Go Bluebonnets!

This weekend is the annual Emma Creek Classic, women's 5k walk and run here in Hesston. For the second year in a row the girls of my family along with Kelly's mom and sister have gotten together to form a team. Their team is called the "Bluebonnets" because they all have close ties to Texas - and the Bluebonnet is the Texas state flower.

Kelly bettered her time this year by about 3 minutes. Way to go Kelly!

From left to right: Gail (Kelly's mom), Emma, Abby, Kelly, Gracie, and Erika (Kelly's sister)

Gracie was the slow-poke of the group. Gail agreed to be Gracie's companion for the race. I am proud to say that out of 898 racers, they weren't last. (I think there were two or three behind them). Good job, Gracie.

I think it's called a "pergola"

Kelly has quite the "honey do" list she keeps for me. She loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life. This last weekend I was able to put a big check mark next to a project at the top of the list - something to hold our porch swing. Kelly has a thing for porch swings - she would sit on it every day if the weather was nice. Ours has been in our storage room since we moved to Kansas. Now it can see the sun again.

Here are some pictures of the first (of many) Harry Homeowner projects for summer '07.

Quotes of the Day - April 19

From the classic book Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders.

"We can lead others only as far along the road as we ourselves have traveled. Merely pointing the way is not enough. If we are not walking, then no one can be following, and we are not leading anyone." (p.28)

"More failure comes from an excess of caution than from bold experiments with new ideas... Most failures come from insufficient daring... The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution." (p. 127-128)

I love our small-group

I need to take a minute to say how wonderful our small-group is. Like a lot of churches, we have found small-groups to be indispensable in creating an atmosphere for the Biblical "one anothers" (love one another, encourage one another, spur one another on to love and good deeds, etc). I am a big believer in putting Christians in smaller groups to live life together. All small-groups struggle to one degree or another in being the type of community the Bible calls us to be. Sometimes small-groups can be a very frustrating experience. There are other times, though, when a small-group is such a beautiful thing.

The group that Kelly and I help lead has got to be the most varied group I have ever been apart of. We have young couples with toddlers and other couples with grown kids. We have 5 singles ranging from college age to young professional to older and divorced. We have 3 folks who have just come out of an ultra-legalistic church community (sort of Amish like, only more oppressive). We have another guy who is sort of a "biker type" who has just recently come out of drug and alcohol abuse, trouble with the law and failed marriages. Every time we meet I look out at the jammed packed living room of people standing, or sitting on the floor or at tables or on the sofas with styrofoam plates of food precariously balanced on their knees and I just smile. We are such an odd group.

Over the last several months we have been talking about and studying the concept of "grace". How great to see people in such different stages of life and from wildly different backgrounds all united together around our common need for grace. It is such a wonderful picture of what the church is supposed to be.

I love the way our group opens up and talks about important issues; I love the way they pray for and with each other; I love the way they have reached out to and welcomed new folks to our little "community;" I love their desire and heart for serving others.

But, this is the sad part... When I started this group a year or so ago, I started it with a co-leader (Scott) who had never led a small-group before. The plan was always to grow the group to viable size, establish the group in what a small-group was supposed to look like, and to get Scott to where he was comfortable to lead on his own - and then Kelly and I would duck out and start another group. Well, the time has come.

My plan now is for Kelly and I to step out and for Scott to give some leadership opportunities to another guy in our group in hopes of dividing the group soon.

While this is a wonderful place to be, it is still kind of sad. I am tempted to just stay where I am - because I like it here. Like everyone else I have to fight the urge to "keep a good thing going". But, as soon as we try to hang on to and preserve - that which we are preserving ceases to be what it once was. We have to keep moving forward. Change and growth are good things.

A different way of seeing

My artistic background and training are in the visual arts (specifically - drawing, print making, pottery and painting). I am a firm believer that artistic ability can be learned and developed. I was planning on being an art teacher after all. While it is true that some people seem to be born with the artistic "knack", I think that "knack" is misunderstood by most who would not call themselves artistic. Art is not primarily an issue of bio mechanics - how you hold the pencil or the brush, or how you mix color. I believe that the key ingredient to great art is how the artist "sees" the world around him. Great artists see differently than other people do. Everyday objects and scenes are seen in terms of form, line, hue, light (direct, refracted, cool, warm), proportion, space, balance, etc.

Most of us don't really see that well.

I am fascinated by the art of photography. And, this is not because I am good at it -I'm not. I am astoundingly average. But, I am fascinated because it seems like the technology of the camera levels the playing field for everyone. We all have the potential of being great artists - the camera does the work. And yet, so few of us can do it well. Why is that? Imagine taking 99 of us average people and adding one Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist. Give us all the same type of camera and then release us all to photograph the same event (like a Presidential Inauguration). A few of us might get lucky and get some really great shots. For the most part, however, the photojournalist would outpace us all. For he/she has been trained how to "see". The equipment is the same; the scenery is the same; the people we are photographing are the same. The great shots are already there just waiting to be captured by any of us, waiting to be found. They are there, right in front of our noses - and we all see them.. and then most of us walk right by. While seeing we don't really SEE.

I have used this principle to teach people how to study their Bible. Familiarity with Bible passages causes most of us to skim over what we think we already know. We rarely stop to fully see - afresh and anew.

I had a great conversation with Kelly last night about writing. She is a tremendous writer but she feels like her creative well is dried up and empty. She described her days as spilling over into one another in endless to-do lists that never get done. Admittedly, not the most fertile soil for creative thinking. But in the end we both came to the conclusion that God is there, even in the mundane. The stories are there. Everyday conversations can either be seen as useless, throw away words - or we can hear in that other person and see on their face the pain of their circumstances, the frustration of their sin or even the joy of God's redemptive work. There's a story behind that voice. How well do we see? How well do we listen? God, as the Master Artist of the beauty all around us has planted art in obscure places for those who are willing to search for it. The stories are there, waiting to be found. The great shots are there. The beauty is there. God is at work and He is leaving His finger prints.

But, even as I write this I know in my heart that I do not practice it. While seeing, I rarely see - while hearing, I rarely hear. God is revealing himself in tremendous ways through his creation - through conversations with those made in his image. And while God's creation cries out for the glory of God and eternal souls grapple with the issues of eternity, I blindly just go about my day.
And the God who is unseen remains... unseen.

Quotes of the day - April 11

Here are a few quotes from one of the books I am working through, The Externally Focused Church by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson.

"We don't know of any churches that claim to be internally focused, but they exist all the same. Internally focused churches concentrate on getting people into the church and generating activity there. These churches may create powerful worship experiences, excel in teaching, offer thriving youth programs, and have vibrant small groups, but at the end of the day, what is measured is the number of people and activities within the church. These are good churches filled with good people. And, what they do is vital but not sufficient for a healthy church. Worship, teaching, and personal devotions are absolutely necessary for building the internal capacity to sustain an external focus, but if all the human and financial resources are expended inside the four walls of the church, then no matter how "spiritual" things may appear to be, something is missing." (p.16)

Discussing Matthew 25:35-46 ("for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat... Lord, when did we see you hungry...?)

"Then Jesus replies, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." It is not those to whom we minister who meet Jesus in a ministry encounter; it is the ones who are doing the ministering! We're not Jesus to them. They are Jesus to us!... Mother Teresa described her ministry strategy as going out and looking for the dying, the cripple, the lonely, the unwanted, the unloved - "Jesus in disguise." Are we willing to find him?" (p.66)

In the mean time

My acting debut went ok last night. My cold is much better. I remembered all the things I was supposed to say. I got some good feedback. All in all I felt like our Good Friday gathering was quite worshipful. We took communion together and remembered our Lord's death. It was a meaningful time. Tomorrow is Easter - the celebration of the most distinctive doctrine in the Christian faith - the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Today is Saturday.

The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is sort of an awkward day for me. As a pastor who tries to design worship experiences, I want a Good Friday time to be somber, serious and somewhat dark. It should foster an attitude of humility, reflection and gratitude. Easter Sunday should be bright and loud with an attitude of celebration and victory. But, somewhere between the despair of Friday and the celebration of Sunday comes... Saturday - the mean time.

We know what happened Friday; we know what's coming Sunday. So, today we just... wait, I guess.

It seems like a lot of our lives is spent "in the mean time". When I felt like it was time for me to move out of youth ministry several years ago, I went through about 18 months of difficult "mean time" - knowing something different was coming but not knowing what or when. I bet I have had 5 or 6 conversations with individuals just in the last few weeks - people who are going through the same thing in their career. It seems like God gives us a desire or a dream and then makes us wait - and wait to see it come to fruition. In fact, it seems like the wait is much longer than it needs to be. I know several couples that have been praying earnestly for children. They would be great parents too. And they continue to wait. I know that there is a high likelihood that eventually they will have children - either though natural biology or through adoption. But today, their arms are still empty. Life in the mean time.

It is obvious that the ability to wait is important to God. It is a common theme in all of our stories. Is there anything that tests our faith more than waiting? In fact, one gets the impression that the more important the mission - the more important the promise, the longer the people have to wait to see it come to pass. How old was Abraham before the promised son was finally given? How long was Moses in Midian? How long has the church waited for Christ to finally come back?

Our ability to wait says a lot about us. It says a lot about who we are trusting in too. This is a tough principle for me. Patience is not one of my virtues. But God is teaching me.

You may think it's funny but it'snot

It is Wednesday of Holy Week. In two days we will have a big Good Friday service in the evening. I am planning on making a fool of myself doing my first ever dramatic monologue - in character. That's right, Greg Holmes the thespian. Then, Sunday will of course be Easter. The big day.

And, I have a head cold.

Between my coughing and me blowing my nose you can hear me say such profound things as, "I deed do blow my doze", and "my ed ith kide ov thtuffy".

Could be an interesting weekend.

Monday musings Apirl 2

I am still reeling over my sermon yesterday. There are certain passages that make me feel especially hypocritical as a preacher. Yesterday's was one of them. The passage in question is Luke 9:10-27. Jesus has just revealed himself through series of amazing miracles (stilling the storm, the Gerasene demoniac, the hemorrhaging woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter) - He then sends the 12 out on a training mission, empowered to perform miracles of their own. He was not only training the 12 for disciple-making, He was revealing himself in a unique way. Jesus isn't just a prophet or teacher - he is divine. He doesn't just have the power to do amazing things, he has the power to empower others to do amazing things. So, when he calls them to step out in obedience and do something that they cannot do - they are to obey and do it anyway. This is tested in 9:13 when he tells them to feed thousands of hungry people.

All of that is pretty convicting - stepping out in radical obedience to do what we cannot do. That's tough for guys like me who tend to play it safe.

But the worst is yet to come.

Jesus goes on to ask if disciples have learned their lesson. Do they understand who Jesus is? Peter gets it right and confesses that Jesus is the "Christ of God". Then Jesus drops a bombshell - he will be rejected and killed and then rise on the third day. It is obvious that this is not what Jesus' disciples were expecting to hear.

It would be a whole lot more enjoyable to follow a Messiah who brings joy and blessing and freedom and prosperity to his people. But, what does it mean to follow one who was rejected and tortured to death? Jesus describes what this will mean for his followers. As they publicly align themselves with one whom the world has rejected, they will have to carry that scorn and derision daily. And, if they try to save their lives they will ultimately lose them - but if they willingly lay down their lives for the sake of Christ - they will find life.

This is the part that is hard to preach.

I am pretty wimpy when it comes to hardship or suffering. I do not "count it all joy"; I count the minutes till it's over. I tend to do whatever is necessary to insure my life is pain free and comfortable. Not that we are to seek out hardship - but it seems like Christ is telling us to expect suffering if we are going to be a follower of his. I don't expect it. To be quite honest, I expect to be treated better than Christ was. I rarely - very rarely - suffer for the sake of Christ.

Our understanding of who Jesus is and what his earthly ministry is all about affects our perception of what it means to be his follower. Is the Jesus that we follow wearing a crown of gold? A crown of roses? A crown of thorns? A student is not above his teacher. If Jesus wore a crown of thorns, how is it that I expect to follow him wearing a crown of roses?