What is Advent?

Have you ever waited for something with great anticipation?  When I gave Jessica her anniversary present, I was counting down the days before I could reveal her gift.  I can think back to the evenings before the next iPhone releases that I could hardly sleep because I was anticipating the new iPhone.  As I kid, I can remember the anticipation that would come the night before Christmas.  Advent is a season of waiting and anticipation.  For many years churches throughout the world have created certain rhythms each year that bring us back and re-focus us on the importance of the current season.

Waiting for the King

The season of Advent is a season of waiting and anticipation.  Advent begins several weeks before Christmas with the intention that as we begin moving closer and closer to Christmas we will anticipate the celebration of his birth, much like people anticipated the day when the prophesies would be fulfilled.  And we also anticipate not only the birth of a king, but that one day Christ will return as king.

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness." - Jeremiah 33:14-16

Imagine the anticipation that comes from hearing a prophesy like that of Jeremiah.  "He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."  And then the people wait.  They waited for the promised Messiah for hundreds of years.  Do we anticipate his coming the same way we anticipate opening presents on Christmas morning?  Or do we anticipate it more?  Or less?

Re-Focusing on the Savior

Long before we begin the Advent season, malls have already been decorated and radio stations have already begun playing Christmas music.  While culture prepares us for Christmas by telling us we need to get our shopping done and make our Christmas lists, the Church prepares us for Christmas by reminding us that the anticipation of those things ultimately leave us empty.  Gifts, decorations, shopping, and Satna Claus are fun ways to celebrate the season, but at the end of the day are we anticipating the opening of presents or the celebration of the new-born King?  The Advent season is a wonderful reminder that during the Christmas season we wait for Christ.

Photo Credit: Starfish235

Does God Exist?

I loved this post by Matt Popovits regarding "The Evidence for God."  He does an incredible job laying out four basic ways that God reveals himself to man and brings up some interesting thoughts on Agnosticism, Atheism, and Christianity.

"When you choose to see it, evidence of God is everywhere. And what I’ve found is that in the face of such evidence most skeptics, who claim they can’t know if God is real, choose to live as if they’re certain He isn’t. Though they might label themselves as agnostic they live like an atheist, not praying, not worshipping, not reading the Scriptures, not even attempting to find Him or connect with Him."

Matt's blog is one of my favorite that I read, so you should be sure to subscribe to it and follow his thoughts; you won't be dissapointed.

Preacher as Sermon Designer

When you see a glowing apple on the back of a laptop, what does that tell you about the computer?  When you drive by a restaraunt with golden arches in front of the building, what do you immediately know about the food being sold?  The branding and design help create an immediate association between the product and the context it is presented in.  Certain images, shapes, colors, and stories are intertwined with a product, such as a computer, so that when somebody sees a white computer with an apple on it, it is not just an average computer but it's an Apple Macbook.

Design Matters.

When I purchase an iPhone app, one of the key factors in my decision-making process is the design of the icon; who would want an app with an ugly icon?  I even recently chose to upgrade to a new thermostat based on its excellent design.  We have no problem thinking about design when it comes to certain items like apps or even a thermostat, but how often do you think of a preacher as a sermon designer?

"It's easy to dismiss design - to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality.  But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters... John Heskett, a scholar on the subject, explains it well: '[D]esign, stripped to its essence, can be defined as the human nature to shape and make our environment in ways without precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives.'" - Daniel Pink

Designers spend countless hours crafting furniture that is both useful and significant.  A designer who designs couches, must design a couch that is actually comfortable to sit on (useful) and also strive to design a couch that stands apart from the rest (significance).

There is no argument that the Gospel is the most useful and significant message on earth, yet how often do you view your sermon writing as an art?  Preaching both serves our needs and gives meaning to our lives, yet how often have you thought about your time writing as a time designing?  When you choose the words you say, you are designing the sermon.  When you choose what stories to tell, you are designing the sermon.  When you choose the fonts to use on the screens, you are designing the sermon.  And that matters significantly because the message matters significantly.

Design Does Not Differentiate the Church.

Norio Ohga, former chairman of Sony, said, "At Sony, we assume that all products of our competitors have basically the same technology, price, performance, and features.  Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace."  I love design and would love for those who communicate the Gospel to have design that stands above the rest, but design should never be what differentiates the Church.

The Gospel should certainly inspire great artists and great designers.  The art of inspired designers is not meant to differentiate but instead to point to that which differentiates the Church.  While design may be the differentiator for companies like Sony or Apple, the thing that differentiates the Church from any organization or any other religion is that the Church is the bride of Christ.

Photo Credit: Filmvanalledag

Legos & the Body of Christ

An individual lego piece doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  A single block really has very little value.  You can't build anything with one piece and there are very few, if any, ideas of how you could creatively do something special with a single block.  But this single block changes when all of the sudden you begin adding other blocks into the picture.  A single block when combined with hundreds of other single blocks has virtually an unlimited amount of possibilities.  The single block could be used as a piece of a rocket ship, a race car, or something completely different.  Individually the impact of a single piece of lego is very small, but combined with many other pieces the impact has massive potential.

In the body of Christ, we each come with our unique gifts and personalities; not one of us being exactly like another.  Individually we certainly can make a difference, but the impact that we can have is much greater when we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.  As Christians we make up the body of Christ; we each are a small part of a much greater body.  As Christians we are one small piece that when combined with the other unique pieces form the body of Christ, the Christian Church.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized byone Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

Together we are greater than we are individually.  Together we are one body and we each make up a unique and critical part of the body.

Each Piece Matters

In a complicated lego structure, every piece matters.  They matter differently, but they all matter the same.  Some pieces matter because they visually help the legos look the way they were envisioned to look.  Other pieces, while they cannot be seen, provide a structure that helps prevent the legos from toppling over.  Each piece has an important function; each function not exactly the same as another, but each function equally as important to the overall structure.  The same is true in the body of Christ.  We each bring unique value to the body, none exactly the same as the person next to us.

"Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:15-20

What gifts do you have and how are they a part of the body of Christ?  How are you using your personality, your talents, and your passions as an important piece in the body?

Photo Credit: BenSpark

Walt Disney & Steve Jobs on Family

Walt Disney and Steve Jobs; two men who have had an incredible impact on history we know it.  Stories that have touched our lives; life-long memories from family vacations.  Technological advancements that have changed the way that we consume media.  Both Steve Jobs and Walt Disney brilliantly led organizations that have had enormous impact on the world around them.  But in the midst of this impact there is an interesting difference in respects to these two men and their families.

According to the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson regarding why he wanted a biography to be written:

"I wanted my kids to know me," [Steve Jobs] said.  "I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did."

On our trip to Walt Disney World this week, we visited a showing of One Man's Dream in Hollywood Studios.  During the movie the narrator spoke of Walt's relationship with his daughters, noting that he had a weekly daddy-daughter day.  It was during one of those daddy-daughter days, as Walt watched his daughters play, that he noticed that the amusement parks were ragged, filthy, and not fun for parents.  Walt envisioned a new type of amusement park that families, like him and his daughters, could enjoy together.

Whose World Do You Want to Change?

Both men changed the world.  But at what expense?  If putting a dent in the universe means sacrificing your own family, is that worth the sacrifice?  In Steve Jobs on words, "Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do."  What do you want to do and what are you going to stop doing in order to do it?  Maybe you change the world, first, by starting with your own home.  What if you pastored your family well and then worried about pastoring your church?  What if running your family organization was more important than starting a profitable business?

"A man should never neglect his family for business." - Walt Disney

I dream to have an impact on the world around me.  But more importantly I hope to lead my family well.

3 Solas

In order to seriously talk about any theology, we need to make clear what presuppositions we are bringing with us into the discussion.  We can talk for hours about the doctrine of the Trinity, but if I believe that the Bible is God's word and you do not, we need to talk about something other than the doctrine of the Trinity.  Since I often use this blog for theological musings, I think it's helpful for me to make clear three presuppositions that I have as I talk about the Bible.

Grace Alone

We are saved by grace.  Grace is central to what it means to be a Christian, and this will be foundational to everything in our theology.  If we are saved by grace alone, this heavily influences what we believe about God's activity towards man and man's response to God.  The belief that man has any role in his own salvation is dangerous; it is only because of God's grace that we have salvation.

Faith Alone

Christ died for all people, but not all people are saved.  Why?  God's death and ressurection was for all people, but the way that this has been applied to us as individuals is by faith alone.  We are saved by grace through faith.  There are no lists of 7 principles that will lead us to the gift of faith; faith simply comes from God.  And it is only through faith in Christ that we receive the benefit of forgiveness.

Scripture Alone

The place that our theology comes from, is always from scripture.  Our theology shouldn't come from popular opinion or scientific theories, but from the Word of God.  The scripture is the authority for any discussions on what we believe; if we are going to make claims about what we believe about things like God, the work of Christ, the creation of the world, or homosexuality, it is going to be based on the authority of scripture.  The scripture shapes our theology and is the reason that we are able to have any knowledge of our sin and God's grace.

What presuppositions do you have when talking about theology?

Theology Matters

You are a theologian.

You may not think of yourself as one, but the truth is you are one.  Theology is the study of God; since you are bound to have some opinions, beliefs, or practices related to who God is and what he has done, you are a theologian.  Good theology can give a person peace in a time of tragedy, hope when things seem hopeless, and grace when a person should feel guilt.  On the other hand, poor theology is toxic for the soul, leading individuals down paths that are dangerous both spiritually and also practically.

In our ministries it is important that we continually evaluate our theology.  What does the scripture say about what we are teaching?  What does God's word reveal to us about the things that we say are important?  How does our orthodoxy influence our daily practices?  The danger is that it is easy to fall into the trap of spending more time concerned with what is relevant at the expensive of worrying about what is true.  Relevance is critical, especially in youth ministry, but the truth is always relevant.

Theology matters.  Concern yourself with handling God's word properly.  Try to find the most effective way to teach your students God's word, but don't let the context take priority over the content of the message.

"Let your wife worry about your clothes.  Buy books and study.  We don't need any more well-dressed, hip, funny, heretics.  Who cares how you say it if what you're saying is wrong." - Matt Chandler, Pastor at The Village Church

Photo Credit: Nick Treby

The Great Designer

I was recently watching the documentary Objectified, which is all about the design of everyday objects throughout our culture.  Design is integrated into everything that we touch and see.  From everyday objects that we think little about to the objects that we look at and are blown away by their design.  Chairs, cooking tools, light switches, computers, phones, buildings, and so many more.  Each item was designed by somebody.  And the design of each item speaks to the one who designed it.

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"There's a story embedded in every object."

When you last picked up a fork and used it to eat your food, did you think about why it was designed that way?  What's the story behind the fork?  How did the fork end up the way it did and who decided that it should be the way it is?  No matter what object you pick up, there's some kind of story behind it.  There's a story of a designer, an object, and a problem to be solved.

"The object testifies to the people that conceived it, thought about it, developed it, manufactured it - ranging from issues of form, to material, to its architecture, to how it connects to you, how you touch it, how you hold it.  Every object, intentional or not, speaks to who put it there." - Jonathan Ive, Designer for Apple in Objectified

In the same way everyday objects testify to the stories and people who designed them, our world testifies to the Creator God who crafted it.  The universe testifies to the God who created everything.  Humanity testifies to a God who designed men and women in his own image.  In the Psalms scripture says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.  They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.  Yet their voicegoes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

What kind of story does your life tell?

"Every object tells a story." - Henry Ford

If God is the great designer and every object tells a story, what is the story that your life tells?  As you live your life, make your choices, and do life with those around you, what kind of story is being told about the one who designed you.  Great design drives people to awe or even better it drives people to want what was designed.  When people encounter you, are they in awe of what God is doing?  Or better, do they want what you have?

Where do you see God's great design throughout our world?

Photo Credit: Alles-Schlumpf

Called To Where You Already Are

When you were a little kid growing up, what did you want to be?  I dreamed of playing baseball , which later became the dream of being in the NBA.  Eventually these dreams disappeared and I found my way into youth ministry.  When the topic of vocation comes up, we most often think in terms of a career, but vocation is much bigger than that.  The word vocation literally means "a calling."  A person's vocation is the place that God has called to, which can include but is not limited to a career.

In certain situations it is no surprise to hear words like calling used to described a career, such as when we are referring to pastors and church workers.  But other times we rarely hear people referring to their jobs as where God has called them.

When was the last time someone was called to work at McDonalds?  The danger for Christians is that it is very easy to fall into the trap of over-spiritualizing God's calling in certain situations while under-spiritualizing God's calling for others.  Pastors routinely disguise boredom and dissatisfaction with a ministry as "God is leading them in a new direction."  Other times people make choices for their careers based on what they are most passionate about and rarely consider that God has called them to the career they have chosen.

"The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done...The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” - Frederick Buechner

Doctors.  Moms.  Garbage men.  Artists.  Grocery baggers.  Students.  Pastors.  All called by God.  When is the last time you talked to a barista who you felt was called to serve the best coffee they could make?  Finding our calling is not about figuring out the mysterious hidden will of God, but instead figuring out how God has wired us and where he has placed us so we can utilize the gifts he's given us.

If you are in a church, you are called to that church.  If you are a garbage man, you are called to be the best garbage man possible.  Now these callings may change in time; you may be led to no longer serve at a particular church or no longer work in a particular career.  But the worst thing that you can do in those situations is dishonor your present calling by focusing on your future calling.  Your future calling is not holier than your present calling, so how do you honor God in the places that he has put you in right now?  How do you be the best student you can be?  How do you be the best parent you can be?  How do you be the best youth pastor you can be?

"The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays—not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship." - attributed to Martin Luther

Where in your life has God currently called you to serve him?

Photo Credits: Louis Abate &  Frosted Peppercorn

Wisdom from a Chipotle Burrito

Chipotle is one of my frequent visits for lunch; I cannot help but enjoy a delicious burrito bowl with some chips and guac.  As with any organization that does things well, there are often great insights that we can learn about ourselves or specifically about working in ministry.  Chipotle is no exception.

Do One Thing Well

If you want a lot of options for Mexican food, Chipotle isn't the place to choose.  But if you want an incredible burrito with some of the best ingredients, Chipotle will not leave you disappointed.  What Chipotle has realized in the creation of their simple menu is that it is more important to worry about doing a few things exceptionally well than trying to meet every possible taste in the Mexican style of food.

It's easy for people to want to be a jack-of-all trades, to be good at everything.  If we are not good at public speaking, we take classes to learn how to become a better public speaker.  If we are bad at math, we spend time studying how to better math students.  Certainly learning skills that we are weak in is valuable and learning new skills that we didn't have before is helpful, but the truth is when it comes to our strengths we should spend more time focusing on how to capitalize on our strengths than how to diversify our menus.

Skills and knowledge can and should be acquired, but talents—your recurring patterns of thought or feeling or behavior—are enduring, are resistant to change, are unique. I think we can help educate the world that the most depressing thing to say to somebody is, ‘You can be anything you want to be.’ - Marcus Buckingham

Making delicious burritos is in the DNA of Chipotle as a company; it would be a terrible decision to work against that DNA by trying to focus on making great churros.  Making exceptional burritos is something that Chipotle can do that no other company can do.

As you look at your own life, how has God wired you?  What are the innate patterns and talents that God has gifted you with that separate you from everyone else.  We all can and should learn new skills and knowledge, but what are the patterns in your behavior that make you who you are?  What are the strengths in your life - the things that you both do well and are extremely passionate about?  What is your burrito?

*For a great book about strengths, read "Now, Discover Your Strengths" ...for a great burrito, eat Chipotle.

Pre-Destination vs. Free Will Infographic

One of the most confusing theological discussions is often centered around the topics of pre-destination and free will.  In order to help me better understand the complexities of something important throughout the Bible, I designed an infographic to help better explain what the Lutheran church teaches about this topic.

*Click image to downlaod full size infographic.

Standing Stones In Sedona

We're on vacation near Sedona, Arizona which has some incredible scenery.  One of the things that we've noticed as we've been hiking is that trails have stones stacked up everywhere.  It seems that a few people decided to stack stones on top of each other as a way to mark trails so they knew they were headed in the right direction when coming back, but now they are just stacked up everywhere and in all kinds of unique places.

Seeing these stones stacked up, I couldn't help but think of the instances that stones were stacked up throughout the Bible as a way of signifying the supernatural things that God has done.  Anybody that traveled by these stones would know that something significant happened in that place.

"Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood.  And they are there to this day." - Joshua 4:9

My guess is that somebody just marked their path as they were hiking and other people wanted to do it too.  But what if somebody put a marker there so that when people walked by they would wonder what happened here?

Martin Luther's View on Music

As someone who is proudly Lutheran, it's not a secret that I have an appreciation for the teaching of Martin Luther.  In church history, there are many great theologions like Luther or Calvin that have shaped the church that we see today and a lot of times many of their insights have a lot of value for us today. Martin Luther wrote the following regarding music:

I, Doctor Martin Luther, wish all lovers of the unshackled art of music grace and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! I truly desire that all Christians would love and regard as worthy the lovely gift of music, which is a precious, worthy, and costly treasure given to mankind by God. The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them....

It's not very often when I think about Luther, especially considering the theological library that he created, that I think of him as an artist.  But Luther was an artist, a musician, writing songs that for hundreds of years would be passionately sung by worshippers in their congregations.  I can just imagine the passion as Luther wrote these words; I think of the young worship leaders in our generation, passionately desiring that everyone will connect with this gift of music that God has given.  And not only is that desire prevalent, but how often do these same passionate artists resonate with Luther, feeling that "words fail [them]" whenever they try to describe the gift of music.

In summa, next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits.... Our dear fathers and prophets did not desire without reason that music be always used in the churches. Hence, we have so many songs and psalms. This precious gift has been given to man alone that he might thereby remind himself that God has created man for the express purpose of praising and extolling God.

In proper Luther fashion, it is pointed out that the art of music serves the Word and not the other way around.  Don't screw that up.  We must be careful that we do not start worshipping music and forsake worshipping Christ.  Luther also seems to have no problem celebrating the emotions that are stirred by music.

However, when man's natural musical ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes an art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, His product and His gift; we marvel when we hear music in which one voice sings a simple melody, while three, four, or five other voices play and trip lustily around the voice that sings its simple melody and adorn this simple melody wonderfully with artistic musical effects, thus reminding us of a heavenly dance, where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress and embrace. A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.

Luther's view of music in the Church was not a sentiment that was shared by all of the reformers.  He celebrated the organ, while some opposed it.  He celebrated using "artistic musical effects" while others felt it needed to be simplified.  He wrote music, while some felt only songs found directly in scripture could be sung.  Luther, because of his theology, didn't see music as something bad to be avoided but as a part of the creation redeemed by Christ.  And because of this view of creation, Luther celebrated the importance of music of all styles and it's relation to the Word of God.

The quotes from this post all come from the Forward to Georg Rhau's Symphoniae which was written by Martin Luther in 1538.  Photos taken by Corey Grunewald.