"God, Whoever You are..."

maybe when we talk to God we should start by addressing Him -
"God, Whoever You actually are..." & then continue...

just as a "footnote" to denote we really don't know who God is... we're just fumbling for different representations in our minds of Who He is.
the name "God" is of course inadequate for Who He actually is. it's just the best we have (for now).

This was actually C.S. Lewis' footnote to all prayers:
"He whom I bow to ONLY knows to whom I bow"
[wow. He is the ONLY one who knows WHO He is... none of us truly do. how could we?]

so since we don't know exactly who "He" is, we...
"embrace in heart Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art."

– C.S. Lewis, “Footnote to All Prayers” (a very short poem you can read HERE.)

yes, pray in confidence and talk to God as if He is sitting next to you on the couch. because He is. & that's how i talk to Him.

as long as we realize this is an appropriate footnote (to keep in the back of our minds) to every prayer.


i can remember in 1 of my 1st theology classes in seminary, my prof said something like this the very 1st day... "remember - theology is just our best attempt to say something about God. it's not really who God is... it's just our educated guess."

i loved David Crowder's analogy for his album a while back A Collision. Sixsteps sent me some promo stuff back then and part of it was an explanation of the discography that you see pictured to the left. Crowder talked about that diagram of the atom. it's just a diagram. that's not REALLY what an atom looks like. it's just our best idea. our best representation.
& that's exactly what our worship is doing. it's our best effort to lift up who God is. Who we think He is at least. 

theology is our best representation too. even the name "God".

it's the best we can do.

so, when we pray we use familiar symbols (like Lewis and Crowder mentioned) - like Father, God, King, Lord, and so on. 
but we must be careful with this because, we may falsely assume that our idea of God is identical to God. 
that the real God ‘out there’ is no bigger and no different from the idea we have ‘in here’ in our heads.

so, our symbols & familiar language carry with them our own distortions—concepts of God that are partial at best, misleading at worst.

we have to remember that our best symbolic representations [just like the atom] are in the end merely "frail images" of God, images that "cannot be the thing" that God is.

[but we still desperately need these images. and we need LOTS of different ones. but more on that another time.]

(thanks to Brian McLaren for giving me better articulation for this idea i've felt in my heart for a long time.)

“Whatever the reality actually is to which the word or name ‘God’ points, we know that God’s reality must always be far higher and greater and other than our concepts and images of God—even our best concepts and images.” 

- Brian McLaren

yes. YES. YES! that sums it up perfectly.

amen.

and that makes us feel really good.

because it puts us in our place.

it makes us feel so small as we realize our best efforts to understand who God is are simply cracking the tip of the iceberg.

and that realization will do wonders in your soul.

it has in mine.

personal spiritual momentum

(This was originally posted to renown on November 17, 2009.)

Yesterday was Catalyst One Day in Baltimore. Actually it was like the 5th Catalyst One Day this year with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel all around the country. I actually mentioned it before the 1st one here. It's basically 2 awesome talks from Andy, 2 awesome talks from Craig and then a Q&A time with both of them.
I didn't get to go in Baltimore yesterday, but I did listen to the entire conference audio from the one at North Point in ATL. It was awesome!

I just want to share a few things I walked away with from one of Craig Groeschel's talks at Catlayst One Day '09 = Creating and Sustaining Personal Spiritual Momentum

I felt like the talk was directly for me. I'm one of the peeps Craig talked about who = "So often (and with pure motives because we love Jesus) we try to do MORE than we were designed to do!"
*And stemming from that reality check this next "nifty" statement was the biggest thing I needed to hear. It's my main takeaway...

"Do today what I can do today to enable me to do tomorrow what I can't do today."

Man, I so need to hear that on a regular basis. I am a futurist and can see the end goal & just wanna get there all in 1 day. It's like my wife - when she gets in "cleaning/house work mode" she wants to do a whole year's worth of stuff in 1 Saturday... and I'm like, "baby, we can only do 1 thing at a time..." I need to take my own advice sometimes.

So what can I do today (if I can't do it all)? Craig gave us all 4 suggestions:

1.   Do something to defeat my dark side

2.   Create Artificial Ministry Deadlines - this is a biggie for me, bkuz my dark side is working too much... I have to work hard to not let myself work all the time! Craig sharing his practices were so freeing for me... to hear that he makes himself stop working on a talk after a certain day. It's just done... no matter what.

3.   Delegate what someone else can do - ***And "delegate authority not responsibility!"

"Delegating responsibility creates followers, but delegating authority creates leaders."

"You will not create or retain great leaders by telling them what to do/delegating responsibility."

4.   Do something only you can do - like take time off, be a husband to my wife, and remain broken before God.

**This was awesome stuff for me! I hope it was beneficial for some of you leaders out there too!

What are some of your thoughts on these points from Craig's talk? 

How do YOU create & sustain personal spiritual momentum?

All in 1 day

It's crazy how much can happen in your soul in 24 hours.

Seriously.

It's crazy how much can happen in the core of you in one day. When I take some time to prepare my soul and heart on the front end (like I did) & fully open my soul to whatever God feels like doing...

And when I beg Him to create something in my soul...

Deep down in me...

Something clean & beautiful... It's crazy what can happen in 24 hours.

It's crazy what can flood into my soul when it's wide open like this. It's pouring in.
 Thanks, God. Thanks for answering my prayer. Keep creating in me.

Do the same tomorrow... Except even bigger and scarier and crazier... Keep creating on this canvas of my soul. Crazy what can happen when you're present for 1 day with the Presence

rather than

“The degree to which you are concerned for the common good, rather than for your own good, is the criterion by which you can judge how much progress you have made."

– Augustine

concerned for the common good RATHER THAN my own good.

that feels so not intuitive or natural or what we want to do.

it feels that way because... that's just the way it is.

and i guess "progress" is going against the grain. moving away from human nature and cultural norms that we are held down in and expected to operate with.

actually, i can't even remember where i read this quote. i can't remember where or when i wrote it down. i don't know the context Augustine wrote it in or specifically what he was even talking about.

i hate when people rip quotes out of context and bend them to say whatever, so i will say no more about it.

but go back and read it again.

feel the weight of that.

those words should stir something in your soul.

i hope it changes you.

those words are changing me.

maybe they can change the world too.

happiness (not what you might expect)

i'm enjoying an awesome sabbath today. it's a day earlier than i expected, but also needed. i am so thankful for the simple pleasure of sabbath.

it's been quiet and i'm enjoying the SIMPLE and ORDINARY pleasures of this ordinary day. i'm keenly aware today of a bigger Presence. a God who is here. in this moment.

a God that we don't even have a name for... just titles like "God."

and i'm thankful. thankful for life and all its simple pleasures.
thankful for this sabbath to slow down and simply be present. present with an even bigger Presence. it's almost (or is) mystical.

i am SO thankful. i'm enjoying. i'm happy.

"It's not how much you have that brings happiness; it's how much you appreciate however much or little you have."

- Brian McLaren

right on.

i am here. God is here. and whether you think that is "much" or "little" i am full of appreciation, reverence, awe, wonder, joy, and happiness.

3 new books

just when I think I’m finished with my 2011 reading list (you can see HERE) I have to add MORE books. For some reason I always forget about the books that WILL COME OUT later in the year!

So, here are 3 that I’m adding to my list for this year. 2 just came out this month & the other comes out in the Fall.

Naked Spirituality – Brian McLaren

I always read everything this guy writes. One of my fav authors (if not my ultimate fav). Stoked to read this newest one.

Love Wins – Rob Bell

Not many who haven’t heard the hype around this book already. Pretty sure I know what he says on the topic, but looking forward to reading it. I’ve heard the 1^st few chapters are absolutely amazing.

*I already have my copies on hold/reserved at the library for both of these books above. Will be in my hands soon.

EntreLeadership – Dave Ramsey

I’ve read pretty much all the $ books Dave has written. Some call me a Ramsey-ite. But this is his 1^st non-financial book. I love learning Leadership stuff from Dave… so excited about this book coming in the Fall.

Not sure if I’ll bump 3 other books from my list, but I know I’ll be reading these 3.

2011 reading list (rough draft)

i need your help! i need to trim this rough draft book list of 61 books down to only 12 books. Please give me your recommendations and comments - good or bad. i can't afford to waste any time reading books that are just "so so". and if you have read one of these and can vouch that it is awesome... maybe you can convince me to keep it on the final list.

i have a very different and new reading philosophy which is causing me to go from reading 50 books in 2010 to only 12 or so in 2011. i'll write a whole post on that soon.

(Actually, 11 of these books below are ones that i'll read no matter what. they're either audio books i'll end up reading on trips or some other built in method. so the 12 i will choose will actually be on top of the 11 i will be automatically reading accidentally. you don't know which 11 though.)

i broke them all into 8 categories this time (with the number of potential books in that category in parentheses). i will definitely read at least some from each category.

TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD READ!

           Personal Development (9)

The Pocket Guide to Adulthood: 29 Things to Know Before You Turn 30 – Jason Boyett

Getting Things Done – David Allen

Making It All Work – David Allen

Lynchpin – Seth Godin

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal – Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

The Likeability Factor – Tim Sanders

Mavericks at Work – William Taylor

Rework – Jason Fried

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long – David Rock

            Vision/ Dream/ entrepreneurial/ future (7)

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard - Chip & Dan Heath

Holy Discontent – Bill Hybels

Purple Cow – Seth Godin

Wide Awake – Erwin McManus

The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship – Bill Murphy, Jr.

Making ideas happen - Scott Belsky

Rescuing Ambition – Dave Harvey

            Spirituality (11)

The Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning

Radical - David Platt

Wild Goose Chase – Mark Batterson

Humility –Andrew Murray

Fields of Gold – Andy Stanley

Cold Tangerines – Shauna Niequist

When I Don’t Desire God – John Piper

The Jesus of Suburbia – Mike Erre

Trusting God – Jerry Bridges

Brothers We are Not Professionals – John Piper

Primal – Mark Batterson

Taste And See – John Piper

           

            Culture (9)

Justice – Michael Sendel

Bioethics – Gilbert Meilaender

A Primer on Postmodernism – Stanley Grenz

Freakanomics – Levitt & Dubner

What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

Microtrends – Mark Penn

A Briefer History of Time – Stephen Hawking

The Grand Design – Stephen Hawking

            Theology/Mission (8)

The Mission of God – Christopher J.H. Wright

Everything Must Change – Brian McLaren

The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World – Heather Zydek

Evil and the Justice of God – N.T. Wright

                        Dead guys

The End for Which God Created the World – Jonathan Edwards

Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love – Saint Augustine

The Gospel of the Kingdom – George Ladd

Humility –Andrew Murray

The Biography of George Muller – A.T. Pierson           

            Leadership (9)

Tribes – Seth Godin

Why We Can’t Wait – MLK

Strengths Based Leadership – Tom Rath & Barry Osborne

The 17 Indispensable Laws of Teamwork – John Maxwell

The Orange Leader Handbook – Reggie Joiner

The One Thing You Need to Know – Marcus Buckingham

Simply Strategic Volunteers – Tony Morgan & Tim Stevens

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni

Corageous Leadership – Bill Hybels

Leadership – Rudolph Giuliani  

           

            Marriage/Sex (4)

The Love Dare – Stephen Kendrick

Crazy Good Sex – Les Parrott

The Modern Kama Sutra – Kamini and Kirk Thomas

The Act of Marriage – Tim & Beverly Lahaye

            FUN (3)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Harry Potter

Under the Dome – Stephen King

Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 – Steve Stockman

            MONEY (2)

More Than Enough – Dave Ramsey

Think and Grow Rich – Napolean Hill 

Give me your opinions! What is good enough that it NEEDS to be on my final list?

transitioning in Kenya

Right now Crystal & i are riding in the back from Nakuru to Nairobi. just loving every second of the beautiful Kenyan countryside. Crystal and i are riding with the other 3 from the Ridge team - Amy, Tiffany, and Keith. we've become tight with them. it's been an awesome 9 or 10 days together. We're dropping them at the Nairobi airport for them to start the long journey back to Charlotte.

but it feels like we've been here in Kenya for a month, not just a week! it's crazy. i honestly feel like i can't even remember much about America. it feels very distant and far off. i feel like i'm slowly forgetting customs and conveniences that we had there. i know that sounds crazy after only a week, but i'm just being honest.
i'm speaking less and less English and more and more Swahili. Kenyans are starting to ask "How long has this Mzungu lived here in Kenya?" haha... a week. i wonder how long it would take me to blend in?

so, the Ridge team is headed home and Crystal and i will be "on our own" for a while. i'm really excited about it. i remember talking to her before we left about the kind of life we want to live. even though it may be slightly more scary, risky, and unsure - i think when we're 100 we'll want to look back and have chosen the more ADVENTUROUS life. the life that was LESS SAFE. the life that was a little more EDGY and worth telling stories about.
i hope we're heading in that direction.

i don't know what to expect of staying in Nairobi the next few days. crazy city of about 3 million.
i can't even imagine the experience of meeting and spending the day with Peter, the child we sponsor through Compassion. and then meeting Erick, the boy that Upstreet at Ridge sponsors through the same org.
living and working in the orphanage in Havilla i am sure will be mind blowing. but i know that i cannot imagine leaving those orphans that Crystal and i will pour our whole hearts into.

it was so hard to leave Karima. i connected with so many kids and adults. they definitely didn't want us to leave and i didn't want to leave either. definitely hard.

the beauty here in Kenya absolutelyshouts God's glory! it's awe-inspiring. it just enthralls me with God's glory all day long.
not to mention we saw some pretty freaking awesome animals these past 2 days. i know you probably care about that more than my random thoughts, so i'm sure we'll post some pics soon.

i'll still be trying to post every day. looking forward to actually "sleeping in" for the 1st time tomorrow morning though (like past 6am).
peace out for now

my FINAL 2010 reading list!

I finally completed my 2010 reading list! (the books I'm going to read this year.) I have been working on it for 2 months and have been extremely strategic and intentional in compiling this list!

*I divided the books I'll read into 5 categories:

1 - Theology - which is actually broken into 3 "sub-categories":

  General - just current books on God, theology, and the Church & what I'm trying to learn

  Classics by dead guys - I realized a few years ago I was reading all new books. This is my attempt to learn from all the great dead guys!

  Mission - One of the things I'm most passionate about = God's Mission (Global & local).

2 - Leadership - I desperately want to be a better leader... a great leader in fact. That's my audacious goal. So, I am trying to learn from the best.

3 - Culture - I'm reading these in an attempt to be in tune with current Western and Global culture, + read some fun books, + keep in touch with the books "everyone" has read/is reading, etc...

4 - Sex & Marriage - just like I want to be a better leader, I want to be a better husband and better at sex! I want to be great in fact, so I'm going to keep learning.

5 - Spirituality and Personal Development - These are some of my favorite types of books to read! Very practical and life changing. For my spiritual development and relationship with God + personal development to make me better at what I do.

*Below I simply list the title of the book and the author's name. (No links because that would take forever. If you're interested you can just google the book or author yourself!)

THEOLOGY

General
A New Kind of Christianity: 10 Qs That Are Transforming the Faith – Brian McLaren
God Is the Gospel – John Piper
Emerging Churches – Gibbs & Bolger
Grasping God’s Word - Duvall & Hays
Religion Saves: And 9 Other Misconceptions - Mark Driscoll
Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches – Driscoll, Kimball, Pagitt, etc...
Adventures in Missing the Point – Tony Campolo & Brian McLaren

Classics (by dead guys)
He Is There and He Is Not Silent – Francis Schaeffer
The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer
The Humanity of God – Karl Barth
The End for Which God Created the World – Jonathan Edwards
The Imitation of Christ – Thomas A’Kempis
The Autobiography of George Muller – George Muller
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis

Mission
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative – Christopher J. H. Wright
The Poor Will Be Glad – Greer & Smith
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society – Lesslie Newbigin
Believing in the Future – David J. Bosch
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity - Philip Jenkins
The Emerging Church – Dan Kimball
 

LEADERSHIP

Developing the Leaders Around You – John Maxwell
Leadership – Rudolph Guiliani
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Made to Stick – Chap Heath
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything - Kerry Patterson
Killing Cockroaches – Tony Morgan
10 Stupid Things that keep Churches from Growing – Geoff Surratt
Microtrends – Mark Penn

CULTURE

How Soccer Explains the World – Franklin Foer
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 – Steve Stockman
Memoirs of a Boy soldier – Ishmael Beah
The Gospel According to Lost - Chris Seay
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Das Kapital - Karl Marx
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Kite Runner - Khaled Housseni

SEX and MARRIAGE

Satisfaction: The Art of… – Kim Cattrall
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Kama Sutra – Ron Louis
The Love Dare - Stephen and Alex Kendrick

SPIRITUALITY and PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ – John Piper
ReUnderstanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation with God – Kyle Lake
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Taste and See – Piper
The Money Answer Book – Dave Ramsey
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
Freakanomics – Levitt & Dubner

also a few "Re-reads"

I forgot to mention these. I took notes on them in my infamous "red notebook" that was lost so I'm going to re-read them and take notes again!

Good to Great - Jim Collins

Developing the Leader Within You - John Maxwell

Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper

All in all there are over 50 books and well over 10,000 pages I hope to read this year! I better get started!

I would love to hear if YOU have read any of these AND what's on YOUR 2010 reading list!