Church

Whenever I'm not preaching at Mountainview, it's my privilege to give the communion meditation.  Or "communion med" as we call it in shorthand.  (Calling it a "med" makes me a bit queasy, like we're giving medication to the crowd). Typically, I will pick up a copy of our senior pastor's outline on Thursday and look it over between then and Saturday night.  That allows me to get a good feel for his main points and then be able to tie-in the communion thought to the theme of the message.  I feel like it helps to create a worship gathering that flows and fits together. This past weekend, I had my "prepared" communion meditation in my pocket and used it on Saturday night and at our first service on Sunday.  At second service, God was gracious to bring to mind a story that  fit well with the theme of the message…

Yesterday I wrote about two of the four common myths surrounding spiritual growth.  Here are the remaining two ... Myth number three: Spiritual growth is based on a single experience.  Our culture (especially late-night television) tells us that we can buy real estate with no money down and lose weight in only 90 seconds a day.  We live in a quick-fix culture.  Don't work, don't worry.  Many Christ-followers buy into this thinking as well.  "I’m only one video or one class or one seminar away from spiritual growth." The truth is: spiritual growth is not one single experience but an accumulation of experiences.  In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul describes the goal for every believer as growing up into maturity.  The last time I checked, it takes 35 years to go from a newborn baby to a 35-year-old person.  There are no shortcuts. Myth number four:  Spiritual growth is about gathering information…

I was born and raised in East Peoria, Illinois.  That meant several things: my dad worked at Caterpillar Tractors, I shopped at Bergner's department store, and I routinely enjoyed three feet of snow every winter.  When we lived in San Diego, people spoke of "visiting the snow."  When you lived in Illinois, the snow visited you ... and stayed for a while. While living in California for fifteen of the last eighteen years, we didn't see much snow.  We did see snow on the news.  If I remember correctly, I think people sent us pictures of the snow.  Theologically speaking, we enjoyed the snow vicariously and was content to do so. For some reason, God thought we had experienced enough blue skies and warm temperatures and decided it was time to move us back to where it snows.  Which it did this week in a big way.  And he used…

I recently read the phrase "every life has a soundtrack" and it has stuck with me. My musical tastes were formed in part by being the youngest of five brothers.  While my friends in high school were listening to Human League and Wham!, I was listening to Neil Young, James Taylor, and Dan Fogelburg.  By the grace of God, I was spared from the techno-pop era. As I've aged, my musical interests have expanded to include such genres as bluegrass and alternative country.  I've added Lyle Lovett, John Prine, and others to my collection.  Of course, nothing can beat the Barenaked Ladies when you need feel-good music. "Every life has a soundtrack."   Indeed.   There is a melody behind each of us.  With nearly forty years of living under my belt, I've learned that the music changes ... as we change.  But it's still there. Each person we meet, even those…

Unless you're self-employed and have no one working with you, you have co-workers.  As someone who has hired staff, there are certain things you look for.  I've often used the 3C's I first heard It's been said talk about: character, chemistry, and competence.  These three attributes represent a great grid through which to view prospective employees or staff members. I just finished reading an excellent blog post entitled, "People I want to work with" by Stephen Brewster.  It adds another dimension to the discussion.  Here it is: People I want to work with I was reading a great post the other day from Todd Henry. He has a theory: Passion + Grace – Competence = Nice person, but can’t keep up with the team. Passion + Competence – Grace = Extreme performer that no one wants to be around. Competence + Grace – Passion = Really good performer, but no…