The Draft is alive and well…not the draft for the military, but for the NFL, NBA, MLB, or MLS. This past week in the NFL there were 253 players ‘drafted’ by the 32 teams. My favorite team, the Indianapolis Colts, had both the first and the last picks of this draft.

As sort of an ‘honor’ the last player picked of the 253 picks is dubbed ‘Mr. Irrelevant’. How much impact is this player really supposed to have in the NFL? If they were really wildly successful in college, they would have been picked higher. This year the Indianapolis Colts picked Chandler Harnish, a quarterback from Northern Illinois, with their last pick…Chandler Harnish is Mr Irrelevant.

But he gets to go to Disneyland. He gets a parade in his honor. He still gets to play in the NFL. He gets to play a game for his job. He was good enough to be picked. The Colts saw something in him that made it worth their pick, even their last pick, on this guy. In reality, if the Colts’ first pick Andrew Luck gets hurt, we could have Mr. Irrelevant as our starting QB. He has the chance to make a difference as some level. And he’s elated to have been picked at all. (You can read for yourself in the above linked article)

This post has the potential to turn into a sports post…which isn’t my aim here.

As I was reading the above article from ESPN.com I was hit with this reality: In the Christian world, there are far more ‘Mr/Ms/Mrs Irrelevants’ than there are ‘#1 picks’. There are a lot of people writing books, speaking, blogging, or whatever that some would say are the all stars, or the super-Christians. But there are far more ‘normal’ Christians out there than those who gain notoriety for their thoughts about Christianity, Church, Mission, or whatever faddish topic is trending.

What I’m getting at is this: This world won’t get any better, won’t ever change, won’t ever become the creation or place God intended it to be, if ‘irrelevant’ Christians don’t get in the game somehow. Often times they/we are too content to just read about topics or listen to sermons instead of live them. Or we think our voice doesn’t matter because it’s not being published. But it’s just not true. While we may think that our voice is irrelevant, or that our actions don’t matter, or that our decisions don’t make an impact on our world, or that we would really make a difference if we wrote a book…we’re just wrong.

Truth is, we live in the neighborhoods we live in, have the friends we have, make the connections we make, all for a reason…for real relationship. Podcasts don’t have friends. Books don’t have ‘besties’ (I can’t believe I had that word even in my head). Often times even speakers on stages feel out of touch with people and live outside of real relationship. There is unspeakable power in the ‘irrelevant’ lives of Christians living out the love of God in tangible flesh and bone.

You or I may never record a podcast. Give a sermon. Write a book. But your voice and life matter. Your voice, my voice, may be the closest thing to the voice of God our neighbors ever hear. God may have something beyond what we could ever ask for, or imagine, planned for us. But if we only ‘leave it to the pro’s’ the ‘#1 picks’, then we’ll never know.

But this brings up something that I have been thinking about. Do we always need to be profound? Do we need to try and be profound most of the time? Is there any space for being simple?

Does God only speak to us in deeply profound ways? Or does God also speak to us in simple ways? When reading through the account of Jesus’ life in the Scriptures, we see that Jesus actually spoke about the Kingdom of God in really simple ways: a net, a treasure, a lost coin, a fig tree, a banquet…

These times for me don’t necessarily represent times where I need many complex words or thoughts…it’s more of a season of simply living, listening, trying to love well, and learning to trust more deeply in God’s goodness towards me (us).

At one point during Rob’s talk, he asked us to discuss a question: What are the biggest inhibiting factors to greater mission impact in the Western world? (or something like that)

This question really stirred something in me…a fire in my belly, so to speak…and I’m going to attempt to put into type what was on my mind in and in my heart. (And it should be clear that this post is just as much towards me as it written by me.)

One of the resounding answers to this question from our group was a lack of leaders who are willing to give up the comforts of their known lives to jump into to something risky (complacency). I see this as the first issue. It’s not easy or safe to leave behind ministry roles where one is clearly using their gifts, has consistent pay, a crowd to influence, access to resources, clear ‘success’ metrics, etc. Why would one want to do that?

The second layer of this issue is that it’s also not easy for a person who is not in a ‘professional ministry’ role (I hate that wordage by the way), to imagine themselves as a leader within the Church when they don’t have the experience or credentials that one may imagine would be necessary. (side note: in all of Scripture, it never says that formal education is required for leaders…it’s about faithfulness, love, and obedience. Education is often to augment these things…not replace them.) We’ve come to a place where many people within and without of the Church think that leadership comes with a stage and a microphone….there were many leaders in the first century Church that we don’t know about from Scripture who never got any ‘press’, but who were essential in how the Church came to be.

A second issue is that there may not be enough churches developing leaders from within their communities to send out of their communities. The prevailing system in the western Church is basically one where a handful of professional clergy lead the many. Things have been like this for a long time and people have clearly defined roles in the structure. There are people who prepare talks, music, ministries, and other church services; and then there are the people who listen, receive (maybe consume would be an appropriate word), enjoy what the other set of people are providing. It’s been long observed in churches that often 20% of the people do 80% of the work. The issue is that our current leaders are often so spent just doing what they are required to do for their community’s needs, that getting around to training leaders to be sent out is often left by the wayside. A second level to this is that many leaders don’t want to send out their most influential leaders because they may be difficult to replace. I would argue that creating voids in leadership requires new leaders to arise and while at the same also keeps us on our toes in regards to continually developing leaders.

The third issue I see is that many people see themselves as ‘normal Christians’ i.e: not leaders and aren’t given a greater vision for their lives in the Church. People only learn what they are being given. When the only vision that people have for their spirituality/faith/religion is that they receive services, then it’s not hard to figure out why more people aren’t growing into leadership: they aren’t taught that they should be. I could name 10 incredibly gifted friends of mine that have leadership potential but don’t step into it because their pastor doesn’t tell them they should. Beyond active leadership training in church communities, another issue I’ve experienced is that character development, lifelong discipleship and learning, and internal disciplines are not actively taught. When our ideas of discipleship only treat symptoms, we still leave the root sickness in there somewhere. Our practices of discipleship must go deeper to treating the inner-life so that when we do end up leadership positions we have the character to sustain ourselves there.

The fourth thing I see is that people think that ‘they could never do what we are doing.’ I’ve heard this so many times over the 8 years that we’ve been a part of church-planting work. “I wish I could just up and move overseas, but I can’t because…” The truth is (and this isn’t any attempt to sugar coat it) they really don’t wish that they could do what we do. If they did, they would make it happen just like many of my colleagues in CA. Many of my friends in Christian Associates not only left pastor-type jobs, but they also left the corporate world as well. They made a decision, accepted the challenge, took the step of faith, that building God’s Church around the world was worth the sacrifice and effort. If you are reading this and you’ve ever had the thought, “I wish we could move overseas to help build the Church but ______”, then I would challenge you to look at all of the obstacles God’s people faced in Scripture. Do we really believe that God is not able to remove obstacles when we choose to sacrifice for Him? Why do we so easily accept that suffering, trials, challenges were a clear part of Jesus’ ministry, then us want nothing to do with those things? And what’s worse…some of us even think that we’re doing a better job of following Jesus when we don’t experience suffering, trials, and challenges.

So we have a void…a huge need for leaders who embrace courage, risk, creativity and have a love for the Church, while our pervasive culture points us to safety, predictability, and passivity.

I guess the reason that I’m writing is because I have hope that there are people out there that are willing to step in the void. Maybe it’s you…Maybe you’ve been feeling like there is something different out there for your pursuit of God, your learning from Jesus, your place in serving the Church. I would hope that there maybe a few of my list of friends that would read this recognize their potential to do something great for the Church, the earthly presence of King Jesus.

I am also writing this because I have hope for the Church. I believe that God’s spirit is actively moving in our world and in the Church and that there is great potential in our times. While I’ve been a bit on the hard-nose side of things in this post, the reality is that I can also think of examples of church communities who are sending leaders out to harvest beyond their walls.

To end this…I hope the void disappears. We can do it. God can do it.

This a cool article on a woman in Barcelona that is trying to make a difference in the culture of a city. Maybe we’ll start handing out whistles with her? It’s also yet another glimpse into how the city of Barcelona is only taking baby steps to fix an issue that really needs long strides.

I’d love to meet this woman…maybe if I travel around and try to steal something she’ll fine me:) (That’s a joke)

This person was person was saying that he doesn’t expect a bailout for his personal choices that have gone bad (a home purchase) and that he’s working three jobs to pay for what he has to pay for. He was however clearly accusing the protestors for wanting a handout and that they didn’t want to take ownership of their decisions.

Fair enough: I respect the guy for working hard to pay for what he committed to. And I would agree that I think people simply wanting a bailout isn’t healthy learning.

But I think that this issue is bigger than this. I think that the issue is that the American people have been working hard, putting their noses to the grindstone, to make ends meet while the very system they are in just piles more weight on the back of their heads. I think that it’s about time that the corruption of the financial systems becomes a mainstream topic. It’s about time people realize that a handful of people (relatively speaking) have made numerous selfish and greedy decisions with full knowledge of what was going to happen. (Watch the documentary Inside Job if you don’t know about this)

I think it’s about time that some people in our culture take their noses from the grindstone, the patterns that have allowed people in power to do what they’ve done, and speak out against what has happened. Our country clearly needs great reform and we need to realize that doing more of what got us here isn’t going to get us out. I don’t think that electing new people into office is the answer either because many of out elected officials are corporate sponsored. It’s not until the entire structure is exposed for it’s greed and selfishness that things will change. And I believe that Occupy Wall Street is a start. Agree or disagree with it, at least they are a different voice for change. A voice that doesn’t seem to be sponsored by major corporations like Montsana or elite banking firms. This seems like a voice from fringe people that are willing to speak up. I guarantee that if the right reform happens (us actually having a government for the people…not for themselves through the people) it will because these early voices spoke loud enough to be heard.

I actually wish I was in the States to be a part of this because I have hope that things can change.

Here’s my question that I challenge myself with: How am I so immersed in my own life and work that I’m not stopping to see the change that needs to happen? Do I have the courage to speak up against injustice? Where is the Church in all of this? Remember Jesus spoke out against the oppressive authority of his day to bring people to freedom. (I also know what the apostle Paul wrote about submitting to government, but speaking out against injustice and greed is also called for. Think about when John the Baptist spoke out against Herod sleeping with his brothers wife. There is a time for every season…) Do I even care about the oppressive systems and rulers of our world? Or do I only care when I’m personally affected?

I say we start a movement called Occupy My Street. Where we each look at the oppressive and unjust things in our own houses, neighborhoods, and cities. Maybe it’s sexism, classism, child abuse, spiritual abuse, apathy, greed…it’s not only big corporations that operate in negative power structures.

Regardless, I pray that good change comes to the systems we live in. I believe that it comes with internal reflection and change in each of us….this will lead us to the ‘good works’ that we were created to do.

A few years ago, while on one of our longer stays in the US I bought a mug from Ikea that I really liked. I used it every morning for over a year and it became a part of my routine. I packed it in my suitcase when we moved to Barcelona in 2009. Shortly after our move, one fateful morning, I dropped the mug whilst trying to escape the fog that follows me around before coffee (yes, a real addict). I was without this trusty companion for the first time in years.

So I did what any normal human being would do when they break an inanimate, replaceable object: I bought another one.

This one was a big beautiful, more artsy looking, mug from Starbucks. It was also a huge mug and only made my coffee intake in the morning more intense. (With a downside of the coffee at the bottom of the mug ending up cold.) During our first 2 years in Barcelona I used this mug every morning. In truth most mornings during our first two years were pretty tough. It saw me through some tough times for sure…It’s dark blue tones were maybe a bit too appropriate for my emotional state though.

But just like two years before, one fateful morning this mug too took the plunge to the tile floor and ended it’s reign over my delicious morning coffee. It seemed like things were happening in slow motion as the mug slipped from my wet hands to the dry floor. This mug represented more to me than just an inanimate object…this mug was an icon of a chapter of my life; the most challenging and difficult chapter of my life.

So Jen and Maisie went out and bought me a new mug…a cheery yellow mug. Maybe it’s a prophetic sign of the good to come, or in the way that we’ve found the sun through the intense shaded of blue. But regardless, I really like it. It’s smaller…so that will maybe help me cut back on my problem.

But through this reflection I’ve realized that I’ve had one mug for each of the past three chapters of life:

Preparing for Barcelona -> Settling in Barcelona -> ???? in Barcelona

I am hopeful that the chapter marked by my yellow mug will be about:

New Beginnings, Further Growth, Living well in Community, Strong Faith and Love, and Stepping into Giftedness.

Am I the only one with distinct chapters in life? Anyone else have obscure, random, inanimate markers of these times?

I choose to live free of fear 

Fear seems to be one of the most powerful tools being used against us. Fear of the unknown. Fear of people who look different. Fear of failure. Fear of whatever the news is peddling to get ratings. Fear of death. Fear of terror. Fear of fear.

Fear can be crippling and debilitating. It can stop us in our tracks. We won’t go here or there because of fear. We won’t welcome the stranger because of fear. We won’t trust who we really are with others because of fear. We won’t forgive others because of fear of being hurt again. It could go on and on…and often does.

In light of the reality that Jesus has said ‘Fear not, because I am with you until the end of the age…” I need to take a look at the fears that I allow to hinder me. Fear of failure. Fear of being irrelevant. Fear of being judged. Fear of rejection. My list goes on and on too…

In a post 9/11 world we are sold fear…and it’s a powerful sales pitch. But I choose to not let the powers that be of this world control me because I choose to live in freedom and courage. I choose to open my life to love, beauty, grace, hope, adventure, and joy. I will not allow the poison of fear to rob me of these things…and ultimately rob me of living the life of faith that I want to live.

I choose to celebrate life

Our country has been in various wars almost my whole life (or at least the threat of war), but none have been as center stage to me as the one that has lasted the last decade. On September 11, 2001 we saw the beauty of life violated in one of the worst ways. And it hasn’t stopped. The death toll as a result of the war on terror is sickening…many people, Americans and non-Americans alike, were innocent and the place they met their earthly end was not their choice.

Something in me truly hates this loss of life. Regardless of what side of the battle lines one is one. Something in me calls to me, “This is not the way it was meant to be.” Because this is not the way it was meant to be.

In the creation story in the Bible the only thing our Creator describes as ‘very good’ is human life. It is the only thing he chose to make in His image. The thought of one image-bearer betraying the life of another in any context is hard for me. Even in heinous circumstances I can’t rejoice in death…I feel hurt even when people reap what they sow…because I can almost imagine what life would be like if they had chose to sow something different.

9/11 has revealed to me the beauty of life. We even got a glimpse of this beauty in tragedy as we watched people willingly sacrifice their lives for another. (what a contrast…people taking life vs others sacrificing life) When life is lived sacrificially for another, in even the smallest of ways, we get glimpses of the beauty that this life was meant to be. These are shadows of the greatest sacrifice that Jesus willingly made…His great story is even great when we live it out in our unique ways. Jesus said that the things that His disciples (us) would do would be even greater than what he did…

So it’s because of this that I honor life…it’s beauties make me long for more…and it’s pains make me hunger for the perfection that Jesus has made a future reality.

I choose to let go of control

I’ve watched a lot of things about the attacks on September 11th. And one thing is abundantly clear: the people of New York did not see it coming. How could they? How could we? It’s just too awful to even imagine…much less to see and experience as some of my friends have.

This is true of most tragedies in life…we don’t see them coming. Despite our best efforts at control, we have to admit, we are not in control. My problem, as I’ve realized over the past couple of years, is that I’m a control freak. When it comes to the world around me, I like to be in the pilot’s seat, the cockpit, and behind the wheel….and sometimes navigating too.

But how can I live under the illusion of control after seeing what happened 10 years ago? I have to come to terms with this, I’m not in control of my own fate.

So where does that leave me? The opposite of control is not apathy…I say it’s active trust. This means taking advantage of every opportunity to do good and to trust God with my life…this means taking risks and trusting in God’s goodness. If I really believe in a good God, then I don’t merely resign myself to this, I rejoice in this. I would choose no other way even given the choice. (I think:)

So in a post 9/11 world I choose to give up control and the shades of control that I think that I can influence. Our world is bigger than I can see, and I can trust that the One whose eyes are big enough to see it all is watching over me.

I choose to put my faith in the Kingdom of Heaven

Since 9/11 the kingdoms of the world have been fighting…a lot. The US has been in the middle of a lot of it. From the UN to Iraq, and from Afghanistan to France, the US has had a lot of conflict. And not just about terror…also about money. Our world is in upheaval (and has been for a long time and will be until the end of this age).

I choose to believe to step back from the title of ‘American’ for a moment to see that I wear a greater title: Follower of Jesus, Child of God, Heir in God’s Kingdom, Ambassador of God’s Kingdom. Because of these greater titles I can’t allow my ‘lesser-than’ titles to dictate the way I live out the others. This isn’t because I don’t honor the United States or because I don’t like the United States. It’s just that the title of ‘US citizen’ gets lost in the light of the other identities that I have in Jesus. In fact, all other identities get lost in comparison.

So to that I say, I choose not to put my faith, belief, hope, or passion into any particular ‘kingdoms’ of this world…I choose to put my faith in the only Kingdom that has the power to bring peace, heal, forgive, give grace, give meaning, give hope, bring life, and unending joy…the one where Jesus is at the helm guiding us towards all the good that God has for the world.

Ten Years – All My Ish

Cutler needs his diaper changed every morning. I guess his bowels are on a schedule, 9 times out of 10 he’s dropped a bomb in the morning. And 10 times out of 10 he doesn’t want me to change his diaper. When I get out the tools to get the job done he runs away like I’m chasing him with a pair of hedge trimmers and a crazy laugh.

I really don’t get it. He smells. It could give him a rash. And he doesn’t want it to go away. Even when I do catch him, he wiggles and doesn’t make it an easy job. It’s like he’s saying,

“No no…I like this smell. I’m not really ready to let it go and I’d rather just live in it than be clean.”

I find that I act like a baby with a poopy diaper sometimes too. There are things that I’m carrying around that don’t need to be there, that are keeping me from ‘being clean’, maybe even hurting me. The best thing to have happen would be to stop running and let God deal with it. But maybe I’m too busy or just don’t want to slow down. Or maybe I’ve just become accustomed to it and the smell doesn’t really bother me.

This is when God, as a loving father, actively works to help get rid of things that are killing me. (Kill may be a strong sounding word, but I would argue that we need to think of ‘sin’ in the strongest terms possible or we won’t see it for the destructive force that it is) Because God is a good dad he doesn’t let us run around with things in our lives that aren’t good for us. The Bible says ‘He disciplines (corrects) those he loves’. As a dad of two little kids, I have to correct my kids when they are doing something to harm themselves or others. I would be a bad father if I let them hit other kids or eat cigarette butts they find on the ground.

I think at some point we just have to ask, ‘Do I want to walk around with a soul and spirit that is like a soggy diaper?’ And if we answer ‘No’ to that question then we have to ask the brave question, ‘What do I need to do to let God help me?’ I would offer up a few ideas…

1. Pray….ask God to show areas in your life that are working against you being the person He wants you to be.

2. Slow down…a lot of times we get so busy or so wrapped up in a busy routine that we don’t just slow down and evaluate our lives.

3. Ask somebody close to you to tell you the truth…this is a dangerous one. Being willing to listen to another person’s thoughts about your life can be vulnerable, but they may also see something you don’t.

4. Ask somebody you can trust and who has a backbone to help you stick to your plan, it will get tough.

5. Don’t stop evaluating yourself…Often times dealing with one thing prepares us to deal with another. The point is allowing God to begin ‘a new creation’ in us. Not just a single upgrade on the old one. There are poopy diapers nearly every morning in my house…it’s just the way it is.

I take a lot of comfort knowing that God doesn’t quit on me. That even when I run, He doesn’t stop. He cares about each of us deeply, all of His creation for that matter, and his work in us will do nothing except for what is good.

I would also add, there is a cycle to all of this. When we have experienced God’s goodness, grace, and love over us, we get to share our hope with others. We get to help them become the new creation that God hopes for them to become as well. God also gives us eyes to see the things all around our world that he wants to bring new life to.

A big life change begins with one small choice. What am I going to choose today? To let God do what he has to do, or to run off with a poopy diaper?

I originally wrote this post a couple of days ago, but it got deleted for nerd reasons I won’t go into. But here’s my second try…

I just read the article above and a line in it hit me,

“If you can’t suffer,” Johan says, “what good are you?”

We just got back from our annual Christian Associates conference called connect. This year, our main sessions were taught by other church-planters within CA. The main text we were being taught was Hebrews 11. As each of my friends taught through this, one theme resounded from the lives of the people of faith in Hebrews: their faith lead each of them to some sort of significant suffering that resulted in their character being developed. Because of who they became through their suffering they were able to live lives of faith that made a difference in the world around them…and subsequently be considered by the writer of Hebrews some of the most noteworthy followers of God in history.

I like to ride my bikes. I like to work on my bikes. I use my bikes to get around town faster or take my daughter to school on. Basically, I use them for convenience. But I really don’t set out on my bike to suffer because I’m not competing for anything like the Columbian young men in the story, or like the riders in the Tour de France.

I watched the Tour de France a lot this year…mostly because of my newfound passion for bikes (which is evident in my last three posts). In the stages in the mountains I couldn’t get over the effort that there were exerting. They were riding 100′s of miles within a few days in incredible heat, altitude, and mental strain. For a rider in the Tour, winning a leg is pretty remarkable. Winning the whole thing is incredible. But the agony on their faces proves that they must suffer to get there. They are suffering for a prize.

In the story of Johan above, it’s not just him suffering on a bike. His mom has opened a new business, his parents sold their home, his dad is working construction as an older man. They are suffering together…but not just for the sake of suffering or riding a bike. They are suffering and sacrificing because they hope that cycling will take them out of the poverty they were living in.

This reminds me of a line in the Bible: (Hebrews 12:2)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

It’s clear to me that there is something significant with suffering in the Christian journey. I think that there is a transformation that takes place within in us that enables us to become the type of people that God can use to join him in his good intentions on earth.

I think that the quote rings true:

“If you can’t suffer, what good are you?”

I think that I need to come to terms with something spiritually. Am I a casual bike rider when it comes to suffering? Do I just want faith for convenience? Or do I want to ride like I’m competing for a prize? (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Do I want to push on in the face of difficulty? (2 Corinthians 4:7-10) Do I believe that partnership and relationship with God is worth it? (Philippians 3:7-14)

I think I do…