Month: May 2009

Perhaps I should direct my writing time to t-shirt slogans. It would certainly be at least as profitable as my current efforts. Today I saw TWO different t-shirts about hearing voices. One shirt said “I hear voices and they don’t like you”. Another one said “Even if the voices in my head aren’t real they do have some good ideas”. I got a chuckle out of that one.

But after further thought I think that the voices in my head rarely, if ever, have good ideas. I am talking about the voices that were programmed from childhood. Negative parents, teachers, coaches, siblings, friends (?), other Christians (?) and assorted others have laid down tracks to my negative thoughts life soundtrack mix. Favorite cuts like these are always cued and ready to be played. You will never change. You always do that. I can’t believe you did that again. What is wrong with you?

I get letters and emails and stories nearly every day from heartbroken people in the church. It almost always starts out the same way. I was serving Jesus and it was going great. Then I could almost list a column of bad things and have them check all that apply.

___ Another churchgoer did or said something.
___ Someone took my rightful place or took me out of my rightful place.
___ I didn’t get appreciated or honored. 
___ I was disappointed by someone in leadership.
___ No one cared about my hurt.

That is when the voices jump in and I read them in their letters. The voice starts telling them what they want to hear. That they should never have said that to you or did that to you if they were really a Christian. That you deserved that spot, not them. How dare they take you from that position? Maybe the voice reminds you of how hard you work and they don’t care. Or how they don’t do anything and you have to do it all and they still don’t care. That they play favorites and you are not getting the respect and honor you deserve.

Those voices rob you of your joy in serving Jesus. Let’s be honest. If we are serving Christ out of grateful appreciation of His saving grace then we should be serving without expectation. Have I done that really well? No. Am I getting better? A little bit. Baby steps.

There is another voice. It is much softer and requires a lot more effort to hear. You have to slow down and be quiet and spend time in prayer and God’s Word. Casting Crowns has a great song called the “Voice of Truth” that describes this spiritual battle.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I’m in
onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”

The song goes on to describe that other voice.

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the Voice of Truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

Jesus had to deal with that voice. Three times He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4). The very men who Jesus invested His life into heard that voice and made ungodly suggestions. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a town that did not welcome them. Jesus rebuked them. And Peter got his hair parted when he tried to explain to Jesus that the events the Lord had just outlined really couldn’t happen.

But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  (Matt 16 NLT)

All of us hear those voices. The voices from bad experiences in our past may require help to erase. Here is a little tip that I have learned. The voice we tend to hear first in the spiritual battle is the loud one. Listen for the quiet voice. Be still. Pray. Read His Word. The Voice of Truth says, “This is for my glory.” That is a plumbline for righteous action. Is it for His glory? That is what the Voice of Truth tells you. The Voice of Truth tells you that you are righteous because of Christ. My friends at Truefaced ministries say it well. Those voices of past sin and failures and hurt are no longer who you are. God is no longer interested in changing you. You have already been changed into a new person because of Christ. You are a Saint. Imputed with righteousness. God is now interested in each one of us maturing into what is already true about us. And that requires learning which voices to listen to and believe.

The Stones sang that “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” back in 1969. But for some reason we keep telling our children that they can and if not it is somebody else’s fault.

One of my favorite editorial writers is Rod Dreher of the Dallas Morning News. I usually agree with his views and that is likely a concern for Rod. I occasionally disagree with his columns and sometimes strongly. But I like Dreher’s articles because they are always thoughtful and graceful. He can state a strong opinion without being a divisive flamethrower. Sadly, that is becoming a lost art. His most recent column was another good one. Dreher wrote about those ridiculously hopeful graduation speeches. Here is the opening paragraph.

The bad news, high school graduates, is that you can’t have it all. You aren’t as free as you think you are. Sorry, but no matter what optimistic flapdoodle your commencement speaker tells you, that’s the truth.

First of all, kudos for the use of “flapdoodle” in a sentence. The word dates back to 1833 and means “the stuff they feed fools on” or, if you wish to be kinder, nonsense. Dreher is right. You really can’t be anything you want. Shaquille O’Neal can’t be a jockey in the Kentucky Derby no matter how much he dreams or hopes. All the horses certainly hope that is true. I realize that there are things I simply cannot do. I will never be a rocket scientist unless they eliminate that pesky math requirement. Back to Mr.Dreher’s column.

What’s more, unless you’re an incurable romantic or an American politician, you eventually will learn that life is more tragic than you were led to believe. You will discover your own limits. You will fail at something, even if you succeed by the standards of the world. That failure may save you; success may destroy you.

Nobody really wants to hear that on graduation day but everyone needs to hear those truths at some point and hopefully early in the journey. If I were asked to speak to young grads (not likely) I would tell them some things I wish I had known at their age. I would talk about my faith so that would rule me out of most venues. And even if I got to speak I suspect there would be a lot of texting going on from a restless audience. But maybe a couple of them would hear some things that they will have to figure out eventually.

1.    I wish I had known that my high school years did not define me at all

My teen years were a mixed bag of memorable highs and incredible lows. Now I realize that what I once considered some of the worst moments of my life I am grateful for experiencing. In many of those spiritual valleys you could not have begun to convince me that God was molding me or that those experiences could ever be of value. I knew the scripture just as you likely do…that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. I now realize that mere knowledge of that promise is not enough. It comes down to our foundational belief of who God is. Do we believe His Word? I mean really believe His Word? That He will actually cause even the worst event to somehow work for ours or someone else’s good? That requires faith in a God that is trustworthy.

I have developed a heart of compassion for those who are wounded. Why? God gave me the privilege of being wounded early in my life. That sounds crazy as I read back over that last sentence. It is not a sentence that I would have written twenty or perhaps even ten years ago. But I can see that my struggles as an overweight, geeky and generally outcast adolescent molded my heart to empathize with those who are hurt and ostracized by their peers.
Had I been the coolest guy or the best athlete or the most handsome I most likely would not have developed a sensitive spirit to others. So God gave me the opportunity on all of those fronts to develop sensitivity.  I did not enjoy that period of my life. I would have given anything at that time to be one of the really popular kids. I would have told you that I would gladly trade nearly anything on the spot to be the starting quarterback or the big man on campus. I was desperate to be part of the cool group. With the benefit of hindsight I can promise you that I am grateful for every refining difficulty and problem.  Such a dramatic change in attitude is a matter of time, growth in my relationship with Jesus and my trust in the truth of His promises. As G.K.Chesterton wryly noted, “Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.” Had I been freed the burden of my “hump” (that tough teenage passage), I would not be who I am today.

2.     I wish I had known that I needed to decide in advance what I would do in tough situations

Most of my mistakes as a teen were made in moments of peer pressure that I was not prepared to address. Joni and I tried to teach our sons that you decide in advance what your response will be to temptation. Decide in advance that you will call for a ride when asked to get in the car with a drinking driver. Decide in advance to not get yourself into a situation where sexual temptation will be an issue. Decide in advance that you will be kind to the less popular no matter how the “cool” kids view that action. Decide in advance to trust God as you make decisions that you fear might lessen your popularity or status. In the moment you tend to make wrong decisions so make them in advance and then stand firm.

3.     I wish I had known that every person is created in God’s image…and He loves them just as much as He loves me

Sparky Anderson, a former Cincinnati Reds manager, once said that “you can never go wrong being classy.” And you can never go wrong being kind to everyone. Sometimes you will be tempted to ridicule or tease those who are less attractive, intelligent, gifted or cool. Don’t do it. If you can accept the advice of a guy who has been to a 25th High School reunion I can tell you this. Some of those “losers” are the “winners” now. They have wonderful families and lives. Some of the kids I was desperate to be like are still living off of moldy high school memories. High school is the start of a very long journey. Some people seem to be leading the life race coming out of high school but they often falter by the first turn. The real winners know that life is a marathon and that God has a plan for that long race. Be kind to everyone. Jesus loves them. And so should you.

4.   I wish I had known that nothing outside of who I am in Christ can make me cool

There is nothing wrong with desiring to wear clothes and shoes that are fashionable. There is nothing wrong with being in activities that are popular. But it is wrong to think that those clothes or shoes or activities make you better than others. I really wish I had known that going along with the group and doing wrong things did not make me cool. I wish I had realized in high school that people look at those things but God looks on the heart. It is your heart that makes you who you are, not your outfit or activities or “rebellious” moments.

5.    I wish I had known in high school that I needed to take responsibility for my own actions

Learn now to say these three sentences.

            I was wrong.
            I am sorry.
            Forgive me.

And keep your “but” out of those statements. Don’t say “I was wrong ‘but’ I didn’t think it would hurt you” or “I am sorry ‘but’ I was having a bad day.”  Those are not real apologies. Take responsibility. Live with integrity. That will make you unique in this culture of it is never my fault.

6.    I wish I had known in high school that the 2nd most important decision I would make is who my friends were

Your friends have an influence on who you are and who you become. Pick them carefully. Young Christians often think they can influence their friends for Christ if they keep hanging out with them. Be careful that you don’t lose the balance of the fellowship and encouragement of Christian friends. Prayerfully seek a balance between the two. But understand that friends are a critical factor in your life and they will influence who you are…good or bad.

7.   The most important decision I will ever make is who or what I serve

Everyone one worships something or someone. It can be money or power or fame or popularity. I believe we are created to worship God. We have a yearning from our birth to find our purpose and significance. But if you don’t find that relationship in Christ you will tend to fill it with wrong things. Often those things are not inherently bad. But they can become bad things when they become the focus instead of Jesus. We used to sing a camp song with these lyrics..

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you

There is nothing wrong with these “things” when you seek the kingdom of God first. One of my favorite passages is in the book of Colossians. Paul outlines what it looks like to be a real Christian. Living these five little verses will change your life.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  (Colossians 3:12–17, NLT)

Rod Dreher finished his column with these words.

You don’t fully control your fate, but you do control the formation of your character. That matters in ways we cannot foresee and can only appreciate once we lose the illusion that we are self-created. George Eliot ended her novel Middlemarch with a line about the effect, over time, of ordinary goodness lived out by ordinary people like us: “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”

Good stuff. I may not be famous but I can be faithful. Our culture is built on people like that. Ordinary and good people doing the right and kind thing every day without fanfare. There is great value in living a life with those ideals. Go for your dreams but remember your significance as a unique creation and your responsibility to one another.  I promise you that is not balderdash.

Today Brett’s rescued buddy Trigger joined my usual canine companion Hannah for the daily walk. Actually with Trig the routine is a bit different. He drags me for the first mile and I drag him for the second mile. It is the balance of nature at work. As usual the iPod was cranked up when I took the dogs for a walk. I have over 1700 songs on my iPod. My taste in music is to be kind, eclectic. The less kind would call my blend of music weird.

So it was interesting when a couple of songs came up randomly that hit me right where I am living today. The first was a song called “Gotta Serve Somebody” from Bob Dylan. Dylan lists a number of professions, interests and traits that define how we are labeled by our culture. But then he cuts to the chase and observes that those things are not who we are. We are defined by who or what we serve.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Yes indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the Devil
Or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

I have been a follower of Jesus for nearly forty years. I agree with Dylan’s lyrics that you will serve somebody. Who you serve will be reflected in how you spend your time and treasure. Your calendar and checkbook will starkly reveal who you are serving. I had a desire to serve God but also a deep seated fear of what that might look like if I made that commitment. That fear came from a wrong view of God and of His grace that had been reinforced by bad theology and some really bad experiences.

I reflected on how I am beginning to understand what it means to trust Jesus as Lord and not just as my Savior. The next song that popped up was from Chris Rice and the lyrics reflected my journey.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe
And blessed are the hands that keep givin’ but never receive
Blessed is the heart that gets broken but keeps holdin’ on

Holdin’ on for another day
‘Cause that’s what it means…it means holdin’ on for another day
‘Cause that’s what it means to live by faith.

Years spent trying to do enough to prove my service and devotion have been replaced by simple trust and faith. I can already hear the objections from some. “But what about the things that need to get done? Your “faith” won’t change diapers in the nursery and your “trust” won’t set up chairs.” I would have been singing in your choir just a few years ago. I would now argue that understanding who you are in Christ and how much you have been forgiven will cause you serve more, not less. And a better attitude is a lovely side benefit. At least that has been my story.

In Hebrews we read these words: And without faith it is impossible to please God…

He is not pleased by my talent or deeds or striving for righteousness. God is pleased by my simple faith and trust. I can do that! And out of that trust comes my service based on gratitude and joy. So my iPod daily double meditation was simple. I will serve God. And I will live that out by faith.

 

My profession is television sports directing. I will be doing that until more of you people buy my books and read my blogs. I direct games for the Texas Rangers baseball team and the last two games have been a director’s dream. The Rangers had “walk-off” wins in both games. That means they score the winning run in the last at bat and the game is over. Both teams “walk-off” the field but with very different body languages.

Yesterday a 9^th inning home run by Ranger first baseman Chris Davis gave Texas an amazing win. The moment was so much fun to direct. The shots of the intense concentration by Davis. The Seattle pitcher trying to save the game. Ranger players hanging on the dugout rail praying for a miracle. And then it happens. The ball flies deep toward center. The Ranger player start to jump up and down as they try to will the ball out of the park. The ball clears the fence and pandemonium ensues.

Ranger players Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock and others leap the rail and sprint toward home plate to greet the hero of the moment. I grab a shot of the devastated Mariner pitcher walking off with shoulders slumped. Chris Davis rounds third, flips his helmet in the air with joy and heads toward a throng of teammates encircling home plate. They are smiling and waiting with unbridled excitement for Chris to get “home” so they can celebrate. As he nears home plate Davis makes a gigantic leap into the throng and the mayhem and joy continues. The dogpile absorbs Davis. What a picture. Back in the Mariner dugout I show the Mariner catcher sitting alone and staring into space. That is drama of sports and it was described eloquently during the famous open of Wide World of Sports.

The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.

Paul often used sports as an analogy for spiritual things.

I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. (I Cor.9, NLT)

Today I reflected on that passage and the thrilling finish yesterday. As much fun as that moment was yesterday the Rangers will play another game tonight. It may be an exciting win. It may be a disappointing loss. But the thrill of yesterday is just a memory. I thought about  the parallels of sports and living out our faith. How I need to be faithful and just show up everyday and doing everything I can to spread the Good News and its blessings. I thought about the eternal prize that will not fade away when I finish this race. I began to imagine my heavenly homecoming and how it might resemble that moment from yesterday. I saw myself “rounding third” and heading toward all of the loved ones who had gone ahead. I saw them smiling with unbridled joy as I moved toward them. I imagined that I jumped into a dogpile of dear friends and family who had shared my journey. I saw my Dad jumping the rail as I approach so he can be there I as cross to home. My wonderful nephew, precious daughter and my Mom are waiting at home. Incredible friends who had a big part of me staying within the basepaths over the many years jump with joy. And then I picture emerging from the dogpile of family and friends and seeing Jesus. He hugs me warmly. I am safe at home.

 

 

I have rediscovered the music of Keith Green. I absolutely loved his songs when I was a young follower of Jesus. Green was killed in a small plane crash in 1982. Recently I downloaded some of his tunes to the iPod and this morning one of them randomly (?) popped up during the morning walk. Keith Green’s song of worship “Oh Lord You’re Beautiful was just what I needed to hear this morning.  

Oh Lord, You’re beautiful,
Your face is all I seek.
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

My heart aches for the angry, frustrated, tired and discouraged Christians who live the Christian version of Henry David Thoreau’s quote.

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

I think that describes the spiritual experience of too many followers of Christ. We make it about right actions instead of realizing our righteousness is only because of Christ. We seek to impress instead of seeking His face. And I too often forget that His eye is always on me and His grace always abounds to me. That happened when I believed in Christ.

Keith Green’s song continues…

I want to take Your love and shine it all around,
But first help me just to love it, Lord.
And if I’m doing well help me never seek a crown,
For my reward is giving glory to You!

I want to reflect His love but first I have to let Him love me. That sounds so elementary. But I spent decades trying to earn His love when all I had to do was receive it. Now as I receive His love I can live in gratitude as I understand His unmerited favor that was extended to me. And I realize that both my salvation and my journey with Him are all because of grace. I cannot do either on my own.

If you are living a Christian life of quiet desperation I pray that you will trust the truths of the Gospel. That you are righteous. Yep. You. Righteous. Not because of your discipline or begrudging compliance or stiff upper lip right actions. You are righteous because of Jesus. As my friends at Truefaced so eloquently say…

Maturing in Christ is simply growing into what is already true about you. You are righteous. You are a saint. Not because of a single thing you did or can do. Because of Christ.

If you find yourself tired and angry and frustrated I pray that you will trust these truths. Don’t go to the grave with your song still in you. One of my favorite quotes comes from Keith Green.

“It’s time to quit playing church and start being the Church”.

Amen.

I have had the privilege of being the warm-up act for my friend John Lynch at some TrueFaced Worldview nights. It is always fun because neither John nor I have any clue what we might say. To paraphrase comedian Mike Birbiglia: “Our thoughts have no on-deck circle. They go straight to the plate and it is batter up!”

Recently I got to join John close to home at an event in Ft.Worth. John does part of the “Two Roads, Two Rooms” message and I add my 2 cents along the way (adjusted for inflation). I am totally energized and blessed when I see people understand grace and what that means in their relationship with God. Can I make a plea to my tens of readers? If you have not heard the “Two Roads” message please go straight to their website and order a CD and/or DVD today. Next to the Gospel this has been the most powerful message that I have ever heard. That message was the beginning of my understanding about why I had been flatlined for so many years in journey with Jesus.

Even as I am energized by seeing people understand the truths of grace and identity I am saddened and, to be honest, frustrated by those who push back against this message. I want them to feel the freedom and joy that I have experienced over the past eighteen months. I wonder why anyone would hold on to a theology that produces hiddenness and tiredness? Recently I began a series about living out the Christian life in the workplace and secular world. I wrote a column about language and responding with grace to those who use obscenities. One commenter made this observation about my article.

“A true Christian will morn their sin and experience anguish when thinking of it.”

Immediately the old tapes of my legalistic upbringing were cued up. Who knew that 8–tracks could still be played? In one fell swoop this person had questioned my salvation, theology and demonstrated that spell check doesn’t catch everything. I had spent decades wrestling with sin and wondering if I was a true Christian. I would mourn my sin but then I would do it again. I experienced anguish but little joy. So if mourning sin and anguishing in thought made me a true Christian I was doing just fine. But I wasn’t.

It wasn’t until I really began to understand the truths of identity and grace that I began to resolve my sin. I am still a work in progress and will remain so. But now I actually am learning how to address sin in ways other than hiddenness and begrudging compliance to try by my own mad skills to do the right thing. I wore masks because I was too proud to admit that I was no where near the together guy I wanted to be. During a recent walk Country singer Keith Urban brought me back to the pride thing with his song “Tonight I Wanna Cry”. His song is not written about spiritual things but the lyrics describe how guys (the species I kind of understand) deal with emotion.

Cause I’ve never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein’ strong meant never losin’ your self-control
But I’m just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride
Let it fall like rain, from my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry.

While I am not advocating the getting “just drunk enough” to let go of my pride part I am suggesting that I need to be willing to say to “hell with my pride“. And I do want to let go of my pain and give it to God. The Apostle Peter writes these words to the young men and those seeking to be elders but they certainly apply to all of us.

And all of you, serve each other in humility, for

   “God opposes the proud
      but favors the humble.”

 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Pet 5, NLT)

As I write this this morning I am not “just drunk” enough to let go of my pain. But I am “just tired” enough of it to give the pain to Him. I am tired enough to trust Him in humility. He cares about me. He sees me as righteous because of Christ. I have been changed into a new spiritual being. Incredible.

I am beginning to wonder if pride is not the enemy of this message of grace. It is tough to let go of your control and simply trust God. Humility is the hallmark of a Christian that is growing in grace and understanding. The question is very simple. Would I rather save face than see His face?

Because my ministry is to make other Christians feel superior I am excited to expand that outreach. Please check out the new weekly blog at World Magazine.