New Years Resolutions

As you are considering what resolutions you'll make in the New Year, this will make you feel like a failure before you start. There are the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, a puritan minister who is considered by many to be among the greatest unheralded theologians in the world, and certainly in America. There's along list here, but many are worth noting for our own lives. Happy New Year...

Resolutions 1 through 21 were written by in one sitting in New Haven in 1722.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723)

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the aforementioned things.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances don't hinder.

12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.

14. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.

15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

18. Resolved, to live so at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.

19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

21. Resolved, never to do anything, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

23. Resolved, frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God's glory, to repute it as a breach of the 4th Resolution.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

26. Resolved, to cast away such things, as I find do abate my assurance.

27. Resolved, never willfully to omit anything, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

31. Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is

perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.

32. Resolved, to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that in Prov. 20:6, "A faithful man who can find?" may not be partly fulfilled in me.

33. Resolved, always to do what I can towards making, maintaining, establishing and preserving peace, when it can be without over-balancing detriment in other respects. Dec.26, 1722.

34. Resolved, in narration's never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.

35. Resolved, whenever I so much question whether I have done my duty, as that my quiet and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it down, and also how the question was resolved. Dec. 18, 1722.

36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.

37. Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and wherein I have denied myself: also at the end of every week, month and year. Dec.22 and 26, 1722.

38. Resolved, never to speak anything that is ridiculous, sportive, or matter of laughter on the Lord's day. Sabbath evening, Dec. 23, 1722.

39. Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or no; except I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

41. Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

42. Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

43. Resolved, never henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God's, agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12. Jan.12, 1723.

44- Resolved, that no other end but religion, shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. Jan.12, 1723.

45. Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan.12 and 13.1723.

46. Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eve: and to be especially careful of it, with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peace able, contented, easy, compassionate, generous, humble, meek, modest, submissive, obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable, even, patient, moderate, forgiving, sincere temper; and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to. Examine strictly every week, whether I have done so. Sabbath morning. May 5,1723.

48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.

49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it.

50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

51. Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.

54. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, Resolved to endeavor to imitate it. July 8, 1723.

55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments. July 8, 1723.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

57. Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether ~ have done my duty, and resolve to do it; and let it be just as providence orders it, I will as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty and my sin. June 9, and July 13 1723.

58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity. May27, and July 13, 1723.

59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July ii, and July 13.

60. Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination. July 4, and 13, 1723.

61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it-that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc. May 21, and July 13, 1723.

62. Resolved, never to do anything but duty; and then according to Eph. 6:6-8, do it willingly and cheerfully as unto the Lord, and not to man; "knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord." June 25 and July 13, 1723.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. Jan.14' and July '3' 1723.

64. Resolved, when I find those "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26), of which the Apostle speaks, and those "breakings of soul for the longing it hath," of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20, that I will promote them to the utmost of my power, and that I will not be wear', of earnestly endeavoring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him: all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance; according to Dr. Manton's 27th Sermon on Psalm 119. July 26, and Aug.10 1723.

66. Resolved, that I will endeavor always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

68. Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that which I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

69. Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak. 

Aug. 17, 1723

Merry Christmas!

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Review of Dallas Theatre Center's A Christmas Carol

I've recently begun writing reviews for John Garcia's The Column, at www.thecolumnonline.com. You can also read the reviews at pegasusnews.com.

 Here's my first review, for the DTC's production of the Dickens classic

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Dallas Theatre Center’s Kalita Humphreys Theatre

By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Richard Hellesen

PRODUCTION STAFF

Director: Matthew Gray

Musical Director and Choreographer: Lindy Heath Cabe

Stage Manager: Melissa Daroff
Lighting Designer: Matthew Richards
Sound Designer: Ryan Mansfield
Scenic Designer: Bob Lavellee
Costume Designer: Wade Laboissonniere

Dialect Coach: Emily Gray

Production Manager: Jeff Gifford

Assistant Stage Manager: Chris “Waffles” Wathen

Casting: Lee Trull

Assistant Director: Preston Swincher

CAST

Ebenezer Scrooge: Chamblee Ferguson

The Ghost of Jacob Marley: Liz Mikel

The Ghost of Christmas Past/Ensemble: Cedric Neal

Belle/Ensemble: Abbey Siegworth

Fred/Young Scrooge: Lee Trull

Mrs. Fezziwig/Charwoman/Ensemble: Christina Vela

Bob Cratchit/Ensemble: Regan Adair

The Ghost of Christmas Present/Fezziwig/Charitable Gentleman/Ensemble: J. Brent Alford

Edward Cratchit/Ensemble: Christian St. John Chiles

Belinda Cratchit/Ensemble: Caitlin Hale Daniels

Tiny Tim/Boy Scrooge/Ensemble: Mark Fisher

Mrs. Cratchit/Ensemble: Emily Gray

Peter Cratchit/Ensemble: Jake Gray

Edward Cratchit/Ensemble: Aidan Langford

Tiny Tim/Boy Scrooge/Ensemble: Marlhy Murphy

Topper/Charitable Gentleman/Ensemble: Alex Organ

Tiny Tim/Boy Scrooge/Ensemble: Paloma Renteria

Fred’s Wife/Ensemble: Cara Statham Serber

Beggar Child/Ensemble: Halle Thompson

Peter Cratchit/Ensemble: Ben Villaseñor

Dick Wilkins/Lower Class Husband/Ensemble: David Gorena

Laundress/Ensemble: Tiffany Hobbs

Martha Cratchit/Fan/Ensemble: Rachel Weline

Reviewed by Associate Theatre Critic Kristopher A. Harrison for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

Reviewed Friday, Dec. 3^rd, 2010, 7:30pm

For some, it might be the first snowfall. For others, it might be the mad rush of Black Friday shopping. But for many Dallasites, the first sign that the Christmas season is upon us is Dallas Theatre Center’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. DTC has been producing the Charles Dickens classic for over 20 years, and this year is no exception.

Reviewing a play that is so familiar is often a challenge. The audience comes with a bevy of preconceived ideas such that someone is bound to leave disappointed. That being said, the DTC production, directed by Matthew Gray, does not disappoint.  It hits all the right emotional notes, and hits them with the precision of a well-oiled machine. The cast is a tightly knit group of high-energy performers, without a noticeable weak link. I was especially impressed by the handful of ensemble members from the storied acting program at SMU’s Meadows school. Their work was on par with the seasoned professionals. Also, I made sure to keep my eyes on Lee Trull, who plays Fred, Scrooge’s nephew. In a room full of good performances, Trull stood out as one I couldn’t stop watching. His sense of joy and his comedic work were exceptionally entertaining.

Another pleasant performance was that of Regan Adair as Bob Cratchit. The role of Cratchit has the tendency to be something of a limp dishrag, but Adair brought brilliant nuances to the role. He had a quiet bit of stage business involving hats at the beginning that had me hooked. And, his Christmas Day toast in Act II was worth the ticket price.

Chamblee Ferguson, who himself has played Cratchit in past productions, took the stage as Scrooge this year. His early, “pre-conversion” Scrooge was so unlikeable, even despicable, that I found myself not wanting him to be redeemed, but to just die and make the world a better place. But, underneath his very hard exterior, Ferguson found a Scrooge that was tender, repentant, and ultimately quite moving. There were more than a few damp eyes in the house as his Scrooge finally fully understood all that he had missed, and determined to make it right.

The appearance of each ghost in any production of A Christmas Carol is always met with some anticipation, as one wonders how each production team will interpret these supernatural visitors. It seems that Matthew Gray was so intent on not casting actors in roles they had played before that he got a little too creative when it came to the casting of the ghosts. All were good actors, but all were squeezed into roles they shouldn’t have been. Gray took the biggest risk in casting Liz Mikel as the Ghost of Jacob Marley. As it turns out, it wasn’t a risk worth taking. Her obvious skills shone through such that I couldn’t help thinking she needed to be in a larger role, and that her casting in this role didn’t add much to the show as a whole.

As to the other ghosts, Christmas Present was about as enthusiastic and joyful as the Starbucks’ barista who just found out he has to work on Christmas Eve, and the ghost of Christmas Future was so tiny and unintimidating next to the very tall Chamblee Ferguson that the future lacked some of the terror that it perhaps should have had. The Ghost of Christmas Past did bring a sense of nostalgic wonderment to the role, but throughout all of the night visions, it was Scrooge himself and the other ensemble members who carried the audience’s attention.

When asked what would be different in this year’s A Christmas Carol over previous years, director Matthew Gray said this, “I hope it will be darker and scarier.” I’d say he and his design team succeeded. They created an environment in which time was always slipping away, and Scrooge’s ghostly visions made you jump out of your seat. The setting was minimalist, with only a few pieces of furniture wheeled in and out to indicate the changing locations. But heavy use was made of mood lighting and of fog and thunder effects, such that the appearance of each ghost was met with loud, spooky thunder peals, thick fog, and strobe lighting. I especially appreciated the sound design, in which the unceasing chiming of clocks served as a constant reminder of just how precious our time in life is. But for all the spookiness, the design never left behind the sense of joy that the play should bring. Even in Victorian England, or even in a shaky U.S. economy, Christmas should be a time for celebration, for reflecting on our blessings, and for finding ways to bless others.

The Ghost of Christmas Past tells Scrooge, “It is good to go home—and never more at Christmas.” This season, I’d encourage you to go home to DTC’s annual production, and kick start your holiday off in the right spirit.

The Basketball Diaries

I tweeted the other day that Calla would be having her first ever basketball game. She was really excited to play, and she did a great job. I've posted a short video below. A few things to notice:

--Calla is number 24. She's on the far left.

--The other team (green) has a substantial height advantage over our team (blue).

--The girls all had fun and played hard to the end. They stopped keeping score at the half, but let's just say it was a shutout and leave it at that.

The Church Scorecard

Thanksgiving is over, and so now it is back to work. As I was reading today, I came across this quote:

"In his book East to Eden? Charles Corwin points out something that has been almost universally observed by those who have lived and worked in the Orient for a period of time. Despite the popularity of some of the non-Christian Eastern religions in the West, down through history those religions have not produced anything like the outpouring of compassionate service to humanity that has characterized biblical Christianity. Hospitals, leporsaria, literacy campaigns, and many other humanitarian services have accompanied the progress of Christianity across the face of the earth. Christianity's rivals cannot begin to match that record. In fact, research will reveal that works of compassion undertaken by Buddhists or adherents of some other Eastern religion often originated after Christian enterprises of the same stripe were initiated in the general area."

This is an exciting thought, assuming that it is true. The Christian church has historically been doing what it is supposed to be doing, sharing a tangible gospel message and promoting the Kingdom. But what about the churches in North America today? How are we doing? Can it really be said of us that we are significantly impacting our culture? What will history say about the American church in this century? What are your thoughts?

Update-Overwhelmed

Mere hours after my last post, where I confessed that I had basically stopped trusting God in regards to money, I now stand before you overwhelmed by grace.

As of a couple of hours ago, our entire Spring tuition bill is paid. It is as if God wanted me to come to terms with my own heart issue, and then He wanted to show Himself faithful to us once again. So now, when I walk across that stage in May, there will not be a dime of student loan debt following me. Four years of seminary tuition paid for. Simply overwhelming. I'm reminded again of the theme verse for our blog, from Isaiah 40:

 ²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?
   Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
   Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
   and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.
 ²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

May God be glorified in our lives, for He alone is worthy.

It's A Generous Life

You know how when you learn a new word you then hear that word over and over and over again? Weird how that works, isn't it? (And, in case you have just learned these: demotic. palpitate. See they're everywhere!)

God seems to work the same way, doesn't He? When God wants to teach us something, it shows up over and over again. Or maybe, I'm just a slow learner and God has to show me things several times before I get them.

One of the things that God has been showing me lately has to do with money. I would consider myself a pretty generous person, but here lately God has allowed me (several times) to see the truth about my attitude regarding money, and it is not pretty. It's not nearly as much fun as learning a new word, like saccade.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I want myself and my family to be focused on what we have, not what we don't. And as Christmas approaches, I want us to be a family marked by generosity in every way: time, talents, and treasures.

What about you? What is your goal this holiday season? What is God teaching you lately?

Halloween Piano Recital

Here's a video of Hannah's latest piano recital. The piece is Fur Elise, by Beethoven.

Elliott performed, too, but somehow his video didn't turn out. Needless to say, we are very proud of both of them, and very grateful to their wonderful piano instructor, Elizabeth Marcy!

Fun with a Lite Brite

Who knew a Lite Brite could be so moving?

Hebrew...

I'm starting to doubt the need to know Biblical Hebrew for my future ministry. Mostly, it's because I'm starting to doubt my ability to learn/retain Hebrew past tomorrow...

You know an exam is going to be bad when the prof gives you an extra credit assignment before she even passes out the exam...

Still, I shouldn't complain (although that's never stopped me before). The worst day in a seminary classroom is still a day in a seminary classroom. There are a lot of worse places to be today. God is good. Even if my test grade is not.

The Church in My Mind

I'm taking a church planting class right now (even though I am not thinking about planting a church; long story), and something was said in that class the other day that has haunted me ever since. The professor quoted Ed Stetzer as saying, "The mistake most church planters make is planting the church in their mind, not the church that should be in their community."

For an individual who is spending most of his free time trying to determine what ministry God has in store for him, this quote hit me right between the eyes. I think many of us are guilty of doing things on our own terms and telling ourselves that it is really God's work that we are doing. But the reality is that the work God has for us is not always exactly what we'd like to be doing.

My prayer is that God will reveal clearly what work He wants us to do, but moreso, that we will be open enough to listen and respond, no matter what.

Spiritual Discipline

One of my classes this semester (and one of my favorites thus far) is a class I'm taking on Spiritual Disciplines. I wanted to share a quote from that class that encapsulates much of what I'm coming to believe about the Christian life. I think it speaks for itself, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seeds, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain. This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines -- they are a way of sowing to the Spirit. The Disciplines are God's way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done...God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where he can bless us."

-Celebration of Discipline

Call Me Ishmael

...or call me Dave. For some reason, whenever I meet new people, they frequently call me Dave. I'd say it is about 50-50 whether people call me my real name or call me Dave. Why always Dave? I have no idea. I don't know any famous "Daves" that I look like. However, I have been told that I look like Michael J. Fox. I'm not seeing it...

http://www.michaeljfox.org/

Roos!

We had a beautiful day, venturing out from our home base in Shoalhaven Heads south to Jervis Bay. As with all our trips, the drive was wonderful, but the destinations were better.

We went to Hyams Beach, which purports to have the whitest sand in the world. I believe it. It was like something out of a postcard. We spent some time shell hunting there, and then we went hunting for a picnic spot in the sun. The weather is nice here, but it is a bit cool in the shade.



The terrain looked a bit like West Texas; rugged and dry, although slightly hilly. As we were driving, a large kangaroo hopped right next to the car. We'd been hoping to see one (one that wasn't dead, that is) and this was it. And boy did we see it. We pulled over, and the roo just stood there, scratching his belly. After a while he hopped right up to the back of the van. Perhaps he smelled our picnic. We opened the side door so Grandpa could get a good look, and then he walked over to the side. Knowing that they could be aggressive, we quickly shut the door. He walked right up to Anne's passenger window, and stuck his face in on us. We'll include our video later. Our friends assured us that such behavior was quite rare.



Bolstered by the excitement, we pressed on. We kept driving and headed south to a place called Cave Beach. Anne and I saw a trail that said "Cave Beach 1.2km." We thought, "That's less than a mile," and so we went for it while the others got lunch together. 1.2 km is farther than you'd think, but the walk paid off. We got to the beach and we were alone. I mean, I know it is winter, but I've never been so far off the tourist map. There was one couple off in the distance that left right as we arrived, and another couple that arrived right as we walked away. It was like our own slice of paradise all to ourselves.



We found our way back to the others and had lunch. Then we headed back towards home. Ironically, we saw about 10 other kangaroos roaming around the town. On the way back, we saw other people stopped at the same spot, with the same kangaroo. He must have been voted as the cutest by the herd, so that he can collect some food for the others.



All in all, we've had a great time here. It has been very relaxing, and just what we needed this summer. One more day to go...

A Day of Rest

We had intended to go into Sydney today, Saturday. However, Anne wasn't feeling well so we decided to delay it.

As it turns out, it was a good decision. We got caught up on our laundry and were able to do some "practice packing" since we've bought a few things since we left. The good news is, we still can fit it all in.

So, we had a nice, slow day. We're far enough away from civilization that the pace of life here is quite slow. We sat around, walked around, and drove around a bit. No real firm itinerary, And we liked it.

What is cool is that there are tropical birds that fly wild all around here. We've seen parrots, cockatoos, and kookaburras all over. We saw a sign on the road warning us about kangaroo and wombat crossings, but we didn't see any.





We wandered down to the beach again, and the surf was much higher. It was fun. There were more people there, including a bridal party taking pictures, and some surfers.

We had dinner (all 11 of us) at the local lawn bowling sports club. They had one of the Sydney Olympic torches on display there. We took advantage of the fresh seafood and ordered salt and pepper squid (a common dish here; like calamari) and some scallops and oysters. Anne and I shared the scallops, and they tasted different than we expected. They were much softer, not at all firm. The squid was quite soft, too. After a bit, we realized that they were so much fresher than we were used to that we didn't even recognize them! They were fantastic. So fresh, they were served in the shells. You can't get that in Texas.



They also had some fun items on the menu. Bean nachos, which was a surprise, and something called Crumbled Lambs Brain. Hmm...what are the crumbles?

Aussie Day 2

We're remote enough here that we can't get much of a wi fi signal. So, by the time this is posted we might be home. But, here goes nonetheless.

We woke up early, since we are still adjusting to the two hour time difference. We had some breakfast in, and then went for a drive. We drove first down to Seven Mile Beach, which is close enough to walk to. The sand was pristine, like something out of a movie. And, except for two guys fishing from the beach, we had the whole seven miles to ourselves. The water was a deep blue and gorgeous. I'll attach pictures later.






After a time there we drove up the mountains to Kangaroo Valley. On the way, we saw some pelicans. We've seen most of the characters from Finding Nemo. As we were flying in, watching the water in Sydney Harbor, Anne leaned over and said, "I see Nemo."



The drive to Kangaroo Valley was almost as gorgeous as the drive through Waiheke Island, and much better weather. I am excited to report that I had the first wallaby sighting. We also saw two on the side of the road. Another first: wallaby roadkill.


We headed into town, and had lunch at a local pub. It looked a bit like the pub at the beginning of Crocodile Dundee. After lunch, we walked around to do a bit of shopping in the town. Things here seem more expensive than in NZ.



We went back, and on the way stopped to pick up some groceries. We saw lots of school kids in uniforms noshing on chips. It was fun to hear teenagers gossiping with accents. It makes their teen dramas sound more important. Billie told us that the kids who aren't in uniforms are skipping class. Apparently they have a lot of trouble with kids in this area. It brought to light the fact that we saw very little trash and graffiti in NZ but have seen a bit here. However, nothing at all like in the States.

We headed home a bit tired. I think our week on NZ is catching up with us.

The Longest Road In the World

We've arrived in Aussie, and here's the latest report.

We packed up our stuff and left the home of our friends. They live on a peninsula in Auckland, and the whole thing is maybe half a mile wide. So, we went to the beach on the opposite side from where the motel was and enjoyed the morning. After a bit of watching seagulls fight over bread, Anne and I realized that the others would enjoy this, too. So we headed over to the motel to get them they were putting the finishing touches on packing. We checked out and then headed to the beach one last time to say goodbye to NZ. Ironically, this was the best weather we'd seen so far.

We drove to the airport, checked the car in and had some time to kill. We had a good lunch, surprisingly, since we ate at the airport. We shopped a bit of duty free and then boarded the plane.

We watched the movie The Ghostwriter on the plane don't bother if you haven't seen it. In fact, if you have questions about any recent movies, let us know. By the time we are back home we'll have seen them all.

Flying in to Sydney was a real treat. We saw whales jumping in the ocean, and we got a beautiful fly-by of the city. Our cousin picked us up from the airport, thankfully, because it was a two hour drive out of town to where we are staying. He told us that it is the longest road in the world, since it snakes all the way around Australia. And nothing against him, but it felt like it. The traffic here and in Auckland is terrible. There's not as many major roads, and everyone drives like a NY cabbie. I thought people in Dallas were aggressive drivers, but my goodness! These people take the cake. But, Billie got us to our cabin safely, and we are grateful.




They had stocked us up for breakfast, and even brought a snack for us to eat. The snack was sausage rolls, accompanied by "Tomato Sauce," which is a distant cousin to ketchup. We stayed up visiting late, which was especially late for us, being two hours later on NZ time. I have no idea who gets the time zone in the middle.

Headed home

One thing I haven't blogged much about on our Australian leg of the trip is our family reunion of sorts. We're here in large part to connect with a nephew/cousin (on Anne's mother's side). We've had a great time visiting with Billie and Celia, and they have been incredible hosts to us.

Each evening we've ended our days with home cooked dinners and we've listened to tales of the old country (Scotland).

Tonight was cod pie and prawns:



And I thought I'd share my favorite (true?) story:

There was a crotchety old hunchback in Glasgow, who died. At his wake, he was of course on display in the front room. Everyone was drinking and mumbling bad things about him. Suddenly, the straps they had used to tie him flat in his casket snapped, and the force of his hunch caused him to sit up. The room cleared in a flash.

We leave here at 7am to drive to Sydney and begin the long flight home...

Sunday

We started off the morning with a brisk walk. Where we are staying is about 15 minutes from the coast, but is also at the head of a river. So Anne and I took a walk to the river's mouth. There's a small bird sanctuary there, because birds migrate from Siberia to here every year. From there, we entered the end of Seven Mile Beach and walked up towards the house. I can't get over all the tropical and exotic birds that are here. It is really amazing. I also can't get over the fact that they call it Seven Mile Beach, not Seven Kilo Beach. Weird. Gorgeous, but confusing.

After sitting and watching the surf for quite a while, we finally made it back home. We ate a late breakfast of farm fresh eggs and sausage. The sausage was "Aussie Style BBQ" and was not very good. But the eggs were so fresh and yellow they practically glowed in the dark. Delicious.

After we ate, we went to Skype with the kids. It was good to touch base with them, and they seemed to be having fun. But not as much fun as we are...

From there, Billie took us over to a little pond where we fed ducks...and eels. That's a first. But it was cool, if a bit creepy to see them.



After a cup of tea/coffee, along with Lammingtons, we went into town to do a bit of shopping. Lammingtons were popular in NZ too, but this was our first one. It's a sponge cake coated in chocolate and rolled in coconut flakes. Not too bad. Not too good, either. It goes well with coffee, but I wouldn't want to buy a whole carton of them. We found a few gifts, and then we bought every Tim Tam we could get. Luckily, they were on sale this week. It was weird to shop in a Woolworth's, but they seem to be popular here.

We got back home, regrouped with a cuppa, (and a Tim Tam Slam), and then drove down the road to the local winery. Their port is quite well respected, and is quite rare. It seems that a couple of years ago there was an accident at Hunter's Valley, the place where they send their red grapes to be bottled. The port caused some sort of chemical combination that caused an explosion, so they don't make it any more. Maybe our bottle will be a collector's item someday.

Celia was making us stew for dinner, so we took a leisurely drive home. Billie showed us Gerroa. He said the whales swim by there each year, but we've missed them by a couple of weeks. Still, the views are spectacular, and Anne found some coral to take home.



We tore ourselves away and headed home for dinner. We had a fantastic beef stew with steamed vegetables. Dessert? Cadbury chocolate pieces and Tim Tams.

A Bittersweet Farewell

Today was our last full day in NZ. We made it a memorable one, though. We had planned to take a ferry from Auckland out to Waiheke Island. The ferry left at either 8:30 am or 12:30pm, so we planned on the later departure. That left us the morning to do some last bits of shopping. Anne was on the hunt for some NZ wool and for a really cool thing that we've seen in all the coffee shops here. And we've been to a lot of coffee shops. It is a sugar dispenser with a spout on top, and when you turn it over, rather than just dumping a continuous stream of sugar into your drink, it pours out a measured amount and then stops. Brilliant. But, apparently, no one sells them anywhere. We got a tip and some directions for places that might carry them, and so we set out. And we struck out. Three times. We did find some wool at one store, but it was mostly from Turkey and Italy. They had some from Australia, but it was expensive, so we passed. Finally, we were running out of time, and we tried our last lead. It was a store called Living and Giving. As a cool side note, at one of the stores, the clerk had told us to "try Living and Giving, over in Botany" and I actually knew where she was talking about and how to get there. A good feeling.

So we went there and they had them! Ironically, the ones they had were made by Bodum, so we realized we probably could have ordered them off the Internet. But, the hunt was fun. And, we'll never OD on real sugar again.

After that, we grabbed a quick lunch, caught a bit more UKTV on the Telly, and headed out. The ferry took us and our car to the Island, home of several wineries and sheep. After an hour and a half ride we needed to use a restroom, so we found that first. Anne pulled over, illegally parking, and ran inside. The parking police person told her, "You need to move your car, Love," and then proceeded to recommend a particular winery/cafe to us. Folks here are so much more casual here than in the US. We've heard people say, "No worries" about a thousand times, and even in a few situations in which worrying was very warranted!

The recommended place was on the far side of the island, and so we set out. The roads here are narrow, and truth be told the drive was a bit harrowing, but the views were literally breathtaking. Our photos will not do it justice. Without a doubt, the most gorgeous scenery we've seen, and that is really saying something. I'm really at a loss to describe this place. Even Lord of the Rings doesn't do it justice. Simply amazing.

On the way, we stopped at a beach to look at some shells. We have three generations of seashell collectors in the car, so even cold wind and a light rain didn't stop us. I've been to my share of beaches in my time, but nothing beat this place for the shells. We found a tide pool that was teeming with life, and picked up some huge and exotic shells to take home. I only hope they survive the plane ride. We even found a starfish, but decided to choose life and we put him back in the water.

Back on the harrowing but lovely road, we literally got to the end of our map. Our police fellow had warned us about that, but it was still a bit nerve racking. The fact that we had such a great shell find and the fact that it is lambing season (which means we get to see lots of tiny, frolicking, nursing future scarves and roasts) kept us going. Only one problem. When we left the map, we left civilization. We saw no one for quite a while on the road. And, by this time we had forgotten the name of the winery we were looking for. To our credit, much of the roads, etc. here have either Scottish or Maori names. So when you hear something like Pakuranga or Te Irirangi, it's a little hard to locate on a map or keep in your head.

But we did finally see a sign for a B&B advertising crepes and coffee. We snaked our way down the soggy, mountainous, mud path to the door. Anne got out to scope the place, only to find fresh bread and veges on the table, cheeses on the counter, but no people. She walked around the whole place calling, "Hello," but no one emerged. Perhaps the sound of Americans frightened them away. So, we were forced to keep moving.

After a bit more driving, we quite literally came to the end of the road. The road stopped and the ocean began. Fortunately, there was a nice portable toilet (I never thought I'd type that phrase) so we took advantage, snapped some photos, and headed back. We knew the time to get the ferry back was approaching, and didn't want to miss it. We drove back quietly, savoring the views, and silently praying on the curvy road. We caught the last ferry of the day, and came home to a lovely lamb roast dinner prepared by our hosts. They roast pumpkins here just like a potato, which Anne and I agreed we wanted to start doing when we get home. Also, they have something called Kumara, which is a native sweet potato, except whitish. Yummy. A delicious, very Kiwi meal, topped off by a traditional dessert of Pavlova, a meringue dish invented here, and Hokey Pokey ice cream, another NZ institution.

A good way to end our Kiwi Adventure. We fly out to Sydney tomorrow. I'm not sure what wi fi access we'll have over the next leg, so it may be a while before you hear from us again. Hopefully, we can keep up. Cheers!

Tuesday/Wednesday

I've always said that you know it is a good vacation when you can't remember what day it is. In our case, that is compounded by the fact that we are on the other end of the International Date Line.

After breakfast at the hotel (which they call a motel here) we had a nice slow morning. We had two meetings, the first of which was pushed later, and the second of which was pushed forward, such that they came close to overlapping. So, we stayed close to the house with both.

We had coffee down the street with the first couple, a missionary couple who target international students in Hamilton. They work through the mission agency that we began pursuing, and so we were glad to get a perspective on that. We were not expecting to get such wisdom from them, though, and they had a lot of good things to say about missions, and about ministry in NZ.

When we got back to the house, the second couple had just arrived and so we went out and had some lunch. We've had some fabulous food here, which comes as a surprise. I will say though, I miss BBQ and Mexican Food (yesterday's chili con carne doesn't count).

This couple works at a dynamic church in Hamilton, and it was good to learn from them. It was also cool because I think God used us to encourage them just as much as they encouraged us. That is always a good feeling.

Someone asked if we were getting a feel for our possible future. It is difficult to say anything specific at this point, but we can say the trip has been invaluable towards that goal. We've heard over and over that the culture here is hard to break into, because on the surface it is very similar to the US, but underneath it is vastly different. We've found that to be true. As for our future, we really need some more reflection time, as a lot of opportunities have been laid before us. The next several months will be key.

We had dinner at the hotel, corned beef and veges, as they spell it here. I'll sign off now, as I have a headache. Could be from the fact that I basically spent the day sipping espresso. Or, it could be from the fact that I got the first glimpse of my Hebrew syllabus. It seems that life goes on even while we are on holiday, and Hebrew doesn't learn itself.

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Vacation or Holiday

We've been here long enough now that we've found ourselves adopting some of the local lingo. Whereas we would say vacation, the locals call it a holiday. That sounds much more relaxing and romantic, like something out of an old F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Even though he's American. Nonetheless, we've taken to calling this our NZ holiday. It's hard to believe that we still have an entire country still to come!

We began the day waking up at the Silver Fern. Apparently, the grandparents didn't get the news that the beds had bedwarmers. It is a brilliant invention, really. It is basically what we would call an electric blanket, only it is placed under the sheets. So, you can turn it on as your going to bed and be cozy (there's no such thing as central air/heat here). Yet, while we were so cozy that we woke and turned off our bedwarmers, they woke up freezing. Apparently, we forgot to mention it to them. Oops.

We had an amazing breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road back to Auckland. Anne and I had a meeting with a local pastor set up at 1 and so we knew we didn't have much time to waste. Still, we managed to stop in Tirau for some shopping. I won't say yet what we bought, as much of it was gifts. But we had fun and the shopkeepers were very nice. We were sad that the Christmas shop in town was closed but this is not exactly tourist season. We picked up a few "flat whites," the local lingo for what we would call a latte, and headed on the road again. Everywhere you go they are slinging espresso. I've never seen so many coffee shops, with nary a Starbucks in site. But even the Chinese take out (or take away, as they call it) has a really nice espresso machine.

We got back to Auckland with about two minutes before our lunch date arrived. Anne and I really hit it off with this couple. We had met him in Dallas just briefly, but were glad to spend more time with them both. They took us to a buffet sort of place that was like the Kiwi equivalent of a Golden Corral. They had everything from sushi to roast beef to fish and chips. They even had something in a soup tureen that was labeled "chili con carne." Words fail me at this point.

Don't tell the others, who were back at the hotel, but they drove us to look at their church, which happened to be very near One Tree Hill. It is a beautiful locale from which to view the city, and we got lots of great pictures. Since I'm typing from my phone, I'll post them later. We also saw a double rainbow. We're still wondering what it all means...

It was a good visit with them. We got to share some of our impressions of the NZ church culture, and they helped us process through a great deal, too. We'll be reflecting on it for a while.

We met up with the others, and we planned to go out for a nice dinner. But, after scouring our guidebooks to find what looked like a good restaurant, and then after scouring our maps to see how hard it would be to drive there, we gave up and walked around the corner to the Chinese Take Away/Fish and Chips Shop/Coffee Bar and ate. These people could use some small business consulting. And maybe some spelling help as one item on the menu is a "fluufy."

We caught a little bit of television, too after dinner. (Just for the record, we had some fried rice and cashew chicken without the aid of soy sauce. Barbaric!) the TV was on the UK channel, and wow. Anne and I almost never watch TV, but if we lived in the UK, we'd watch even less. It was dry as toast and poke-out-your-eyes dull. And that is the most culturally sensitive thing I can say about it.

Now, we are concluding our nightly ritual. Me staying up for a bit to blog and read, and Anne falling asleep, waking about 3am to read the blog. I keep telling her that she can blog, too, but to no avail. Maybe tomorrow. We're meeting two other couples tomorrow, so we'll let you know how that goes.

Sunday Report

This morning was Sunday, and we went to church in Auckland at Botany Life. Both Anne and I were struck by the beautiful thought that God's people are worshipping Him around the clock, at Sunday services in every time zone. The cultures are different, but the worship is the same. How awesome.

After church, we Skyped with the kids, had a quick panini lunch and hopped in the car to head out to Rotorura. We planned to spend the night at the Silver Fern, which is lovely, and attend a Maori Cultural Event/Show here.

We drove about three hours down from Auckland, where each curve revealed even more beautiful scenery. It also revealed that we should have splurged for a larger rental car. By the time we arrived, I had lost all feeling in my lower extremities. We saw lots of sheep and dairy cows along the way, and we drove through Hamilton and a couple other towns. We plan to do some shopping on the way back tomorrow.

We settled in at the Silver Fern where the staff was ridiculously nice (they saw us through the window all huddled around the radiator and so they brought us an extra space heater and lent us a jacket). The Tamaki village picked us up from the motel and drove us to their village. On the way, each bus chooses one adult male to be the chief and lead that "tribe" to the meeting place. So, you can imagine who was chosen for our bus, or waka. It was me. So, I spent the evening representing our waka before the Tamaki village. We'll post a video of the challenge, where the Maori warriors come out to see if your tribe has come in peace or not. Pretty cool. We wandered around the village, enjoying craft demonstrations, a performance, and then a meal and singing.

On the way back to the hotel, the chief was chosen to lead the bus in a sing along. This would be on my top ten list of phobias, leading public singing without the aid of alcohol. The driver asked me to pick a popular song from our culture to start us off. For some reason, the only song that popped in my head was Jimmy Buffet's "Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw" so I decided to keep my mouth shut. Grandpa (who had been instrumental in making me chief) saved me by suggesting "Deep in the Heart of Texas." Having not sung that since the last time I watched "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," I was a bit rusty on the lyrics. But, we got through it, although the group of Japanese school children on our bus all looked terribly confused.

We got back to the motel and took advantage of the wi fi access to sort out some problems with our various banks, and then off to bed. Tomorrow we'll head back to Auckland, with a bit of shopping on the way, and Anne and I will meet with another DTS grad for lunch.

We'll update more tomorrow.

The long weekend

I've been away from wi fi access ever since we landed, so this will be a long update. We arrived safely after what we all agreed was a great flight. I've had a lot of conversations at 2am in my life, but none of them involved the question, "chicken or salmon?" until now. It was surprisingly good, but hard to muster up an appetite at that time in my body clock. We slept fairly well and watched a couple of movies each before they served breakfast and we landed.

We were met by our friend once we cleared customs. We picked up our slightly too small rental car and then drove about 20 minutes in light rain to their house. Anne did the driving and managed like a pro. The rest of us took turns praying and saying the rosary. It must have helped.

We later got the rest of the crew checked in to the Bucklands Beach Waterfront Chalet, which is pleasant. We grabbed a quick and dirty lunch of fish and chips at the combination fishery/Chinese take-out place around the corner. Anne and went to pick up the lunch for us all, and were faced with a lot of choices, almost none of which we understood. Good times. After lunch, Anne and I went back to the airport to board yet another plane.

We flew to Wellington (only an hour flight) to attend a Living Stones conference. We stayed with a lovely couple there in Wellington, who fed us a roast beef feast and tried to make conversation. Anne and I were so tired, we weren't much company. But, they understood, and so they sent us off to bed early in their guest house. It felt like a vacation within a vacation. We even had our own leisurely breakfast.

We spent the day meeting church leaders from different churches, and it was god to learn a bit about what issues are important to them. Much different than in the US. Between conference sessions, we wandered around Wellington, walking down to the beach to admire seashells and the gorgeous view, then walking through town. We both sort of fell in love with the quaintness and beauty of the town. I'll post pics later.

We wandered past a film crew at work, and saw a man covered in "blood" casually chatting on his phone between takes. Made us giggle a bit.

We ate a meat pie, which is quite popular here, but which makes me think of Sweeney Todd. After the conference we flew back to Auckland, ate more fish and chips at the airport, then caught up with the rest of our crew (who had a great day, except for getting terribly lost in the car) and we headed to bed early. Tomorrow we'll attend Botany Life Church, and possibly head to Rotorura in the afternoon. We'll keep you updated when we can.

Made it to LA

Were at LAX just waiting to board. Had an uneventful flight here, which is the best kind.

Anne's plan is to stay up for the first five hours of the flight, but we'll see...


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Travel Update 1

Well, we made it...to the airport. Which feels like an accomplishment. Anne went to the doctor this morning to find out that she might have a kidney stone! She got some new meds, though, and we are on our way.

We ran in to one snag as we checked in: we found out we needed a travel visa to go to Australia. Everything I saw didn't indicate that, but we got it sorted and we won't be deported.

A friend said that with all these distractions, God must have something good in store for us. I hope that is true.

We fly to LA tonight and then leave LA at midnight for Auckland. We'll update more as we are able.


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Down Under or Bust

This week, Anne and I leave for a trip to New Zealand and Australia. As many of you may know, we have felt that God has a ministry opportunity there for us. We've set up meetings with as many people as we can, and are just trying to be sensitive to the Spirit's guidance.

We'd appreciate your prayers as we're gone. And we'll pray for you, since we'll be enjoying daily temperatures that are half the daily temperatures in Dallas (mid 50s vs. mid-100s).

See you soon, suckers!

Eating at McDonalds...

Tastes like failure.

A Sad Farewell

As of one more week, I'll be hanging up my cut-off shorts and my oily, bronze biceps. Yes, that's right. I'll no longer be a pool boy, slaving in the summer heat and winter frost to keep pesky algae at bay.

Goodbye, yaupon holly. Goodbye, live oak. And I'll miss you most of all, crepe myrtle!

Repost Conclusion

I am troubled by the info from the previous two posts. Here in Dallas, it is easy to think that churches are thriving, because very many of them are serving the same type of people. But, just like Blockbuster Video, we must either adapt (without compromising key doctrines) or we will be obsolete.

To finish out the conversation, another author who is struggling with these same questions came and spoke at DTS recently. Here's a link to videos of his lectures:

http://www.dts.edu/media/search/?q=Frost

If you are of a mind, watch them, and let's chat.

Repost (2)

Here's "part 2" if you will of the previous repost. More thoughts to come.

The Shrinking 40%
from LeadingSmart by Tim Stevens
In the book, The Forgotten Ways, author Alan Hirsch identifies a problem that I’ve been wrestling with for several months now.

He says that the way we do church is working with fewer people all the time. What does the way we do church mean? It means the model of Christendom that has been followed for the past 1700 years or so and that most of us are a product of is becoming quickly ineffective in today’s world. I’m not talking styles of worship, high church or low church, mainline or independent, protestant or catholic. I’m talking about all of those churches combined. Just about every church in America can be described by three words: “Come to us.” That is it. We put on amazing services and do everything we can to communicate truth to the people who make the effort to come to “the box” for worship.

Let me explain it this way…

The Shrinking 40% - these are people for whom the “come to us” model works. We can put on great weekend services, and 40% of the people in our community are still attracted to, or at least not repelled by, that model. For some communities on the left or right coast—this may actually be 20% or less. Hirsch believes it might be 35% for America overall. For our church in northern Indiana, we are still relatively insulated from the coastal influence—and we believe it could be around 40%. Whether the correct number is 40% or 50% or higher—there probably isn’t a place in America where this number isn’t shrinking.

The Growing 60% – these are people who believe in God (whatever that means for them), have a respect for Jesus, and are on a spiritual journey, but they don’t consider the church (as we know it) as a resource to help them take steps. And it is likely they never will. They pursue their spirituality through culture, friendships, music, TV personalities, their own study of the Bible, self-help books and more. Research indicates “young adults today are less church-connected than prior generations were when they were in their 20s. But…they’re just about as spiritual as their parents and grandparents were at those ages.” An even newer study published a couple weeks ago indicates if the current trends continue, “the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships,” this according to Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group’s survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they’re “really more spiritual than religious.”

Here’s what I think we should do about the Shrinking 40% — I think we should still create amazing church services and knock the ball out of the park on everything we do inside the box. Why would we not? It’s working for a huge percentage of our community! We should do whatever works to attract them, introduce them to Jesus, help them grow in their faith, and motivate them to make a difference in the world.

But I don’t think we can ignore the Growing 60%. Up until now, I honestly don’t think I ignored them. I just didn’t think about them. I’m a statistics guy, and it is the statistics (that I talked about earlier) which are waking me up to a missional problem. Now that I’m aware of the Growing 60% –I can either ignore them (and in reality tell them to go to Hell), or I can do something about it.

I don’t even know what that means. I just know that as churches we have to figure out how to deliver the gospel of Jesus in a way that doesn’t require them to come to the box. Because attracting people to come to the box is only working for a Shrinking 40%. And the Growing 60% will never be reached that way.

It’s not either/or. It’s finding the genius of the AND.

We are creating a conversation about this in November. You should join us. But don’t wait until then—tell me your thoughts now.

Repost (1)

I came across this post from Tim Stevens' blog, Leading Smart. It seemed worth reposting. There is a revolutionary new way that churches are going to have to become soon in order to stay relevant. I'd enjoy your thoughts about this and the following post (also from Tim Stevens).

We Have A Statistical Problem
It’s a problem that is on my mind when I go to sleep, and I’m thinking about it again when I wake up. It is huge.


First, an illustration: Back in 1986, Mark Beeson came to town and started this church we call Granger. At that time—the church had all of 5 people (the number in the Beeson family). By our best guess and memory of demographic reports from 25 years ago—about half of the local population attended church somewhere. Mark and Sheila went after the other half—the people who were unchurched. And we built an entire ministry around that mission.

And it worked. Better than we could have imagined. We couldn’t baptize, disciple or minister to them fast enough.

Now, more than two decades later over 5,000 attend regularly, 8,000 attend at least once a month, and we have a well-established community impact ministry happening throughout the city. Conservatively, more than 10,000 people have given their life to Christ and untold thousands of next steps have been taken by Christ-followers at all stages of their spiritual journey.

And yet, today, as we look around our community, the stats haven’t changed a whole lot. Even with all that impact, there is still about 50% of the population that doesn’t attend church (maybe even a bit more now).

How is that possible? How is it, when we’ve gone from 0 to 8,000 – that we aren’t even making a dent in the unchurched population?

I think it’s because of three other conditions…

The church in America, as a whole, is in decline. That means if you combine the stats and impact of all the churches in our region, we are cumulatively involving fewer people and having less of an impact with every year that passes. That is a statistical fact that describes our country—and a subjective, yet intuitive reality about our local region.

The culture is becoming more varied by the day. With rare exception, churches tend to reach people like themselves. At Granger, we are reaching a subset of our local culture—and doing it VERY effectively—but that subset is a smaller percentage of the population with every year that passes.

Culture is not only more varied—it is changing. More people are exploring spirituality now than ever before—but fewer are doing it through the context of a physical church.

Pick any well-known large impact church and ask the same question.

Willow Creek – is the percentage of people in the region who are fully devoted followers of Christ higher than when the church started? The same? Or actually less?
Saddleback – same question.
New Spring Church – same question.
North Point Church – same question.
Name Your Favorite Large Church – same question.

I don’t pretend to have studied the demographics in each of those areas, but in general, my sense is there is something about the “come to us” model that isn’t working to expand the gospel. Yes, it’s working for who it’s working for. But it’s not working to curb the decline of the American church overall. And that, my friends, is a statistical problem.

Some popular authors and speakers are saying it’s time to give up on church as we’ve known it. Leave the “attractional model” behind and become “missional” instead.

I don’t think it’s an either/or. I think there is an AND in the conversation that we are missing. Like I said, it’s been on my mind 24/7 in recent months. And, it is having a gargantuan impact on our thinking at Granger about the future.

It’s something I’ll be writing more about in the coming days, but for now, what are your thoughts?

Big (Mouth) News

So those of you who have followed our blog from the beginning (the "Faithful Six," as I prefer to call you), know that Calla has been anxious to lose a tooth for quite some time (note the Kids Korner section of our blog). Anxious? Nay, desperate. Well, the time has finally come. She worked it and worked it with her tongue, and it came out yesterday. She was quite excited. Or, at least she was as excited as Calla gets.

Just to highlight the difference in our girls, Hannah has yet to lose a tooth without much weeping and gnashing and peril. Calla, on the other hand, went into the bathroom, pulled it out, and yelled, "I'm bleeding! Cool!"

I'll let you decide which child is more like which of her parents...

Looking in to the Future...

Hannah has been doing ballet for quite a few years now. So many years that she is at the stage where she is ready to go on pointe. If you don't know what that is, you are an uncultured slob. Just kidding. It is the thing where ballet dancers flit around on their toes and everyone in the audience thinks, "That looks like it hurts." But, it is a big milestone for dancers, separating the men from the boys, so to speak. And, if you go on pointe without your muscles and your ability being properly developed, it is apparently a really bad thing for your muscular development, and maybe even a sin, though the Bible is a bit unclear at this point. So, to make a long story short, Hannah's studio had an evaluation of all the eligible dancers, and here is the recommendation that she got:

I'm particularly proud of the label "quick learner." She got that from my side of the family...

Missed Opportunity

As you might recall, I have a job cleaning swimming pools (see http://harrisongang.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-new-job.html). As I was working recently, I saw three ladies coming out of the house next to the one I was at. I noticed they were carrying copies of "The Watchtower," which clued me in to the fact that they were Jehovah's Witnesses. They had to walk past me to get to the next house, and I thought to myself, "This will be a great opportunity." As I was hastily sifting through my brain to recall a few verses that are opposed to their deeply flawed doctrine (see http://www.religioustolerance.org/witness3.htm), I was just standing there, smiling, waiting for them to say something to me.

And they just kept walking. I was stunned. And frankly, offended. Am I not good enough to save? Or at least try to save? They just kept walking on by with hardly a glance!

And after I got over my own sense of self, and how shocked I was that they would ignore me, I realized what an oportunity I had missed. In waiting for them to make the first move, I had failed to tell them about the most important thing they could ever hear.

I think the point of the story is clear: there are countless people we meet each day, maybe not as obviously deceived as these ladies, but nonetheless deceived. Let's not miss any more opportunities to share the love and hope of the gospel.

Keeping Perspective, Part 2

After I wrote the previous post, I wrote this devotional for another blog I manage (ww.verticaldevotion.com). I've reproduced it here not because I think it is so brilliant, but because I think it is amazing how God uses His Word to help us. I had some thoughts rolling around in my head see previous post), and then God gave me this psalm as a way to codify those thoughts and bring my focus to Him. I hope it blesses you.

One of the things I have learned in my life (the hard way) is God’s method for how we should deal with a present crisis. It works like this: You can understand God’s plans for the present time by looking at God’s promises from the past and God’s will for the future.


Psalm 72 does exactly this. It is a psalm written for a difficult time. David, the King of Israel, was dying. Solomon, just a boy, was set to take the throne. Would he be able to lead as his father had? Would God still bless the people of Israel under Solomon? There were a lot of doubts about the future.



In my own life, I’ve had many similar moments of doubt and indecision. Some were long term plans such as, “Should I take this new job or should I stay in my current job?” Others were more urgent, like, “How am I going to pay the mortgage this month?” But what I have learned is that trusting God in the present circumstances means looking beyond those circumstances. One thing God wants us to do is look at the past: What has God done before that demonstrates how He will be faithful now?
 In Psalm 72, the psalmist looks to the past to interpret the present. God told Moses about the land that He would give to the Israelites (see Exodus 23:31). In Psalm 72:8, he revisits this promise from God, and his faith is reassured. In verse 17, the psalmist again looks to the past for some assurance in the present. God promised Abraham way back in Genesis 12:2-3:

“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

The psalmist leans on these promises as He looks at the uncertainty of the present. And, as the bible records, these promises were at least partly fulfilled in Solomon’s kingdom (see 1 Kings 4:21), and totally fulfilled in Christ the Messiah.


Trusting God through our present circumstances also means looking to the future: What do we know that God will do, based on His unchanging character? For the psalmist, he knew that God was a God of justice, of righteousness, and of peace. He could have faith that the kingdom of Israel would stand firm, because He knew that God would judge His people in righteousness, and His afflicted ones with justice (Ps 72:2-4).


Most importantly, he knew that no matter how the present circumstances worked out, that God’s Messiah would rule all the nations eternally, bringing righteousness to the entire world (v. 5-11). And this is perhaps the most important lesson. God gives us promises based on His Word, the Bible. And those promises are trustworthy and true. God also gives us assurances based on His character. The values that make up who God is determine how He will be in the future—just and gracious. And no matter what our present circumstances bring, Christ will one day return and set everything right. Looking beyond our present circumstances means keeping God’s perspective in mind.


If you are facing indecision or even a crisis right now, remember God’s plan for dealing with it. Trust the eternal promises of His Word, and trust that He has a plan for the future. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1).