The Bicycle Diaries (8 Years)

Our beginning was anything but lovely.  She couldn't stand me and I didn't even know she existed the first time we met.  Didn't even know anything about anything until April 5th 2005.  Its been 8 years. It hasn't been perfect.  It hasn't been easy.  But it has been filled with Christ's grace, forgiveness, and babies.

This won't be a long post.  Its a post to be thankful for the bride God gave me.  It's a testament to how much bigger God is than our knowledge, sense of justice, and imperfections.  It's a testament to how God builds families and we just get the great privilege to live in them. 

God is the one that's made this possible.  Not my beautiful, wonderful, broken wife.  And most certainly not me.  You know me.  I am far from perfect.  God heals and strengthens.  God binds and covers.  God has made our relationship and our love deeper.  And Lord, thank you.

How do we Pray for Professional Athletes?

The last couple weeks that I've been watching my San Francisco 49ers go through the playoffs, I've come to a point where I think to myself, "I'm going to pray for them."  And then, I hit the proverbial wall.  What am I going to pray for? That they win?  Though God knows who is going to win, what help is it to anyone anywhere if I pray for something so selfish and seemingly stupid?

I'd been wrestling with how professional athletes walk in faith and how they can be a witness on the field.  I've kind of come to the conclusion that while they're doing their job on the field, not much other than a prayer for protection from injury would seem rather vane.  Ultimately though, if athletes are believers, the true testing of their faith, when it comes to their job, is when they walk off the field.  Or, in some cases, when they are carried, carted, or walked off the field.

When an athlete fails in his position, he can despair.  Even more so if he or she feels like the team lost because of their failure.  If an athlete does well, but feels like they're looked over because other people seemed to have performed that much better, that may plant a seed of bitterness or resentment in their heart.  If an athlete suffers an injury that ends their season, or worse, their career, they may feel great loss and despair.  If an athlete does well in their position, they could possibly become prideful.  Again, even more so if their team wins and the win can in any way be attributed to their performance. 

All of these things are struggles that we as people face, but professional athletes so much more because of how people idolize them and the pressure placed on them by their families, their teammates and the coaching staff/management.  The pressure of expectation of performance, the allure of celebrity, and yes, even a professional athlete's desire to be recognized and appreciated, can all lead to sin.  And this is how we can pray for them.

We can pray that God would console them when they are injured, regardless of whether or not they will be able to play any more.  That He would show them that He is the true comforter of their hearts.  We can pray that when they fail, that they not feel despair at their own failure, but feel loved and more than conquerors, regardless of the email or tweets they receive saying otherwise.  We can pray that the Lord give them humble hearts so that celebrity and the short-lived flash of this life not capture their hearts and destroy them from within.  We can pray that the Lord use their position to shine, instead of allowing lust and vanity to consume their thoughts and actions.  We can pray that they find their accomplishment and recognition in God instead of the questions of press and the adoration of their fans.

To some degree, we all face these things, so really, in the end, we should be praying for each other in all of these aspects as well.  Because all of our hearts face these situations and we should not lose sight of God's loving truth.  Even if our job is to make it to the SuperBowl...or not.

A Response to the Curse of the American Church

So, upon reading the blog post which can be found here: The Curse of the American Church, I started thinking, "Is this the case?"  Are churches in America so concerned with success that they care more about growth than actual life together, mission, and gospelling one another?  I examined the churches I've had the blessing to be a part of, and the churches I've had the blessing to know people from, and came to the conclusion that no, not all churches in America are so concerned with growth alone that they marginally do the things that should come naturally from living a Spirit filled life.

If you've never heard the saying, "It is more important to be faithful than it is to be successful," think about what the implications of it are.  Let it roll around in your mind and heart for a bit.  Personally, it means that a "great" job that provides for your family might not be a good thing if you have to sacrifice your family to be in that good job.  My brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces, I know this applies to you because I was in your shoes.  Just because we're doing something we think is a "good" thing for our families, doesn't mean we're doing the right thing for our families.  

Corporately in the Church, this means that we can not focus on trivial things such as butts in seats.  While it is important to see that there are butts in seats, our mission and focus is not to scramble frantically to do something about filling them.  We are to live our lives out in the light of God's truth, filled with Christ's love, and lead by the Holy Spirit.  In doing these things, people will be drawn to God, not by our attempts to befriend them through a game of basketball or a meal we share, but by the presence of His Holy Spirit and His heavy and holy hand upon them.  Their spirit will thirst and seek to fulfill that thirst in the only way it knows how, by coming to church to hear His word.  The church, on fire for God, is what caused growth that is so clearly talked about and documented throughout the book of Acts.

Acts 2:47 "...And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. "

Acts 5:14 "And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, "

This verse explicitly states a good caveat that is very much implied in all the other verses...

Acts 9:31 "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied."

And Acts 16:5 "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily."

So, while we can't and shouldn't measure "success" by growth and numbers alone, because our "success" is measured only by how we are walking, personally and corporately, with Christ, we should see growth in our churches.  Why "success" you say?  Because, "success" is never in the sights of a follower of Christ.  Following Christ is.