you.are.what.you.hate

my biggest pet-peeve is people who chew.  everyone’s chewing gets on my nerves. if you’re around me, don’t be eating.  the funny thing is that i chew loudly, too.  i don’t notice that i chew loudly, but i know when i’m killin some capecod chips i’m chewing with a bang.

i play and love fantasy football.  i talk A LOT of trash.  sometimes i’m downright rude and unkind.  you know what though? i hate it when people talk trash to me.  these people in my league make me so angry when they talk trash.  it’s the classic case of “can-dish-it-out-but-can’t-take-it.”

this permeates our lives.  someone shared with me a while back something that really grinds their nerves.  they hate it when people do this certain thing to them.  today, they did the thing they hate so very much to me, obviously forgetting that they hate that.

it seems that a lot of the things we hate in other people are things that, in large part, we do our very selves. maybe this is part of the truth that Jesus spoke, when he said “judge not, lest you be judged in the same way.” could it be that in our broken nature we hate what we are, and that it becomes most evident when we see it in other people?

i.hate.what.you.love

you know these kind of people and so do i.  these are the people who hate everything! i’ve got friends like this. when i say i like something, they automatically voice how they hate it.  me: “i like this!” them: “oh yeah, i can’t stand that.”

i know one guy who posts about something he hates on facebook everyday.  his status updates are always so sour faced and negative.  he’s oprah’s nightmare.  how can one seem to hate everything.  it’s as if God’s called him to be a  critic of all that is, and he finds all that is wanting.

so, i always talk to my wife about these people that “hate” everything.  i look at it as such a blemish on the body of believers.  it would be nice if they talked about something they loved every once and a while.

when i think these things i’m always reminded of this guy in the scripture named jeremiah.  he was a prophet God called to be a “hater.” his job was to confront the sins of his people.  oprah would’ve hated him.  actually, everyone hated him because he was always speaking negatively about the things they loved so much.

he got the crap beat out of him many times and one time he got angry at God for giving him this job.  he told God he wouldn’t speak on his behalf anymore, but this is what he says after that,

his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. i am weary of holding it in; indeed i cannot. (jer. 20:9, read the rest, too. this dude is super angry.)

all this to say, many times negative nancies are prophets in our culture who lead us back to the truth with negativity. though i still wanna punch the people in the face who always say they hate what i like, i see how a voice of truth, albeit unpopular truths is necessary in our culture.  not many people are bold enough to come against wrong in a tolerant culture, where the only person not tolerated is the one who seems intolerant.

may we love truth, more than peace and understand that truth is the rocky road to real peace.

27.&.2.really.no.difference?

my daughter is an interesting human being. she can be loving, affectionate, and snuggly, but she can also be brutal, mean, and rude.  mostly her mood is determined by her energy level or her hunger level. if those levels are low then she tends to express negativity and if they are high, positivity.

the funny thing is that she is 2 years old & i’m 27 years old aaaannd we’re not that different when it comes to this human mystery. when i’m tired and hungry i tend to be negative too, except (for the most part) i don’t cry, whine, throw tantrums, or embarrass my family in public.

i, however, am worse than these. my negativity is even meaner than my 2 year old’s.  i use my words to brutalize and my actions are rude, and i’m just plain mean.  when i observe my daughters actions i find many similarities between her infantile moods and my own.

there is spiritual application to this if you wanna think about it. i guess it’s like Jesus says, “he who has ears, let him hear.”

same.prophetic.tune.very.different.sound

derek webb, since his solo career began, has been known to write and record songs that sing hard truths into the lives of his listeners, especially people in the christian church.  the new stockholm syndrome album is no different. even from the title we can see that this one is going to sting (stockholm syndrome is what happens when a hostage or slave gets so used to their captors and captivity that they actually begin to love it).

he addresses the same basic issues that he has in the past, just in different sounding, and more creative ways.  topics like social justice, faith paired with actual works, double minded christians are covered and the list is even more extensive than that.

what the light really should be shed on is the stylistic difference on this album from his previous works.  derek webb generally plays folksy/new-grass type music.  he takes an entirely different approach here using more electronicky/poppish music (by the way, he would hate that i’m labeling his music).  though it is odd at first, this new sound is a beautiful change. you might say that many of the songs are ear candy, particularly when played on a quality sound system, but even without that it is mighty enjoyable!

so if you want songs that are charged with meaning and filled with though-provoking lyrics, but also want to jam, go over to derek webb’s site and drop 7 bucks on that thing.

DISCLAIMER: there are three bad words on the album.

not.enough.of.the.big.talk

you’ve heard it said, “enough of the small talk.”  well, the implications of this phrase is that we need to get past the “how-is-your-day-Q-and-A” and dig into the deeper matters of life. the implications are that there is not enough big talk.

when i say “big talk” i don’t mean the kind we hear from our politicians or kanye west. i mean intentional, meaningful conversations, pregnant with changing-power.  its the kind of conversations we have that move us into a new stage of life, or a new level of maturity, impact us so deeply that things cannot remain the same.

many times these kind of conversations get messy and require a tremendous amount of vulnerability and honesty.  these conversations move past “how are you?” and “the weather is nice, isn’t it?” into questions like “is the way your living truly bringing you happiness? how?” or “do you think it’s okay to treat that person that way? why?”

this is the way Christ talked to people. remember the woman at the well, when he asked her where her husband was! that was a huge question.  it began a conversation that exposed the truth about her life.  that is where the power of the impact comes, is helping someone stand in the truth of who they are, or of their situation, before Christ.

many times this is uncomfortable for both parties.  imagine how the woman felt when she replied that she didn’t have a husband and when Jesus said she was right and then faced her with the truth. are we willing to get uncomfortable for the sake of truth? especially when it can help someone quit hiding from Christ and live in the freedom he offers in truth.

let’s get past weather talk and get down to the nitty-gritty talk that leaves folks facing THE Truth.

alias-ness

the subject in my brain always seems to turn to authenticity.  what’s real or true.  the motive of this or that person. my own motives.  what drives them to be the way they are. what drives me to be who i am.  

we all have an alias.  an image of ourselves that we want other people to see.  opportunity to portray ourselves as one way or another presents itself everywhere.  think about it: status updates, twitter, youtube, digg, blogging, etc.  we have made a million ways to help others see what we want them to see about us.  dating also affords itself to alias-ness.  john mayer says when people date they like to try to show the best of who they are, even if that isn’t who they are.  

do all of us have to be fake?  do we have to wear the mask? must we try to hide who we truly are?  

no.  Jesus frees us to settle into our true selves.  he is renewing God’s image in mankind.  rob bell says that Jesus invites us to die, because when we die life springs up, real life.  die to ideas about how others should perceive us, what i look like, ulterior motives, etc.  to take up our crucifix and brutalize our fallen nature, to lose our lives that we hold so dearly,to let it go, to be found in Christ where life is.

aren’t you tired of living under an alias? of keeping up false portrayals of “yourself”?

my.brute.and.fantasy.football

my friend roger came across a site the other day called mybrute.  its an awesome little game where you create a character of your own and enter them into fights.  these characters develop different special skills, carry different kinds of weapons, and sometimes they even have attacking pets. there are a plethera of characteristics that your little brute may develop.  for instance, my brute has a sweet beard and sexy head of hair like me (you can also personalize them), and he carries a bow staff and a hatchet, where as some of the other people i fight have an attack dog or panther and a large wooden club, broad sword or knife. as you win and fight you get more and more special stuff.

the thing is, you have no control over the outcome of any of your matches, except for who you choose to fight.  the brutes fight on their own.  there is a thrill in playing a game that you only have small control over.  i think it’s the exhilaration of having to let go of control.  the fact that you’ve done all you can do and from here on it’s out of your hands is something i’m addicted to.

this happened this year with fantasy football.  all i could do was make my line up and the rest was in the hands of these millionaire players (who constantly let me down, by the way).

could this desire to be out of control be a sign of a deeper desire?  could it be that we are built to do what we can and leave the rest in the hands of another?  i think so.  as a christian, i read Scripture that says that there is a sovereign God, who is genius.  he created the universe and keeps it spinning.  he created plants, insects, animals, and humans and put them in the environment they could survive in.  he is king and i am made to let him take the reigns to do my part and throw my hands down and say it’s yours, God.

read some of matthew 6. or even proverbs 3.

quick note:

i become stronger if you become my pupil so click this link and make a brute.  there is no email address or anything needed to make it. absolutely no commitments and who knows? you may even enjoy yourself and find it freeing to be out of control:

http://dannysmith.mybrute.com

the.sip.from.the.hydrant

i’ve been trying to figure out what really penetrated my heart from the conference i went to called advance09. i’ve been waiting for the information dust to settle down and see what lands on my heart.  this huge stream was being sprayed at my face and i’m just realizing how much i actually got to drink. 

i knew that my teaching among the students would really reveal what it was that took hold of me and low and behold, i immediately found out today what it was.  

i am on a mission to glorify the name of God and his son, Jesus.  my mission is not only to glorify him with my life, but to help everyone around me find their true purpose in life, by showing them that it is what they’re meant to do as well.  every thing we do as christians revolves around the person of Christ.  we focus on glorifying Christ and the rest follows. discipleship follows, good works follow, singing follows, etc.  all these things are the result of our desire to worship and honor Christ with abandon.

the things i’m wrestling with now and i guess i have been for a while is the question, “what do i need to abandon to glorify him more fully?” i have to sift through my life and know what my idols are that steal his worship and then i have to figure out what it means to crush those idols.

advance09.day.three

today was quite possibly the pinnacle of advance09, due to john piper’s closing sermon. i’ll share what he said in a moment. first, we’ll skim over what danny akin says are the 9 signs of a healthy community of faith.  all his points came from hebrews 13 which is built on top of hebrews 1-12 as the evidences and ethics of our faith in Christ, the supreme.

1. actively loving each other
2. care for those who are in need
3. honoring the divine institution of marriage and family
4. unshakeable faith in the providence of God
5. respect of those those who teach and shepherd in the word
6. never moves from Christ-centered doctrine
7. characterized by offerings of praise, thanksgiving and service
8. develops a ministry of prayer for its leaders
9. looks to Jesus as the Great Shepherd who will do good works through them.

badabing badaboom.  that’s all he spoke.

john piper finished the entire conference with his second part of his teaching, “let the nations be glad.” it was a serious challenge to the room filled with 2800 ministers of the gospel. the first thing he discussed was what the motive behind missions is.

he began with a quote from john stott saying, “the highest motive for missions is zeal for the glory of Christ.  to be jealous for the honor of his name…anxious all the time that it should be given the honor and glory that it is due.”  he talked of how missions exists because the worship of God doesn’t.  he said that worship is the fuel and goal of missions.

john p. then addressed a tough issue, that God is radically and passionately committed to the glory of His own name.  God is God-centered.  God’s pursuit of his own glory is plastered throughout the pages of Scripture.  john p. begins to read passage after passage, “for my glory… for his glory… for his namesake… for the sake of my holy name… glorify your name… i have glorified it and will glorify it again.”  this fact bothers many people.

john p. proceeds to give three responses that say Christ’s passion for Christ’s glory and God’s passion for His glory is not ego-mania but ultimate love.

1. the apex of his passion to display his own glory was the cross and his own self sacrifice, that we might not make much of ourselves but recognize his grace and sacrifice.  his grace is glorious.
2. it is through glorifying himself that he brings us unto our ultimate delight, exalting the one thing for which we were made, his own glory.
3. the story of lazarus, martha and mary forms his third point.  because jesus arrived when lazarus was still sick and the scripture states that Jesus said that he loved him, therefore he stayed for two days, and waited for him to die for the purpose of glorifying God.  john p. points out that the clear point of this scripture showed us that through Jesus love he was saying that it is better to see the glory of God than to live.

so the motive behind missions is the glory of God that he may be worshipped by the nations.

john p. moves on to his next point which is the how.  he makes sure that we know the how is not by praying and praying and praying but that the scripture makes it clear that it is by preaching and preaching and preaching. it is the work of missions.  how can they believe if they don’t hear, or hear if noone tells them, and how can someone tell them if they are not sent?

BUT prayer is the summons of almighty power into the word that we preach. it is tapping into the power that bears the sword of the  word. the preacher that bears the sword without pray is powerless (read eph. 6, where prayer is directly connected to the armor of God). he goes on to spit a rhyme, ” you can’t know what prayer is for until you understand that life is war.”  he said that we have turned prayer from a war-time walky talky into a domestic intercom, asking for things when our tummy hurts or when we’re thirsty. and when we begin to use it that way it malfunctions.

he ends by saying that this cause will cost us our lives, everything we are.  we are guaranteed suffering and he gives 7 reasons why we will:

1. Jesus suffered and said we would too
2. paul said there is no other way home (acts 14, look it up lazy-lima-bean)
3. peter said it’s the normal path of blessing (i pet. 4.12)
4. paul said it is the normal cost of discipleship
5. in suffering he is refining our faith
6. his grace and power are shown through our weakness
7. it is through joy in suffering that people recognize us as the salt and light of the world.

i greatly appreciated the opportunity given to me to go to this conference.  i had a fun time with erik, jason, and mark k. though it got a little raunchy at times.  it was extremely enjoyable. and now as the dust of information settles we shall see how God changes me and my friends.

thanks for taking the time to read this.  if you were particularly interested in any of the notes that i typed up here you can listen to the sermon yourself by visiting http://advancethechurch.com and digging around a little. i personally recommend listening to both mark driscoll’s talks. he is not only hilarious but a serious vessel of truth and conviction.

advance09.day.two

today started off awesomely @ mcd’s with a sausage biscuit and a coke. we got to advance09 and started singing some.

after we sang ed stetzer took the stage and spoke about the kingdom of God and the church. he pointed out that Jesus only mentions the church twice, while he uses the phrase kingdom of heaven a plethera of time. he said that the kingdom of God has faded away in our churches because of two things: dispensationalism and liberalism. the former says the kingdom comes later and the latter says we display the kingdom of heaven through social justice, but forget Jesus in the process of being kind.

he focused on matthew 13.16-20 where Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ and Jesus talks of how he will build his church.  we have to gain more focus on the kingdom:

1. we need to recognize the centrality of Jesus.  he should be the driving factor of the things we do and our messages should be about him ALL THE TIME.
2. peter’s confession is the foundation of Christ’s church.  the authority of Christ gives is to the church and not just to Peter.
3. the church is God’s tool of the kingdom mission

Stetzer said that people get enough religion to inoculate themselves, so they don’t catch the real thing.  we have a lot of religion and not a lot of Jesus. we have the keys to the kingdom of heaven. let us open the doors.

he said going to a conference like this is similar to ministry pornography, because we see an unrealistic and fantastical vision of something we’ll never experience, so we need to stop trying to be cool and big and start trying to give our churches a vision of Christ and the advance of His kingdom.

JD Greear went next and spoke about revitalizing churches that are steadily declining in membership or passion. he said the reason they start to die is because people get religious, just like the pharisees, so he went to matthew 23 and talked about the six things that are signs of a religious and dying church (remember, religion is when people work to please God). here they are:

1. religious people love recognition, praise and self-glory
2. religious people substitute ritual for the love of God (using morality to try to keep God off their back)
3. secondary things take centrality over knowing God (tradition, music, length of sermon, etc.)
4. elevate religious ritual over love for people
5. more aware of the sins of others than their own sin
6. religious people think we’re always talking about someone else

the most powerful thing JD said was there are no good people and bad people.  there are only sinners and Jesus.

eric mason took the stage next and i didn’t pay attention to a lot of what he said because i was spending time looking up his name on google because i recognized his voice from an old hip hop group.  he was part of cross movement.  the basic gist of his lecture was the main problem in the church was  credibility problem and that the establishment of credibility comes through the faith of the church being grounded and seeking the glory of God, and the prayers of the church becoming Gospel centered.

he made a good point that the subtlety of false humility in our prayers can bring more glory to us than God, because our prayer becomes about how bad we are and never about how good God is.

the heaviest sermon of the day came from mark driscoll who talked about ministry idolatry. he started by saying that we all worship something as human beings.  we’re built to be worshippers.  some of us just worship cars, money, power, respect, etc.

idols lie to us in four ways:

1. presenting themselves as Savior (i.e. money saves me , my hell is being broke and my heaven is being able to buy what i want)
2. telling you it can mediate between you and God (pastors often serve as idols, and so does music styles, i.e. i can’t worship God by singing hymns)
3. becoming your identity (leadership, status. altering your identity destroys your idols, thereby destroying your life)
4. brings you righteousness (morality, tithing, attendance, etc.)

we can tell what we hold as idols by asking ourselves, “what do i treasure? what am i most fearful of losing? what do i sacrifice for?”

he quoted someone saying, “sin is a worship disorder, we worship our way into it and we have to worship our way out of it.”

common idolatries: money, family, sexuality, substance, morality, and people.

11 questions to ask if we are idolaters in our ministries:

1. does your joy change when attendance is down? (attendance idolatry)
2. do you feel God needs you and uses you because of your skill? (gift idolatry)
3. are you better than other people because you know more than them? (truth idolatry)
4. is success your evidence that God loves you? (fruit idolatry)
5. what do you hold onto that holds the gospel back? (tradition idolatry)
6. do you worship your methods as mediator? (method idolatry)
7. are you motivated by God’s glory or your title? (office idolatry)
8. is winning what motivates you at the deepest level? (success idolatry)
9. do you use the pressure of ministry to make you walk with God? (ministry idolatry)
10. does your ministry need to be unique? (innovative idolatry)
11. who, other than Christ, are you imaging? (leader idolatry)

driscoll finished by saying two intense things to us. repentance should not be what we preach, but what we do.  and that anyone who doesn’t repent is a heretic.

john piper spoke next and his humility seemed like it crushed the room.  he moves over for God and it is evident. he talked about the church being missional around the globe.  he talked about how our hearts were made to embrace living with a mission, saying that a soul shrinks to the level of its concerns.

he said the biblical task of missions isn’t to make sure everyone on the planet gets saved, but that cultural barriers are broken and bridges are built until every people group has a strong church that reaches the people around it. missions are the fulfillment and extension of the abrahamic covenant that says all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him, and ultimately through the seed that is Jesus Christ (romans 4).

three questions are essential to ask to give us a sense of urgency when it comes to living missionally:

1. are people perishing? yes, hell exists and it is a terrible place where people will suffer, consciously, forever. the horror of hell goes on and on.
2. is Christ’s work on the cross necessary to save? yes, there are no different ways to God.  the only way to be saved is to accept that Jesus made a way to God on the cross and by His resurrection. there is one mediator between God and man: Jesus.
3. do people have to hear about it and believe it to be saved? yes, this does not mean people who have never heard about will be judged and condemned at the last judgement if they’ve never heard. but how can people believe in what they have not heard and how can they hear if no one preaches to them and how can someone preach to them if no one is sent?

we must become missional in the church and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks for reading if you read the entire thing.  tomorrow will be shorter, for there are only two sessions.