Just Saying "Hi"

I just wanted to stop by this morning and say "HI!" I've missed sharing with you lately, but I only have a few more days left in this teaching module (3 week intensive) and then perhaps I can stop by daily. Right now, I am studying like crazy. I joke (but it isn't a joke at all) that I'm just 30 minutes ahead of the students. I study, prepare, study some more, write, put together a PowerPoint presentation of the lesson and get that completed about half an hour before walking into class. I "dump the load" for 3 hours and then head home for more study, preparation, study, PowerPoint, only to head back to class for another 3 hour information dump. This goes on Monday through Thursday for three weeks. I'm not sure what the students are getting, but I am learning a lot! Perhaps in coming days I'll share a little - but I'll resist the urge to make it a 3 hour post.

Factoid Friday!!!

Well, it's that time again. Since I've not posted with any regularity lately, I'm a little embarrassed; but since it's only a little embarrassment, then I'll go ahead. If I were a LOT embarrassed, then I'd find another avenue of expression. However ... it's time for

Factoid Friday!!!

Did you know that it is easier to influence a person to your point of view after he (or she) has had a large dose of caffeine?

That's correct! Australian researchers apparently didn't have enough to do, so they gave participants in the study either a placebo (containing no caffeine) or a drink that contained the caffeine equivalent of 2 cups of coffee. Following the ingestion of the brew, the participants were asked to read a persuasive message stating an opinion which they had formerly opposed. The folks hopped up on caffeine were more likely to be persuaded to change their opinion than the folks who got the placebo.
Two observations:
1) I must stop watching the news while I have my morning coffee!
2) If I need to sell something, there are a few apparently easy targets in the IHOP-KC world.

Have a great weekend!

A Little Catching Up

On Valentine's Day, I reported that my wife left me. Well, I'm happy to report that she made it back safely. The return trip was not without it's hassles - her flight from Ft. Wayne was delayed, which caused her to miss her connection in Detroit, which required that she be re-booked at another time which put her back in KC about 4 hours later than expected - but she did arrive safely home! It is good to have her back.

In addition, I've been teaching from 1 Peter the last couple of weeks at Forerunner School of Ministry. Monday, we focused our attention for a few minutes on 1 Peter 2:1 - Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

In that study, we discovered that our calling as Christians is to "fervently love one another from the heart." (1 Peter 1:22) And now, reading 2:1 we have discovered that there are some practices that will keep us from doing what we are called to do. The first thing that will keep us from fervent love is malice. We learned that malice is really a desire for evil to come upon someone. We also learned that evil is not the opposite of God, it is the absence of God. So the desire for evil to come upon a person is the result of a void in a person's heart. If I have "malice" toward another person, it is a signal that an emptiness exists in my heart. The only explanation for a malicious thought or action is that I have an emptiness in my heart that needs to be filled.

After malice, there are other hindrances to love listed: deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all slander. Without going into any major detail, it appears that Peter has given us a progression that leads away from love. The progression goes something like this:

1) If the heart is not filled with the fullness of God, that void produces an evil, self-centered desire for self preservation and self promotion and will have no concern for any injury that may come to others (malice). It is truly animalistic.
2) A malicious heart attitude will produce an insatiable need to get ahead of others at all costs. At that point, deceit takes over and no deception is too low in order for me to get what I want by whatever means necessary.
3) I will then begin to play a part (hypocrisies) that is contrary to what I say I believe. I will sink into the depths of hypocrisy. It will be subtle at first and will appear harmless, but if I allow it to run unchecked, it will escalate.
4) In that condition, I will long for what others have (envies) – not just for the sake of having it, but because I will honestly believe that it is a matter of my personal survival – with such intensity that it will literally rot my sense of right and wrong.
5) At this point, I will have no hesitation in saying whatever I have to say, or doing whatever I have to do to displace anyone I perceive as a competitor (slanders). It’s the law of the jungle, kill or be killed, eat or be eaten; survival of the fittest becomes my motto.

So now the question must be, "How do I fill the void that exists naturally in the human heart? How do I fill the void that leads to this destructive progression?"

I'm glad you asked that question, because Peter gives us the answer immediately. In 1 Peter 2:2 he says, "...like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word..." The only way to fill the void is with the Word of God. When we long for the Word of God the way a baby longs for milk, then we will begin to fill the emptiness with the only thing that will be effective. So my prayer for myself and for my brothers and sisters in Christ is that we will have a longing for the Word of God - so that the empty places in our hearts will "be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)

Something New

In keeping with the latest trend in blogging - who am I kidding? I have no idea what is the latest trend in blogging. It's just that the two blogging gurus that I know (Randy and Shawn) seem to have some kind of special subject or quiz or give away or theme on Fridays. And to avoid doing my own creative thinking, I decided to simply mimic the big boys.

So here is the first (and maybe last) installment in my attempt to communicate through the written word.

Factoid Friday!!!!

Taken from the pages of my latest issue of Men's Health, did you know that socks may help you fall asleep faster? That's right, according to page 38 of the March 2007 issue of Men's Health Magazine, Dutch researchers observed 8 people on 6 different occasions. On each of those occasions, they changed what these people wore to bed and what routine they followed prior to going to bed. Then they measured how long it took each of them to fall asleep. People who wore socks to bed fell asleep 27 percent faster than those people who went to bed barefoot. There is one proviso: don't put the socks on until just before you slip beneath the covers. Apparently if you warm your feet too soon, it doesn't help.



Hey, I don't explain 'em, I just report 'em! So before you head to bed, don the socks for a good night's sleep. Seems to have worked for this guy.

My Wife Left Me Today!

Can you believe it? Valentine's Day and my wife left me. That's right - just got on a plane and flew off. She left me!

She left me with enough clean clothes for a few days at least.
She left me a few meals in the refrigerator.
She left me a five day supply of vitamins in a little travel case.
She left me a new bar of soap (because she knew I didn't have a clue where she keeps those supplies).
She left me a big bar of 72% Cocao Dark Chocolate (mm-mm good!).

She left me alright -
She left me with a new appreciation of all the things she does for me on a daily basis.
But most of all, she left me looking forward to Sunday afternoon when she comes back from visiting her mom, sister, and brother in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!

Sorry! I didn't do it on purpose! I just tripped!

Do those sound like the words of a child who has just broken his mom's favorite antique punch bowl...or the words of a husband who was on his way to the toilet (in a big hurry - don't ask) and stepped on the laundry basket (placed strategically in the hallway between the office and toilet), strewing clothes everywhere and crushing (literally crushing) the plastic basket? By now, your votes have been cast and you've chosen option # 2 - the klutzy husband. And you are...drum roll please...absolutely correct.

What happened? I don't know - it was just one of those freak occurrences - I'm sure the phase of the moon and coming snow storm converged to create some kind of time warp vortex. Who knows? Maybe I'm just not as adept as I once was at leaping tall laundry baskets in a single bound. Whatever the cause, I'm now in the market for a new laundry basket.

Life goes on!

The Week Ahead

Today I begin a three week blitz we in the Forerunner School of Ministry world call a "module." Our schedule is such that we teach three hours a day, for days a week for three weeks. The good part is that we get to spend a lot of time with some top quality - highly motivated students. It gives us a really good opportunity to get to know one another very well. The tough part is preparation. I not-so-kiddingly say that I am about 30 minutes ahead of the students. I complete preparation for the day about half an hour before going in to teach. I, then dump the information only to head back to the books and computer to prepare for the next day. Debbie has scheduled a trip to her home town of Ft. Wayne, Indiana beginning Wednesday. According to her, this is a good time to be gone "because I won't see you anyway."

In addition to that, Marisa has 7 friends arriving for the coming weekend. I think the wave of 20-somethings starts on Thursday. The purpose of their trip is to pray for one of the group who is very ill. She is one of the 7 and will receive prayer for healing and support from her friends. If you think about it, you might join them in praying for Olivia's healing.

In addition, I'm working with some folks doing research on academic accreditation for FSM. This seems to be quite a daunting task - but well worth the efforts because it will challenge us to greater levels of organization and excellence. We have already made remarkable strides in those areas, this will push us even further. I think one thing we will discover is that we already are off the charts in terms of excellence of training.

There is more, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Have a great week. Hope to visit with you again tomorrow!

Evolution Sunday

This Sunday, February 11 has been designated as "Evolution Sunday." It occurs on the birthday of Charles Darwin. As we approach this day, I just couldn't let it pass without comment. Let me first share that I majored in zoology at a state university. I was a nominal Christian in those days - I had been raised going to church - a denomination that definitely could not be classified as fundamentalist or Bible-thumpers. In fact, I had Sunday school teachers that taught me that there was no such thing as eternal life because "it would be boring to live forever." Those same Sunday school teachers taught me that Jesus was no more the Son of God than the rest of us. So fundamentalism was not part of my formative years. While in the university, I sat through basic biology classes as a freshman, and gradually progressed through such classes as "Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy" where I learned that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny." What that basically means is that as a human embryo develops it "retraces" its evolutionary journey. An example is that in the early days of a human embryo, there are structures that appear to be gill slits (like in a fish). As the embryo matures, those "gill slits" eventually become lungs. Thus retracing it's evolutionary development. From that class, I took basic physiology, then cellular physiology, then microbiology, and others. The crown jewel in my zoological training was a class entitled "The Biological Status of Man." Even the professor couldn't decide if this was really a biology class or a philosophy class. It was nothing but training in evolution. I share all of that to explain that I didn't just fall off the fundamentalist turnip truck.

Now back to the original point - Evolution Sunday. In the "Clergy Letter" that established this austere day, we find this quote: We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as one theory among others is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children."

The phrase in the above quote that gives me difficulty states that this theory is foundational truth. My question is, "Just exactly which theory of evolution are we talking about?" You see, we discuss the theory of evolution as if it were one - as if the entire scientific community had come up with a conclusive statement on evolution, and if we fightin' fundie Christians don't buy into it, then we are just showing our ignorance. The reality is the scientists have no conclusive agreement at all! In the newsletter Species, Speciation, and The Environment edited by Niles Eldredge we find that several views exist on several theories. He states:

Paleontologists now generally agree that stasis -- where species may persist in recognizably the same form, with little or no accumulated change, for millions of years (5-10 million in marine species; somewhat shorter durations in the more volatile terrestrial environments) -- is a common phenomenon.

Whoa there - they "generally agree?" What does that mean? It means they don't fully agree. And the reason they don't fully agree is that there are multiple theories of evolution out there. Some of these theories come from the geologists, some from biologists, some from environmentalists, some from paleontologists, and so on. Now, I love the scientific journey. I think it's exciting when scientists learn how things work. But evolution is far from a physical law. You will never hear the scientific community divided over Newton's laws of physics. No scientific journal will ever say, "Scientists generally agree on gravity." So I suggest that if churches are going to have a Sunday, why don't they have "entropy Sunday," or "gravity Sunday?"

Back From Brinkley

Well, I've been back from Brinkley, Arkansas for a couple of days now. It was a great trip and we met some really great people. If you think about it, pray for those good folks at the United Methodist Church in Brinkley. The pastor there is David Swift and his wife is Anne - both are special people seeking to minister well in the name of Jesus.

We arrived back in Kansas City just in time to participate in the three day Global Bridegroom Fast at the House of Prayer. The GBF is a monthly global solemn assembly that lasts for three days. It always occurs the first Monday through Wednesday of each month. In addition, the GBF for December lasts 7 days. When you add it all together, we have 11 months of 3 day fasts and one month of 7 fasting days which totals to 40 days of fasting each year. During the Global Bridegroom Fast, we are calling believers worldwide to join together in prayer and fasting for revival.

It's a good thing that we came back from Brinkley into 3 days of fasting, because we ate way too much while we were there. Those Methodists know how to put on the feed bag! My favorite was a chess pie that was to die for! They were talking about inviting us to come back sometime in August - I'm hoping for more pie if they do.

Brinkley, Arkansas

I'm off to Brinkley, Arkansas for the weekend. I speak Saturday evening and Sunday morning at the United Methodist Church there. I'll talk to you again on Monday (maybe).

An Obedient Child

Let me say a few more words about 1 Peter. I find it interesting that Peter challenges his readers with a series of similes. The first one, the challenge to live “as obedient children” is not exactly what we might think. He says:

1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." 17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth…

Let’s look first at the call to “be holy in all your behavior.” If we aren’t careful here, we will miss an important distinction related to holiness. The word translated “behavior” is broader than how we act. It really has to do with every part – every dimension – every manner of life. So the implication is that this call to holiness has to do with attitude, and thought, and emotion, and will, and purpose. Then when all of those dimensions of life are given over to holiness, of course behavior will necessarily follow. So the reality of this admonition is that Peter is urging these people to grow into holiness from the inside out.

Another observation I make is that there is a model by which we are to gauge our holiness; we are to be “like the Holy One who called you.” God is not just holy in the way He acts – He IS Holy – every part of his being is holy – Holiness is God and God is Holiness. So if we are to be holy LIKE God is holy, then just focusing on behavior is completely inadequate.
Now, notice that Peter quickly moves from an image of a holy God, which some have understood to be a distant and unapproachable being who is impossible to imitate, to an image they all can identify with “If you address as Father …” He wants them to see that this is not an unattainable calling.

The overall implication of this is that the call to be obedient children is not a call to behave better so much as it is a call to be like their father. Peter basically says, “As obedient children, be like your Father.” Obedience as a child is completely different than obedience as a slave. A slave is obedient when he does what he is told to do. A child is obedient when he is reflecting the character of his father. So an obedient child is not one that does what he is told – an obedient child is one that seeks to be like his Father. And let me hasten to add, that imitation doesn’t have to be perfect – in fact, it won’t be perfect. An obedient child is not a perfect child, but he is a child whose heart is longing to be like his parent.

When I was in seminary, I had an evangelism professor named Robert Coleman. Robert had a young son at the time that loved his daddy and wanted desperately to be like him. One day, he looked out the back door and saw his dad working in the yard under the hot and humid summer sun. Quickly, he did what he had seen his dad do in a similar situation. Whenever he had been out playing hard in the hot sun, his dad had brought him a drink of water. So Robert’s little son did what he had seen his dad do. He grabbed a glass, filled it with water and ran outside to give it to his dad. He ran up behind his dad and tugged on his daddy’s pant leg. His dad turned around and looked down into the face of his son. His son lifted up a glass of water. Robert smiled, bent down, took the glass of water, drank it all and hugged his son.

Now, for the rest of the story… Robert’s son couldn’t reach the cabinet where the clean glasses were kept, so he grabbed one that had been sitting on the counter a while and had curdled milk in the bottom. It also had a fly stuck to the curdled milk. Little Robert didn’t know the difference in the hot and cold water, so he filled the glass with warm water. So when Robert drank down that entire glass full of water, it was coming from a dirty glass, filled with hot water, tainted with curdled milk, and had a fly floating on top. Was that a perfect reflection of the kind of drink the son had received from the father? No! Was it a reflection of the Father’s heart? Absolutely!

Obedient children in the context of 1 Peter are children who have looked at the holy character of God, and are seeking to emulate the character they have seen in Him. We want to be Holy, not because God told us to be holy, but because we want to be like our heavenly Father. Will we be able to do it perfectly? Absolutely not! But God is not interested in perfect behavior – He is interested that our hearts respond to and seek to imitate His holiness.