How Does Your Garden Grow...

Ok, pay attention, because you won't hear this very often.  I am admitting, in front of God and everybody, that I don't know how to do everything.  There.  I said it.  Damn, that hurt.

I started planning my garden in January of this year.  Every trip to Wal-Mart meant a quick run through the garden center to see if the seed packs were in yet.  I started gathering starting mix in early February, got seeds for my birthday in mid-February, and by the last week of February I was turning dirt (...while it was snowing on me...I'm sure that if the neighbors could have seen me, they would have been laughing.) 

I built raised beds this year, filled them with organic matter and straw just like the magazines said to, and got ready to put out my brassicas (I also found out "brassica" is the fancy word for the cabbage family).  I took a steel rod and drove it into the ground a half inch deep, every 2-3" in a row, so I could put my sweet peas out February 20th, just like the planting guide said to.  I needed the steel rod because the stupid ground is still frozen on February 20th.

As soon as I could, I began to set out tomatoes and squash, beans and peas, cucumbers and peppers, onions, garlic, kohlrabi, and more squash and more peppers and...and...and...

Then I waited.

It kept snowing.  The rain kept coming.  The nights were still frosty.  April came...more snow...more rain...more cold nights.  May...yep, one more snow shower...more rain...more frost...  Finally, the weather started turning around, it began to warm up a little, and I started getting excited.  My garden was finally going to start growing.  But it didn't.  Frustrating it was (In my best Yoda voice). 

Then today, it hit me.  I really don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to gardening.  In fact, I really don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to a lot of stuff.  Then something else hit me...I think I'm finally ok with that. 

Last week, I walked out into my tomato patch and noticed my Roma tomatoes were looking a little sickly.  I thought they were dry, so I watered them.  This morning, I walked back out and noticed my Roma tomatoes were looking a lot sickly.  This time, I asked somebody.  Well, I asked the online experts, and found out that it wasn't because they were dry.  It was because of a fungus named Alternaria.  The online experts said I might be able to save my Romas organically by keeping them clean and misting the leaves with a diluted vinegar solution.  We'll see. 

It's not just tomatoes.  Or corn that's yellow instead of emerald green.  Or sweet potatoes that did absolutely jack and squat.  Or Yukon gold potatoes that gave me a gallon of potatoes instead of the hundred pounds I had planned to store this winter.  It's folks coming to me with problems that most folks only see in their nightmares, and not knowing if I can help them or not.  It's spending a month working on a truck that I still haven't fixed.  It's trying to find some way to balance work, home, self and knowing that none of them are getting what they really need.  But at the end of the day, it's plain and simply the inability to stop and say, "I don't know what I'm doing.  Could you help me?" If you
don't know me, then you don't know how bad I suck at doing that.

One of my professors in seminary told me once, "Find something you enjoy and become an expert at it.  Read everything you can get your hands on about it.  Study it. Learn about it.  Live it."  So I did.  I started collecting gardening magazines and read about how a floating row cover would keep the vine borer moth out of my squash but would still let bees in to pollinate the flowers (It didn't come right out and say vine borer moths were dumber than bees, but it hinted at it).  I learned that no matter how much I may read, or how much I think I may know, at the end of the day, the only people who can really help are the ones who have been there before, and the ones I'm willing to let myself ask for  help. 

It doesn't matter how much more someone else may know, if I can't let myself ask them for help, I'll just keep slamming my head into the wall.  Gardening is a lot of work.  So are relationships.  So are fixing things that are broken.  So is getting back up when everything in you says, "I just want to quit." 

So, how does my garden grow?  Right now it looks a little puny.  If you have any ideas, I'm open to suggestions. Why?  Because I have finally realized that I don't know how to do everything and I'm willing to ask for help. 
      

My Name is Jamie... (July Newsletter Article from Grace Church LaCenter)

MY NAME IS JAMIE… 

"My name is Jamie; I'm a firm believer in Jesus Christ, and I struggle with being a control freak, OCD tendencies, and major trust issues."

The first time I stood up front and said that, I admit, I felt like an idiot.  When I thought about all of the people who had decided to come that night, and when I thought about the real problems they were dealing with, I felt almost silly for saying that I was at Celebrate Recovery because I don't know how to delegate, because I straighten up every throw rug I walk across, and because I basically refuse to let people get too close.

When I started thinking about what to reflect on in this article, five words kept coming to mind.  Maybe God was speaking, and this time I listened, but over and over again I heard, "hurts…habits…and hang ups."  So, this month, I would like to take a few minutes and talk about one arm of Grace's ministry and mission: Celebrate Recovery. 

When people hear those two words, Celebrate Recovery, most folks think only of alcohol or drug addiction.  While it's true that Celebrate Recovery helps those who struggle with addictions, it's not only for those with addictions. 

Each week Celebrate Recovery helps folks all across the nation who are dealing with addictions; divorce; job loss; eating disorders; co-dependency; neglect; abandonment; anger issues; loss of a parent, spouse, or child; terminal illnesses; feelings of being a victim; guilt; unforgiveness; depression, hopelessness; low self-esteem; suicidal thoughts; and the list goes on and on. 

The program itself is based on several things, one being the Alcoholics Anonymous format, which is a basic twelve step recovery program, but also on the Sermon on the Mount.  The 8 principals are taken from the beatitudes.  For the founders of Celebrate Recovery, claiming a higher power wasn’t enough, and as a result we don't hide the fact that our higher power is Christ.

Celebrate Recovery was born at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California.  It started with just 43 people nearly 20 years ago, and since then, 8500 people have found healing from their hurts, habits, and hang ups through the ministry of Celebrate Recovery.  It is now Saddleback Church's largest outreach ministry. 

I say that to say this: times are changing and in many places the church isn't.  It's time that churches all across our connection remember who we have been sent to serve.  What I love about Celebrate Recovery is that the folks we minister with on Thursday night are not polished and perfect.  They are literally diamonds in the rough, just waiting for someone to give them the chance to shine as the gems God intended them to be.

You may be thinking, "Jamie, that sounds nice, but that kind of stuff is for someone else.  Not for me."  To which I'd reply, "We're all a little messed up.  It's just a matter of realizing how messed up we are, and are we willing to admit it yet." 

So, if you'd like to see God at work, changing lives, slip out here Thursday nights at 7:00 and hear Christ say to you, "My grace is enough."

Peace,

Jamie

SAY WHAT??!!

I know...I know...


It has been months since I threw anything through the city gate.  Let's just say that life has happened, things got a little crazy, I spent some time wandering in the wilderness, and just let this slide.  I enjoy writing, really.  In fact, that's what I'm doing all week.  I hooked to my camper...grabbed my laptop, printer, journals, and some commentaries...and pulled my mobile office to the lake for some intense researching and writing...mixed in with a little fishing and campfire sitting.  (Hey, if you're going to work hard, you have to play hard....Wayne Cordeiro said so.)

I'm working on a series for this summer using 80's pop music as a jumping off point.  At Grace Church LaCenter we'll be listening to "The Man in the Mirror," "Working for the Weekend," I Want to Know What Love is," "I'll stand by you," "Time after Time," "Don't Stop Believing," and who knows what else...then we'll tie those themes with some pretty powerful scriptures and use both of them to see how the Word of God can change our own lives.  Wesley would be proud.  Sure, they're not bar tunes, like many of our favorite old hymns are, but I think he would approve of using 80's pop music as a tool to preach the gospel. 

Now, you may be saying...or you may not..."Jamie, that's nice, but hardly seems reason enough to start boring me with these blog posts again."   True, and I would agree.  But something hit me while I was researching the first text in the series for this summer...

...There are a lot of really bad sermons being preached every week.

 Not that the ones stumbling out my mouth are earth changing, but my gosh, some of these are just really bad.  You may also be asking, or maybe not, "Why are you reading other sermons if you're supposed to be bringing a word from God every week?"  Well, I heard it said that most preachers may milk a lot of cows but we churn our own butter.  I start with scripture, then look at some commentaries, then at some theological journals, and finally, I'll read a few sermons on the text to see what other folks are saying about it...and in doing so this week, I think I have discovered yet another reason why the Church is in decline.  Some of these sermons just stink. 

It's one thing to ask folks to sit still for 20 or 25 minutes and listen to me talk about what we're doing, right, wrong, or not at all on a good day...with appropriate prep work...with good delivery...with meaningful illustrations...society is just not geared that way anymore.  But then to ask folks to sit still for 25-30 minutes while they are beaten up by some preacher with a chip on his/her shoulder, screaming, yelling, pounding the podium...I just don't see how that's helpful.  "Gee, pastor, great sermon.  I feel soooo much better now. (Insert sarcastic tone)"

So, my fellow homileticians, guard your words as you stand before your people.  We represent the God who called us.  Sure, sometimes correction is needed, and when it is, it should be done with love and grace.  Now this is just one man's observation...but by the time our people get to us, many of them have been kicked in the face for 6 days since we saw them last...and the last thing they need is to be yelled at by the one they look to as their spiritual guide.

Softening the gospel?  I guess it could be seen that way by those who prefer to scream and yell at their people...or it could be that I have chosen to follow a different style...to love God by loving those God has given me to care for, to lead, to protect, and to mold.  When correction is needed, I am not afraid of it...either giving or receiving...but I choose to do that in the privacy of my office and not from the front of the worship space. While the goal of any of the messages I bring is not to just make my folks feel better about themselves, though I could fill up a stadium doing that, I do choose to preach grace, and then offer a challenge to live into that grace filled life by following the examples of the one who called us to follow him.

So, back to work now.  I think I'll look at some journal articles and lay off of reading other sermons for a while. 

        

Voice of Reason...

Today's Life Journal readings are Malachi 3, Malachi 4, Psalm 148, and Acts 5. 

Scripture: Acts 5:38-39 (NIV)
"Therefore, in the present case, I advise you: Leave these men alone!  Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

Observation:
Peter and John are at it again.  They got out of prison, went right back to doing what they were doing, were caught again, and brought back in front of the Sanhedrin.  This time, the Sanhedrin wanted to put them to death, but Gamaliel was the voice of reason in the room and talked them out of it.

Application:
If I had a dollar for every time something similar had happened in a church board meeting...well, I'd have several dollars.  One would think, that among disciples, there would be a lower propensity for folks to act solely out of emotion or some kind of knee-jerk reaction.   Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

I have been witness to church board meetings that I had to shut down before they came to blows, and can totally understand the danger Peter and John were in during this interrogation by the ruling council.  I would like to think they were just that passionate about maintaining the integrity of their faith, but more than likely there was something else going on.

Every church needs to have at least one Gamaliel, and it doesn't need to be the pastor.  There should be someone who can step back, and with a level head and cool emotions, look at the big picture.  Without that presence in church meetings, things can go bad in a hurry.  In fact, that is the first person I start looking for when I arrive at a new appointment.  It takes a few meetings to begin to see who it is, but once I find my Gamaliel in the church, I put them to work.     

If you want a better pastor and/or a better church, become the Gamaliel among your ranks.  If you can be the calming presence in a heated discussion, you will be a bigger help to your pastor, to your church, and to the kingdom than you can ever imagine.

Prayer:
O God of our worship and our business meetings, thank you for those folks who can step back and see you at work through a wider lens.  When our discussions become heated, remind us that passion is a good thing, but that we are also flying the same flag.  Keep our thoughts, our words, and our deeds holy as we work together to build your church.  Amen.

Take Authority...

The Life Journal Readings for today are Nehemiah 13, Malachi 1, Malachi 2, and Acts 4.

Scripture: Acts 4:19-20 (NIV)
"But Peter and John replied, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'"

Observation:
Peter and John have been called in front of the Sanhedrin, basically the church board, and told to stop doing what they were doing because it was against their laws.  The Sanhedrin didn't know what to do with them, because, even though Peter and John were going against their laws, what they were doing was working.

Application:
As I stood up, after kneeling in front of them, and after they laid hands on me, I was given this charge: "Take authority as an elder in the Church to preach the Word of God, and to administer the Holy Sacraments."  It was a huge moment for me, and one that I had been working toward for nearly 12 years. 

As I think about Peter and John, and as I reflect on my own ministry, I think about the times that I have been told that I needed to be or do something different than I was because who or what I was didn't line up with the image folks had of who or what they thought I should be.

The image I have in my mind of the scene described in Acts 4 is of a group of long bearded old men in fancy robes, who have always had their way in the Church, scratching their heads and trying to figure out where they lost control of this new generation, because these two yahoos standing in front of them are actually getting things done. 

It makes me chuckle. 

It also makes me a little sad.

Right now, at 41 years old, 13 years into my ministry, I'm still one of those yahoos, and I give God thanks for that.  Some folks still look at me, and the way I do what I do, and scratch their heads thinking, "Where did we lose control?"

I know, however, that there is always the risk that I could, at some point, try to take ownership of God's Church because I have been trained, and I have been ordained, and I have the experience, and yada, yada, yada. 

God forgive me if I ever get to the place where I think my way is the only way.  I know that there will be countless other yahoos, just like me, who will have a bishop look them in the eyes someday, hand them a bible, and say, "Take authority as an Elder in the Church to preach the Word of God, and to administer the Holy Sacraments."  And that, whether I understand their ways or not, they will have the gifts and graces to do greater things for the kingdom.

Prayer:
O God, who calls and strengthens us, remind me of the gifts for ministry that you have given all of us, and when I see someone who is doing something different than I, teach me to celebrate with them the fact that they may be reaching people that I cannot.  Amen.


 

Let's Get Busy...

The Life Journal readings for today are Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah 2, Psalm 133, and Luke 22

Scripture: Nehemiah 2:18 (NIV)
"They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work."

Observation:
Nehemiah has asked the king for permission to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall.  As he surveys the damage, and let's a few folks in on his plans, they take the lead and begin doing the work Nehemiah told them needed to be done.

Application:
This coming week I will celebrate my 13th anniversary in the ministry.  Over the past 13 years, I have realized that there are basically three types of people in the church: The first group is made up of the folk who show up pretty regular for worship and that's about it; They're usually quiet...they are there for any number of reasons...but Sunday morning is about all they need. 

The second group is made up of the complainers...They also are there most weeks...faithfully...and will do most anything that's asked of them... but nothing is ever quite right and it's always someone else's fault. 

Then there's the third group: This group shows up practically every Sunday as well...and sometimes Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday.  These are the folks who see that something needs to be done...and do it.

I'm thankful for all three types of folk...honestly...and each for different reasons.  As a modern day Nehemiah, I sometimes wonder how everything will get done.  Then out of the blue someone will come to me and say, "What do you need me to do?"    That's when I stop, take a breath, forget about the grumbling and complaining I hear on occasion, look around, and say to myself, "Ok, let's get busy."

Prayer:
God who calls all of us, show me this day the city wall that you would have me work on.  As I look around and begin to believe the lie that there is just too much to do, remind me once again that none of us go at our work under our own strength.  Amen. 

But It's Raining...

Today's Life Journal readings are Ezra 9, Ezra 10, Psalm 131, and Luke 21.

Scripture: Ezra 10:9 (NIV)
"Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain."

Observation:
The people of Israel had evidently become sorry because some folks had gotten upset about the fact that the men of Israel had begun to intermarry with the peoples they had been sent to live among during the exile. 

Application:
It's really kind of funny when you think about it, at least it is to me.  There they were, standing accused of something so vile as marrying someone that wasn't good enough...but what really had them tore up was the rain. 

I mean, sure, I can see their point, I guess.  The people of Israel had been conquered and carried off into exile.  While they were there, they tried to be faithful to the God who created them.  The people they were living among worshipped idols and engaged in other activities that the Israelites thought were sinful.  Some of their men had taken wives from among those folks, and the Israelites were worried about it.  I get that...but...

...but it's just like some church folk to get tore up about the other.  So it's raining...ok.  So they get a little wet...in the big scheme of things it's really not a big deal.  So the music's a little different...so his shirt tail isn't tucked in...so the building doesn't look like a church...

At the end of the day, if disciples are being made, do those things really matter?

Prayer:
O God of the big picture, teach me to see as you see.  Remind me when I get tripped up in the details that being faithful in my call to make disciples is what's important and that, in most cases, the end really does justify the means.  Amen.