Part of our Christmas tradition for my sister and I growing up was watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special every year. Originally the cartoon aired in 1965 and it was replayed every year as I was growing up on one of the three TV stations for which we had reception.
The story of this cartoon contrasts the consumerism of the season with the true meaning of Christmas, which Linus so aptly describes by quoting most of Luke 2 from the Bible.
“Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”
Don “Pops” Rogers went ahead of us to heaven this past month and celebrated Thanksgiving with His precious Jesus. His “promotion” has gripped my heart with grief because I loved how he helped me see the world. Pops was always teaching others a biblical worldview by sharing stories of encounters with friends and strangers in our city. Armed with a cup of coffee in his right hand and his left hand on your shoulder, he was always ready to encourage others to walk with Jesus.
We recently set our clocks back and gained an hour. Some people love the time change that happens twice a year, others loathe those days. Usually as we “fall back” I decide to use that hour as “bonus time” and go to bed an hour later. It’s like reaching into a coat pocket and finding $20 in cash; you don’t celebrate it until it happens.
According to a 2021 drought monitor analysis, we are now experiencing the most expansive western drought this century. About 87% of California is experiencing “extreme drought” while our county is in the 45% of the state in “exceptional drought” (the worst designation).
Not long ago I found myself in a situation with some negative and critical people. It can be very difficult to spend time with them. These particular people act more passively aggressive, and it makes me nervous to be around them. I began praying for the Lord to help me to be kind and gracious in this situation.
The result of that prayer was that trials sprang up.
Yep, you heard me right – things got worse. The circumstances we found ourselves surrounded by completely changed, and we ended up stuck together for even longer.
You might be thinking, “Wow, your prayer totally backfired!”
I have been in full-time ministry for 29 years and if you asked me what has caused me to grow the most, you might be surprised. Certainly, in the midst of my own failings, struggles, heartaches and pain, I have been shaped by God into the man I am today. However, I have grown most by walking through pain with others. As a pastor, I have walked with hundreds of families through grief as they struggled with the death of loved ones. Instead of trying to live in an “emotionally neutral” heart posture in self-protection, I have decided to weep with those who weep and enter into their lament. Every circumstance is different, but the result has been the same – I come out of that experience more thankful and richer. My soul has become enriched by hearing the stories of others, my compassion has grown deeper, and my resolve to live life with Jesus, stronger.
A few years ago, one of the young men of our church died at a young age. I was stunned and so shocked that I didn’t weep for days until I made the trip to visit his parents. Upon seeing the crushed look in his father’s eyes, I hugged him, and the tears began to flow. The mourning, weeping, questions, shock and overwhelming grief were almost too much to bear. As we sat together for hours and wept, there was a corporate expression of lament – messy, unrefined, littered with words you don’t say in front of your mother that was all punctuated with ill-timed comments, jokes, laughter and silence.
In these days, I believe Christians have not been taught the power and biblical value of lament. Our culture doesn't promote grieving or showing emotion connected to pain.
Not long ago, I was talking with a family friend, Mark Viniello, about his work on the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” As a creative mind in all things in special effects, Vinny has created Hobbit feet for the Lord of the Rings and the masks of creatures in the last season of the Mandalorian. Mark explained that in order to make the scene in the Passion where Jesus is whipped, they superimposed a shot of Mark’s back being whipped instead of Jim Caviezel’s.
My family teases me about my love of "Jesus movies".
This past Sunday we debuted an art show in the Dome lobby. We are passionate about the arts because we believe that they reflect the creative nature of our God. The Bible tells us that we are each given gifts to build up the body of the church. The visual arts, photography, sculpture, dance, music and so many other forms of expression are inspired by God and can lead us to worship Him.
Walking through this human life will expose you to betrayal and hurt. Our hearts ache from the hurtful actions of others and the pain of our own selfish choices. Most of us have suffered at the hands of another person in one way or another… but what will we do with that pain?
The world's way to deal with pain includes “more...”