Caffeinated Joe

Um, A New Blog

Thanks for noticing my lack of blogging of late. For some, I know have worn your patience. As Spring has sprung, there have been many projects keeping my time late into the night. I have been busy remolding a new room at church, working on a stone patio and this past week I have been Mr. Mom since my wife Connie has been in TX.

Speaking of patience, one can add many infinite qualities to God, (faithful, true, holy) but one cannot state that God is infinitely patient. If God was infinitely patient he would never send his son back to earth. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus is coming back (2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:14) and the reason for his delay is waiting for those to repent (2 Peter 3:9). If he was infinitely patient, then Jesus work on the cross would never experience the fulness of salvation as promised.

Yet, Paul's lifestory is worthy of mention. In 1 Timothy 1:16, he states, "But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners." The phrase "great patience" literally means, "all or every patience." I take this to mean that God used all the patience available upon Paul. Meaning, if there was 100 square feet of patience, then God used all 100 square feet of it to wait for Paul to repent of his sin.

Certainly God has more patience than the sum of mankind's. But it is good news that he will bring justice and that sin will reign no more. Yet, I am thankful for his delay for a sinner like me because I may have never have tasted his mercy. His patience is great and certianly it is much more than those who have complained about my lack of blogging.

On the Back Burner

Some theological thoughts simmering in the back of my head. . .

I will always do what I believe, but I will not always do what I say I believe.

If I want to know what I believe, then I need to look at what I do.

If I want to know if I believe in God, then I need to compare my behavior with God's.

The gap between what I say I believe and what I actually do, should be scrutinized, bathed in prayer for God's mercy and in time, the gap should progressively become less.

Churches need of a regular inventory of their behavior, in addition to a statement of what they believe.

My Preaching Vigil

I had a long week and did not get to work on my talk until Saturday night. I was pulling an all nighter. This does not happen very much, but there are occasions. Below are the recorded minutes with my thoughts at the time. I did this to keep awake.

11:41PM
Jesus. Help me. I am tired. Lead me. Speak to me.

12:45AM
I have my headphones on. Listening to the Vertigo Tour. Sing a new song. Psalm 40. I actually write a talk better when my headphones are on. You may be asking me, "Well Joe, how did the Apostle Peter ever write a talk since he did not have headphones?" And I would say, "I don't know. But if could, he would."

1:36AM
Headphones are still on. I just finished 32 ounces of coffee. You may be asking, "Well Joe, Peter did not have any coffee while preparing for a talk." I would reply, "Peter would take the coffee over headphones any day."

2:28AM
At this point, I am wondering if the community of Blue Sky would take half of a sermon. I mean, what if I just said, "Sorry folks that is all. I got tired. Long week. Lots to do. This is all I have to give. Would this be sufficient? It is like giving half of a meal. Call the sermon a diet. Maybe I will even throw in in a junket prize like they do in a Happy Meal. I am not sure what I meant by that last statement. But hey, it is late. And I am not sure what kind of a talk the folks in the blue sky community are going to get. I mean, the later I stay up, the more sarcastic I get.

4:02AM
Finishing power point and notes. I am "one upping" Peter with this move.

4:27AM
night night.

Blessing and Cost

I am meditating in Genesis and it is a very weird book. Certainly the themes of descendants, land, multiple wives, and circumcision as a spiritual sign are all foreign to me as one living in Western Civilization in the 21st century. But the themes of struggle, promise, faith and blessing still hold true.

The story of Jacob wrestling the angel in Genesis 32 has always intrigued me. I have more questions than the story answers: Who was this person, an angel or God? Why did the angel/man not prevail? Why the injury to the thigh? I have some answers, but these answers lead to more questions.

What is evident is that Jacob had changed. He is given a new name and this meant a new identity, a new destination in life. He was no longer the "heel grabber" or "deceiver," but now known to be a symbol that "God contends or fights" which is what the word "Israel" means. Adding to this, Jacob now limps which shows vulnerability. His erratic walk was a constant reminder to him and to all that he is not self sufficient. As a result, Jacob the schemer needed to experience the God who will fight for him.

I gather that the blessing of God can come at a great cost. I am curious how this story holds true today. What about you? What blessings in life have come at a great cost?

What is an Emergent Church?

I have been asked what is an Emergent church? Although I have never described Blue Sky as an Emergent Church, there are certain values we passionately share. Theologian, Scot McKnight, has a solid article called, "Future or Fad," which he explains Emergent's focus, strengths and weaknesses. You will see this featured article listed in the February 2006 category. Enjoy!

The Voice of the Spoken Groove

The Spoken Groove duo landed at Blue Sky Church on Thursday night along with the guest band, "Blind Affinity" led by Nate Grossman. Nate is from our community. Peter and Paul brought their acoustic, slamming poetry and blew everyone away. No one knew of them, but they exceeded all expectations. Their message banged our ear drums and then pierced our hearts.

Their show confirmed a thought I have had for a long time: The pulpit in today's culture is not the men and women in cloth, but those who are musicians and artists. The evangelistic crusades of Billy Graham and Billy Sunday are now given way to those who write songs and play instruments which take our hearts to another place. The Spoken Groove did not have an alter call, but rather their work spoke about the harsh issues of life: poverty, cheap sex, bondage, but they also spoke about renewal, hope and redemption. I am about to give a message later this month about what the Bible says about sex. But in four minutes, Peter said more and spoke more, than I could in 40 minutes. He inspired me.

Which leads me to this other thought. Those artists and musicians who speak for God, need to also have the same character standards as the preacher who speaks every Sunday. I mean every artist, whether the content of their work directly speaks about God, or life in general.

When I met Peter and Paul for lunch, I got a sense these guys walk with God. They listen to him, struggle with him and hope in him. I saw even more of their life before and after the show. They were running around chasing my kids. Now if you are an artist stuck on yourself thinking that you are God's greatest gift, you really do not care for kids. Not these guys. Even in their rehearsal, they did a song just for my kids.

Blue Sky will be a place where artists and muscians emanate. But just because you have a mic, does not mean that God will give you a voice. Your voice will come by how you live your life. To the Spoken Groove . . . well done.

The Hologram Pastor

NOTE: the following is just silliness mixed with a bit of satire. Well, probably more satire than silliness. Matt Troncoso and I were talking about this over coffee one day.

What about the hologram pastor? Think about it. Hologram Pastor (HP) looks like the real deal. Tech man puts in the cd and bam! On stage, the teacher appears. He talks the same, makes the same gestures and even can shed the tear. Best of all, HP can be used in a variety of settings at the same time.

A local church called "church.com" was the first to use him. He was a hit. The church grew as it used a simutaneous broadcast in local school gymnasiums and other large congregated spaces. Cindy was bit sad though when she had a question for HP but he seemed to leave the service early.

Church.com loved the idea so much they started to market him. In fact, the delux addition allowed you to put HP in your car and see the pastor pop up on the dashboard. You can even choose the color of his suit!

Seminaries quickly paid for this idea. To get the best preaching at the punch of a button was too good to pass up. The quality of training men and women never seemed better. Yet, enrollment was down because fewer folks discovered they did not have the gift of teaching.

One sunday, church.com had a problem. HP had a glitch. While reading John 1:14, he was stuck reading over and over again.

Drunk at Church

I can count on my hand all of the drunks who have entered a worship service. I remember one gentlemen who shouted many "Amens" during my talk. He really shouted them too. He wanted the whole church to affirm God's word. I know these kind of folks can disrupt a service, but one must admit that it is refreshing that someone in this kind of condition harkens the door of a church. I mean, if they cannot get help in a church, then I would rather shut tight the doors.

Yet, all of the drunks have come at a night service, except this last Sunday morning. He entered late and with tipsiness, walked up to the front. He sat right next to worship leader's wife. He was overly friendly and from a distance, one would say that he was flirting with her. He put his arm around her shoulders, and even gave a kiss on her hand. Nick, who was in his first song became squeamish and turned red. (I mean, it is hard to lift up holy hands when you want to punch someone). I am not sure what I would have done. He handled it well. As the drunk continued, I quickly got an usher to sit between them. He moved to another area and continued to move throughout the service.

I was teaching on our value of compassion. I told everyone that this is less of a talk and more of a 40 minute prayer. My point is that we are called to give voice to those who have no voice. The drunk at this time was in the middle of the community. No "amens" came out of him; he only raised his hand, waving it like a flag. I did not know what to do, but only to avoid him. So I focused on the folks to the right and left of me. I just could not look at him in the middle.

In the middle of my talk, Terry came up to the drunk and invited a conversation. They ended up leaving for breakfast. Terry bought. The drunk ( I really do not know his name) asked if the church was serious about this compassion issue. I really do think there are many voices like him asking the same question. Does Blue Sky really know the Lord? Again, it is my prayer.

"He made sure that justice and help were given to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” asks the LORD. Jeremiah 22:16

Promise and Pruning

I have been working on a theory, or perhaps this theory has been working on me. I have noticed in my life that whenever God gives me vision or promise, a time of refining or pruning is sure to follow. What I mean by vision or promise is that God communicates what he wants to do through you. Starting Blue Sky Church from our living room was the beginning of such a promise. My wife and I knew that God would birth a new work in Loveland, Colorado. No doubt God has held true to his promise as I look back on these three years.

Yet, the Scriptures say,"knowledge puffs up" (1 Cor. 8:1). Knowing what God is going to do produces an arrogance (okay, my experience). I think it is human nature. And so each year I plan and plod knowing God wants to build his church. I would set out goals and then project what I think God will do. Again, this is based upon his promise to build his church. Yet, what slowly happened in my heart is that I became presumptuous, and thus I made assumptions about what He would do or how He would provide. This third year was certainly the hardest because God refined me. I added extra alloys and metals to his golden promise and I therefore could not see nor hear God. A scary place to be.

But I do not think I am the only one. I am comforted by what I read in the Bible. Jesus promises to Peter that he wants to build his church upon him (Matthew 16:18) What a promise! Yet, you know the story. Jesus allows Satan to sift him like wheat (Luke 22:31). In other words, Jesus wanted get rid of all the impurities so that he can do this work through him. Suffering and faith become a catalyst for Peter, but the promise soon followed.

I really do not know what to expect this year. I am in a more humble position and my heart is listening with greater clarity. I do know with confidence that whomever God prunes, a greater fruitfulness will follow. But I am quick not to try to forsee what this will look like. With a quiet heart, my hands are free to serve.

Hmmmm

Right now I am sitting at the Book End Coffehouse in Boulder. I forgot my wallet and the friend I was supposed to meet for lunch just told me he is in Breckenridge. Hmmmm. The good news is that my iPod has a good battery charge.