What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let Satan have one more
What if the Church, for Heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed Hell's rusty gates
-Casting Crowns, What If His People Prayed?
The Fellowship of the Believers
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
-Acts 2: 42-47
Is the reason we're not seeing God working in miraculous ways because we're living in our own little world and (even worse) we're perfectly content with our small dreams that do not ever escape our own control? This section of Scripture continues to kick me squarely in the teeth. I can't even fathom what it would look like to see the Lord adding daily to those who were being saved. My vision of God and His people is too small, to a frightening degree.
I have this crazy vision in my head right now of walking down the street in some of the poorest areas of (insert big city here, most likely Houston) and going door-to-door asking the residents of these areas what it is that they need most. I feel like one of the biggest problems with helping people is that we don't ever know what they truly need. Is it something basic like food and shelter? Is it something more complex like job training or educational opportunity? More likely, it is a little bit of both. Yes, the idea of walking, in near complete defenselessness, down a rough and tumble neighborhood strikes my white, suburban, upper middle class sensibilities as a bit odd. And dangerous. But is that what it takes to find the needs of my city and meet them exactly where they are? If it is, then let me be dangerous, in the words of the late, great Jim Elliot:
“We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are “harmless,” and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are “sideliners” — coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!”
-Jim Elliot
What an epic 2 days it has been in my thought life. So encouraging. Looking forward to the week in Houston and my next weekend in Denver. It's time to move. It's not time to just sit there.
Who's with me?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Daydream Believer
"Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen."
Daydream Believer, The Monkees
I have so many of those days where everything just comes in a rush and nothing seems to have any order in the endless madness that is my typical day. Everything just sort of happens. I wake up and go about my day not seeing or understanding anything within a bigger picture than this individual day.
Today is not one of those days.
I'm fighting it even as I write this, but some things are just undeniable. Today has been no ordinary day. Most days, I cannot possibly identify a unifying theme or even handful of themes to capture the essence of the day. Today, it is simple: Daydream Believer.
It all started this morning on the way to Watermark (Dallas) for church. I drove my dad's Chrysler 300C the 30+ miles over to Watermark for worship. On the way, I flipped through the handful of decent radio stations in the Dallas area. On one particular Oldies station (KLUV, perhaps?), I caught an entire Monkees rendition of their famous hit, "Daydream Believer." On my list of dreamy songs, this probably ranks 1st, just ahead of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream." I digress. I sang along, as I do with most any song that contains lyrics sufficiently interesting enough to catch my attention. The lyrics above really caught my attention because I am a dreamer almost to a fault. Maybe it's the escapism that appeals or the dissatisfaction with different parts of my life... or maybe it's just a healthy reminder from God that there is so much more to life than travel or work or fun or health or... dare I say it... church. My friend Daniel recently opined, after I expressed a lack of fulfillment at work one day, that maybe this was God allowing me to be dissatisfied not as a sign to switch jobs but as a way of only allowing me to be satisfied with Him alone. Nothing else. Maybe he has a point. I am quite happy with my employer, and the people I work with are the most intriguing group of talented professionals I've ever met. But there is still a deeper yearning in my heart that my job clearly cannot fulfill.
As I sang the song this morning, my semi-sour mood eased, and I got into the lyrics of the song a little. I am a daydream believer. I love to daydream, and I want so badly to believe that all of the things I daydream about will, in fact, come true at some point.
It is in this context that I received the message at Watermark today. I couldn't pin down exactly what the unifying theme to Todd's talk was today, but the part that struck me in the most profound way was this concept of the church being the hope of the world. Hope of the world. Hope. Of. The. World! Think about the weightiness of such a concept. Todd made a comment that if we think grace only relates to the grave, then you are not being the hope of the world. What does that mean? I am not being the hope of the world. God's grace is not eminating from everything I do. I leave God's grace at the cross and don't pay attention to it otherwise. He used John 10:7-10 as part of his overall illustration. I got the chance to ask myself whether I am the thief who steals life or someone who gives life by giving Jesus away through my thoughts, words, and deeds. I did not like the honest answer. Right now, when I don't get my way, I want people to know about it, and I want everyone to feel as miserable as I do. In fact, my life is so much about me right now that I literally found that it inhibited my ability to worship today with songs of praise to Jesus.
It was in this moment that I was moved to text a dear friend and be someone who encourages life (and to the full!) and examines things from a sense of optimism and forethought rather than be someone who saps life from others by being a brat.
Immediately following the worship service, I met my parents for brunch at Copeland's in Southlake's Town Square. We got around to talking about the difficulty some of the athletes have (like at any other big university) of staying eligible by passing 24 hours in a year. The thought that someone could lose eligibility because of their own lack of motivation or the poor quality of their prior schooling (or both) really irks me. It shouldn't have to be that way. I wish I could be there to tutor these student-athletes who need help making the transition from their easy high school curriculums to the rigors of a collegiate education with significantly raised standards.
Later in the afternoon, my family went to see "The Blind Side" in Grapevine. I was the only one who had previously seen the movie, and the anticipation factor was high (with good reason). I loved this movie the first time, yet the movie struck me in a much deeper and more meaningful way the second time because of how it intersected with my daydream day.
I was totally inspired by this movie the second time around. I relate to the Tuohy family in many ways because I too share a passion and interest in serving the underprivileged. I was really taken by this story because God has uniquely gifted me with a desire and passion for helping out middle school and high school kids.
The at-risk population, predominant in inner-city schools, is of such interest of me not because of any prevailing sense of "white guilt" or any need for some sort of "project" in order to make myself feel good. I legitimately think that we, as a society, do a huge disservice to our poor kids by consigning them to a lifetime of poor schools, low educational standards and free handouts. There are students within Dallas ISD right now whose reading level is on par with elementary school kids at more affluent districts. This is the unfortunate result of decades of lowered standards and monopoly control over our schools by a government that is convinced the solution is always a lack of money.
It isn't.
Maybe if we allowed some flexibility over which schools a student attends (in the former of expanded charter schools or voucher programs), the lower-performing schools would shape up. As it is, we have a crisis on our hands that is consigning our (mostly minority) inner-city schools to second class status. And programs like Teach for America can only do so much. That's why I want to help. I want to become a Big Brother or find another program like United Way's Bridging The Gap to get heavily involved in so that I can help stem the tide of poor juveniles ending up in prison. I'd much prefer they learn how to read, write, think and contribute to civil society. I just want them to see that someone loves them and that there is opportunity there for them to take. Like Michael Oher did.
I have this friend in Houston... The highminded, ambitious way she talks inspires me. I want to see it through. I want to see people our age learning God's Word not so it becomes head knowledge but because it has practical application in each of our lives. I want us trusting it enough to learn from it because we trust the Creator who put the words on those pages for all to read. Seeing the power in the God who wrote the Book, not the Book itself. Being a part of the city to serve those who most need the help and offering life in Jesus whenever and wherever we can. Doing something that feels so very uncomfortable that it makes us come alive in bold, passionate pursuit of the Christ we know and profess with our lips. I want to invite her and so many others into the adventure God is writing in my life this very moment. This is the week I want to be a part of the earthquake that disseminates from the epicenter of Christ working in Houston (and in Denver).
And so I just continue to dream, knowing that, as the movie states, there is simply nothing that is impossible with God. A dream that is not an escape; rather it is a way to flesh out the details of the very items God is laying on my heart right now. It is not the excuse for inaction; it is the prelude to the action.
Will you dream with me?
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen."
Daydream Believer, The Monkees
I have so many of those days where everything just comes in a rush and nothing seems to have any order in the endless madness that is my typical day. Everything just sort of happens. I wake up and go about my day not seeing or understanding anything within a bigger picture than this individual day.
Today is not one of those days.
I'm fighting it even as I write this, but some things are just undeniable. Today has been no ordinary day. Most days, I cannot possibly identify a unifying theme or even handful of themes to capture the essence of the day. Today, it is simple: Daydream Believer.
It all started this morning on the way to Watermark (Dallas) for church. I drove my dad's Chrysler 300C the 30+ miles over to Watermark for worship. On the way, I flipped through the handful of decent radio stations in the Dallas area. On one particular Oldies station (KLUV, perhaps?), I caught an entire Monkees rendition of their famous hit, "Daydream Believer." On my list of dreamy songs, this probably ranks 1st, just ahead of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream." I digress. I sang along, as I do with most any song that contains lyrics sufficiently interesting enough to catch my attention. The lyrics above really caught my attention because I am a dreamer almost to a fault. Maybe it's the escapism that appeals or the dissatisfaction with different parts of my life... or maybe it's just a healthy reminder from God that there is so much more to life than travel or work or fun or health or... dare I say it... church. My friend Daniel recently opined, after I expressed a lack of fulfillment at work one day, that maybe this was God allowing me to be dissatisfied not as a sign to switch jobs but as a way of only allowing me to be satisfied with Him alone. Nothing else. Maybe he has a point. I am quite happy with my employer, and the people I work with are the most intriguing group of talented professionals I've ever met. But there is still a deeper yearning in my heart that my job clearly cannot fulfill.
As I sang the song this morning, my semi-sour mood eased, and I got into the lyrics of the song a little. I am a daydream believer. I love to daydream, and I want so badly to believe that all of the things I daydream about will, in fact, come true at some point.
It is in this context that I received the message at Watermark today. I couldn't pin down exactly what the unifying theme to Todd's talk was today, but the part that struck me in the most profound way was this concept of the church being the hope of the world. Hope of the world. Hope. Of. The. World! Think about the weightiness of such a concept. Todd made a comment that if we think grace only relates to the grave, then you are not being the hope of the world. What does that mean? I am not being the hope of the world. God's grace is not eminating from everything I do. I leave God's grace at the cross and don't pay attention to it otherwise. He used John 10:7-10 as part of his overall illustration. I got the chance to ask myself whether I am the thief who steals life or someone who gives life by giving Jesus away through my thoughts, words, and deeds. I did not like the honest answer. Right now, when I don't get my way, I want people to know about it, and I want everyone to feel as miserable as I do. In fact, my life is so much about me right now that I literally found that it inhibited my ability to worship today with songs of praise to Jesus.
It was in this moment that I was moved to text a dear friend and be someone who encourages life (and to the full!) and examines things from a sense of optimism and forethought rather than be someone who saps life from others by being a brat.
Immediately following the worship service, I met my parents for brunch at Copeland's in Southlake's Town Square. We got around to talking about the difficulty some of the athletes have (like at any other big university) of staying eligible by passing 24 hours in a year. The thought that someone could lose eligibility because of their own lack of motivation or the poor quality of their prior schooling (or both) really irks me. It shouldn't have to be that way. I wish I could be there to tutor these student-athletes who need help making the transition from their easy high school curriculums to the rigors of a collegiate education with significantly raised standards.
Later in the afternoon, my family went to see "The Blind Side" in Grapevine. I was the only one who had previously seen the movie, and the anticipation factor was high (with good reason). I loved this movie the first time, yet the movie struck me in a much deeper and more meaningful way the second time because of how it intersected with my daydream day.
I was totally inspired by this movie the second time around. I relate to the Tuohy family in many ways because I too share a passion and interest in serving the underprivileged. I was really taken by this story because God has uniquely gifted me with a desire and passion for helping out middle school and high school kids.
The at-risk population, predominant in inner-city schools, is of such interest of me not because of any prevailing sense of "white guilt" or any need for some sort of "project" in order to make myself feel good. I legitimately think that we, as a society, do a huge disservice to our poor kids by consigning them to a lifetime of poor schools, low educational standards and free handouts. There are students within Dallas ISD right now whose reading level is on par with elementary school kids at more affluent districts. This is the unfortunate result of decades of lowered standards and monopoly control over our schools by a government that is convinced the solution is always a lack of money.
It isn't.
Maybe if we allowed some flexibility over which schools a student attends (in the former of expanded charter schools or voucher programs), the lower-performing schools would shape up. As it is, we have a crisis on our hands that is consigning our (mostly minority) inner-city schools to second class status. And programs like Teach for America can only do so much. That's why I want to help. I want to become a Big Brother or find another program like United Way's Bridging The Gap to get heavily involved in so that I can help stem the tide of poor juveniles ending up in prison. I'd much prefer they learn how to read, write, think and contribute to civil society. I just want them to see that someone loves them and that there is opportunity there for them to take. Like Michael Oher did.
I have this friend in Houston... The highminded, ambitious way she talks inspires me. I want to see it through. I want to see people our age learning God's Word not so it becomes head knowledge but because it has practical application in each of our lives. I want us trusting it enough to learn from it because we trust the Creator who put the words on those pages for all to read. Seeing the power in the God who wrote the Book, not the Book itself. Being a part of the city to serve those who most need the help and offering life in Jesus whenever and wherever we can. Doing something that feels so very uncomfortable that it makes us come alive in bold, passionate pursuit of the Christ we know and profess with our lips. I want to invite her and so many others into the adventure God is writing in my life this very moment. This is the week I want to be a part of the earthquake that disseminates from the epicenter of Christ working in Houston (and in Denver).
And so I just continue to dream, knowing that, as the movie states, there is simply nothing that is impossible with God. A dream that is not an escape; rather it is a way to flesh out the details of the very items God is laying on my heart right now. It is not the excuse for inaction; it is the prelude to the action.
Will you dream with me?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)