Live Brave

Like a 2-Year-Old Making Pizza

I spent some time over my parent's house this weekend to kind of get away from the stress of everyday life and recenter my head. As God always does in moments we are not really ready for, He spoke to me pretty clearly.

My Dad has a WORLD FAMOUS homemade pizza. He doesn't really like to talk about his ingredients, but he tells anybody willing to learn his techniques. No matter how old or inexperienced. A lot like Gusteau says in the movie Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook."

So here is my 2-year-old daughter, Roary, making pizza.

 

 

Now, I don't let Roary anywhere near the food when I cook. I don't even let my wife near it! I love to cook, but I am a control freak. But God spoke to me here as I watched and taped Roary's progress.

He was whispering to me that I need to allow other people to do things when they are hungry to learn and serve.

Far too often in church (and religion - that foul word) we tell the people who first meet Christ that they need to take a class to get baptized, a class to become a member, a class to become a disciple, a class to know how to worship, a class to learn how to serve, then direct them to classes and books that will teach them how to do the specific thing God has called them to do! AND WE WONDER WHY WE HAVE SO MANY CHRISTIANS WHO JUST WANT TO TEACH AND LEARN BUT NOT ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING!!!

When these people are HUNGRY and ON FIRE, we tell them to settle down. When they want to tell people about Jesus, we tell them they need experience first. When they finally get into a volunteer position, we give them meeting upon meeting. When they are PUMPED about God's Word, we tell them that will go away soon enough.

NO!

Jesus put His disciples right to work (Luke 10:1-23). He told them that they would do even greater things on earth than He (John 14:12). He told them to go, baptize, teach, and repeat (Matthew 28:18-20). Not to stop on teach. Not to hold people back.

We are supposed to feed the zeal of a person who has found Jesus, not squelch it! There is so much work to be done, how did we get caught up in just forming study groups that cater to what we already know? We then sit in these groups, hear again what we were called to do, and ask each other, "Well what does that mean to you?" IT MEANS GO TELL SOMEONE ABOUT JESUS AND HOW HE SAVED OUR LIVES!

I heard it loud and clear. I need to stop being so insecure and idiotic to think that I am the only one who can pull things off for God's Kingdom. I need to let people do ministry and make mistakes - or succeed way better than I ever could! I need to be more like my Dad and let the younger ones make a pizza!

If a 2-year-old can make pizza (really GOOD pizza too - I had like 6 slices), then a new believer can easily do the things God has called them to do. We just need to be good coaches, and get out of the way!

Lenny's Testimony

I had the extreme honor of attending my buddy Lenny's testimony at Church at the Movies in Mastic this past Sunday. It is amazing to see growth right before your eyes. This man impresses me every time we talk, and his class and respect are only outdone by his humility.

Lenny and I have done a lot together in the short time we've been friends. We've played a show, been on a road trip, hiked a mountain, drank a few beers, camped, shot guns, played video games, watched movies and/or sports... you name it - the guy is full of fun! He has not been a believer in Christ for too long, but his testimony is powerful and worth listening to. I LOVE SEEING THIS STUFF HAPPEN!

Here is the video I shot on my crappy camera, unedited.

Praise Jesus.

 

Waiting Tables - Special Guest Blogger: Eric Tilstra

A couple of weeks ago, I was telling a friend of mine that I used to work as a waiter in college. As I was sharing with this person some stories; the Lord started to give me an image of “the church”. 
    

 You see my job was to "serve" and "wait" on others. To serve and wait on people who were not from the restaurant.  I didn't have anything in common with these people necessarily. No deep bonds or relationships.  But my job was that of service.  
    

I did however have things in common with and a deeper relationships with the people I worked with everyday. The number one thing we all had in common was, we were all there to do the same thing. "Serve" and "wait" on others.  Not everyone did this in the same way though. There were many different jobs that met that same goal. From the hostess who greeted everyone and found them a place to sit; to the dishwashers and bus boys who cleaned up when our guests/customers were finished.  The cooks made sure everyone got fed. The head manager oversaw the entire place and was the decision maker. No job was more important than the other. We needed all of them to function properly. Also everyone knew the menu and could share it with anyone at anytime.  Everyone pitched in and helped everyone else, and always for the purpose of serving others. 
    

People came to the restaurant because they loved what we had to offer.  Or maybe they were coming there for the first time because, “they were told by a friend” that it was a place they just had to check out.  Our manager would tell us that the food could be out of this world; but if we weren’t working together with our “vision” and goals in mind, then people wouldn't come back. You could tell when the place wasn't firing on all cylinders. But when it was; there was no denying the results. 
    

This is what the “Church” looks like to me. Not everyone does the same job; but every one has the same goal. To serve and wait on those who need Christ in their lives. Whether for the first time, or because they are coming back to Him after a long time away.  It is our task to meet them right where they are and first ask, “how can we help your today”  Or better put, “what is there greatest point of need?”  To "BE THE CHURCH".  If there is going to be ownership of any kind at Arise Community Church, let it be in this.

Eric Tilstra is a renegade pastor living in East Long Island, NY. His ronin status occurred when he was called to shut down the church he was serving in for 10 years. He glorifies God with his life and just had his third child with his beautiful wife, Tara.

Baptism Today

This morning I have the great honor of baptizing a man I have known for a few years by the name of Aaron Berrios. I call him "Guru" because that is his title in the martial arts, but also because I have an enormous amount of respect for him.

Guru grew up in a Puerto Rican family and has been all over the world because of his military experience. He calls New York City -Harlem - his home. He has seen A LOT of crap go down in his days on earth. 

What touches me more is his more recent story. His son, Aaron, died a couple years ago in a tragedy that left Guru broken. As you can imagine, but never fully understand unless you have lost a child, this put Aaron in a deep hole - one he thought he would never get out of.

But here is the power of Jesus and the strength of grace. Guru has found his path. His story could probably write a book or two, even just the past 2 years of finding his way. Guru has reached out to Jesus, made necessary changes in his life, and found a peace with God through an overwhelming time. His is an inspirational story to say the very least.

Today, I get to take part in the public confession of Guru's faith in Christ. Today I get to be part of a story that has culminated after years of pain. Today I get to see a piece of the grace God has given Guru and what He has led Guru through. Today I get to baptize and welcome into the family of faith a friend, a teacher, and a brother in Christ.

Today I get to participate in the transformation of a man. Today I get to watch sin die all over again, and see Jesus win and make all things new.

Congratulations Guru Aaron! You are a new creation! Live Brave!

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..." - Mark 16:16a (NIV)

Oh My Goodness!

I feel that all of my teaching comes from my kids lately, but that makes the most sense considering we probably learn just as much from them as they do from us.

Recently Roary spent a weekend with my mom, her "Gamma" as she calls her. Now this is in no way trying to call my mother out on her mouth, because mine is way worse and I cannot believe I have not been copied too often yet, but my mom has a way of saying, "Oh, my God" a lot. This is a phrase we are teaching Roary not to say, but after the weekend she picked up saying "Oh, my God!"

Our alternative for months has been, "No Roary, say, 'Oh my goodness!'" After this weekend it actually took a few days for us to get her to say it. We were RELIGIOUS about it. Every time she said "Oh, my God," we would correct her with "Oh my goodness." 

Finally she began to say "Oh my goodness" again when she was surprised instead. We did it! Our job was complete. But we are idiots.

We did not take into account that Roary did not understand the theological idea of not taking God's Name in vain. Instead, she thought we were yelling at her for using a bad word. So a few days later, my mother's friend came over and Roary had sneezed. My mom's friend said, "God bless you."

What Roary did next is absolutely key to our understanding of people who hate the church. She said, "No, you say 'Goodness bless you.'" 

At first, we all laughed. But in minutes I was contemplating my failure as a parent and having to rework my ENTIRE strategy of discipline. I led my daughter to believe "God" was a bad word. She didn't think anything of it except that she should not say "God". What an absolute tragedy. What an absolute failure.

And hear this church: If we treat people who do not believe in this manner, WE WILL LOSE THEM FOREVER! One of my mentors Ron Walborn calls this the "Battle for Behavior". If we win the "Battle for Behavior" we turn people into clones (and hypocrites). We also in turn lose the "Battle for the Heart."

We cannot go to lost people and just teach them to "act" saved. We have to win their HEART for Jesus, and let JESUS change their heart, which will one day change their way of behaving. We have to let the lost act lost - why? BECAUSE THEY ARE LOST! 

The Battle for the Heart is entirely more important. I am not sure how I will teach my daughter better, but just getting her to act a certain way is not working. It is failing. And the church is doing the same thing. We, as the church, need to find a better way of communicating God's love, because telling them they need to not have sex, drink, do drugs, or read Harry Potter is NOT WORKING!!!

Our mission for teaching needs to be focused on Jesus' love, not others' behavior. Any thoughts are of course appreciated.

Live Brave.

Yes, Daddy - Part 3: When You Grow Up Without a Daddy

I wrote this post last week and it got deleted, so I got frustrated. But here it is.

When talking about saying "yes" to Daddy - who is God, our Heavenly Father, it is necessary to point out that some people, maybe even you who are reading this post, did not grow up with a father - or did, but he was a giant waste of life. 

I cannot weigh in too much on this subject from experience because I have had a great upbringing with my parents. They never shoved religion down my throat and always allowed me to make mistakes while loving me through discipline the entire way into adulthood. But I know many people who shudder at the sound of hearing of God as our "Heavenly Father".

To those who did not have a dad, God as the Father can seem distant or even non-existent. It is hard to obey a Heavenly Father when there is no model for an earthly father. I cannot imagine that pain and struggle.

Also, for those whose dad was more or less a dirtbag jerk, this paints quite an awkward picture for God as our Father. Who wants to obey a God that mirrors the scumbag in real life? Who wants to give any attention or respect at all to a Heavenly Father if the earthly father is a terrible example?

Now, there is a temptation for me to chime in here and say that God needs to be your Heavenly Father in place of your lack of parenting. While this has true meaning deep inside it, it is way too easy for me or any other Christian who did not struggle with this to say such an arbitrary and abstract statement. I have no clue what it is like to not grow up with good parents.

I can say this though: if you have had a bad home life, if you hate your mother and/or father, if you hate God because of it, there is an opportunity for healing. Jesus was sent for the redemption of humanity, and there is no reason the Gospel of Christ cannot enter into that part of your life.

God the Father loved you so much, a Father in heaven with a love sick heart took His Son, Himself, came down to earth, died for the forgiveness and repair of the sin in our life, and rose from the grave so that we can have a RELATIONSHIP with Him. This is the key to Christian thought. God's grace repairs the RELATIONSHIP we screwed up.

Say yes to your Heavenly Father today. You may have a terrible upbringing, a dysfunctional upbringing, or no upbringing at all, but call upon the Name of the Lord, and He will bring you up. Cry out to Daddy today and tell Him, "Yes!" Even if for the first time, say it out loud in prayer, and say, "Yes, Daddy!"

P.S. For those of you without a father or with one that is or was terrible at it, keep living brave. A lot of my good memories were established by my father and mother, especially during the holiday season. My prayer is that you can allow God to heal you in that area so you can enjoy and celebrate this time of year. May the grace of Jesus Christ guard your hearts and minds this season! 

Yes, Daddy - Part 2: Look at Daddy

In teaching my daughter the importance of obedience and the understanding that not only Daddy is in charge, but I also know what is best for her, I also came across a certain point in the discipline that struck me as awkward. Roary didn't look at me when I was teaching her, disciplining her, correcting her, or even just asking her to apologize, use her manners, or say "Yes, Daddy".

I have been recently telling her a lot to look at me. I say, "Look at Daddy". She will react in one of two ways. She will tell me no, or she will look at me and concede. It kind of feels like when she looks at me she is giving up her will and surrendering. She knows that when she looks at me she needs to say yes or no to my face.

One specific instance occurred when I asked her if she pooped her pants. She told me no. The evidence was quite clear though because there was a stench in the room that could clear a zoo - and I didn't fart. I asked her if she pooped again, and she said no... again. I noticed though that she wasn't looking at me either time. I said, "Look at Daddy" and she looked at me, sighed, and without me even asking said, "Yes, Daddy. I go poo poo in my diaper."

This was peculiar because she lied to me when she wasn't looking at me because she did not want to have to go through the hassle of changing her diaper (neither did I by the way). But when she caught my eye she was compelled to tell the truth. This helped me realize a few things about God as our heavenly Daddy.

1. When we look at God it is hard to lie to Him

When we aren't talking to God, reading His Word, going to church, fellowshipping with other believers, or walking in His will at all, it is much easier to hide, blend in, and lie. People may ask how we are doing, and we can tell them with conviction in our voice that we are fine when we really are not. When others point out sin in our life, we can avoid feeling convicted to change by telling ourselves we aren't doing anything wrong, or we are at least better than somebody else. But when we look to Him, it is much harder for us to lie.

2. When we look at God we obey Him

When our eyes are fixed on God we begin to tell the truth more often and say yes to what He is calling us to do because we know He cares. We find out that when we look to Him we want what Jesus wants - we want to live in His will even if it means laying down our own (and you know what I mean if you've ever been there). Our obedience is a response to looking at Him, realizing He loves us, and knowing He wants what is best for us.

3. When we look at God we see what is important

There is a hymn by Helen Lemmel and it has a refrain that rings:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

I love the part where it says "strangely dim". Can you imagine what life would be like if we lived by Jesus' words instead of caring about the things of this world? When our eyes are not focused on Jesus - when we like Peter notice the waves around us instead of the God in front of us, we sink. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we find that not only in He in charge, not only does He have our best interest in mind, but He is what is most important. A right relationship with Him will effect the way we relate to others, and it will be focused on the Gospel - the Good News of His grace for the people of this world. That is our mission by the way. Not to be comfortable, but to pay forward the grace God has given us.

Say yes to Daddy this week. The last part (Part 3) of "Yes, Daddy" will be posted by the end of the week.

Yes, Daddy - Part 1

I have had an awesome time getting to know my kids better while watching them in the mornings and afternoons. It has been very tough for me because I am not that great of a mother or a babysitter, but it is teaching me how to be a better father. Plus I get to learn a lot about my babies!

One thing that has struck me is the way in which I conduct conversations with my daughter, who is just learning how to talk. Her vocabulary is vast and probably too large even for her brain. She knows almost as much Spanish as she does English thanks to Dora the Explorer (which is supposed to rhyme, but I think they took their cue from bad rapping). I have to tell her to slow down and use her words when she tries to express herself.

One of the ways she expresses herself is every favorite 2-year-old's word: "No." I tell her to finish her food, she says no. I tell her to clean up, she says no. I tell her to stop yelling, she says no. I tell her to give me a high-five, she says no. Sometimes she actually thinks she is running the show (and in some cases, she kind of is). 

I have been teaching her this phrase that I thought would help in this process. It is, "Yes, Daddy". Whenever she is totally in the wrong and is telling me no, I look her in the eye, explain to her why she is wrong, repeat my command, and tell her to say, "Yes, Daddy". 

She knows I am right. She sees I am in charge. Yet she has such immense trouble saying "Yes, Daddy". Some would say it is because she just likes the word no, but I think it goes deeper into the sin that is buried in our lives since we are born. It is about submission. It is about admitting that she is not the boss, not in control, and not Daddy. She wants to be Daddy in her life at 2 years old, but I know that it is not good for her.

We do this with God. We tell him that we know what we are doing, that we know what is best, and that we can handle it from here. We say no to Daddy in 2 major ways in our life, the first occurring way more than the second.

Passive Disobedience

This happens a lot. Much unlike my daughter, we are not bold enough to tell God "no" to His face. We pray, we listen, we read God's Word, we know what we are supposed to do, and we even tell God we are going to do it, BUT THEN WE DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE! We ignore certain commands, choosing to love only certain people when Jesus was pretty clear about who we were to love and how we were to love them. We directly disobey Jesus' commands on morality and Paul's advice on correct living (with our words, what we eat and drink, how we carry ourselves, who we judge, etc.) but then claim we are doing what He said to do.

This is actually way worse than telling God no. Revelation 3:15-16 tells us how God would rather be completely disobedient than apathetic towards our sin. Martin Luther was famous for saying that if we are going to sin, we should sin boldly! When we act like cowards in our sin we pretend that we are saying "Yes, Daddy" when really we are saying "No, Daddy".

Active Disobedience

Now I am not for disobedience. But if you are going to sin, you might as well be honest about it. Directly disobeying God is the same sin as passively disobeying, but we are at least not lying to ourselves and we have a better chance of getting ruined by God's grace and repenting. When we lie about our sin we can hide in it. But partial obedience is full disobedience. 

My daughter is bold enough to tell me no. She isn't trying to fool me in her intentions. She is directly wrong, but in this case we can deal with it. Now, I am not saying that as long as we are honest about our sin that it makes it OK. What I am saying is that it is better for us to be honest with ourselves.

Try this. Next time you disobey God passively, stop yourself, start to pray, and say, "Father in heaven, I am not going to listen to you. I hear what you are saying, but no, I will not obey you." I honestly believe this will make you think about your actions and it will put weight to the sin your heart is so apathetic about.

Obedience

Of course, this is the best way to go. I want you to listen to God and do what He says, and I want you to remember the cross of Jesus and what it took to fulfill the law of sin and death - so in the words of Jesus, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15).

Say yes to Daddy. He knows what is best for you. He knows what you need. He loves you and calls you to not only LISTEN to Him, but DO what He says. Teach your tongue to say, "Yes, Daddy", even though the struggle inside for submission hurts so bad. Trust me, there is freedom in obeying our Father in heaven.

Roary (my daughter) is getting better at it. She struggles when she knows she needs to admit I am in charge and do what I say, but she is discovering that every time she says "Yes, Daddy," she actually lives a better life (even at 2!). Brennan (my son) does not get it yet, but since he is a boy, and my son, he will probably be 20 before he learns what obedience means.

Listen for God's voice, then do it. Part 2 will be on Wednesday.

"If"

Here is an awesome idea: don't run your life by "if". 

For years, I ran my life, my family, my ministry, and my relationships with this disgusting word. 

I was having a conversation with my good buddy Lenny, and he said something that stirred up my heart (what I would call the Holy Spirit speaking). He was talking about the context of small groups and about him co-leading one. He said that if people signed up he would go along with it.

Now he had said something very legitimate. There was no reason for me to be upset with what he said, especially because the leaders of America, businesses, and churches all around have been sneaking in this lazy form of dissolved hope. I told him, not because I was putting him down, but because I LIVED that very lie, that using "if" is another way of saying, "somebody else needs to step up."

We say things like, "If the economy was better" or "If I had a better job" or "If my husband/wife/family was more supportive" or "If I get this promotion" or "If people show up" or "If things go according to plan" or "If my pastor wasn't such a big..." (you get the idea).

The fact is that when we use "if" instead of "even if" or "when", we put God in a position that He needs to move without us giving any sort of real commitment. We tell God He needs to jump first or we aren't going to jump at all.

Let me propose this. Next time you want to qualify or prohibit something awesome in your life relying on the "if" that you place on it, go ahead and replace the word "if" with "even if it doesn't work out" or "when this happens." I don't mean a false sense of hope, because there are things that we need to be dependent on Jesus and other people for. But try this:

"When I get that promotion I will be able to afford to move, and even if I don't, I will do everything in my power to improve my situation." You can still move forward when the world is against you. You will need to rely on God for many things, but that does not mean you cannot change and grow in the meantime.

Is this a self-sufficient, self-help message? No. We need Jesus. We need other people. We do need certain circumstances to happen for things to go our way. But when we use "if" I really believe we give up before it even starts. We need to have the courage to step out in faith and DO what we were called to do, not make excuses as to why it isn't going to work.

Sorry for getting all Joel Osteen on you. But we can afford to be positive every once in a while! Trust in God. Listen to what He says - then DO IT!

Radical Obedience

So I am getting completely ROCKED by this book "Radical" - subtitle: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Drem - by David Platt. He is kind of saying what everybody already knows about Jesus and Christianity but is too afraid to take the steps of discomfort, inconvenience, sacrifice, unpopularity, and courage. I just wanted to share an excerpt and comment on it for today's blog.

"I find it interesting that one of the most common questions asked today among Christians is 'What is God's will for my life?' Many Christians have almost assumed the attitude that they would obey God if He would just show them what He wanted them to do. In the middle of a Christian culture asking, 'How do I find God's will for my life?' I bring good news. His will is not lost. With 1.4 million Bedouins in Algeria who have never heard the Gospel, it makes little sense for us to sit here asking, 'What do you want me to do, God?' The answer is clear. The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the Gospel and the glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus. The question, therefore, is not 'Can we find God's will?' The question is, 'Will we obey God's will?'"

Wow.

Now he is not saying that we all need to move into a country that is remote at a whim. Nor is he saying that we all are called to being missionaries in Algeria or other places where we can be killed on the spot just for showing up. But for some, that is the call. And for all, the call is to spread the Gospel wherever you are or wherever you are going. There are plenty of people in America who need Jesus. We need to obey God's will. There are plenty of people in your neighborhood who are going to hell and nobody ever cared enough to share Jesus with them. We need to follow God's call. And of course there are plenty of people in other countries who have never even heard the name Jesus, and there are some even reading this post that are called to do that. Wherever you are, if you are a believer in Christ, it is your duty to preach the Gospel so that people can hear the Gospel. There is only one name under heaven in which we are saved (Acts 4:11-12), and His Name is Jesus! There is no other option!

Let me let David Platt close this one out with another quote that is challenging me and I think should challenge you:

"If we conclude that people can get to heaven apart from faith in Christ, then this would mean there is something else they can do to get to heaven. Such a conclusion would not only undercut the [truth we see in Romans]; it would also be tantamount to saying to Jesus, 'Thank you for what you did on the cross, but we could have gotten to God another way.'"

To purchase a copy of "Radical" you can go HERE.