The Pathway Blog

Reality Check

I had a dream recently that I was Iron Man.  It was AWESOME!  Complete with full body armor, I flew through the sky with ease and swooped down into a city skyline, flying around tall buildings and eventually landing on top of a skyscraper.  When I woke up, I was so jazzed I could hardly go to sleep again!

 

I’ve always had a fascination with flying, and have often dreamt and even day dreamed of great adventures flying through the air.  As a child I read comic books that featured flying superheroes, and as an adult I find myself engrossed in those types of movies – it seems so real.  But as seriously as I would like to fly and as often as I have wanted to try flying, there is one irrevocable truth that has kept me from ever trying; gravity.  The reality is, if I go to the top of a building and jump I am going to discover the truth very, very soon.  And the truth is I can’t fly!

The line of truth seems to be continually blurring in our world these days.  People seem to think truth is somehow linked to their opinions or how they feel about the issues of the day.  If homosexuality makes me happy, then it must be okay.  If I’m no longer happy in my marriage, then it must be okay to end it.  If I don’t believe in a heaven or hell, then there must not be one.  Sounds great, but truth is not based on what I think, feel or want it to be.  Truth comes from God, the Creator and Designer; the One whom we will ultimately stand before and give an account for our actions.  And when we stand before this Judge, He will not be swayed by political correctness nor will He care one way or another about what “everybody else” was doing or what a group of irrelevant legislators have declared is right or wrong; He will judge on truth.

I know what you’re thinking; the Bible is old-fashioned and out-dated.  It speaks to a different culture.  We have evolved and progressed into a people that doesn’t need to pay attention to the writings of a few ancient, intolerant men.  Well, let me break it to you gently.  You can’t fly.  Generations before you have tried and failed.  The best advice I can give is to honestly and earnestly get into the Designer’s handbook (the Bible) and see what He has to say.  You might be surprised to find He actually loves you, and the last thing He wants is for you to think you can fly and find out too late you can’t.

Pop Goes the Church # 1

So I agreed to join in a book study with a few friends of mine (Kyle, Nate and Mike) and I am already three days behind!!  We are reading the book, “Pop Goes The Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture” by Tim Stevens.  Our plan is to read a section, then post our thoughts and insights on our own blogs.

Chapter one hits on a question that has always haunted me.  It is a question we have talked about in staff meetings, leadership meetings and I have posed to our church family; "If Pathway  Church were to suddenly disappear, would anyone notice, and if they did, would they even care?"  It is a question about how much a church impacts the community. 

Sometimes I wonder if our generation of church leaders has crossed a line.  It seems that we are more concerned with getting people into our particular churches, than we are to introducing them to Jesus.  We put huge amounts of time and energy into creating bigger and better "shows."  Our goal is to become that next church to create an impressive splash in the community and gets designated with the all important label of being "cool."  We spend hours in staff meetings talking about how to perfect the circus we like to call our Sunday morning worship, all in an attempt to be relevant.  Sometimes I have to ask the question, "Relevant to what?  Relevant to whom?" 

It seems to me that the only people who care about being in a cool church are the Christians who have grown bored with their own faith and feel they need something more.  Maybe that's easy for me to say, since I have spent the past several years surrounded by some pretty phenomenal musicians and a worship leader who is one of my favorite people in all the world.  But in all the years I have been in ministry, I can't think of too many people who said they were so impressed with the band that they wanted to give their life to Jesus.  I can't think of a single person who said they were so blown away by the way the lights faded and the video segued into the sermon that they were ready to give up drugs and stop cheating on their spouse. 

It always seems to boil down to people.  Somebody took the time to have a conversation with me.  Somebody personally reached into my world and listened to me as if I were the only person who mattered.  Somebody helped pick me up when I was down.  Somebody loved me when I was unlovable.  That is the kind of stuff that impacts a community!

It seems that in all the church's attempts to look authentic, we have lost our authenticity.  Maybe the best way for a church to be culturally relevant, is for each person of faith to take the time to reach into the life of someone they rub shoulders with and simply show them the unconditional love of Christ.  If they need cool music, they could always head down to Blues on Grand.

Coming Out of the Fog

      It's been almost two months since Mom passed away.  Her apartment has now gone to someone else.  Her car is now proudly driven by her granddaughter.  A single rose from her funeral spray sits on the mantle of my fireplace.  At the funeral, I told the guests that over the past few months I had been preparing myself to say good-bye to my hero; I just figured I had a few more years to figure out how to do it.  But I should have known better.

     Mom was a woman of great pride and resilience.  She was not the kind of person to ask anyone for help - even if she needed it.  She hated the thought of "being an inconvenience" to anyone and if she had been cognitively aware of what the next few years would have held in her battle with Alzheimer's Disease, she would have much rather drifted off in her sleep without the fanfare of bringing in family or dealing with the slow decline of eventually losing her faculties.  As it turned out, that is exactly what happened!  She ended up passing from this world in her own home in dignity. 

     Her last day out was with friends going to the senior center.  She was in a great mood when I went to visit her at her apartment.  My last words to her were, "I love you Mom" and her last words to me were, "I don't know what I would do without you.  I love you too."  To anyone's knowledge, that was the last conversation she had with anyone on the face of the planet.

     Mom was my hero for a number of reasons.  How many kids could grow up saying their mom worked for cool places like the FBI, the CIA and the French Embassy?  Later on in life, how many kids could say their mom out-sold all the other salespeople in her team of salesmen or owned her own real estate company and her own dairy shop? 

     Mom was my hero because she could do cool things like say the alphabet backwards in less than 20 seconds.  But the biggest reason Mom was my hero, was that she introduced me to her Savior, Jesus and sparked in me an interest to learn more about Him.

     While I hate the fact that Mom is no longer with me on earth, I revel in the fact that her memory has been restored, her smile is brighter than ever, the energy and health she once craved is now stronger than ever, and at this moment, I am convinced she is on some heavenly adventure.

     Mom had spent the past few years hoping to find some kind of financial windfall.  While none of her ideas ever panned out, sometime during the day on November 18, 2007, she drifted off to sleep in her bed and woke up in the presence of the Living God in a place the Bible describes as having streets of gold and wealth beyond her wildest dreams!

     It's been almost two months now.  I'm not over it.  I'm not doing great.  But I'm doing better.  As for Mom - she wouldn't come back if she had the chance!  Thank you Mom for introducing me to Jesus!  I know He prepared a home for you, and He is getting one ready for me as well.  I'll see you on the other side!

Well Done, Good and Faithul Servant!

In the midst of a 40 day fast, God spoke to me in some very clear and insightful ways.  This message begins with some general teaching and ends with a detailed explanation of how God spoke during an all-church fast.  There are a few moments of silence in the beginning of the recording, so make sure and give it a few seconds to start.

Download 01_well_done_good_and_faithful_servant.wma

Ready for Harvest

   I think I made my doctor’s day recently.  I went in with my daughter for a checkup, and when I walked by the nurse’s station, the doctor and her nurses looked wide-eyed at me and said, “You’ve lost weight, haven’t you!”  I was a little puzzled by their question, and darted back; “Well, didn’t you tell me to?” 

  Apparently, not everyone listens to doctors when they give advice—even if it’s advice about how to live longer and enjoy better health.  When the doctor came into our room, she was almost giddy when we talked about how I had lost 60 pounds in the past few months and how her words inspired me to make a few changes.  It made such an impact on the staff that one of the nurses asked the doctor to tell her to lose weight too, so she could start losing weight. 

   The reality is, I’ll bet my doctor has made the same “here’s why you should lose a few pounds” speech to countless patients over the years.  And I’ll bet most of them smiled and nodded and promised to do better, but came back weighing the same—or more than the time when they were there before.  So what made me different?  What made her speech work for me when it didn’t’ for so many others? 

  I was ready.  I knew I needed to lose a few pounds.  I had talked about it with my wife, strategized ways to do it, considered starting to do something about it “tomorrow,” but I never actually did anything about it until my doctor sat me down and told me my life would be better off if I lost a good ten pounds.  I guess I was just waiting for the right person to tell me what I already knew.

  I wonder how many people I know who are in the same place spiritually that I was physically a few months ago.  They know what they’re doing isn’t working, they have been thinking about makings some changes, reconnecting with Jesus or finding a church, but they haven’t actually done anything yet.  They are ready, but for some reason they are waiting for someone like you or me to care about their spiritual well being enough to engage them in a conversation. 

  Jesus doesn't call us to force ourselves on people.  He doesn't call us to shove the gospel down people's throats.  He simply tells us to go to those who are ready and let them know the good news that Jesus loves them.  I'll bet there is someone you rub shoulders with regularly who is ready to hear this life-altering message!

 

Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV) 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

The Ideal Church: A Celebration of Freedom

Is it okay for a Christ follower to drink alcohol?  Does God mind if you buy lottery tickets?  How far can you go physically in a premarital relationship?  Put a group of believers in the same room and ask them those questions, and you will get a variety of different answers based on deep convictions and strong emotions.  The reality is, some areas of the Bible are not as clear as others, and sometimes we are left on our own to decide how to live our lives.  The real test is, how do we treat others who do not share our conclusions in the gray areas of our faith?

This audio is from week two of a three week series where we looked at some of the basic ideals that drive Pathway Church as a nondenominational church.  Week one centered on the importance of having a strong commitment to the Bible (our philosophy is really pretty simple; if the Bible says something, we should pretty much do it, if the Bible doesn’t say something, then we need to figure it out on our own, while at the same time not violate Scriptural principles). 

Download 01_a_celebration_of_freedom.wma

A Lesson from an Indian Flute

    When our mission team to the Rosebud Reservation asked Danny to come and play the Indian Flute, we had no idea he would also teach us a valuable lesson! 

   As he held the flute in his hands, he began looking around the room and told us that there was something keeping him from playing music that day.  There was something coming between himself and his flute; his gum.  Following the traditions of his ancestors, he began to thoughtfully relay an important lesson as he looked for a place to put his gum.  He told us the gum would not allow him to play the flute at its highest potential; he said that it actually had the potential to ruin his instrument so he had to get rid of it before he played any music. 

   Then he turned the corner and said, “You know, my gum is just like sin in our lives.  When we have sin in our lives it comes between us and God and we need to get rid of it in order to receive the blessings God wants to send our way.”  He had a great point!  How often to we stubbornly hold on to sin in our lives while at the same time foster a relationship with God?  How often do we expect some kind of incredible spiritual experience or unimaginable answer to prayer, when all along we are living in rebellion?

   Is there anything coming between you and God these days?  Any sin in your life that you are trying to hang on to?  This would be a great time to get rid of it!  I think Jesus said it best when He was talking to a woman who had been accused of sin in her life.  He offered her forgiveness and said, "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11).  That's not a bad idea for the rest of us too!

A Matter of Perspective

Sometimes I like to sit around and quietly whine to myself about how bad I have it. The payment is due on my new Durango, my four bedroom, two story house costs a lot of money to cool in the summer, my overachieving children demand a lot of cash-flow in order to continue their pattern of taking music lessons, attending camps and conferences, and keeping entertained. If I want to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes this fall, I’ll have to cancel my subscription to cable and go with Direct TV. What a pain! About the time I start feeling sorry for myself, I open my eyes to the world around me and realize that most of my “pain” in self inflicted, and the things I call pain tend to be other people’s luxuries. The reality of the matter is I’m spoiled. Our Mission Team just returned home from a week on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, where we spent a lot of time walking the streets getting to know the local residents. The reservation is a place where living in poverty and addiction to drugs and alcohol is a normal way of life. While my 17-year-old daughter is entering her senior year of high school, the most stressful thing in her life is trying to decide exactly which college she wants to attend next fall. By the time girls on the reservation are 17 years old they may already be single moms with multiple children and are trying to figure out how to feed their family their next meal. I returned home from our trip feeling very grateful. I met a ton of really great people, found some new friends, and discovered that I really have no legitimate reason to whine about anything in my life. If I don’t like the price of gas, I can drive less. If I don’t like my car payment, I can sell my car and pay cash for my next one. If I don’t like the power bill, I can turn off the air conditioner and throw a few fans in the windows. It seemed to work okay for my new friends from the reservation.

A Faded Memory

      Life was good growing up on the small Iowa farm, but when Peggy was 17, she was anxious to get started on a new adventure.  Having graduated Creston High School, she planned to go to college and become a teacher.  But two years into her studies, Peggy’s drive for excitement drove her onto the FBI’s most wanted list.  Not because she was a criminal, but because they wanted to give her a job.  They sent Peggy off to Washington DC, where she quickly became accustomed to the big city life.

     It was during this time that she became connected with the French Embassy and began working for them.  After two weeks on the job in Washington DC, they sent her to their new location in New York City, where once again, Peggy flourished. 

     But even the excitement of the FBI and embassy work wasn’t enough for Peggy.  She decided to move back to Des Moines, where she would eventually meet her future husband and finish her business degree (graduating with honors).

     While in Des Moines, Peggy stayed at the home of a renowned brain surgeon.  One night, the doorbell rang, and standing at the door was the director of the Commission for the Blind, who had heard of Peggy and had come to recruit her to work.  Peggy agreed.

     By the time Peggy was in her mid-twenties, she had experienced more than many people do their entire lives!  Even after marriage, her adventure continued.  Together, they owned and operated a small business (Lambert’s Dairy, in Des Moines), they were real estate agents in their own company, and she went on to sell everything from cosmetics to cemetery plots, to advertising and every kind of insurance imaginable (usually outselling the guys on her team).  She even won a trip to Hawaii once for selling an exorbitant amount of Christmas items in a part-time sales job.

     Peggy eventually retired from the government after working several years for HUD and the Veteran’s Hospital in Des Moines.  In everything Peggy has done, she has always done it with all her might and with a commitment to excellence.  This has been true not only with her long adventurous career in the workforce, but at home as well.

     After loosing a six-year-old daughter to leukemia and a son shortly after birth, Peggy managed to successfully raise three boys.  Three boys who share her desire to do something “big” and to make an impact in their world.  While some people know her at Peggy, and some know her as Bernice, I know her only as Mom, and I will forever be grateful for the adventurous path she got me started on.

     These days the excitement of her past experiences are fading quickly.  She has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and her world is getting smaller and smaller day-by-day.  While it hurts to watch my mom slowly fade away, there is comfort in knowing that she is very happy and she has passed on an amazing heritage to my family and me.

     It has become my part-time job to manger her finances, take care of her medicines and watch out for her general wellbeing.  I have become her father.  While Mom will probably never read this, and if she did, she would immediately forget it, I just wanted to let the world know that I am the luckiest guy in the world and am honored to be playing the role I now play in her life.  I love you Mom!

Get Up!

      They were dropping like flies all around me.  Everywhere I looked children were falling to the ground.  With each thump and thud I could "feel their pain."  I wondered how these children had the tenacity keep getting up after each fall.  Why they were so eager to go back for more. 

     The music was playing, the atmosphere was festive, and parents were bringing in their children for a great time of skating at the ice rink.  Some wore hats, others had on shorts, but all of them were wearing big bright smiles. 

     Some of the kids were like little daredevils, darting in and out of traffic, dodging walls and trying to avoid slower moving skaters.  Others were cautiously scooting along, legs stiff as boards and arms outstretched, ready at any moment to break a fall.  Although they all seemed to have different styles and levels of skill, they all had one thing in common; the floor.  Yes, they were learning the cold hard reality of life; we all fall and take tumbles.  The problem is, as you grow older, the falls and tumbles become more complex.  And its gets harder and harder to get right back up with a smile on your face.

     I'll never forget breaking up with my first "real" girl friend.  We had dated for over three years - just long enough to know we weren't meant for each other.  It was very painful to go our separate ways, but we both knew it had to happen.  That was a tumble I hadn't quite anticipated. 

     Years later I received a two-page letter from my dad.  He wrote about the weather, his garden and all the usual things he wrote about in a typical letter.  At the very bottom of the second page he ended with the sentence, "oh, by the way, the doctors found a tumor the size of an apple in my lung.  Love, dad."  Six weeks later I was standing in front of family and friends, telling them what a great guy my dad was and what I had learned from him.  My brother read a few scriptures and leaned over and kissed dad's coffin.  It took a long time to smile after that fall.

     Of course there have been many other times that I have been gliding down the streets of life, happy as a lark, when suddenly my feet came out from under me.  As a matter of fact, I’ll bet you could tell similar stories of times you have fallen.  Most of us could tell stories of bruised egos, or deep emotional scars that have been left behind from some unexpected tumble.  A marriage that didn't work.  A child who rebelled.  An unwelcomed health crisis.  There are times when we all feel like the lady who said "I've fallen and I can't get up"!

     Maybe this is a time when we can learn from our own children.  When they fall down they may cry, they may be a little scared, but they always go back for more.  Sometimes they need a little reassurance and a pat on the head from Mom or Dad, but before long, they are smiling and back at it again.

     Maybe we could even learn from our own advice.  When our children fall down, we give them a hug and a kiss, and send them on their way.  We become their biggest fans, their loudest cheerleaders.  If you spend enough time at the skating rink, you will hear in between the festive music and the laughter of children playing, the familiar words of a parent: "You can do it!"  "Don't give up!"  "Keep trying!"  "You'll get it right!"  Parents say things like that because they know that in between the bumps and bruises, the falls and tumbles, there is a whole lot of fun and enjoyment to be had at the skating rink.  And they know that the only way to become a better skater is to get up after a fall and try again.

     The same is true with those more complex falls that you experience as an adult.  We become better people when we get up after a tumble, wipe off the dust, and carry on.  Sometimes it takes a little longer to get up, and sometimes the pain is deeper, but we must get up. 

     If you have experienced a tumble recently, I want to be one of your biggest fans.  Today, I want to be the one to say, "You can do it!"  "Don't give up!"  "Keep trying!"  "You'll get it right!"  I can say that because I know that in between the bumps and bruises, the falls and tumbles, there is a lot of joy and happiness that can be found in this voyage we call life.  And I know that with the help of God, you will be a stronger person if you don't give up.