Words from WW Blog

WORDS FROM W.W. April 29, 2010

I’m into the progressive phase of my life . . . progressive lens in the eyeglasses. With the tilt of my head, I can do two things at once—I see clear enough to read what I was taking my glasses off to read before (because of my near-sightedness). I also look like an old man while I’m doing it. Some would say that the second thing is true regardless of my glasses. (You know you’re getting old when you decide on which restaurant to go to on the basis of whether or not they have a “senior menu.”)
Despite the improvement in eyesight I’m still flawed sometimes in being able to tell what is what. Eyeglasses don’t correct color blindness. When different shades of certain colors are close together I can mistake a green sign for a red placard. The fall colors aren’t that big a deal for me!
So I see what I see, helped or hindered by the lens I look through, sometimes confidently moving forward only to be fooled by what I thought was there but isn’t. To be sure, wearing my own glasses is not nearly as likely to cause me to fall off the side of a cliff as wearing someone else’s lens, but it does sometimes fool me into thinking my eyesight is 20-20.
Let me try this idea on for size! A dangerous principle to live by is reading God through our lens. Our eyesight, with or without corrected eyeware, is flawed and distorted. I sometimes see what I desire to see, and block out the contradictions.
“Why let the truth interfere with my vision?”
It goes against our thirst for control. It’s like that saying: “Hire a teenager…while they still know everything!” Most of us still think we know everything, we’re just more refined in how we share that fact with others. We give it different sounding names like “self-determined”, “street smart”, “wise beyond his years”, “self-confident”, “taking the bull by the horns”…resume’ sounding language like that.
Part of the spiritual unrest and whining today is related to “the lens” we confine our view to. The value of the people of God is in understanding that each person sees some of the picture, but not the whole scene. Most of the struggles that are a part of the church, and dare I say each person’s spiritual journey, involve too much confidence in my own sight and not enough confidence in what others are seeing. Suddenly the path is splotched with the blood of those who didn’t want to heed the warnings of a stone on the trail, or a lower tree branch that causes a “face plant.” I may not have seen the pitfalls through my lens, or didn’t want to see them.
Reading God through our own lens is a little like a 6 year old looking at the dinner buffet table that he can choose from. The vegetables are safe from being chosen, while French fries, tater tots, corn dogs, fried chicken legs, and everyone of the desserts do not escape his vision. He sees what he wants to see. (It’s one reason my wife won’t take me to buffets any more.)
Just to clarify! This does not mean that I’m not correct in my decisions. I’m just not correct all the time like I think I am.

WORDS FROM W.W. April 21, 2010

One of my flaws is that I enjoy watching the TV drama series “24”. If you’re not familiar with “24”, as Jack Bauer would say, “I’ll give you five seconds to find it!” Just kidding…maybe!
“24” is a series of events that happen in one 24 hour period. Each season has evolved out of a terrorist threat, or crazed revolutionary leader seeking to destroy a good sized chunk of the United States. Every ten minutes or so a digital clock comes on the screen to remind the viewer what time of this fictitious day it is.
It’s one of those action-packed shows that have more twists and turns than the Olympic snowboarding competition.
But this season has been a little too much for me! I still watch it, mind you, but it’s just a little…fruity! (I’m working on expanding my vocabulary.)
For example one of the President’s advisors suffers a heart attack, is held in an office for a while without any medical treatment, discovered, rushed by ambulance to the hospital, hooked up to monitors and fluids in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and now about 8 hours later (or 8 episodes) is back at the President’s side looking like he went to Palm Springs for the weekend. It’s like he just took two aspirin and changed suits.
Let me put it this way. If the story of creation was the basis for a season of “24”, It would have God creating everything, a rotten apple emerging, Adam and Eve having to take a bite of it at gunpoint, hiding in their nakedness from Noah’s ark that appears on the horizon, that is carrying the baby Jesus, that religious fanatics are trying to kidnap and fulfill a prophecy that would bring the end of the age of man to pass. In other words, God’s story from the beginning to the end of time could be covered in one season. I’m not sure where Season 2 would go from there.
A wee bit unrealistic.
I realize it’s TV, but…
…but, I’ve noticed there is a bit of a “24” mentality in many people’s lives. Problems need to be solved immediately, if not sooner. And Christians often make God the main character in their own “24” life series. “God, take care of it right now! I know the problem is the result of a long period of neglect, failures, and self-centered actions, but if you could bring some closure to this unfortunate situation it would confirm in my mind that you are the one and only all-powerful God. Five seconds!”
I’ve been noticing in scripture that “in God’s timing” often encompasses a long period of time. We talk about the Israelites wandering for forty years in the desert, but there are many other examples of God working…slowly! Abraham received the promise of a son when he was 86 and welcomed a new bouncing baby boy at 99. Either Sarah had a very, very long pregnancy or the timing was what God had in mind to punctuate the promise with his signature.
A couple of weeks ago I was reading about doubting Thomas. He had to see and experience the risen Christ for him to believe. The story, as told in the gospel of John, could have easily (In other words, it would have fit better in the “24” time frame!) had Thomas voicing his doubts, turning around and encountering Jesus right then and there. After he voices his unbelief, however, the next words say “A week later…” (John 20:26a) God allowed Thomas to wrestle with his questions and grief for a week, instead of bringing the Promised into his company right away.
How often do we reach for the instant blessing mix because we’re spiritually impatient people? Our lack of patience uncovers our lack of maturity.
“But…but God knows I need an answer right now!”
And sometimes God answers “Not yet!”
Most of the time that’s not the answer we’re looking for!

WORDS FROM W.W. April 13, 2010

The electrician is here at the church today. We’re upgrading our lighting. Well…upgrade might not be the most accurate term. It’s more like getting lighting in our library that will allow someone to actually be able to see the words of the book that they’re trying to read. It’s along the lines of saying my grandparents got upgraded when they put in indoor plumbing…which, by the way, I remember happening! I don’t know…I think going from generic to Kellogg’s Rice Krispies is more of an upgrade than that.
We’re replacing dimmer and diminishing lights that use more power with brighter lights that use less power. Would someone explain that one to me?
Plus, we’re replacing lights that are there, but don’t work anymore, with lights that will work. What a concept!
The entrance that most of our congregation uses is the darkest entry point into our building of any. It’s like visiting Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, except darker.
The entrance that most of our congregation uses is the darkest entry point into our building of any. It’s like visiting Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, except darker.
This didn’t happen all at once. It gradually got that way. One of the lights started flickering, then it was okay, then it was flickering, then it was out, back on, out again…you get the jest. After a while people get used to it. Kind of like your dog’s bad breath. You love him to death so you live with “breath that could kill a cow.” It just becomes part of the whole package.
But in our building several of the light fixtures have reached that “hospice point”. New lighting is about to shine new light on the matter.
Being the astute reader that you (obviously) are, you’ve probably already started to figure out the direction that this article is heading. Sometimes the light starts to dim in the church and no one notices until it’s too dark. And yet, scripturally “light” is one of the defining nouns of the Body of Christ. Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.” (Matthew 5:14-15a) But what about light that isn’t intentionally hidden, but just gradually dims?
Perhaps the flickering or dimming of our passion for God is what we need to be conscience of. (I’m reading through the bible this year. About the time I reach Job there is some flickering that happens in my light.)
In terms of being the people of the God, the tendency is for those outside of the church (And I don’t mean the building!) to be able to sense, if not see, light-dimming taking place more often than people of the church sense it. It goes back to the principle of your dog’s bad breath. You’re used to it, but your new neighbor, who is sitting on your couch, might have a problem with it. On the other hand, if there is someone you want to make sure never “darkens” the door of your place again, you might intentionally put your dog in his face.
In our church a few light adjustments and changes are going to make a world of difference. One of the new lights is simply being re-positioned. The new outlook seems to be changing how most of the area around it looks. Perhaps if we get enough new light the whole place will be transformed. The church will be exposed for who we are…supposed to be, not who we’ve been when things come to light.
One last light bulb that just came on! Too much light is blinding. Like in the old days when the school photographer would come to take class pictures and everyone would walk around blinded for a few minutes afterwards. It’s no wonder we looked so “uncertain” in the photos! Likewise, the church has too often been a “flash in the pan.” Bright lights for a moment, and then hit the dimmer switch!
Abundant light is not blinding light. Abundant light is hope seen, and the possibilities illuminated. Abundant light draws not cause annoyed squinting.
Next week a guy comes to look at the garbage disposal. I’m curious what kind of insights God will bring into my fat head then.

WORDS FROM W.W. April 6, 2010

It’s the Tuesday after Resurrection Sunday. Jesus has arisen just as he has said he would each year about this time. A few years ago Tony Campolo did a talk about “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”
For pastors we have to admit that there’s a sequel “It’s Sunday, but Tuesday’s coming!” It’s the pastoral equivalent to post-partum blues, except we call it “post-resurrection blues.” Jesus is out of the tomb…and we know half of the crowd will be back in church next Sunday! One of my Lutheran pastor friends…in jest, mind you…said “Jesus stuck his head out and then went back in. That means six more weeks of Lent.”
It’s an odd situation. We’ve walked the road to the cross, and then proclaimed the hope and celebration of the open tomb, and now we’re struggling to keep the energy of the moment of victory. Kind of like when a team (I flinch when I say Duke!) wins a championship, and the day after reaching the pinnacle people start talking about the challenges of next year’s team. No time to enjoy the moment. Got to move on to April 11th!
Don’t throw rocks at me! I feel bad enough. I wish every Sunday would be filled with chocolate and Peeps! My hope is that the congregation will give me a little “Amen nudge” this coming Sunday, a little motivation for a tired preacher.
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence- an ironic twisting of time sparked by the Spirit- that this week’s message is focused on Thomas- not my nephew, but the disciple, the doubter, the one who was having a hard time moving away from the image of the cross and a stone that was still in place.
There is some kind of parallel there. Thomas doubted because he hadn’t seen the risen Lord yet. Many Christians today doubt because they haven’t seen him either. Thomas doubted because he hadn’t moved from the past to the present. Many Christians struggle because the present is harder to live in than the past.
Thomas was cynically doubtful about real hands with nail marks. A lot of present-day believers are cynical about the place of faith, and the relevance of the church.
The days after Resurrection Sunday are about new birth, new beginnings, starting over when we thought it was all over. It’s the heading towards the next big event in the church calendar- not Mother’s Day, but rather Pentecost.
I’ll keep my eyes on that. I’ll still have to suck it up a little bit this week. It’s similar to our youngest daughter’s coming itinerary- the celebration and exhilaration of graduating from college…followed closely by the reality of now needing to find a job!
That’s a little different than post-resurrection blues. It’s called “post-graduation bank statement in the red!”

WORDS FROM W.W. March 28, 2010

Quite often I feel privileged (okay, I’ll use the spiritual terminology here–I feel blessed!) to be a pastor. Pastors are different people. We are driven, but try to look peaceful. We are multi-tasked, but rarely multi-taskers. We’re goal-oriented, but “people persons.” We’re expected to be fluent in our understanding of Scripture, but are always behind in our reading. We’re administrators, who are expected to be out and about. Or perhaps we’re out-and-about people, who are expected to be administrators.
Those last parts of our job description are why we are often confused. When we’re working on the Sunday message we feel guilty that we’re not with a person in need of some counseling, but when we’re sitting having a cup of coffee with someone in need . . . and we use that excuse for not having a sermon ready the next Sunday . . . the sanctuary will be punctuated with raised eyebrows.
Here’s what a lot of pastors feel . . . deep, deep down. People look to how we’re living and relating to God to give some credence to their weekly commitment to us as their pastors. We’re like spiritual college football coaches who have the support of the boosters’ club until a few losing seasons get strung together. The difference with pastors is that the “wins” are a combination of how people are feeling spiritually, and whether or not the people are perceiving the relationship between their pastor and the Lord as being close to another Mount Sinai experience.
A little cynical, I know! But pastors are half-cynical, half-trusting. We’re faith-filled followers who too often resemble the disciples in Matthew 28:17. “When they saw him (Jesus), they worshipped him, but some doubted.” That’s us! Robert Schuller on Sunday, and Ricky Schroder on Monday.
People look to their pastors to model Christian maturity, while still expecting to see growth in their spiritual walk with God. But there’s a tricky catch.
In our church we have someone who has just left the military after 13 years to follow God’s call into the ministry. He’s a thirty-something first-semester seminarian. And we also have a mid-thirties couple who left financially secure positions to join different branches of the armed forces. We applaud the growth and new directions that God calls people into. God called another couple to leave us a few years ago to become full-time missionaries in British Columbia. We’re taken back by their faithfulness and obedience. It’s a radical shift that echoes of their commitment to the Lord.
The catch for pastors is that we’re expected to be changed, to be grown, in our walk, but the climate of the church is expected to not change. That is, people want the Lord to touch a pastor’s heart to the point that it doesn’t mess up things at church. It’s like getting a new flat screen TV at home. We’re delighted with the upgrade, but the furniture is going to stay in the same place.
Changed sameness. It’s an uncomfortable quandary. If you don’t think your church has that “changed sameness” attitude think of your reaction if one or more of the following happened:
• The seating in the sanctuary got rearranged to help the pastor communicate the theme for a worship service.
• Donuts got replaced with fruit on Sunday morning.
• There was not a Sunday bulletin the week of Earth Day.
• One Sunday the communion bread is hush puppies.
• Someone spills coffee on the sanctuary carpet.
• God blesses a congregation with a drummer.
• A visitor sits in your spot.
• Too many strangers show up on a Sunday.
Perhaps in your mind none of those would be any big deal. I have to admit the appearance of grapes and the disappearance of glazed donuts would be hard for me to swallow. We’re all dieting . . . tomorrow . . . or after the pastries are all eaten . . . or the ice cream carton has been finished off . . . or . . . .
Changed sameness. Our prayer may sometimes be about changing us on the inside, because change around me is hard to handle.
With that being said I’d better close. I try to keep the word count of my columns pretty much the same, and this one is getting totally out of control.

I’m two days removed from spending about 27 hours at a retreat center run by a group of Benedictine nuns. Our group of pastors that have been meeting monthly for about a year and a half went there to “draw to the side” and examine our spiritual lives.
No internet. No Facebook. No cell phones…most of the time.
Carol told me to leave my pajamas that have penguins all over them at home. She didn’t think that would be very flattering to wear penguin pajamas around a group of nuns. (Of course, why would the sisters be seeing me after I had put them on in preparation for night-night time? I suppose there could have been a fire alarm in the middle of the night and there I would have been sporting black-and-white penguins in the midst of stern looks!)
The Benedictine sisters gather for prayer three times a day- 7:45 in the morning, noon, and 5:00. During the course of a month they pray through the whole book of Psalms in their gatherings. We were welcomed into their gathering like children attempting their first steps being greeted and encouraged by glee-filled parents. We journeyed with them, seven American Baptist clergy with twenty or so nuns, as different psalms and prayers were echoed.
I felt a little bit like a technologically-challenged older adult in front of a new computer.
• “Where’s the On-Off switch?”
• “What are all these pictures and F5’s and how do I turn the volume down?”
• “I can actually pay a bill through my computer. How do they know it’s me if I don’t show them a picture ID?”
In the prayer gatherings, however, the sisters guided us through the experience with encouraging smiles and quiet directions.
What I was struck by was the rhythm of their reading scripture. They sit on two sides of the chapel facing one another. The reading would be divided between the two groups. As one group finished a verse there would be a brief pause before the other group began. The pause revealed our “”rookie status”. Our group of pastors would be the ones who would jump into the words one syllable too soon or a word too late. The sisters were as synchronized as an Olympic rowing crew.
We got better. They were already there.
What occurred to me as I reflected on that later was that the rhythm of the reading, the symmetry of the sisters, was a verbal expression of their living in community with one another. They have journeyed together not just for an hour on a Sunday morning each week, but every day all day. The richness of their lives is planted in their spiritual relationships with God, and as a result they look for something of Jesus in each of their companion’s lives.
I find that it is hard to find that rhythm in churches today. It may be one reason why the house church movement has blossomed. People are looking for the rhythm of community, but too often find the chaos of an institution. Not that the Benedictine sisters don’t have their share of problems. One of them at age 40 is battling cancer. One of them had taken a leave from the monastery to just be away for a while. They have many personality clashes because they are together for much. I guess you could say “Their dinner dishes get dirty just like ours.”
But they are seriously serious about working out the problems through personal prayer, community prayer, and the shared wisdom of the community.
In churches today, disagreements too often result in someone heading for the exit. Perhaps community is hard to experience because my agenda is seen as being more important than yours…and vice-versa. As long as you have to do all the work I’ll be fine…or vice-versa!
Rhythm. We joke that we are a church of rhythm-impaired people. Musically we extend a lot of grace to one another. The rhythm of community needs a dose of grace as well, but before grace can be offered there must be a commitment to pursue that rhythm.

WORDS FROM W.W. March 9, 2010

I was raised in Kentucky, the Bluegrass State- the state where every other barn had either “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco” or “See Rock City” painted on the side of it. Kentucky was, and is, a wonderful place. Don’t let the mint juleps at the Kentucky Derby fool you, sophisticated mixed drinks don’t define this state. It is about as homey and laid-back as you can get.
One of the food items that is part of Kentucky culture, as well as in the other southern states, is grits. I’m not sure why, but grits has gone mainstream. Maybe it’s the ripple effect of Cracker Barrel restaurant! Whatever it is, people seem to think its “cuisine chic” to order grits at food establishments where it is offered. If it was called “gruel” the response might not be as favorable, or seem flavorable.
Don’t let anyone fool you by saying they love grits. The might like it smothered in butter, or sweetened with sugar, or, in my case, mixed with some sausage gravy, but the number of people who love grits…plain grits…can be counted on one hand that has even lost most of its fingers.
I firmly believe grits was added to the southern breakfast plate because there needed to be something to fill in the open space. There were the eggs…the bacon and sausage…and the biscuits opened and closed on a gracious spreading of butter and honey.
There was still a space to be filled. Throw some grits on top of that opening!
No one eats their grits first. Most people go for a piece of the bacon or a bite of the sunny-side ups. Grits are the filler when the good stuff is all gone, and yet any typical southern breakfast will give more acreage to the grits than the more flavorable items on the plate.
It’s not that grits have no purpose. In places around the globe that are impoverished, grits, or a form of them, make up the difference between life and starvation. It’s just that in our culture they get too much play. People talk fondly about them, but a taste of them is not usually followed by a smile or even an expression of satisfaction. Oatmeal has a higher approval rating.
Grits, however, is a good visual analogy for how many of us live our lives. What is void of joy is what we fill our plate with. What is soul-satisfying gets pushed to a little space on the edge.
“Give me a taste of that stuff right there that consumes 60 hours of your week.” (Pause as the life taster samples the product.) “Wow! That must have taken a lot of effort to make something that is completely lacking in taste and flavor!”
“What’s this that has dropped off your plate?” (A finger swab to sample.) “Wow! That is exquisite. That is delightful. It’s like a taste of heaven. What do you call that? The sweetness of knowing the Savior.”
Remember! “The grits of life” is meant to just be filler, not the main entrée’. Take a look at your life plate. What are the main things that are feeding your daily appetite?

WORDS FROM W.W. March 3, 2010

We are a pack-rat people! There are piles of accumulation around us and we can’t let go. For many of us it’s how we keep some sense of life control. We’re afraid that releasing will bring us to the edge of the unknown. Like the Hebrews whining to Moses about their loss of being enslaved, we tend to defer to what has been “the known” rather than release our grip and experience freedom.
Our possession is the most visible expression of this tight grip on life, but as I’m writing this I’m thinking of other, perhaps less obvious, ways that we don’t let go. There’s the accumulation of the years with our children, and then one day we realize that they’ve grown up, matured, and don’t need our mothering or close-at-hand fathering any more. But it’s what we’ve known, it’s what we’ve become accustomed to, and it’s what we’ve allowed to define us. Letting go at that point is heartache personified. They have been our kids!
We’re not anxious for them to be adults.
There’s the letting go of our parents, or the letting go of our spouse or sibling who is in the winter of their life. How often do we cling to the shell of the person who we have grown old with? How possessive have we become of the one who is now closer to heaven than he is to earth? We sometimes think we’re being heartless when we release the dying to the Lord. The void that is viewed by the empty seat beside us is too much to be willing to bare.
There is also the reluctance to let go of our will in order for the Lord to do His. Each Sunday worship includes multiple references to words like “faith”, “ trust”, and “believe”, and the rest of our week could e characterized as a time of having a death grip on our personal agenda. Surrendering all is easy to sing about, but like oil and water in practicing.
The ironic point is that we are called people of faith, the trust-and-obeying types. We stress the Lordship of Christ in our theology. We talk up accepting Jesus as being our Lord and Savior, and then we spend a lot of the rest of our life living it down.
We rationalize that is why there is grace.
Don’t think I’ve got it figured out. I’m just as self-centered and wanting to be in control as the next guy. I’m afraid that if someone stood up this Sunday in the worship service and asked to share a word from the Lord, I’d respond to “Get to the back of the line!” Letting go of the sermon time is difficult for me, especially when I’ve spent so much time preparing it.
We’re pack-rats in a multitude of ways. How do we get past that?
Sometimes we get past it as a result of something getting ripped out of our hands. God knows that there are situations in life where he must be in a pulling motion to get us to move on to the next point in our journey.
I was just reading a story in Acts 21 about Paul heading towards Jerusalem. A prophet named Agabus has told him that he will be bound by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles (the Romans). Those who hear this try to dissuade Paul from going, and Paul’s respond to their hold is “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Then Luke writes this summary comment of the situation. “When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.”
Perhaps that’s what it comes down to, “the Lord’s will be done.” How comfortable are we letting go and letting God?

WORDS FROM W.W. February 21, 2010

There was a movie called The Bucket List that was about two men who are in their last days. They make a list of things they want to do, places they want to see, conversations they want to have, before they “kick the bucket.”
It was one of those films that make you think about life, about your purpose in life, and, ultimately, your death. Sorry to be morbid or depressing, but too often we don’t think about the next life because we’re too focused on this world. I believe there is a better middle point, if you will, that considers all of life- this and the next. Instead of dividing it into a “this and that” or “before death and after demise”, perhaps we need to develop “a bucket list” that contains what our hopes are for now and eternity.
The thought occurred to me the past two days as I was experiencing a trip to Duke University with three friends of mine. Having an affection for basketball (People who know me knows that goes without saying.), being able to go to Cameron Indoor Stadium and see a Duke basketball game from the fourth row behind the Duke bench, as well as shooting free throws on the main floor the night before in an empty arena, was an incredible experience. Although being a Michigan State Spartan and a University of Kentucky Wildcat, I was “into” the Duke experience. (One Christian Laettner buzzer beater wasn’t going to spoil the whole trip for me.)
It made me think about what else would be on my list? What is my bucket list for this life and the next? Here’s the beginnings of one that will continue to be added to as I ponder it more:
• See the heart of a community and a church become enmeshed with one another.
• Write a book…and then another…and then…
• Officiate in the state high school basketball tournament.
• Sit on the bench as a coach for a high school team that is playing in a state high school basketball tournament (Obviously, not at the same time as the previous item on the list.)
• Know without a shadow of a doubt, (perhaps because the Holy Spirit has whispered to my heart) that someone’s eternal destination was re-routed because of a conversation the two of us had.
• To be able to understand scripture clearly…even Revelation!
• To be able to talk with God in a way that seems like, without minimizing His holiness, that he’s sitting across from me in a booth at a Starbucks.
• To be able, with my wife, to take our grandkids on a multitude of trips that will make them giggle with glee.
• To visit Italy again.
• To be able to understand why God allows certain things and not others to happen. In other words, to one day in eternity to see the whole panoramic view of time and connect the dots.
• To have stepped foot in every one of the fifty states.
• To read every book in my personal library…not just look at them.
• To know that I just encountered an angel.
• To be able to eat seafood every day for a month…freshly caught mind you! Not fish sticks!
• To go to an NCAA Final Four (Back to Basketball!)
• To sit with Carol in our family room with a fire going in the fireplace…and the TV off!
• To baptize my grandson…and any other grandkids that might come on the scene.
• To be able to study, reflect, and write for an extended period of time without having to work about the administrative details of a pastor’s weekly routine.
• To take a road trip with Dave Volitis.
• To go back to Zanesville, Ohio, and have a pizza from Adornetto’s Pizza, the best pizza I’ve ever had even though it’s been 41 years since I had the last one.
• To take my son on a road trip to major league baseball stadiums.
• To hike the Grand Canyon.
• To anonymously give some kind of gift that will change the course of a person’s life.
• To welcome the end of this life because I know God’s purpose is being fulfilled. (“Has been fulfilled” is a term that I believe only comes after the final breath. Until then, we are in the process heading towards fulfillment.)
• To see Jesus.
That’s a start! As soon as I sign off ten more things will occur to me, but I guess what I’m saying is that I’m thinking about life, what it looks like, what gives it substance and flavor. Too often we think about that when it’s too late to think any more.

WORDS FROM W.W. February 11, 2010

A friend of mine recently brought my attention to a couple of verses in the New Testament letter to the Philippians. The Apostle Paul wrote these words:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)
Contentment.
When I did a Google word search the first listing that came up on the page was “Happiness Massage Lotion”. As I get older and my back gets more and more dysfunctional massages sound like great ideas, but I hesitant to equate contentment with a body lotion. I’ll go with relaxing, but contentment…
Advertising tries to sell us contentment. Watch a commercial about a new Ford, Golden Corral restaurant (“Graze to your heart’s content…or until it gives out!), or even lawn fertilizer and you will see expressions of contentment on the faces of those hired to look contented.
In essence, people are searching for contentment but find it for only temporary moments. A new vehicle is fine until the first car payment comes due. A green lawn is gratifying until it goes uncut for a couple of weeks…and those dandelions start popping up! I know of no one who is contented with Golden Corral about an hour after they exit. Can you say “Alka-Seltzer?”
The secret, as Paul writes, is being firmly rooted in the One who defines contentment. If I believe that Christ is the hope, the life-giver, the reservoir of strength, and the One who gives my life purpose, then I will be content in the good days and the bad, the hard times and the prosperous moments. Being rooted in Christ allows us to live with a sense of contentment instead of always having contentment be something that is still somewhere in our future, or when we reach a certain position, or have the mortgage paid off, or have grandkids, or don’t have to worry about what time we wake up in the morning. Contentment with Jesus is a present and future situation, not a “hoped for sometime” destination.
There is a tendency to allow the times or others to determine whether we’re contented or not. In the midst of demanding financial times a lot of people are pulling their hair out. Expenses exceed income. Trips to Goodwill outnumber trips to Target. Generic is the main label in the cupboard. There is much fretting and sleeplessness.
Without minimizing the pressures of the times on families and individuals it is important to figure out who is the source of contentment. Paul makes it clear that he is contented whether he’s going hungry or feasting. The external factors do not dictate his heart passion and sense of calling. You get the sense that Paul was content whether he was sleeping in jail cell or a Sealy Posture-pedic.
People are restless these days. There is a lot of searching happening…but not necessarily for what will leave us plenty contented.