This is sick.

Recently, I’ve been having a conversation about this exact happening with a close, albeit new, friend of mine. We’ve been talking about things that we want to pass on to our kids. Specifically in my my instance, to Isaac. Ideals, morals, foundations rooted in honesty and integrity not popular consumerism and flavor of the month lovers.

But the world is changing. All the time. For better and for worse.
TOMS shoes. Buy a pair and provide a pair for a needy child. Better.
New shows on network television about the “glorious 60s and the rise of a media market for Playboy. Worse.

Times change. Things change. People change. But we want out ideals to stay the same.
And I get concerned. Rightfully so. I’m allowed to be concerned about the future now. I’m a dad. Dads inherently (possibily biologically) want their sons to be better than them. I know I want that for Isaac.

But what happens when the ideals change?

I’m not talking about the church…
Or a continually rising focus on objectifying women and sex on tv…
Or about people making a difference…

I’m talking about Superman.

Prepare yourself to be invited into the inner-nerddom of my mind…

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If you’re still reading this than you’re one of 2 types of people:
1. A fan of idealistic superheroes saving the day because they feel the obligation to help.
2. or, you’re looking for cannon fodder to belittle me at a later point in time.

Either way, I don’t care. It’s my blog. Not yours.

It’s really a pretty simple thing. In a few hours DC Comics is restarting the Superman story. And it concerns me. I’m all for modern story telling, getting new readers, and getting rid of the under-roos on the outside of the tights (I think we can all agree the tights themselves are a bit outplayed). But I get concerned at the ideals of Superman changing.

Maybe they won’t. Who knows. Everything I’ve read says they’re changing his back story. Still from Krypton, still adopted by the Kents, but then at some point becomes an orphan forcing him to deal more with the “I’m the last of a dead race” issues than the “how does a mid-west boy make it in the big city and keep his nose and everyone else’s clean” while he does it. Taking away his foundation in the Kents has some major implications to the story for me.

I remember a shift when I read comics as a kid (and into high school proving that my powers of hiding my inner nerd were better off than most people realized) when Supes and Lois started hooking up for the occasional booty call. It never got graphic but you knew. Drank Cane & Terri Hatcher proved it on TV. That was odd to me then because of all of the things that I thought Superman stood for.

Times change. Story telling changes. I get it. Bring in more readers.

But the Superman that I idealized as a kid (and still do) did the right things because it’s the right thing to do. It wasn’t showy (except for the tights). It was “truth and justice.” Pure and simple.

But here’s what I’m finding now: Superman has always been this adopted kid that was made to feel like part of the family by his adopted parents. Clark Kent was was actually Superman’s disguise because he was a super man. Nothing happened to him to make him super. He just was. But it’s also who he was raised to be. Pure and simple truth and justice depicted by the honesty and sincerity of an adopted couple’s love for their chosen son. I’m down with that.

Recently I read a graphic novel compilation of a comics series that ran a few years ago called Superman: Secret Origins that made me realize a whole new side to my fascination. The adoption. I found myself crying and relating to characters in new ways and seeing that things that make the characters real… It was stories about people. One specific chapter primarily focusied on the relationship between a son and his dad. Adopted, they chose each other. It was heart felt and honest. Scary and exciting all at the same time for some of those “adoption conversations” that I know I’m headed for.

I found a connection to a lot of things through Clark’s story. I’ve always felt like I’ve had to hold back. Like GOD created us for more and I limited it. I always felt like a bit of an outsider adapting from group to group and sometimes even in my own family. But, it’s what I want Isaac to know about himself that I’m connecting with more now.

He’s loved.
He’s accepted.
He’s chosen.
He has always been and will always be my son.
He has been created for more.
He is from too different “worlds.”
But he shouldn’t ever feel like an outsider.
He doesn’t have to limit himself.
And he will never have to guess where he stands with me.

So, pardon the ramblings of a sentimental 30-year-old “fanboy” dad.
I just hope that as the new stories unfold, there will be those same ideals of pure and simple truth and justice because a kindly couple took in a little boy they knew very little about and raised him like their own because it was the right thing to do…
And he was better for it…
And so were they.

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PJ

It’s been one of those summers so far.
You know the kind.
The kind that you’re busy nearly every minute of every day.
Where every time you feel like you get a break, you just want to be with your family and relax.
So, when you do spend time with them, you all just crash out because you’re all so tired.

Well, we’re coming through it. It’s been busy. but rewarding… mostly.

Angie had a PACKED June while she worked 40 hour weeks for her masters internship at the public library (for free I might add) doing twice as much work as the paid staff.
(Her evaluation actually said, she needs to “slow down so the older employees can catch up.”)
???

Isaac’s growing like a weed.
He jumped into the 90th percentile in height and the 80th in weight over the last few months.
Needless to say, he’s all caught up.
He’s a “water rat” spending every morning at the pool that he can with Angie and some friends.
He goes constantly and when he crashes, he crashes hard.

And, I’m doing well.
There were moments where I thought I was going to die because of everything on my plate, but there are seasons to everything.
We came through that one and we’ll make it through the next tough one.
It’s just what you do.

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But, here’s a heads-up for those that care.
While I haven’t been posting since May 14th, I’ve been writing.
I’ve got some stuff.
May not be good stuff.
But it’s stuff.

Here’s a teaser of themes coming out soon:
• Owning a mini-van before you’re 30.
• Why songs are important to the church and why it’s important to pick good ones.
• Wanting your child to be a better person than you are.
• Guilt vs. grace.
• How much I love kettle corn.
• Exposing my inner-geek (Thoughts & concerns on the new Superman story lines do out this fall from DC comics).
• Fun in church.

And those are just a few.
Check back soon.
Or watch your Twitter feed…
Or Facebook wall…
Or whatever they call it on Google+…
There’s more to come!

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PJ

Like father like son, I guess.
+PJT

… I had no idea what my tomorrow had in store.

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pjt

Here’s the article.

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I think one of the hardest parts about my call is the title.

“Pastor.”

The word doesn’t sit well with me.
It never really has.
I fully realize it’s my issue.
But, I just don’t like it.

So, I did some digging. Turns out that our English form of the word pastor comes from the Latin pascere which translates more literally as “to feed or to graze.” Perhaps an appropriate metaphor for the shepherd analogy of what my role includes… perhaps also a cause for the issue at hand.

When I was asked to write an article on the issue of people “not feeling fed” and how we handle it at Crosspoint, I had a completely different starting point in mind that this understanding of the call that many of us hold dear to our hearts.

At Crosspoint, we tend to answer the issue of not being fed with the question: “Where are you serving?” We’ve found in our short history that most people aren’t looking to be preached at, force fed rules, and told how much money they should give to the church. We’re finding that people are looking for genuine community and that happens best when people are working, getting their hands dirty, and seeing change happen together.

So we use the issue of a person “not feeling fed” (because really that’s what it is… a feeling) as a recruitment tool.
I know it sounds cold, calculated even, but:

They get plugged in.
They build some relationship.
They find Jesus in what they do.
They feel fed.

Article done.

But, you know the old adage, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink?” Or in shepherd terms, “you can lead a flock to pasture, but you can’t make them eat.” Doesn’t that apply here as well?

You can give the people food (truth) but they have to make the decision what to do with it. I once heard a pastor say that listening to sermons was like eating catfish… you have to pull out the bones to get at the meat. The listener has to work at being fed much like the body of a sheep has to process the grass it eats to gain nourishment.

So, yes, there is a part to be done by the listener. And, perhaps many times this is where the issue lies. There are surely many people in our seats every weekend that don’t do the proper “digestion” of what they’re soaking in.
even more to it than that.

I think we (the pastors) have done ourselves a disservice for years now with the self-projected expectations that we’re supposed to have it all together – that we (the pastors) are supposed to have all the answers and that everyone sitting in the pews expect us to have them. Maybe sometimes they do. But, I would venture to say that most people in this post-modern culture we live in today aren’t looking for you (the pastor) to spell it all out for them. They’re looking for ways to explore honestly at their own pace. They’re looking for truth and how it applies to their lives. They’re looking for God.

This is where I suspect our self-expectations come in.

If I take my car to the mechanic, I expect that they know how to fix that thump and whistle coming from under my hood.

If I go out to eat, I’d be pretty annoyed if my server handed me microwaved mac and cheese.

Likewise, we do need to have some expertise in our areas of ministry but we cannot have all of the answers. It’s just not possible.

Here’s what I’m learning about my job as worship leader:

I do not have it all together.
I will make mistakes.
And, I can only give my best.
Any higher expectations tread on perfectionism and arguably idolatry of the service over worship of God.

So, I think that perhaps the answer to the issue of the crowd being fed does in fact, lie within us.
The pastors.

Last October I had the opportunity to attend a conference for worship pastors, leaders, singers, musicians, artists that was centered on the exploration of why we sing. The entire conference had that question posed in every session, seminar, and discussion group. As I came out of the weekend, I had this renewed sense of excitement about what I do and why I do it.

• I sing because I always have been.
• 
I sing because He cares about me.
• 
I sing because I’ve been rescued for relationship.
• I sing because I don’t know what else to do.
• 
I sing for eternity.

That’s why I sing. And wrapped up in those seemingly simple statements are these complex back-stories, and pains, and bad choices, and joys, and excitements, and fears that cause my call to be realized as it has been.

To be a pastor.
To lead to pasture.
To lead to water.
To lead.
Not to feed.

But there are all kinds of reasons that everyone else sings.

Maybe they sing because they feel like they’re supposed to.
Maybe the sing because if they do it long enough, then they might start to feel something.
Maybe they want to sing.
Or maybe, they’ve been so burned that they don’t want to sing at all.

And, this is why I think we have a sacred task set in front of us.
As worship leaders and in worship specifically.

So I approach my job with these things in mind.
• It’s not about me.
• People sing for all different kinds of reasons.
• God hasn’t given up on any of us.
• There’s something REALLY big going on here… and I GET to be a part of it.
• It’s my job to put great, sacred words on people’s lips (perhaps another article in itself).

Psalm 71:23 is one of my favorite verses right now.
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed. (NIV, ©1984)

You can almost feel the sense of awe and duty in that verse.
It’s the kind of duty that you understand when you’re redeemed.
When you’re called out.
There’s emotion there.

This is how I believe we (the pastors) should approach our calls.
As the redeemed.
Broken but restored.
Shining light but still pursuing.
Leading to water and drinking ourselves.
Overseeing in the pasture but digesting our own.

I still don’t like the term pastor because of what it makes me believe about myself.
But, the call to lead is one that each of us has had placed on our hearts.

So, may we all come to find the balance in our calls between leading and feeding.
May we all seek honestly and openly to help call up the masses.
And, may we come to see that we are redeemed.

And, that’s why we sing.

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PJT

@kristin_madeja tweeted this video to me last night. I’ve watched it about 50 times since. It’s incredible. A wonderful visual telling of the all encompassing nature of Jesus. The artist’s name who created it is Jeremy Cowart. He’s really freakin’ good.

And, Jeremy if you read this… chalk me up as someone that would buy a print of this.
Thank you for the beauty here.

He’s telling a story saying that GOD is like a rich man that’s throwing a party for all of his friends and as the party gets closer and closer, people start backing out.

One guy says he has to work.
Another says he just got married and he has to get home to his new wife… (enter “whipping” noise).
My favorite though is this one guy who says, “I just bought an OX that I have to get home to.”

LAME. But, I’ve never owned an ox, so maybe they take more work that I know and this guy really can’t go to a party because he has a to tend his ox.
It’s still lame.

So, the rich man is annoyed, right?
And, he doesn’t want this party to go to waste.
So he sends his servants out to invite anyone the meet in town to the party.
The sick, the lame, the hungry… the Message says, “Anyone that looks like they need a square meal…”

It’s kind of like the first Snicker’s commercial.
“Hungry? Why wait… old man Snickers is throwing a party…
with caramel and nougat…
and peanuts.

But, here’s my favorite part of the story.
It says starting at Verse 21:
“The servant reported back, ‘Master, I did what you commanded— and there’s still room.’
“The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!’”

The rich man says, “I want my house full!”
GOD says, “I want my house full!”

That’s the picture of GOD that Jesus is painting for us here. A GOD that says, “I want my house full. Come on in. Food’s on the table. Oh, you have know another guy that needs a good square meal? Bring him. And that lady. And that guy, and the hooker, and the crack addict, and so on…”

A few weeks ago at Crosspoint we introduced this song to the crowd called “Come Away/Let Me In” from Jesus Culture. You can watch their version of the song below.

It’s a little different than most songs we sing at XPT. Typically, church music involves songs that we’re singing to GOD or about GOD. But, I’ve not experienced many goodsongs that are GOD singing to us. That’s exactly what this song is. It’s not us saying, “GOD we love you and will do anything for you” (which is many times an over exaggeration, isn’t it?). But, it’s GOD straight up saying:

Come away with me.
It’s never too late.
It’s not too late for you.

I have a plan for you.
It’s gonna be wild.
It’s gonna be great.
It’s gonna be full of me.

It’s GOD saying, “I love you. And you, and you. And, that guy, and that guy, and that lady, and the hooker, and the crack addict…
And PJ.
And Angie.
And Isaac.
And Jesse.
And Trisha.
And Lowell.
And Jasmine.
And Tiger Woods.
And Charlie Sheen.
And Rob Bell.
And Mark Driscoll.
And, yes. Even you.”

These are the kinds of songs that the church needs right now.

+PJT

I read Love Wins. I didn’t see what all the fuss was about.
Maybe it’s because I wear dark rimmed glasses.
Maybe it’s because I track with his thinking.
Maybe it’s because I hope that people do get another chance after they die.

Most people that I’ve told I read the book cringe without any knowledge beyond a few people’s comments online and the tizzy that followed.
I’ve found myself sticking up for Rob. (You’re welcome, Rob. This small time guy from Fishers, IN had your back.)
Maybe because Velvet Elvis and Everything Is Spiritual were so deeply transforming for me.
Perhaps I was wanting to believe the best, but in my core I just didn’t feel “icky” about it.

My friend Matt is a pastor near us.
Matt is one of my friends that I learn something from every time I’m with him.
He sent me a “paper” that he wrote in his response to reading Love Wins.
His main point to the reflection was his acceptance/pointing out that we’ve all been the ones throwing the stones at some point. We’ve all been the Pharisees. We’ve all been the ones that feel we’re owed something… and we need to be aware of it first to make a change.
A reaction I hope we all can attest too.

It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read. It surely wasn’t Rob’s best, but it was deep. I think asking the question for exploration’s sake is important. I’m a relatively “seasoned” Christian and I’m still exploring what I read in Love Wins. I don’t know if a book has ever done that to me.

But, here are my take aways from the book:

I have some other friends.
They know GOD.
They know Jesus.
But, they very clearly have chosen to walk a different path.
You might say the reject the Holy Spirit.
And, I hope it’s not because of my stone throwing.

I hope they get another chance.
I hope I get another chance.
I hope GOD uses every opportunity to restore them.
I hope GOD uses every opportunity to restore me.
I hope they choose Him.
I hope I choose Him.

Frankly, I don’t know if they ever will.
They’re not choosing to now.
It breaks my heart.
It breaks GOD’s heart.
It cheapens what Jesus did for them now.
But, if/when they accept it, it will so strengthen what was done on the cross for them.

LOVE WINS, right?
I sure hope so.
Because I need it, too.

+PJT