"For you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
(Genesis 3:19, in context: Genesis 3:1-24)

Today is Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent. Today we remember our human sinfulness and mortality, and begin a season of repentance as we prepare for the great joy of Easter. Many will continue the tradition of giving something up for Lent, which can be a helpful thing as we remember how our Lord gave up everything for us. Just remember that if you do choose to do it, it's for your reflection and repentance, and not to make God love you more. He already does!

Luther's first of his 95 theses was that the whole life of the Christian is one of repentance. It's daily dying to sin and to self and rising with Christ because of His work for us on the cross. Repentance isn't a one-time shot; it's a life-long practice of turning our minds and hearts away from sin and towards God through the work of the Holy Spirit. Repentance is a good thing, since it leads us to the assurance of forgiveness by our loving God in Jesus.

Whether or not you choose to give up something, may God bless you this Lent. May you always be moved to repent of sin and treasure the free gift of forgiveness in Jesus.

"Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:37-39, in context: Acts 2:1-41)

In the "interesting timing" department for this week...

Last week was an extremely busy one for me with multiple, non-normal things on my plate. So I didn't a lot of the things I normally do in a week. One of those things, that I normally really enjoy doing, was read (except for research for the paper I presented on Friday). So on a Monday morning that is more back to "normal", I caught up a little bit, and read this post on Paul McCain's "Cyberbrethren" blog that was actually from last week. It was very interesting timing for me to read it today, since our focus this past Sunday was the topic of "church", and I wrote in our "Digging Deeper" series about the concept and implications of church shopping.

The whole article is very much worth a read. (Yes, it's American in context, but we see much of the same mentality in Canada.) It's essentially a call to re-focus on what "church" really is: the family of God, and not a provider of religious goods and services (that's my term, not the article's). It uses an example of a Lutheran (ELCA) mega-church in the US that recently went through this re-focusing. (Though, it seems that perhaps the ideal still wasn't quite met - the article describes the ideal of church work is to "help people develop solid moral characters". Actually, it is to help people understand and proclaim the Gospel. But the point about realizing the problems of a "market mentality" is still sound.)

For me, it's a good reminder that what the church is about is attracting people to Jesus, and not to something that only meets the felt needs of comfort and personal preference. (From another angle, it's also not about attracting people to glitz, glamour, or spectacle. Another interesting article on a high-profile church struggling with this is this piece from the L.A. Times on how Bobby Schuller, the grandson of Robert Schuller (he of Crystal Cathedral fame), leads his church in a vastly different way than his grandfather does/did.)

It's something that I think all churches need to engage: there is a danger in mindless, rote ritual on one hand, and chasing "relevance" with fads on the other. But I don't think the solution is a bland sort of meeting in the middle. I think the solution is engaging the question of how to deal with timeless truth in the midst of a culture where "contemporary" (literally being "with the times") is being redefined not in terms of generations or years, but in months and days.

If you're involved at Concordia, you've been hearing about (and possibly involved in planning) a new venture for our Sunday mornings. We're moving from a model of having our children's ministry during our second service to doing it between our services. We're starting it this week, and we're very excited about it! First, the basic info, then some background and details.

Starting this Sunday (October 17), our Sunday mornings will look like this:

9:00am - Traditional Worship

10:15am - "The 40"

11:00am - Celebration Worship

The most significant change is the new element, called "The 40" (since it'll be 40 minutes long: 10:15-10:55am. Also, because 40 is a great Biblical number). This is a time when all age groups will gather in age-specific settings:

• Agape Kids: preschool-grade 5
• Junior Youth: grades 6-7
• Senior Youth: grades 8-12
• Adult Large Group: age 18+
• nursery care for age 0-3

It will be a fun (and a bit chaotic) time! Parents can get kids into their spaces and then meet with other adults for coffee, fellowship, and study. (And parents of very young children can too, with nursery care available.) It will be a time common to both our services, where people can come to the first service and then stay for The 40, or come to The 40 and then stay for worship at 11.

Why the Change?

This concept started with an evaluation in the spring that our Agape Kids ministry (then held during the 2nd service) wasn't working well. There were just a few teachers available, which meant they were teaching every week and therefore missing a good part of the worship service every week. Also, we were (unintentionally) training children to leave worship, which was leading to difficulty when they moved out of the Agape Kids age group and not seeing the value of being in worship again.

As we discussed it further, we realized that we were valuing some things that weren't necessarily the best things for our whole congregation's spiritual life. The primary ones were:

• Young families really needed to be at the 2nd service and not the 1st, since that's when kids were involved. (But why should we assume that all young families would only want to be at our 2nd service?)
• We were valuing an "adults-only" sermon without "distractions", and we were valuing convenience for adults over participation and learning for children. (There is some benefit to this for adults, but at the expense of what? Teaching our children how to not be in worship, as well as believing them to be "distractions". It's also not a Biblical nor historically Christian model to separate ages in worship.)
• Since most every young family attended the 2nd service, there was little interaction between the two services. A more informal time of coffee between the services was not fulfilling its desired role of providing that time for interaction. This also led to more age-segregation between services.
• There was little opportunity for 1st service people to be involved in children's ministry, since that would mean being available all morning every week.
• Youth and adults were not getting the same opportunities for age-appropriate teaching and fellowship outside of worship.

So with all of that in mind, we developed this schedule to address those problems. We believe that this new format will serve us all better as we go through life together here and now.

Some Implications

Of course, with any major change like this comes some implications and other issues that will arise:

• People will need to be at the building longer. Yes, but not that much longer. As well, this is about our receiving from God and growing in faith, not about convenience or making sure we only have "one sacred hour" in a week. Also, this is an invitation to be involved, not a command. A person can still come to just a worship service if they want. (And as we start to develop small groups, this may happen more as people meet regularly at other times in small groups.)
• We need more people to make this happen. Yes, and it's a great thing to allow more people to use their gifts. We've already gone from a roster of 4 teachers/leaders to 17. This is a huge win, and we haven't even officially started yet!
• Kids will need to sit through a whole worship service. This is probably the biggest adustment/implication for us, so it'll take a bit more time to address:
  • Worship is for everyone. Yes, it will be an adjustment for parents, but we believe the short- and long-term benefits (to both parents and children) will be worth it. It's a big-picture solution for everyone, not primarily about convenience for parents to listen during the sermon.
  • We will ensure the services are about 55 minutes long, and we will intentionally involve children more in the service (songs, children's messages, etc. - for now, it will primarily be in the 2nd service, but as needed we will look at the 1st service too).
  • We know that very young children will make noise and may need to leave the sanctuary for a time to go to the nursery. That's totally ok, and it's a life stage that they will grow out of (even though it may not feel like it at the time. Believe me - I know! I've got a precocious 19-month-old son and 2 daughters, 5 and 3.).
  • We have activity bags for children to color, draw, etc. so that they can keep active as needed.
  • We'll encourage parents to sit closer to the front so that kids can see and be engaged more easily.
  • We'll use consistent patterns within the service to help children (and adults) learn and remember.

So overall, we're really excited about this! We know it'll be a bit of an adjustment, but we're excited for what God will continue to do among us as He come to us with His gifts of Word and Sacrament in worship, and as we respond with praise, thanksgiving, and digging deeper into His Word.

I just watched a short video with discussion between three pastors regarding church-planting and the "multi-site" approaches to church. The discussion was interesting, but what really struck me was the tone of the conversation. All three pastors lead churches that are planting other churches. But there is just one who's not doing multi-site, and he was trying to learn and understand from the other two. The other two, while no doubt having the best intentions for seeing people come to saving faith in Jesus, seemed so convinced that they were right about this topic that the more I watched, the more I really felt for the one. His questions weren't being answered seriously, and he made very little headway in helping all of them to get a better understanding of each other's positions. It saddened me that two of the three didn't seem like they wanted to learn; they seemed so convinced that they were right and simply out to convince the one who wasn't like them that his methodology was flawed.

So while it saddened me to see that, it also challenged me. Like most of us, I presume that the ways in which I work are generally good. (Otherwise I wouldn't be doing things that way.) But what happens when I have opportunity to be confronted with other points of view, other ways of working, other methodologies? Am I open to honestly seeking to understand and be understood? Or am I just waiting for others to finish talking so I can show them how right I am? And if they might say something I need to think about, am I willing to do that, or will I just dismiss it (and them)?

I've talked before of the relationship between confidence and humility; and it's not just as a Christian leader, but really in all areas of life. I'll be honest: especially when it comes to church work, I generally tend towards an overabundance of (misdirected) confidence and lack of humility. Maybe it's why I reacted strongly to this video: I saw something in it that I don't like in myself. Isn't that how it seems to go - we can often see things in others we don't like, but we need help in seeing it in ourselves...hmm, I think I've heard that somewhere before...(cough... Matthew 7:3-5 ).

I said above that my confidence is often misdirected. I say that because the issue is, confidence is good, but confidence in what? Really, I need to be humbled when my confidence is not in Jesus but in myself. Confidence in Jesus means that I really have no reason for confidence in myself. If I have true confidence only in Jesus, then true humility follows because I realize that I've received grace upon grace in Him, and I've not done anything to deserve it. So how can I think that I have all the answers and can't learn from anyone else? Thanks be to God for His continuing showing me my sin and His continuing forgiveness and grace when I do get into that way of thinking and acting.

Time to get back on the blogging horse. (I'm not a cowboy; can someone give me a better - ie. non-cowboy - metaphor for that?)

I've been thinking a lot about vocation lately. I was working on submitting a short video on the concept for an online conference, and ran out of time (by not getting it right the first 8 times, and didn't have time for a 9th.). But it's been on my mind since then...

Vocation is the concept that every Christian has different "stations in life" (to use Martin Luther's phrase), and that each one is truly a calling from God. Often we use the term to mean "a profession", especially in church work. But it's so much more than that. Yes, a profession is a vocation. But it's only one. So I'm "called" as the Director of Worship and Discipleship at Concordia Lutheran Church. I've got a formal "call" through the church to be in that position. That is a vocation for me.

But I'm also a husband, father, son, uncle, board member, colleague, friend, etc. And having a good sense of vocation means that I am called by God to each of these roles. And in those roles, it is my opportunity to serve others as Jesus served (and serves) me.

Another of Luther's understandings was that God doesn't need our good works (even though we like to think He does...(my editorial comment)), but our neighbour does. So vocation is the approach we take so that we fulfill our calling to serve our neighbours. It is faith that reaches out to God, and it is love that reaches out to our neighbours.

There are a whole host of implications to this in the Christian church. One primary one is that there is a clear sense of role within formal church leadership. Not hierarchy, but role. We are equal under Jesus Christ, but we all have different gifts and different roles to play. So for instance, one role in the vocation of pastor is to preach the Word and deliver to us the Sacraments. And we as non-pastors have the role to receive the Word with thanksgiving and praise. And in worship there are other roles filled - musical leadership, tech leadership, ushering, etc. - but if we have a clear sense of vocation, we aren't concerned about the status, visibility, or perceived importance of each role. We know everyone has a part to play, and we celebrate how all the parts come together for a common purpose.

Another implication is that in a job, a good sense of vocation changes how we may view that job. Think of a teenager in a "McJob". Maybe it's not a job he will be in for very long, and maybe he has dreams of something else. But how would it change him (and even more importantly, others around him) if he approached his job with a clear sense of vocation? That through this job, while he was there, it was an opportunity to serve customers, his boss, and his co-workers?

... but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect...
1 Peter 3:15

Just think of the implications of that! Think of the doors that might be opened for the Gospel if his co-workers were to say to him, "Why do you even care about working at this job? It's just a stupid job." What could his answer be, if he had a clear sense of vocation? Could it be that, even in a McJob, people could see the hope that is in us, and ask us why on earth we are the way we are?

(Of course, there is much more to say about vocation: how it flows from our identity in Christ, not vice versa, and the understanding of the "two kingdoms" - that good works done in our world for our neighbour don't gain us good standing in the kingdom of God. Rather, it's the opposite: our good works happen because we already have good standing in God's kingdom because of Jesus. But those are all discussions for another time.)

You may have run across this video in the last couple weeks: the rapping flight attendant. It's become a YouTube sensation, and it's a fun video to watch. But as I clicked on a related video (the CBS interview with him, posted below also), I heard the "why" behind the "what" - why he came up with this crazy thing. And it struck me: this is a great example of vocation! I don't know if the guy's a Christian or not. But for us as Christians, it's a great example of fulfilling vocation - of working hard, working creatively, and pouring energy into something that will serve others.

Enjoy the videos, and leave some thoughts below about vocation.

In our "Stories of the Saints" worship series over the last two weeks, we've been focusing on Jesus - who He was (His earthly life and ministry) and who He is (eternal Son of God). I know - it's impossible to cover all of that in 2 weeks. (And really, we focus on Jesus every week. The point of all of Scripture is ultimately to point to Him as Messiah.) In fact, it's impossible to cover all of that, period. Who Jesus was, and is, is bigger than all we can possibly comprehend as humans.

And the great thing is, that's the point.

Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. That He was God who became flesh (John 1:14) and that He lived, died, and was raised to life again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) is the foundation of everything we are as the Christian church. And yet those very things are a mystery: how could God become man? How could someone simply be raised from death, and never die again? How could there be a being that has no beginning and no end?

And yet for me, the fact that we can't answers those questions is beautiful. Some would say we can't believe because those things seem unreal, or they're not able to be proved or reasoned; that they just don't make sense. I say, if I could figure God out, I would have a hard time believing He was actually God. If I could understand everything about God, why would I need one? I could just be one for myself.

I'm not saying faith is blind or wholly unsupported by fact. Jesus was an actual historical figure, and His life and ministry as recorded in the Bible is more "provable" than the existence of other historical figures like Julius Caesar. Yet there is also deep mystery surrounding God.

One of the things I love about our church is that we accept this tension and sense of mystery. We don't believe blindly; nor do we try to reason away the mystery. (Even that in itself seems to be a paradox.) Scripture is explicit about this at many points, and one of the roles of church leaders is to be "stewards of mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1), We live in the midst of paradox, and I love that.

We see this in many areas, and I'll leave you with a few to ponder:

• In His incarnation, Jesus is 100% man and 100% God.
• Jesus said, "This is my body...this is my blood", and we receive the true body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. It is neither merely symbolic nor physically changed from bread and wine.
• God is eternal, with no beginning and no end.
• God is One God in Three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Christians are at the same time saints (fully justified and holy before God) and sinners (completely sinful in our nature). We have been fully forgiven and at the same time need forgiveness every day.
• We celebrate the simple faith of a little child who can understand all that is needed, and also the unknowable mind of God.
• Worship is both sacramental (God coming to us to serve us with His gifts) and sacrificial (our receiving the gifts and answering Him with thanks and praise).
• God is both the transcendant Creator of the universe, all-knowing and all-powerful, and best friend to sinful people who don't deserve it.
• God does not will for sin to happen, and yet in spite of (and even through) sinful human action, His will can be accomplished. (Take, for example, the story of Joseph in Genesis).
• Christians pursue strength by pursuing weakness, honor by pursuing humility, leadership and authority by pursuing servanthood.

As we asked in one of our discipleship reflection questions this week: If we could make this topic make complete rational sense, would it still be worth believing?

As my previous church, we had a bit of a catch phrase saying on staff: "Filter! Filter!" We'd say it when someone spoke before their thought had a chance to be filtered before hitting the vocal cords. You know the kind - where we have a thought, then speak that thought, then think "oh, that could have come out in a better way", or even, "did I just say that out loud?". Some people have little to no filter - they "speak their mind", as it were. Some have very narrow filters and choose every word very carefully. Most of us fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

While we all have various levels of (non)filters in our brains, we also all have (and need) some kinds of filters in everyday life. We are surrounded by so much information that is often conflicting. In a Google world with any tiny bit of information available on millions of web pages, or a Facebook and Twitter world where we see updates every few minutes, how do we make sense of it all?

We need filters.

Filters are meant to keep out the undesired and to allow desired things to pass through. This is true for every kind of filter: water, air, oil filters in our cars, lens filters on cameras, etc.

It's also true of our lives. For us as people, we need "life filters" - the trusted resources in our lives that help us decide what information to take at face value, what to be skeptical of, and what to reject. They are family members and friends, web sites, newspapers, TV shows, books, etc. that we turn to for advice. They are the people and things that we want to know, "what would they think". I would bet that many times this isn't a conscious thing, like we sit down and say, "I need to filter through the world of today's news. I'm going to let Kevin Newman do that for me today." But the fact is, that's really what we are doing.

For us as Christians, the Bible is a primary filter. We seek to understand it - and to "stand under" it - as the self-revealing of the God of the universe. It points us to the true God and His saving work in Jesus Christ, which is called "the Gospel" - the "Good News". And this Good News changes we how view everything in life (2 Corinthians 5:14-17). It becomes a very important filter for us.

So two questions: 1. What are your filters? and 2. How do you decide who and what your filters are? What causes you to trust one person over another, one book over another, one web site over another?

I'd be most interested to hear from you in the comments below - thoughts on how you and others in your life deal with the ocean of information and opinions floating "out there". Who and what are your filters?

Lost is the best show on TV. I say that for a number of reasons: great character development, a wide-ranging story arc (it's one big story told over 6 seasons), superb casting and acting, I could go on and on.

As a Christian, the show is particularly fascinating since there is so much to think about in terms of spirituality. That has been a consistent theme the whole series, but this final season, it's intensified, and it's particularly...well...Christian.

I have no idea if that is intentional or not, but I could spend hours with you talking about it. Let me just share two thoughts that stick out for me:

1. Next to Aslan (from the Chronicles of Narnia), Jacob may be the most accurate portrayal of the God of the Bible in any media, whether explicitly Christian or not. His all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful character, along with his acting in ways that truly confound his "followers", evoke so many comparisons to the mystery of the true God. (Albeit with one large exception, of course: the apparent search to replace himself.) This is particularly true of God's sovereignty, and Jacob's apparent sovereignty (even off the Island). Every week, I see Jacob affecting people in ways they really struggle with, which I think is exactly how a lot of Christians (and non-Christians) react to God's mysterious ways of working.
   
   "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
   
   "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34)
2. The show has always had strong themes of redemption, particularly with the characters of Jack and Locke. But the theme of true grace showed in a powerful moment in last night's episode. (Spoiler alert! If you haven't seen the episode and don't want to read on, don't. You've been warned.) Last night was centered on Ben Linus, one of the main characters throughout the series, often portrayed as a villian. Last night was a powerful one for Linus as he became totally broken and renewed (both on the Island and in the alternate universe story). And it was grace that led him to renewal (in both universes). In alternate-world, Ben makes a choice to save the future of a favorite student, Alex (who on the Island, was his daughter! Or was she?) that voids his own grab for power. On the Island, he has a show-down with Ilana, who is going to kill him as revenge for him killing Jacob. Fake-Locke tempts Ben and helps him run for escape, and in a confrontation with Ilana, Ben breaks down, explains why he killed Jacob, and confesses that he's going to go with Fake-Locke "because he's the only one who will have me!"
   
   Ilana looks at him, waits a beat, then says simply, "I'll have you." And turns and walks away.
   
   Ben, captivated by her forgiveness and grace, turns his back on Fake-Locke and follows her. His next action is to offer help to Sun, and he seems to be a completely changed man.
   "...God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance..." (Romans 2:4

There is a ton more that I'd love to write about, but there just isn't time. (Now I'm mixing metaphors and sounding like Jack Bauer.)

Are any of you fans of Lost? Any thoughts? (That's a dumb question, really. If you're a fan, you've got tons of thoughts. This I know.)

Even though I've never really worked in an office setting, I've always loved the Dilbert comics. They're funny because they apply to so much outside of "cubicle world". Today's was particularly funny, and poignant:

Isn't it just like all of us to have this Goat Head Tendency? As long as something doesn't affect us directly, we're in our own happy places, and get along ok. I see this all the time in my own life, and it constantly drives me to remember that God didn't act the same way, and because of that, we have the great privilege of looking beyond ourselves to the needs and care of others.

Some Scripture immediately comes to mind as I ponder this. In each of these, notice especially the order of things - first God's action, which then prompts a response from us as the Spirit works in us to look beyond ourselves.

Exodus 20:1-3

And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
"You shall have no other gods before me."

Philippians 2:5-13

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

2 Corinthians 5:14-17

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 John 4:10-11

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Who knew Dilbert could be such an effective spiritual teacher?

I was away for a 24-hour retreat from Monday noon-Tuesday noon(ish). Lutheran pastors and church workers from our circuit (a group of churches in the Okanagan and surrounding areas) gathered at the St. Elizabeth Seton House of Prayer just south of Kelowna to pray, read Scripture, and talk with one another about what's happening in our various ministries for support and encouragement.

Though it was a short time away, it was a fantastic one. It was a time of true Sabbath for us as workers. You'd think that church workers would be fairly adept at the practice of Sabbath, seeing as how we're practically professionals. But the truth is that we can easily lose sight of what Sabbath means and get so caught up in the "busy-ness" of ministry that we miss the incredible blessings of unhurried, yet focused time spent in the Word and prayer.

Sabbath is a church word that essentially means "rest in the Lord". It was begun by God as he rested on the seventh day of creation. It was a command in the Old Testament: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy". It was a literal day that was "set apart" (that's what "holy" means) to rest, gather with others in fellowship, and read the Word of God. Six days were for work, and the seventh was for "holy rest".

Over the course of history, Sabbath has been used, abused, misunderstood, and rejected. Even in the Bible, there were those who misunderstood was Sabbath was actually for (usually seen in confrontations with Jesus - see Matthew 12:1-14 and Luke 13:-10-17 for examples).

As New Testament people, we no longer have a command to set aside a whole day, since Jesus fulfilled all of the Law on our behalf. For the Jews, Saturday is the Sabbath. For Christians, Sunday became part of the weekly rhythm, since that was the day of Jesus' resurrection. So instead of meeting on the "seventh day" for worship and rest, we meet on the "first day of the week". For us, Jesus is our Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:4-11).

At the same time, there is still much benefit in Sabbath for us. We don't honour Sabbath in order to get right with God; we honour it because we already are, and it's a great way to say "thank you". We honour it because it helps to preserve us physically, spiritually, and emotionally. We honour it because it can be a tremendous witness to those around us: we aren't defined by what we do (contrary to what Batman says in Batman Begins); rather, we are defined by what's been done for us. This is a message that is completely contrary to our culture.

So if we don't have a command to take one day a week, what does Sabbath look like for us? Well, we don't need to take a whole day, but it sure is a good practice. Sabbath is not just "time off" or "down time". It is time off "to the Lord". I think Eugene Peterson defines it simply and well: it's a time to "pray and play". It's a time to do things that are rejuvenating for us: taking a walk, playing a game, lying down and resting, having a good meal with friends and family, whatever it is. But it is also intentional time for prayer (alone or with others), attending worship, reading Scripture, fasting (as you choose), etc. It is "resting" (though there may be very active times), but it is resting that is mindful of the fact that we are resting because God did, and because God gives us this rest.

For most people, Sunday morning can be a time of Sabbath. It's a time to gather for worship, hear God's Word, and respond with song and prayer. But for those who serve on Sunday mornings, that time may or may not be Sabbath for them. It is time spent "feeding" others and there are other times for them where they need to be fed. (Yes, it's probably a bit of both/and for most of us.) For "professional" church workers especially, times like this retreat are very helpful in getting some Sabbath rest.

I'd encourage you to talk with your family and friends about what Sabbath could look like for you. (I will not fall into the Pharisaical trap of trying to define exactly what "work" or "rest" means. That would miss the whole point!) Think of things that you can do that the world would probably deem "unproductive" - those are perfect candidates for Sabbath. And if it's something you have to do, then it's probably not a good candidate. Some practical ideas:

• taking a walk and praying as you walk, or before or after you walk
• have a meal and play a game with family/friends on Saturday night, followed by going to worship together Sunday morning (or taking Sunday and doing it in reverse order)
• keep a prayer or Scripture-reading journal and spend a few minutes each day reading praying, and writing
• learn Martin Luther's practice of oratio, meditatio, tentatio - the prayerful (oratio) and contemplative (mediatio) reading of Scripture and then experiencing the often-times difficult results of living it (tentatio = temptation or suffering)

Obviously these are just a few examples. Really, anything that feeds your body and soul in a healthy and God-pleasing way can be a good part of Sabbath. If you're an introvert, reading (both Scripture and devotional books) and praying alone may recharge you well. If you're an extrovert, a lively discussion with others may help feed you. Whatever it is for you, just remember: rest in the Lord, pray and play.

Happy Sabbath-ing!

I saw this question asked by my friend Jeff on Twitter a few days ago, and I wanted to share it with you:

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Mind = blown.

(In case you're wondering what Twitter is, you can find out more here, and you can follow both myself (@michaelschutz) and Concordia (@concordialive).

I had a great time watching the Super Bowl yesterday. I've always loved playing and watching football, and my only hope for the game was that it would at least be an interesting game. On that level, it didn't disappoint. But there was another intriguing level for me this year...

I ran across this interesting piece by CBS's Bob Schieffer. (Of course, CBS won't let me embed it - they want more eyeballs on their Youtube page's ads...it never ends does it? So I have to link to it instead of you being able to play it right here...)

http://www.youtube.com/user/CBS#p/u/26/PNPwGyKtflg

The line that really got my attention...

"So you could argue, we're here because the Super Bowl is big news. I won't. I believe it's more important than that. I think it's one of those breaks when we can put aside those things that really matter, and for a few hours just gather with our friends and family, and enjoy something that makes absolutely no difference in the course of human events. We need that every once in a while. Maybe lately, more than ever."

So the importance of the Super Bowl is not that it it's good football; it's more important than news because it is socially-acceptable escapism. The part that interests me is, why do we need to escape? On the surface, seeing the Super Bowl as escapism may not be such a big deal. But just take a minute to consider the implications of a so-called "societal theology of escapism". I promise you that they're not good.

So why am I hating on the Super Bowl?

I'm not. I love watching a good football game and having a good time with friends. I'm hating on seeing it as escapism, and even celebrating it as such. I would rather turn the conversation to "engage-ism"^*. Why not celebrate something like the Super Bowl as a way to engage, rather than the opposite?

You probably heard a lot of the fuss over the commercial sponsored by Focus on the Family, where Tim Tebow was apparently going to use the spot to thank his mom for not having him aborted. (Turns out the ad wasn't even close to that much of a "hard sell".) It got so much press for addressing such a controversial issue so publicly. But as I watched the plethora of "man-on-the-street" interviews before it all happened, the concern was not primarily because it was going to be a pro-life message (though there were a few sit-down interviews that tried to address that). The primary reason people didn't like it? (I'm paraphrasing here:) "We just want to have a good time. Why do you have to spoil that?" My translation: "I want to escape. Don't try to engage me with this stuff during my escaping time." (Read the last paragraph of this article to see an example.)

So (since the Super Bowl is now over) allow me to engage you. Is escapism a good thing? Can we somehow celebrate rest and good times without needing to be mindless about it? But more than that, why do we feel the fundamental need to escape from "life"? What is it that leads us to constantly need to "disengage" and go to our happy place once in a while? Why is it that our happy place is always a place where we don't need to do anything, or even think about anything?

Again, I'm not saying every SB ad should try to be life-changing. But why do we so strongly want to equate "enjoyable" with "mindless"?

Things that make you go hmm....

Speaking of dated pop-culture references, the other fascinating conversation was about the cultural relevance (or lack thereof) of the SB—and specifically its half-time show—to my generation of 20- and 30-somethings. Since the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004, here are the list of performers: Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Donna Summer, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who. Notice any patterns here? ;)

A friend of mine on Facebook had a most insightful comment: "I'm enjoying that they were the rebels of their youth, and now they're the safety net". The target demographic of the Super Bowl is clearly people with lots of money and power with a powerful bent towards nostalgia. Us Baby Busters are clearly not that, and it's certainly starting to show, if the conversations I had yesterday are any indication.

Now, I don't like to drink Pepsi, but I've got to hand it to the "choice of a new generation"; they opted out of a Super Bowl TV ad this year, focusing instead on social media. CBS, and you too, music industry, learn something from Pepsi: let me embed your video. Let me share it with others. Don't just treat me as an eyeball to view your ads. And don't assume I want to use your product to escape.

Engage me. Let me engage with others. It's a win-win, I promise.

^*You have no idea how much I want to write, "you heard that here first. I call trademark dibs!"

Yesterday I offered some musings on numbers and some intriguing stories of how we may be naturally inclined to think about things in a different way than we might expect. If you haven't read that yet, take a few minutes and read it over. (That way you can also decide if you want to read the rest of this post too. :) )

First, a couple more connections, and then we'll get to the "so what".

Yet another example of the power of exponential thinking is in the concept of folding paper in half.

Wha...?

If you were to fold a piece of paper in half 51 times, its height would be enough to reach the sun and back.

No it wouldn't.

Yeah, it really would.

Of course, it's pretty much physically impossible to fold it in half more than 7 times with your own hands. (Try it, I dare you. As Pastor Vic would say to the school kids in chapel - this is a Slurpee question. I will buy you a great big Slurpee if you can show me you can fold a piece of paper in half more than 7 times.)

So it's just theoretical, but the numbers work.

Fascinating.

Well it is to me, at least.

So what?

Well, this has all been math and theory and kind of interesting. But the real-world implications of thinking exponentially are many....

It's the reason high-powered audio equipment tends to be a rip-off. In the world of sound not only is frequency exponential in nature, so is volume. It takes 10 times the amount of power to double the volume. So your 400 watt car stereo amp is only twice as loud as your 40 watt guitar amp. And both are plenty loud. So the next time the sales guy wants to sell you the 800 watt amp, have some fun with him: offer him 1/10th the price for the 80 watt version, and see what his reaction is. (To be fair, though, I don't know if this holds true for speakers that go to 11.)

It's why the EQ on your stereo has these odd little markings like "80 Hz", "1kHz", "10kHz" and so on, and why CDs sound so much better than AM radio, and why you have to turn the commercials down on your TV since they're so much louder than the actual program you're watching, and why you can literally feel the thumping of the bass in one of the jacked-up car stereos but can't hear a dog whistle.

It's the reason things tend to "go viral". Malcolm Gladwell has written a great book called "The Tipping Point" which builds on others' work in exploring this concept of how ideas and other things spread. At some point, the idea "tips" - it gains enough momentum to "break through", and then starts taking on what we might call "a life of it's own". I would argue that once something "tips", its growth can be best measured exponentially, not linearly. (At the same time, before it "tips", it may still be growing exponentially - it's just that, at the beginning, exponential growth really doesn't look like much growth at all.) This concept can be applied not just sociologically, but in science (think "critical mass") and other areas of life.

It describes real-world sales and market realities. Chris Anderson' "The Long Tail" is a book that describes the phenomenon of the "long-tail" in the business world. The graph of the long-tail is an exponential shape (just in reverse).

Perhaps most relevantly to me as a church-worker, it's how God works. He created the natural phenomenons of sound and light that we try to describe using logarithmic language. It's how the Gospel spreads - starting very small and building (seemingly) slowly but (actually) exponentially. The New Testament church has gone from 12 uneducated guys that followed Jesus for three years, to about 120 soon after His ascension, to 3000 on the Day of Pentecost, to now more than 2 billion professing Christians in the world.

It's the model by which God's kingdom grows - someone shares the Gospel with a few, who share it with a few, who share it with a few, and all of a sudden, there are not just a few, but hundreds and thousands. It's the model by which church leadership and discipleship happens: "...what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (1 Timothy 2:2) (emphasis mine). It's how small groups can be modeled - take 10 small group leaders, and within 2 cycles of small groups you can minister to hundreds, even thousands.

What was God's command to all of His created creatures, both animals and people? "Be fruitful and multiply." Not "be fruitful and add." HUGE difference in concept. And in implications for our daily lives.

May you think and live exponentially today.

I saw this article in a tweet last week from my friend James. It's an article about how Starbucks is trying to deal with the tension of being a global brand that still needs to have local expression in each store. In reading through it, I couldn't help but thinking, "this is exactly the same kind of tension that I think our church body feels".

Now, we in LCC are not a global mega-corporation. But I think the same tension exists between our group identity - our national presence - and the local expressions of the church in each city and congregation. This has many implications - for corporate worship, ministries, language, dress, all kinds of things.

For those involved in either a church denomination like LCC or another organization, how do you deal with and engage this tension?

Recently, on the show Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume said that Tiger Woods needs to turn to Christianity to be able to recover personally from his recent transgressions. It was in the midst of a conversation about whether he could recover both professionally and personally from the recent scandal of his marital infidelity. Here's a quote:

Whether he can recover as a person depends on "his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, "Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

A number of things make this story very interesting to me:

1. The most obvious is that a news personality dared to make an exclusive truth claim on national TV. That's not really surprising, considering it's Fox News. (Though, in the interest of full disclosure, I believe Fox News conflates political conservatism with Christianity far too often. For that reason, I'm really not a fan, and didn't actually watch the show. I saw the clip linked online as the story spread virally just like every other semi-newsworthy story does these days. But I digress.)
2. I think Mr. Hume is correct in the truth of his statement, and I was surprised to hear someone on TV say it so clearly and accurately. Everyone, including Tiger Woods, needs to hear the Gospel (Acts 4:12), and Christianity alone is based on forgiveness, not working towards earning salvation (Eph. 2:8-10). And I believe that he accurately represented the unique claim of Christianity: forgiveness and redemption is found only in Jesus. (Granted, he didn't say "in Jesus", he said "by the Christian faith", but the meaning is the same.) To hear that on TV is very interesting.
3. The reactions against his statements (which were inevitable) are consistent with the understandings of our culture today. It's not that most people simply think Christianity is wrong and another way is right. The reaction is against the very fact that Christianity makes an exclusive truth claim. So most people don't say, "Jesus is wrong, Buddha is right". They say, "You can't tell me that Christianity is the only way". So the argument is not in favour of one religion or another; it is that any religion that claims to be true (and therefore, implicitly claiming all others are false) is arrogant and wrong. These critques are all over the place now (including one hilarious parody panel (which includes a shout-out to Lutherans), and follow-up segment, done by The Daily Show as only they can do.) (The discussion on that point alone is a whole other blog post, and has been the subject of many, many other writings. One recent example is the book The Reason for God by Tim Keller, which I'd highly recommend. Indulge me very briefly while I summarize: the claim that anyone who makes an exclusive truth claim is arrogant is itself an exclusive truth claim. I love irony.)
4. Tiger Woods used the word "transgressions" to describe his actions, which was interesting in itself. And now people are now using it as a euphemism. Ironic.
5. The most interesting thing to me is the platform from which Mr. Hume spoke. He used a TV news discussion panel to make this statement. Regardless of the fact that I think his statement is true, my question is, was that an appropriate platform to use to speak this truth? It's not a rhetorical question. I geniuinely wrestle with answering it.

And this is the point I'd most like to engage with you, dear reader. (By the way, thanks for reading!) I don't know if Mr. Hume has any kind of personal relationship with Tiger Woods. If not, is it then enough for the statement to simply stay on TV and the Internet? Should Brit Hume (or anyone else, for that matter) attempt to convey this message personally, and more fully, to Tiger Woods?

I actually don't think Mr. Hume was trying to be an evangelist in this instance. I think he was just giving his opinion when asked how he thought Mr. Woods could recover from this scandal. But we know what happens when someone just gives their opinion and then it all goes bad. (Right, Carrie Prejean and Perez Hilton?)

The question then becomes more personal for every Christian: what platforms do we have as individuals, and what are appropriate platforms for statements of Christian truth and evangelism? When we are asked our opinion and give it, should that be seen as trying to evangelize and "force our views down someone's throat"? How does this all apply to our own relationships?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Comment below, and let's dialogue.

(Just another note: I'm writing this on Jan. 6, the festival of Epiphany, a word which means "revealing". It's the day that the church celebrates that Jesus did not just come for one group of people, but for the whole world. The traditional Scripture reading for the day is Matthew 2:1-12, the account of the wise men coming from afar to worship Jesus. A rather appropriate topic to be thinking about on Epiphany, no?)

In preparation for a few days away, I wrote up our discipleship notes for this coming Sunday. We're looking at the story of Joshua, and I zeroed in on a couple of words: remembering and renewal. I'll post more about the story and the thoughts on Monday, but it led me to think about the good timing of those themes happening on the first Sunday of the year.

At the end of every year, there are the many top whatever-number-you-choose lists coming out, and of course the infamous New Year's Resolutions get made and broken. And it struck me that these themes in Joshua (and really, throughout Scripture and throughout the life of a Christian) and our society's end/beginning-of-year rituals are really the same thing: looking back and looking forward with hope.

Could it be that this is just how God has wired us? Everyone, Christians and not, seems to have this built-in: we want to remember, and we want to be renewed. We want to look back and we want to look forward with a sense that things can be better, different. Of course, we can (and often do) get off-track - too much looking back without looking forward leads to nostalgia and "living in the past". Too much looking forward without looking back removes us from the bigger picture of our history, and leads to the danger that "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it".

As Christians we know that we look back - back to God's action in the past, and in our past - so that we can look forward with hope. Ultimately we look forward to the return of Jesus, but we can also look forward to a new year, new season, and each new day with hope.

I'll spare you my personal end-of-the-year looking back, but I do want to share with you some things that I'm definitely looking forward to in my work at Concordia for 2010:

• evaluating and renewing our leadership structures to have them better serve our ministry endeavours
• developing a system of small groups to help us "do life" together in an intentional way (you'll be hearing much more about these first two things very early in the new year)
• strengthening our creative arts endeavours in worship and in the life of the congregation
• using great new tools (like this web site) to minister to our people and our community in new ways
• leading some training for youth leaders to help them use technology more effectively in ministry
• leading a session on discipleship for youth at our church body's Nat'l Youth Gathering

I'm excited for the work God has called all of us to do, and I'm excited to see where He will take us in the midst of it!

We're just finishing up a few more details getting ready for our Christmas Eve services tonight, and I'm looking forward to the night's celebrations. Christmas Eve is always a special night, and it's going to be fun to join with the Concordia family tonight. We've got services at 4pm and 6:30pm, and we're praying that they will be a meaningful time to once again hear the story of God's heart of love for His people, and to respond with songs, prayers, and lives filled with joy because of the coming of our Saviour to us.

It's the beginning of the story of Jesus' life on earth. The story is about the One who came to take our place: to live the perfect life of obedience to God the Father because we could not, to die the death that was the punishment for sin that should have been ours, and to be raised to new life that is also given to us. And that changes everything for us as people.

Yeah, that sounds like the Easter story. It is. Christmas and Easter are connected. Jesus' birth is a part of the story. So are His life, death, and resurrection.

May you know joy and hope as we see His story and our story intersect once again tonight.

Merry Christmas!