Someone Gave Up

At dinner time tonight I looked out our back dinning room window and saw two police cars stopped side by side in the middle of the major street that runs by our house. A few moments later three police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck were all parked along the road, next to the big field which separates us from the road. As I put down my fork and got up to see what was going on, I notice several people walking into the field from the police cars. One of them seemed to be pulling something long and flat. They were all headed to the big tree in the middle of the field.

The boys being ever curious and always looking for a way out of eating dinner, wanted to get their toy binoculars and see what was going on at the tree. Over dinner we wondered about whether someone had fallen out of the tree and were hurt. We had not seen anyone out there in a while. We ourselves have not ventured to the tree in weeks, but it is a good play place for the neighborhood kids. Once the binoculars showed up, I moved to get a better view of the big tree, and noticed our right-side neighbors on their upper deck with real binoculars. Cindy asked if I could see what was going on. I could not. Next she told me that it might be a good idea to take the boys (Jake and Ben) inside. She proceeded to tell me that she was the one who called the cops!

It turns out, that while she was bird watching toward the direction of the big tree, she noticed something odd hanging in the tree. It was a body! Someone had hung themselves in the big tree in our backyard. At that moment I tried to coral the boys inside.

When I got inside I went to get my video camera, not for footage, but because it has better magnification then the boy's binoculars. Sure enough there was a dead person hanging in the tree.

It seems like the person wanted people to see what they were doing. They could have moved more into the brush around the tree and closer to its trunk, but they chose to hang themselves facing all the houses. Only distance made seeing this sight difficult.

As we watched the police, firemen, CSI and coroner come and go over the next two hours, I found myself profoundly disturbed by this recent event (who wouldn't!).

When did this happen?
Was I home when it happened?
Was I asleep?
Was I not paying attention?
Why was there no "some disturbance in the force" letting me know something evil was about to happen? How come no angel or shinning light clued me in to the fact someone needed help. Don't get me wrong, I do not feel guilty about this, just sad.

I am sad partly because someone felt so hopeless they told God, "I quit!" Partly, because I can never look at that tree the same way again. I have an odd feeling about letting the boys go out to that tree now. They don't know what really happened. They think someone got hurt, which they did...ultimately!

I am just sad.

Hopefully, I can learn more from the news tonight.

Jesus is the true and better...

Came across this today...


Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, "Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me," now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, "Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us."

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible's really not about you – it's about him.

The Shepard and the Knucklehead

So, Mike Alpert and I made a crazy bonsai run to Seattle Sunday night for dinner and dialogue. Yes, we spent 7 hours in a car just to spend 3 hours talking to people we didn't know! And it was great. However, I think we both paid for it on Monday at work . Mike had to be in about 8:30am and I was in about 7am.

Anyway, we got to the Blue Star Pub about 6pm and were warmly greeting by "Parker" (a one name guy like Sting, Bono or Prince) the founder of The Shepard and the Knucklehead. Once we all arrived and the evening got rolling we were singers, artists, hairstylists and corporate strategists, to name a few.

The point of the evening was to create a space for people to talk, share and explore a somewhat spiritually loaded topic or question. Mind you, not everyone in the room was a Christ follower, but I think it was fair to say that everyone was hungry for something which Christ could certainly provide. This weeks question was, "what is hope?"

This topic provided hours of great conversation! At my table we mused about hope (obviously), despair, acceptance, guilt, the speed of light (?) and the future.

Some quotes from the evening:

• You can never feel bad enough to make someone else feel good enough.
• Despair is the regret of past decisions, where as hope is the future unrealized and now is a moment of acceptance.
• I would rather be hopeful, because it feels better.

What was cool about the evening was that no one judged anyone for what they said or thought. No one even batted an eye when one person mentioned how he was in a study group covering the Purpose Drive Life. This was simply a safe place to gather and be ourselves with others.

Yes, our ultimate goal for going (and I believe for Parker's hosting of the evening) was to see people moved further along in their journey toward Jesus, but our motivation was compassion and grace. Hopefully, Sunday night at the Blue Star Pub was a mile marker for a few people, a rest stop for others or maybe, just maybe, even the trail head for some.

Sermon Development

Tomorrow the Elders at The Evergreen Community are going to preach. We have taken a passage and divided up. I took this opportunity to see how I move from passage to sermon. For the most part here is how I develop sermons:

1. Read the passage over and over again out of the NASB.
2. Read the passage in different translations (KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ISV, NIV, NIrV, NLT, NCV, CEV, The Message, etc.)
3. Read the whole book which the passage is from or at least read the paragraphs before and after.
4. Seek to understand the context (literarily, historically, etc.)
5. Cut and past the passage into a Word document which is double spaced for notes.
6. It is usually about this point I remember to pray for God’s help!
7. Determine the flow and thought progression of the passage.
8. Determine the author’s central thought of the passage (authorial intent).
1. Ask: What is the author talking about?
2. Ask: What is the author saying about what he is talking about?
9. Look for repeated words, conjunctions, qualifiers, “loaded” words, words I don’t understand, reoccurring themes.
10. Research any ties to other passages of Scripture, otherwise known as cross references.
11. Do word studies.
12. Wrestle with hard phrases.
13. Ask, “What would the first reader have seen and heard?”
14. Ask, “Why is this included in the Bible?” or “Why is this important to God?”
15. Think, pray, think, pray, think, pray.
16. Read commentaries, customs and manners, books of lists, histories and any other related works.
17. Begin to relate the central thought to everyday life or begin climb the "ladder of abstraction.”
18. Begin to write out my thoughts. These are the sermon. Sometimes they are developed into a manuscript and sometimes they are left just as an outline.
    

R and R

I am one vacation this week, so that means computer time is limited and family time is maximized. I will be back late next week.

So True...

"Its easier to create rules instead of relationships."

Religious Leader or Pop Icon

I am not Roman Catholic so I don't truly understand the status of the Pope. Than again, I have never understand people who are star struck by celebrities. Deep done I am an egotist of my own sort, but to be venerated and revered (no I don't like the title Rev.) is lost on me.

Do people calmer to see the Pope because he is the Vicar of Christ on earth or because he is famous? This is not a poke to the HRCC, but an honest question. Are people hoping a miracle will happen because they have seen, been touched by or have taken a picture of the Pope?

I understand the need for security, he is a world leader of millions of people, but to tour around like a superstar, I just don't get it. I have attended churches in So. California where the pastor is a celebrity within the Christian community as much as anyone in Hollywood. I once heard a story of a man who always sat in the front row of the mega church I attended in order to guard the preacher. It was rumored among some that he even carried a gun in case someone rushed the platform! Wow!

At what point do/should religious leaders take ownership of there "status" and seek to curtail it? John the Baptizer said and did what was needed to bring attention to Jesus and deflect attention away from himself (John 3:30). I think it is the job of all Christ followers (leaders or laity) to reflect Jesus and raise him above all in the minds of other people. If this means limiting ourselves, then so be it.

How does a pastor avoid believing his own press clippings?
Does this ego trip contribute to the often heard of "moral failures" common among church leaders ?
Is notoriety always a bad within the church?
What forms of accountability will help a pastor hold this perception in check?

1 Year, 1 Day and 8 Toes Later

June 3, 2006

Well, last year at this time I had just gott'n home from the hospital where I had most of two toes amputated. It is an odd story about the backyard, my toes and an old lawn mower. Yep, you got it, the doctors only finished what the lawn mower started.

Some how I managed to get my foot up under the mower base when the handle broke and gave way. Trying to catch my balance my foot got whacked. Now if you are thinking, "Dork, don't mow in your bare feet" know that I wasn't. I was wearing leather boots that had a pretty sizable soul on them. However, these boots were no match for a mower, even one with a dull blade.

So, a year later...I still wince when I think about it all. My foot still hurts when I bump it. I get shooting pains that stop me in my tracks.

But, I can still run and walk undetectably normal. My life was never in danger nor has it changed at all. I am hoping to play some Ultimate Frisbee or football this summer to really try it out.

So know you know why this blog is called, "eight is enough."

If you want to read a truly heroic story about missing limbs read Tarver's.