Deep thoughts On Vacation

I've heard it said from some that those who dance participate in behavior that is both lascivious and anti-Christian. When I was a boy, I might have believed and participated in this narrow perspective of the Christian life. I might have adopted this viewpoint because i didn't care about searching out the truth for myself. Actually, while in High School, my 'independant, fundamental, bible believing baptist' upbringing was beginning to wain when confronted with opinions such as these.

There was a point in my life when I thought to myself, "should I really think about this issue for myself, or should I just let someone else dictate my thoughts for me?" My entire life was filled with dictation. I was a regular administrative assistant when it came to personal beliefs. Let me know what I think pastor. It was laziness really. I didn't have time to fully seek out the truth.

Of course someone made the statement a few weeks ago, "Why do we need to seek out the truth? We've already found it?" This is the attitude in which I wallowed for several years. Then I got wise...or wised up...probably the latter.

I began to study theater and dance in College and discovered that sexual feelings and rebellious attitudes aren't directly connected with bodily movement. If it were, every time we got scared and flailed our arms trying to escape the stinging of a bee we'd be in violation of the 11th commandment, "thou shalt not dance." But we know the truth...sometimes we're scared that we might do something that might make us sin...so we impose our fear on others so we won't feel alone. Sad...but true.

Of course my daughter loves to dance. There is a purity in her movement. She is expressing herself in one of the only ways she knows how. It's probably for attention, but deeper than that, she just feels that she wants to dance. It's in her. God has given her a love for movement. How could this be wrong? Recently she participated in a recital. Along with 11 other little girls who were doing the same, she couldn't hide her excitement. This is her with one of her best friends in class.

Overall, We need to make our own informed decisions, which means that we need to seek out the information from a source that is not motivated by fear, but by love. Seek out the answers for yourself. If you seek the truth, you will find the it. You might also find a really cute picture in the process.

Vacation

Ok...So I'm finally out of the office. Getting away is so important. Liv wanted to do a little webcam blog updating you of the immense amount of fun we are having. (she didn't say it just like that, but it was close...she is a genius you know...) there is a reason why people need to get away together. More later.

Where do you get your power?

Here's the latest installment...more on it later. I just wanted to post it so you could at least see the magic that happens when a husband and wife argue...

Where in the world is God

So the task was to answer or reveal the topic of the day. "Where in the world is God?" As we discussed it, we came to the Ephesians 5:1 verse. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." The first idea would have worked. It involved a different kind of imitation. James had the idea, but it would have taken quite a bit longer to shoot...or so we thought. James, (he's the guy on the left) and I were ready to go with this idea, but got a bit stuck somewhere in the middle of the shoot. We sat there for 23 minutes without doing anything productive...just making bad jokes and trying to figure out how not to look ridiculous on camera. But, things actually worked out. The ideas came and after 47+ minutes of tape, this is the result. I was worried because of the time between a few of the takes. In fact, if you notice, you might see a magic trick with a red suburban in the background. Oh well, sometimes movie flubs happen. I'd love to hear your comments.

The Face of Christ

My goal was to answer the question, "where in the world is Jesus?" Some would say that's not too difficult. But alas, those 'some' have no idea. I was browsing www.flickr.com and came across some stunning images. Stories that were told through the visible creases and scars permanently woven onto these sometimes sad faces. These images spoke volumes without saying a word.

The song we chose was from Chris Rice. Face of christ. The ideas came down to the Matthew 25:31-40 Passage (you can read it here - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2025:%2031-40&version=31 ) "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

This is my finished product. Special Thanks goes to Photographers Tom Stone for his homeless images and also to Ramesh Jai Gulabrai.

Where in the world is Jesus?

As I wracked my brain trying to come up with the script for this piece, I was reminded, yet again, that sometimes funny things don't just come easy for me. The idea evolved many times while in the scripting process. I'm not sure if this was the most effective ending, but it flows with what we were thinking.
The premise: Where in the World is Jesus? Some people haven't found him because they might not know where to look. But, Just because you might not see him, doesn't mean he isn't there. Easy enough, yeah?

One idea that my wife came up with (she doesn't realize it, but she really is brilliantly funny sometimes) is to have the wife search for something that was on the menu...something her friend told her about., something she just had to try. She searches but doesn't see it on the menu. Then her husband would talk about the grail and the search for Jesus and then she'd say, "oh, I remember what it is I want. I want a FROSTY." but there was the problem...It really does accurately depict what happens when you look for something, but in the wrong place...but it doesn't allow us to have a good 'slap shot' at the end. It would have changed to 'The frosty! Wendy's has it, Sonic Doesn't!" Which is still very funny, however, it thoroughly blows up our initial premise.

So, when I talked to Brian and Cristy we came up with this idea. It is still very funny...these two are wonderful friends of ours and really were born to do this. They are so comfortable in front of the camera. We talked about how to end it...and I've always thought that certain words were funny. No offense to any of you 'clevelandians,' but the word 'cleveland' is just a funny word. Like dradle and 'wal mart'...well that last one was two words, the first word 'wal' somewhat funny independantly of the other, but together very funny. But I digress. We ended up with a fun quick piece that kicked off our Sunday morning.

By the way, that's my daughter in the back seat...she did great! I'd love to hear any comments that you might have.

Why Humor?

June is always a busy month...at least it has been for the last few years. We're trying to find ways to reach people where they are. One way is comedy. An originator of the Group Theater in the early 1900's, Harold Clurman, said this. " Truth is like castor oil: the taste is bitter and people don’t like it; so you make them laugh, and when their mouths are open, you pour it in."

This has been my philosophy for quite some time now. I think that God grants his children certain gifts that are meant only to complement his creation. My gift happens to be humor. Of course, don't ask my wife how funny I am or she'll tell you the truth.

So, how are we implementing this humor in Worship? Simple. We prime the pump if you will...We get people ready to listen by breaking down any barrier that might be there. This first Sunday we asked the question, "where in the world is Jesus?" The beginning clip was what you see below. I think it's pretty funny. James, my good friend on the left, (I'm on the right), and I worked on this and his ideas were pretty good. I wish I could show you all the dialoge that led up to this final take, but it would take a while. It's nice to be able to spoof popular culture and utilize it for our own purposes. Enjoy. By the way, I'd love to hear your comments.

Junity

So, I'm working on Southeast's annual JUNITY Services. It's an exciting venture into the unusual, but also a bit intimidating when it comes to trying to hit everyone on some level. Our focus is UNITY in JUNE. Trying to bring everyone together and learn a bit about the basics of our faith. So, in June, we attempt to answer the questions of where in the world is "the Bible, Jesus, God and The Holy Spirit?" These are four Sundays filled with Drama, Video, Music and Teaching.

We began a few months ago planning the activities involved in each service, but still, the actual implementation of said activities continues to be a 'down to the wire' process complete with script changes, personnel issues etc. But, week one is completed, with little to no real issues. Week two...well, that's in 5 days, so we'll see.

What makes this process fun for a Church of Christ is the collaborative effort involved. Churches should be focused on such things on a normal basis but, with all of the tedious day-to-day activities, the mystique of the process becomes lost in translation. At times we begin to focus on things other than the main worship experience so, inevitably the worship time suffers from the status-quo. Of course, many people like the status-quo. They find comfort in it.

I've promoted the thought that Jesus didn't come to make us comfortable. He came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Seriously, as American Christians who strive for comfort in every aspect of our lives, why should be expect it on Sunday morning? Think about it, we want comfort in our homes, our cars, restaurants, movie theaters, desk chairs, shoes, toilet paper, shaving razors, hair care products, sensitive tooth paste, you name it...it all boils down to comfort. Sometimes I think that Americans are just greedy. We're used to something, so we begin to expect it.

I think that as a Church of Christ...a place that strives to be like Jesus Christ, (we actually sometimes strive to be more like Paul than Jesus) we should realize that the only thing we should really expect is Suffering. But alas, we come to church and sometimes complain when it's too hot or too cold or when the service is a bit unusual we begin to feel neglected, when in actuality, we are feeling uncomfortable.

So, our goal in June is to teach the basics of our faith, but in a small way, we hope to make the comfortable, really uncomfortable while hoping that those who have come to escape the institutionalism of Christianity find a small sense of peace and meaning. We don't ask for much right? We just ask for a realization of unity in June...or Junity.

Haiti continued...

The day we arrived, we travelled to a city in the mountain area called Mirabalais. For 3+ hours by 4x4 on more of a wide rocky path up the moutain than a road we reminisced about a joy and beauty of something called "pavement." We arrived at a small School/Church surrounded by some lovely country. They were almost out of school and were waiting for us to arrive. They were polite and all smiles if you got them at the right moment. This picture was not that moment.

Of course after this was taken, I began to turn my viewfinder around as I videotaped them. They began to see themselves on the tiny screen. It seemed as if they tried to be objective as they were curious, but their smiles couldn't be hidden. Most of the kids were so excited to see themselves and their friends on the screen that they all began to mob me trying to catch another glimpse.

Next stop - a small farming village called Pageste....

Haiti

I recently returned from a quick 5 day trip into Haiti. The country is beautiful, but even more importantly, the people are beautiful. I can't quite explain the emotion or the feelings that took place in that brief moment. It continues to hit me in waves of realization as I sit in my nice house watching a tv that's worth a year or more of care for a Haitian orphan. Yes, I know it sounds cliche. Everytime I try to tell people about what I saw, it sounds cliche. I begin to hear Sally Struthers coming out of my mouth as the tears begin to form in my eyes.

It's like trying to describe the color orange to a blind person. It might just be impossible. Sooner or later, you're just going to have to take someone at their word.

While at the orphanage I struck up some friendships with some kids who are not too different from my own daughter and the children I know here in the states. The pictures show kids full of hope. I wondered why. the only explanation is that the Love that Jesus Shows through his people is inexplicably peaceful. When Love is present, so is hope. This is what I saw throughout my visit. Hope.

More later...

Marriage Help

Shelly and I just got back from our first ever Southeast marriage Retreat. It was an exciting weekend. The entire retreat centered around each couple's story. The truth is, story is so important in our culture. We've discovered that so many people don't realize that their stories are not only interesting, but very helpful to others. It's a unique feeling when you rediscover the US in your relationship. It's not two individuals, but one unique US that sets people apart. All in all, the trip was fascinating, fun and very tiring. (Is that possible?)

Also, we remembered just how beautiful Summer's Mill Retreat Center is. This was our view from the front porch of our lodge.