Groups of People: followers of Jesus

A follower is by definition someone who has given hist/her life to follow Jesus and has put Him first. This assumes a measure of passion for Christ.

 

Group 1: The Experientialist: Lives looking for goose-bumps in every moment – in song, in prayer, in camps, and in relationships.

 

I was once told by a friend that he made a major decision based on seeing a rainbow appear as he was processing a decision. In his mind, it was a sign from God.

Of course, it was also probably because of the rain.

It’s nearly impossible to disagree with an experientialist because everything becomes about how God is communicating with them. God is, after all, big enough to create a rainbow as a promise and then have it also dictate the decision of one person walking along a path. He’s God. He’s that big. But the problem with the experientialist is that often decisions are made based on how they feel and then justified by how they want God to feel about it too. That’s less about God and more about personality.

continue reading

Excitement. Anticipation. Eagerness. Anxiety. Fear. My guess is that these emotions, and many more, are going through your heart and mind right now as you prepare to leave high school for the “real world.” Not too long ago I was in the same boat. I have since learned some powerful lessons I would like to share with you. Will you allow me to share some personal encouragement and insights to help you succeed in college? I want nothing more than to see my own students flourish as followers of Jesus in college. And I want the same for you. If you read this two-part series you will be miles ahead of many of your peers. Prayerfully take these words to heart and I believe they could make all the difference for you.

 

Yogi Berra is famous for creative one-liners. For example, he said, “You better go to other peoples’ funerals. Otherwise they won’t come to yours.” He also said, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” And one of my personal favorites: “There is a restaurant in L.A. that is so busy no one goes there anymore.” He once quipped, “If you don’t know where you are going you will probably end up somewhere else.” So true!

continue reading

Family bike rides are similar to a toddler’s birthday party. They can be fun and filled with great memories, or they can be a disaster with random family members melting down in the middle of it. Unfortunately, you never know which one you’re going to get – you’re in the middle of it and it’s too late to turn back.

We had great weather in Boise yesterday so we decided to attempt a long bike ride with the kids. Our plan was to bike out so many miles, stop, eat lunch and give everyone a break and then return home. Fortunately our kids have outgrown toddler meltdowns but we’re heading full swing into the pre-teen moodiness and know-it-all phase.

Oh mercy!

Mark led the way, followed by Noah and Anastasia with me bringing up the rear (I’m trying hard to be mature and ignore the many uses of a pun here). Noah began to fall behind (oh the potential puns). His legs were spinning fast but producing little speed.

continue reading

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

It doesn’t matter what topic you happen to be thinking or talking about—the economy, politics, religion, the environment or morality—if you read too many blogs or listen to one too many media pundits, you’re likely to come away with a deep sense of dread over questions like these:

• Is the economy going to take another tailspin?

• Will the wrong candidate become president?

• Is traditional marriage doomed?

• Will Iran blow up Israel?

Nobody knows for sure how to answer these vexing questions, but the answers—even if we knew what they were—aren’t the problem. Truth be told, it’s the uncertainty of not knowing and the fear it inspires that has a fierce stranglehold on many people, and it’s threatening to undo us all.

continue reading

My daughter isn’t really the one graduating. It’s actually me. 

My other degrees suddenly seem cheap, just small-time tokens of my own ambition. But the one I’m earning this month? It’s the big one--the one from a preparatory school known for the hardest tests on the planet and the highest number of credits. It’s the diploma that I never really thought about eighteen years ago when I enrolled at 12:17 a.m. at St. Agnes Hospital on the sixth floor, Maternity Ward B. 

The other mothers and I whisper about it quietly in between the graduation parties and awards nights. None of us knows quite what to do, even the ones who have two or three of these honors behind them. It’s not because we lost the graduation instructions, but because for us, it’s the season of loss. Diplomas are supposed to get you somewhere. They’re supposed to launch you into another galaxy of opportunity. But this new honor I’m earning seems, at least for now, to be taking everything away from me, just as it’s giving my daughter everything I prayed for. 

continue reading

For the last 10 months I’ve been writing a book about Christian approaches to consuming culture, and one of the things I discuss in the book is food. How can Christians be better consumers of food? It’s a topic pertinent to anyone of faith (we all eat), but maybe not one that is discussed as much as it should be (though a number of great books have been exploring it of late–such as this, this, and this.)

continue reading

My energy was low the other day due to not sleeping well. Why do our problems and concerns seem to magnify at night?

I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and began thinking about an issue involving our 11-year-old son Noah. It was nothing major, just some ongoing growing pains with our tweener. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to worry, feeding the issue and before long, it grew to Noah dropping out of school and making license tags behind bars with “mom” tattoo on his arm under a skull with crossbones.

I finally fell asleep and when I awoke in the morning, it all seemed frivolous but it had left me robbed of much needed sleep and an unproductive day.

Pete Wilson’s new book Empty Promises, shares how the ancient Hebrew mindset saw the beginning of the day starting at sunset. Even in the Creation Story in Genesis 1 illustrates this, “Evening came and then morning – that was the first day.”

continue reading

When you first read this title, did you see a verb or a noun? If you’re younger than forty,  chances are the second word in my title is a verb. 

Sex rules. 

In this grammatical reading, Sex rules our movies, our conversations, and more than ever, our politics. It rules the way we frame relationships. Sex rules advertising, novels, fashion, comedy, and ballot boxes. Increasingly, it influences the way we think about the world. To most young people, sexual orientation is as natural a genetic marker as your height or eye color. Sexual health depends on freedom of choice, with few forbidden territories. Sex rules culture more than ever before. 

If you were born before 1970, you might have seen a plural noun in my title. When it comes to sex, there are rules. With this interpretation, sex rules prevent a culture from losing its dignity, and they give society a fixed moral compass. Without rules, sex is shameful, destructive. To traditionalists, sex with rules makes it better, not worse. In this grammatical reading, my title anticipates a list--not an observation. 

continue reading

Gay Marriage and Stupid Christian Arguments

 

I said this in an earlier post and I still believe it:

There is probably no topic that Christians are more known for these days than hating gays.  The vocal minority has done a great job proving this out and the not-so vocal majority of Christians have done very little to disprove it.  We are known for largely hateful rhetoric and singling out one lifestyle to vilify -- while ignoring the ones Jesus really spoke against – pride, anger, materialism, idolatry, selfishness.

The church has wasted its time fighting gay marriage.  Why wasted?  Because I can tell you as a constitutional law expert that no matter what voters decide, the issue will be resolved by state and federal courts that for the most part don’t care what voters think.  So the church has spent millions fighting something that in the end they have no control over.  It’s like fighting a tsunami with a bucket – or millions of them.  It won’t work but you will die in the process.  

continue reading

 

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps (Proverbs 16:9)

God’s will is an industry. If you don’t believe me, do an Amazon search for the term, “God’s Will” and see how many hits you get. It’s around 334,000.  The reason for this is that Christian publishers know that God’s will sells. Big.

And the reason that God’s will sells is that it is often less about God and all about us. Whom shall I marry, will I get the mortgage modification, and should I move to France and become a potato farmer?

Like many of you, I am in the God’s will business. 40% of the conversations I have revolve around helping people sort out their future. The other 60% is a mix of sin management, past guilt issues and the joys and sorrows of this life.

continue reading