Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

Over the last 2 1/2 years, I have been studying leadership. I never saw myself as a leader before. Only in this time frame have I begun to understand my role requires the qualities of being a leader. I was never a leader in high school. I wasn't a captain of the sports team. I didn't inspire or draw people to be my friends. I didn't see my role as a pastor being a leader in my previous appointments. But this time was different. I had to own the role and its responsibility. So as I read and studied the roles and responsibilities I was supposed to take on, I discovered that I am not suited for them as I am. I always thought that my mission as a pastor was to help people become better Christians. It seemed that my gifts and calling were such that I was to increase their ability to live the faithful life. I assumed that my life would develop naturally alongside. Reality is, though, that I have spent so much focus on others that I didn't manage my own development like I shou...

DaVinci Hits the Screens If you have been under a rock, then you are probably not reading this. If you have been paying attention, you understand that the most chaos producing movie of the last year is released today. The DaVinci Code arrives in a theater near you. Are you going to see it? If you are, let me share with you some of the advance screening hype. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. They said things like, Hollywood Reporter "... movie really only catches fire after an hour..." "... one of Tom Hanks' more remote, even wooden performances ...." "... the movie is so drenched in dialogue musing over arcane mythological and historical lore and scenes grow so static that even camera movement can't disguise the dramatic inertia." Entertainment weekly "The surprise, and disappointment, of The Da Vinci Code is how slipshod and hokey the religious detective story now seems." "...fails to build intellectual excitement into the...

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I announced in my Sunday School class that I was not going to be teaching another class for a while. Because of my stepping down, we will likely lose one of our two adult classes. It is always hard to find someone to step out on faith and start teaching Sunday School. I asked the leadership for their ideas about a new class and there weren't many suggestions forthcoming. So I have to wonder - Is Sunday School a thing of past generations? How does Sunday School continue when there is no excitement or passion for it to continue? Should we continue to offer something that will likely not be done with excellence just for the sake of filling the time? Growing up, Sunday School came after worship. We shared a pastor with another charge about 15 miles away. We had the early service and Sunday School followed. I was a youth in those days and never stayed in the adult Sunday School class. But we always had adults stick around for that. Then at my last appointment, Sunday School came before...

I just finished reading The DaVinci Code . Some of you may be wondering, "Why?" Well, the first reason is I prefer to read a book before I see the movie. The second reason is that I am interested in historical religious fiction novels. The third reason is that there are a bunch of hysterical conservative/fundamentalists running around thinking that the AntiChrist has finally hit the best seller list. Let me tell you what I think about this book. It is a good read. I finished it in about 24 hours across 3 days. Most of it was done within the last 24 hours. That is a good read in my opinion. If it will engage me enough to drag me away from the computer for any length of time, it's a dandy of a book. It is mostly an action book. The majority of the narrative is about action. Dead bodies. Albino religious fanatic assassins. Police chases and guns and shooting and jet planes. Whoosh! It is exciting. It is a book that ties a lot of ideas together in a coherent form. If you read...

Sometimes church members (and family members) will look at me and think/say, "What are you thinking about?" I have to admit that I get a terrible and sick sense of joy in knowing that people can't figure me out. I'm sick. I know it. Lately, though, there has been one thing taking up most of my precious mental energies. Disney. Walt Disney is one of my heroes. I have been reading about his life and the philosophy Disney had toward life. He is not what I would call a devout disciple of Jesus Christ. But he is someone I admire and am learning from. Walt Disney World is my absolute favorite place in the world. I have been twice. There is something about that magical place. It is so powerful that I have used it as an example for our Vision Team leadership training this year. So why is Disney filling up my waking moments. Cue the commercial: "I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!" My family and I will be taking a vacation in September to Walt Disney World in Orlando. I am...

Sorry for the delay friends and family. Have you noticed the amount of pressure in the culture lately? I have been watching, listening, and thinking about the increasing tension and pressure that is filling our lives. Let me give you some examples of this pressure. - A crisis pregnancy center is being accused of underhanded tactics to "prevent" women from receiving an abortion. The oppositional writer accuses the group of seeking to "limit and, in some cases, prevent women from exploring their legal options for health care." Click here for the full article. - The United Methodist Judicial Council stood by its decisions regarding the role of a pastor in determining a person's readiness to be received in membership. Now the both sides of the homosexual issue have fuel for the fires of rhetoric. As if they didn't have an out of control wildfire before. - On a "conservative" talk radio show a caller was relating the story of his now defunct engagement...

I encouraged the church to watch "The Gospel of Judas" last night on National Geographic Channel. This was the semi-documentary about a historical document which presents Christ and Judas in a different perspective. Let me begin by saying that National Geographic presented the information in their typical format. They took the "dull" facts of their research and presented it in a glossy, picturesque style. I love National Geographic and have read it for years and watch their presentations occasionally. But as far as serious research, I leave it behind for deeper sources. That is my personal bias. Now regarding the material. I watched the program to see where the document originated. NG presented the best sounding story of how the document came into the modern spotlight. If you watched you heard about the "treasure hunting" farmer who discovered a cave with bones. In this makeshift crypt was a box. That box held an ancient appearing, leather-bound book. The ...

I was at the beautiful Canyon Camp for the last two days. Canyon Camp is our United Methodist campground in Central Oklahoma. I was there for a retreat that our Bishop holds every year. This year's theme was the subject of evangelism. Most people realize the struggle the UM church is having with declining numbers. We have been challenged to build our numbers as the tangible sign of our overall mission of making disciples for Jesus Christ. I want to share some of the insights from the retreat for your comments. First- most of the material that was being shared was an affirmation. The information that was being presented was the same thing I have been sharing with the leadership of the church for two years. The model of operation suggested was what shaped the formation of the Vision Team. The style of evangelism and ministry that was being encouraged is our ministry model we currently have. It was affirming that we are doing something "right". (It's only right when the ...

I would be a very baaaad person if I didn't at least acknowledge the most important exclusive personal relationship I have in this life. Today is my beautiful wife's birthday. She is my true love and the greatest partner in life I could ever hope to have. In her I have found much of what I need to be completed. She is fantastic. And I'm just glad I'm not an old man anymore. I love you Lisa.

I ran across this article today. In essence, the author argues that when Christians use the phrase "a personal relationship with Jesus", they are treading wearily in deep water. I believe the author is trying to present a dangerous situation Christians may fall into with the use of this phrase. Some evangelical Christians use the idea of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ exclusive to any other mode of relationship. This exclusive mode of relationship results in frustration at not being able to have a "lasting" relationship or anger at being "rejected" in the relationship. It births doubt when thoughts would turn to our own fault for the relationship not being what it should be. This is starting to sound a lot like relationships with my college girl-friends. But I get the author's point. The exclusive mode of "personal relationship" is limited in understanding who Jesus Christ is in the fullest sense. I know that many find this mode ...

This past weekend was full. Today is really the processing of the many emotions left over. It began Saturday with Angel Food at our church. Angel Food is the supplemental food program our church participates in. (Find out more about our church's part and the national ministry .) We put food in the hands of over 300 families. What was truly special is that the distribution was accomplished by a mixture of St. Andrew's church folks and good hearted people who have no formal connection with our church. Yet you couldn't tell the difference. Some of the St. Andrew's folks were wearing our custom t-shirts, but not everyone. There was a great spirit and connection between the people working. I couldn't ask for more meaningful expression of the kingdom of God than what was happening Saturday morning. God bless you St. Andrew's and Angel Food volunteers. Saturday afternoon was Nicholas' (my 7 year old) birthday. His party was at Tulsa's Incredible Pizza Company...