The Power of One Cup (or conversation)

So there has been a lot of research going into finding out what is good and/or bad for you. For years people have been told that many things in moderation can be very helpful for you. They have looked at red wine, dark chocolate and others but now great interest in being shown to coffee. While coffee is a huge business and so many consume it in large amounts daily, science (and coffee companies) wanted to see what good a cup of coffee can do for you. It turns out that the amount I drink exceeds their recommendations for purely healthful benefits. But while I enjoy coffee to its fullest it is interesting to think about how a single cup may be so important that it can change your health or even your life. And what God has been showing me lately is that it is not only single cups of coffee that are helpful and life changing, it is also single conversations with individuals that seem to have the same helpful results. When we engage one another in conversation, it can be lighthearted and fun or serious and challenging. But in those moments we find connection with another human being and truth is able to be shared or a challenge or invitation to be offered. I have seen this time and time again in working with students that what is huge for them is really knowing we want them to be a part. We want to hear their story and seek to share life with them so that God might connect them to His great story. Whether inviting someone new to join our leadership team or asking a student that attends regularly but doesn't really "plug in" to key events, it is amazing how following the leadership of the Holy Spirit in those small ways can be life giving and encouraging. The benefit is for both the one initiating and the one responding and that is one of the greatest mysteries of how God uses simple, broken vessels to display His worth and glory. He is usually working both in and through us at the same time. And it is often the most "normal" or mundane events and activities that point best to His greatness when He works through them, like conversation. So I encourage to take some initiative and have a conversation that matters. Get to heart stuff and laugh and cry or encourage or whatever. But don't settle for just the surface conversation at least once today. We never know what that one conversation might mean for us or them.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

Caffeine Motivation

As much coffee as I drink, I have been thinking lately that there are days when I consume too much. Most of you who know me understand that can be a genuine concern. It may not be the best evaluation tool to monitor how "shaky" I feel. I have learned that while I enjoy the effects of the caffeine, coffee is much more about that. I enjoy the warmth and flavor. But many days I can find myself thinking, I "need" some coffee! What I mean is that I need some caffeine. This has made me really think about what I truly need.
Do I need facebook or twitter? How many friends do I need? How much food do I need each day? each meal? There are so many things that our brokenness clings to as needs. In the second chapter of Jeremiah, verses 11-13, we see a great word picture of confusing what you want and what you need.

11 Has a nation changed its gods,
    even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
    for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
    the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.
There are two key things that are amazing and convicting to me in this passage. One is the way God views this false understanding. He calls all creation to be shocked because this is so evil. God calls this evil! Which means...it's evil! The more I read the Bible the more I see this idea of satisfaction in God. He is meant to satisfy our deepest needs and fill our greatest longings. What are those? To be loved by someone greater than ourselves; to be forgiven completely; to be known, no secrets, and to still be cherished and pursued and  embraced forever. This is what we get with Jesus in the here and now and for all time. The second thing that is amazing is that here we see that in God we are offered a fountain of living waters and we settle for a broken tank that can't hold even dirty water. When Jesus talks to the woman at the well in John 4, he tells her that the only water that will truly satisfy her soul is from him. Yet she is looking for it in relationships and pleasure. How quickly do we forsake the living waters for broken cisterns.
While it all seems amazing that anyone could goof this up, we all do. It is awful and foolish and life-sucking, but it seems to be our natural inclination. What we need is the Spirit of God to do his work and make much of Jesus to us. This is one of the key reasons God gives us the Holy Spirit: to glorify Jesus. And we need this work to remind us that he is what we truly need. May that be the gift that God gives us this very moment and each day.
So as you enjoy the good things in life, remember what you really need and be super thankful for all the rest. Even when it feels like you need more coffee.
Grace and peace

Beauty and Rest

These are two things that are often lacking in our lives. As I am waiting on the coffee to brew pre 6 a.m. I can hear one of my little girls jump out of bed and running through our upstairs. For me, time to read and think and drink coffee in silence or at least quiet is very restful and beautiful. Perhaps I think of those coffee times as more beautiful when they are quiet. I am starting to learn that the quiet is great. But the little feet running downstairs is greater. There will always be a sense of joy from being still and just knowing God is sovereign. But there is great joy in my daughter pretending to read and drink coffee with me. I am always looking for a more restful state or something that just seems simpler. There seems to be a deep call to enjoy the grace of the  moment, no matter the moment. I often think that in these moments God has forgotten how important my time with Him is. We all have times when we think we know what we need. We are tired, empty or soul sick. We think we need a vacation or at bare minimum a sleep in day. Maybe what we all need is the wisdom to see the gift of the moment. The beauty of simple conversation with a 2 year old. The fostering of a good morning ritual for my children. Many of these perspective shifts don't happen because we just start thinking them. They take a grace anvil to waken us up to the presence of God in our own homes and lives. We live life in the mundane and God is very present in our lives. I pray that I will see Him at work in my own heart and my own home. I pray that you will see it more clearly as well.

Grace and peace

The same old thing

So the other day it was a particularly crisp fall morning. What was unusual that morning was that I didn't have somewhere to be immediately. I didn't have tasks to accomplish right then nor did I have small children fighting for my attention or each other's toys. What struck me in that moment was a great grace to me in my estimation. I was drinking a cup of coffee just like I do several times a day every day. What was unusual about this cup was not where it came from, its strength or freshness. What was different was my enjoyment. As I was drinking slow sip after slow sip, I kept thinking, "man this tastes good." I wasn't thinking about getting up and getting going. I wasn't thinking about how late I stayed up or how early and dark these fall mornings come. I was just enjoying the taste and warmth of the coffee. It was in that moment that I realized the danger of routine. I don't mean just driving the same way to work every day but that might need a little changing every now and then as well. I mean how life just keeps rolling on and I start to take things for granted. Or I do things or handle things so often and become so familiar with them that beauty and wonder are excused from the conversation. God really impressed upon me the freshness of the Gospel. That while I teach and challenge myself and others so much of the time with how important it is and how much Jesus loves me and you, it was easy to miss enjoying those truths. It was easy to miss enjoying Jesus. And in truth I remembered that this is what I was made for. Not just superficially skating through life attempting to avoid as many pitfalls as possible. No I was made to enjoy God and all that He gives me. I was made to marvel at the simple beauty of the Gospel and the greatness of Christ. Life can make coffee, relationships with spouses or friends and even our relationship with God just another thing we do. As God grants you the opportunity, take time to enjoy Him today. Remember that all your sin has been paid for and you have full access to the presence of God. I know that life and busyness will encroach again but I am encouraged that God will be faithful to renew my understanding and enjoyment of Him again.
Grace and peace

Coffee Diversity

As we enter coffee shops it is often times overwhelming the array of products, brewed coffee and espresso choices. In the midst of such diverse offerings, there is a commonality that is present. The dress of baristas, the general styling and the overarching purpose are shared as integral to their commitment to and valuing of the mission of the establishment. What is joyful tabout going to get some coffee and hear world music or pop or whatever while sharing some of the same basics that other patrons are enjoying as well. When I go to a shop I don't always love the music, or the decor but it's essential purpose is why I am there anyway-namely for good coffee. In this evaluation I find great analogy to the church of Jesus Christ. It is meant to have all sorts of room for different music styles, decorations and people. What is meant to be unifying are the key structures and the purposes for which the church exists: namely glorifying God in Christ and leading people to find the joy of God in His supremacy. The Gospel itself is what binds church members together and gives them shared purpose and common ground for deep joy. It is not sports team affinity or time of meeting or style of dress that gives unity. For if it is looked to for that it deeply disappoints by its shallow appointment. Diversity is great in a coffee shop both with what you are consuming  and who is consuming it. In a church that same diversity is beautiful when worship of God is enjoyed while observing baptism, the Lord's Supper, the preached Word and singing. It is also beautiful when those worshipping are from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and ages. The styles and occurrences aren't nearly as important as the singular heart posture that is brought to Worship. In this diversity we find a deep commonality as the blood bought children of God through Jesus Christ.

New books and music

After attending the Sovereign Grace conference: Plant! about 10 days ago I was given (and purchased) several new amazing books. I have also purchased four new albums that I really enjoy. I think of how I love to read and and listen to music in a coffee shop.  A lot of times the music is random but interesting. The newness of it is definitely inviting. Sometimes what is truly awesome about those experiences is that it changes so much that even if it's awful you know it won't last long. Trying new things, within reason and orthodoxy, is helpful to the soul. Jen and I were discussing the other day how pickyness can be very unhelpful besides deeply annoying. Whether it's food, music, books or friendship there is always something fun to the new. But I am often thinking of how I need to be careful and not to start valuing the new over what I already love. I need both not one or the other. I need ancient truth and fresh ways to walk in and share it. I need an ancient God who is an ever present help. As I work through these new books and enjoy the new music I hope that you will take a chance on something new along these lines. There is so much amazing music that says so much about who God is and what He has done in and through Jesus without sacrificing musical quality. There are really old books that would be new finds for most of us that teach us great truth.
The music: Aftermath-Hillsong United
                 Here for You-Passion
                 Awaken the Dawn-the Getty's
                 Risen-Sovereign Grace

The books (some of them): The Church Planter-Patrick
                                          Generous Justice-Keller
                                          Delighting in the Trinity-Chester
                                          Reverberation-Leeman
                                         Church Planting is for Wimps-McKinley

Let me know what you think of them if you check any of them out.
Grace and peace

Community Coffee

Coffee shops are very appealing places. There is tons of marketing research that goes into how many coffee brokers enhance the environment to appeal to a wide range of people. Marketers are always looking for a connective thread in their research that goes beyond products or furniture. Starbucks wanted their shops to be a place that if people weren't at home or work/school this was where they would be. They call it the third place. There are bulletin boards and people can post all about lost dogs and upcoming events. This gives(along with the warm colors and comfy chairs and cool music) another layer to the warming invitation that they intend. Now despite all that researchers have come up with, there is a connective thread to the human condition. There are many actually but one of the key ones is the desire for relationship. This can be many or this can be few but people are built with a desire for and even more importantly, a need for relationships. Life is far too difficult to walk it out on your own. There have been times and seasons that we have been forced to carry on for a while without much or maybe any help. But we have longed for friendship and conversations that might ease the burden or be of some help. Many of us have sought the solace and comfort of community and relationship in coffee shops. But what a coffee shop offers is the facade of community. You can sit close to people and listen to music (intimate), eat food(intimate) and talk about your preferences or things that you support (intimate). All these can be done without entering the messy world of real relationships. What is so sad is that coffee is a fine beverage when enjoyed alone. But to sit and sip and have some conversation and laughter is truly one of life's greatest gifts. Just as coffee is intended to stimulate the brain and get a person thinking and talking, so the Gospel is to set us towards thinking and talking about Jesus. In community we can discuss our struggles and the pray for each other and be a resource of God's grace. These are true gifts that we need in the church. But they cost us so we hang out in the same places but never talk about anything that matters. We do all of these intimate things in church but yet don't really love and serve one another. I genuinely hope that churches can understand how important community is and move from a coffee shop model to a Biblical one.