A Place to Call Home...

Last week we made a quick dash back to Memphis. It was a rushed trip but one I needed to make. We traveled to participate in a fundraiser in memory of my best friend David Tucker who died suddenly back in January. The trip was covered in pain, sadness, love, and healing. It was something I needed to do. The moment we walked into my mothers home, that strange feeling came over us. It’s hard to explain, others have felt it also, but it’s a strange comfortable relaxing feeling that reeks you are home. When you enter that door quickly you are surrounded by love. It is no strange phenomenon; it is what Sociologists agree we all long for. It is in parent/child relationship that describes the feeling of security that children long for when they're left alone. They want to be reassured that someone greater, stronger, smarter is not only present but in charge. And they want to be reassured that this someone loves them.


In Jesus’ Last Lecture to his disciples he reiterates the message of love. Jesus says the same thing over and over again but the central theme is love.
"If you love me you will keep my commandments.
“A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you.
"Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
"I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The disciples must have wondered how they could do that. Knowing they had a hard time loving each even while Jesus was with them, how could believers love like that? They overlook the obvious fact: when you love someone, really, really love someone, doing what is good and right comes so much more naturally and easily. Perhaps parents are a good illustration of this: it may be a challenge at times to be a parent, but the love one feels for one's children makes it a "no-brainer" to do what's good for them; it's obvious that if you love your children, you're going to take good care of them.

It begins with love. When our actions begin with love, everything else seems to fall in place. When there are days and situations when it is hard to love, Jesus tells us he will not leave us as orphans. Unlike those who have no parent, he promises to send the Holy Spirit as our Advocate. When our faith community clearly and intentionally focuses on love we become a home. It is love that prepares a home for those searching. We become a home; not a place to visit, not a place to pass through from time to time, and not a place to send a postcard. Is it any wonder that our church home has a table at its center, not just architecturally but at the heart of our worship life together? The Lord’s Table is where all are welcome; a table where all can gather, and table where all feel loved. A place where everyone is reassured that someone greater, stronger, smarter is not only present but in charge and reassured that this someone loves them.
Who have you invited to the table? Who have you invited home?
See ya in church but until then take care of yourself and one another..
Shalom,
Tommy

Expectations

A pastor friend of mine tells me of a man in his church he calls Hank. Hank had attended church since he was a young boy, and now was in his sixties. He was known by everyone- but no one really liked him. He had difficulty loving his wife. His children could not speak freely with him and felt no affection from him. He was not concerned about the poor, had no tolerance for those outside the church, and tended to judge harshly those who were inside.


One day one of the Elders asked him, “Hank, are you happy?” Without smiling or showing any emotions, he responded, “Yes.”
“Well then,” the person replied, “tell your face.”
Hank’s outward demeanor mirrored a deeper and much more tragic reality: Hank was not changing. He was not being transformed. He was not growing in his faith, his relationships or his Christlikeness. But here’s is what is most remarkable: nobody in the church was surprised by this. No one called an emergency meeting of the church board to consider this person who wasn’t changing. No one really expected Hank to change, so no one was surprised when he didn’t. There were no expectations in the church. People did expect Hank to attend services, give money, and do the work of the church. But no one expected that day to day, month to month, decade to decade, Hank would be transformed and grow more and more in the likeness of Christ. People did not expect that he would become progressively more loving, joyful, and winsome person. So they were not shocked when it did not happen. Maybe it’s now time to raise our own expectations of what we want out of our life, the life of others, and our church.
Peace & Joy,
Tommy

What Happened to People of Vision

Many of us in today's modern world are uncomfortable with the idea of visions. When someone claims to have a vision, we more often than not quickly believe that person is nuttier than a fruitcake or on some type of hallucinogenic drugs. In our conscious we have stereotyped anyone who claims to have a vision. We quickly forget that industry, invention, creativity, and success all begin as a vision. A vision is the destination to shot for. It is the Promise Land, Fantasy Island, and Survivor all rolled into one great adventure. However in the church today, we just don’t know what to do when someone claims to have a vision.


When we look at early church days after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit was so active; we are told that many signs and wonders were produces by the disciples. God’s activity was running rapid even though the church was persecuted by outside authorities. Steven was one such believer who’s strong beliefs and vision resulted in his death. His love for Christ, his passion for the church, and his determination to tell his story caused the people to cover their ears, drag him out of town, and stone him to death. The leader of this death party was none other than Saul.

Today our passionate beliefs seem to be tempered by the time in which we live. Most people in our community feel as if they can manage quite nicely with or without God. They claim those who don’t practice worship are apparently no worse off than those who do participate in worship, and sometime seems just at content and happy. All of this may have the effect of diminishing the burning passion we might feel for Jesus. Those who come fresh to the church are more fervent in their passion for Christ, but those who have been worshippers since the cradle may be more laid back about their passion for Jesus. They often have a quiet worship style and can be quite disturbed by the sort of excitement, fervor, and passion shown by those like Steven, by new Christians, and by visions. Those with this quiet sort of deep, inner passion are often mature in their faith. They have a depth of faith and understanding which only comes with increasing years and living out their faith. But the downside is that they miss out on some of the excitement of the signs, wonders, and visions that accompany passionate following Jesus. Sadly, most of the time, their inner spirituality may not be immediately apparent to those with whom they come into contact, so will not necessarily enable the church to grow.

These days there is no need for martyrdom. People can worship freely wherever and whenever they choose, but it seems that paradoxically, fewer bother to worship when worship is freely available. Even today, in those countries where Christianity is suppressed, the Church is full to bursting because people need God and God's support and the freedom God promises. How can we once again fill our churches with a real, deep Christian longing? Perhaps we need more visions. Perhaps we should dare to dream dreams and to follow visions, even when those dreams and visions threaten our comfortable way of life. Stephen followed Christ by giving up his life for the Gospel. Can we do any less?

See ya in church but until then take care of yourself and one another,
Peace & Grace,
Tommy

Being In Love....

In a very brief but intense moment of self discovery, I have found that I love God but am not “in love” with God anymore. I have somehow allowed the slow deterioration of my profession rob me of that love. Trying to minister and please many different people daily, I have lost a love I desperately need and want that formulated who I am. I preach, talk, and study Jesus everyday. I assist others with their questions, insights, and the relevance Christ has in their daily life. I am deeply grateful of the blessing God has bestowed on me and my family. But a huge part is still missing.


I want to be “in love” with Christ again. I want to feel His presence like that day I did as a teenager when I felt all alone. I want to get nervous, scared, and anxious when I prepare for worship like I did when I was at the Lake Side Chapel at Bethany Hills in front of all my friends only worrying about touching someone, and not being cool. I want to once again experience that unconditional love, energy, and acceptance I felt as Kellie and I fellowshipped with hundreds teenagers at Kingsway. I desperately need to feel the hands of the Elders once again who laid their hands on me as I was ordained into ministry. I want to pray with confidence and boldness not just with hope. If Christ is my bride, I need a couples retreat. I want to feel the spiritual awakening as I take out my guitar and write of how Christ loves me without restrictions of wondering what others will think. I want romance to be apart of my worship. I want to laugh, dance, and have fun in the experience of time spent together. I want to live each day glowing, radiating with the love of Jesus Christ that everyone will inquire about that love too. I want to live my life where the only thing people can say at my eulogy is: “Man that dude was crazy, but he sure taught us how to love God, love our wives our children, and our family, and love our friends.” I must search for that spark, that fire, that deep mojo that once drew me so close to my relationship with Christ. I must revisit those old places we use to hang out at. I no longer want that happens in our world to deter me from the love I urgently desire. I must be intentional on finding that time and place to be “in love” once again. There I will find my truest potential.
Live, Love, Laugh,
Tommy

“The Need for Easter”

This week without much notice two more soap operas bit the dust; “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will leave the air waves after more than forty years on the air. When daytime drama hit there prime in 1969 -1970 there were more than 19 daytime shows, now there are only 4. So what contributed to this almost sdistinction og daytime dramas? To answer we must look at the beginning, their origin. Day time dramas began on radio programs that were transferred into another media at the invention of television. They were written and produce by companies that sold household goods. The name "Soap Opera" got their name from the sponsors like soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers. Their main target audience was mothers. Each show catered to the stay at home woman who fantasized about wearing expensive clothing, looking great all the time, socializing with rich people, or having a glamorized career such as a doctor, lawyer, or clothes designer. For an hour each day, instead of taking care of the children, doing house keeping, etc, woman could mentally escape to the lives and characters of those on the T.V. When woman began to leave the home and enter the workforce, soap operas took a little decline but bounced back during prime time. Recall Dallas, Dynasty, and who shot J.R.? Soap’s again made a slight rebound with the development of recording devices and satellite television. But neither could sustain their longevity.


But why have they disappeared? Soap opera’s have vanished because a change of several different social norms. First woman stopped staying at home and entered the workforce. They began to pursue the careers and lifestyle they watched on television. They were also not available to tune it. Ratings began to fall. Second, company sponsors no longer had the need to write and produce these shows to push their products if the woman were not watching. Third, soap operas were very expensive to produce, they employ many individuals, so sitcoms became more cost efficient. Sitcoms focused not on fantasy but on the struggles of everyday working folk. Sitcoms were eventually replaced with “reality shows” which are really cheep to produce as society desire is now to be entertained by real folks, not paid actors. Simple put people today have enough drama in thier own lives so they no longer view it as entertainment.

You may be asking why am I wasting time talking and describing the fall of soap operas. Who really cares? We as the church should because it could happen to us. The needs of the people have not changed, only their viewing choices. People need the church now more than ever. People need to hear the Good News that Christ has risen from the tomb. Yes, the tomb was empty. To some of us this may should like a soap opera is it truth. It is a truth that people everywhere desperately need to hear. Our method for connecting to Christ may be different and every changing but the message is still the same. No matter how much we have evolved as a society, the need to hear that the tomb was empty, to hear the gospel story, to understand how much Christ loves us is the same. We all need to hear that God is still relevant in our daily lives. No matter where we are in our life journey the need for God’s love is same. Unconditional love, salvation, forgiveness, mercy and grace are not commodities that diminish in time. We need to hear that death is not the end. Basically we might not need soap operas but we desperately need Easter.
May God bless you and open you up to a deeper understanding of unconditional love.
Peace and Grace,
Tommy

Can Prayer Come Alive? No Really...

Sometimes prayer is cool other times we have feel prayer is something we do or don't do but are somehow ashamed of. Prayer is a vital part of the way we live out our faith. Prayer is a very intimate talk with our creator. It is like those deep conversations we hold with the person who knows us the best. Those long talks we have with that person in our life from who knows the real us and from whom we cannot hide anything. Prayer can be a helpful tool to help us navigate through whatever life throws at us. But does prayer come alive? As one young man put it, “I believe in it and all that, but for some reason prayer has never really made any sense for me.” Indeed for all of us there have probably been times when prayer has dried up like a desert. There have been times of pain and trial when we wanted to reach out and touch the hand of God and could not feel His presence at all.


Prayer can come alive if we are willing to make a honest commitment. Prayer comes alive as we share our deepest needs and burdens with brothers and sisters in the faith. Can you imagine how it must have been for Peter, James and John when Jesus took them with Him into the deepest recesses of His pain? “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…stay here and watch with me.”

Somehow, that strikes me to the core. If God’s own Son could acknowledge His own deep and troubled sorrow - His need for someone close to “watch” with Him - then how much more so do we need that kind of spiritual bonding with others? In those kinds of experiences, a bonding of the spirit takes place that happens in no other way. A fellowship of faith is built that is beyond anything the natural mind can conceive! Prayer comes alive when we are able to accept that which we cannot understand and trust God for that which we cannot know!

The final key to the whole understanding of living prayer is this one word of Jesus: “NEVERTHELESS”. In the garden Jesus prayed “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me…NEVERTHELESS…not my will but Thine be done.” The heart of our relationship with God is born of our surrender to Him of every claim…we finally acknowledge that we are not in control…it is His wisdom that we will lean on and not our own…His strength…His grace and love. “Oh, my Lord I do not understand this pain…but I will trust You for the fact that You can care for me…” Now Jesus could face Calvary. Calvary’s battle was won at Gethsemane. The burden He carried was settled there before He ever picked up the cross. He could face Calvary only in light of His total surrender to God in Gethsemane. Now we too can face life as we surrender the heart of whom and what we are to the One who won the battle for us in Gethsemane! It may not be natural at first but with a littel commitment prayer can come alive. We can come alive.  Nevertheless may prayer come alive for you!

See you in church, but until then may your prayer come alive, and take care of yourself and one another,
Peace & Grace,
Tommy

John 9:1-41 Passion Helps Us See