Toby and I were on our way home and he shouts out look dad a skid loader with a ladder on it! I sort of laughed and took a look to see what he was getting confused. Well, the picture below shows he wasn’t getting anything confused. I went on to help these guys cut some limbs in some of the most creative ways imaginable.
I haven’t laughed this hard for quite sometime. We got a phone call from a telemarketer and Toby wanted to answer so Jenny and I looked at each other and said sure. At which point the tears started to roll down my face. The conversation on Toby’s end went like this.
Hello
T_O_B_Y
Yes, Toby, that is how you spell me.
2 but I’ll be 3 and have a birthday party and get a guitar.
Yes
Well Lydie is sleeping and so
I got grandma a birthday card but I broke it.
Who is this?
(long pause then laughing)
Hello?
I thought you went away.
There was more to the 2 minute phone call that we can’t remember but it did our hearts well to laugh. I only feel a little bad doing this to them.
Ottumwa loves Halloween! This city goes all out. I sort of prefer Reformation Day but that is besides the point. I really don’t get into this Holiday so I sort of bypassed it all together and started listening to Christmas Music this week. Is that to early?
Lydia is “her-rilous” (hilarious) according to Toby.
She has started to grab a hold of a few words. “Hi” was probably her first word which comes off pretty normal but it sort of moves quickly in another direction with other words being banana, vacuum, and my personal favorite lawn mower which sounds like “law-mow.” As one who watches everything her brother does – it isn’t surprising that these are key words in her life.
She also is into deep knee bend dancing anytime music is in the air.
Over and over again I am blown away at the response to our welcomers, greeters, and overall atmosphere. I’m rereading Fusion by Searcy and the importance of this is pounded through. Your first impression is huge! We have taken that to heart and have seen tremendous fruit from doing all that we can to minimize the awkwardness and confusion that comes with attending a church for the first time. This can be done with a certain look but ultimately it comes down to the people. My observation is that you can’t fake this stuff. You genuinely have to care and that is what is so awesome about the people who make up thebridge. They love being a part of this amazing thing God is doing.
This was a huge Sunday for us at thebridge. We considered this the start of our second year and celebrated by starting a new series on relationships. We sent out our third and largest mass mailing to date. This was a huge risk on our part I believe because I was really wondering if it would trigger any interest. It definitely triggered interest and I believe this was our largest Sunday attendance to date. Not only that but this was also a Sunday in which we only had one person drive down from Pella. Everyone else at the service was checking out thebridge or already a part of thebridge. I also discovered that our mailings are a positive on the other local churches. It served as a reminder and in some cases a kick in the pants to go.
I have never seen a more eager crowd for a series. I’m still unpacking the feedback I have gotten so as to form up my thoughts more accurately for this upcoming Sunday. I’m blown away at the hunger for real relationships that exists and multiple levels.
Jenny and I stayed up late cutting out our bulletins with the help of her brother and his wife. We cut them to look like Lego’s.
One other highlight of the morning was the unveiling of our growth groups. This week we will unpack them more clearly but sign ups have already equaled all of our sign ups from our last effort at groups and we still have two more weeks of sign ups. We have set the BHAG at 72 people. I’ll keep you posted.
Last night we had 9 people show up to work at the Upper Room.
Tomorrow the dock (our student ministries) gets started with basic training.
This is the third and last part of Thoughts Triggered by Seize the Fire.
Chapter 3 – Honour (as it is spelled in the book)
What a strange word this honor is. It seems completely dependent on the perception of others. For even in an attempt to achieve honor one can be misinterpreted and labeled as one with little or no honor. In fact honor is almost easier to identify by what one does to lose it rather than what one does to achieve it. Nicolson talks of the Spanish finding honor in death. (probably because they knew they were going to lose) Honor for the French was seen in position. The higher you rank the more honor you were entitled to. Thus it didn’t matter how well they fought their honor was secure. Yet for the British honor was found in duty. Nicolson says, “ranks is dissolved in honour. The radically entrepreneurial world of which this honour class is a part, cares nothing for rank and everything for duty, which meant the radical and uncompromising imposition of violent will on the enemy.” Quite a contrast to what we see out of Tom Cruise and the Last Samurai. (tangent thought)
So how does this play out in the context of the church? Could it be that some have already ordered their tombstone and prepared their will as a church. They take pride in one that they never compromised and they will go to their grave feeling secure in their death but the reality is they died long ago and really were never in the fight. Could it be that others were never aware that this has always been a battle over the people’s heart and they have instead been consumed with position and power to the point that it has hurt those within their own tribe? Could it be that others have embraced the idea of servant hood and if the accolades come so be it? Wouldn’t it be wiser to take the approach of Nelson when Nicolson says, “Nelson’s undoubted role was as a goad to honour, to lift these men to a higher conception of themselves and of their duty.” I’ve already touched on this above but the idea of honor is more understood by actions that cause one to lose honor then any particular solo act that would achieve honor. A person could conduct an act that is honorable yet still be on who isn’t seen with honor while at the same time a person can make on misstep and lose any chance of ever obtaining honor.
Gut check time – How are you obtaining honor? Are you coasing to the end? Are you position yourself for the long haul even if it meas keeping those who are more gifted and called around you at bay or down? Are you one with integrity? Are you embracing the opportunity to lift up those around you to see themselves in a higher light and a part of the grander mission then they ever thought possible?
Chapter 2 – Order and Anxiety
Quickly it becomes clear that there are different mindsets operating going into the battle of Trafalgar. You have the Spanish still living in the past, operating under a system that has long been inefficient. Then there is the French way of thinking that has modernized at angles but without the systems to make any of the modernization effective. Social ranks and the hierarchy of the old win out over effectiveness and giftings. Finally there is the British way which is often referenced as a machine working in fine order. And let us not confuse this with modern machinery which is pure robotics. Nicolson says, “A ship contains a set of human machinery, in which every man is a wheel, a band, or a crank, all moving with wonderful regularity and precision to the will of the machinist – the all-powerful captain.” The weak are sifted out and the strong rise to the top and the result is a powerful force that is intimidating. With such an opposition it is no wonder that there was anxiety on the side of the Spanish and French. The parallels between this and what we experience in the church are numerous. For far too long we have had churches clinging to the way things use to be. Desiring to even go back to the “good ol’ days” when everyone was “civil” and people had manners and on and on. The paint is brushed on a canvas that is so thick in trying to describe this idealistic way of how things use to be that they completely forget that at one time “this old way” was revolutionary and offensive to those who went before them and also that “this old way” carries with it a truck load of obstacles and burdens that are being over looked. Basically I’m saying it wasn’t all that and a bag of chips like they would have us believe. Then you have those who are ok with going a new direction. They are open minded when it comes to new approaches or ideas as long as none of these new approaches or ideas remove them from power. That value is more in how you do things and not what you do and that how is rapped up in legalistic traditions that at one time served a purpose and were effective but now are more confusing, hampering, and counter productive. Finally you have a systematic approach that has a primary focus on achieving the objective. All resources are then streamlined and positioned for this purpose. Notice in the above quote that some were a wheel, some a band, and some a crank but “all moving” with precision. I feel as if this is a better analogy then the body for the church because you have some people who cop out and say they are an earlobe and serve no real purpose (someone will chime in with a purpose I’m sure). Yet with a ship metaphor each person is in motion with a specific task and further, this ship is in battle and it becomes all the easier to identify that the stakes are at the highest and further more then the previous further is that this crew on this ship serves on behalf of the King!
Gut check time – Are you dreaming of the old days gone by? Are you manipulating the latest innovations in a way that gives the appearance that you are trying but all the while making sure the power stays with you? Are you attempting to be all things to all people and leaving some out of the joy of the fight? Are there ways you need to establish more order and better systems? Are you fighting anxious thoughts? Are you fighting for the King?
Adam Nicolson writes about the battle of Trafalgar, a sea battle that consisted of a joint Spanish and French fleet against the Royal Navy of England. I purchased the book based on the titles of the chapters and have had various thoughts triggered as I read. The following series of posts is a compilation of those thoughts.
Chapter 1 – Zeal
Zeal is a word that still carries great weight in comparison to the word love which has been watered down in its meaning when it can be used to describe how I feel about about both my wife and Davanni’s Pizza. This word has punch and pesto. Samuel Johnson describes Zeal as having passionate ardour for any cause. I’m not entirely sure what ardour means but I know what it means to be passionate about a cause and it is this very thing that I find captivating about being a follower of Christ. We truly have a cause that is worthy of being passionate about. As Nicolson unpacks the backdrop of this naval battle you get the sense that the Spanish are identifying glory in an upcoming loss, the French are confused, beat up, and worn out, and the Royal Navy is consumed with winning each and every day. They have a zeal for victory. How easily it is to identify with these three postures in my own walk. There are days when I feel like I have already lost and the flag is already up, there are other days where I am confused as to what the real objective is and I easily hold the course or head the wrong direction, and then there are those days where there is extreme clarity. My perspective is focused and I am fully alive because I know the objective before me. Criticism within has and will continue to be a plague of the church but what is really hard is when those who have great Zeal for the Lord are criticized for their extreme passion and bold dreams. I believe what we are lacking are people who have Zeal. These are the people who want to charge into battle, win the day, take the hill, take a risk, and make something happen. They have a fire in their soul that is contagious and motivating.
Gut check time – Have you already given up? Are you dysfunctional in your direction and basically treading water with no purpose? Do you have any Zeal? Is your Zeal a passion for the cause of Christ?
The culturally savvy Christian is:
More thoughts on this to come.