myopic pilgrim

Go to any city of significant size and you can easily find the shops and restaurants you already know and love. I know and love them too. I’m wearing an Old Navy sweatshirt right now and typing at a desk I bought at Target. If I’m away from home and in the mood for Italian food, you can bet I’m asking if there’s an Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill nearby. And chances are there will be one nearby. It may not be authentic, but it’s delicious and it’s right next to Gap.

And let me just say this: Starbucks.

We All Sing the Same Songs

Our cities are becoming more and more the similar across. The homogenization of America isn’t a bad thing except for shaving off the personality of your city. Regional flavor is getting diluted. Do you ever feel like that in church? I’m a worship leader, so I’m thinking of that in particular.

I can go to a church in another state and be pretty confident I’ll know most of the songs. Which is great because it means I can join in on my first day without being distracted by my lack of familiarity. The downside is the same as thinking of Red Robin instead of that little hole-in-the-wall when I want a hamburger. I’ll get a perfectly fine burger, but I won’t get that vibe and flavor that I can’t get anywhere else. Read the rest of this entry »

After all the discussion surrounding Preaching Through Vicarious Conversation, I don’t know why I didn’t realize I’ve listened to a pastor who did a Q&A after his sermon.

The Christian Post has a story about Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle doing a Q&A from questions texted during his sermon. He answers them after he’s done preaching. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a little behind. I know.

I was going over “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in my head last week. Just saying it again and again and it became increasingly dramatic. I might have moved into melodrama on this spoken word piece, but here it is. I hope it’s helpful.

a link to Why God mp3. You can download this for yourself by right-clicking the link and saving it to your computer.

Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).

I’ve been mulling this saying of Jesus from the cross over and over these past few days and I just keep going back to something Martin Wroe wrote. So I’m just going to link to it and leave it at that. Wroe contemplates what the different people were thinking: John the Beloved, Mary the Mother, Jesus the Son.

You can read it. You can listen to a British guy reading it with a bit of Flash animation to watch.

Others

What are you thinking of as you survey the wondrous cross? Are you thinking of the sorrow over your sin or the victory you’re able to take part in? Do you think of Mel Gibson’s two-hour crucifix? Do you think of others?

Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

If you’re hanging on a cross, a capstone to a life of struggle and suffering, Paradise is a place of peace and rest. If I have to rely on God for whether or not I will receive my daily bread, literally whether or not I will eat today, Paradise is a feast of abundance. What if my life is one of ease and comfort? What if I worry—not about whether I will eat, but what I will eat (Mexican, sushi, mac and cheese)? What is Paradise for me? By the standards of the poor, the stranger, the widowed, the orphan, I am already in Paradise.

Now I know the big sell Christians give to people is that the gospel gets them into heaven, but if we’re already in the land of milk and honey what does that mean? In heaven it’s like you’ll have two TVs in every room. In my life it’s more likely that I’ll need healing for my broken heart or spirit than my broken back. Or even that I’m just plain broke.

More and more my motivation as a Christian isn’t the life to come, but how I’m able to draw that life to come into my life today. It’s less about having my tears wiped away than being able to wipe the tears of others away. It’s less about escaping this world than it is escaping my own selfishness.

+ Dear Lord, do you tell me even now that I will be with you in Paradise today? My life is more than just twiddling my thumbs waiting for the life to come.

Who are the ones around me that are really looking forward to Paradise? Show me what I can do to help them get a taste of it now. Amen.