|
 Deacon
Speakin'
- Tom Lane
...Bratty Kids
In church last Sunday,
there was a couple in front of us with two bratty
kids. Two pews behind us there was another
couple with their two bratty kids making a lot of
noise. This is mostly an older congregation.
These elderly people are set in their ways and their kids
have been gone a long time. And so it wasn't a
very nice service; it was just not very good
worship. But afterwards I saw half a dozen of
these elderly people come up and put their arms
around the mother, touch the kids, sympathize with
her. They could have been irritated, but...
Now anybody who has
read this far and was in our service this past week
is probably in a bit of a panic, trying to remember
exactly where my wife and I were sitting and which young families
were sitting in front and behind us.
 Actually,
this isn't my story at all. The "bratty kid"
story is from a Christianity Today interview with
Eugene Peterson by Mark Galli. If you have
been reading along in this column for the past few
weeks, you know that I am currently reading Dr.
Peterson's latest book, "Christ
Plays in Ten Thousand Places."
It is proving to be one of the most
thought-provoking books I have read in the past
decade.
To help you
understand why I believe this book is so excellent,
I have included
Mark Galli's interview with
Eugene Peterson from the March issue
of Christianity Today. Please take a few
minutes to read the interview, ...but be prepared to have some
of your long-held church mores rocked a bit.
...It
can be really hard to not care what other people
think
Sound
familiar? It does if you've been reading
Whateva.
Eva said this in her April 3rd blog.
Funny, what made her think of this
was a story I told during our Sunday school class,
(I'm the teacher, Eva is one of the students, and
James, her husband, is our "gold star" student,
...except when he's tired). lol
Eva is so right, it can be really
hard not to care what other people think, even - or
especially - total strangers. Like Eva, I just
assume everyone is going to think the worst of me in
an embarrassing or awkward situation.
Like the rejected credit card at the
restaurant Eva referred to. When it happened I
KNEW everyone thought that I was maxed out on the
card, that I probably had another $20,000 in credit
card debt, that my car was ready to be repossessed
and that I was six months behind on my mortgage.
In fact, my credit card has a zero balance.
As
the waitress and my lunch partner were waiting
anxiously to
see what would come next, I was thinking, "Note to
self: they NEVER refuse cash." Yep, it can be really
hard not to care what other people think.
I've spent much of
this afternoon with someone I love very, very much.
This person has made some bad choices in the past
(...let he among us who has not made some bad
choices along the way, cast the first stone), and is
now dealing with the consequences.
I know this person
has a good heart and right now I'm offering some
much needed fresh-from-the-oven
TLC (Tender
Loving
Care) instead of
more of that stale day-old TLC (Tough
Lecturing Criticism). This
person told my wife and I that our house is always
filled with love. I'm thinking, yea,
fresh-baked love just for you!
 To
help you get an idea what this fresh-baked love
smells like, think Cinnabon! (Anyone who has
spent more than 10 minutes in an airport knows what
I'm talking about).
Too often we tend to
look at the outside, (of a person or a situation),
and make our decisions accordingly. 1 Samuel
16:7 says, "The Lord does not look at the things man
looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart."
I guess the only way
we can get past the veneer of "outward looking" is
to tenderly peel the layers of the onion (oh yes, if
you peel the onion back, don't be surprised if you
find yourself fighting back tears) until we get to
the heart of the matter and see things like God
does.
Sorry, got to cut
this short. I'm not scheduled to travel today,
but I have this sudden urge to go visit the airport.
...Passion
Funny how we get
certain reputations along the way. I am known
in some circles as a very passionate person.
Passion can be a compliment, (it's my contention
that people almost always respond favorably to
passion...
more
...Pop Quiz
Today, I begin with
something a little different ...a pop quiz.
Now some of you are very excited because you think I
am going to ask you who's going to be voted off the
island, or who will be this year's American Idol.
Well, to be honest, I'm not that hip to the pop
culture of the day. About as close as I get to
being in on the pop culture is my daily visit to
Starbucks...
more
...God is on
Our Side
Yesterday, I had the
opportunity to answer a question, "Why did Jesus
have to die?" How would you answer this
question?...
more
...The Wonder
of the Resurrection
I've been given the
privilege of preaching our
Easter
Sunrise Service this Sunday.
Inspired by my current reading of "Christ Plays in
Ten Thousand Places," by Eugene Peterson, I have
chosen...
more
...Writing from
the Right Side
Those who know me as a
hard to nail-down, outside-the-box
ESTJ, know that I
almost always think and write from the left side on
my brain. Unfortunately that side seems to
have some sort of writer's block tonight, so I've
yielded to the right side of my brain for a "guest
column." ...
more
...The Terri
Schiavo Story
If you did not already
do so, I would ask that you read my previous column
(...Followed
by a Cross) before reading this
column. It will help lay the foundation for
what I want to share...
more
...Followed
by a Cross
At our early morning
prayer meeting today, one of my friends told a story that I think is worth passing
along.
It seems my friend
Bill (not his real name) has a friend named Joe (not
his real name) and they are both recovering
alcoholics who regularly attend AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous) meetings.
My friend says that
at AA, people are known by their first name and last
initial, for example...
more
...I Believe,
Therefore I Am
Sound familiar?
Well, actually the quote is, "I think,
therefore I am." This famous quotation was from the
17th century French philosopher, René Descartes.
He is best known for his attempt to put philosophy...
more
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