5 things you don't know about me

I have been tagged by my friend, Aaron Conrad, to share with the world 5 unique things about me. Check out Aaron's Five. Since I'm one of those guys that tends to color inside the lines I've had to put in a lot of thought to come up with more than where I went to school, where I've lived and famous people that I've shared a private beach with (a story for another time). I hope you enjoy.

1. I have spent the night in jail. Sounds a bit scary and maybe glamorous, but it is really quite boring. I had a season of life where I was racking up speeding tickets like it was job. In order to stick it to the man, I chose to rip them up instead of paying them. Not smart. Because after not paying a few, a warrant went out for my arrest and upon my next infraction I had to pay the piper. I made my call, was baled out, starting paying my tickets and eventually chose to slow down.

2. I once lost the tip of my left pinkie finger. At about 2, my family moved from Chicago, IL and during the move the tip of my little finger got cut off by a closing door. They picked up the piece of finger and me and took us both to hospital, where we were reunited. My little finger and I have made up and stuck together ever since the incident.

3. I have a fake tooth. I'm sounding pretty pathetic and clumsy at this point (I bet you didn't know that about me). But one day during a little league game I wandered into the on deck circle where our best player was practicing his swing. I timed it just right and his bat made contact with my mouth at full swing. All I remember is bending over and spitting out my teeth. I was quite fortunate that he hit my mouth and not my nose. So my left front tooth is a fake, covering up the hole in my smile left by Alex Steinman's bat.

4. I am not a midget. Although an impressive 5' 2 1/4" I am just short. So when people refer to me as midget, shorty, little man or dwarf it is not so much a technical term as it is a derogatory statement. Just to clarify. But I have always taken comfort in the community of small-statured but impressive men like Michael J. Fox, Chris Tomlin, Joshua Harris and the apostle Paul.

5. I once broke my brothers arm. Of course it was an accident... I'm not that vicious. At about 12 years old my little brother and I were playing in Kenny Bucks' tree house. We were hanging off the edge and swinging from a tree limb and jumping. My brother wasn't moving as fast as I thought he should, so I gave him a nudge, he lost his balance and SNAP. The fun part was my parents were out of town and my grandma was watching us for the weekend.

2007 is starting FAST for some

I got an e-letter today from Ed Young, Jr. pastor of Fellowship Church outside Dallas, TX. It appears he recently kicked off the churches new year by inviting the entire church to a 21 day fast, in accompaniment with his "Larger Than Life" series. In a church-meets-MTV element he is even posting a confessional Video Journal which gives a great behind the scenes look at this large church figure... including family scenes in his swayzee kitchen.

The fast, as explained in the weekend service, is a spiritual discipline designed to better connect us with God. As a church, we are fasting in order to deepen our relationship with God and walk in step with His plan and purpose. The best way to do this is to redirect our food source. This is accomplished through substituting our regular food intake with Bible reading, praying and journaling. The overall goal is to experience a genuine hunger for spending time with God."

I can't argue with that...in fact it seems like the discipline of fasting is way out of style these days. For some good biblical "meat" on the topic I recommend John Piper's sermon Man Shall Not Live on Bread Alone. Happy Feasting!

Mad about the Buckeyes

After the BCS Championship game I was mad. Mad about the Buckeyes… because when it comes to the Bucks I’m a Superfan. Da Buuuuuucks!. Mad at Florida, mad at the SEC, mad at Urban Meyer, mad at the Buckeyes. My blood was boiling…my pulse was high… I couldn’t sleep until 2am. Sometimes I get mad about the buckeyes. And I’m not alone… we often get mad about the strangest things, don’t we. For some its sports, for others its traffic, and for others it’s waiting 5 minutes in line at the grocery store.

The things that move us to place of deep emotions are quite powerful things if you think about it. Think about the things that make you mad… or sad… or guilty… or happy. Are they silly little things like sports or do they have some social value like racism. The things that move us to the place of strong emotion are powerful things… whether they are silly or weighty.

And if you think about it we are probably defined by the things that move us. We are defined as shallow people or deep people… as selfish people or generous people… as thoughtful or flaky… by the things that move us to emotion. They define us.

Consider what moved Jesus…
Jesus became angry when merchants desecrated the temple of God
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. Matthew 21:12

Jesus was moved to compassion by the physical and spiritual needs of a neglected people
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

I hate some of silly things that feed my anger or joy, because they are small or petty or simple things. In the end they reveal how shallow I can be, for in the end they are meaningless pursuits. It’s ok to be a Superfan… as long as it does not define us. Life is too precious to be defined by such simple things.

New Attitude......the conference

New Attitude
Louisville, KY
Memorial Day Weekend 2007
*for singles of all ages & young married couples

This great event happens right in our own "backyard". I have great respect for the men they are putting on the platform and the creative, worshipful, challenging nature of what they are doing. I'm going this year and would love to take a crowd of singles and young marrieds with me. The cost is reasonable &and I've already saved a block of hotel rooms. Their web-site is full of downloads, book recommendations and constantly update with sweet blogs. I can wait!

Loving Your Enemies

Every year there is a day on the calendar comemorating the influence that Martin Luther King, Jr. had upon our country. But with each passing year, we remember less and less about this man. Our national ignorance about this great figure in our nations history is growing. We know him positively or negatively based largely upon the caricatures of him that others have painted for us.

His influence and legacy is worth our attention and admiration and a bit of study. So may I suggest that you read one of his sermons, pick up a biography or listen to a speech. Today I read his sermon "Loving your Enemies" delivered on November 17, 1957 at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, made available by Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

I leave you with a section of that sermon...

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, "Love your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you. Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.

She's 30 !!!!!

On January 11, 1977 my girl took her first breath in this world. On July 22, 2000 she took my name. On April 18, 2003 she bore my first son. And today she is stepping out of her raging 20's and is embracing her 30's.

A wise man once said, he who finds a wife finds a good thing. And I found a good thing when Christine walked into my life.

She is too much of certain things for some and not enough of other things for others, but in our 6 years of marriage we have grown to love and like each other more all the time.

Some relationships are likened to polite conversations over tea... ours is more like a wrestling match during happy hour. And I love her for who she is and what she has brought into my life. Here are a few unique things that I love about Christine.

Her soft heart... She connects with people who have suffered hardship on a heart level and feels for them. She has little compassion for fools, but for people who undeservedly suffer she sheds tears.

Her openness... I used to love it, then it bothered me, then I hated it and now I love with more understanding. She doesn't leave me wondering "what she really feels", she talks and tells me whats on her heart and mind.

Her work ethic... I am a self-confessing procrastinator and she is a workhorse. I have become more efficient (but am still a work in progress) because of her example.

Her support... She is my number one fan and makes me feel very secure as a husband, father and a man. She doesn't butter me up all the time as an act, but she is really my best fan and teamate.

Her energy... She is fun to play with and laugh with and debate with and entertain with. How boring my life would be without her.

Thanks for entertaining my gushing on my wife.
I love you Christine!

The Bible Experience

Have you heard about this project? It looks like the African-American community has pulled its star talent to produce a new generation of Audio Bible. I read about it in an interview that Catalyst did with one of the Executive Producers Lou "Buster" Brown. I know nothing of the personal relationship that each character has with the One whose story they are telling, but I am all about getting God's Word out to the masses.

The preview looks moving! To God be the glory!

Letting Go

After wearing holes in the back right pocket of two pairs of nice pants and tiring of the heckles of some who saw the size of my wallet I am turning over one new leaf this year. I am taking the advice of family (wife) and friends (Matt) who think my wallet is too big and cumbersome and I am down-sizing to a cute money clip.

You can see for yourself that over the years I have become quite capable of filling my back right pocket with lots of "necessary" items. But as I worked my way through the wallet, I noticed that the items were parts of my identity that I had compiled over the years. They were not simply pieces of plastic but layers of my identity. So shedding them not only will save my pants and maybe my back, but in a sense is stripping my ego of certain status symbols.

Here are a few of the items that were in the wallet, but didn't make it to the clip:

• social security card: never needed it, I've got it memorized
• Student ID card from Dallas Seminary: that thing cost me 4 years of my life
• frequent flyer cards: from my previous life as traveling salesman
• Avis Member Card: not only salesman, but National Account Manager
• local Library Card: have used it once in 3 years
• ATM card: I have sworn off cash and am all plastic

I must say, sitting is a lot more comfortable these days!

The Good Life

My life is often out of order. Maybe that is why we have New Year Resolutions... because we all feel that the ship is a bit off course and it is our attempt to right the ship. I think the human condition is a disorderly life.

We are cracked and broken to the core by self-destructive things that we do and by the destructivethings that others do to us. We sin and we are sinned against. The result is chaotic... at times their is joy and peace and even fulfillment...but that all happens in the context of a disordered life.

The gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached is that God has a good life for us... an ordered life... a redeemed life. It is quite a foreign thing to us... so foreign that it takes murder. The old life has to be killed a new life has to be birthed, then nourished and pruned.

This new life is like a beautiful fruit tree that in times creates luscious fruit. My spiritual life is often unfruitful and stale and dry. That is why when I came across the following verses, I was reminded to resolve anew this year to pursue the good life which I have freely received from its author.

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement….
your faith with virtue,
and virtue with knowledge,
and knowledge with self-control,
and self-control with steadfastness,
and steadfastness with godliness,
and godliness with brotherly affection,
and brotherly affection with love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-8

Mistaken Identity

This January I decided to take a look at our financial investments and savings accounts and retirement funds to make sure that everything was accounted for. In the process I found a retirement fund of about $125 that Christine got when she did some substitute teaching in Dallas during our first year of marriage. She was an awesome sub...the kids hated her and the teachers loved her, because she followed their instructions to the "T".

Since the dollar amount was so low, I decided to just cash it in and have them cut us a check. But as I looked more closely at the account it looks like it could almost belong to an entirely different person. I requested that the check be cut to Mrs. Christine Burkle. But the account is registered for Mr. Lelia Griffin. That's right Mr. They have her god-give first name (Lelia) and her maiden name (Griffin) and somehow have her as a male. And even though we might never see that $125, it makes me realize how important our identity is.

It is important to know who we are...and who we aren't. Many people struggle their whole life with a variety of identity issues. Some people long for others identity or want to switch their own. We each have an innate desire to center ourselves comfortably around an identity. Maybe that is why in the Bible God regularly encourages his children to know who they are and whose they are. To remember who remembers them and whose eye is watching over them. Redemption is a new identity, rooted "in Him"... in Jesus. Jesus' offer of freedom from sin and guilt and death is a promise of new life which he lives through us (Gal 2:20), if we will open our heart to it.

Don't let the world tell you who you are (especially the Highland Park ISD), tell the world who you are through Christ.

Blue day for the Scarlet & Gray

Along with the rest of Buckeye Nation I am mourning the trouncing of my beloved Buckeyes by the gators. The Bucks were pushed, pummeled and pounced. They were out-coached, out-huscled, out-schemed and out-played. They lost miserably to a team that on game day was far superior.

If there is any saving grace, I don't think they were out-classed. I see class is how your speak about the event and your opponent. From the gators I heard only disrespect and adrenaline fueled back-handed comments about the Bucks, the Big Ten and Tressel. From the Bucks I heard nothing but positive comments about their opponent while taking full responsibility for the loss.

They don't hand out trophies in football for class... that is not how life works. But at the end of life people don't line up to walk by your coffin because it is surrounded by trophies. So how do I end my mourning and take something positive from this embarassing loss...by philosophizing of course. For you see, sport is not life, it simply prepares you for life. We Buckeyes know how tragic life can turn for a rising champion when he believes too many of the headlines (Mr. Clarrett). So win with grace.... lose with grace.... and good guys don't always end up first.

It's a Heart Issue

I came across a chapter for a book on discipleship entitled "How I Learned to Disciple a Transexual." I think the author, Robert Thune, has done such a good job of putting into words something that really resonates with my soul. It a gospel-centeredness that blurs the lines between evangelism and discipleship. It is a more wholistic view of what the gospel is, what it does and even who it is for. And Robert wraps it up into a compelling story that is still not finished.

I love his nutshell of the gospel... Cheer up: you're worse than you think. But cheer up: God's grace is greater than you ever dreamed. He challenges our tendency towards "behavior-modification" evangelism by clarifying that the real issue is the heart. The gospel works from the inside out right. So spiritual maturity is better reflected not in visible effects (tithes, bible studies, good works) but in the affections of the heart (our longings and treasures).

He mentions, We forget that the gospel doesn't just change eternal destinies; it changes everything. I guess the longer I am Christian I realize that I am much worse than I think. So whether you are discipling a Transexual or trying to really understand what the gospel is I commend his 7 page chapter to you. Thanks to a29 for making it available!

Subalicious

I get to work with some really creative guys and gals in our young adults group at Church. A couple of guys, Brendan and Jordan, put together a cool song to promote a connection lunch we had yesterday. Their song "subalicious" is a takeoff of a current pop-song that I have never heard. Talk about creative. Listen for yourself.

Mooo-ving into the New Year

I road-tripped to a Dairy in Springfield, OH yesterday with a new friend Jon. When he confessed his addiction to milk and all things dairy I felt like I had just lit-up infront of a nicotene addict. Fortunately I was able to peel Jon away from the dairy with little more than a scratch, but only after I let him pose with Rosie and Rocky the mascots.

Milk is quite good for you, it provides great nutrition for the body. I've never heard of any doctor saying, you look pretty healthy...but you should back off the milk a little. In 2007 I need to drink more milk and take better care of my body. But that is not all that I need to do...because whether I like it or not my body at the ripe young age of 35 is beginning to decay. I need also to feed my soul.

In 2007 as I increase my daily intake of milk, to feed my bones, I also need to increase my daily intake of spiritual milk, the Word of God. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation- 1 Peter 2:2. What feeds my soul is connecting with God... listening to what he has to say to me... sharing my fears and desires... letting him point out where I need correction... humbly submitting to his direction.

Don't get stuck with brittle bones due to a lack of milk and don't get stuck with a shriveled soul due a disconnect with God and his Word.

Life is a Gift

Happy New Year!

I am back after about a month off. I had nothing to say in December. I was busy thinking about Christmas... rethinking my ministry at church... and trying to teach my kids that the true meaning of Christmas is not "getting toys." I lost that last battle... oh well there is always next year.

Then around Christmas I received an e-mail from a friend from Dallas, his name is John. He is living on borrowed time... meaning he should have died years ago. I really think he is a medical miracle. He has Cystic Fibrosis and has done many things that doctors told him he would not do, such as live into his 30's. I used to sit next to John at a call center that we both worked at. We talked about life and work and dreams and family. John married a sweet girl, Jen, who knew that her time with John was numbered from the start.

But she took the plunge and committed herself to him. They got married and now they have a kid. Then in his Christmas e-mail he said he is now on the top of the lung transplant list in Dallas, TX and knowing the risks involved he just wanted to say he loved his family and friends.

His story was covered by the local CBS affiliate. You can see the five minute clip here. He just wants to live a little longer.

John knows that life is a gift! What a perspective...

The seven27 Christmas Special

Jordan makes another hit, promoting our last BIG NITE gathering of '06!

For the Bible tells me so...

How much of what we do in the church is biblical and how much is cultural? I am personally convinced that much of what we do in church is cultural. Not that it is bad. It is just cultural. It is our expression of what we think would be most honoring to God (at least when its not "the way we've always done it"). Other cultures long ago or far away don't do life the way we do, so in some way they won't do church the way we do.

You come to conclusions about these things by asking a series of why questions? Why do we sing the way we do? Why dress this way? Why have this person speak this time and that person speak that time? You get the gist.

I used to quip (defensively)... for the Bible tells me so. But then I looked into the Bible and I didn't find much about how to do church, just a few descriptions (not prescriptions) of a few early churches....who even differed a bit on how they did things.

If this talk scares you, my next advice won't...look in the Bible for yourself. See how little the Bible prescribes for the church. The Bible tells us many important things about man and God and Jesus...life and death things, but it tells us little about how to do church. To further push on the issue of our cultural expressions of the church I sugges Dan Kimball's recent blog post Pews, Pulpits, Pastors, Preaching and other things that can get in the way of the church "being" the church.

I'm flattered

Kevin Carroll is my hero.

This has absolutely nothing to do with fact that he highlighted my blog on his blog, today. See the evidence here.

I am flattered, excited and giddy that Kevin saw my post on him and found it worth sharing with others.

I am planning on getting his book, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, and reading it myself this Christmas (seriously). I'd suggest you do the same and get one for someone else you know, whom you want to encourage to live playfully.

Vintage21 Jesus Video #3

Is Jesus for girls?That is what a majority of people think. He was a whiny, meek, compassionate man who was...well weak. And people get this notion from Church. I came across this hilarious video designed to get us to think about the Jesus we portray.

In the Spring of 2003, Vintage21 had a four week series on Jesus Christ, taking a deep look at what He said and did. It was difficult at times to get past our preconceived notions that had been developed by staunch, starched Sunday School classes of old. This is a satirical look at what some people think Jesus is like. Thank goodness He's not.

See video

Web Worship

As I lay on my couch last night watching Sunday night football , I also tuned into the Passion Live Link over at 268generation.com , curious about what would ensue. I've been involved in a bunch of conference calls over the years but never a Live Web Worship event. And what unfolded was refreshingly simple. It was an hour of singing led by Steve Fee broken up by times of prayer... that simple.

Apparently Louie Giglio gathered his staff and friends at the Passion House in Atlanta to broadcast the event. He regularly updated listeners as to who was listening and listeners "showed their support" by commenting on the blog. I noted that at 10:14 there were 133 comments and at 10:45 there were 200 comments. I even commented to let the staff know that a Buckeye was listening in. It appears that families were huddled around the family computer and college groups were broadcasting the link to entire rooms full of people.

The event was simply an hour of praise and prayer. We prayed for the upcoming Passion 07 Event, for college campuses and for the nations. I personally felt the tension in my life. The big screen in my living room was broadcasting another Sunday Night NFL game. Fans were cheering, commentators were analyzing and players were hustling. But the small screen in front of me was broadcasting this live worship event. My attention bounced between two realities, each voice vying for my attention. I sort of liked it. The tension that is...of allowing the Christ I worship to invade my personal space and play space, but not necessarily being the center of my attention. The tension of the here-and-now fighting with the still-coming. The tension of the already and the not-yet. Prayer and football were my comfort. I appreciate Louie Giglio's creativity, leadership and God-centeredness. It was a memorable Sunday night for me.