The One Thing

Back in February, Donna and I went on a retreat with the Pastor's Retreat Network. Each day we enjoyed a lunch time conversation with eight pastors from all over the country about life and love and ministry. Betty, the retreat leader, always left us with a probing question to ask of God for the next twenty-four hours. We dwelled on this one question in prayer.

On Tuesday Betty's question for us came from the story of Jesus and a blind man. Jesus asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10). While the answer seems obvious (. . . um to see again . . .), it is stunning that Jesus asks what we want him to do for us. The retreat participants were to tell Jesus what we wanted him do for us. Now that is a thought provoking question. I immediately knew that I wanted to know “the one thing” that God wanted us to be doing. Did God want us to find another church to serve or stay for 20 more years at Singing Oaks? Did God want us to sell everything and begin a new ministry to the poor in Denton or did God want us to sell everything and go plant a church somewhere. I spent the day praying and asking God what was “the one thing” he wanted us to do.

The "one thing” appears rarely in scripture. There is really only one time that it appears with a clear purpose. However, there are some great ones. In Mark 10:21 (Luke 18:32), Jesus has a conversation with a man who wants eternal life. They talk about following the law and the man has been doing this his entire life. Jesus looks at him and scripture says, “He loved him.” He loves this man who wants to do one more thing. He already follows God, but he wants to live with God forever. So to this man whom Jesus loves he says, “One thing you lack. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor.” The man went away sad because he had many possessions. Not only did he posses a thorough knowledge of the law and great righteousness, but he also possessed the things that sometimes tend to come to those who live right – stuff.

There is another “one thing” story. This time Jesus is at the home of Martha. Martha scurries about making the house and the meal special and perfect. Mary her sister sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to him. Martha busily prepares a perfect occasion. Mary contentedly enters the perfect occasion. Martha gets frustrated at her sisters laziness and unwillingness to help. Jesus points out Martha’s own worry and distraction by many things. Jesus says there is need to do only one thing. He commends Mary for choosing the one thing (Luke 10:42).

I wanted God to tell me the one thing. I did not remember these stories about “the one thing.” Instead, I prayed and read all that afternoon. This retreat was all about hanging out with God. Late that afternoon, I was using a prayer book for my prayer time. It led me to Psalm 27 . So, as I read and prayed this Psalm there were things about the Lord being my light and my salvation and my stronghold. Then, I got to verse four “one thing I asked of the Lord.” I stopped, shocked that God was speaking to me through scripture. This is what I had been praying and meditating on all day long. Now, here it was written thousands and thousands of years earlier. I read on. “One thing I asked of the Lord that I will seek after: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” I fell flat on my face and began to cry, to weep in the presence of God.

You see in my heart, I wondered what God wanted to use me for. I had worked the better part of a decade trying to help a church grow and grow closer to its Creator. I wanted to be the greatest preacher ever in churches of Christ. I considered planting a church and help people on the outside of Christianity get inside in their relationship with God. I had all of these aspirations and wondered if I was best using my gifts and talents.

Last year I had asked Donna if this was the way we wanted to use the most productive years of our life. Did I want to continue running a church office? Did I want to go to elders meetings? Did I want to continue give ideas and plans that were shot down?

I fell on my face in prayer because I realized that my question was really about me. I wanted to know what God wanted ME to do. What I really meant is what "big important thing" did God want me to do. Here in this ancient prayer, the one thing was to seek God. Period. Seeking the face of God is the one thing this psalmist begins to pursue with his whole heart.

I spent a long time praying and crying as this new room of meaning opened to me. Over the four weeks of our Sabbatical in a combination of personal and family retreats, I realized that what God wanted more than anything else from me – was me. God wanted me to seek him all the days of my life. My plans, my dreams, my ambitions to preach, plant, start, serve, achieve just did not matter. Donna received this very same message. Through her prayer and reading and study she also realized that God wanted us to seek him whole heartedly. The music we heard in church and the books we read all pointed us to this. Remember the song, “purer in heart oh God help me to be, that I may do thy will.” Remember the new song “Give us clean hands, give us a pure heart.” Suddenly everything was about seeking God. I remembered the words from the Sermon on the Mount, which I memorized and recited as a sermon last spring. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” The promise Jesus offered to people who give God their hearts is the ability to see God. What more could we want than God. What else mattered? Donna and I returned to Singing Oaks with renewed focus and energy and most of all trust in God.

From that point on our immediate future was no less clear, but our long time future was assured. We were to seek God in the present moment. Psalm 27 became a vital part of my daily prayer life and it became a wellspring for my relationship with God.

As I began praying this Psalm daily, I realized things about it. The psalmist actually gets a three for one. It is the old genie in the bottle trick that I have always wanted to try when I find my magic lamp. You get three wishes and so you use the last wish to wish for three more wishes. He gets three things out of his “one thing.”

Dwell in the house of the Lord, see the beauty of the Lord, and inquire of the Lord in his temple. The one thing is to dwell in the house of the Lord. The other two things are results of dwelling with God. I read this as that God had plans for me to stay preaching and residing inside the church to serve.

To dwell in the house of the Lord does not mean to stay inside of a church building. This is not a command to become a temple servant or to become the building and grounds person who lives in constant prayer. It easily could mean those things but it does not have to mean a new job inside the church. To dwell in the house of the Lord is to begin to see your body as a temple of God. Your heart is the new residence of the Holy Spirit of God. The presence of Jesus as God’s son in the world and the residence of his Spirit in the hearts and lives of believers is God’s permanent dwelling. The promise of God dwelling with his people is realized when we welcome God into our life.

If you and I are to dwell in God’s house all our lives there are two results. These are the results of hanging out always in the presence of God. First, we will see the beauty of the Lord God. I have read this phrase in about every version of the bible there is. Some render it enjoy the presence of God, taste the sweetness of God, and they are all phrases that make me think about a very good marriage, where you just love being in the presence of the one you love. You love just dwelling there and being there. The second result of dwelling with God is the ability to inquire of the Lord God in his temple. Again imagine the temple of your body as a place where you might constantly be in conversation and questions and dialogue with God. It is beyond amazing that the creator of the world has invited you into this kind of relationship with him. A relationship where his presence is always with you. This relationship is one where you need only to make yourself available to him.

Yesterday we were in Abilene for the Summer workshops. We stopped again by Jacob's Dream. As we walked back to the Bible Building, Donna noticed that "one thing" was carved into the stone. The phrase "One Thing" was written exactly where I had placed the camera to take our family picture. From the perspective of the "one thing" one can see the cross and the verse where the blind man says he does not know who Jesus is but "one thing I do know, I was blind and now I see."

May your one thing always be God.

The Letter

[This is my resignation letter read today to the congregation of people I dearly love. I will tell more of the story behind this decision in a later post.]

July 17, 2007

Dear Singing Oaks –

Eight years ago this month, Donna and I moved to Singing Oaks to partner in ministry with you in Denton, Texas. We had fallen in love with the people of this church. Still today we enjoy every moment with you. In 1999, we came with no children to a town of 75,000, joining two other ministers and 330 people in worship on Sundays. Needless to say a lot has changed. All of it has been wonderful.

We have been offered an opportunity to work for Abilene Christian University as Director of Ministry Events and Adjunct Professor of Bible in Abilene, Texas. This position oversees the annual Lectureship program as well as other annual ministry events for churches and church leaders. Additionally, it would involve teaching Bible and Ministry courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Obviously this is a great honor and a rare opportunity for service in the Kingdom of God. After hours and hours and days and days of prayer, fasting, crying and reflection we accepted this position and will release our ministry here as Preaching Minister. We will be leaving rather quickly on August 21^st in order to begin school this Fall.

Without the support and experience and training we have received here this opportunity would probably not be available to us. We believe that you share in the honor given us by this role of ministry to the fellowship of Churches of Christ and teaching young people in the university setting for ministry. In so many ways, you participated in our development in and for ministry. We are forever grateful and will continue to share this partnership with you.

This decision was not easy. We so dearly love the people we serve, the ministers we work with, and the elders we serve beside. Few come anywhere close to you. It is so difficult to leave such an outstanding church with great potential. However, we leave you with God and trust that God will continue to nurture a spirit of unconditional love, unity, and desire to follow him at all cost. Our future together is bright as we seek God in all things.

Always yours,

Brady and Donna Bryce
Nathan and Lizzie

Music Memories

Today we drove back from New Mexico after a great vacation in the mountains around Ruidoso. We stopped in Abilene to show the kids Abilene and share some memories. They love the monument called Jacob's Dream on the campus of Abilene Christian University. So, we stopped by to let them play and to eat at Subway.

Sitting in Subway every song we heard was released my freshman year. There were songs by Nirvana, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and other bands that took me back a few years. Donna and I were thinking about our freshmen year and talking about our dear friend James, my college room mate and long-time friend. Then a group of girls came in the door. They were cheerleaders from Wylie High School. I began calculating their age and realized that they were all born just before James, Donna, and I came to college here. Now, they were seniors. It made me laugh and then it made me feel old.

I just had to pass along this revelation to my buddy James. He was pleased to travel down memory lane with me. That is until I brought up about the ages of the High School cheerleaders. Then, he seemed pretty depressed. Well that is what friends are for . . . we pick each other up and knock each other down. The best thing about friends is that no matter how much time passes, they remain friends. Plus, the longer the friendship lasts the younger you feel every time you are in their presence. In the Kingdom of God, friendship is a head start on eternity together with God.

Life in Dallas

There are so many things to pursue. Living in Dallas-Fort Worth, everything is available. The latest technologies, the newest entertainment, world renown speakers, resources, opportunities and more. However, the remain people who are unable to access what is available. People who lack the information, connections, knowledge, or ability to reach what is available.

God is available. God is present. God is looking at you. The presence of God does not depend upon something you create, but upon your willingness to seek a God seeking you. God made heaven and earth. God does not need our religion, office space, sacred space, or even a chair. God created it all.

God looks at is the one who is humble. God looks at the one who is sincerely remorseful. God is looking for the one who is moved to tears at his word.

Miracle Neice

My closest blood relative . . . the woman who came from the same womb I did . . . experienced a miracle today.

My sister Kelly and her husband Michael have been unable to give birth to a child. For years they have prayed and tried and suffered through infertility. But, still no life. Last year they were chosen as adoptive parents. It was an answer to prayers. With little time to prepare, they readied their home, their lives, and their hearts to receive a baby. Every hurdle was passed with a bit more joy, until at the last possible moment . . . the adoption was canceled. It was the equivalent of a still born death. We were heart broken.

Then, amazingly Kelly got pregnant. A "one last shot" attempt with treatments worked! The last nine months have been anxious for me and I know they have been uncertain for Kelly & Michael. Yesterday, we met another of God's miracles, this one named Taryn.

Life never turns out the way we expect or plan or dream. However, the one true and living God is able to surprise us with life through our death.

Not Our Mission

My friend Steve is probably one of the kindest men I know. He follows Jesus everywhere.

Recently, he was reading the newspaper (warning: don't read the paper with Jesus - it can be very dangerous). He read about a woman whose roof had a huge hole in it. She had children living inside and no way to repair it.

He called her and found out the depth of the need. No one else had called.

The next day in Steve's class at church he invited anyone willing to add to the money he was going to contribute. He had $500 in his pocket after class. By the time he left church, he had $700. With Steve's action there ended up being more than a dozen local businesses and several different Christian denominations pitched in. There were dozens of people who worked and payed and donated their lives to fixing that roof in one day. A journalist from the newspaper showed up, everyone was thanked by name in the woman's thank you note. Another world was shown to be possible through willing hearts. Indeed, another world is possible.

One would think that the church would celebrate people's involvement in helping the poor. Steve was one of many Christians serving. Instead, his preacher took a different angle. He said that it was a "nice thing to do" but that this kind of effort "was not the mission of the church." Really? Are there still people (ministers) with small brains and hearts out there? The minister went on to associate this type of compassion with the "social gospel" movement or Marxism. It makes my head spin to try to grasp the logic of compassion in the name of Jesus being Communism.

Take a look at who Jesus spent his time with. Jesus spent his time with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 15:1-2). Jesus allowed adulterous women to touch him intimately in public places (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus was considered a drunkard and a glutton by the holy people because of who he chose to spend his time with (Matthew 11:19). Like Jesus we cannot be afraid to get dirty in the world.

Take a look at who Jesus blessed. Jesus called the poor blessed (Luke 6:20).

In the New Testament we are told what "pure religion" looks like. Interesting it is not preaching sermons or keeping doctrine pure or being on the right side of an issue). James said that pure religion is taking care of widows and orphans (James 1:27). Action not words.

The action of this preacher is only a sad footnote to an amazing story. The good news was expressed in action by my friend Steve. The difference was made by people willing to act and not talk about their faith.

I pray for forgiveness for the times I have discouraged people serving in the name of Jesus. To my friend, Steve, consider it pure joy when you are persecuted for serving in the name of Jesus. He never said it would be easy.

Box of Trophies

This weekend we raised the garage and let people haul off our possessions. Rather than feeling stolen from, we felt like we were making out like bandits. It is a wonder of America that people will pay you money, to take your old unwanted items, and haul them away for you. Garage sales just feel good (if you get past the days of preparation, sign posting, ad listing, and day spent on your feet).

We have been setting aside stuff for a sale more than one year. One of the boxes I needed to look through was marked "Brady's Trophies" and sealed up more than a decade ago. Hum. . . what did I consider a trophy that I had not looked at or displayed or even thought about in years?

Inside the box was a soccer trophy "Cosmos," a science fair trophy "Altus Science Fair," a trophy from a birthday party marked "Ryan's Olympics," a Quartz Mountain Christian Camp "Boy Christian Leader" plaque, and much more. What can be done with an old box of trophies? The trophy shop did not want them. They suggested giving them to a school or church. Do I save them for my kids? (to throw away someday . . . or just save them the trouble).

Every single thing I own right now will one day be of little to no interest to me. Things I love. Things I worked hard to earn. Things I protect and dust and wax and care for today . . . someday I won't know where they are or even miss them. Think about your first computer, first PDA, VCR, television, shoes, appliance, tool or whatever. It could be that right now you really want something desperately.

"All of these things I consider trash," says my friend Paul, "compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus." Paul was not referring to things he could sell in a garage sale. He was referring, strangely enough, to a list of religious achievements. Things like being born into a religious household, having the best education, mastery of the law, and perfect practice of following God. These were the things Paul left at the curb for disposal. These are normally things people put on display, but Paul displayed them in a trash bag.

Know Jesus Christ. This is an eternal quest that makes every other pursuit different.

One day almost every single trophy and treasure you have right now will be of little importance to you. The things you are sweating to buy. Those people you long to impress. The wallpaper you desire. The software that will make your work easier. Value changes as time goes by. When viewed from the end, most things are of little value.

What if we made our eternal quest the knowledge of Jesus? Then, we would have a treasure that would never end.

Know Jesus as Lord.

At Home With God

The Sabbatical is over, but the experience of God remains. We were so blessed to spend time away from administration, routine, email, phone, and the obligations of details to deepen our walk with God in solitude, silence, and prayer.

Thankfully there was no time spent detoxing in rehab, resuscitating a marriage, reflecting on a counselor's couch, or under the anesthesia of surgery. However, this was time when a far worse disease threatened me. It is the cancer that's as common as oxygen in our society - busyness. What makes it a far more severe cancer is that my "busyness" took place in the midst of "church busyness." One may be busy as a contractor and feel the need to reconnect to God. So you seek God, pray more, go to church, talk with a minister. One may be "busy" as a pastor and believe they are already connected to God and that relationship with God is fine. At that point, one has become unaware of how the cancer eats away at the soul.

When I realized that I had allowed "to do" lists to replace life with God, I began to make changes. Prayer with God became the focal point of my living and the beginning of my day. I reordered my priorities. I changed my schedule. I even began experimenting with prayer that never ends. God looked kindly upon my changes. I began to feel more at peace and more confident of God's control than I had in some time.

Within a few weeks and months, I was back to my old self. But I knew that I still needed extended time alone with God. The leaders of Singing Oaks gave me precisely what I asked - four weeks away to pray, read, and write. The first week of this time was spent in Comfort, Texas with the Pastor Retreat Network. Donna and I were alone without our kids for six days. We enjoyed the presence of God together and alone. We read a book out loud to each other. We talked. We prayed. We read scripture. We sat and listened to the stillness of nature that is the still small voice of God. It was an amazing experience.

In the second week, we drove to our children who were staying with their grandparents in the Texas hill country near Gonzales. We spent the week outside in the country. I would get up in the mornings while the sky was black and bright only with stars. I would watch as these far away lights slowly were dissolved into the overpowering light of the sun. I would spend hours each morning praying, reading scripture (Psalms & Epistles) and reading good books (Cost of Discipleship, Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, Game with Minutes, the Way of the Pilgrim and more). Eventually, I would return back to the house. The third week I spent away from my family. I was alone on a retreat at a retreat center where a spiritual director helped give me guidance for prayer. Then, I went to Oklahoma and spent five days there writing and researching. My dad met me at a cabin in Oklahoma and we were able to talk and read and be together. In the final week, we played nurse to Nathan, who had his tonsils and adenoids removed and ear tubes put in. The whole experience was tremendous, uplifting and most of all put my focus upon God.

Ok, not everyone can get away for so long of a time. Not everyone needs that much prayer and solitude, you say. Well, I did what I thought I needed to do to rediscover God in some very important ways. I have been reminded that God is far too good and far too mysterious to be messing around with us. But Praise to God, God is interested in us. I hope you will take your times away from work. Enter your busyness of your life as His smiling servant. And let each moment be a time of worship of him.

Where is Brady?

There are times in life when it is time to unplug from the race of life. Each day has a built in time of rest. The sun disappears, the sky darkens and our bodies grow weary. We rest. Each week there is typically a day that is spent away from work. Each year there is at least some time set aside for a vacation or a ceasing of activity.

After many years of ministry and ongoing continuing education, it was time for me to unplug. Working every weekend and being “on call” constantly can wear one down. That is not to mention life as a parent and husband. My life is no different from anyone else's. Many people stay very busy.

I do rest at night. I do very well to take a day each week to stop work. However, it is time for me to completely unplug and retreat into the presence of God. I have needed extended time of prayer and reflection. Donna and I learned at the Pastor Retreat Network that a “retreat” or a “sabbatical” is much different from a “vacation.” By definition a “vacation” is an attempt to stop work activity in order to return to work with greater strength. A retreat is an intensification of activity by intentionally withdrawing from daily life. A retreat focuses activity on solitude and spiritual discipline to draw closer with God.

So, what am I doing? I am resting. I am watching every sunrise. I am praying without ceasing. I am conversing with God and listening. I am journaling. I am reading classic books of Christianity by Bonhoefer, Keirkegaard, and Guyon. I am watching the sun set. I am spending time alone with God in nature. I am walking and talking with Donna. I am writing and working on a book. I am listening to other people preach.

Life can get the best of you. God wants all of you. Maybe it would do you well to take an afternoon off from work and pray. Maybe you might rest better by turning off the television and sitting and reading some Psalm like Psalm 40 or 27. Maybe you might do better at work if you tried to smile and pray for everyone you met, served, called, drove past, or ate with. God wants to live with you. Do you want to live with God?

Thanks for granting me time to actively retreat with God. Thanks for praying for me. To give you a window here are pictures I took on the property of Donna’s parents in the South Texas Hill Country. This was one of many sunrises I watched develop in the midst of prayer with God.

Old Friend

I ran across someone I had long since forgotten. This was someone about whose life I never really knew much. Frank Laubach is well known as an educator and is especially remembered for his work in the Philippines to promote literacy. He taught illiterate people the alphabet and in a matter of hours they were able to teach others the alphabet. This is how Frank is remembered as a master educator. He wrote countless books and is frequently cited in educational literature.

However, people do not know about the private side of Frank’s life. He was also a deeply Christian man. The richness of his devotion to God was revealed in his very active prayer life and also in his missionary work to the Philippine people.

What most interests me about Frank Laubauch is a very brief pamphlet he wrote on prayer. It seems that Frank began experimenting with keeping God ever on his heart and living in a state of constant prayer. His experiment grew out of a frustration that he had been a minister for about fourteen years, yet he did not have the kind of prayer life or relationship with God that he felt he should have. In a matter of a few months, Frank began attempting to contemplate (think about) God at least one second out of every minute throughout the entire day. It seems like a ridiculous venture, but one that comes out of a deep desire to have relationship with God. It seems like an impossible venture, but it is an adventure that, if you move past what seems like legalistic second-counting, actually describes an obvious and abiding relationship with God. I encourage you to read this short pamphlet (click here).

Even more, I challenge you to give it a try and experiment with ceaseless prayer. One of my favorite passages is written by a guy named Paul in a letter he wrote to the ancient town of Thessalonica in Greece.

Rejoice always,

Pray without ceasing,

Give Thanks in all circumstances

For this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

The old friend that we really need to reconnect with is God. How is it that people claim to be "Christians" or disciples or followers of Jesus and yet do not spend their lives in friendship with Him? Prayer and conversation with God is maybe something we do at meal time or hear at church. There is an old friend we need to reconnect with.

NFL Opposes Christians on Super Bowl

This is the weekend of the "Big Game" known as the. . . Super Bowl. I hope that I do not get sued writing about this. My friend Scott K told me about an article that ran in an Indiana paper. The news article dealt with threats from the National Football League upon a church party.

It seems that the church planned a Super Bowl outreach party, complete with snacks, drinks, and big screen televisions all held in the safe environment of a church. However, no place is "safe" from lawyers of the NFL. Since the church was charging for snacks, the NFL threatened to shut the party down. Lawyers of the NFL asserted copyright laws on this Baptist church sending a FedEX letter to the pastor demanding the party be canceled.

So, the church decided to remove the charge for the snacks. The hardball NFL still would not allow the party because the screen had to be 55 inches or less. The church was forced to cancel the party.

In the article, the NFL also took issue with the church's use of testimonies from NFL players and coaches. The NFL's hard line three-point stance against Christianity can be nothing less than hypocrisy.

Take a bar as an example. I cannot imagine how the NFL can allow bars and clubs and parties across the country to go without citation, and show zero tolerance in their office upon a church. Bars with fan are okay. Christians fans are not okay. Actually, the NFL is lining up in an anti-Christian offensive formation that should infuriate Christians, players, and fans. I wonder what will happen when people make their voices heard? If you can figure out a way to contact the NFL Commissioner please let me know.

Sons of Thunder

It is amazing what can happen in four days. On Saturday my Friend Al read the morning newspaper. That is a pretty harmless and mundane practice. On Saturday, he read an article that ran in both the Dallas Morning News and the Denton Record Chronicle about the motorcycle group the Sons of Thunder.

Six months ago Al was looking for the Sons of Thunder, a Christian Motorcycle group. Al could not find out anything about them. They were not in the yellow book and even the owners of Christian bookstores in Denton did not know their location. But this article contained a story that had little to do with Christian motorcycle hobbyists. These men had opened up their "club house" to allow a church in refuge from the hurricanes Rita and Katrina. One hundred and fifty people stayed in the "club house" turned makeshift hotel.

After the need for refuge disappeared and the church had left, there were twenty or thirty people standing around the club house, who had no where to go. For the last two years, the Sons of Thunder has allowed them to stay.

Al read the DRC article by a reporter who actually instigated the problem with the city. It seems their "club house" was out of code with the city as a "homeless shelter." What was intended as a run down club could not technically be used as a home for the homeless because it was not up to code.

Al came to the Rosemont Bible Study on Sunday morning across from the Singing Oaks Church of Christ on McKinney Street. He shared his sadness about the situation. Michelle's heart was touched by the thought of people in sub freezing conditions, who would within seven days be locked outside by the city (and a reporters reporting and code violation filling).

The sermon at Singing Oaks Church was about Jesus. I told the story of when Jesus broke the Sabbath in order to feed his hungry disciples and to heal a man with a hand (Mark 2:23-3:6). The law club known as the Pharisees did not appreciate Jesus' violations of Sabbath. So, they planned to destroy Jesus with the local politicians called the Herodians.

I expressed my sadness that a homeless shelter is not up to "code" with the city but that it is "code" to put people out on the street in the freezing weather. That does not seem "code" to me. Al could not get the Sons of Thunder out of his mind. Michelle could not get the sons out of her mind. She called Al and said that something must be done.

Al got in his truck and drove around Sunday afternoon, looking and looking for this building. It took finding a police officer who knew the building (because the police regularly drop people at this shelter). Al met with the leaders of sons of Thunder, Ben and Keith. Ben and Keith probably are close to the original Sons of Thunder, with the exception of a strong Christian humility that James and John lacked. Ben and Keith are the modern day representation of the two brothers whom Jesus gave the nickname "sons of thunder" (Mk 3:17)

James and John were fishermen. When they heard the preaching of Jesus and Jesus' invitation to "Come Follow Behind Me," these two brothers dropped their nets, left their father behind in the boat, abandoned the family fishing business and followed Jesus. James and John were men of action. James and John were also confused at times, requesting to be Jesus #1 and #2 men in the hierarchy of Jesus' new kingdom (Mark 10). The other apostles were not all that pleased with James and John's pursuit of greatness (probably because they wish they'd thought to ask Jesus first). Arguing over greatness would disappear from James and John, when they saw their king Jesus perform the lowest servant duty of washing their feet. Greatness was redefined.

James and John had the front row seat on the mountain of meeting with God, Jesus, and the great men of Judiasm. At another time, James and John were prepared to pray for fire from heaven to fall down on those who rejected Jesus as a king who must die (Luke 9:54). James and John were men of action.

The end of this story is that four days later the "Sons of Thunder" homeless shelter is saved. In the middle of prayer time on Monday morning, Bob and Don had an idea. The money was raised in its entirety. The committee said, "yes." People are ready to volunteer to make things "code." The metroplex now knows where the Sons of Thunder open their doors. They now know that action started in the heart of Al and in the willingness of a little church called Singing Oaks.

I am sure Jesus would be proud of this new installment of the Sons of Thunder, Ben and Keith, and their new thunderous brother Al.

* Love Yourself *

The familiar chords of an acoustic guitar gently surrounded the voice of Jeff Tweedy on Saturday night at the Granada in Dallas, Texas. My long-time friend and fellow music fanatic, James, took me to see the lead man of the alternative country group Wilco. In this one man setting, an all black Tweedy stood in front of six acoustic guitars. His acoustic music filled the place marvelously, especially the final song, which he played completely unplugged. Jeff Tweedy stepped out from behind the microphone, unplugged his guitar, and balanced on the very edge of the stage playing Acuff Rose to an extremely quieted crowd that erupted with his last chord.

High above his head, yet far below the sounds and lyrics of Tweedy was a banner stretched just below the ceiling. Two trite words hung together between two asterisk like stars. While the sparkling words were were no doubt a theme for someone (or some generation), they were out of tune with reality.

* Love Yourself *

You love yourself. Sad instructions for human beings that tend to hate themselves. These two words provide guidance in looking no farther than yourself for love. The two words seem to imply "You must love yourself because nobody else may." Or maybe the words were psychological instructions "you must love yourself before anyone will love you." Maybe the words were intended to be capitalistic "love yourself because its a dog eat dog world."

Is loving yourself . . .love? Love of self, while no doubt a good thing for a person to possess, may actually be out of tune with genuine love. When referring to people, love is an action or emotion or feeling towards someone else. Love that is true, genuine, lasting is a risk to loving someone who may not always love back. Love looks beyond the self to another.

There is a poetic section about love in an ancient letter written to people in Corinth. Love is something that is patient, kind, not strutting, putting up with anything, etc. In this piece, love is something I do to someone else or (if I am lucky) someone does to me. While I really need to love myself, it is an empty room of love if I never get past loving myself to loving someone else.

A good place to start with, if you are interested in loving someone else, shows up in another song. This is loving someone who already loves us. This other song that Tweedy sang last night (the same song that Wilco opened with in Fort Worth in the Fall of 2006) is Airline to Heaven. It is an odd song to come from the lips of someone in a bar, who has been an alcoholic and addicted to pain killers. But it is a song of love. Love has reached out to us. This song is a plea for us to reach out to the God who is perfect love. Read a few lines of the song and then I will challenge it to fly a little higher . . .

Airline to Heaven
There's an airline plane
Flies to heaven everyday
Past the pearly gates . . .

. . .Oh a lot of speakers speak
A lot of preachers preach
When you lay their salary on the line

You can hold your head and pray
It's the only earthly way
You can fly to heaven on time
Fly to heaven on time

Them's got ears, let them hear
Them's got eyes, let them see
Turn your eyes to the lord of the skies

Take that airline plane
It'll take you home again
To your home behind the skies

Your ticket you obtain
On this heavenly airline plane
You leave your sins behind

I enjoy this song. I appreciate the spirit of looking higher for answers. I love the Jesus, quoting Isaiah lines of encouraging us to see and hear the deeper meaning of what we are staring at and listening to.

The only thing I want to encourage is that the focus be off my obtaining love and off of salvation being something that happens at the end of life. While both are true. We cannot be passive invalids, we have to obtain it. And salvation does at one level occur at the end of life.

However, this saved life begins now. You love others (and yourself) because you have been loved. We love because God first loved us. This life of love is something that saves us right now and allows us to live the saved life right now. Well, I have rambled. Much less eloquently than music. So, I will leave you with one final how-to-guide for love that comes from 1 John 4:14-21. Click, Read, and Love someone else.

Moments of Insignificance

What is within a moment? A second. A few minutes. A lifetime on hold listening to the same song. Not much seems contained within an insignificant moment.

Last week the Dallas Independent School District Superintendent was ridiculed for failing to cancel services. Every other school district in every county around had canceled school due to icy, freezing conditions. We make decisions every day some are significant and others are insignificant. We do things every day that have eternal significance.

A friend shared a story about a snow day. She was a first grade girl bundled up on a snowy day. I imagined her as a poster child for the "Christmas Story" movie little brother who was a walking bundle of protection with gloves, hat, scarf and many layers. A group of first grade boys shoved her over into the snow. She could not get up. The next thing she remembers were some black gloved hands that picked her up out of the snow, set her down on her feet, brushed the snow out of her eyes, and gave her a blessing from God. The gloves were those of a Catholic priest. That long forgotten moment was for her significant. Because in those hands she found someone who knew God. From then on she wanted to know the God this priest knew.

Her story made me think of all the things I do every day. Some things I want to forget. Some are achievements I want to remember. But most things seem insignificant and disappear into the fabric of life. Most likely that priest would never remember this event. It was just something you do to help.

How we live in the small and secret moments of life defines our character. We become who we are on the inside. Our life is actually a lived out expression of the desires, intentions of our hearts. I have chosen to train my heart to become like the heart of Jesus. I can find no more genius person than Jesus. I can find no more reliable example of living life than Jesus Christ. While I am no where near getting my heart and desires in the shape of Jesus, I am trying with each moment to live as Jesus lives.

At&t or Cingular: Whose am I

me: They must be kidding.

Seven years ago I signed on with At&t wireless for a $30 per month cell phone. Our home area allowed no-roaming charges (a dark age term for some) in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. We only had 80 minutes per month, yet we had unlimited nights and weekends starting at 8 p.m.

you: Get to the point? Why am I reading this?

me: You are bored. This is a silly story. There might be a point, which is why you are still reading.

I signed on with At&t. Then, more than a year ago, Cingular ate At&t for lunch. I became a Cingular customer almost overnight. I had no vote. But I now was a "grandfather," being grandfathered into Cingular. Same plan. Same rate. Same sorry minute totals. But now seven years later, new name.

you: Okay, I am not seeing a point on the horizon. I like Verizon.

me: Three months ago Cingular sent me a letter explaining that they would soon be eliminating my network. They were phasing out At&t. Beginning that very month I would be charged an additional fee every month (I guess for being a grandfatherly drain on the largest Cell company in the business). I needed to upgrade to the new network, upgrade phones, change my rate plan, and who knows what else.

you: So what? Verizon has a nice name, too.

me: So, I migrated to a new plan, new phone, and a new higher rate plan. I was no longer an At&t grandfather in a network about to die. I was taken from the cellular nursing home and reborn as a Cingular child.

Which brings me to the news I read the news this week. Cingular is changing its name to At&t - the ALL NEW At&t. All that clever Cingular marketing, all that careful orange and blue branding with the little asterisk man . . . it will soon all be gone. I am again a grandfather so soon after being reborn.

you: [me: you've already stopped reading so I will have to ask your question for you] So what?

me: It is easy to feel passed around. I am used by companies who want my money. I am used by churches who want to count me in their numbers. I am used by marketers who want to reach me. I am an account number. I have no say in these things. I am an object. I am a "consumer."

Regardless of who is my cell phone carrier, where my parents are, or what I own, I am someone loved by an eternal God. You are someone loved by the God who made you. The God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow gives you a name "child of God." Talk to God.

With Me

Public prayers are rare. Schools do not have them as frequently, yet they remain in private classrooms. Public praying can be quite raw. Not in a vulgar sense but in an honest or or cliché manner. Public prayer is regularly unpolished. People will fight for the right to pray and others will fight to silence words to God. On the unusual occasion that one actually hears a prayer (most often in church) it may be rote or pithy.

For some reason I have been struck by one particularly bland cliché in prayer "God be with us." This is not an unusual request. This is not even an heretical request, unless it is to bless something evil within us. Actually, "God with us" is a refrain I would encourage people to pray. We want God to be with us in our problems, our life events, and in our difficulties.

The phrase got me thinking about a twist of the phrase. What if we were to more frequently pray "may we be with God" or specifically "may I be with God today." This phrasing could be a complementary balance to our insistence that God be with us, bless us and take care of us. There is room for us to alter our focus and be more active in being in the places where God is. This brings balance because it assumes that God may not be particularly interested in blessing some project of our own doing. It may be that God will not bless one more of our purchases, our petty worries about clothes that send a message, or our desires to please the people we want to please. What God may want is for me to be with Him.

May we be with God in this new era and enjoy the blessings of life with God.

Behind the Music

A few years back I bought a tiny MP3 player. My car has an audio cassette deck and a stereo. My very inexpensive CD player with car kit has no way to resume with the track you are listening and the power cable and the cassette adapter no longer work. The MP3 player allows me to carry the audio from multiple CDs with music, lectures, and programming in one tiny little box. It did not take much time to sell me on this media. Music is special

Music is potent. Portable Music is even more influential. Living plugged into music makes you feel like you are the star of your own movie. People tend to walk and move to the beat of the music and see that the music itself give meaning and movement to the common everyday events around them.

This day my prayer is that I am moving and walking and seeing the world to the music of my creator. May we come to know that he does view us like a parent behind the lens of a video camera, like a laughing mother behind the camera standing in front of her little girl. God loves us. God calls us to move in step with him.

Super Size Me

The golden arches of McDonalds have hovered for more than half a century over burger joints that now cross the globe. I have never been fond of their burgers, yet their fries. Many people talk about loving those Mickey-D fries. I high school two of my friends agreed with me that McDonalds had the best fries, Burger King the best burger, and Wendy's the best drink the Frosty. So, for lunch we drove through all three. We got hot fries from McDonalds, a charbroiled burger from BK, and we sat down at Wendy's with our Frosties. The Wendy's manager came out to observe our spread.

Donna and I typically avoid McDonalds because we like Wendy's and Burger King much better. Now that kids are in the back seat, we occasionally hit McDonalds because they have the best playground (of course). Those precious moments of glassed in separation make choking down fat a little easier.

This week we watched "Super Size Me" the movie documentary of the man who willingly chose to eat nothing but McDonalds food for one month. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served to Morgan Spurlock by McDonalds. Now, this was Morgan's own personal adventure and he did not have the blessing of McDonalds. Spurlock went to three doctors with different specializations general practice, cardiology, and gastrointestinal. Each doctor check him out carefully. While wondering about his mental stability and mentioning minor troubles, they gave him the all clear ahead.

Over the course of the four weeks he gained almost 25 pounds from 185 to 210, which was 13% body mass increase. His body mass index went from a healthy level to the overweight level. He suffered from heart palpitations, liver damage, depression, lost energy, and mood swings. It took Morgan nine months to lose the weight he gained in just one month.

After watching the film, we were certain that we would never again eat fast food (or at least limit the frequency of eating their). The most surprising thing was a scene that was in the extra footage of the DVD. They placed several McDonald's food items under glass lids to observe how they aged over several days, weeks and months: a Big Mac, a fish sandwich, french fries, a normal burger, and normal french fries. Amazingly the normal burger and fries began to mold almost immediately within days. It took several days before any of the McDs sandwiches showed any age at all. The biggest shock was the fries. After several months, they never even molded. They looked the same. Can you say processed?

What we put into our bodies must affect the health of our bodies. It should be obvious. How we eat, consume, and store away fat will affect our health.

If we do not care what we put into our stomachs, is it any wonder that we do not care what we put into our souls? Few people are intentional about the inner development of their soul or heart or will. To me, that is ridiculous. Many are content to shop for the best tasting soul fries from one drive-thru religious vender, the best religious burger from the hot writer of the month, and choke it all down with the smoothest spiritual smoothie.

I believe that our souls are becoming who we will be forever. I believe that a soul's best trainer is Jesus Christ. This person was completely human and completely divine. Jesus shows us how to develop for all eternity, but fewer listen.

I want to intimately know Jesus and the power of his life that would not end. If it takes sharing his sufferings and eventually death to achieve this new life, then count me in for eternity (Philippians 3:10-11).

Back in the Saddle

After a few weeks of Doctor required rest, I moved from an indoor stationary bike out onto concrete. I road the 62 mile Denton Power Rally ride on Saturday in about four and 1/2 hours. It was a great feeling to be back again.

I have thought many, many times that I was lucky to have escaped my crash with as few injuries as I did. A broken wrist that required only 6 weeks in a splint and no surgery. A separated shoulder that just needed three - six months of recovery time. I am very blessed.

Why is it that some of the craziest people escape injury and others stumble into it in a fluke? Why is it that some children are born in safe loving environments and others are born addicted to Crack cocaine? What separates triumph from tragedy, disease from health, and hardship and luxury is not much.

Perhaps you've seen the children's book "If the World Were a Villiage" by David J. Smith or the studies by various people. It is eye opening when one considers the world if it contained only 100 people.

52 are female 48 are male

70 non-whites and 30 whites

70 non-Christians and 30 Christians

6 persons possess 59 % of the world’s wealth

50 of the village inhabitants live on 2 dollars a day and 25 live on 1 dollar a day

50 persons suffer from malnutrition

70 persons are illiterate

80 persons live in poor-quality housing

20 inhabitants control 86 % of the GNP and 74 % of the telephone lines

11 persons have a car

1 person(yes, only 1) has a college education

This is pretty eye opening . . . heart wrenching . . . sad for those of us privileged 1%. I suppose that no matter how large this world may be (billions upon billions of people) this earth is still a village. The ratios of privilege do not change when we consider the millions of Americans around us that we think of as normal.

Check that . . . we are abnormally blessed. What are you doing with it?

No Go

There must be something to be learned from slamming into concrete at 23 miles per hour, but what is it.

Follow up x-rays revealed potential breaks in the scapula and in the clavicle bones. The Doctor was insistent and adamant that I not ride on Saturday. He told me directly that I was not going to ride. A MRI was ordered for the next day that was supposed to reveal for certain the nature of the injuries. He felt that we could get the results back late on Friday. I was bummed.

Well, the nurses and technicians at Clearsky MRI (which was a closed MRI by the way) expedited the data to the radiologist. I called the doctor at 5:00 p.m. and there was no information to be shared. I was down in the dumps Thursday and Friday. By Saturday I begin to realize that my prayers should be that there are no broken bones. That is what people were praying for.

On Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. the Doctor called me at the office and shared good news. I did not have a broken shoulder. My shoulder has a partially separated AC joint and bursitis, which would take 3-4 weeks to recover from and not the 3-6 months for a broken shoulder. I was relieved, but instantly began to regret not know this info on Friday afternoon. I would have ridden. The Doctor again told me that it was better that I not ride and better that I not ride for several weeks. The shoulder needs time to heal.

It is probably better that I did not get to go. I was a bit crazy to ride in 100+ degree weather, 100 miles, with a broken wrist, let alone a separated A C joint. It was good that I did not know the results and good that I took it easy. But I still missed going. Never mind that it was record heat, never mind that they closed the entry to the Century Ride 2 hours early because of medical cases - I still missed it.

What can be learned from hitting concrete?
#1 you don't actually break bones on a bike, but off a bike
#2 people typically do not have Good Samaritan sympathy (see last blog)
#3 nurses are not funny (i.e. the nurse who asked me if it was a stationary bike)
#4 some times God gets our attention and tells us to slow down

I realize that I am not invincible. I realize that I am not God. I realize that I cannot heal bones. I commit my life to God and commit to stop trying to be God at any opportunity. Here are some old words from a song writter with my reworking (Psalms 46:10-11).

Brady, Be still,
and know
that I am God (not you)!
I am exalted
among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth (even when you are on the concrete).

The God of all powers
is with you;
the God of people who lived long be for you
will also be your place of healing.