The Good News for Lansing
Apr 24, 2009 Uncategorized
My friend JR is doing a cool project on his blog called The Good News. Basically, he asked 40 of us from around the world to write a letter as if we were writing to our local newspaper on the topic of The Good News.
Here is a copy of my letter:
I am writing this at an altitude of 37,000 feet, hurdling at 530 MPH away from my home in Lansing, Michigan. But even as I fly, I know that Michigan is coming with me. In fact, I can already hear the conversation I will have a dozen or so times over the next couple days:
“So, where are you from?”
“Lansing, Michigan.”
“Oh…wow…how are you guys holding up?”
It seems everybody has a foreboding tone when they talk about Michigan, whether they live here and have experienced the 12% unemployment rate first hand or they have read about the potential for General Motors to go “belly-up” (I can’t even tell you how many times I have heard that phrase used). It’s almost no wonder that nearly half of the graduates from Michigan State University make a beeline out of the state minutes after they graduate, taking their educations and Michigan’s hopes for renewal with them.
I recently read the words of a wise man who lived thousands of years ago. He could have been writing about Michigan when he looked at the world around him and declared, “Everything is meaningless…utterly meaningless.”
And as someone who grew up in Michigan, I can honestly say it’s felt that way here for a very long time. If there is one word I would use to describe the mood of this state, it’s “pessimistic.”
But oddly, I am optimistic. I am hopeful.
About the state of the economy? No, not really. About the future of the auto-industry? I’m on the fence on that one, too.
I have hope because something huge is planted inside my heart: eternity. The same wise man who spoke about the meaninglessness of everything wrote that part of the problem is that we are finite beings with infinite hearts. We can’t see the whole scope of all that is going on in this world from beginning to end, but we long to understand. We long for something that makes sense. We long for good news.
And that brings me to the source of my optimism and hope: Jesus.
Nearly two millenia ago, Jesus revealed himself as the architect of the world spinning outside my airplane window and the future architect of a new world where all that has seemed meaningless will have meaning. Jesus not only has eternity in his heart, he has it in his grasp. He can see from beginning to end.
But I can’t.
Because of my rebellion against his perfect will, my view is limited and I am part of the problem—we are all part of the problem.
But this is where hope steps into the picture. Jesus lived a perfect life and yet he was brutally executed as if he was part of the problem, too. And that execution, along with his miraculous resurrection from the dead became the solution once and for all. And from the first century until today, Jesus’ people have set about to bring this good news to the world, to become part of the solution. We set about to work against the pessimistic tide of our culture. We proclaim a hope that while things may seem meaningless, it’s only because we can’t see the beginning and the end. And we know that the solution starts with acknowledging a God who has eternity in his grasp.
If you want to comment on this, I encourage you to do so over at JR’s blog. I’m going to disable comments on this post because I want the discussion to happen on his site.
Exponential
Apr 20, 2009 Uncategorized
Bright and early tomorrow morning (and by that I mean 4am), I hit the road for Orlando. I will be attending the Exponential Conference and hanging out with the folks from Acts 29, GCM, Vision 360, and Leadership Network. I’ll try to liveblog as much of the conference as I can, as well as hit you with a play by play all day via Twitter.
And if that just isn’t enough for ya, I’m gonna play around with Qik as well. Basically, I will be able to live-stream video at various points throughout the day. You can find my live feed right here on this post or over at my Qik page.
Between the blogging, Twitter, and Qik it will be like you are there live and in person!
Just think of it as another public service to my blog readers. :)
Practical Bible Study
Apr 17, 2009 Uncategorized
This weekend at Riv, Brett Maxwell and I are launching a new class I am super stoked about. It’s called “Practical Bible Study” and we’ll be talking about how to interpret the Bible normally. Here are the logistics:
Where: Riverview Holt Venue, Room 201
When: This Sunday at 11:30am (and continuing for 3 weeks)
Space is limited for this class, so make sure you sign up here: http://rivu.rivchurch.com
The Good News for Lansing
Apr 15, 2009 Uncategorized
My friend JR is doing an interesting project on his blog called “The Good News.” Here’s a little overview:
In this blog series each of the contributors will be summarizing their understanding of the Good News in 300 to 500 words. Each author is writing their entry as if they were invited by their city newspaper to write an article on the Good News, thus you will find the name of the author’s city newspaper in each entry. This series will challenge us to grow in our ability to share the good news with a variety of people from different perspectives.
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are at the center of the Good News. I trust that this series of posts will help you to focus on the mutually enriching and mutually challenging nature of the Good News during this Easter Season - from Easter to Pentecost. As we focus together on the Good News, may we be encouraged to be living letters to the world, until Jesus fully re-shapes our planet and our Father’s will is fully done on earth as it is in heaven. Let the wind blow and the Spirit of Pentecost come freshly upon us.
JR has asked me to participate and I have to send him my entry next week. So, here’s my question for those of you who live in the Lansing area:
What are the most pressing needs in the Lansing area right now?
Especially in light of the state of the economy, I am wondering where the itch is. That may help form the direction I take my piece. I am also working on my next series and I think I may use some of the ideas there, too.
Voodoo
Apr 14, 2009 Uncategorized
Wow… Check out this video (via eugene cho)
Sebastian’s Voodoo from Joaquin Baldwin on Vimeo.
What are your thoughts?
1 Corinthians
Apr 13, 2009 Uncategorized
Today at Text.RivChurch.com, we dive into 1 Corinthians. Here’s a little video recap I put together for the book.
The Team: Nate Klan
Apr 13, 2009 The Team
It’s Monday, and that means it’s time to highlight another Riv team member. Today, I want to introduce you to Nate Klan.
I have literally known Nate his entire life. His big brother was my best friend and Nate arrived on the scene when we were in High School. You can ask him about ways we tortured him, but suffice it to say we were cruel.
Years later, when Nate was in High School, I ended up serving as his Youth Pastor. He became instrumental in putting together sets and staging on a none existent budget for us. But oh man, was it a mess. We’d have extension cords mazed all over the place, work lights hooked up to dimmers (bad idea) which Nate himself had wired (even worse idea).
Fast forward a decade and now Nate is doing the very same things for Riv, but at a much higher level. He does all the set design and lighting schemes for our weekend services. He actually has a budget now and while it’s not a lot of money, he can always create something cool with it.
I’m honestly not sure how Nate holds down a full-time job, takes care of his wife and kid, and volunteers so much time to the church, but he does it. And he doesn’t complain…his attitude is consistently spectacular, even when I throw him a last minute curve ball (which is often).
Check out Nate’s blog to see what he’s up to and see a behind the scenes look at the set design at Riv. You can also find him on Flickr.
1st and 2nd Chronicles
Apr 10, 2009 Old Testament
Today, I’m going to continue my series going through the books of the Old Testament by hitting two: 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Again, this makes sense because they were originally one book.
1st Chronicles
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra. It is very likely there were several authors with our editor compiling them together.
Date
Somewhere between 598 and 425 BC. Obviously that’s a wide span of time, but we can’t know for certain.
Theme
This book starts out with a broad historical sketch from Adam to Saul, but largely focuses on the reign of David as king. The goal of the book is clearly to remind the children of Israel that they are God’s chosen people.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Again, we see King David as foreshadowing Jesus as king.
Random Thoughts
It’s notable how much of the Old Testament is spent on reminding Israel that God loves them and he is faithful. We need to constantly remind ourselves of these things, as well.
2nd Chronicles
Author
We can’t know for certain, though much Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra. It is very likely there were several authors with our editor compiling them together.
Date
Somewhere between 598 and 425 BC. Obviously that’s a wide span of time, but we can’t know for certain.
Theme
Occuring at the same time as the Samuels and Kings, this book details the building of the temple (under Solomon) and the fall of Jerusalem that followed.
What this book teaches me about Jesus
Again, we see King David as foreshadowing Jesus as king. In fact, this book is very big on this since it focuses on his spiritual side more than the preceding books. The Temple is always a cool picture of Jesus, as well.
Random Thoughts
Even as we see David’s earthly kingdom collapse, we are reminded that his family line remains intact leading to Jesus and his heavenly kingdom.
Avoiding a Comcastic Easter
Apr 9, 2009 Uncategorized
This last week, I have been researching Cable / Internet providers because I have trouble with my local HD channels through DirecTV.
After doing all the math, I had settled on Comcast. They had the best package for the price and it would allow me to get rid of my home phone, which we never use.
Well, trying to switch to Comcast became a giant comedy of errors. 2 phone calls and 2 website visits led to 4 different pricing structures. Finally, when I thought I had it figured out, I tried to sign up through the website’s online chat. That was a mistake. They tried to jack the price up during the chat session. It felt like a huge bait and switch. Eventually, the person I was chatting with told me to “go to a local Comcast store in person” and disconnected himself from the chat session.
So I went to the website and couldn’t figure out where to go locally. I remembered after awhile that there is a big Comcast building on Miller Rd, so I headed over there.
Closed…with instructions to go to the Frandor area.
At this point, I had to do it just to see what was going to happen next, but I seriously doubted I would sign up for Comcast. I was willing to pay more to get better service somewhere else.
When I arrived at the Frandor location, I took a number, sat down and posted about my woes on Facebook while I waited. Check out the ensuing conversation:
Comcast, suffice it to say, has a less than stellar reputation. I had heard it from many people and now I have experienced it in person.
But there was one lady at the local store. Her name was Mildred and she had all the rate plans memorized. She was super sweet and knowledgeable. She smiled, empathized, and generally eased my mind about Comcast. Because of this one individual, I decided to give them a second chance.
Then on the way out the door, she told me if I came in to pay my bill or get help in person, it would cost $1.95.
Jeesh.
OK…what does this have to do with Easter? Everything.
This weekend, many new “customers” will be checking out churches around the country. Some will be visiting new churches, some will be coming back to old ones, they all will be evaluating these churches again.
What will they encounter? Will the church’s reputation be reinforced or debunked?
A friend of mine told someone once that he had started attending Riverview. His friend’s response?
“I hate that place.”
He went on to say when he came, he tried to find more information out about the church and couldn’t find anyone to give him this info. No one seemed to care that he was there so he never came back.
This weekend, no matter what church you go to, here’s my challenge to you: avoid having a Comcastic Easter.
It’s easy to make Easter all about you: your family, your needs. This weekend, make it about others. Be on high alert for new people. Show them around, get them a cup of coffee, make them feel welcome.
Be like Mildred.
Passion of the Christ- Facebook style.
Apr 8, 2009 Uncategorized
In honor of Easter coming up this weekend, I give you “Passion of the Christ - Facebook Style.”
Trust me, this is totally worth taking the time to read. (ht: bob.blog)
