In this moment... anything is possible!

This is not the easiest blog to keep up! The page was established to go along with my third book "The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian." The idea was for an interactive blog, where book readers would come to share their thoughts about faith, and where the author (that's me) would respond, facilitate conversation, and generally engage in dialog with readers.

Nice idea, but it hasn't happened. Almost no-one has come to the page in response to the prompts inside and on the back cover of my book. So... what to do? Here the page sits, and it does generate some occasional traffic.

I was thinking about this just a couple of days ago at Appomattox, the site of the final series of battles and maneuvers that marked the end of America's Civil War. I was wondering about what message to share on this blog - and it has to be different, not the same as my daily musings at A life Examined....

Appomattox was a chance to begin over. In fact, the terms Grant offered Lee were amazingly generous. Soldiers from the North shared food and supplies with Confederates. President Lincoln looked for unity and forgiveness and reconciliation. There didn't have to be any more hate...

But once the ball got rolling, and Lincoln was assassinated, and the tendency of people to act selfishly kicked in, and politics began to have their way, well, things didn't go so much as planned at the outset of peace.

Look at the photograph! Imagine that road, lined with 6,000 Union soldiers. Now see if you can add in 28,000 Confederates, marching along to lay down their weapons and their ammunition and their battle-flags. Now see if you can visualize General Chamberlain as he orders his men, "Present.... arms!" And 6,000 Yankees lift their weapons in respect to the defeated Southerners.

In that moment, anything was possible.

Isn't it like that when we chose to follow Jesus? We limp into the presence of God, defeated and desperate. Then, instead of contempt, Jesus lifts us up! Our spirits are restored and - in that moment - anything is possible...

So why do we back away from reconciliation and continue to isolate ourselves? Why do we continue to limp along like we have no resources at our disposal? Why don't we live in the fullness and the joy of the renewed relationship? Why are we afraid to change?

These are some of the questions we must face if we are to move away from a part-time faith and into Real Life With Christ.

The view from the mountain...

Mount Washington, New Hampshire! There's nothing like being on top of the world! Mount Washington advertises "The World's Worst Weather!" - but the experience was well worth the sudden plummet to around 12 degrees F. The views were spectacular and the clarity was other-worldly.

Mountain top experiences are wonderful, but then we get to live back down in the valley most of the time. The key is to understand that God is as much a part of our day-to-day lives as he is in those amazing moments of clarity and perspective.

So today I'm looking up at the mountain (from the deck of our vacation condo). I can't see near as much as I did yesterday, but I'm resting with confidence in the knowledge that everything God showed me on the mountain is still 100% true. Maybe even more so, because day I'm living in the truth of yesterday's mountaintop experience.

Peace and blessings - DEREK

Monday Morning Inspiration for my Holy and Faithful Friends....

Both my Sunday morning class and my Sunday evening small group are in the process of reading Paul's Letter to the Colossians. I especially love the opening greeting. "To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colosse: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father."

When I first said, "Wouldn't it be cool if the Apostle Paul walked in here and said, Good morning, holy and faithful friends," there was a general murmur of dissent. More than one of of my Sunday morning group said there was no way they could be accurately described as holy.

I appreciate the humility, but fact is most of us misunderstand the meaning of the word holy. Holy simply means to "set apart" for something special. So, this week, I asked for some examples of how my friends had responded to the imperative to be holy... to walk in the fact of their holiness... to act and interact proactively in a faithful response... to live as if being holy was a fait accompli....

They shared some remarkable stories. So this week, for "homework", I have asked everyone to keep the image of "holy and faithful" front and center in their consciousness. Because there is a lot of power in proactive belief. Seeing ourselves - positively - as people both commissioned and equipped to be holy and faithful will likely produce observable results.

And it doesn't matter what we're up to, who we're with, and what circumstances are at play. Our mission is still the same, simple and clear cut. Live in the truth of our salvation. We have been commissioned to participate in "Kingdom Life". Kingdom living necessarily involves walking in the light as children of the light.

It's Monday morning, holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father.

- DEREK

Morning has broken/ is breaking

Good morning! First, if you haven't read my previous post, then scroll down and do that - I believe it's worth the read.

Second, simply a prayer for today:

Morning has broken (will soon be breaking, at this writing) like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

Praise for the singing

Praise for the morning

Praise for them springing fresh from the Word...

I like it when my mornings spring fresh from LOGOS. New and full with promise because the Creator of all life has spoken promise into my new day.

This is both the promise and my prayer - that the emerging experience that is Thursday, September 30, 2010 will be a God-saturated, Grace-charged day.

Amen

On the road with some awesome Baptists!

This week's post is a simple look at this past weekend in the Atlanta area. I enjoyed the privilege of an invitation to speak at the First Baptist Church of Decatur.

I was given the opportunity to share a few words at each worship service, I taught Sunday school, and then I led a men's mini-retreat during the afternoon.

Events like this always serve to encourage, inspire and animate me! They bring home the fact that this idea of honing our discipleship, and being deliberate in our commitment to follow Jesus, is a very real concern and an ongoing goal for many Christians, all around the world.

Any time I am able to be a part of the process of encouragement for others, then the opportunity is worth the time and travel. And always, and without exception, I receive as much if not more inspiration than the participants who are gracious enough to listen to me speak.

Of particular note from my weekend with the Decatur Baptists is the fact that the lead pastor, Julie Pennington-Russell, reminded me so much of my wife - Rebekah. Her experience, pastoring the large and influential Southern Baptist congregation, has likewise been fruitful and full with abundant blessings. I especially enjoyed getting to know her husband, Tim.

So, here are a few images from the weekend. It is always my joy to serve The Church in any way that I can. I'd love to spend some time with your congregation, to visit with you and to share the increasingly clear message that God has placed on my heart.

Peace - DEREK

On the Road Again...

Free Internet access at Tampa International Airport! One of the many benefits of possibly the best organized travel terminus on the planet. There's a lot about living in the Tampa area I'm not too jazzed about - but it's a great place to live if you need to travel.

And travel is happening a lot, nowadays. I often open speaking engagements by pointing out that it's interesting how so many people think I can speak in public just because I penned a few books. I go on to joke that I only accept the invitation as a public service - designed to disabuse them of their false assumptions...

The truth - hopefully - is that I really can get up in front of a large group of people and be both interesting and inspirational at the same time. At least that's what I keep telling myself! Fact is, after years in the classroom, working with severely emotionally disturbed children (grades 6-8 the last few years), a room full of adults who actually want to be there is significantly less than intimidating.

This week's event should be a great experience! I'm flying to Atlanta (take-off in 40 minutes) to spend all day Sunday with the First Baptist Church of Decatur. I'll be meeting with some of the leaders this evening, then speaking six times tomorrow!

Yes, that's six. A five minute testimony at both worship services, 40 minutes with combined adult Sunday-school, then the men's retreat after lunch. Two 45-minute lectures followed by break-out groups, then a 30-minute conclusion/wrap up.

I'm excited about the opportunity, and I've been saturating myself in writing and general preparation for the past few days. The content will be organized around "GET REAL: a spiritual journey for men", my first book. The event is titled "Faith in 4-D: living like we mean it."

I'm advancing the foundational proposition that following Jesus is "about the ending of half-measures." God has in mind for us to live with passion and purpose and meaning. Jesus is the way and - most certainly - the life.

So please pray for me this weekend, and for the good folk at Decatur Baptist.... Grace and peace - DEREK

Getting the message across...

This evening (Saturday) I've spent several hours preparing the message I intend to share at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs.

I feel good about the content. But the exercise has given me a renewed sense of admiration for preachers who create new material every weekend... and even more admiration for those preachers who do that plus make the message interesting, inspirational and instructive.

Rebekah especially. She never fails to encourage me, to make me laugh, to bring home incisive truth, and to teach me something about faith in a new way. Her messages are not only relevant, but loaded with good news. Her passion is authentic and compelling. She believes with her whole heart, and she puts her whole heart into the message.

So my main focus tomorrow is going to be to make sure that I remember to bring some enthusiasm into the pulpit. I know that my writing is - typically - loaded with much more than just words. So I pray that I manage to bring that kind of applied joy to what I say when I open my mouth.

I am convinced that the core message I need to get across - wherever and whenever I speak - is the amazing opportunity that we have, as believers, to live the kind of life we've always wanted to. Jesus is the key. He has given is the word of life - our opportunity is to live it in a way that communicates the truth of God's generous love.