(This post is from my weekly Pastor’s Page in my church bulletin – Next week will see the completion of this first part)

I’ve read in the local paper that the IID (local utility company) is thinking of rationing water to the farmers in the valley.  An action that would undoubtedly affect both, you and me as residents of the valley.

This reminds me of another story.  Two years ago I heard about a man that fills water station in the desert between the Imperial Valley and San Diego.  The purpose of these water station are not for overheating cars or the occasional animal.  Instead these water stations were set up specifically for people walking through the desert in order to come to this country in hopes of a better future.

The big debate that has taken place as a result of these ‘water stations’ is one side arguing that these water stations help to promote illegal entry into this county.  The other side, though not disagreeing with that premise, propose that though they may not be taking the appropriate steps to enter legally into the US their lives are still of infinite importance and for some of them access to the water in these water stations may save their lives.

Who is right?  Both are right and both are wrong.  The deeper issue at hand is to whom do you pledge allegiance to?  If to the law of a particular country what happens when that law makes you oppose the way of God.  And if your allegiance is to God, what happens when you faith to God is called into question by a law of the land you live?

What then?  Make sure to check back here next week to see what the biblical narrative has to say on a topic like this.

(This is from the weekly pastor’s page in our church bulletin)

What does God require of us?

In a conversation with his disciples Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;  and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and whoever does not  take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me;  Those who find their life will lost it, and those who lose their life will find it.” (Matthew 10:37).

That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?  It is important to note that Jesus was trying to make a powerful point.  First of all Jesus, does not want you to hate your parents or children.  That is obvious.  But He needed to make a strong point.  That point being that following Him(Jesus) would not always be easy and that it would sometimes cause us to sacrifice – Sacrifice the very things that makes us who we are and the comforts of this life.  This is evident because Jesus says, “take up the cross” for Jesus the cross was the ultimate act of sacrifice.  He wanted us to live our lives as a living sacrifice, always serving others. That is what it means to take up your cross.

Sacrifice is not just about dying a physical death.  Sacrifice is about putting to death selfishness.  Jesus was selfless, which is the opposite of selfish.  Jesus kept emptying himself daily of anything he felt was owed to him.  He lived his life as though it was a gift.  Perhaps that is how we must strive to live our lives.  As a gift from God, and as a gift to other.   Life is where we get to show the world that God is alive and moving in this world.  We are after all the Body of Christ.

(From my weekly Pastor’s Page written for my community of faith)
As this year draws to a close, the experiences of the last twelve months are nothing more than a silent echo in the halls of distant memories.  Most of us will go through the year-end ritual of pausing long enough to,

reflect,
recollect,
remember and even
regret…

the things we did and said…the things we didn’t do and didn’t say.  And now, we shed the stale year now past and embrace the possibilities that the coming year promises.  Some of you might even dare to set resolutions with hopes that next year will be better than the last.

My prayer for you in the coming year is that you would center yourself around “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise…”  (Philippians 4v8).

Focus on the things that feed your soul and nourish your spirit.  Learn to love well.  Forgive much.

May faith guide you every step of the way.  May hope be in plenty supply and may the love of God be abundant.

I am a believer in film.  Let me explain.  I’ve always loved watching films.  Good ones, bad ones – you name it I love them all.  I am convinced that what I really like about films is the story they tell and the visual representation of it.  A week ago some friends and I stumbled into the theater and watched “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.  I hadn’t seen any previews but hoped it wouldn’t be a complete waste of time.  It turns out that after getting pasted the main premise (which I won’t give away) – the film was actually quite good, and I will tell you why.  

The film had many Christological(things about Jesus) allusion’s in it.  That is only if you wanted to see them.  Any time I see something that alludes to, mentions, or ever slightly resembles Christological language I love it.  It’s my story.  So, after the film as we talked about some of the themes in the film I thought it would be a good idea to invite the church to come out and watch this film and then we could discuss it.  It sounds like a good idea, except that I come from a community of faith(Seventh-day Adventist) that has for many many years discouraged going to the theater.  It’s one of those things most people do but no one talks about it.  We announced it at our Saturday morning gathering and it turns out that we had 24 people join us.  That was more than I was expecting. What struck me the most was that we had people ranging from ages 11-60′s.  Our discussion afterwards was great too.  We helped make connections between the film and the Biblical Narrative.  Watching a movie broke down barriers and helped us connect on a deeper level.  People of all ages.  Like I said, I am a believer in films because people will watch a film and come away with a story they relate to.  But there aren’t very many people who will willing come to church and listen to a sermon.  It might be too preachy.  Lesson to those who hear.

I could write more about the film itself but you should watch it and see what you think.

So I’m on vacation.  And that picture you see above is the same window I have been looking out of every morning as I read and write.  There are times that I have just sat there and listened to music, not worring about what I needed to do next or the next day.  No meetings to prep for or phone calls to take.  Nothing.  What a vacation is supposed to be like.  Which explains why this blog has been a ghost town.  I have another week before I head back to the valley..  I hope to post more then.  I am going to try and post at least three times a week.  That sounds so easy from this side, but it becomes much more difficult. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

For my birthday one of my friends gave me the book Freakonomics with a subtitle that reads “A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.“  If you think the subtitle promises more than it can actually achieve you would be fooled.  I am halfway through book and this book it quite literally, about ‘everything’.  At the very least, everything you never thought of which happens to be the hidden side of everything.  I have discovered what the hidden side of everything is and it is not whaty you might think.  And I am not inclined to tell you.  It is a journey you must take on your own.

For the last several months every time I have been in a book store I have seen this book on the shelf but I was never compelled to buy it, thinking I had other more important books to read before I read one for “mere pleasure”.  However, since it was a gift I  felt obliged to read it, that, combined with the need for light reading on a plane (I found that I can’t concentrate on a plane so light reading is best, especially with the take off – it does something to my head).  I have had a difficult time putting this book down.  Levitt and Dubner(the writers of this book one is an economist the other a writer) make compelling cases for what school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common.  Yeah, exactly what I thought, “How could two men talk about everything?”  You will just have to read the book see for yourself.

The following line is what sold me.  “If morality represents the way  we would like the world to work and economics represents how it actually does work, then the sotry of Feldman’s bagel business lies at the very intersection of morality and economics.” (pg 46) As a pastor it is my responsibility to bridge our understanding of the way things should be and how things really are.  I strongly recommend this book.  It is insightful, thought provoking and extremely well written and reasoned.  Everyone needs to read this book if for nothing else because it will force you think beyond what you are used to.

I like reading blogs.  I like reading my friends’ status’ on Facebook.  It gives me a sense of connectedness even if just through the computer screen. In our world, friendship has taken on different forms.  The internet makes is so easy to become friends with people we might never be in the same room with.  I am, specifically thinking about the friends I have made through reading their blogs, and Facebook.
I have found that vital to my success and productivity as a
Pastor (grassroot theologian – as contrasted to a theologian in the halls of ivy?)
Tribe leader (my churches are my tribe(s), see also Seth Godin’s Tribes (thanks Jeff G.),
hopeful Innovater (Pastor’s must learn to re-invent, re-capture, re-present what has been true for thousands of years and yet is brand new to a new generation of Christians and non-Christians)
Futurist (Pastors must be futurist,  attempt to observe current trends and what is just beyond the horizon).  Someone should write about these and the many other facets of a Pastor’s life.

I have been Pastoring now for just over two years and I have learned that:  90% of what I have encountered as a Pastor, I have had to learn on the Job.  Which means that I was only really equipped to handle 10%, that 10% was that I had to preach every Saturday, hold board meeting once a month and things of that nature.  For the remaining 90% I have turned to mentors, friends, blogs and Facebook to learn from those who trekked this course before me.  If you are reading this and tempted to think, “Man, anyone can become a pastor” that’s not necessarily the case.  I have the ‘qualifications’ if any exist to be a pastor.  I have an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies/ Pre-Seminary and a Master’s of Divinty (which is a two and half year degree) and I worked as a Youth Pastor for two years under the direction of a Senior Pastor who served and continues to serve as an excellent mentor.  The reality is that in our always changing world the skill-set I learned in seven years in institutions of higher education have become useless which is why I say I was only really prepared to effectively handle 10% of my job responsibilities (for a more in depth understanding of this constantly changing world and the skills needed to lead well in this context look at Leonard Sweet’s Soul Tsunami, Alan Roxburgh’s The Sky is Falling and The Missional Leader and Erwin McManus’ An Unstoppable Force- if you have other titles send them my way).

All of this to say, that blogs and Facebook and other websites have provided a wealth of information.  Specifically, BOOKS.  I know everything can’t be learned from books but they sure help.  Books help us understand in specific ways the world we are experiencing on a daily basis.  The reality is that some people are good with putting words to a concept and that helps.  So here is a list of books that I just purchased thanks in large part to my online community of friends and the books they were reading.

1. What Would Jesus Deconstruct?  The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church by John D. Caputo
2. GloboChrist:  The Great Comission Takes a Postmodern Turn by Carl Raschke
3.  Finding Our Way Again:  The Return of the Ancient Practices by Brian McLaren
4.  In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson
5.  Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright
6. The Great Emergence:  How Christianity Is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle

The only problem is finding the time to finish reading all of these books.  I think I still have a few books that I haven’t finished.  Am I the only with this problem?

Finally and perhaps more importantly, as great as reading is there is one things that books cannot do.  They cannot act, they cannot move foward in faith, they cannot risk.. that is our job.  For me the best advice I have been given is “stop reading” with the connotation to start doing something (Thanks Samir).  Ironic I know, but true.