Gutsy Faith

I just finished "Gutsy Faith" this weekend. I'm a bit behind on my reading, but am getting close to being caught up.

Here what I loved in my friend Jeff's book:
1) Stories - lots of stories. I love stories. I also loved that Jeff used lots of real life examples that we all can connect with. Nicely done.
2) Lots of Scripture - it seems to be a no brainer in a book about Christian faith, but a cursory look at what's on the shelves of most Christian book stores will prove otherwise. Jeff's use of Scripture every step of the way show his passion for connecting people with THE STORY as well as his passion for that Story in his own life.
3) Readability - it's an easy read, but not in a simple way. Gutsy Faith goes to some deep places, questioning some things that are core to our faith, but does it in a way that anyone can read.

Some things I thought could be better:
1) Overall layout - I just found myself wishing that the section headings were more helpful. The chapter titles were good, but in going back to reference something, the subheadings just didn't really reveal anything as to what was actually in that part of the text. Maybe just my opinion and maybe just being picky.
2) I wish Jeff would have brought the community piece in more. He seems to hint around at it quite a bit, but he never comes out and talks about the importance of the role of community in knowing God's will for your life. Maybe he doesn't value it, but I don't really think that fits with all that he calls us to.
3) A stronger connection between every chapter. As I mentioned above, I love that he used lots of stories, but perhaps there could have been one story that he continued to refer to which would pull everything together. Again, probably me being picky.

Overall, I really enjoyed the read and would recommend it to anyone. I especially think it would be helpful for people in transitions.

Good job Jeff!

Is Preaching really about story?

This question was offered up to me like a slow pitch softball in a lunch conversation last week. The question is not really that easy, per say, its just that the person who asked it had no idea what they were in for when they asked ME :-)

I'd love to hear some people thoughts on the role of story and narrative and preaching. I have some thoughts, which I will share as we continue, but I'm curious as to what you all might think. To get things started there are two quotes I'd like to throw out there:

"Truth naked and cold had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people. When Parable found her, she was huddled in a corner, shivering and hungry. Taking pity on her, Parable gathered her up and took her home. There, she dressed Truth in story, warmed her and sent her out again. Clothed in story, Truth knocked again at the villagers’ doors and was readily welcomed into the people’s houses. They invited her to eat at their table and warm herself by the fire."

- Jewish teaching story


And this offering which comes from an interview from the infamous "Wittenburg Door" magazine with one of the greatest story tellers of our generation, Garrison Keillor.

Door: Any suggestions on making sermons better?
K: Yes. First, I think that people want to hear the gospel in the form of a story. There’s a story at the heart of every sermon. I think sermons fail when they take that story, stick it in a corner, and make it into a lecture. That won’t work for people.
Door: Why not?
K: A story allows people to come into it. You can somehow envision yourself as a participant in a story. It engages the imagination in a way that a lecture does not. In order for a lecture to draw people in, it really has to be a sustained experience. Twenty minutes is definitely not enough time.
But a story has a magical power to draw people into it. If you simply describe specific details of a landscape, if you crate a street in a small town in Midwest in January on a Sunday afternoon in North Dakota with the drifts plowed up high along the sides of the road and steam coming out of the chimneys of a few homes on the edge of town, and beyond that a great sea of snow on fields perfectly flat and broken by tree lines around farms – you’ve just created a landscape that someone will be imagine himself in. And then something else can happen.
Door: What?
K: You can draw him out of himself and into this place in the imagination. The story of Job draws us into it. The parable of the prodigal son is easy for me to imagine anyway. Most of the other stories in the New Testament draw people in, as well.

Water Fire Wind... and Earth?

In a stunning twist of God's comedic humor, I have returned from vacation only to find that Tim Keel, our pastor from Jacob's Well, is doing a series that includes the elements of creation - earth, air, fire and water. Hmmmm... Could it be a mass consipiracy? Doubtful. But one never knows... Either way I highly recommed listening in on the series. He has done an intro week, earth and air and will be doing water this week. I feel like I could do this series - not in the same way or as well, but because I've spent the last year in these three elements and Scripture. God must be up to something here.

We're Back...

We are back from a great vacation and I'm digging through 3 weeks worth of mail, email and voice messages. We had a great time on our vacation in Maryland, Michigan and Indiana (and places along the way). We got to hang out with the Snows (including the newest edition Ryan) in the inner harbor of Baltimore, we ate crabs and ice cream with Josh and Aubrey (where I also learned to attract bats with my sandal), hung with the Youngs a bit at their home, stayed a night with Jim and Sue and James Dougherty, saw and visited with lots of other friends and got to visit and preach in Bel Air! We also visited my parents and my brother Kevin and his family in Michigan, saw my brother Steve and family, and stopped by Carol's sister's to hang with the cousins. We all had a great time!

It was a great reminder of the extensiveness of God's Kingdom and our friendships. Believe it or not, we also got some rest! Now we're back to Kansas and 100+ degree heat. Since home, I've changed out a toilet kit and we've gotten a new hot water heater. I hope that's all the home improvements for a while.

Swingin' in OKC

This stop on my journey is in Oklahoma City at Southern Nazarene University. Good to make some new friends and connect with some old! Great to see some of my Bel Air (Mike, Katelynn, Weston, Austin, Andrew, Bambi, Denise, the Moots [Hannah is huge!!] and a few others) and Mid-Atlantic friends (Renee thanks for not throwing anything at me!). Also great to see my brother Kevin who is here with a team. As soon as I finish this post I'm headed to meet with him for a late lunch.

One quick thing that struck me - I was in this restaurant that stands as a place keeper for the 60's. It had all 60's (and a few 70's) stuff on the wall and as decorations. While it was a little entertaining to see, I wondered how much this is like a lot of our churches. Do we put things up on the wall that tell us the story of yesterday? Do we play only music from a by-gone era? And if we do is that so bad?

A highlight for sure was the chance to walk in the sanctuary at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. You probably have never heard of it - I hadn't - but it has the most beautiful glass windows I have ever seen. They are not stained glass but have that look. The artwork is actually printed within the glass and it is spectacular. We met with Jason Johnston who was kind enough to share with us all his knowledge on the glass and the sanctuary. There are no pics on their website yet of the glass, but he said that they are redoing their site and will have some up soon. I hope so. I could have spent weeks looking at them.

How does this compare to the 60's diner? Well there is a whole beauty and art issue here, but I guess my heartburn is that if we only tell that story and don't reimagine and tell our story of God at work today, then perhaps we've missed the point all together.

Next week I have vacation and I'm so looking forward to it. I'm tired and trying not to let it show.

DCLA was awesome and a huge help to me and the NYC team. I learned so much from some of the event coordinators as they did their trouble shooting, dealt with convention center staff, oversaw medical issues, etc. It was just plain great. I met some new friends there too which is always awesome! I also walked a LOT. Meanwhile... Carol and the kids PLAYED! They are having a great time with Maryland friends and being back in the east!

I've been invited to preach on Sunday at Bel Air and am excited and slightly nervous to do so. I haven't preached since my last sermon there and I have this mixed feeling of pressure and joy to be with them again. Anyway it should be fun!