Facing Fears

Lindsay, Ellie and I are enjoying a pleasant week in Florida with family and friends where we are able to head to the beach, the driving range, and just plain relax. The only problem is that every night I have to walk past three of the biggest spider and spider webs to get to the apartment. Ever since I saw Arachnophobia at 12 years old, I have had a rational, appropriate and reasonable (or so I tell myself) fear of spiders.
Needless to say, each evening involves a short prayer and a fast sprint beyond these webs. In the morning, however, I have actually stopped to watch them because I able to see these creatures in a new light. And though my heart pounds, I am amazed by their web design.
These webs are probably 5 feet in diameter with two or three levels to them. They are strategically placed near a light so that when the bugs congregate around the light at the evening they will inevitably get trapped. During the day, I have seen a bee get stuck in the web and struggle to escape. As the bee and the spider danced for survival, I realized that this is an unintentional artistic expression of the spider, because she is more interested in her food then her design,
So like a mischievous 5th grader, I threw a small piece of paper into the web. Immediately the spider sprung into action to attack this prey. But this time, she was able to discern that this scrap of paper would not be dinner and quickly cut the nuisance from her web.
Now, as I walk past the web deep within the layers of this expansive design is a hole. A twinge of guilt appears as I realize that it marks the place where I interfered with this spider's creation. But then I will have flashes of Arachnophobia, and remember that these are deadly pests that can kill John Goodman , and anyone with good rational sense would be terrified by these creatures.

Ruth Graham

For those unfamiliar with Charlotte, NC there are three things that people are proud to associate with: NASCAR, BBQ and Billy Graham. Ruth's death on Thursday was the death not only of a celebrity, but someone who has had a tremendous impact on Charlotte, Montreat and the world.
Recently, I was watching one of Billy Graham's "Crusades" on TBN. I don't think it would be a stretch to claim that Billy Graham--through the power of the Spirit, of course--has probably had the greatest numerical influence upon the sharing of the Gospel and people's acceptance of Jesus Christ in the history of the world; even more than Paul. His ability to utlize the available resources to communicate the gospel in such a basic but powerful way has left an indelliable mark on American (and 20th century) Christianity.
When one contrasts this fame with another Charlotte couple, the Bakkers, one has to be amazed at the humility, authenticity, purity and sincerity which the Grahams carried the gospel message to the ends of the world.
I found this to be well represented by the way in which Ruth and Billy Graham have chosen to be buried.

A statement released late Friday by the Grahams said Ruth Graham will be buried in a plywood coffin lined with a mattress pad.
At the Grahams' request, the $200 box was built by Richard "Grasshopper" Liggett and fellow inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La.
They also built one for Billy Graham, 88, who will someday be buried next to his wife.

Mistrust

I recently finished Reimagining Evangelism which was an interesting read that I recommend for folks. One of his points was that church-folk should expect an air of "mistrust" from their normal friends. This helped me realize that is my M.O. Rather than using the typical evangelistic approaches of addressing people with an "I have the answers to your questions" pomposity, I go into relationships expecting people to mistrust the church and especially church-folk.
A pastor at Liquid church said it well the other week, when people are polled many believe in God, but if you ask them why they do not participate in a worship service they typically respond with 1) it's boring, 2) it's about money not me, 3) it's unfriendly and cliquish, or 4) inadequate childcare. What is fascinating about these four responses is that, rarely, do people place the blame on God. Rather their responses show their mistrust and dissatisfaction with the Church and church-folk.
It is no wonder that the church is struggling. We continue to open our doors at 10:55am expecting people to show up. We have failed to penetrate the daily rhythms not only of the normal people, but also many of the church-folk . The message and the practices the church has been promoting fails to break this mistrust.
Our testimonies--as thought to many of us--are a formulaic script that produce a Christian facade: how my life was before Christ, how I met Christ, and how great life is after meeting Christ. This intensifies the mistrust because it is an obvious lie...there are many experiences after "meeting Christ" where doubt, anger, sin, and death creep back in.
Therefore, in these normal relationships, it is important for church-folk to acknowledge the mistrust through humble vulnerability. Richardson argues that it is through inviting people into our lives that we disarm their mistrust because we show that we too are along in this journey; we too are stuck in the mire and mud. This disarming invitation will show God at work within one's life, rather than self-promoting one's own capabilities (which, if the four things above is accurate, fail to connect with people).

Krispi Kreme

Last Friday (June 1st) was free Donut Day at Krispy Kreme.
Click here to where you could have gone to get a free Krispi Kreme. As if you need another reason to hate NJ, check out the storelocator map...KK in Newfoundland but not NJ, WTH?)

In honor of this day, I thought I would regale you all with one of my favorite college events.
Our semi-annual "Fat Night"

This involved a drive down to BW3 Buffalo Wing joint in Charlotte. Where 6 of us would order 240 wings. On a particular night, I was bothered by my buddy Evan eating more buffalo wings then I--I believe he outpaced my 40 but downing nearly 60 wings.
However, fat night not only involved Buffalo Wings, but also Krispi Kreme. Disgraced by my weak preformance earlier in the evening, I managed to rebound and eat one dozen hot glazed donuts by myself.
Before the sugar convulsions began, all I remember is having to constantly chew the final donut my body was refusing to digest that much KK. But alas, I made it...needless to say, that many wings and that many donuts make for a long day(s) of recovery.

breaking up

A struggle i have had recently was to tell some churches that I did not feel called to them these past two weeks. Not only was it difficult because I have been turning places down before I have even found a "sure thing," but also because I hate to disappoint people.

Now I realized why as a teenager I could never break-up with girls; I think technically I am still dating a girl from 9th grade. Then there was the girl who wrote a break-up poem for me...the sad thing is I read the poem, looked at her and said, "huh? what does this mean, are we not going to Outback tonight?" Thankfully, as Lindsay will tell it, she could just never get around to saying "no" to me as well.

Anyway, enough of the painful flashbacks...

What I am discovering in the midst of this experience is how to trust in God's faithfulness. I know that God is calling me somewhere into ministry, and I knew that those places were not the right fit. Therefore, rather than stringing others along, and trying to control the situation myself, I figured I should step out in faith.

In this experience I understand what Barth (and the Bible) means by being free in Christ. When I stopped trying to control what jobs I could have, I have found a strange peace that something will work out. In the most "scary" of times--unemployed, new father, and dealing with medical issues--I am finding assurance that God is at work in all of this.

Though the PC(USA) dating pool is a little thin for my interests, I have found the comfort and confidence that God will provide for myself, Lindsay and Ellie an amazing opportunity to serve Him and His church.
We just pray that it will come soon....really soon.

speed street

Last week I was able to experience one of the greatest street parties anywhere. Charlotte's Speed Street. Funnel Cakes, Beer, and NASCAR lined the downtown roads causing havoc. While most people imagine the streets would be lined with Jeff Foxworthy, Cletus and toothless Joe, it actually was a huge draw for the bankers and lawyers in Uptown who were able to sneak out of their cubicles to witness America's truest SportEvent. Check out these pictures...my favorite the "Boarder Patrol" car.









For those with a keen eye, I know what you are thinking...those last two pictures aren't from the 2007 season...Good Job...they are photos from Speed Street 2004, just in case you doubted that I had ever been to such an event twice.