Saturday, February 27, 2010

Father, Son and Holy Spirit - I think I finally got it!

Hopefully it hasn't become too clear from my posts, but I'm not always a rocket scientist. There are certain areas that just baffle me. Medical stuff is one. If we go to the doctor and they explain something, I usually have to have Laurel dumb it down for me. I just don't get it. I'm sure there are many other areas, but it would probably be best to just leave this area open and vague.

Except for the whole concept of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I have never understood it. One of my all time favorite church and kid stories is from years ago when Laurel and I were serving as shepherds at Church for a young children's group. Gerald Bailey, who was a fantastic teacher was leading the worship for the children, and he got on the topic of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All of a sudden, one of the young boys, Will Boezi, burst out, "I don't get this Father, Son and Holy Spirit stuff!". Gerald's eyes got really big, I was sitting there thinking, wow, I agree, and Gerald reacted really well, and said, "You know, Will, sometimes I don't understand it myself." I'm sure he went on and explained it really well, but as is the case with every other time in my life, I just didn't get it.

Finally, I think I got it. After 49 years (and I'm not exposing Laurel's age, so it should be OK to say this), I think I got it. Recently in a sermon series, our pastor, Dr. Davis Chappell, put it in these terms. God above us (Father), God among us (Son), God within us (Holy Spirit). I could have shouted Hallelujah! This was the first time it ever made any sense to me (Please refer to the above about not being a rocket scientist).

I really hope this has all been much easier for all of you. As I like to refer to these, this was a major lightbulb moment for me. It only took 49 years.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Making Your Mark

"When you aim at nothing, you will hit nothing every time" - Allen Whittaker

Do you ever have those times in your life when things are just percolating in your mind, and you can't figure out how to pull all of those ideas or thoughts together? You know that somehow there is a link, but you can't see where that link is, it's just not that clear. I've been having that the last month or so.

The quote above is from the Director of Youth at our church, First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville. I didn't hear it, but Dr. Davis Chappell quoted him in his recent sermon series, On Your Mark. I'll get back to that eventually.

Recently, I've had the pleasure to hear about a young man who we grew up with, Curtis Mann, who is making his mark in art. Curtis does some incredible things with photography, which quite frankly, I can't even describe, so I will refer you to his website, http://www.curtismann.com/, so you can see the unbelievable things he is able to do with photos. Curtis is making his mark, he is touching lives with a great gift that he has been given. To be honest, I struggle with making stick figures, so when I see something like this, I'm in complete awe of it.

I recently had some e-mail dialogue with Aaron Keyes. He is a worship leader in this area, and has touched many lives, but particularly both of my sons, Patrick and Sean. Aaron has appeared at their school several times, and has a gift for spreading the word of God and the love of Jesus through witness and music. His website is incredible, here is the link to it - http://www.aaronkeyes.com/.

As I've noted on my blog, I follow Dave Carr, his blog is at http://carrpediem.blogspot.com/. I have used Dave for learning initiatives at least four times for three different organizations. In each case, even the most stubborn dissenter, the ones who wanted to be there the least, came up to Dave afterward and expressed how much the course touched them. Dave has a unique way of bringing out the most in individuals and groups. Each time I've been through it, I've been enriched by the experience. As I've noted, when I grow up, I want to be Dave.

So what has been percolating the whole time for me was "how do I make my mark?" As noted above, it surely wouldn't be art. It couldn't be through music, as Laurel notes, I really don't have the ability to even clap along to a song, let alone sing. So what about those poor schleps (is that even a word?) like me who have no real talent or ability to touch the world with some great gift?

The good news was that it was a four-part sermon series. I guess there was a good reason to listen and pay attention to all four parts because eventually, I think, it all became much clearer to me. Dr. Chappell focused at one point on what is the aim of Christian life? The answer - to know Jesus and to become like Jesus. As Dr. Chappell pointed out, while he'd like to make it complicated for those who like things complicated, it doesn't get any more complicated than that.

I guess because I have always been so inept at art and music, I've always had a huge appreciation for what people can do with it. I'm amazed by Curtis' artwork, I marvel at people with musical abilities like Aaron Keyes, or even my own sons, Patrick and Sean. As noted, they didn't get it from me. I tend to be an introvert, so I'm never going to touch people like Aaron Keyes does as a worship leader, or even what Dave does as a trainer and facilitator. But I can try to know Jesus and to become like Jesus. After a great deal of percolating, and a great sermon series, I think I finally figured out that while there are some among us that are going to make their mark in a great way, there are many of us that will have to settle for making our marks in a simple, but very valuable way.

Friends, I'm far from this goal. There are so many times that I fall short, and it hurts when I do. Thankfully, there is grace, and I can keep trying, and maybe eventually, I'll make my mark. The good news is that I'm not aiming at nothing anymore.

If We Are the Body


“But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way There is a way” Words to “If We Are the Body” by Casting Crowns

Yesterday I flew home from California from a work assignment. I was really excited to be coming home, I had been gone all week, and it was questionable if I'd make it home, due to the weather. My flight had been cancelled out of Orange County, but I was able to get booked on the last seat of a flight leaving LAX at 6:15 in the morning. So, I got up at 3 am, and headed to the airport. When I got to Atlanta, the snow was coming down pretty hard, and it took a while to get home.
As I was coming into the neighborhood, really looking forward to seeing Laurel and the kids (and the dogs of course), I saw the sight above. I slowly drove by and scanned the belongings. Furniture, clothes, bedding, food, children's stuffed animals, an endless view of abandoned possessions. Obviously, with the snow, everything will be ruined. Not only will the owners not have the opportunity to wear these clothes, sit on this furniture, play with these toys, but no charity will get the opportunity to put these valuable furnishings to good use.
I have no idea how these people ended up in the position they did, but unfortunately there are so many of us that are at this point or reaching this point. How do we let this happen without knowing it or doing anything about it? I'm heartbroken that one of my neighbors suffered like this, and I knew nothing about it and did nothing about it. I know it sounds stupid, but what I really noticed or what caught my attention were the stuffed animals. Somewhere, there's a child that lost something dear to them, and they have no idea how or why.
Last night an e-mail came around from someone from the Homeowner's Association. The concern being expressed by many neighbors is how this looks and what can we do to remove this, so we don't have an eyesore in the neighborhood. I'm hopeful that the first reaction or thoughts were what can we do or what have we done to help the people that went through this painful experience. I know it may not always seem like it, but I really believe there is a way.