MarkLove.tv

History has been made

Today marks an incredible milestone for our country as history has been made.  We have the first African-American presidential candidate in Barack O'Bama.  Just a few decades ago, he wouldn't have been able to ride on the front of the bus or drink from certain water fountains.  Now he is running for president.  

Prejudice has been a huge scar on our nation for most of its history.  It is one of the most arrogant and atrocious character flaws of many in America and even in the church.  Regardless of your political leanings, this is such a huge event for the US and I hope will continue to bring healing along racial lines.  We are in this thing together, what a great step to eliminating the things that divide us.

When is Jesus ashamed?

The past two weeks, we've been talking about the baggage we carry around.  It ranges from hurt, depression, anxiety, abuse, disappointment, to addiction.  Scott did a great job teaching Sunday about the need for Christ to heal us from addiction, but that most of the time it also takes a process.  It can be so frustrating for someone to hear that the answer to the addiction that has been driving their life straight through hell can be solved if they just pray the right prayer.  

What people without addiction don't understand is that there are underlying causes for the addiction that can't always be answered with just a prayer.  God certainly can and has miraculously healed people from their baggage but many times He wants us to work through the things that got us there.  It can be chemical, emotional, physical, or circumstantial.  It can also range from depression, to peer pressure, to abuse.  The list is endless.  Ultimately we have to trust Jesus to remove the hurts and heal the pain but sometimes it's hard to lean on Him.

Someone made a great comment to me after the worship experience that despite having a relationship iwth Jesus Christ, their addiction makes them too ashamed to pray.  It reminded me of a lie I've told myself or had told to me many times before, I'm too ashamed to go to God.  The idea is that in my shame, God is actually ashamed of me.  I remember so many times that I wanted to be different but couldn't.  I wanted to do what was right, but willingly chose to do what I knew was wrong.  At the point of no return, I was ashamed.

God ashamed of me? That is a lie.  My shame is my own and it is not from Him.  There is an unspoken list out there of sins that are really bad, bad, and not so bad.  The not so bad and a few of the bad still make us ok with God.  BUT, the really bad, well that's another story.

Paul said he regularly does what he knows is wrong, but he was still the strongest force influencing Christianity in the first century and even today.  The Bible says that we are accepted by God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.  It's called grace and it is completely undeserved.  The very thing we trust about God as we begin a relationship with Him is almost completely forgotten when we continue to fail.  

God's grace extends into our lives forever.  The truth is, God loves it when we come to him for the answers to our problems.  David had an incredible relationship with God but failed big time.  This king that God had blessed with wealth, success, and a growing kingdom willingly chose to abandon the principles he lived by because of his relationship with God by having an affair and sending his mistresses husband to be killed on the front lines of battle.

The consequences were steep but at the point of his shame and sorrow he called out to God with this prayer:

       3    For I recognize my rebellion;

             it haunts me day and night.

       4    Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;

             I have done what is evil in your sight.

       7    Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

      wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8    Oh, give me back my joy again;

      you have broken me—

      now let me rejoice.

9    Don’t keep looking at my sins.

      Remove the stain of my guilt.

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God.

      Renew a loyal spirit within me.

                              -Psalm 51:3-4,7-10

If David could pray that prayer, we should be able to do the same we have done what we know is wrong.  

There's no "trailer park" in "Life is Beautiful"!

We had a great set of music for our focus on addiction this morning and learned a valuable proofreading lesson in the process.  We kicked off the set with "Life is Beautiful" from Sixx:A.M.  Midway through the song, the lyrics say, "There’s nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home". However, the lyrics we ran down from the internet to put into ProPresenter said, "there’s nothing like a trailer park to find your way back home".

FIrst, let me say, I don't listen to Sixx:A.M. so I didn't pay attention to the lyrics.  However, I wondered...what in the heck does a trailer park have to do with breaking an addiction? And the answer...it doesn't.  Somebody put the wrong lyrics on the net and we didn't check them.  

Lesson learned!

It's about vision

The idea of vision is so overused in many church circles today but still accurately reflects the driving force behind Journey. Perhaps the greatest example of vision in the Bible comes from the book of Nehemiah. He had one of the poshest jobs on the face of the planet, running the kings summer palace. He had it made, especially as a non-native outsider who controlled the day to day affairs of the, let me repeat, SUMMER PALACE.

Imagine how great a life it would be to set up shop and have full control in Club Med. However, he threw it all away. Nehemiah was a Jew and his home town, Jerusalem, was in ruins. A few people had returned to the city but were ultimately unable to rebuild their defenses or their city because of raiders.

Nehemiah had a vision that the city would be restored to its former glory. He believed completely in something that could be, should be so completely that he left his job to travel to a worn torn region to fight the raiders and rebuild a destroyed city. The incredible part of the story is that he did it and in only 52 DAYS!

Imagine what it would take to believe so tenaciously in something that you would sacrifice everything because of a vision that you couldn't live without seeing it come to completion. Who hard would you protect it, defend it, and guard it against people that would seek to turn your vision into something else. It seems all to common for something that started out being a passionate dream to become a hijacked nightmare.

We are passionate about reaching out to the disconnected and unchurched people of Chattanooga. We are dedicated to programming that is streamlined and effective. We believe in the need to impact our communities through service and sharing grace. We base everything we do on the Bible and the belief that it is God speaking to us, today. We live our lives in community with each other encouraging, supporting, and learning from each other. We believe in the power of a changed life reaching out to someone else to share the love of Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of negotiables in church, but none in vision. We believe this is the calling of the church and the calling of Journey. So we will passionately defend, protect, and live out that thing that we believe could be and should be in the lives of people in Chattanooga.

Why I Believe in Earth Day

Today was the 38th annual observance of Earth Day. It was started to draw attention to the need to take better care of the environment and raise awareness on the political radar. When I was a kid, people who observed the day were considered "tree huggers" because they loved, you guessed it, trees. Christians often dismiss the need to take care of the environment because we are more concerned with more spiritual things. We become consumed with issues like abortion, homosexuality, and stem cell research. The earth, after all, is here for us to use as we see fit.

We often forget that the Bible tells us God's first direct instruction to the first man and women was to "cultivate and keep" the creation. Before every other job or issue that we take up, cultivating and keeping the creation must come first. I have to admit, there's a lot more our family can do. The question is, when will we all get to it? Find something you care about; parks, recycling, alternative fuels, cleaning up our community, and get involved.

Sunday Nights Rock!

After a great morning at Journey, and a long nap at home, we decided to get the kids together to get out of the house and have some family time. Since the first of the year, I've been gone a lot either working on Journey or delivering trucks for a paycheck. As a result, we haven't been able to have as much family time as we need so we hit the road.

First stop, taking dinner to Jamie and Daniel Kowalski. They had their first baby on Tuesday and are now at home being a family. Dakota is a precious little girl and I'm sure she'll have a guitar in her hands as soon as she can.

Second stop, to Walmart. We like to get the kids out to do things for other people when we can. Tonight it was planting flowers at Jake's school. So, Deidra picked up what we needed for our project.

Third stop, Sonic. When we go out to eat, we go where we have coupons. Today it was Sonic and their Jumbo Chicken something or other. The truth is that their popcorn chicken is really popcorn batter. I think it's really false advertising to say there is any chicken in them at all but the onion rings were good.

Fourth stop, Jake's School. Deidra and the kids tackled most of the planters, but I got involved, too. If I had taken pictures, you would EASILY be able to tell which planters I did. Eventually I gave up.

Last stop, and most fun, the Pumpkin Patch on Signal Mountain. Or as Jonathan calls it, punki paaaatch. This is a great playground on signal mountain. The kids get to do something good for someone and have some fun after.

I love Sunday nights.

Scott Scares Me

Sometimes my partner, my teammate, my staff member, and my friend just flat out scares me. I get an email this morning from "Concerned Truth" spouting the same old c*** that I get regularly and pointing me to their blog where Journey is listed, among others, that are watering down the gospel, entertainers, etc., etc., etc. I gave some short comments about not being anonymous and asking what their source is. Later, I'm showing Deidra and it occurs to me. This is the first entry for this blog begun on the first day of the month of April, or April 1st a.k.a. April Fools Day.

Hmmmmmmmm....The wheels starting spinning and the pieces come together. I've been punk'd by Scott. The thing is, it is scary how much he can sound like these guys. He knows what to say, what verses to quote, and which buttons to push. I'm not saying he's a closet fundamentalist, just that I'm not turning my back on him anymore.

Are we an Emergent Church?

I got another email today from an anonymous party (they always are) accusing me of watering down the gospel and being in this only for the big paycheck. Most of these "well intentioned" but misguided individuals also throw us in with a movement called the Emergent Church. It's a common question and a common mistake to categorize all progressive churches as Emergent.

If your definition of emerging is for a new church to "emerge" out of a traditional church, then we are. If your definition is that we are "emerging" into a faith community ready to share the gospel in a changing culture using the same methods that Paul did...

17If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. 18What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. 19Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. 22When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

...If that is what "emerging" is then we are. (By the way, you will likely never see this passage in many of the websites that attack us...it just shoots too many holes in their theology)

However, when we talk about being an Emergent Church or not, the question has to become "Do we agree with the teaching of the most visible Emergent leaders?" The answer is no. Emergence began a movement and that movement has continued. We share commonalities like loving people, engaging culture, and being a church that is relevant in today's world. We have common ground in caring for the creation and paying attention to issues that are hurting people around the world. We are united in our work to repair broken and rejected people from traditional church mindsets and bringing the gospel back into the places that the church has abandoned.

But...we also part company at a very specific point. The Emergent movement has begun teaching a theology and a gospel that everyone, despite your faith, belief, or trust in a Savior is forgiven and heaven bound. In older circles it is called universalism and it is not consistent with what the Bible teaches. The Bible says that God loves us all and that His desire is for all to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. But it is also emphatic that this relationship can only come when we recognize our need for a Savior, that we ask to be forgiven for our disobedience to His ways (that's sin for the fundamentalists reading today), that we believe that Jesus was God's son, He did walk this Earth, He was crucified and killed so we could be forgiven, and He did rise from the dead 3 days after his burial from the crucifixion. He is our hero and our savior.

We are surrounded in our city by modern day pharisees that know enough about the Bible and religion to be dangerous. Their goal is to insult, judge, and hurt others while elevating themselves to a position of purity and authority. They use the Bible out of context and devoid of any period cultural analysis to understand what is meant and not simply what is said. Many at Journey have been hurt by them or are giving the church one more chance to see if we are any different or if we are giving hope for hurting people.

Well, that's enough for now. We will continue to work unashamed and un-detoured from our mission to lead others to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by Loving God, Loving People...Period.

Decompression...

It's Sunday night and I'm sitting in my overstuffed chair icing my foot. It was a great day and our volunteers outdid themselves. We had setback after setback to contend with as we faced the issue that there is a villain the story God is telling. Some of the things we dealt with were...

-Of course my wreck which ended up being an incredible blessing. Still sore and unable to help with most of the setup but volunteers stepped up and did a great job. Mike and I had to make sure we didn't get our canes mixed up
-Our lead vocalist bailed at noon yesterday and we had to cancel the big opener we planned. Daniel and Don did a great job filling in.
-Josh got popped in the eye putting banners up, thankfully he was okay
-Steve did a great job on sound even though he was absolutely miserable from allergies
-David was still recovering from stuff he's been sick with for over a week.
-We blew a breaker during rehearsal, don't know where that came from
-Norris was sleeping between jobs from the crud he had, as least that's the story he's telling and he's sticking with it :)

But despite the setbacks, we had one of the best worship experiences yet. I'm convinced that all of these things were a direct result of the topic for the day. We were talking about the battles that we deal with because there is a villain in the story that is consistently attempting to draw our attention away from God. He is the father of lies and distractions but we saw through it, got to work, and supported each other. We could engage the enemy and be victorious with the power of God through Jesus Christ. Some of the great things that happened...

-The band was tight and sounded the best so far. Daniel and Don were able to learn the vocals for the set
-Kim and Don did a great job drawing our attention to the need to care for the world through supporting the poor and recycling our waste.
-Coffee was ready on time for the first time! Way to go Carol.
-The auditorium was set up in a record hour and a half. The crew is really getting it down
-The band pitched in and got everything moved into the theater from the trailers
-KidMo knocked it out of the park for the second week in a row I'm told. I may just ditch the message next week and go to KidMo, too.
-Kelly, Jason, Richard, and David (probably more that left before I got there) had all the trailers loaded in 45 minutes from the end of the worship experience....INCREDIBLE!
-I felt great about the message. After all, I've been living it for the last few months and apparently I'm not the only one.
-We had some new volunteers in Journey Kidz!
-Charlie did a great job with ProPresenter and is going to begin infusing us with creativity. Check out his blog at www.charliegann.com
-It becomes more evident every week that everyone who is part of Journey is stoked about our vision to love God and love people

I can't wait for next week when we talk about the hero entering the story. I'm beat tonight and will be taking it easy for the rest of the night and most of the week. I'll hopefully get the knee brace off this week but my stylish orthopedic boot will take a while longer. I am definitely getting used to this and wouldn't trade places with anyone, anywhere.

Built Ford Tough...

For all of the guys out there who love pics of wrecks, I walked away from this with only a few stitches.  Miracles do happen and I have the pictures to prove it.

I believe in Ford Trucks.  They know how to make one safe.  I hit a bridge pier going somewhere around 50 mph.  I'm not sure how fast, I was focusing on avoiding as much injury as possible.  I didn't have a chance to check the speedometer as I went over the embankment.

I couldn't pass up this picture.  Apparently a few calls were made.  I can't imagine why.  I walked away with a few stitches and bruises.  Well actually carried away by the paramedics.  I don't think they appreciated the 150' climb up the embankment but they took great care of me.  In 3 weeks we are going to be celebrating everyday heroes.  These guys are definitely my heroes.

If you look real close, the wheel is at about a 90 degree angle from where it should be.  When the guys got my stuff out of the truck, my phone had flown into pieces.  The battery was stuck in the sun visor and the phone and battery compartment were somewhere else.  When they put it together  and turned it on, it worked like nothing had happened.  I love Blackberry's.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm out to buy a Ford F-350...definitely "Built Ford Tough".