Eugene Peterson

Unlike the previous influences I have written about, this one has no direct connection to my life.

Eugene Peterson is a man that I have never met. I think I have only heard him speak one time and that was on a podcast. He is almost 40 years older than I am. He is brilliant. I am, well...not brilliant.

His books, though, have had a profound influence on the way I see people and the way I want to live my life. He was a pastor at the same church for 29 years. His views on pastoral work go back to the foundation of going through life with people. It is not glamorous. It is not easy. But it is the way a pastor should function.

Sometimes it is difficult to discern whether Peterson is a pastor first and then a writer or if it is the other way around. That is not to say that one area is more important to him or that he is better at one than the other. It means that he loves people and helping them see God in life. He does a great job of communicating that love through the written word.

The way that Eugene Peterson has affected me the most is in helping me see this life as a story, God's story. We have our own, personal stories that are a part of the collective story that God is telling throughout history. I see people now and wonder "What is their story?". I am constantly amazed by what people do, what they have been through and what dreams they have tucked away.

Peterson has caused me to see the story of life and to love it. He has shown me that we are called to love people, in spite of their junk, and show them Jesus. He has shown me the importance of prayer and down time as a pastor. His view of pastoral work is grounded in an organic reality of God's work, not in the business of church. He has inspired me to read classic literature and observe what those writers have seen of life.

Eugene Peterson is that guy, for me, that I will try to read everything that he has written. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be "Tell It Slant", which is his latest book and the one I am in the middle of right now. If you are looking to start reading Peterson, pick up "Leap Over A Wall", which is a study on the life of David.

Peace.

Unknown

On our honeymoon, Rachel and I went whitewater rafting. We were in a raft with one other man and his young son. The kid had a hard time sitting still and he nearly took out my new bride's teeth with his paddle at one point. I debated the morality of a pastor baptizing a child by knocking him out of an inflatable raft into a raging river. My practical side prevailed and the boy finished the run down the Nantahala safely in the raft.

Anyway, his father has had a profound impact on my life and I don't even know the man's name. We had a conversation while traveling down the river and he discovered that I was a youth pastor. He was Methodist or Presbyterian or something so we talked a bit around church and God and the like. When we arrived at our destination, I shook his hand, said nice to meet you and fully expected to never see him again. He had already walked out of sight and I had moved on to the next thing when he returned and walked straight to me.

This man, whom I had known for only a couple of hours, said something that has stuck with me to this day. Almost 12 years later I can clearly remember his words.

"Believe God and do what you want to do."

These words have played a part in carrying me halfway across the country to start a church. They continually inspire me to be stretched. This small statement helps me to make God bigger in my everyday life.

Influence can often come from places that we don't expect. Pay attention.

Peace.

3 Boys to Men

Let's be honest. Men are not typically known for having deep relationships. Most of the time, sports, women and alcohol (though not necessarily in that order) can serve as the basis for a long time friendship among guys. We are taught to "man up", don't let anyone in and get through life on the strength we have in our self. Sometimes that works. For about ten minutes.

In thinking about the influences in my life, friends have definitely played a big role. Over the years, from elementary school through to college and beyond, many people have filled that friendship spot, some better than others. Specifically though, there have been three that have stood the test of time.

I met Brett, Joe and Shannon when I was a freshman in high school and we were all clueless, mullet-wearing, collections of rampant hormones. (They may claim they didn't have mullets, but it was the '80's and everyone had a mullet.) Our friendships have weathered the highs and lows that come to any relationship. They have survived the occasional differences over who saw the girl first and who did she look at. Physical distances may have made the conversations a little less regular but, after more than twenty years, the friendships are still standing strong.

These three guys have been the go-to in the clutch people for me for a long time. The late night conversations about God, life and everything else have done as much to shape my thinking as just about anything I have experienced. Whether it be in agreement or disagreement, the foundation stays strong. Regardless of how long it has been since we have all been in the same room at the same time, we pick up right where we left off.

I realize that this kind of friendship is rare and that I am blessed to have had these three men be a part of shaping my life over the years. I am grateful for the roles they have played and I am honored that one is now literally part of my family (brother-in-law--which makes me question his motives for being my friend in the first place!). All that brings me to this place...Thank you my brothers.

Peace.

Obviously

I feel that I need to clarify one thing before I embark on this series of posts on the influences on my life.

My family, like yours I'm sure, has had the greatest influence on my life. Because of the amount of time we spend with those in our immediate family, for better or for worse, they will be among the most profound influencers of just about anyone's life. That is just the way it is. Things that your parents or siblings or grandparents or cousins or any other relative do or say often have the greatest impact.

I understand that and though I don't want to diminish that influence, I don't know if I will write specifically about members of my family. I guess I was looking at it as a given that my family would be at the top of the list.

Just wanted to put that out there so I don't get comments about leaving out some of the most important people in my life. I also didn't want to offend those important people because I left them out. Know that you are at the top, now and always, in such a way that nothing even needs to be written.

Peace.

The Bishop

Phil had left home in the Washington D.C. area in his early teens and traveled around the country from party to party. He knew what it meant to be homeless and that the dumpsters outside of Dunkin’ Donuts always held a good chance for food. He was an alcoholic and, at one point in his life, had been addicted to drugs as well. He worked on riverboats mostly in the Midwest. Just about anywhere you had traveled or were going to visit; Phil had a great story about that place.

At some point, Phil’s life took a drastic turn. He became a follower of Jesus. The drinking and the drugs stopped. He married the love of his life, an equally amazing woman named Dixie. He had three kids who loved their father deeply. He finally settled in a medium sized town in Missouri and eventually became involved in a church I attended. This is where Phil entered my life.

I was working as a youth pastor at the time and Phil came on staff at the church as a janitor. I suppose this is where our friendship really started and began to grow. Phil was as devoted to God as a person could be and as irreverent as anyone I have ever met. He was phenomenally quick-witted and loved any humor involving bodily functions. For a youth Christmas party once, I asked him to be interviewed as Santa’s younger brother, Bear Claus. When asked how Santa got those reindeer to fly, he looked right at me and said “We’re all adults here, aren’t we?”. I yelled that we weren’t because I knew where he was going. He then proceeded to ask a room full of Junior High and High School church kids if the words “threat to castrate” meant anything. I thought one of our leaders was going to have a nervous breakdown on the spot.

Phil could carry on a conversation with a homeless man about the trials of not having a place to live and the next minute, he could be conversing with the president of a bank about the highs and lows of investing. He was a voracious reader. His favorite book was about a snake handling church in Alabama. He loved college basketball and was constantly mystified by his beloved Missouri Tigers. He referred to himself as “The Bishop” because the real power in the church resided in the maintenance department. When he had a personal prayer time, he talked to angels, which was his code for “I fell asleep”.

Aside from all the life and laughter, the most profound thing that Phil brought to those around him was a sense of God’s grace. He was a man who had experienced, and continued to live in, the expansive, unending grace of God. I think it was from this experience that Phil was able to give grace to others. He was so non-judgmental and kind to everyone he met. He was not about the cheap grace that says everyone is ok, but there was a deep sense of gratitude and knowledge that God’s mercies really are new every morning.

My friend, The Bishop, died almost six years ago this spring. He left behind his wife and three kids and innumerable people who loved him. He can still make me laugh out loud when I think of him and now, writing this in a coffee shop, I am fighting tears. I am so grateful that God brought this man into my life to show me in a tangible way what grace looks like. My prayer is that everyone finds someone like the Bishop in their life at some point and that I can be a little like him when I grow up.

Peace.

Influences

If you had a choice, would you rather be a great influence or be greatly influenced?

Like it or not, we are all shaped by what has happened in the past and we pass those shaping forces on to those around us. My family, my co-workers and my friends are all involved in this process of influence, both giving and receiving.

I would like to take a few posts over the next few days and write a bit about the influences that have shaped, and are shaping, my life. They will be in no particular order and will include people, events, books, movies and music.

Feel free to comment on those things that have taken you to where you are today.

Peace.

Inauguration Day

This is a once in a lifetime kind of day. This is the kind of day that, fifty years from now, you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing. It is the kind of day that has the potential to set straight some wrongs from the past and to drastically affect the future of not only our country, but the world.

So as we watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama and drank in the history as it poured out before us, my 4 year old had this to offer:

"Can I pleeeaaase have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

Such is life, isn't it? The grand moment and the reality of everyday inextricably connected. I love it.

Peace.

SNOW!!!

So, yeah, it's gonna snow here. They have not had a "snow event" here since 2003 and everyone is going crazy. It is still about 45 degrees as I write this, and it isn't even raining, but they have canceled school for tomorrow. The county is getting their trucks fitted with plows. The newscasters are giving tips about getting around in the snow. What are we going to do?!!

Did I mention that we MIGHT get two inches of snow?

The problem is that no one knows what to do with it because it so rarely happens here. They are not equipped to deal with any amount of frozen precipitation and so the threat of it shuts life down for a while. Now, it really might snow two inches and people really don't know how to drive in it so there really could be some issues on the roads. The threat alone, though, is enough for all of us to go into hibernation mode.

I am not going to complain. I have an optional work day tomorrow which, tacked on to the MLK Holiday, makes a four day weekend. I would love to wake up and see the ground covered in snow. If it isn't too terrible, maybe we will drive to the beach to see it snow on the ocean.

There is this thing inside me that has gone back to being a kid in school and the weatherman has said that there is a snow storm coming so check in the morning to see about school cancellations. I don't know if there is a worse feeling as a kid than to wake up expecting to see a brand new, shiny blanket of snow and you look out the window and everything is the same dull color of brown that it was the night before. It is almost enough to make you throw up so you still don't have to go to school.

I hope that doesn't happen to me tomorrow.

I will let you know.

Peace.

Write

I have had this thing in the back of my head for years. No, it isn't one of those plugs that allow me to enter the matrix, but that might be cool. I would download the ability to down an entire package of Chips Ahoy cookies daily and not feel the effects... but I digress. I have had this nagging voice in my head that keeps telling me to write. Unfortunately, The Voice doesn't tell me what to write or what to do once it is written.

The one thing that you learn when you think you want to be a writer and you read books about writing and talk to people who might help you become a writer is that they all say the same thing. You need to write. It doesn't matter what you write, it just matters that you write. Write. Anything. Write it. And then when you finish that, write some more. Did I mention that you need to write?

I want to write. I want people to pay me to write. I want to change lives when I write. I want to entertain when I write. I want people to think about what I write. I want to be entertained when I write. I want to write in my cabin in the mountains and inspire people. I want to get a cabin in the mountains.

OK, seriously, the irony of this whole thing is that I spend my time telling kids that they can do anything. I tell them to dream and to pursue that dream. I tell them that it is going to take work, but keep that dream in front of them. I tell them to expect obstacles and to climb over them. I tell them not to quit.

Maybe I should listen to myself sometime.

Peace.

Three Word Sentences

Not much posting. Been crazy busy. Writer's block too. Bad, bad combination.

Three word sentences. Mix things up. Laxative for brain. Will this help? We shall see.

More to come.

I certainly hope.

Peace.

Finding a balance

I have been wrestling with something for quite a while.

I am trying to wrap my head around confidently using the gifts that God has given while walking in humility. It is not that I am so amazing that I cannot stay humble. I am well aware of my shortcomings and the daily events that take place remind me of my need to remain reliant on God. My problem comes on the confidence end of things.

I believe that God has given me certain gifts and that those gifts are to be used. I don't want to think more highly of myself than I ought. Where is the balance?

I look in the Bible and there are men and women that God placed in leadership roles and they excelled in those positions. There are Godly men and women around me that seem completely comfortable in promoting their gifts.

What I want to do is find that balance, every day, between doing what God has laid in front of me to do and knowing that everything that I have comes from Him. I want to be confident to do and say what He would have me do and say.

Humility, to me, is not shrinking from life. Humility is going through life knowing that God holds everything in His hands and, ultimately, He is responsible. To steal a line from Pete Greig in "The Vision", I guess I need to "pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on me".

Peace.

'08 Haiku

This is my end of year post only two days late. That's pretty good for me. I thought about resolutions but I don't really make them. I thought about a month by month review but you don't want to read that much and I can't remember that much. I thought about making stuff up but that's not really fair (or honest). So I went with everyone's favorite form of poetry. Enjoy!

The year 0-0-8
It went by so very fast.
What really happened?

Three kids were busy.
I can’t remember it all;
I do not rest much.

Brady was a champ.
Mt. Olive soccer tourney.
Pickle jar trophy.

Kendall so loves dance.
She was a polichinelle
In the Nutcracker.

Jett is four years old.
He loves most things in his life-
Not the broken arm.

Rach has a business.
She is mom and she home-schools.
Life is quite hectic.

I work with tough kids.
They need someone to love them;
I’m glad to do it.

Beginning a church,
It is difficult to do.
We are trusting God.

That’s a quick review.
What will the New Year bring us?
Only time will tell.

Peace.