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March 31, 2010
March 30, 2010
It's Redneck Tuesday!
Go ahead, mail my day.
March 29, 2010
March 28, 2010
The Red Rocks Rock
I always thought it would be pretty cool to hike up into the Red Rocks in Nevada. Today I got to do it with good friend John Folden. I need to tell you, it was pretty sweet. And it was a good work out. We saw an amazing number of rock climbers scaling up the sheer faces. While we did not do that, we did pick and climb our way up to a number of peaks. The sky was clear blue making it a perfect day with a great friend. Yes, it was a swell day.
March 26, 2010
March 24, 2010
Bride
I write this as I wait for a flight transfer in an airport on a travel day to the western side of the country. When people hear that I travel a lot on business they often comment that it must be nice or even glamorous. Men and women who travel often tend to just pass a knowing smile. It's true that I have met wonderful people while traveling and seen some cool things. It is just as much true that the vast majority of business travel is a grind of flying, waiting, hurrying, stopping, standing, and talking.
The least attractive thing about business travel is simply being gone from home. I'm not kidding when I say I love home. It has nothing to do with the stuff at home and everything to do with the life Denine and I have built together. At twenty-five years and counting I love my wife more that ever and treasure our relationship. Over the years we have both developed our own interests and relationships, but we have also cultivated those things that we enjoy together.
So the other week our pastor, David, was speaking about the church, as in all of us who follow Christ. He pointed out that surveys show most non-believers do not believe the church offers hope for the future and most do not believe Christianity is real. This is interesting in that surveys also show most non-believers would visit a church is asked by a friend and most are very interested in talking about the concepts taught by Jesus.
The problem is pretty clear. It's the church. Folks outside the church are pretty open to honest discussions about Jesus. They are not so open to the programs and polices churches put in place to attract people. They are not interested in playing church either. In the past, I've ranted at times that we counter this by doing the same things bigger and bolder. It is pretty easy to point a critical finger at shrinking church attendance and why people are leaving the church, much less pulling in and cultivating new believers.
I'll do a quick sidebar here and mention that our home church is healthy and growing in new followers. We are not prefect, but I believe we are working at becoming what we are called to do in our community. As with many communities of believers we hopeful for restoration of the church at large and seek to do our part.
Here is where David's message knocked me in the head. He reminded us that church is the bride of Christ. That is a power statement, my friend. It is one of those things that I understood, but had never really stopped to fully consider. The church is Christ's bride now, not just at the end of time.
This brought me back to my relationship with Denine. If she is hurting or in pain it will not help her if I stand back and point a critical finger. I can help her by holding, listening, encouraging, and understanding. I can help her by praying for her. Because of who she is, I am driven to do whatever is possible to bring relief to her circumstance.
And so it is with the church. It's not an option for a Christ-follower to simply discard the church and do our own thing. If we love Jesus, we must love and embrace the church. When we do begin doing more of that perhaps this is when we will begin to see real change and revolution. Can you better love the church? Can I better love the church? I pray that we do.
March 23, 2010
It's Redneck Tuesday!
Best peddle mower ever! I'm surprised it does not have a drink holder.