Money And Momentum

Flying down the highway through the hills of Tennesse; Brian is at the wheel, Susan is navigating, Tony is sleeping and I'm trying to adjust my attitude back towards the day-to-day routine of work and home. We'll be back to Powhatan this evening, full of inspiration and conviction, excitement and momentum.

We've been at a Dave Ramsey conference for three days. Brian and I sat through three days of teaching, all based on the principals of freedom. This was a "money" conference, but it wasn't about money, really. It was about bondage - which is a weird word - but it suits the idea.

Most of us feel like we're making it if we're making our payments. I feel that way. Financial success means you're getting the bills paid, right?

After this week, I'm wondering if I've settled far too easily, accepted that definition with little push back. Money is important; a good part of my life is focused on getting and using money. But I've not thought too much about how I control it.

Or if it controls me.

I'm not materialistic, really. It isn't difficult for me to be satisfied. I've been in debt, and I've gotten out.

But I confess, I don't have much of a plan. Don't really live with a budget. And though the bills get paid, I'm convinced that there's probably a better way. There are precepts and ideas about money and planning that I've ignored, brushed aside or assumed weren't really applicable to my life.

I was wrong.

I learned a lot over the past few days. Personally, I'm doing some hard thinking about my lack of attention to my financial life - even though there's no apparent problems. I know I can do better.

And as a church leader, the potential is huge. Because as I look around our community, I see so many people who are desperately trying to manage a huge amount of stress that is centered on money. Our spiritual lives are crippled when we are bound up with anxiety about money.

People can't live when they are in bondage to anything.

I am still processing all that I learned this week. However, I am fairly certain of this:

I will never be the same.

And I am fairly certain of this as well:

God is nudging us to bring these precepts to PCC in a big way.

And here's what I think: You are probably going to hear a lot more about this. And if you get on board, you will never be the same.

Tonight Was Interesting

Well, tonight was interesting.

We met at 4PM this afternoon for our standard Saturday afternoon tech run. We prayed, ran through most of the service, got up to the point of the message - and then started paying attention to the rumbling thunder and the clatter on the roof.

Ivins came over and stood beside me.

"Is that rain?"

Brian ran up towards the stage from the tech booth and stopped halfway there. "Whoa!" And he looked up towards the ceiling.

Water was dripping steadily from the roof.

And then the lights began to flicker. Dustin dashed off to turn off the power before surges killed our equipment.

We walked into the atrium and saw a steady stream of cars turning into our parking lot; somebody informed us that a tree had gone done right in front of the church and the highway was blocked.

Shortly after that, strong winds and pressure sucked the atrium doors open briefly.

That was weird.

Without power, we started thinking outside the box. We pulled some chairs into the atrium, gathered around the folks already waiting out the storm on the couches and comfy chairs and started church. John and Walter played acoustic guitars, and Kevin and I helped with singing. We chose a few old praise and worship songs - those that knew them sang comfortably, and those who didn't were able to pick up the words fairly quickly.

It was an beautiful time. The acoustics in the atrium really ring, and we could hear one another singing. it was powerful.

Brian shared some words about the the true source of power; not so much preaching as simply talking to a room full of people.

We sang a little more.

And then we were done with "church".

The coolest part? We all jumped in and made it happen. No second guessing, no concerns.

And the best part? One of the couples who were headed towards Cartersville and ended up in our parking lot instead - due to a downed tree - they stayed. And stayed. And ended up staying for the entire time. They said that they were welcomed with open arms when they walked in the door, and they just thought they'd stay.

I love that. I love that we just hung out tonight, and that it was comfortable enough that a couple of strangers just wanted to hang out with us.

It was a good night. Very different, and not at all what we had planned - but it was a good night. One of our friends said it was absolutely the best "service" she'd ever been to at PCC.

Part of me argued (internally); it wasn't really a service! We didn't do what we had planned. We just sort of made it up as we went along.

We were just there. And we focused on spiritual things, and we prayed, and we spent about 45 minutes doing that.

And I made two new friends.

In terms of church, I guess that'll do.

It was a good night.

We're not exactly sure what to expect tomorrow morning. We do know that we'll adapt to whatever circumstances arise. Dustin is planning to spend the night at the church to ensure that the power company can do their work when they arrive. And we'll figure out what to do as we go along. Seems pretty obvious that God can deal with that.

A Unique Sunday

Sitting down to write this post, I feel a weird tension between several of the primary hats I wear.

As a mom, I want to tell you about a couple of my kids - and a couple of their best friends.

As a musician, I want to tell you how awesome it is to experience the raw energy of passionate, young players who simply let music flow out of them. And let us watch.

As a leader, I want to tell you that NOTHING makes me prouder than witnessing the results of letting go. That would be MY release - letting go and letting people do their thing.

As a friend, I want to tell you about a great message I heard yesterday, one that addresses the level ground we all occupy and the ridiculous notion that any of us are better than the other when it comes to the proving ground of the Creator.

Bottom line is this: I went to church yesterday. It was a day off for me, but I went and witnessed some awesome stuff. I worshiped, but I also felt the undeniable joy of being intertwined with so much of what was going on in and around the place. It was extremely rich.

Above all, I have to wave the Mom flag highest. My daughter Sarah helped lead worship with her best buddy Elijah. They premiered a song that Elijah wrote, one that I heard whispered around the dining room table last week. Elijah sang, Sarah fished for some harmonies, and I said, "Dude. That is a great song. You should do that song this week." And they did. It was brilliant.

Travis helped Elijah lead worship. He is in and out of my house constantly, as the companion of my daughter Shannon. I admire and respect both of these young men. They've influenced my family in countless ways, and the mixture of emotions I feel when I watch them living out their faith with guitars and singing is vibrant and powerful.

Nathan played guitar - and RAPPED - and nailed every tune. Tony's protege and student, Nathan lives and breathes music and his passion for life is contagious. He loves it and he's unbelievably talented.

Sydni

My daughter Sydni engaged the crowd with her dead-on performance of the Penelope character from SNL. She wrote the script herself, worked through the editing process with grace and then used the character to set up the message perfectly. It was truly, absolutely funny - and fitting. I saw glimpses of an incredible talent in her performance yesterday, one that will propel her out and away over the next few years into what I imagine will be some amazing experiences.

All the while, my daughter Shannon was upstairs leading the kids' Power Jam ministry with the team of students going to Macedonia. Daniel prepared to lead worship at FOCUS last night, and David was just being David, which is enough.

All this stuff happens at my church. It's not a closed, members-only society. It's just a place where we get together on Sundays and celebrate. No matter my perspective, it's a place where I can be real and authentic. I can't help but think that the unique connection of my heart to the people I know who are living out their faith under the umbrella of what we call church is exactly what God calls us to do.

Love God. Love people.

Be the church.

Watch Sydni's skit here: it starts at about 23:15. Prior to that you can see Elijah's song and Nathan's rap and guitar solos. After the skit, you can hear Brian talk about what we have in common with Osama bin Laden.

A Friday Rant About Authenticity

We've made it to FRIDAY FRIDAY and it feels great. However, I'm a little scarred this morning from discovering that the same folks who brought us FRIDAY FRIDAY have created another little gem called HOOKED ON YOU. It's surreal and bizarre and is another cultural indicator that we are, indeed, in the end times. It is disturbing. The kid looks cute, the video work is decent, the execution of the digital music tracks are spot on - but it is so fake that I find myself having visions of an Orwellian universe consisting of nothing but Hostess Cupcakes, frozen Bourbon Chicken in a Tyson's bag and instant coffee. And powdered coffee creamer. You know, fake stuff. Poor substitutes for the real thing.

I'm not sure why music like this becomes so popular - is there an element of our culture that really likes shallow lyrics and digital loops of meaningless chord movement? Or are we all just laughing at ourselves? Are we all in on the joke?

I hope so.

Along those lines, here's a piece of cultural observation that I think is brilliant. As disgusting as some of these photos and images are - and as much as I am embarrassed by and for some of these people - I can't help but watch this video and feel my heart swell with pride. Call me crazy, but only in America could you see this sort of thing in public.

I love this country.

And the reason why this video is entertaining and brilliant and gives me warm fuzzies, while Hooked On You and Friday make me want to barf?

It's real. 

Reality works. No matter how ugly or embarrassing, what is will work.

Want to make a clever cultural statement? Want to create three minutes of 21st century contemporary art?  Want to try to be cute and get my attention? Don't manufacture something sickly sweet and try to sell it to us as truth. You might catch my eye, provoke me to tell my friends and get 150 million hits on youtube, but it's empty and non-redemptive.

Show me a man in a skirt with a beer gut, passed out in the beer aisle at Walmart and write a repetitive, clever lyric about that.

I'm not sure it's redemptive - except to remind us all of our common, base humanity (which is the first step towards redemption, I think) - but brought into a rhythmic and melodic structure, it works. As art, it works. Nasty tattoos, a middle-aged man in a clown costume, women with insufficient fabric covering their rear - write a song about that.

Because that is real. It may not rhyme, it may be filthy, it may be beyond all comprehension, and you might not want The People of Walmart as dinner guests - but it's true. 

And truth trumps all.

Behold, on this Friday, a special treat: The People of Walmart.




And if this isn't enough for you, check out the People of Walmart website. But don't overdo it on American authenticity....you might be overwhelmed...

Kids These Days

It's midnight. I heard some noise from downstairs. I wasn't in bed yet, but I wasn't sure anyone else was still up.

I padded down the stairs to investigate.

I found Elijah and Sarah, crouched over a computer in the dining room.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

The glanced up, sheepishly.

"We're listening to the audio Bible."

They were.

I looked shocked, and perhaps a little annoyed (because it's midnight) (and I wanted some chocolate).

"What, Mom? You want us to smoke some pot or something?"

Those darn kids.

Don't Bring Me No More Bad News

I can't quite find the right, compelling words to begin this post.

So I'll just say this: it is a heavy day.

Death and destruction in Joplin, Missouri.

Death here in our rural county, a friend of our church and a familiar sight all around this end of Powhatan as he rode his bicycle up and down Dorset Road - murdered yesterday, just a mile from where we live.

Sometimes I question the depth of the burden brought by news. Tornadoes in Joplin have wreaked tragedy, but I know no one who lives there. It's not personal.

I knew Robert in passing; the depth of our relationship extended to a wave on the road and conversations in the atrium on Sundays. Others will mourn his loss more deeply, and will feel his absence more intensely than me.

In light of my relative distance from both of these events today, it feels somewhat ridiculous to acknowledge that I feel so buried by sadness this morning. But I wonder if it is some indicator of maturity, advancing years, a marker of time gone by that causes me to feel such things as though they remind me of my very humanity.

We are all connected, in some way. We see our lives mirrored in the drama of others, and sometimes think, "There but for the grace of God..." Or we witness death and think, "My day is coming..." Or we just get a taste for how fleeting these days can be, how we are at the mercy of evil and nature, operating independently but wreaking similar havoc.

Or we are just sad, sympathy taking its natural course as we mourn and grieve our own or others' loss.

The end of our church service yesterday was powerful; Brian spoke of the gamble of faith undergirding the Christian belief in heaven. In the moment, we were reminded that our faith posits that one day we will see those who have gone before us. Brian called them by name: Randy, Bob, grandparents...and now Robert.

The strong foundation, the "YES!" I felt in that moment yesterday, is this morning replaced by the weight of the truth. Loss and pain and anger and frustration that life sometimes seems so ridiculously random. Two men shot down on a Sunday. A mile-wide tornado sinking down. Both brought destruction to what we see here on earth, and according to our faith, caught up these souls into the presence of Jesus.

The juxtaposition of such destruction and eternal life are not easy to reconcile. Not at the moment, anyway.

It is just a heavy, heavy day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This song lyric makes me think of Robert and every conversation I ever had with him, every time I roared past him in my Big Red Suburban as he pedaled his bicycle. He always waved, to everyone. His light shown brightly.

And we won't be afraid, we won't be afraid, and though the darkness may come our way
We won't be afraid to be alive anymore
And we'll grow kindness in our hearts for all the strangers among us
Till there are no strangers anymore

It Has Come To This

Friday night, chillin' at home.

And I can't stop laughing.

I'm not sure if my life is amazing or utterly pitiful.

Oh, wait. that's not true.

My life is amazing. And this is funny. Maybe not for two minutes and forty seconds, but long enough to make it a good Friday night.

You're welcome.