Slow

Anything worth doing is worth doing slow.

Continental Divides in Life

The Continental Divide is where the enormous blue sky collides into ambitious white-capped peaks high in the Rocky Mountains.  The view up above Estes Park, CO where my family visits often is as intimidating as it is inspiring.  It is, of course, the literal watershed structure of our continent and the Western Hemisphere.  There is a line all the way from Alaska down through the Andes of South America where a large drop of water could simultaneously land on either side of the Divide.  But eventually gravity, wind and weather will cause the water drop to go down toward either the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean.

And there are great watershed lines in our lives as well.  Sometimes they are big enough that we find ourselves straddling divides, looking down one and then the other for a few years.  Crossing one of these watershed features is never easy.  The oxygen is thin: the incline is steep and rocky.  Meanwhile, the expanse constantly hovers over us making us feel small and weak.  But eventually a sharp intake of clarity and an expansive view compel us to choose a destination.

Does this all sound overly dramatic?  Probably.  It’s no less true!  The Foster family is getting ready to make a crossing.  After a few years of walking along the divide we have chosen to head back East to Kansas City to plant a new church.  It’s been a crazy, great, dangerous, un-smooth ride in AZ.  We have loved our 16 years in the valley of the Sun.  I mean that.  We have experienced many things… two new churches where literally hundreds of people committed their lives to following Jesus and where we met hundreds of others, many of which we call close friends.  It’s the place where we’ve watched our kids grow, go to school, play ball, go on vacations and make spectacular memories.  It’s also been the place where we’ve walked through deaths, fires, disease, job-loss… both personally and with many others.  It has shaped us and marked us.  I celebrate all of it.  So, as we take the last few steps over the divide and first few heading east I simply want to say thank you to everyone we’ve had the opportunity to hike alongside of on this trail. 

Beyond that the metaphor begins to break down.  Unlike the water heading to the Atlantic that will never have opportunity to connect with waters heading toward the Pacific, we (you and us) can re-connect… and we hope we do!  Through prayers, the internet and the open invite you have to physically visit us in KC we want and actually need to stay in touch with you.  It's not like we're done with one trail and now we're moving on to a completely different trail.  It doesn’t work that way.  East or West, North or South... it’s all one big hike! And we’re all in it together.  So, please continue to pray, check back on the blog, vimeo, twitter and of course, as soon as details about the new church become clearer we’ll share them with you.  Blessings on you and may you have courage to cross your divide! 

Romans 8:23-28(The Message) - All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Preserve Substance

Substance is enduring, form is ephemeral. Preserve substance, modify form. Know the difference.Dee Hock

So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Make More Decisions

In keeping with the leadership theme of the last couple of posts... leaders don't always know the right thing to do, they just learn to live with the decision.

The more decisions you make, the more experience you'll have at living with the consequences.

The more art you make, the more experience you'll have at learning how to express yourself.

The more tv you watch the more experience you'll have at doing nothing.

Keep moving forward.

The Church of the Exclusionary

The Church of the Exclusionary translasion of Philippians 2:3-4...
Do most of what you do out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, and seriously, do not consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look to your own interests. Others will figure it out in due time.

Or Romans 14...
Shun contact with fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—in particular when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, you have a religious institution to protect. Treat them harshly.

Or Colossians 4:5-6...
Be ungracious in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of truth, seasoned with harshness, so that everyone has the answers to the questions you want them to ask.

Well, what do you think? Is it the responsibility of the un-churched to adapt to our sub-culture or is it the responsibility of the mature believer/church to adapt to the un-churched? Sometimes we get it backwards don't we? All we really have to do is seek him first and then all the other stuff will be given us.

Faith - The Campsite and the Trails

Faith has a campsite and miles of hiking trails. The campsite is where the stories are preserved. The trails are where the stories originate.

More often than not churches resemble the campsite. It's the place where we preserve, build walls, fortify and safely talk about the great hiking adventures. As important as stories are we can't forget where the majority of the adventures come from. They come from the trails, out in the mountains, out on the edge.

A authentic 21C church provides an intersection where the safe and the unsafe collide. Playing it safe will not build prevailing churches any more than it will build a prevailing life.

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Hellen Keller

Seattle

The Original Starbucks


Spent some time in Seattle with my wife over the weekend (bottom left hand of lower picture). We had a great time at Jim Manker's church but more importantly we visited Market Street, saw lots of flowers, some some fish being thrown around, and visited the original Starbucks.

Side Effects (this post may not be for everyone including men and women)

I gotta be honest, the medical commercials where the disclaimers are twice as long as the benefits are really irritating.

• Because they’re annoying. (but I guess I already said that)
• Because the negative is highlighted.
• Because it drives home the point that we live in a society where legislation has to exist in order to force companies to be honest about their products. When you stop to think about this it’s almost unbelievable. Isn’t there some kind of Hippocratic oath that pharmaceutical/medical/drug company people take? Are they really just out for money so much that the would sell drugs without consideration of the side effects to the point that laws had to be passed to get them to communicate more accurately? (Apparently).
• Because the obvious response is, “All things have side effects.” Actually Barry Schwartz, from Seth Godin’s book “Small is the New Big,” has a more accurate way of looking at it. He says there are no “side effects” there’s only effects. Everything good and bad affects everything around it.

Life is full of effects… Full on frontals, underneaths, sides, behinds… Keep pressing on. Don't look back. Luke 9:62 (The Message) Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."

-------------------------
It did get me thinking though. What if there were disclaimers listed for all products. Here’s a sample commercial for your local evangelical church…

Looking For a New Church? Try out First Community. It’s great!
(the next part read extremely fast with a low voice) First Community isn’t for everyone, including men or women who are nursing or pregnant or who may become pregnant or a nurse. First Community may not be right for those with adverse reactions to large amounts of rules, regulations and guilt. Many members of First Community have experienced boring committees, chronically under-funded programs, and mind-numbing weekend retreats to reformulate the existing mission statement. Please consult a professional before trying First Community.

The Same but Different

We didn't got to church yesterday but we did go to a place of worship. In fact it was a lot like the place of worship we went to to the weekend before...

Both had massive crowds, 'celebrities' up on giant video screens, places to eat, souvenirs to buy, long lines, long walks, high-tech interactive displays, maps, worship folders, great music, volunteers serving, greeters, crowds of happy people, cheerleaders, programs for kids, parking attendants, lots (and lots) of money changing hands...

and both had very strong messages.

What strikes me is that the only real difference between the NFL Experience at Super Bowl 42 (see a few pix of my family there) and the church we visited the week before would be the content of the message.

And now, I would like to draw lots of conclusions here... but I'm not going to... what do you think? Leave a comment.