Saturday Night Lingering

I spent the weekend in middle the first "Great White North" scene I've seen with my eyes this winter as the guest speaker on a youth retreat. It's the second year in a row that this group has brought me along as a visiting voice in their group. It's an honor having the chance to be an encourager to moldable teenagers, but almost more so, I love encouraging Pastors who give so much of themselves. Guests are just that. Pastors stay.

My favorite moment of the weekend came on Saturday Night at about 11pm. We had finished our evening session where God had moved very tangibly. Earlier in the night, one after another, students had stood in front of their peers and prophesied about who God was in their group. The spontaneity and exposition of their exchanges testified to the goodness of a good good God. As one finished talking... cheering and clapping erupted and they scrambled to be the next to get in on what God was doing. It was real and powerful.

By 11pm the loud music of the event had faded. A shaggy teen-leader was working out his salvation on an acoustic guitar quietly as I reclined my tired mind back on the only mildly comfortable stacking chair just to linger in the moment... to think about what my beautiful wife would be doing at home... and listen. What I heard was the beautiful sounds of pastoring.

I heard the sound of a pastor... talking with genuine love to individual kids. He intentionally looked each one in the eye, and with an emanating warmth in his voice that can only come from an anointed servant, he built them up and guided them towards the green pastures that teenage eyes often miss... in hopes that they'd stop, breathe and eat.

Pastors are shepherds. They are the "One who herds, guards, and tends". They aren't as burdened by the conquering of the countryside as they are with their charge of making sure all the sheep make it to their destination. But the wonderful thing about shepherds, is that they wield power in their sincerity. God knew that in David's righteous desire to serve his people/family... he'd have the courage to stand, throw rocks at, and slay a giant in the name of his Lord.

Saturday night at 11pm there was an intoxicating spirit lingering in that room, decorated by moose antlers and bear heads. The spirit of God resides in God's people living out God's heart.

The good life

This is a lonely life
Sorrows everywhere you turn
And that’s worth something
When you think about it
That’s worth some money.
Paul Simon

The "good" life is the "Godly" life.
The "Godly" life demands death.
Death that brings life.
God didn't like what was happening in the world either.
But He loved it so much that He gave His only Son.
So that we who deserve death... could live.

Living that out that is hard.
It hurts.
It's lonely.
It often feels life-sucking instead of life-giving... and life-getting.
RIGHTFULLY caring enough to sacrifice SHOULD be worth money.
If that mattered.
Instead it comes with shallow buried hope, a shovel and a kind word...
all that we need to find it;
and property in The Kingdom.

Living Offensively On Purpose (LOOP)

If you're a Big Ear reader... I'd love to have you join me in a live dialogue on Freedom House TV tonight from 9-10ET about how we should live on the offense instead of defense... how to not TAKE offense in doing so... and (here's where I'd love you to join in with your thoughts) how you "hear God" so that you know where you're supposed to be "on the offensive". Share it with a friend!

Watch live streaming video from freedomhousetv at livestream.com

Sexual Mindsets: THIS is about THAT

This week I watched the power of sexuality play out before my eyes... and not in a good way. Without going into the scenario, let me just say that as I listened to Craig Gross's "The Dirty Little Secret" audiobook (thanks again Zondervan), combined with this incident... I was again reminded just how vital a healthy sexual mindset is to our healthy everyday lives. The results of ignorance and/or being lax in our vigilance are potentially devastating. Gross says specifically about those caught in the pornography trap,

"The casualties are dying in a slow cooker"

And it holds true to any of us caught in unhealthy sexual mindsets. It's not always quick... but it can be deadly. A while back I wrote a blog about called "The 'how long sex take compared to how important it is' meter". I wrote:

Did you know that a new study has shown that "optimal sex" only takes 3-13 minutes? That's not that long. And 3 to 13 minutes a couple times a week does not constitute a great percentage of a human's time. Yet sex dominates our thoughts, our plans, our words... it's enormous. Those 20 minutes a week can either build us up or tear us down.

The "you won't do x,y,z" discussion is a VERY common thing. It's something we all experience but left undealt with, it leads to isolation, resentment, jealousy, etc... And when you consider that "x" would be 2 minutes out of 20 in a week... "y" would only be 1 minute a week, and "z", barely 30 seconds a week... answers MUST be closer than we feel like they are if we'll talk and be honest.

Maybe there are "x y z" reasons that "x y z" actions don't happen. Maybe good reasons. But nothing can't be overcome. Talking about "x y z" can be awkward. It makes you feel very vulnerable. Because the reality is that "xyz" is not about "xyz". As Rob Bell talks about in "Sex God", THIS is about THAT. The weekly 20 minutes of naked, both reflects and shapes our clothed relationship that fills the other 167.2 hours.

Today I'm thinking about the THAT's in our lives. It's our "THAT's" that not only effect our current"this"... but our future "this's", other people's "this's" and a whole lot of our other "that's" too (just for good measure).

It's awful hard to even sleep peacefully when something in our lives is out of alignment sexually. Whether it's fighting lust alone, everyday relational tension, or battling an unhealthy mindset that has been ingrained into us (either self-inflicted or imposed on us against our will). "THAT'S" are everywhere when it comes to sex. And they are only resolved through being on top of them through constant self-analysis.

But what are we looking for? Often it's selfish attitudes (that may or may not lead into action... right now at least) that give footholds to little areas of bondage that rob freedom. And not the freedom to be a sexual maniac. That's an unreal, unnatural image that the porn industry has so successfully conned us into believing is reality. Craig Gross will tell you that over the years as he's built relationships with those inside the porn industry... that even the porn stars know that it's a farce. To them it's work. Unpleasant sex that they claim doesn't much effect their real sex life because it bears little resemblance to anything natural. And it's intentionally designed to hook you. To drag you (willingly and hungrily) deeper into further realms of depravity.

Thinking about sex a lot... is entirely natural. And it's GOOD! Think about how many of our decisions in life are, even in a round about way, based around charming the opposite sex. In high school when I was in the flirting stage with my wife, I remember wearing a pair of khaki pants (completely out of my character) instead of my usual ripped jeans one day... just to turn her head my way. Success. She remembers it to this day. Heck... I'm wearing khaki pants today for much the same reason.

It's so telling that this act that takes so little of our actual time perspectively, yet fills our consciousness and subconsciousness so often... is designed to be done naked and vulnerable with your best friend in the safest of places. It's designed to bring peace and unity. It's designed to give you even a brief glimpse of a place where pain doesn't exist... but "together" is forever. And when we don't have that... we had better work to get it there for everyone's sake.

This is about That.

Captain Kindness for Frosty Fest

Silly Virgins

God's kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn't show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.

In the middle of the night someone yelled out, 'He's here! The bridegroom's here! Go out and greet him!' "The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, 'Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil. 'They answered, 'There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.'They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked.

Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, 'Master, we're here. Let us in.'He answered, 'Do I know you? I don't think I know you. 'So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.

Jesus in Matthew 25: 1-13 (The Message)

I DO NOT want to be a silly virgin. In fact, it's likely worth considering the next time you think, rationalize, ponder and judge your way though worship instead of actively engaging. God's never dishonored those who eagerly want Him more than anything (regardless of the appearance of silliness) . He doesn't find it silly at all actually. He reserves that label for us in our halfheartedness.

You just never know when He'll show up. Wouldn't want to be sitting cross-armed and pouting when your God comes looking for someone who simply has their arms open to receive Him.