New Beginnings

Modern Traveler: Ancient Journey

(ancientjourney.blogspot.com)

Our work and ministry with Christ Journey is progressing in amazing ways. Each day we find ourselves more and more engaged and invested in this community. Chris and I have spent a tremendous amount of time learning to work together, connecting with members of our community in Burleson and the surrounding area, and dreaming about how Christ Journey can continue to participate in the advancing Kingdom of God in this region. 

We recently unrolled a new website for Christ Journey at www.christjourneylife.com. This was part of a larger revisioning process where we have renewed CJ’s emphasis on existing as a network of house churches bringing life, light and hope to neighborhoods throughout the Burleson, Joshua, Crowley, Alvarado and south Fort Worth area…and who knows where else.

As part of this newness, I’ve decided to launch a new blog Modern Traveler: Ancient Journey which is found at ancientjourney.blogspot.com. I think this title captures what I’d like to do with my blog…and its also in blogger format which allows me to use one managing tool for both my personal blog and Christ Journey’s.

I’ll leave Deep Wells active but this will be my final post here. I’ve had several blogs over the past 5 years or so and its amazing that anyone has followed me from one to the next! As I make the pilgrimage to Modern Traveler: Ancient Journey, I invite you to join me as fellow travelers reflecting on this journey of life and faith.

Say-What-ical?

Chappotin and I have been discussing for quite some time my need for a period of sabbatical before launching into “work” with the Christ Journey community. There is a sense in which my mind is going through a bit of a rebooting process right now. For the first time in many months I actually have a list of topics I’d like to blog about in the near future!

I’ve had mixed responses from folks regarding this. Some have approached me in one way or another and proactively suggested something similar; others after hearing the plan have been unimpressed… “So you get a vacation before you start your new job? Must be nice.”

For many people, the concept of sabbatical – or even Sabbath, from which it comes – is very foreign and sounds quite privileged and even lazy.

First let me say that sabbatical is not the same as vacation. The point of such a time, at least in my view, is for an extended period of study, meditation, worship and preparation. For preachers sabbatical can be a time to research and develop the scope of the next year’s preaching schedule; for professors it can be a time to do research and work toward publishing articles or even books. The point is for those who teach, preach or serve in these ways to avoid the danger of giving/leading from a place of emptiness.

Typically when I describe it in these terms people can see the value – not just for the one going on sabbatical but also for those served by that individual. Given these conversations I thought it was interesting to hear Randy Harris say in support of sabbaticals for preachers, “I don’t really like listening to a burnt-out preacher.”

And yet last night I was reflecting on the numerous folks who hear this defense and still say something along the lines of, “So what? The rest of us have to suck it up and do our jobs, what makes you so special?”

What’s really at stake here? What is the real issue that drives such emotionally charged responses?

One of my first sermon series at Tammany Oaks was about Sabbath (recorded for posterity on this blog – Sabbath Series part 1, Part 2 Enemies of Sabbath, Part 3 Embracing Sabbath , Part 4 Sabbath Feasting). Right before we left Mandeville I heard someone talking about how those messages still resonate deeply with her. And yet I can also remember with vivid detail the (surprisingly humorous) moment following one of those sermons when an elderly man told me that out of the near 10,000 sermons he’s heard in his life, this was hands down, the worst!

How can we have such a varied reaction to the concept of Sabbath?

I’m not going to go into the need or significance of Sabbath – you can read the four posts mentioned above for more or I’ll be happy to point you to several resources which will do a much greater job than I could.

However, as I was rereading these posts, I was reminded that in the act of creation, the first Sabbath took place on humanity’s first full day of existence. We do not earn our right or need for Sabbath; it is the gift of God. It’s cosmic permission to eat your dessert first!

I remember once witnessing a mother allow her children to eat dessert first. We were at a banquet/dinner and dessert was on the table before the meal came…it was less an act of compassion toward the children as it was toward the rest of us! The children didn’t realize that though and they spent the next 10 minutes joyously singing praises about their mother.

How appropriate is that image?!!

I have 11 days of Sabbath/sabbatical. I plan to spend a day at a retreat center in prayer, I plan to play karate with my boys in the living room, which I would do anyway…but I’m certainly not giving it up during this time!!! I have several books I want to read, I want to do some writing and preparation for writing. And all of this is taking place, as some friends have pointed out, right now at the beginning of this ministry – when I haven’t really earned it. I have no delusion that my great service has earned me the right to spend time worshiping and growing closer to God.

My prayer is that this time will cultivate a setting where I am more likely to allow the God of all comforts to heal and restore me. I want to relish in my primary identity as a child of God and a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Secondly I hope that this connection to our source will enable me to love my wife and children more completely – I truly believe that the more I look like Jesus, the more I will bless and love my family. And of course I also trust that this time spent in Sabbath with the Lord will continually bring me back to community. I pray that this will enable me to serve my neighbors, to share with them not only the Gospel of God, but my life as well.

I also pray that whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you are doing you will look for ways to cultivate a rhythm of Sabbath in your life. If Jesus could walk away from his work of healing the blind and the lame in order to spend time in prayer, then there are certainly important things in our lives that can be set aside for a time as well. A good friend used to ask me whenever I developed too much of a messiah complex, “Are you the one who was prophesied, or should we wait for another?”

Well…are you?

Being Brought Low

Today was interesting in many ways. I had a great opportunity to spend an hour or so with my brother and three guys who were in the youth group at Skillman. Knowing the statistics of how many students graduate from high school and walk away from church, it’s exciting to sit with four guys whom I’ve invested in and who’ve all become good men. Ironically that moment of encouragement came only a short time after the most humbling experience I’ve had in quite a while.

As you may or may not know, I’m on campus at Abilene Christian University this week attending the annual Lectureship, now referred to as “Summit.” ACU brought in some really great speakers this week in addition to the regular crowd of preachers, writers and professors from our faith tradition. Monday I was able to hear Brian McLaren speak in several settings. Yesterday Matthew Sleeth, author of Serve God, Save the Planet had some good things to say as well.

ACU is working to become an iCampus…meaning the billions of dollars it cost me to go to school here are finally being spent on someone else. All the freshmen this year received iPhones and the professors have been experimenting with online quizzes in class, surveys and other stuff. So this week, during the keynotes and special speakers folks with text messaging or email on their phones have been encouraged to send in questions for the speaker which are answered following the message/presentation.

People were able to ask Brian McLaren how traditional churches can navigate and respond to the shifts in culture; we could ask Matthew Sleeth what role the church might have played in convincing some people that caring for the environment and loving God are mutually exclusive. But today was different.

There was a gentleman on campus today with an unbelievable story. We were asked to power down our electronic devices as we listened to the “typical” story of a young man growing up under the influence of fundamentalist Islam. The story became untypical when, out of his frustration with obstinate Christians he procured a copy of the New Testament and began reading and rereading the story of Jesus.

At first he was enraged at this apostasy of Jesus and his Christians; their teachings so clearly out of sync with those beliefs he knew to be irrefutable. However eventually the quiet power of Jesus captivated and consumed him. He (with a courage I’m not sure I possess) approached his father to share the news that he was convinced that Jesus and not Islam represented the truth of God. This man knew full well that his father, a faithful Muslim, would be required to disown and turn him in to authorities.

Not only did he proclaim his faith to his family but he also refused to flee from his homeland after doing so. This led to a lengthy period of “interrogation” by representatives of the Islamic controlled state. Today, as he spoke to us, we were asked to turn off our electronic devices; no podcasts or videos were produced out of concern for this man’s safety. He was not just disowned and punished, everything about his life was taken – from his birth certificate to his multiple college degrees were all eliminated – and he was declared an enemy of the State and an enemy of Islam. This means that any Muslim would be seen as righteous for shedding his blood…

On the eve of our relocation to Burleson, we’ve been faced with the reality of the risk we’re taking. You may have heard that there are some minor economic “issues” going on right now. (I’m watching The Colbert Report right now and they’re clearly telling me that now is the time to panic…)

We are taking a risk, of that there is no real doubt. And yet when I consider the tremendous risks that are taken every day just to proclaim the name of Christ…well, as the title of this post suggested, that realization was quiet sobering. And so my prayers today go out in a special way to all of those Christians who currently reside in an area where it is illegal to be a Christian (several years ago I saw figures that suggested that number is nearly 2/3’s of the world’s population).

I pray that the disciples of Christ will commit themselves to lives of compassion, mercy, justice; I pray that we will commit ourselves to embodying Christ in this world; I pray that we will turn our attention to seeing Christ in our neighbors whether they have recognized the image of God in themselves or not; I pray that we will keep hopeful eyes open to the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God in this world as it is in heaven.

Specifically today I pray for the safety of those who follow Christ in the midst of radical Islam. I pray that they will be kept safe and that their lives will be such that their neighbors will praise God on the day he comes.

Don’t Judge a Desk by its Clutter

My desk is a mess. That sentence is almost always true, but today it is especially so. Right now I can see several books I’ve been trying to read during my (hopefully) short time of not taking any classes. There is a stack of stuff that Rachel asked me to take care of (it’s actually a very small stack – she really spoils me). There are a couple to-do lists with the most random assortment of chores – including making a list of the book titles on my bookshelves…seems strange, I know. I’ve got a box that I need to take to Tod next week (when I’m at Lectureship in Abilene), several coffee cups and assorted papers from different projects. Then there are two stacks of study materials; one from this past week’s sermon here at Tammany Oaks and another for my upcoming sermon at Christ Journey this Sunday.

The desk is quite representative of my life right now. There is a lot going on in the Wells household. As most of you know, 5 months ago we announced our decision to enter the domestic mission field and partner with others in the ministry of planting new churches.

We are joining Christ Journey – a 3 year old church plant in Burleson, TX preparing to plant its first church. If you know that much, you undoubtedly know that we need to raise 100% of our support initially. This has been a challenge for me; fundraising is not something in which I’ve ever felt particularly gifted. Currently we’ve raised a little over a third of our total monthly goal. However because of the generous support we’ve already received through special gifts and monthly checks, we have raised enough to cover 3-4 months.

So we’re moving.

This Sunday I’ll be preaching at Christ Journey (hence the study materials) as I’m on my way to Lectureship, where hopefully we’ll be able to talk to more people about partnering with us financially. After that we’ll have two more Sundays here and then we’ll be Uhaulin’ it west. That explains the need to put together a list of books on my shelf…I’m not going to have an office at first so I need to know what books are in what box!

Tammany Oaks will always hold a special place in my heart. As I told the congregation yesterday, this place has ruined me for many ministries…and strangely enough, that’s a good thing! Over the last two and a half years we have experienced things that I could never have anticipated. We have truly learned how to pray, hurt, weep, rejoice and walk with people. We’ve been given the opportunity to experience very real moments of ministry – walking alongside an entire family as they moved from bitterness and distrust toward Christians (and complete disinterest in church) to being excited and growing members of Tammany Oaks; helping a 58 year-old Vietnam Vet, recent widower and single father of an 18 month old as he simultaneously battled past demons, began to hear the stories of the Bible for the first time (with a youthful excitement that was quite contagious) and fought for custody of his child; spent countless hours with folks at the end of their rope in their marriages, with their emotions (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, despair), with serious mental and physical health issues, drug addictions, financial crises, unemployment…just to name a few.

Make no mistake, it has been exhausting and at times I wasn’t sure we’d make it through. There were days and weeks (even months) when just getting out of bed each morning was painful and difficult. But as I mentioned in a previous post, periods of wandering in the desert can, overtime, reveal great things – both in oneself and in the landscape;

The initial exposure reveals a harsh, barren desolation. But over time one realizes there is tenderness beneath that harsh exterior and what was first seen as barren and desolate is eventually cherished as beautiful. It is beautiful because of what it reveals. It is valuable because of what it forges. The bitter shrubs of the desert become sweet and fragrant flowers. But not quickly, not for a while.

We experienced times of desert wandering, but that isn’t to say that everything here is desolate or barren. We’ve developed wonderful friendships and experienced tremendous compassion and generosity here. While we are very excited to pursue this next stage in our journey; to participate with God in bringing life and light to areas of darkness and despair; excited to return to the land of our forefathers, to the land of Mexican food and grandparents, we are also a little sad. We will miss our unbelievably crazy small group – where the small children outnumber the adults nearly 2 to 1. We will miss this church and our family here at Tammany Oaks.

And we’re a little scared too. Like I said, we are FAR from through in our fundraising. We’re praying that a church or two will decide to support us (there are a few that are currently considering it). One reason for moving now is that we believe it will be easier to cast vision and invite folks to partner with us if we can meet with them face to face…rather than over the phone from another state! I am confident that God will provide and I believe we’ve done our homework and are making the right decision…but still 35% is considerably less than 100%!

So my desk, my schedule and my life are all pretty messy right now. But if I’m totally honest, I don’t really like a clean desk…

I think its Tuesday…

Well we discovered today that the weather channel is in fact NOT the only thing on my parents television. I’m pretty sure that today is Tuesday, but everything has pretty much run together for the last several days.

We’re still in Texas. I was hoping to head home today so that I could start checking in on folks that decided to stay. But the parish borders are still closed to people returning. My plan at this point is to finish gathering supplies today and head out early tomorrow morning. I’ve talked with one of our neighbors who said that they had some damage from a tree falling, but nothing major. He didn’t think there was anything wrong on our house – that they could see from the outside anyway. There are several trees down in our area and water was a bit high, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be measuring life in pre and post-Gustav terms as we have done with Katrina.

Our landlord is going by our property today to check things out. I also talked to Russell Wiggins. They didn’t have any major damage and their power is back on – it was out for about 24 hours. But the water in our parish is not safe to drink yet.

I’ve already received phone calls from concerned friends and out-of-state churches expressing their willingness and readiness to come in and help with clean-up. At this point I don’t know what to ask for, but we will keep everyone updated. It is very encouraging to know that so many people are willing to lay everything aside in order to help others – I can definitely see Christ at work in your lives.

We thank God for answering prayers and now we continue praying as three more systems threaten the Atlantic coast…

Saturday Update

Just a quick note to update our friends. Last night St. Tammany Parish issued mandatory evacuations for everyone south of I-12 (that’s most of our people and our church building). So worship services have been canceled this morning and everyone has been urged to head further north.

I’ve talked to a few of our friends and TOCC family members this morning. Most are out of town or getting that way. We have several people who have decided for one reason or another to stay and whether the storm. Several live north of I-12 or on particularly high ground. While this is certainly raising my anxiety level, I understand. (For those who aren’t familiar with our geography, we’re on the north shore of lake Pontchartrain – we don’t have the levee issues that New Orleans has.)

I know this is the case already, but we ask that you continue to remember in prayer the residents of the Gulf Coast. Should the storm make landfall in our area we will be activating the Tammany Oaks website message board for updates and communication (it had been deactivated because of ridiculous amounts of spam).

In that event you can check in at www.tammanyoaks.org and click on “message boards” at the top of the page.

Progress, Good and Unsettling

I am writing this post from the cockpit of Wellsforce 1 (our minivan) as we soar through the hill country of Texas. Last night was our fundraising dinner in San Antonio. It was great, we saw some old friends – some of whom we haven’t seen since January 2003 when we left Corpus Christi. These folks were very supportive and encouraging. While fundraising remains low on the list of things I enjoy doing, the opportunity to share our dreams and visions with people is a different matter all together.

And that’s really how I’ve begun to see these dinners and conversations with individuals. I’m definitely still asking folks to consider partnering with us financially, but that is just one aspect. After our dinner last night on of the guys there came up to me with obvious excitement in his eyes: “This is the future,” he said. Tristan is in the military, and as he listened to me describe our vision for planting missional communities throughout the south Fort Worth area, he quickly caught the vision. As we talked he mentioned the possibility for teaching these missional principles to men and women in the military, who would then carry them with them as they travel all over the world. His enthusiasm was very encouraging.

We are very confident that the date of our relocation is drawing near…hopefully we’ll have something specific to update soon.

However, there are other issues, as you may be aware, that are causing us some concern. As Hurricane Gustav continues to strengthen just south of the Gulf we are prayerful for the people of Cuba and anxiously awaiting what path the storm will take tomorrow and Monday. As you have probably heard (the media loves this kind of story) the 3 year anniversary of Katrina was yesterday. Folks in the New Orleans area who were there Pre-K are saying that this storm has reminded them a lot of that one.

It could well be that any storm near the Gulf right now would be reminding our neighbors of past experiences, but in any case, will you lift up prayers on our behalf? Specifically I’d ask that you petition God for his Spirit of peace – that which is available even in the midst of chaos.

We of course also ask that God will protect us from the elements. We do not pray that it will turn and thus inflict damage on someone else; we pray that the Lord will deliver all of his children. We are mindful today of those in Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I rejoice that we do not serve a regional god, only powerful enough to be concerned with one people group; our God is mighty to save all whom he loves…and that, my friends is all of us.

Because of the scheduling of our fundraising dinner we have, in effect, already evacuated. Bret, Rachel, Conner, Micah, Josiah, Chicory, two vehicles, wedding pictures and important documents, three softies (and the Coach/Freds…see Rachel’s blog), extra pull-ups, diapers and formula, two computers and all of the Backyardigans movies are safe and sound in Singleton, TX. My books are still in Mandeville though…

Should the storm make landfall in or near New Orleans we will keep you updated on any disaster relief needs. In the meantime, let us lift a chorus of prayers to our father and express our gratitude for the gift of technology that gives everyone forewarning of events like hurricanes.

False Summits

Believe it or not I used to be an athlete. No…seriously, stop laughing, I was.

I was strong, I was fast and I was even a little agile. But I wasn’t any of those things naturally. What made me an athlete was that I’ve always been ridiculously competitive. I can’t stand when someone THINKS I can’t do something, and if they actually have the nerve to say it…

So I worked harder than most – not harder than all, but harder than most. I strategized and studied. But mostly I just kept fighting until my opponents or detractors gave up.

And it wasn’t always enough. Sometimes the other team was too big; sometimes my opponents were too fast. For whatever reason, I just didn’t always have what it took to come out ahead no matter how hard I fought.

A few years ago, as a youth minister in Dallas, I began preparing for TREK when we would attempt to climb Mt. Elbert – the tallest mountain in Colorado. I wasn’t that worried. You see in my mind I am still strong, fast and agile…in my mind. I’m convinced that there is still an athlete in there somewhere – actually it looks like there might be two or three.

So I began working out and jogging. I got in pretty good shape. As we began our trip up the mountain I felt really good. The long hike up to high camp was surprisingly easy and as we got ready for our summit attempt I felt very confident. Unfortunately in my preparation I did not have access to any mountains or high altitude gyms in Dallas. As we moved up to the higher elevations I found myself getting pretty light headed and a few times I even found myself sitting down when just a moment before I’d been walking.

It was very frustrating. I’d prepared! I was ready! And now, uber-competitive Bret looked like a pansy in front of teenagers (who, as you may know are SOOO compassionate and understanding!). What made the whole thing more difficult was the mental fatigue. If you’ve ever climbed a mountain you know there are “false summits” – places that to the climber look like the peak of the mountain until you get there and realize that there’s more mountain on the other side. Elbert had plenty of those little presents for us.

Each time I gathered my strength and pushed on to the summit, only to discover it wasn’t even close to the top, it took more and more out of me. Each new push became more and more difficult to conjure up. By the time we got to where we could finally see the real summit I almost didn’t care any more. Honestly I didn’t care any more – the only reason I creeped up that final stretch was because my competitive side would not stand for the verbal abuse I would have to endure if I didn’t finish.

False summits have almost done me in at several points in my life. They can be more difficult than strong, fast and agile opponents – even more difficult than the lack of oxygen at high altitudes. False summits drain our emotional and psychological reserve, which in turn drains our physical energy as well.

I realize that at some point we need to reach a summit – everyone has different limits, but no one has an inexhaustible supply of energy. As difficult as it can get, we must remember that the summit is there, even if it seems out of reach. The temptation to just lie down and quit can be strong, but we never know if the next ridge will be the final one. What a shame it would be to give up when our goal was within reach. But even that hope can wear thin eventually.

I watched the new Batman movie with Chappotin yesterday. (I’d heard it was pretty good – and I was not disappointed.) One of the lines that stuck out to me was Alfred telling Bruce Wayne that everyone has limits, even Batman. Discovering our limits can be painful…and so can discovering that we can endure more than we imagined.

There are times when we have no choice but to push and push ourselves beyond what we would’ve thought we could endure. We have to because…well, because we have to. On top of that mountain it was pretty simple. Beyond motivation, preparation or inspiration I had to get up and put one foot in front of the other until we were there. I certainly didn’t do it alone – the value of community was brought home in a real sense that day – and without the preparation I had done or motivation to succeed, I likely would not have made it. Yet I was still faced with the choice to continue or quit. Regardless of anything else; difficult circumstances, un-cooperating body, etc, I still had the option to choose my response.

Gators and Email

So I’ve been having a good blog discussion the past couple days with Steve and Chris about technology and specifically the internet. Our basic question is whether our world has become too digitized. Have the benefits of electronic interaction come at too high a cost? It was noted that even with greater access to information and virtual community there is also a sense of isolation that comes from spending large amounts of time online.

I took my kayak out this morning and spent some time reflecting on those questions. I certainly see the potential pitfalls with our high tech life. As I was paddling past spanish moss with even the sounds of highway traffic fading into the distance, I heard a chime go off behind me. My phone, sealed in a dry bag and clipped behind my seat had just downloaded an email. I laughed out loud, scaring a couple herons. I got an email (actually several) while I was floating in the middle of nowhere (I found out later that half the emails were junk…junk mail in the middle of swamp).

But you know what? I was perfectly capable of choosing not to check those emails…and I didn’t, I just kept paddling.

There were several little switch-backs and coves that I hadn’t explored yet so I wandered into them today. I found a couple places that were nice and shaded with a good breeze, so I just stopped my kayak and watched the wildlife. There’s a little yellow bird that I haven’t been able to identify yet. If you sit still long enough the fish will swim right up by your boat. I thought it was funny that I didn’t see any alligators.

Eventually I made it down to the lake. Turns out that ALL the gators were at the mouth of the bayou. The water was kinda low and there were whole schools of feeder fish splashing on the sandbars…I saw about 10-15 gators in about a 50-100 yard stretch of water. I let the current drift me where it wanted and I just watched…a couple times the stupid fish jumped into my boat. (Mullets though, nothing to keep) I took out my phone and took a couple pictures of gators and one huge bullfrog.

I realized that I’d spent more time floating than I meant to (no big deal because today is my day off!!!) and so I called Rachel to tell her I’d be a little later. While I was at it I sent my brother a picture of a gator with the message, “this is how my morning’s going!”

As I paddled back upstream I thought a lot about how technology can indeed isolate us – we can spend time looking a pictures or videos of nature rather than getting out in it ourselves. We can text message someone without actually talking to them. But today, technology didn’t interfere with me real life interaction. On the contrary, I was able to get in touch with my wife and let her know that she didn’t have to worry (which meant that I didn’t have to hurry!).

Balance is important (which I was reminded of as I was getting out of the kayak and just almost bit it in front of a bunch of folks about to launch their canoes!). Even on this trip, I could have allowed my connection to technology to get in the way of a good time of silence and solitude – but it didn’t.

In addition to balance (or maintaining tension between extremes) perspective also plays an important role in the conversation about the costs and benefits of technology. For some the cost may be too high. Chris was talking about how easy it is to get sucked into answering emails and working in the evening. I remember as a youth minister times when teens would be hanging out together and would go home so that they could instant message one another.

However, we live a LONG way from our family. From our perspective, phones and the internet do provide real community. It isn’t as good as face to face time with family, but talking on the phone, keeping up with blog posts and pictures, online discussion groups, skype…all these things give us the opportunity to maintain relationship with people that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to contact at all. Sure it can’t replace “real” community, but in a sense it is very real itself.

I do think that there are folks who’ve allowed themselves to be trapped online…with less and less contact with actual flesh-and-bone people. I think there’s a real chance, as Chris and Steve both pointed out, that we can become isolated even in our efforts to connect to lots of people (I’ve felt a similar loneliness and isolation sitting in the middle of a mall, with real people all around me but real interactions just out of reach).

However keeping perspective in mind and making an intentional effort to maintain proper balance or tension the digital world can be a source of encouragement, education and great good. The question, as Strong Bad would put it is, “Will you use your powers for good or for awesome?”

Remember the little things…but don’t be annoying

Rachel and I are reading and discussing a book with some folks from Christ Journey right now. It’s called New Day Revolution and its focus is making people aware of small things they can do to help the environment, improve society, etc. For instance it gives statistics on how much water you save by spending 1 minute less in the shower each day (over a thousand gallons a year…if you shower everyday). It also gives suggestions on things like how to use your time online to benefit others – causes, charities, etc.

Usually as I sit and stare at my paper cup from Starbucks, I wonder why I don’t get a “for here” cup. They have ceramic mugs for the same price which don’t end up in a landfill…well, not as quickly anyway. I almost always finish my latte here, so why not?

The reason, in a word…I’m absentminded. I order my coffee the same way I do so many other things – on autopilot. I step up to the counter, make small talk with the barista and say something like, “You got it” (yes, that’s because they know what I’m ordering and just check with me to be polite.)

But the past couple times I’ve remembered those six extra words: “in a for-here cup, please.” It isn’t that big of a deal, but as often as I’m here, I’m guessing that its going to add up eventually!

I’ve been preaching through the Sermon on the Mount since February and there have been several things which have continually leapt from the pages during my study. One of those things is that the incredibly revolutionary way of Jesus is often found in a seemingly small change of focus. For instance, in Jesus’ Kingdom, we still see him expecting that prayer, fasting and serving the poor would be basic expressions of the life of faith – things which were common religious practices of the day (Matt 6:1-18). The “small” difference is that instead of doing those things to gain popularity or prestige for yourself, do them quietly to glorify God.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t even say, “do these things in secret” – he says, “when you do…” There’s an assumption that they’re going to be a part of your life, the question is not “if” or “should,” but “how” and “why.”

So what does this have to do with a ceramic mug? Several things – but two will suffice.

First, and perhaps most obviously, I’m convinced that there are lots of seemingly small changes we can make that will have an enormous difference – whether we’re talking about our impact on the environment, our spiritual health or inviting others to join us in our faith journey. I’m not going to spend much time on this one – read New Day Revolution, visit www.coolpeoplecare.org, or check out any number of other resources.

Secondly, why we’re doing something often has as much impact as what we’re actually doing. Jesus seemed pretty put-off by religious folks who would stand on street corners to pray so that others would know how righteous they were. One reason that many people resist making changes to benefit the environment is because they’ve been so turned off by Toyota Prius owners – those who cause pollution through what the philosophers of South Park dubbed worse than smog… the “smug.”

Some of us Christians have come from a subculture that said, “God’s going to burn the earth up anyway, so it’s a waste of time, and even poor stewardship, to be overly concerned about the environment.” In our desire to distance ourselves from this kind of religion and thinking, we have got to be more intentional about monitoring our own self-centered and egotistical tendencies.

It’s becoming more and more popular to be “green” – which I think is a good thing. Many folks have answered the “if” and “should” questions; let’s not forget to also ask the “how” and “why” as well. Does our contribution to the environment cause its own smug pollution? Bumper stickers on your vehicle can be a way to spread a message and they can be a way to display a sense of superiority.

Some readers will respond with, “That’s what I’m talking about. I’m not going to waste my time with that stuff; it’s just a way for liberal hippies to tell me what to do.”

I’m going to say this delicately…come on, don’t be an idiot. Let’s leave the melodramatics to the junior high girls (no offense ladies, I was a youth minister for too long…they’re incredibly melodramatic! If you want a list of the vices of junior high boys, I’d be happy to help you out!).

You don’t have to be a “liberal hippie” to be concerned about the environment. Lest you forget, hunters and fishers have been involved in environmental protection and clean up for a long time…coastal conservation is important if you want to actually catch any of those reds we all love. How many lakes are not fishable because of pollution? Anyone remember why it is that you aren’t supposed to eat too much big game fish? (Mercury…from pollution.)

It’s too easy to avoid responsibility by shifting the conversation to something that someone else did or didn’t do. Notice that Jesus didn’t tell people to stop praying, fasting or giving to the poor just because some hypocrites were doing the same thing for the wrong reason. So let’s avoid both ditches; we can’t run around feeling all smug and superior because we drive a hybrid… and we can’t bury our head in the sand so that we don’t get lumped in with Michael Moore.

And I guess this is probably the case with most issues, isn’t it?