Yesterday at Cross Point Nashville, Pastor Tom spoke on the spiritual discipline of confession. I thought it was a fantastic message and it really got me thinking. He talked about how, as Christians, many of us have grown up in a religious format that has taught us how to “pretend”.

My guess is that many of us have layers and layers of different masks we wear. Some of these masks cover up pain from our past. Some of the masks cover up habitual sin in our life. Maybe the masks cover up our insecurities.

And most of the time I don’t think we realize just how dangerous these masks are.

There was a quote that I heard or read years ago, I can’t even remember who said it, but it has always stuck with me. It went something like this…

“You can only be loved to the extent that you are known”

This is so true! And I have a lot of work to do in this area. I’m still tempted to hide instead of reveal. I’m tempted to make myself sound a lot more spiritual than I really am. Tempted to act like I have faith when I really don’t. Tempted to tell stories that make me sound like I’m a better husband or father than I really am.

I guess I sometimes just find it easier to pretend and cover up than to live totally authentic.

I think we have a long way to go in today’s church to truly understand what confessional community looks like. We can preach it all day, but as church leaders we have a lot of work to do to create environments where people feel safe to live this out.

I know I’m committed, and so are our elders, to taking the steps needed to create this kind of life changing, authentic, community here at Cross Point.

So, why do you think we wear so many masks?

Last night we got together with a handful of friends here at the house. The party this year was not quite as big as years past, but we’ll be back in full swing in 2009. Next year, EVERYONE IS INVITED (this is not an official invitation as I’ve not checked with Brandi)!

A few of us go in on fireworks, and I must admit, I’m quite proud of the firework show we’ve developed over the years. I stand by my commitment to provide the largest, backyard, fireworks display anywhere in Nashville (or at least on my street).

Hope you guys had a great weekend. I would love to hear how your weekend was!

Brandi and I are spending the day getting ready for our annual party. For years we’ve hosted a 4th of July party with friends. Each year our backyard fireworks show gets bigger and better. I may try to get some video for you tonight.

Just in case, I took a little video last night of the kids shooting off their mini firework show. We had a blast!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful fourth of July!

What are your plans?

Well it’s official! My seven year old Jett has his own blog. You can check it out HERE.

We thought this would be a fun summer exercise in writing. It will also be a great way to introduce him to journaling. I’ve been journaling since high school. It’s so cool to look back and see the different things, events, and people that have impacted my life over the years. I hope this is something that Jett will do over the course of his life time.

I was thinking this afternoon about just a few of the events I can’t wait (I think) to read about on his blog one day…

• His first true love
• The first day of 1st grade
• When he accepts Christ into his life
• His first homerun
• A time when he trusts God is some areas of his life that scares him to death
• The day he gets his driver’s license

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) - A woman who lost her class ring in Lake Michigan in 1954 has it back, thanks to a metal-detector hobbyist. Robert Savage told the Ludington Daily News for a story Saturday that he found the ring about 12 years ago, but only recently began looking for its owner.

You can read the full story HERE.

The article got me thinking. What is something I’ve lost I wish someone would find? I would have to go with my original wedding ring. Lost it several years ago. It cost me $40 back in 1996, but would still love to have it back. I’m now on wedding ring #3 (long story) which cost me $15.

What is the one thing you’ve lost that you wish someone would find?

Time’s online magazine had an interesting article you can read HERE which covered some of James Dobson’s comments from last week concerning Barack Obama. In response to Dobson’s remarks, another group of Christians launched the webs site, www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com.

What’s clear is that not all Christians are going to come down on the same side of all the issues in 2008.

To complicate matters further a recent study done by the Barna Group shows that 16-29 year olds are very skeptical of Christianity. The study explored twenty specific images related to Christianity, including ten favorable and ten unfavorable perceptions. Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions were negative. 75 % of the respondents said Christians are too involved in politics.

So I’ve been thinking. How do we as Christians respond in an election year? What do you think our role is in politics? Should we even care what other’s think about our involvement?

I would love to hear what YOU think…

I saw this on my new friend, Dave Shaw’s blog. I love it. Could this be coming to Cross Point soon?

Thumbs up or down?

* My Watercooler

* My Creative Chaos

I read an interesting article the other day about the fact that maybe we don’t need as much sleep as we think we do. You can read the article HERE.

On average I get about 6 hours of sleep a night. My routine is usually 11PM-5AM. Sometimes more, sometimes less…

How much sleep do you get on average?

Were you ever able to do this? Be honest. This site is called “Without Wax” not “With Wax”.

We are continuing our series at Cross Point we’ve entitled “SYNC”. We’re spending the summer looking at the disciplines, the rhythms, and the practices that we should arrange our life around if we really want Christ to be formed in our life.

Yesterday we talked about prayer.

I confessed to our church that in many ways I have reduced prayer down to a transaction. I’ve reduced God down to a vending machine. I go to him when I need something. Truth be known, I really don’t know what to do with God when I get done with my “list”.

God is teaching me these days that prayer is about so much more than my “list”. God is so much bigger than the vending machine I’ve reduced him to. I worship a God that breathed life into me so that I can know Him and love Him. And he longs to have a relationship with me.

So my commitment this week is that I’m going to pray less and listen more. When I get done with my list, I’m just going to sit in His presence. I’m going to see if just maybe God has something he wants to say to me.

How about you? What is God teaching you about prayer these days? What is God showing you about himself?