Alive Worship

From 2007-2010, Sarah and I served with an organization called Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an organization dedicated to training and sending missionaries. Our training center, which also served as our home, was  a large manor in England called Holmsted Manor located in the English countryside (about 90 minutes south of London). We trained and lived with up to 80 different individuals from different countries and denominational backgrounds. We shared living space, but not always the same preferences. We shared chores and responsibilities, but not always the same priorities. But it was in this unique setting that I was challenged into a type of community that I didn’t realize I was missing in life…vulnerable community. The vulnerable community I’m talking about is the kind where we are not only known for our strengths, but also our weaknesses. When you live day in and day out with that many people, it’s not very easy to hide the real you. People will know when you are frustrate...

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” - John 13:34-35 (NLT)  This November will mark 20 years that I have been walking with Jesus. I came to Christ at a church on the East side of Tucson called Pantano Christian Church on November 30th, 1997. Through the years, I have been led by Christ to focus on a lot of different things depending on the season I was in. At times, I found myself focusing on serving. At other times, I would explore different disciplines of prayer. There were times of Scripture memorization and times of deep exegetical study. After 20 years of walking with Christ, I believe that the most important thing to God, the very currency of the Kingdom of heaven is, Love.  We see first of all, that when Jesus merged into creation, it wasn’t to overthrow the oppressive Roman government (as the Jewish people s...

Every weekend we gather for worship: we sing songs, we pray, and we listen to a message. We participate in these things as a way of expressing love and commitment to God. But what if God said he wasn’t interested in our singing? What if He said that we could keep our tithes and offerings? What if all we did for God at church He considered noisy worship? That is the exact sentiment that He shared with the Israelites:  “I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.” - Amos 5:21-24 (NLT) Can you imagine God sharing these sentiments with us? “I hate all your show and pretense!” “Away with your noisy hymns of praise!” In the midst of such an inte...

“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”  - Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)  For someone like me who has had to work really hard at dealing with an introverted default posture, obeying the command to “go and make disciples” almost feels especially mean of Jesus to say to me. He knows how He made me. He knows that I prefer “staycations” to being out of the comforts of my home. He knows that at a party, I will find a few close friends to have a deeper conversation with rather than be at the center of the action. He knows that after a day of heavy social activity, I come home and crash like a triathlon runner after the Ironman World Championship . Nevertheless, when...

Years ago, Sarah and I took a course to learn about God’s heart for all the nations of the world and why we do missions. Missions in and of themselves is a strange concept to most. Some of us think of the Mormon elders who show up at your door on bikes. Some people who grew up in the church may think of that strange family who lives in a third world country and take up a weekend service once a year to share a bunch of pictures of a far-off land and the new friends they’ve made and the work they ’ re doing.  As people of God and followers of Jesus, we are not afforded the luxury of merely coexisting and keeping our religion to ourselves. It was very much at the center of Jesus’ ministry to share the “Good News of the Kingdom” (Luke 4:43) and if we are called to follow in our Lord’s example, we are to do the same.  Being a fairly critical thinker, I always ask the question, “to what end?” If you’re anything like I am, you like to understand the goal that you are shoot...

As some of you know, Sarah and I had the privilege of living abroad for 3 years. We were based in the southern part of England, but lived two months in Poland and two months in China as well. One thing we learned in living abroad is that you have to approach a new culture as a learner, not a teacher. This approach helps keep you open-minded so that you can experience the lifestyle of an entirely different group of people.  One of my favorite parts of being in a new culture is trying new foods, hearing new music, and experiencing how other’s live. However, culture shock is a very real and terrifying thing. When you are living outside of your comfort zone, you realize how desperate you become for something familiar. When you’re craving familiarity, even the brilliant red and yellow glow of the “golden arches” can help you feel a little more at peace inside.  Another reality to living in another culture is that you have to learn their many cultural nuances. Taking the ti...

I’m not always good at praying. I do lot’s of things that “help” me to elevate my prayer activity and yet, prayer is a discipline that I have never really championed. I haven’t given up and yes, I have seasons of praying more consistently than others. Nevertheless, I don’t really pray like I believe I should.   Something I am really good at is worrying and being anxious. When it comes to finances, my kids, our city, our country, our world, whether or not I fit in or if my efforts to love people will even make a difference, I am a triathlon at wringing my hands and giving into anxiety. I don’t want to be good at worrying. In fact, I want to be terrible at it.  A very popular passage of Scripture was introduced to me shortly after I came to Christ and has continued to both haunt me and encourage me over the years. 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about a...