BÜX: BEYOND BUMPER STICKER ETHICS

One of the books that I had a chance to finish off while Monica and I were down in Carmel was Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics, by Steve Wilkens. I found it in my office, and it seemed like it would be an interesting read. Wilkens is a professor of religion and philosophy at Azusa Pacific University (Peter is taking a class from him right now), and I think that this book is probably what is used as the textbook for his Ethics class. Wilkens defines ethics as "the process of how we work through moral issues." I find this issue to be extremely significant, because it answers the question, "What do we as Christians do?" For those of us committed to living out our faith in Jesus today, the issue of how we decide upon the actions we choose is incredibly significant, and so I was really excited to be challenged and stimulated in my own journey towards developing a better foundation for the way that I make decisions in the Way of Jesus.

I really enjoyed the book - Wilkens writes in a way that is academic and thorough, but very readable. The format of the book centers around a series of what he calls "Bumper Stickers": short little catchphrases that he uses as jumping-off points to examine different ethical systems. He uses the phrase, "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do" to describe and critique the ethical system of Cultural Relativism, and "All You Need is Love" to describe Virtue Ethics. He gives a summary of each ethical system, describes the positive elements, and then offers some critiques of each.

Wilkens does not conclude this book with a cut-and-dried description of a comprehensive Christian ethical system - I see the wisdom in this, because the truth is that the convictions that govern our actions cannot be neatly wrapped up and applied in every situation. But Wilkens does say that the point is not necessarily to come to a finite end at which all ethical decisions will solve themselves, but to strive with compassion, wisdom, and truth to do that which brings Glory to GOD, whether it's deciding whether or not it's OK to download TV episodes off of YouTube or giving money to a homeless man who might use it to buy a sandwich or buy drugs. Wilkens says it this way: "Truthfulness, goodness and rightness need to characterize not only our conclusions but also the means by which we get to our conclusions." I came away from this book with a better understanding of how to think critically about how I make decisions, but also with a heart to pursue GOD's heart for my hands, my feet, and my money, and to place my trust in the Holy Spirit to guide me and the grace of GOD to cover me as I make decisions as a steward, a friend, a husband, a pastor, a giver, and a Child of GOD.
May you and I be the hands and feet of Jesus with greater wisdom, discernment, compassion, love, and truth tomorrow than we were today. See you soon.

Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

PSALM 130.

I'm almost done with Foster's Prayer, which talks about the beauty of praying and singing the Psalms. I was blessed enough to find it in the thrift store - I'm not quite finished yet, but I am moved again by his great warmth, the depth of his passion and devotion, and the eloquent simplicity with which he deals with his subject. This morning as I was reading the scripture, I read through Psalm 130. I was struck by how lyrical it was, so I was moved to put it to some music.

So through the techno-wizardry of my wife's brand new MacBook, I recorded this setting of Psalm 130 on GarageBand, converted it to mp3, and posted it on my church's website. This is a rough cut - you can hear the metronome in the background, but I was so excited about it I wanted to put it up. I'll replace it with a more final cut later. I hope you're blessed by the singing of GOD's word. See you soon. The link below leads to the final cut.

[Psalm 130]

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

It's official - I'm (we're) hitched. Our wedding was amazing - there was a sense of holy expectancy in the air as GOD brought about a miracle between us that was so beautiful and joyous. It rained during the exact time of our ceremony, but numerous people told us that rain on your wedding day is a good omen. Whether this is true or simply meant to make us feel better was irrelevant - the rain made it all the more intimate and significant. As we stood before our family and friends, our thought and hope is that that was a little slice of what heaven would be like - filled with joy, surrounded by dear family, treasured and invaluable friends, trusted and beloved fellow travelers walking beside us on the journey of faith. We are blessed to be so dearly loved and supported by so many, and to share with you, if not the joy of our wedding day, the surpassing joy of our lives lived for GOD's glory.

We spent a week in Carmel, came back for my brother-from-another-mother Dan's wedding, and then headed off for a week in Kauai. We're silly blessed, and we had an awesome time. I'll be posting up the pictures to my Picasa page, which I mentioned in the last post. I'll put a link on the sidebar, and I'll let you know when they're up. I also had the chance to chew on a few good books - I'll post some of my thoughts later. See you soon!

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17)

MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU.

This month has flown by - getting ministry responsibilities in perspective, moving into a new place, and getting married in two days has occupied most of my waking thoughts. Monica and I both use the same word to describe it - surreal. I don't have the mental tools to process just how profoundly my life has been and is changing, but it is exhilirating to begin to see the curtain rising on what Charles Spurgeon called, "my lifework."

I pray that GOD would make me worthy of the responsibilites that he has entrusted to me, and that I will not just "grow old," but grow up into the man that GOD desires me to be. I've taken some good shots over the past month with stories to go with them, but I left my camera in my buddy's car after my bachelor hangout day. Look forward to some sweet honeymoon shots as well. See you soon.

[ My Pictures on Picasaweb ]

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

UNDEFILED WORSHIP.

Yesterday, my pastor continued a series of sermons talking about the foundations of our church's ministry, and as he was discussing the different facets of the ministry of our church he made it a point to say that the church is not a building or a location, but it is God's people.

This afternoon, while I was reading through The Letters of James and Peter in The Daily Bible Study Series by William Barclay, his comment on James 1:26-27 really struck me:

"All through history men have tried to make ritual and liturgy a substitute for sacrifice and service. They have made religion splendid within the Church at the expense of neglecting it outside the Church. This is by no means to say that it is wrong to seek to offer the noblest and the most splendid worship within God's house; but it is to say that all such worship is empty and idle unless it sends a man out to love God by loving his fellow-men and to walk more purely in the tempting ways of the world." (p. 61-62, emphasis mine)

This is truth - I need to remember that "worship" extends beyond the corporate singing that we do on a Sunday morning, reaching into all of our time and all of who we are to being passionate for purity and justice in our lives and in the world that we live. These are the pursuits that James describes as "undefiled worship," and it is these things that are at the heart of you and me being the church today. See you soon.

"This is pure and undefiled worship, as God the Father sees it, to visit orphans and the widows, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27, Barclay's translation)

ON THE ROAD.

I was driving home two nights ago through Niles Canyon, and just after passing through Sunol and I came to a construction zone where a dude with a stop sign was stopping all the cars going in my direction. After a few minutes, a few cars passed by coming the other direction, and then a truck pulled out in front of us to guide us through the construction zone. Apparently, they had installed a rumble strip in the middle of the highway, but other than that I didn't really see any construction, and didn't see a reason as to why they had closed down the road to one lane. But after we had been driving a while, we passed a Caltrans truck, and I saw what all the hoopla was about.

The truck was driving along slowly, and there was a dude hanging off the back with a glue gun, squirting little puddles of glue periodically onto the rumble strip. And here's what blew me away - there were two other construction workers following the truck putting reflective dots into the puddles of glue in go-carts! I felt like I think I would feel if I got to look into Santa's workshop and see the elves putting all the toys together. That made me smile on the way home. See you soon.

WOW.

I'm getting married a month from yesterday. WOOHOO!!!!!!!

NEED TO KNOW.

This past week, I was studying Luke 12 in preparation for a message. One of the things that is really helpful for me is reading other people's thoughts on the scriptures, as these often help me to understand the meaning of GOD's word more clearly. One of the resources that I often use is bible.org, which has a wealth of studies and Godly wisdom covering a lot of the bible and other topics.

I was reading this article by Bob Deffinbaugh, and I came across a quote that I thought was very powerful. He was talking about the teaching methods of Jesus, and he said this:

"Good teaching does not tell others all that we know, but it conveys to them a few things that they desperately need to know."

For me, this is a hard principle to follow, because I like to pack all that I can into everything that I say, but I think that this statement illuminates one of the most effective and powerful elements of Jesus' teaching. When he spoke, he spoke relatively briefly and in simple language, but with a wealth of meaning and nuance that we are still in awe of 2,000 years later. He told simple stories of fishermen, mustard seeds, servants and their masters, and good neighbors to communicate GOD's eternal truth.

I think the question for me is this: What is it that we desperately need to know? And how can I say it? Jesus, I pray you would teach me to teach, and to communicate your truth in a way that people will know in their hearts the things you desperately want them to know. See you soon.

BÜX: SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP.

This last week at Silver Spur, I finished reading Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. My pastor gave this to me a few weeks ago, and I really appreciated it's wealth of Godly insight on what it means to be a "leader" in God's church. It wasn't written in a particularly flashy style, but it's emphasis on biblical interpretation for the foundation of his leadership principles was nails, and he covered a wealth of topics in a straightforward manner that I really appreciated. He also drew on a lot of biographical examples (complete with citations), which has whetted my appetite to read the biographies of some of the great men of GOD that he mentioned. Some quotes I appreciated:

"True leaders know that time spent listening is well invested."

"Time cannot be hoarded, only spent well."

"The strength for moral character is preserved by refusing the unimportant."

"To succeed in getting things done through others is the highest type of leadership."

"Indeed, no man, however capable and devoted, is indispensible to the work of leadership."

"To tell a man he is called to be a leader is the best way of ensuring his spiritual ruin... The church needs saints and servants, not 'leaders,' and if we forget the priority of service, the entire idea of leadership training becomes dangerous."

Powerful and Godly words. Other things I'm reading:

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Ronald Sider (I found this for 99 cents in the used section of a Christian bookstore)

Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics, Steve Wilkens (I've really enjoyed this book)

Abide in Christ, Andrew Murray
Boomsday, Christopher Buckley

See you soon.

JULY IN PICTURES.

Jose and I at Silver Spur

Student Ministries

The Critchfield Men at Lake Alpine

Jenna's Wedding

Carpetballin' at Junior High Camp

What a joy it has been. See you soon.

ON THE GO.

Sorry for the blog silence - this last month has been crazy busy, but so good. The rundown:

- 2 weeks at Silver Spur Conference Grounds
- 2 weddings in Southern California
- over 2000 miles driven
- A day camping with the family at Lake Alpine
- A day of fireworks at Rio Del Mar beach

After having my arm hanging out of my window for countless driving hours, my left arm is blackened in comparison to my right. But now I'm back at home to settle in to do some solid work and get ready for the rest of my life. More to come - thanks to Jesus. See you soon.

FLIX - RATATOUILLE.

Last night, I saw my first movie in Vallejo - Ratatouille. As it came out on my birthday, I felt a special connection to it and I wasn't disappointed. I love Pixar movies for being unbelievably creative, winsome, and beautifully rendered, and this story wasn't an exception. I continue to be amazed by the vibrancy and freshness of the stories that they tell, and the interaction between the three main characters was very well done.

Some people I talked to couldn't get over the thought of kitchens and rats going together, but after living in a fraternity house for three years, it not such a big deal for me. (Just kidding, it was clean.) Though I'd prefer a grilled cheese sandwich at Country Way over some fancy-schmancy french thingy, this movie compelled me to move beyond my daily dinner staple of wheat pasta with red sauce to explore to joyous suprises of cooking stuff that tastes good. See you soon.

MOVING ON.

On Tuesday, June 12th at 5:30 PM, I walked out of my last final as a UC Davis undergraduate student. The shadows were just starting to get long, and the the burning heat of the Davis summer was beginning to give way into the cool of the Davis summer evenings. As I walked away from the Music building to get into my car downtown, I turned to look down Hutchinson to a campus that had been my first home away from home. It seemed like yesterday that I was walking to class holding a campus map up to my face in the blinding sun, but here and now you could drop me anywhere on that campus in the dead of night and I could tell you exactly where I was.

I remembered the long walks I took, praying to GOD and calming my mind under the dim vacuum bulbs sparsely placed to give a better view of the stars. I remember sitting on the cool grass of the quad, chowing on some frozen yogurt in a plastic cup or munching on a CoHo sandwich on a muligrain roll while talking with a good friend. I remembered walking to class on a brisk winter morning, wearing the coat I inherited from my grandfather and treasuring the cold air on my face. Even as I write this, these four years of memories of the place that I came to treasure so dearly weigh heavy on my heart. The friends and relationships I developed and the spiritual and emotional maturity that I experienced could never be fully described or understood, but I have a special place in my heart for things: I experience the joy and providence of GOD when things do what they're meant to do (I think it's the influence of Herbie the Love Bug), and UCD served me well as the backdrop of some of the most significant moments of my life, and it will always have a special place in my heart until I get back to my true home.

In spite of these strong feelings, this past few weeks have not felt at all like an end, but rather an exciting new beginning. After finals I took a trip out to Yosemite to climb Half Dome with some good friends, and then I spent a few days on a houseboat up at Lake Shasta with some awesome youth workers who are a part of Sonshine Specialized Camping Ministries. It was an awesome time to be out in GOD's creation, reflect on GOD's work in my life over the past four years, and pray over how he wants to use me in the next four. This last week was my first as the Youth Pastor at New Harbor Community Church - I can't believe that five years after coming to Christ, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else but serving GOD's church. Add to that my upcoming marriage to my awesome bride-to-be and I'm blown away with how blessed I am.

So I'm moving on - I pray that just as he has lead me this far, that by his grace Jesus would lead me on for today, tomorrow, and forevermore. See you soon.

SNOBBY CYCLISTS.

For a self-described cyclist who lives in a town with more bikes than people, this video made me laugh. All the cyclists I know are really nice, but I can't say that I don't see these stereotypes often - Take a look for yourself. See you soon. (ht Treehugger)

THE LAW WON.

One of things I enjoy is reading up on the news, and the story that has been all over has been the jail saga of Paris Hilton. For those of you who were fortunate enough to not be exposed to this, the story went that Hilton, after having her license suspended for driving under the influence and then being caught twice driving on that suspended license, was sentenced to serve 45 days in the Los Angeles County Jail. But the outcry came when, three days later, she was released by the LA County Sheriff to serve out the remainder of her sentence under house arrest. But this did not sit well with the Judge presiding over her case - the next day, he called Paris back into his courtroom and ordered her back to the county Jail to serve out the rest of her sentence. And she left, sobbing and in handcuffs, to return to the cell from which she came.

Paris' return to jail sparked a flurry of news editorials, many who took this chance to take their shots at Paris' character or lack thereof. But this is not the issue that caught my attention; though I would never condone or excuse her actions, the question that was raised that caught my attention was this one: "How can we say the law is just if it doesn't apply to everyone?" For our system of law to function, it must be applied to everyone, regardless of gender, race, or celebrity status - this is the essence of justice. This is the reality that hit Paris like a ton of bricks - the law is the law, whoever you are, and you will be held accountable for what you've done.

This is the truth for GOD's law as well: whether we like it or not, there will come a day when GOD's justice will become a palpable reality, and we will all be faced with this reality: "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23a) But this is not the end of the story; unlike Paris, who will have to serve out the rest of her 42 days in the big house, those who have realized they couldn't do it on their own and fell into the arms of Jesus will have no fear when justice is fully realized, because it is Jesus who will have stood in our place: "...and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Tony Campolo described this action as the cross of Christ "being like a gigantic vacuum cleaner, sucking all of the world's sins to himself throughout all eternity." For justice to truly be justice, all evil must be answered; thanks to Jesus who "became sin" and imparted to us his righteousness so we could walk free in the new life of grace. Now that's a story worth talking about.

A final thought to chew on from the SF Chronicle article I read:

"'She's a real person who has chosen to live a fictional life,' Calo says. 'She is a shallow, dumb blonde who flaunts her lifestyle. But we can't fault her. We're the ones who decided that this is entertainment.'"

See you soon.

IT IS FINISHED - AGAIN.

Today, I walked out of the last class of my undergraduate career. I've still got papers and stuff to write, but I'm only beginning to feel the weight of a chapter of my life coming to a close and a new one beginning (more on that later.) I'm still winding down from working hard at so many things for so long, but I've learned about what it feels like to truly persevere in something, and I hope to do the same in my love for Jesus for the rest of my life. In the midst of the nuttiness I seem to have lost my blogging voice, but I feel it coming back after all this time. I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate and love you - thanks for coming to my recital, praying for me, supporting me, and being my friends. Talk to you soon - for real.

STORIES.

This last week, I got the newest issue of Relevant in the mail. As I was perusing it, I came across an interview with Eugene Peterson, author of The Message paraphrase of the bible and many other sweet books. One of his comments on the power of literature stood out to me:

Throughout civilization we have lived by stories. Stories draw us into worlds bigger than ourselves. They help us live... Every time someone tells a story well, the Gospel is served. Stories invite us to participate, to identify the characters, to get caught up in the emotion of them. The Bible is essentially a big narrative that invites us to participate in its ongoing story.

For the past few weeks, I've been reflecting on the power of story. I've been studying the Gospel of Mark with my College Life bible study, and I see over and over again that when people came to Jesus with tough, incredibly significant questions, he didn't respond with lengthy and technical philosophical discourses - he told stories. Stories about a father and a son, some soil and some seeds, or a man building a house. I think that we all recognize the genius of Jesus when we see the power to convey the most powerful and compelling of truths in the simplest of stories.

This last weekend, I watched Stranger Than Fiction with Will Farrell. Monica and I passed this movie up in lieu of Babel a few months ago when it was in the theaters, but as I finally got to see it this weekend I enjoyed throughly seeing a different side of Will Farrell and a very compelling story. The plot follows the life of a IRS agent whose life is extremely dull and monotonous until he begins to hear a female voice narrating his life as his lives it. As the movie progresses, he finds himself caught up in an extraordinary life dictated by a storyteller that he has never seen, guiding and directing his life to a beautiful, bittersweet ending.

I think this is what the Christian life is like - we read the stories of scripture, and then we soon find them coming alive and bearing fruit in our own lives, sweeping us up into the grand narrative of GOD's redemptive plan to bring his Kingdom here and now. Now that's a story. See you soon.

BIKE CRASH.

The week after I returned from Mexico, I was riding my bike to the music building to do some practicing for my recital. I had ridden my nice road bike that morning, which weighs considerably less. So after I came around a corner and went to take my hands off the handlebars to cruise, I immediately lost control and began to pitch forward. I started to flail my arms, and almost instantly I was over the handlebars and laying on the ground. The miracle was the I hardly hurt anything, but as I laid there on the ground I soon realized that my foot had somehow gotten lodged inbetween the spokes of my front wheel, when was then firmly lodged in the front fork of my bike. So there I was, laying on my back, stuck to my bike. As i laid there on my back, I had this sense of calm come over me, and this question came into my mind: "Why am I in such a hurry?"

Brian has a saying I remember from my days in the youth group: "There's two ways to learn something - the hard way, or from somebody who's learned it the hard way." Unfortunately for me, I often am unable to learn via the latter - GOD has to let me crash and burn before I'm ready to turn to him and listen.

This last month of school threatens to eat up my peace - working to raise the support for my bike ride, taking care of wedding details, practicing for my senior recital, riding 70 miles a week on my road bike, being diligent in my classes, and beginning to transition into a job working with students at a sweet church in Benicia. (Whew.)

But by GOD's grace I'll carry on - I'm beginning to learn the meaning of perseverance in a whole new way, but I'm still trying to be mindful of the balance between being responsible and being swallowed whole by the idols of busyness and anxiety. No more biking for me - I'll walk, one step at a time. See you soon.

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

BACK FROM MEXICO.

This last week, I went down to the YUGO ranch near Rosarito, Mexico and spent a week with the high school students of FBC. It was an awesome time of service, joy and community as we sang songs, gave capuches (piggyback rides), shared our testimonies, poured concrete, and played soccer. It was a blessing to encourage the students to be bold in their faith and to remember the life-changing significance of encountering Jesus - to embrace it wholeheartedly ourselves and to share that experience with others.

The teen in the picture above is Lalo - I met him last year playing sports, and after sharing my testimony with him and having a few short conversations in my broken spanish, I gave him a bible and signed in the front cover. A year later, on our first day of ministry, I didn't see him, but on wednesday he showed up. I wasn't sure if he even recognized me, but after awhile we got to talking again and I asked him about the bible I'd given to him. He said, "Si, Si!"

When I was a senior in high school, I went to Cuernevaca with Powerhouse and I played sports. At the end of the week, two of the kids who we'd been playing with, shoeless and in the wearing the same clothes that they had worn all week, asked me if they could pray to receive Christ. Their pictures hang on my wall now, reminders of the way in which GOD has mercifully used me, in spite of brokenness and imperfection, to sow his seeds in the hearts of others. Thanks, Jesus. See you soon.

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

CENTURY BIKE RIDE.

As I've already posted about, I am riding in a century (100-mile) bike ride on June 2nd. Being someone who's never been athletic in my life, sometimes I question my sanity. But I've posted about my enjoyment of cycling here several times, and I'm excited to express that joy in a meaningful way.

I'm riding in this race with Team in Training, a branch of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that trains willing people to complete endurance events and raise money for blood cancer research. The training has been very trying at times, but my family and friends have been a huge blessing - supporting me, praying for me, and making me feel loved. I'm riding in celebration of my sister Jordan, who is mentally and physically handicapped. I'm so richly blessed, it's dumb.

I'm also heading off to spend a week in Mexico with the youth group of FBC - I'm looking forward to a week of fruitful service, worship, and communion with people I love. And celebrating Easter in Spanish is going to be sick. See you soon.

Visit my fundraising page here
See my home for the next week here