Boomerang

In 1982, one of the coolest toys ever made hit store shelves. I'm talking of course about the Nerf Boomerang.

The one we had was green, but it was oh soooo magnificent. I wish I still had it because they no longer make them and the ones you can find online are pricey. Anyway, we played with ours for years and I have many fond memories of climbing on the roof to fetch this thing when one of us threw it too hard or a gust of wind sent it sailing. Our front yard was perfect for the game we called Boomerang Football. The last 15 feet of our yard sloped slightly toward the street so we would stand at the flat edge of the yard and throw the boomerang toward the street and then the game was on. It was a free for all at this point - anyone could catch the boomerang and the object was to get back across the flat edge of the lawn without being tagged. The Nerf Boomerang was perfect because the majority of the time it came back and would float down nicely like a helicopter coming in for a landing. It sounds really simple but this was one of the most epic games known to man in the 1980s.

One of my favorite stories in the bible is the Parable of the Lost (or Prodigal) Son found in the book of Luke. As a parent, I've often wondered why the father willingly gave his son his share of the inheritance while he was still alive and in seemingly good health. Why would the father respond to his son's selfish and arrogant request by granting it? I know the simple answer is that the father in this story represents our Father in heaven who is much more loving and much wiser than I'll ever be. But I think what let him let his son go was the boomerang effect. The father knew that the son had tasted and seen life at home. The father also knew that the life that awaited his son outside of his home could not compare to the life he had been given. The father knew his son would come home once he came to the same realization. By handing a young man a decent chunk of change, the father was throwing a boomerang. Unlike our games in the front yard though, he knew it would come back to him.

The son's return was not graceful. If he were my son, it would not be easy for me to catch him. He was coming in hot. He was out of control and broken. That's exactly how God finds us. We chase after a "better" life and He lets us. It's not that the Father encourages or condones our choice to flee, it's that He loves us so much He wants us to choose Him. He wants us to choose home. When we come to the realization that no is no place like home with our Father, we too come flying back like a boomerang. Thank God that He is there to catch us.

How traditional is your church? A helpful checklist.

The church by nature is traditional. Anything that has been around for over 2,000 years will establish some customs that are not easily removed. But as new church plants are popping up all over the country, many of them are anything but conventional. Churches are meeting in schools, movie theaters, storefronts, and wherever they can find space. As the church transitions into the 21st century, some refuse to let go of the previous 20. Wondering if your church fits that category? Good, here is a checklist to help you find just how traditional is your church.

Sunday School teachers still use flannelgraph in their weekly lessons  +1

You have a deacon of the week pray during the worship service +1

That deacon prays in King James English +4

Churchmembers bring their own seat cushions to save their spot on the pew +2

You can throw a stone and hit the pastor's house +1

Church members have actually proven this point +2

The pastor has a tattoo -3

Your worship leader refers to anything written after 1990 as contemporary +1

There are still hymnals in the back of your pews +2

One of your churchmembers refers to your contemporary service as "Six Flags Over Jesus" +2

Your pastor preaches shoeless -2

Your pastor preaches using an iPad -2

There is a choir modesty rail  on the stage +1

You have "that guy" who shouts "Amen Brother" at least 3x during the sermon +1

You call your pastor "Brother" +1

Your pastor actually is your brother +1

The choir members wear robes +1

The robes don't match +2

The worship band includes an organ +1

Any event that includes food is referred to as "fellowship" +1

Your church has a coffee shop -1

The coffee shop is named "Holy Grounds or Hebrews" -2

Your pastor wears jeans and it is considered "casual Sunday" +1

Your pastor wears skinny jeans on any Sunday  -5

The church business meeting is more violent than a bar room brawl +1

There are more people on the handbell choir than on Twitter +3

25 and above Thou art traditional. Do not, I repeat do not show up in anything less than a collared shirt, and if you're rocking anything less than the New King James you better get your New King Rear End a new bible. 

18-24 Still holding on. You're open to new ideas, as long as those ideas don't include drums or anything that requires the internet.

11-18 Modern, but don't dare call us post modern.  You've removed the pews and installed padded chairs in your worship center, I mean sanctuary. 

0-11 You're up to date. The pastor has more plaid than the local fabric shop and there is a Minister of Pyrotechnics on staff. 

There you go. How did your church do? What are some other signs your church might be on the traditional side? 

Start

One week ago, myself and a couple of thousand others joined NY Best Selling Author and blogger Jon Acuff on a journey called the Start Experiment. Each person is paired with another person to pray for, push, and encourage one another throughout the process. Each pair is also grouped into a group of 24 people, and for 24 days Jon sends an email with a new challenge. Some of the challenges are simple and others require a little more time and effort, but each one is aimed at helping you start something new.

One of things we were asked to do before it all began is to share something we were willing to risk for the next 24 days.  This was difficult for me, because I will not often risk something unless there is a reward involved and the reward better be greater than what I am risking.  That's almost never the way it happens in scripture though.

One of my favorite stories in the bible is found in Nehemiah. He was an incredible visionary and leader who was able to motivate ordinary people to do something extraordinary in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. In doing so, Nehemiah took a huge risk. He risked his position to pursue his passion. He went from taking drinks from the King's cup to taking threats on his life from a powerful ruler. And what was the payoff? What was the reward? The wall around Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the people would enjoy protection and the opportunity to thrive. Nehemiah didn't get paid for this job and it definitely wasn't a promotion, but he took the risk, and it paid off - maybe not as much as what we think it should have but indeed it paid off.

So I find myself asking these questions: "Is risk my response? Am I willing to do this, even if I don't receive a reward? What if I fail?" The fear of failure tends to make risk look it has been hitting the weight room to me.  But you can avoid failure if you never attempt to do anything great. Mediocrity is fueled by fear. I don't want to be mediocre. We weren't made to be average. I want to be a risk taker.  Failure may not be an option, but it is a possibility. I want to be able to take that step anyway, trusting that there is value in my response.  I want to Start, and starting requires facing your fears and taking risks, regardless of the outcome.

That won't preach

I recently posted a status on facebook that said "that won't preach" is one of the most underused phrases in the church today. We've all probably heard someone share an idea or something that communicates a biblical truth and then heard the phrase "that'll preach!" I thought it would be funny to talk about some of the things that won't preach, and since then it has become an ongoing joke between some friends and I about what will and what won't preach. 

Here are some examples of what I mean:

"Wives submit to your husbands......so get in the kitchen and make him a sandwich." That won't preach.  

"If God brought you to it, He will bring you through it......unless it's constipation, bankruptcy, or a felony charge those are all probably your fault."  That won't preach.

"Where two are more are gathered in the bathroom, there I am also." That won't preach. 

Some of these can obviously be humorous and are ideas you'd never have to worry about hearing in a church. But I think there are also things that we don't want to hear the preacher say - things that may or may not happen but are not necessarily promised in scripture. We often live our live our lives in a "best case scenario" vacuum and don't want to believe God may not bless us with all we feel like we deserve. 

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future where you will not make six figures." That won't preach. 

"I can do all things through Christ.......including losing the biggest game of my career, getting laid off from work, or making minimum wage. That won't preach.

"Therefore go into all the nations and make disciples, take lots of pictures and tell everyone about all the great things that happened, and continue to ignore your neighbor who needs to hear of your hope." That won't preach.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, unless of course you think they're worthless then don't worry about it." 

What is it that you hope the pastor won't preach? 

Seeds are slow

I love the place where we now live. I love the mountains, the cool fall evenings, and most importantly my church and the people. One of the things I do not like is the fact that where we live just happens to be in the desert - maybe not officially but the landscape and lack of rain would suggest otherwise. This is frustrating if you are trying to have a lawn where your kids can play in the grass. Last year I tilled in topsoil, manure, and compost and laid some fresh sod on top of it. It looked beautiful, green, and plush. As the temperatures and our water bill rose, some of the sod began to die off. I tried desperately to save it but nothing seemed to help. Long story short, the majority of it failed to grow back this spring so our already small yard was mostly dirt with a few surviving patches of grass. I was quite frustrated and purchased a bag of seed just to see if it would fare any better. Sure enough the small amount of seed I planted in ground that I turned over has sprouted and is thriving even better than the remaining sod.

I'm sure there is a horticultural explanation for this, and I'm also sure if I wanted to fork over a few hundred bucks a month for water I could have had better results. The truth is I don't have a green thumb and we don't have a lot of extra green to throw at the problem.  Over the last few months I've felt God challenging me to do more. To become a better leader. To dig deeper and reach higher. For me, it's easy to become energized the moment I first believe God is stirring within me. I feel refreshed and focused and ready for something new. But honestly, after a few months if I don't see any major accomplishments or changes taking place I begin to stall out.

I realize that all too often in my life, God wants me to be more like a seed and less like sod. I didn't plant, water, or grow the sod - I drove to the home improvement store and loaded it into the back of my pickup and then laid it in my backyard. The seeds I planted are different. They weren't even green when they fell to the ground, they were blue. It took over a week for them to even break the surface, and even then they looked small and fragile. I don't want to appear weak or fragile. I don't want God to change me for the sake of growth. I resist that process. Seeds are slow, I want fast. We live in a world that thrives on the instant, and the appearance of success - regardless of who earned it - is so important. At the end of the day though, I am much prouder and more concerned about the growth of those seeds that I have planted than the sod I purchased. Don't buy someone else's success and try to sell it as your own. I believe God wants to plant something within me that may take a while to grow, but in the end will be so much more valuable to me. This isn't an easy process, and it's definitely not a speedy one. Seeds are slow. Seeds have to die to live. In John 12:24 Jesus says: " Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." Choose to be a seed over someone else's sod.