90 by 50 update

This week marks six weeks into my effort to lose 90 pounds by my 50th birthday--10 percent "down the road." My goal was to lose nine (9) pounds. My weigh-in today indicated I had lost eleven (11). I'm very excited. I have been at church camp for the last 10 days. The camp's high carb cuisine usually does me in--I never lose weight while I'm there. But this time I kept track of my diet and walked every other day and viola! My next six week benchmark is August 10. This will be an even more challenging segment as it includes our youth mission trip and my usual two vacation to visit family relatives in Minnesota. Lot's of opportunity to "backslide." However, my mental approach is different this time. What has, in the past, looked like such a formidable undertaking seems much more do-able now. This initial success brings much encouragement. Many of you have been sharing words of support or serving as accountability partners--I am grateful.

Roofer's haiku

I've been away at church camp for a week. . . a very good week. Perhaps more about that later.

A couple of months ago, our humble community experienced two major hailstorms in the span of one week. Since then the air as been alive with the sound of roofing nails being driven. Almost every home has a sign from some roofing company out front, staking its claim. In a moment of inspiration, the following haiku came to me:

Hail pounds rhythmically
in the morning roofers come
the sound of money

So much for that bit of culture. I'm off to another church camp--second and third graders, of which my son will be participating. Should be fun. I'll have a "90 by 50" update later in the week.

A sobering discovery

I was watching one of my favorite episodes of Magnum, PI yesterday entitled "Basket Case." It's basically a version of Oliver Twist. A young girl, played by actress Dana Hill, lives in a foster home where she is taught how to scam and steal. Magnum has a big charity basketball game, but his team stinks. Willie (Dana Hill) is a basketball whiz kid, it's what she does, along with hanging out at the library, that helps her escape her home environment. Well, naturally, the foster parents figure out that Magnum lives at the Robin's Nest and they set up a plan to burglarize the mansion of several priceless antiques. And, as you might have guessed, Willie is so touched by the love she has been shown by Magnum and Higgins that she exposes the plot. She learns a valuable lesson about her own inner morality and strength.

The story is totally beside the point. I decided to check on the biography of Dana Hill. It turns out that she was a diabetic who died at the age of 32 from severe complications of her diabetes.

It seems that since my son Jesse's diagnosis of diabetes in 2005 I am coming across many stories of the severe consequences of the disease. Couple that with his developmental delays and cognitive problems and I become very worried about his future. Right now, we are managing his diabetes pretty well. But I am very conscious of the fact that Ronda and I won't be around forever to help him with it. He struggles to take greater responsibility for the management of his condition. It's hard not to be anxious about his future and our future together.

How Church can transform culture

In my devotional reading I ran across this great quote from Howard A. Snyder this morning. It comes from his book, The Community of the King:

. . . when the Church is taken merely as a means to transform society, very little is accomplished. For in that case the uniqueness of the Church is denied and we enter battle on the same terms as secular and godless forces. We assume the battle for right and justice can be won by force, by technique, by doing. It can't. These very clearly are not the weapons of Christian warfare (Eph. 6:10-20). Truly Christian transformation of culture comes through Christlike (and henceforth sacrificial) love, community and being.

Snyder has put into words what I have felt for many years, particularly when Christians enter into the arena of politics and social justice. We have become very adept at threatening and manipulating to achieve our "righteous" ends. But it looks a lot like the world and not like the Christlike community and spirit I yearn to see revealed in the effort to confront the world with the values of God's kingdom. (See, I said "confront." Power language is very hard to get beyond.)

Many believe Christians are called to speak truth to power . . . but do we speak in the language of love or in the language of power? Power may understand the language of power when we speak it. Power is also very skilled in neutralizing the language of power when we use it. Sacrificial love, on the other hand, presents problems to power. They can crush it, thus exposing power for what it is. Or power can give in to it, thus transforming it and bringing it in line with the values of God's kingdom. Power can try to ignore love, but I believe, as Snyder does, that the love of Christ is a compelling force that ultimately cannot be denied.

90 by 50

I've told my family . . . I've told the closest thing I have to a personal trainer, Mike Graham at the Old Texas Barbell Co. . . . now I'm telling the greater world. I will be turning 50 years old in about 60 weeks. I've committed myself to losing 90 pounds by my 50th birthday. That works out to be a somewhat ambitious, but realistic, 1.5 pound weight loss per week.

My plan is reasonably simple--calories in, calories out. I will maintain an 1800 calorie a day diet by keeping a food diary provided by the Mayo Clinic. I will also be weight training three days a week and brisk walking another three days a week.

I have waypoint checks planned every six weeks to reward myself as I maintain my program. There is a real big negative "carrot" motivating me as well. If I'm not able to achieve significant weight loss by my 50th birthday, I will investigate bariatric surgery to reduce my weight. The very idea is frightening to me. But I must do something.

Your prayers will be appreciated in this effort. You have my permission to hold me accountable. With God's grace and the fruit of self-control there will be less of me to love in a year or so.

"You must be in sales."

While checking out at the local Walmart today, the cashier and I simultaneously asked, "How are you today?" She then speculated . . . "You must be in sales." I quickly denied.

Initially, the notion was repelling. But I thought some more about it. Perhaps, in a way, sales is exactly what I am in. I represent what I and many others consider the most valuable commodity in the world. Having it means the difference between life and death. In spite of death threats, many have refused to give it up. Indeed, many have taken it to the grave . . . dying because they possessed it. People have ordered their life around their possession of it. Having it, by the way, demands a reordering of life to accomodate it.

I finally confessed to her that I was in sales . . . I'm a pastor. I want to help you see that you need what I have. Let me show you that you can't live without it. Having it has the potential to transform your life. It's valuable . . . it will cost you . . . but you'll never regret your decision to get it.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which
someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.
--Matthew 13:44 (Revised Standard Version)

"You remind me of my son"

I was doing a stint as a Salvation Army bellringer this morning. I've never volunteered to do that before. I was stationed outside our local Wal-Mart store. I was surprised at the high percentage of people who give something. Very few people put in more than a couple of dollars, but I'm guessing at least 80 percent of the people who came by this morning gave something. I was encouraged.

One man's gift particularly stood out. He came up by the side of the bucket. I didn't see him until just before he put in his gift. He said to me, "You remind me of my son." I could tell by his voice and in his eyes that it was a melancholy memory. I wish I knew the story.

It reminded me that the Christmas season is not a merry one for everybody. Many people face the first holiday season after the death of a loved one. Others, like myself, are really stressed out by the commercial expectations of Christmas. They want to give for their family, but don't have a lot of spending cash to do so. So they risk disappointing their loved ones or heavy post-Christmas debt. And sometimes Christmas is just too damn busy--sucking whatever joy one might have right out of the season by overcommitment and fatigue.

Take a deep breath, everyone. Slow the pace down and savor the true Spirit of Christmas. Do less. Spend less. Give more . . . your best gift is probably totally free and completely valuable and precious . . . YOU. Give YOU a little more this year. You might be surprised at how special and valued that gift is!

A rational opinion on faith in the public arena

Michael Medved has an excellent op/ed piece in USA Today entitled "Faith in Film: Why not?" He's examining the controversy over the release of the film based on C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Medved, an observant Jew, notes that a devout Christian family's celebration of Christmas in no way threatens his faith or observance of Hanukkah. Nor is a Christian family threatened or somehow weakened when it

" . . . watches its neighbors joyously, meticulously celebrating Hanukkah--or Ramadan or Kwanzaa, for that matter . . . . In fact, confronting other religious practices may help raise substantive questions about the deeper meaning of the holiday, beyond Santa and sleigh bells."

Read the article in it entirety. I think Medved has it right. We who celebrate Christmas in an overt way pose no threat to the deeply held faith of others. We are contributing to "the kindly, soulfoul seasonal atmosphere that encourages all people to take their traditions and commitments more seriously."

God on the internet

Here's a great article on religious blogging by Jonathan Last, online editor of the Weekly Standard. It appeared in the most recent issue of First Things. It's essentially a benign critique of virtual spirituality. Among the things that he finds "troubling" are the tendency for politicization, the rampant consumerism, and the potential for "demystifying" religion.

The concern that he raised that I share with him is that many are using the internet as a substitute for actual community. The internet cannot provide real fellowship. He concludes the article with these words:

. . . even at its best, the Internet is a weakening of reality, and with its consumer satisfactions, politicizing impulses, and substitutions for the body,
it constantly lures us up into thinner and thinner air. Isn't religion supposed
to enrich the world around us instead? Shut off your computer. Take a deep
breath. Go to church.

Amen!

I am Peter.

I took the Narnia Web personality test and I tested out as Peter Pevensie, former king of Narnia. According to the website . . .

As Peter, you are brave, loyal but intelligent, and are greatly respected for upholding what you think is right.

Clearly, I must have cheated! With the impending release of the movie based on C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and Wardrobe, Narniamania has arrived. Thanks Roy Clemmons for turning me on to the test.

Take the test and tell me how you came out in the comment section below.

Who has been the most influential person in your faith journey?

A few weeks ago I polled my congregation on who they considered the most influential person in their faith journey. It was supposed to be a forced choice (they only could pick one) but many people wanted to put more than one and I went with it. I got 30 responses and the results were what I expected. Here's the list in descending order. Number of responses out of 30 is indicated in parentheses.

A parent (20)
Pastor (11)
Sunday School teacher (8)
Friend (4)
Grandparent (4)
Television preacher (3)
Spouse (3)
Church camp counselor (2)
1 vote each for: Sister, coworker, aunt & uncle, parachurch ministry, employer, cousin

I anticipated that parents would be the highest. The point of the sermon that morning was that parents play a key role in the faith journey of their children.

Biggest surprises: How highly pastors rated and how low church camp counselors were rated.

This was, of course, an unscientific survey of a very limited sample group. But the responses were consistent with statistics I've read on the subject (otherwise I would not have run the poll to prove my point!).

How about you, my virtual friends? Who has been the most influential person in matters spiritual? Let me know through the comment link below.

Taize Worship in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Here's a Taize style worship service our congregation held this evening that addressed, in part, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Welcome

Call to Worship

All Sing: "In the Lord"

In the Lord I'll be ever thankful,
in the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid;
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near.

Prayer for the Day

An Old Testament Reading: Psalm 46

All Sing: "Nada Te Turbe/Nothing Can Trouble"

Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
Those who seek God shall never go wanting.

Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
God alone . . . fills us.

Silence

All Sing: "Come and Fill"

Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord, are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
Al-le-lu-ia.

Prayers for Intercession

As part of this time we used a prayer written by John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.

All Sing: "O Lord, Hear My Prayer"

O Lord, hear my prayer; O Lord, hear my prayer.
When I call, answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer; O Lord, hear my prayer.
Come and listen to me.

The Lord is my song; the Lord is my praise:
All my hope comes from God.
The Lord is my song; the Lord is my praise:
God, the well-spring of life.

A New Testament Reading: Mark 4:35-41

Silence

All Sing: "Nada Te Turbe/Nothing Can Trouble"

Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
Those who seek God shall never go wanting.

Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
God alone . . . fills us.

Service of Holy Communion (in silence)

All Sing: "Take, O Take Me As I Am"

Take, O take me as I am;
summon out what I shall be;
set your seal upon my heart and live in me.

Dismissal with Blessing


It's not all that original but use it with my blessing.

I must be doing something right!

We're back from a two week vacation to the St. Paul MN area to visit my parents. It was a nice relaxing visit. I didn't do much but watch TV, spend some time on the computer and basically veg out. Did a little reading, too. Played golf on a beautiful links style course in Ramsey MN--The Links at Northfork.

Unfortunately, my father spent half of our visit in the hospital. He had a bad case of gout. Since his kidney transplant two and a half years ago, severe pain such as he experienced last weekend cannot be ignored. He's home from the hospital now and doing quite well.

So on to what I might be doing right. And, of course, it is much more than myself. During children's moment at church this morning, my developmentally-delayed son Jesse (9) volunteered a response to the question, "Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?" Anytime Jesse volunteers an answer to a theological question we're prepared for anything from the insightful to the odd. I thought perhaps the question was beyond his understanding. I was wrong. His answer, clear and confident, was "For our sins." I raised my fist in jubilant celebration. He is paying attention. The gospel is seeping its way into his heart. I am deeply grateful for my wife, my church and the Lord for his growth in understanding.

Divinity and humanity

August 6 holds a great deal of irony. Today is the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb by the United States on the city of Hiroshima. Today is also a special feast day for millions of Christians--The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the revelation of Jesus' divinity to his disciples . . . we remember humanity's enormous capacity to wreak war and carnage on one another.

But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive language from your mouth . . . Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
--Colossians 3:8, 14

Come Lord Jesus!

Where do you meet Jesus?

For my sermon last week I asked worshipers to respond in writing to this question at the beginning of the service, "'Where do you meet Jesus?' or in other words, 'When does Jesus seem most present for you?'" Here were the results of the informal poll of worshiper at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Lockhart TX:

In appreciating Nature--6
At bedtime, reflecting on the day--4
In silence--4
In prayer--3
During times of need and stress--3
At church camp--3
In the presence of children and loved ones--3
Praying in the morning--2
Feel a constant sense of Jesus' presence--2
During worship--2

One response each for: At the beach, in the mountains, on the golf course, during prayer vigils, taking communion to the homebound, funerals, music and singing, during daily commute, retreats, mission work, reading the Bible.

Not surprisingly, meeting Jesus is a very diverse experience.

How about y'all? Where do you meet Jesus? Add your comments below.

Some thoughts on the Terri Schiavo case

OK, seems like everybody in the blogosphere has been weighing in on the Terri Schiavo situation, I guess I will too. Here are somethings I have noticed:

• I have had a very visceral reaction to much of the broadcast media coverage of her unfortunate situation. I find much of the coverage voyeuristic and indiscreet. Though well meaning, advocates for her have turned her into a public spectacle to make their point. And, it seems, that many who are acting as if they are advocates are more concerned about making political hay than in her personal well-being.
• Michael Schiavo claims that Terri stated that she would not want to be kept alive with the extraordinary methods as have been used. Though he has waffled on this, who would know better than he? I also realize he is not a very attractive individual--there is much distrust of him. What I am pretty certain of is that many people who claim to speak for Terri have no earthly idea of what her wishes would have been.
• As a culture, we are afraid of death, which is why we are in this quandry to begin with. We have developed medical technology to a point where we are able keep bodies alive beyond what is the natural course. We can cheat death. We strive toward immortality. (Remember the mess over freezing baseball great Ted Williams' body.) Medical technology is a wonderful thing . . . a grace granted from God. Dialysis kept my father alive for a year and a half until he could receive a kidney transplant. He's doing great now . . . and God has blessed me with a few more years with him. So I'm no medical Ludite. But there seem to be some ethical considerations we haven't thought through well when in comes to prolonging life in extreme circumstances.
• Bill O'Reilly has the most logical position in my eyes. Michael Schiavo has already taken up with a different woman and has had two children by her. If Terri's parents and family have the resources and desire to care for her, why doesn't he step out of the way and allow them to do so.
• One of the lessons of Easter is that it was through death that we received life. Death does not need to be feared. For many, death has been release from pain and suffering. They are ushered into the glorious presence of a God who loves them, where:

[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.(Revelation 21:4)

I freely admit not having an opportunity to think about all of the facets and implications of this case. I'd love to hear from you. What's your take on the situation?

Eight action roles for social transformation

As I have been pondering Jesus' teaching of "Blessed are the peacemakers . . ." I ran across these challenging words from a recent meeting of the Austin Spiritual Directors Community. Sister Amata Miller, IHM shared with us eight action roles Christians can assume to bring about peace and social transformation. Sister Amata has been very active in Roman Catholic social justice ministries. Currently she is teaching Economics and Finance at St. Edward's University. Here are her eight action roles:

1. Developing in ourselves a kingdom-centered perspective: reading and studying things that help us develop our own social conscience in light of the signs of our times and the teachings of our faith.
2. Making daily lifestyle choices square with Gospel principles. Living more simply that others might simply live; Learning to settle conflicts nonviolently, to disagree without being disagreeable; loving those around us; sharing what we have with those who have less.
3. Fostering Gospel values, making them attractive to others. Helping young people to be nonviolent, other-centered; Encouraging non-materialistic enjoyments; facilitating development of social moral consciences; Praying alone and together in the Gospel spirit.
4. Helping to nurture alternative ways to meet human needs. Spreading success stories about alternatives; Volunteering for service in new kinds of social ventures; Make your donations to positive change agents.
5. Working to transform existing institutions from within (parishes, workplaces, families). Gradually figuring out ways to embody Gospel values within these; Bringing all people affected by decisions into the making of them sometimes; Acting in belief that changes will ripple out from here as others see new ways.
6. Developing and participating in organized strategies for political and corporate change. Making active citizenship a part of one's life; Joining groups effectively focused on transformations for social justice; Encouraging others to join in collaborative actions for transformation.
7. Acting in opposition to what goes in the wrong direction. Writing letters to the editors of newspapers to influence public opinion; Participating in prayer vigils; Taking part in boycotts; Marching in public demonstrations.
8. Living out of a kingdom-centered spirituality. Letting God work through us to "write straight with crooked lines" (2 Corinthians 4:5-7); Prayer and liturgical rituals that widen our sense of God and neighbor; Being hopeful in the struggle for greater peace and justice.

Sister Amata noted that we might take on different roles at different times in our lives. Each of us can do one or more where we are, given our own responsibilities and sphere of influence, and if each of us does our part and help others to do theirs, God's kingdom of justice and peace will come for all people . . . in God's time.

The soul of a preacher . . .

Gordon Atkinson, the San Antonio preacher of RealLivePreacher.com fame, has written an essay that expresses the thoughts and feelings of a preacher better than anything I've seen in a long time. If you want to know what's going on in my heart and mind much of the time, read this essay.

Things I'm surprised about myself

I was reflecting about my life the other day, and here were some things that surprised me. I'm surprised . . .

. . . I don't watch the Golf Channel more than I do.
. . . that I'm crankier than I had hoped.
. . . I like yogurt and cottage cheese.
. . . at how difficult it is to lose weight.
. . . that the computer, cell phone, and my PDA have become an integral part of life.
. . . that my best essays and preaching are developed without technology--long-hand, with legal pad and pen.
. . . how much I treasure silence and solitude.
. . . how much I treasure my great family and congregation.
. . . how lousy I am at showing my appreciation for both, especially family.

What surprises you about your life? Let's talk about it. See comment link below.

A predictable end

Hunter S. Thompson, famed "gonzo" journalist died yesterday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. You may know him through his book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He also wrote for Playboy and Rolling Stone. He was famous for inserting himself into the story he was writing about. He often portrayed himself as wildly intoxicated or stoned. Although, in his defense, he told USA Today once that his description of his own drug use was highly exaggerated--he'd be dead otherwise. Here's what a journalist colleague said about him:

"He may have died relatively young but he made up for it in quality if not quantity of years," Paul Krassner, the veteran radical journalist and one of Thompson's former editors, told The Associated Press by phone from his Southern California home.

"It was hard to say sometimes whether he was being provocative for its own sake or if he was just being drunk and stoned and irresponsible," quipped Krassner, founder of the leftist publication The Realist and co-founder of the Youth International (YIPPIE) party.

"But every editor that I know, myself included, was willing to accept a certain prima donna journalism in the demands he would make to cover a particular story," he said. "They were willing to risk all of his irresponsible behavior in order to share his talent with the their readers."

Quality of life? I guess I don't see it. And apparently, in the end, neither did he. Hunter Thompson may have seemed to have a lot, but in the end, it seems it didn't nourish his soul.