Nervosity Cares

  Nervosity is an annual event in my local community that doubles as 1) an end of the school year celebration for students, and 2) a charity drive for AIDS in Africa.  The 2007 event raised money to build a new AIDS clinic.  The work of art you see here was donated to a school near the new clinic in Zimbabwe.  I designed the work to be a paint by number sort of deal.  With the outlines sketched in advance, the 400+ students attending the event were able to take a minute to paint the square with one of 40 pre-mixed colors. 

Unfortunately, do the poor lighting of nightfall, we didn’t get a great picture of the finished project.

The students had to flip the artwork upside down to finish it.

 

Receiving the gift in Zimbabwe

Nervosity Cares, 16×10 feet, House Paint on Tent Canvas, Guilderland, 2007.

Cryptic Messiah

What’s the deal with Jesus being so cryptic?  Particularly in the Gospel of John, he seems to be more of a riddler than a teacher.  He speaks of his death, his relationship with his Father, and morality in terms that we struggle to grasp now of days in hindsight, let alone the confusion he must have caused for original listeners of that historical era.  More often than not, Jesus says something, people sit their dumbfounded, he says it a different way, everyone leaves more confused

I suppose Jesus was setting people up to seek him sincerely.  Jesus told parables so that people had to dig a bit before finding him, and the same probably applies here. 

That being said, here’s my big question: Are we supposed to teach like Jesus?  Sunday school answer says yes.  Today’s conventionality says no.  Contextualizing Biblical times says maybe.  

I’m slow to publish an answer because deep down I just don’t get why Jesus was a riddler.  With masses of spiritual inquirers, it seems so counterproductive not to give them clear instruction on how to follow.  It’s almost like he wanted them to believe first and follow second – unconditionally trust him before he told them how to live.  It worked for Jesus as the Messiah.  If anyone else tries this it looks like recipe for a cult.  Maybe there is still a way to riddle people toward Jesus without getting in the way?

Plein Air in the Stockade

Two friends and I ventured out this past Saturday to do some Plein Air Art in the Stockade.  I set-up with a great view of Arthur’s Food Market (oldest active market in America) and Lawrence the Indian (Historic Monument).  Peggy got a great start on an oil painting from Front Street, Daniel stayed on the move with several small watercolor works of doorways and lanterns.  Although rain cut the fun short, at least we were able to enjoy a great sandwich at Arthur’s. 

Five Dysfunctions of Teams – Book Review

Five Dysfunctions of Teams is another great resource by Patrick Lencioni.  As with his other books, you can skip to the back and gather his basic digest version.  I agree with Lencioni that the functions can’t be taken independently – the worse a team messes up the early stages, the less likely they are to succeed in the later.  Here’s my basic notes: 

Acts Church Under Criticism

There are a number reasons people should quit saying, “We’re just going be like the Acts Church.”

1. It sounds kind of self righteous, like you’ve figured something out that no one else gets.
2. Acts is written in narrative genre.  That means the events recorded were descriptive more than proscriptive.  That’s not to say there isn’t a ton to learn from them, but it’s misusing the text to try to dig out the God ordained model for doing church.
3. Most people trying to “like the Acts Church” turn legalistic on the structure and light on the mission.
4. There’s a dozen or more churches mentioned in Acts, so which one are you talking about?  Just about every church mentioned in Acts has it’s issues that required a disciplinarian epistle written to them.   Unless you’re talking about Ephesus or Antioch, you’re probably talking about a church with documented problems. 

Solution Branding

Just read a fantastic article by Joel Rubinson on where company branding is going.  People aren’t into special “features,” they want “solutions.”  It’s a double bonus when your solution can be attached to a cause.  For example, people stand for real beauty when they buy a bar of Dove soap.

This has been further inspiration to where my churchis going.  We’re going further and further from “selling” seeker sensitivity as our feature.  Instead we are becoming a church that Serves the World with the World.  If people want to stand for that, they’ll want to come along for the ride.

You know you’re 30 when…

You know you’re 30 when…

You leave your coffee in the car and your 18 month old crawls in and waters your seat with it… for the second time that week.

You look down at your gut and say, “oh well.”

You’re doing yard work on Saturday mornings instead of sleeping in.

You complain about “music now of days.”

You see yourself a beacon of advice to younger generations.

You have to ask yourself, “Was that a shirt or a dress?”

You skip showering once a week because can… or because you don’t care.

Your vacations involve less adventure and more Mickey Mouse ears.

You carry a diaper bag more than a gym bag.

Your still wondering why you’re here.

 In all seriousness, I turned 30 today, and liked it. 

Turning 30 has given me the opportunity to reflect back on a great decade gone by.  In my 20’s, I finished school and started a career.  I moved out of mom’s house, married a gorgeous woman, and helped make a place in this world for two beautiful boys.  I bought my first computer, first car, and first home.  I took a cruise, lived in three states, and made friends from Poland to Japan.  I tried becoming a writer, a church planter, an investor and disc golfer – and although failing at all four, I couldn’t be prouder of the risks I’ve taken. 

Although the decade ahead will undoubtedly prove less eventful, I don’t think it will be any less rich in meaning.  In my 30’s, I’ll coach my first soccer team, help my first son finish grade school, and… add my first daughter to the family?  I’ll make a second run at church planting and my first run at becoming an artist.  My first computer will crash, my first car will get junked, and I’ll probably sell my first home.   Maybe I’ll get to take the trip to Venice I’ve been dreaming about?  I’ll be able to grow my first beard and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  Most of all, I’m looking forward to growing a little older, and a little more mature, in my marriage with Melissa.  The beauties of living life with another and knowing her through and through is more settling and fulfilling than anything else I anticipate accomplishing this decade.

Cheers to all the 30-Somethings out there.

Special thanks to Mom for making this day possible.

Nervosity on Fox 23

Nervosity is a battle of the bands, end the of school year celebration, Africa AIDS charity drive, sponsored/hosted by my church.  Fox 23 News put it on TV this year.  Click here.  To learn more about the event, visit www.Nervsoity.org.

Friends ought to Excommunicate Friends

I had a friend talk to me recently about a mutual friend who’s walking away from God.  This would be sad enough in and of itself, but she’s make a joke of Jesus in the process; celebrating her new found lifestyle, and expecting us to do likewise. 

The issue is big enough that I was asked, “Shouldn’t we kick her out of the church?”  I hesitated.  It was a hard hesitation.  Based on this woman’s unresponsiveness to a number of confrontations, the answer is sadly yes.   My reason for hesitating however, from a pastoral standpoint, is that excommunicating this woman for her issue means we’d have to excommunicate 17 others in our church with the same issue.

Do I have an excommunication back-log?  Have I been unfaithful in addressing sin issues in our congregation?  I whimpered through the rest of the conversation and felt like a failure. 

Sins that Never Grow Old

  I’m becoming increasing more convinced that we never grow out of childhood sins, we just become more accepting of them.  Instead of talking back, we talk behind people’s back.  Instead of saying no, we just avoid saying yes.  Instead of demanding our parents attention, we demand everyone’s attention.  Instead waiting for parents to fix our problems, we make our families fix our problems.  And have any of really gotten better at sharing?