Right on Time

There once was a man who decided to go swimming. He had everything he needed to swim - swimsuit to cover his nakedness, SPF 15 sunblock to protect him from burning, goggles to see clearly and, lastly, a snorkle to be able to breathe.

He made his way past the "Baywatch" lifeguards into the ocean. He began to swim over to a cove just knowing that he would see some beautiful sea life there. He thought he really had it together, but the swimsuit was ill-fitting, the goggles fogged up, the sun block wasn't waterproof and the snorkle had a crack in it. In fact, the snorkle let in too much water and he started to strangle and thrash about in the water. He thought he was a goner because he was too far away for the lifeguards to see him.

He was about to go under...his nose was, literally, the only thing above the water, when he felt a strong arm encircle his upper body and pull him above the surface. He was still sputtering and gasping as he was pulled ashore. The Man who saved him was pushing the water from his lungs and was prepared to perform mouth-to-mouth, when the man vomited the last of the salt water from his body. As he lay on the sand, heaving, he looked up into the eyes of the One who came to his rescue. He wasn't a lifeguard, but He had definitely guarded this man's life.

As the man came to the point where he could speak again, he started to brow-beat the Man who saved him..."Where were you? Why did it take you so long? What were you waiting for?", and on, and on.

The Man only smiled and said, "Your nose had not yet gone under and you're still alive...the way I see it, I was right on time."

Think about it.

The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Guinness is a name that is synonymous with beer, but Stephen Mansfield shows that there is more to the famous family than just the black stout that bears their name. The founder of the world renowned brewery, Arthur Guinness, was a godly man who

truly loved his fellow man as well as a pint. He felt that brewing a stout beer was a service to his fellow man by offering

a healthy beverage, but he also believed it was a calling upon his life by God. The bane of Irish society at the time

was gin and whiskey drinking, which was tearing families apart. Most people considered beer to be the answer to 

this problem. Enter Arthur Guinness. The good that was done by Guinness for over two centuries, is recorded by Mansfield

with plenty of historical documentation. 

I was very curious about the angle of this book. I mean, I never would have thought to put God and beer in the same sentence,

let alone read an entire book about it, but here it is.  It was very interesting, and I am not even a beer drinker. My father was

a beer man and I have only recently even drank wine, but the way Mansfield presents the history of beer, going back thousands of years to Mesopotamia and then going straight to the pubs of 1700's Dublin, he gives us an interesting read. He also points out the social aspects of "having a beer" and how people have always bonded over the drink. The family history of the godly character of the Guinnesses was of great interest, especially how they cared about the brewery employees and the neighborhoods of Dublin during a time of poverty, pestilence and filth.

Personally, I have a hard time agreeing with Mansfield's idea (which was also the idea of most brewers) that beer was/is

a gift from God, a symbol of His grace. With that being said, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to the curious Christian as well as the beer drinker who may or may not be a Christian as well. Well written, engaging and full of interesting information, especially about the clergymen who were Guinnesses. It almost made me want to go to the corner public house and down a pint.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

by Donald Miller

After Miller's first 4 books, there was a lull in his writing, in that, he didn't appear to be doing any. Having been deeply moved,

as well as entertained by them, I have been looking forward to this one for sometime. Don did not disappoint.

AMMIATY is a result of that silent period, in fact, it details what was going on during that period of time.

The first third of the book seems a bit slow compared to the rest, but it is the calm before the storm of his life that becomes a

flurry of activity and searching out what it really means to live life as a "story". As with his books, Blue Like Jazz and Searching For God Knows What, the humor and vulnerability come through...which is wonderful, and Don's style has only gotten better. As he told about new friendships

and events in his life, I was drawn into a friendship with this man and truly wanted be a part of what he experienced.

It would not be enough to say I merely enjoyed AMMIATY...I wallowed in it, especially a part that, I believe, was a major turning point, both in the book and in Don's life. I won't tell you what it was, but I will tell you that I wept. The Biblical concepts presented are lightly veiled. You must be

rather sensitive to pick up the nuances, although there are times that Don is very clear, even abrupt. That is why I have come to love this

writer and look forward to more from him. You must read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, because a great journey is like a great story, and if you combine both, you get a great life.

Book Review of Fresh Start by Doug Fields

Fresh Start

by Doug Fields

A Fresh Start...don' t think that the title tells it all. Starting over is what God is all about, after all, like the bumper sticker says,

"God Allows Do Overs".  Doug Fields, who is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church, does an excellent job pointing out,

(Biblically I might add), that no matter what you've gone through, no matter how far you may have "fallen from grace", God

still offers the awesome possibility to truly have a fresh start. With all the Biblical characters that Doug mentions, it is clear

that God has a plan for everyone that begins with a fresh start.

Having said that, I must say that I can tell that Doug spent 25 years as a youth pastor. Although his writing is very clear, and

again, has a good Biblical base, it is loaded with a stylized humor that, for me, is rather distracting. I love humor mixed with

theology and spiritual thinking, but the rule of comedy or humor is timing, and his timing can be a little off.

I did enjoy the book very much, though. The encouragement to me personally, was much needed. I really felt that this book,

being my first from Thomas Nelson Publishers for me to review, was planned by God. I do recommend this book to everyone,

because truthfully, everyone needs a Fresh Start.

Money, the Church & Sacrifice

A few weeks back I attended a church "mortgage burning" event. It was a big deal...people who were charter members were there, former pastors, conference officials, etc. The current pastor had a few words to say about how they had gotten to that point; how there had been some serious sacrificial giving along the way in order to retire the debt on the building. Some very good points were made...but...

As with most churches (not all, but most) this is a building that is used approximately 10 hours a week. Wednesday nights for a few hours and on the weekend for classes and worship service. Maybe more if there is a special event going on. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, millions of dollars, for a meeting place that is not utilized to it's fullest potential...this is a waste and very poor stewardship of monetary blessings.

I think about times when I was growing up that my family experienced some hard times financially...the church was strangely absent in our time of need. But when there was a new building program, everyone (including those who had very little) was encouraged to give "sacrificially" under the guise that it was for "God's glory" that we get a new kitchen or new classrooms.

I think about times that people have gone hungry under the shadow of a church steeple or grown cold because they couldn't pay their electric bill, while the church down the street had the heat on while there was no one on the premises."Sacrificial giving" to add on to a church, or increase the space it occupies.(?)

If the church boards were honest with themselves, they would ask the question, "If this church burned to the ground today, would the surrounding community miss it?" Obviously there would be a physical void, but what about a spiritual void or community void? "Sacrificial giving" to what end? Building up a church facility just so we can say, when asked, "Where do you go to church?"..."Oh,I go to that BIG church up on the hill." This is not giving God glory...just a black eye.

Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world is...Christians; who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.""Denying Him by our lifestyle" is far more than engaging in lying, stealing, using pornography or other of the more "obvious" sinful behaviors; to misuse or mishandle the monetary blessings He has provided is just as egregious in His eyes. Sacrificial giving is only sacrificial if it is what God asks for, not what we think He's asking for.

Think about it.

Jumping the Gun

So I have a friend on a social network site that reads my blog on that site all the time. I had posted at the end "what I am reading right now" as the Donald Miller book, "Blue Like Jazz".

Her response was, "Blue Like Jazz...pffttt."

She then posted a link for me to check out...it ended up being a "Salem Witch Hunt" site for anyone who even appears to be "emergent"...whatever that means.
I know what "emergent" means, as I am also aware of the divergent views amongst those who consider themselves as "emergent"...which goes to show that you can't nail down a specific definition or criterion.

On a previous post of mine, I outline the different "perspectives" that I have. Some would tell me, "Make up your mind...what are you?" I'm Batman...

But seriously, I refuse to wear a label, a nametag. I wore one my whole life being a part of a denomination. Labels are man-made...my mark of who I am is like the story about Jesus -

Someone came to Jesus and asked if they should pay taxes to Rome. He asked to see a coin and then asked, "Whose image is on this coin?" They replied, "Caesar's." He then said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

We are told that man was created in God's image. That means that God's imprimatur is upon man, His "image is on" us. Therefore, we should give to God what is God's...us.

So, with the "Witch Hunt" site I mentioned, I heard nothing but anger, vitriole and harshness...sounds like the person who wrote the article needs to return to the School of Christ. Yes we are called to judge righteous judgement, but not SELF-Righteous judgement.

Think about it.