, there’s no way I’m shelling out that kind of cash. So if I want to eat in the hotel room, I have to bring food with me.

One solution is to grab some convenient pre-packaged food at the grocery store (like crackers, granola bars, puddings, fruit cups, cookies, etc). There are plenty of options that don’t require refrigeration and most are super tasty. But most pre-packaged convenience foods are also loaded with sugar and preservatives. Tasty, yes. Healthy, no.

So after a hungry couple of trips surviving on meager hotel rations, I began to work out a menu of convenient in-room hotel food. I wanted a well-rounded menu with fruits and vegetables and proteins - and a few treats to keep me from going crazy. The list below may seem obvious now, but it took me a couple years to come up with this menu. That’s why I’m sharing with you. Now the next time you travel, you can easily pack food to stock your hotel room. Or, if bringing all that food with you is prohibitive (like on airplanes), you can stop by a local market on your way to the hotel, armed with this list of menu options.

Best of all, none of these items require refrigeration or cooking.

Proteins

Roasted nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts)
Smoked jerky
Peanut butter
Rolled oats (stir into hot water from the in-room coffeemaker and let stand for 10 minutes; add raisins for passable oatmeal)
Laughing Cow cheese (individually wrapped)
*Babybell cheese (*only if you have an in-room refrigerator)

Vegetables

Edamame (frozen or fresh)
Baby carrots
Radishes
Grape or cherry tomatoes
Broccoli
Celery

Fruits

Apples, pears, bananas, clementines, mandarins, peaches, nectarines, grapes, apricots
Dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, etc)

Beverages

Ultra-Pasteurized milk (in individual single-serving cartons); no refrigeration necessary but you can always chill in the in-room ice bucket
Bottled water

Make-ahead Extras

Granola
Brownies
Cookies
Bread, rolls
Muffins

With a little creativity, you can easily build a solid breakfast and lunch by mixing and matching from the above categories. I don’t typically bring more than 5 or 6 food items with me, but the more variety, the less bored you’ll become.

Here are some of my favorite menu combinations:

Breakfast

Granola with milk and banana
Oatmeal with raisins, banana and almonds
Oatmeal muffin with peanut butter and a clementine

Lunch

Carrots with peanut butter and raisins, apple, milk, and a cookie
Smoked jerky, carrots, apple slices with peanut butter, and milk
Bread with cheese, edamame, tomatoes, and milk
Celery with peanut butter and raisins, pear, brownie and milk
Radishes, smoked jerky, edamame, grapes, cookie and milk

Just don’t forget to bring something to prepare your food. Below are some bare necessities I find particularly helpful. But I admit, I’ve been quite resourceful in the past, crafting a spoon out of the foil wrapper from a yogurt container.

Metal or plastic bowl
Metal or plastic knife
Spoon and fork
Resealable bags

The next time you plan a trip, take a few minutes to plan your hotel menu. Bake up a batch of brownies or cookies, bring along some homemade granola, and raid your fridge for fruits and vegetables. And don’t worry - just because you bring enough food for survival, doesn’t mean you can’t dine out. If you’re like me, after two meals in the hotel, you’ll be ready to treat yourself - and appreciate - a “real” meal out on the town.