Crossroads Prayers

Dear friends, family and random blog readers:

First, thanks for making this site a part of your internet addiction. But secondly, as you have noticed the recent emphasis upon community, genuineness and "asking for help" we are getting ready to launch a new worship service here at First Presbyterian Church.

Oh the things I have learned in 6 months of ministry, one of which is the necessity--yet difficulty--of constant prayer. Therefore, if you are a praying person, I would ask that you might pray over this new worship service called Crossroads which starts March 9th at 5pm.

It is my prayer that this service would
1) Connect with the surrounding uptown Charlotte residents and provide a meaningful and genuine worship service.
2) Equip, empower and send our members so that church is not just "done on Sunday mornings."
3) Be glorifying to God, and not built around any one personality. (really the #1)
4) Be an enhancement to our church's ministry and not a wedge.

For me personally:
1) That I would learn to "trust in the Lord with all [my] heart, and do not rely upon my own insight" (Proverbs 3:5)
2) That I would not grow in faith as I struggle through the stresses of starting a worship service.
3) That as a family we would remain encouraged and strong as we take this risk.

A Code of Honor?

On my honor as a Davidson student, I have neither given nor received help on this assignment.

This phrase was required to be written and signed by every student at the bottom of every major assignment at Davidson College. On the hand, I am very appreciative of the freedom the Honor Code provided at Davidson--we could leave doors unlocked, backpacks in the quad, and all exams were self-scheduled. On the other hand, I am realizing the impact this sentence can have on alumni...we don't ask for help.

When I went to Princeton Seminary, I never felt comfortable in study groups. I was reflecting on this with a fellow Davidson, Princeton grad and associate here at First Presbyterian and she agreed. There was something unsettling about sharing ideas.

So I decided to do an informal survey of two davidson alum at this church and a close friend from Davidson, we all agree. The Honor Code has built a strong sense of integrity and honor. It has instilled a strong work ethic and drive. But, perhaps, rather than seeking to build commradarie and community, it has reinforced a lone-ranger individualism that leaves many of us as exhausted, Type-A, overachievers who are never satisfied nor feel it is appropriate to stop and ask for help.

And this produces the tension in ministry as we are called to a life of honor and integrity but also community and support.

--oh by the way, did you see how Davidson has the longest win streak in the nation? Go Cats!

Devotional: Demonstrating Faith

I recently came across a statistic that says 80% of Americans believe they should choose their faith apart from the guidance of churches or synagogues. This week’s Observer ran an article about the growing “marketplace” of faith communities. For the first time in our country’s history, there will no longer be a majority of Protestants while 28% of Americans do not adhere to any particular faith tradition.

These statistics are not startling when we look outside our church walls. Even in Charlotte, we are noticing the religious landscape is changing as rapidly as Uptown’s.

The challenge for us as a church community is to remind ourselves of God’s unique call on our lives in order that we may confidently share our faith with our co-workers, our neighbors, and perhaps even our significant others. I believe that we are so cautious to “not be like that church over there” that we often neglect God’s call for us.

This past week at Theology on Tap we were talking about how churches are often dismissed because they constantly preach what we are not supposed to do. By doing so, we neglect to instruct, equip and send people to actually demonstrate a life of faith.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Paul says, “So if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” Often, preachers stop after the first verse, but it is important to follow the full train of Paul’s thought, because the newness found in a life of faith calls us to do something about it. For Paul, because of God’s work in our lives, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, we have been charged to demonstrate God’s love to the people who we encounter in our daily lives.

I am not surprised by the growing marketplace of faith in our culture. I am surprised, however, that the church has become a major culprit in the individualization of faith, rather than boldly demonstrating that a life of faith is radically different from our culture. A ministry of reconciliation shows to people that faith occurs in community and in relationship. Therefore, what are the ways that we are seeking to share God’s good news in our daily lives? What pressures hold us back from forgiving others, helping the needy and inviting friends to join us in our faith journeys?

Devotional: Genuine Community

The Observer this week ran a story about JuicyCampus.com. This new startup website is causing problems at colleges because students can anonymously post hurtful, demeaning gossip about classmates.

This social-networking website, highlights one of the tensions on the internet. On the one hand, the internet can provide a forum for people to meet, reconnect and even fall in love. Recent premarital counselors suggest that one in seven couples have met through the internet. However, the internet can also damage relationships as slander, gossip and salacious images are also easily distributed.

This false sense of connection and community has left many people overwhelmed with surface friendships. The sheer number of people we know and keep in contact with has grown, but we still lack the time to truly invest in other’s lives.

Deep down we know our Facebook friends or our Outlook contacts do not provide us with the true community we desire. A central role of the church is to be a place of community and fellowship. As the church gathers, we seek to draw people together in order that they may connect to God and each other.

God has placed a call upon our lives, and we are challenged to invest and invite people to join us on the journey of faith. What are the ways in which we seek to invest and invite others to heed the word’s of Jesus Christ and “come follow me?” What are the obstacles that prevent us from extending this invitation and keeping us from creating genuine community?

Welcome to 1985

If you have not heard about one of these, you gotta go out and get one. Lindsay and I just bought our first microwave, its kinda of like an oven but it cooks food alot faster!

Seriously, I know it is probably pretty sad, but last week after 5 1/2 years of marriage we bought ourselves a microwave.

This has opened up a whole world of possibilities. Frozen pizzas, tv dinners, those .99 frozen burritos. Life is good.

As the pace of life has picked up with work and with Ellie, we realize that it is not always possible to have freshly cooked meals. We've started Saturday night BBQs on the gas grill, now I am just trying to convince Lindsay for "hungryman dinner Tuesday."

I never really grew up with a microwave either, we had one of those old microwave ovens that you threw a latch and it would transform from an oven to a microwave, the problem was it never would heat food well, so all I remember is half-frozen dinners. When I was six, however, my parents did have a microwave but it was in the playroom in the basement, which inevitably meant that it became caked with melted GI Joe men.

Devotional: Superweek

This is an interesting week with great fanfare as we celebrated the Superbowl, Super-Tuesday and Mardi-Gras. Then as the confetti lay on the streets of New York and New Orleans, we came to Ash Wednesday. Granted the NFL and our political parties probably did not consult the liturgical calendar when selecting these dates, but I found the transition this week interesting.

On Sunday, Eli Manning overcame the media’s yearlong criticism to become a Superbowl MVP. On Tuesday, John McCann, whom many pundits had written off months ago, became the Republican front-runner. While on the Democratic side, there is a tight battle between two candidates, a female and an African-American, who years ago would never have been seriously considered for the Presidency. Even Tuesday evening, on the streets of New Orleans, the news cameras captured a city still trying to recover from Katrina. All of these events this week symbolize the human spirit’s ability to rise up, overcome challenges and succeed.

Then, however, our calendar came to Ash Wednesday: a liturgical time of reflection, humility, and confession. It is strange to call this day a celebration, because it is when the church reminds herself that human life is frail, imperfect and transitory. In this time of humility, we acknowledge that while our life is but ashes and dust, God is the creator, sustainer and redeemer of all things. God took dirt and breathed life into in order that we may live.

So, who are we? Do our performances on the football field—or the office, or as a parent—define our identity? Do the results of exit polls—or friend’s opinions, or our own self-image—define us? Or, is our identity rooted in the humble acknowledgment that we are but dust and ashes; that God is the giver of life who has called us to worship, serve and share his love with everyone that we come into contact with.