Belated Birthday

I can't believe I missed it. And the 25th birthday at that. It was last October 13 that we should have celebrated the birth of the cell phone. In 1983 the revolution began when Ameritech boss Bob Barnett called the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell on the famous Motorola "Brick" phone. Remember that phone? It was over a foot long and almost 2 pounds. It could store a whopping 30 numbers in its memory and it cost a measly $3995. I recall the first person I knew that had a "Brick" and I can hear him like it was yesterday, "You shouldn't have one these unless your time is worth $100 an hour. How times have changed. Today there are 4 billion cell phone users worldwide. Is it not hard to imagine life without the mobile phone?

Is there anyone reading this who does not possess a mobile phone?
Do you remember your first cell phone?

Microscope and the Telescope

I got back yesterday from Seaside Oregon after speaking at the Oregon Ministry Network weekend event. It is always a pretty intimidating experience to speak to other pastors - very humbling.

I spoke Monday night about the difference between living life looking through a microscope versus living life through a telescope. My default mode of thinking tends to look at life through a microscope, with my focus on the minutia of life, living life in the details. The microscope makes my world smaller, microscopic, if you will.

The telescope, on the other hand, expands my perspective. It makes my world huge. I step back and see the horizon. I see that my life is making a difference and the cumulative results of my efforts are paying off.

It is difficult to have hope and a positive outlook glued to the microscope.

Your life, guided by God, is making an impact. You are leaving a footprint. You cannot see it until you step back and enjoy the view from a distance.

Step back!

Resolve

I read an article recently about Florence Chadwick (1918-1995), the renowned long distance swimmer who was the first woman to swim the 23 miles across the English Channel in both directions. She broke both the men's and women's world record times for that swim.

On July 4, 1952, at the age of 34, Chadwick set out to become the first woman to swim the 21 miles across the Catalina Channel, from Catalina Island to Palos Verde, California. She swam for nearly 16 hours and, with only a half mile to go, gave up. She told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I know I could have made it." The fog prevented her from seeing her goal and because of it she could not go on. Discouragement is a powerful adversary. Let's resolve to persevere.

Keep you eye on the goal this week.

Tomorrow I am off to Oregon to speak at a minister's gathering in Seaside. I speak tomorrow and Tuesday night. I am always humbled at events like this. I pray I can be an encouragement to my comrades.

Church and Business

Our McCleary campus was host today to a leadership forum for the pastors in our area. I brought in Len Kuntz who is a former (retired) Nordstrom executive. Len is a legend in the Nordstrom culture. He worked for them for 24 years, rising at a rapid pace in their system. He was a store manager by the time he was 28 years old. I have known Len close to a year and appreciate his insight and humility.

When I first met him, I had a question that could not be contained: What do you see as the differences and similarities between how the church functions versus business? His immediate response was the overwhelming similarities and issues to be confronted by both.

He just totally rocked today. He talked about leadership on so many levels. There were so many "take-aways" from the day. He asked, "Do the people around you know they are valuable?" He challenged, "Take your heart and your mind and leave a mark, a deposit in someone else." "Practice is the most neglected art in any organization." He ended with this question, "If you know what success looks like, does your day have in it the elements that reach toward that success?"

Thanks Len!

The Inauguration

Many have been keeping track of the inauguration of our new President today. From the images, if you don't like crowds, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near Capitol Hill today. I have a friend, Mark Batterson, who lives on the Hill where where he pastors National Community Church. Here a quote from his blog today:
"As someone who has lived on the Hill for more than a decade, I've never seen anything like it. Non-stop sirens. Streets closed. Can't find a parking spot by our house because of all the out-of-state license plates! And the foot traffic has been amazing. Herds of people. It's like the wildebeest migration in Africa!"

A name on my prayer list changes today; from President George W. Bush to President Barack H. Obama.

We Would Love Your Input

We will be launching a new website shortly. Bryan Douglas, who is in charge of all our multimedia, has asked me to give you a preview to get your input. Every layer of the site is not developed, but we are most interested in your initial reaction to the cover page.

Tell me what you think: ECC's new web look.

As Long As

It has been a long week. Being in class from 8 to 5 every day for the purpose of absorbing information can feel like drinking from a fire hose. The class this week was called, "Leadership and Pluralistic Issues." We talked about cultural and spiritual pluralism that churches have to deal with on a weekly basis. Pluralism, simply stated, is that there is no single viewpoint that represents everyone. In culture and ethnicity, this is something we should embrace. In the church, we need to embrace some forms and reject others.

On Friday, Pastor Warren Bullock came and challenged our class (it is a small cohort of 10-12) on the idea of success based on the life of Uzziah the King of Judah. He used 2 Chronicles 26:5 as his main thought that says, "As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success." It was a great reminder that there are no substitutes or short-cuts for "as long as."

For Uzziah, popularity (v. 8) and power (v. 8, 15, 16) became his detour away from success. Crazy... sounds like the very marks of success in our culture today. The moment we become full of ourselves is when we think 'the rules' apply to everyone else - that we are the exception and there will be no negative consequences to our actions - we are the only ones who could get away with not maintaining the necessary practices that bring success.

We lose godly success when 'as long as' turns into 'I used to.'

Faith Confession

This past Sunday I introduced a corporate faith confession to our Bridge (9 & 10:30) gatherings. I have received very positive feedback from that exercise. There is something very dynamic about corporate, unified, verbal confession. The collective has a powerful (and, in this case, positive) influence on the individual. I got the words from another church, altered the words a bit, and adopted it as our own.

I have had a number of people ask me personally or have contacted the church to get a copy so I thought I would post it. Here is the confession we spoke aloud this past Sunday, and will continue to proclaim each week:
Lord, I believe you have something special for me today. I lay aside every distraction of my life. I open my spirit to receive more of you. I give you my needs so I can accept your blessings. Forgive me of every sin. Cleanse my heart completely. Make me pure so that I might display your glory. Lord, I believe you have something special for me today. And I receive it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

I am in Seattle this week to continue my education. I am praying for you. Thank you for your prayers.

Full Speed Ahead.

Rod Allen

Rod Allen, pictured here on the right, was the speaker at today's seminar for men at ECC. Rod is the broadcast analyst for the Detroit Tigers baseball club. He inspired us today with his patient perseverance approach to life and the plan of God. What a great day! He is the picture of a person who refuses to allow his limitations to put a limit on his life.

We also laughed at some of his baseball experiences. He played professionally for three years in Japan and has become known for a incident when a pitcher threw at him. It is fun to watch!

Thanks, Rod, for not letting the voices of "you're not good enough" to take root in your life. It is an example to be followed.

Persevere!

"Africa Needs God," Said An Atheist

The Times published a remarkable article by atheist Matthew Parris. Parris was born in Johannesburg, and as a boy lived throughout Africa, leaving to attend Cambridge. He became a Member of Parliament in 1979 and later an English journalist.

He writes after returning to his homeland of Malawi. He hadn't been there in 45 years. What he witnessed confronted his long held beliefs and, with honesty, admits that the Gospel and people's accompanying faith changes and sustains lives.

If you wonder if ECC sending hundreds of thousands of dollars around the world each year is worth it, please read. If you are interested in what your global missions dollars accomplishes, enjoy the read. If you would be interested in reading an atheist with a distinctly different perspective, here you go.

Whatever, whoever, I think this is worth your time.

Africa Needs God

Fasting

Let's start with a quiz:
Who were the three people in the Bible to fast for 40 days? (One of them did it more than once - which one?)

A normal fast in scripture would be to abstain from food for one day (from sunset to sunset, Leviticus 16:29). There are other ways to fast. Although the Greek word means to not eat, we understand that it is an act of self denial - it is about denying my self. It does not stop there, it is also about denying my wants.

When a person fasts food, it does not take that long for the body to let you know that it is not happy that you are not feeding it. It let's you know subtly; it let's you know boldly. It can be as simple as a growling stomach or dramatic as a headache. Every time your body "speaks" you can either obey it, or you can deny it. In this way, fasting is not just about your body as it is about your soul and spirit. Because Biblical fasting always occurs together with prayer, you can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast (Biblically speaking) without praying. Biblical fasting is deliberately abstaining from food for a spiritual reason: communication and relationship with the Father.

Matthew 6:16 quotes Jesus' words, "when you fast" so it seems that it is assumed that New Testament believers fasted.

Why should we fast? The reasons that we fast are all about letting God know how serious we are about a certain issue. Fasting is prompted by the need for direction, a situation of impending danger, a statement of repentance and mourning over sin or the desire for divine revelation.

The answer to the question? Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Moses fasted three times (recorded).

Live it Loud

Back Online

For some technical, cyber, server reason, I have not been able to blog since the New Year. This evening I checked it again and, alas, it had solved itself.

I was so energized to be with the ECC family today. With all the cancellations and then being out of town last Sunday, I just felt far too detached. I am OK now! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day.

It is going to be a week of spiritual adventure. As is customary for us these last number of years, we fast Monday - Wednesday the first full week of the New Year. The three day fast is fashioned after that which is found in the Book of Esther (4:16). There is also the reading aloud of scripture as was done in the day of Nehemiah (8:1-4). We will read the Bible out loud in 30 minute increments in the main auditorium in Olympia and in the main auditorium in McCleary.

Live it loud.

More on the topic of fasting tomorrow.

Resolution

Happy New Year.

For some, it is the time to make resolutions. Kind of like "the turn" in golf; the ending of a terrible nine holes, and now believing the next nine will be better. It tends to be a reset button for many. I suspect that the gym I belong to will be a bit more crowded this month, then go back to normal as people feel guilty for a monthly fee paid that only reminds them how out of shape they are.

If you are interested in a resolution that can change you, the Bible is what I would recommend. For those who are tech savvy, you might consider a one year Bible reading plan right on your iphone, ipod, blackberry, web-enabled phone or your computer - you can find that plan at youversion.com.

I may not be into resolutions, but I am excited what the months ahead have in store.