Sightings, Sounds, and Sniffs of the Kingdom

The Ancestor We Try To Forget

2012-01-23T16:25:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, I found myself at Littleton Cemetery for a graveside service. And while I was there, I decided to visit the grave of a long-lost relative for the first time. I've lived in Littleton for three and a half years, but hadn't made it to the grave yet.

It was an interesting experience.

Usually a family grave visit is a place mourning. Not this time.

Alfred Packer isn't the relative you mourn over. He's the relative you accidentally leave out of the genealogy. He's the relative whose blood line you hope you missed.

I'm not the only one with "that" relative. We all have them in our family line. He's the relative that would cause an entire family to alter their last name so as not to be associated with him. Which makes me think, I haven't met anyone with the last name Hitler in my entire life. Interesting!

Alfred was convicted of manslaughter. But that's not his most dubious act. He's also known as the "Colorado Cannibal," which wasn't just a cute name given to him by his frat brothers.

Stories diverge about the circumstances surrounding his mountain expedition and those he traveled with. Even Alfred's stories conflicted as he shared his story of survival with police detectives. Eventually he was sentenced to forty years in prison for manslaughter.

I've done the genealogical work. Apparently, I am truly related to Alfred. He is my fourth cousin, four times removed, which means I'm close enough of a relative to get his name, but far enough away in the bloodline that I would have still been born had he chosen not to eat his friends and die beside them in the Rockies.

You've never really lived until you've pulled up to a Wendy's drive-thru window only to hand the guy your credit card and have him jokingly ask if you'd like some chicken "fingers" (emphasis on the fingers).

Life would have been easier if I'd been a minister in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Everyone would have flocked to Pastor Packer's church on Packer game days without a second thought about my ancestor Alfred. But God calls us where he calls us for a reason.

I'll share more flattering stories about other ancestors in the future. But this visit was worth a blog.

So, you tell me...who is your most infamous relative?

The Intentional Life

2012-01-06T15:02:00.001-07:00

Holly and I are teaching a class at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures this year. It's one of our favorite places and events to attend all year. 2012 is Jerry Rushford's last year to direct the lectureship before Mike Cope takes his place next year. This year's theme is "Living Between the Times," as we focus on Romans 5-8.

When Jerry asked us, we racked our brains over what to teach. We thought about several books of the Bible or topics we could teach. Finally, we settled on a different kind of class.

Each Friday is my day off and a day that we, as a family, commit to Sabbath rest. We did well early in my ministry, but last year we found ourselves hanging out at home more often than not. We wanted to 2012 to be a year to reengage our Sabbath discipline in a renewed way.

We know we're not the only family who struggles to live intentional lives of faith. Time often hurts any commitment. Holly and I have noticed that time is flying by with our young kids and we don't want to miss opportunities to raise them in intentional ways.

So, we've titled our Pepperdine class "The Intentional Life (How To Keep the Monotony of Life From Swallowing Our Families)." In our class, we are going to report on an experiment we're trying out during the first quarter of 2012.

Each Friday, we've chosen 13 activities to engage in with our kids that are tied to some kind of spiritual lesson. Each week we will teach our kids a biblical lesson that fits with our fun activity.

For instance, today we began by going to the Children's Museum of Denver. We had a great time. Not only did we get off the couch and have fun as a family. We also spent time in the car talking about how God has given us the gift of our imaginations for the sake of his kingdom.

Living in the kingdom requires imagination. But something happens between childhood and adulthood to kill our imaginations. One thing we want our kids to have is a vivid imagination to participate with God in bringing the kingdom of God to earth as he imagines it. We want our kids to have Sunday eyes for the world. We want them to see how the resurrection of Jesus has changed everything!

We had a great day and we look forward to many more great Fridays in the next few months!

New Website for "The Good Life" Challenge

2012-01-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife, Holly, has created a new blog for Littleton's journey through the Sermon on the Mount. At Littleton, we are spending the year journeying through Matthew 5-7. We're calling the year-long series "The Good Life."

If you're interested in growing in your relationship with God in 2012, Please check out www.thegoodlifeatlcoc.blogspot.com. I've posted this week's Scripture reading, comments on the passage, and some questions to consider as we prepare for starting into the sermon on the 15th.

Please comment with any conversation with anything God inspires you to write that will be a blessing to others on this journey.

Again, the blog is a place of conversation for our members, but it is also a place for conversation with any follower or seeker of Jesus in the blogosphere.

The Good Life

2011-12-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

What is your plan for spiritual growth in 2012?

Let that question settle for a moment. I'm guessing there are some readers that have a plan. Some of you have worked a plan for years and you have seen incredible fruit from careful planning and committed action.

But I'm guessing there are others out there that don't know where to start. You want to grow. You've wanted to grow for years, but it seems that every year you look back and feel like you are starving for a closer relationship with God.

If you're looking for a spiritual challenge, I want to invite you on a journey with the Littleton Church of Christ in 2012.

I know what you're thinking. How can I journey with Littleton when I go to another congregation? When I live in another state? In another country?

Let me start by telling you about the journey our church (Littleton Church of Christ) is taking in 2012. (By the way, let's keep this secret between you and me until Sunday because our church doesn't even know about this yet!)

In 2012, Littleton is going to pursue "The Good Life" that Jesus pronounces in the Sermon on the Mount. That's right, I'm spending an entire year preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. More than just studying Matthew 5-7 for the sake of knowledge, we're going to seek to put "The Good Life" that Jesus preaches into action for the sake of the world. We believe God's word doesn't just need to be heard. We believe it needs to be seen.

Some of you have spent year after year trying to complete yearly reading plans. That works for some people. But let's be honest, how many of you have ended your year-long plan in the book of Leviticus (the graveyard of year-long reading plans)?

Maybe you're asking, "How could I focus on only three chapter for an entire year?" I'd challenge you to try it. Here's why:

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' clearest declaration of what the kingdom of God is all about. Jesus prays for his Father's "will to be done on earth as it is in heaven" in Matthew 6:10. It's the role of the church to display his will by being "salt" and "light" in the world. We demonstrate the kingdom of God as an announcement to the world that Satan's reign is on life support. We exhibit the "Good Life" of the kingdom in order to point people to God's future that is already on its way.

So, how can you journey with us? I'm glad you asked.

Each week there will be planned readings and a conversation on my blog about the upcoming week's sermon text. These weekly blogs will provide a place of conversation for members of the Littleton Church of Christ. But my hope is that many others spread across the country and the world will choose to join as online partners in this conversation. Add whatever commentary seems beneficial. I'd also encourage you to download Littleton's free sermon podcasts and listen to the weekly sermons through the iTunes Music Store.

The call this year is to action.

You do remember how the sermon ends, don't you? You remember the song..."The wise man built his house upon the rock...the foolish man built his house upon the sand."Do you remember the difference between the two? Unfortunately, that part missed the final cut of our children's songs.

The wise one is the person who hears Jesus' words and puts them into practice. The foolish one is the person who hears Jesus' words and does not put them into practice.

The purpose of this challenge is not just add to our faith knowledge, but to add to our knowledge action. Spiritual formation occurs when the fruit of our lives announces "The Good Life" of the kingdom of God to the world.

I also challenge each participant to commit to memorizing the entire Sermon on the Mount in 2012.

As you make your New Year's resolutions, consider how you will mature spiritually in 2012.

Are you up for the challenge? Let me know if you're willing to join in.

Why People Should Despise Tim Tebow

2011-12-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Living in Denver, it's impossible to hide from the media's coverage of Tim Tebow. Yet, I'm beginning to realize Denverites are not alone. It seems to be THE prevailing national sports conversation.

Let me start by saying, "I root for Tim Tebow." I certainly rooted for him in the 2008 National Championship when they beat the Oklahoma Sooners, but that had more to do with their opponent than anything else. I appreciate a guy who won't compartmentalize his faith. We need more Christians who will not divide the sacred from the secular.

But...

I was shocked by a Yahoo! Sports article this week in which a pastor, who claimed to be Tim's pastor, was quoted as saying, "It's not luck. Luck isn't winning six games in a row. It's favor. It's God's favor." According to the article, his pastor also said the Broncos wouldn't be winning games if God hadn't decided to reward Tebow's religious beliefs.

Which led my critical brain to quite the stream of consciousness...
-Does that mean Aaron Rodgers is being rewarded more than Tebow since he is the only quarterback to defeat Tebow and his team is undefeated? Is he even a Christian? That's worth a google search.
-Is God so preoccupied with helping NFL quarterbacks win games that he forgets to prevent natural disasters and the poor and marginalized of the world?

I don't think Tebow is the problem. He has never said God manipulates the outcome of sporting events. I think he's authentic as a disciple of Jesus.

My concern arises from the conversations I hear among conservative Christians. I continue to hear Christians who are upset about the media's uproar against Tebow. Christians feel slighted and even persecuted by what they perceive as a liberal media bias. Some wonder why Michael Vick's redemption story is more palatable than Tim Tebow's distinctively Christian story.

And underneath all of those concerns is a worldview. Lee Camp, professor of ethics at Lipscomb University, has called it a "Constantinian Cataract." Since Christianity's political emergence in the 4th century, Christianity has been at the center of culture. The church wielded power and influence. In many Western countries since then, Christianity has been the predominant religion.

But things are rapidly changing. The church is no longer the center of culture. The 21st century is more like the 1st century than any century since. We are in a post-Christian culture.

The response I've heard from Christians lamenting the media's bias assumes a worldview. Many of us still assume we are the majority.

But listen to Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 1: "He [God] chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things..."

Christians are called to be peculiar. We're called to be maladjusted. Tim Tebow is maladjusted.

Question: Why are we so upset about the way Tim Tebow is being portrayed.

Answer: Our frustration reveals our desire to be accepted and glorified by the culture. That's a radical misinterpretation of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Better Question: Why don't WE stand out as much as Tim Tebow?

Wrong Answer: Tim has a larger stage than we do.

Right Answer: Most of us are too adjusted to the world. We lack peculiarity.

It's time for us to stop hoping for the world to look more like Jesus. Sometimes that's a diversion from the harder work of becoming like Jesus ourselves.

It's OK to be an underdog. It's OK to be reviled. It's OK to be despised. Because when you are despised you join a long line of saints who have followed Jesus down that same path.

We follow a Savior who was despised. Perhaps we should be less surprised when an authentic follower of Jesus is despised as well.

Thoughts?

From Suffering to Hope

2011-12-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

I had an experience with Scripture this week that shouldn't shock me, but it did.

I'm sure there are many professions that cause the worker to cease his/her amazement over time. For instance, I'm sure there are brain surgeons who get so accustomed to doing dangerous procedures that the amazement of his/her first successful brain surgery wears off over time. In fact, if I ever need brain surgery, I hope I get a doctor whose hands don't tremble and jaw doesn't drop when she slices open my skull. The sign of a good brain surgeon is that she forgets the incredible/daunting nature of her task.

I'm sure most people who do their day job over time lose their initial excitement to some degree. I can't imagine a PGA Tour golfer or professional surfer wanting to change professions, but it happens. I'm sure marine biologists long for a day when they can work above water and astronauts wish they could spend more time on planet earth.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Confession: It can happen to preachers too! It is possible to forget the incredible blessing of bringing the word of God to the people of God.

I know it's shocking. But I'm guessing your preacher goes through the motions from time to time as well. Even searching the Scriptures can become a bland weekly task.

But there are moments (you preachers know what I'm talking about), incredible moments, God-breathed moments, when a text you have read a thousand times cuts through you like, well, a double-edged sword. Usually those moments occur when we stop reading to find a sermon for others and start reading for a change God wants to make in us.

I think these moments happen when our lived experience in a particular moment meets with Scripture's power that is ever-present. I had one of those moments this week.

I heard these words from Paul at a Men's Breakfast:
"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5

How had I not seen it before? I've read these words a thousand times.

But if I'm reading that right, suffering leads to hope. What? That woke me up.

Now, I haven't endured much suffering in my short life. I'm in the 1% when it comes to the level of suffering I've endured in my life. But the past few months have been a time of trial.

Through this time of "suffering," I've lacked a few things. But most of all, I've lacked hope. And my loss of hope has affected many around me.

But in a moment of God-breathed inspiration, ancient words from a guy from Tarsus answered my dilemma. Hope is not found in the absence of suffering. Hope is found through suffering. Counterintuitive much?

I'm not sure how suffering might be branding your life as you read these words. I'm sure your suffering is greater than mine. I'm also sure you belittle your suffering because you can think of hundreds of people who have been through more.

But what if on the other side of suffering, if you live with perseverance and character, is hope. That's a game changer!

May this word of hope comfort you in your affliction!

Happy Birthday Holly!

2011-11-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

I want to wish a special birthday to my wife, Holly. She is my high-school sweetheart. We started dating our junior year of high school. Holly has been the clearest picture I've ever had into the heart of God.

She's the blog genius of the family. She has many more followers and she designs and updates the look of my blog. She has the gift of creativity that reflects the God she serves.

As the blog expert, she finds my blogs too lengthy and theologically dense (take that as you wish). She thinks people want more personal details and stories. So, in honor of her critique, I offer to the world the 15 things I am most grateful for in my wife.

Here it goes:

1) Loyalty - You're the most loyal person I've ever known.
2) Beauty - I only wish people who stopped to notice your physical beauty could see the incredible beauty that shines from your life.
3) Mother - You are so natural with Maddox and Addison. Daddy isn't so natural.
4) Incredible Knack for Giving Gifts - Giving gifts is your love language. I've never known anyone who had more fun figuring out what to give other people.
5) Knowledge of Sports - I'm continually shocked by how much you know about sports. It shows you love me because you care about what I care about.
6) Grace - I know what grace is through you. (Only you know how much grace you have given to me)
7) Love For Children - Children from Honduras and Africa have received your prayers and care.
8) Love For God - Your commitment to God is obvious to everyone you encounter.
9) Craftiness - You've got a knack for making crafts, blogging, and scrapbooking. You chronicle our lives.
10) Our Marriage - In a world of so much uncertainty, I have nothing but certainty about our marriage.
11) Biblical Knowledge - You took 3 semesters of Greek. What more needs to be said?
12) Cooking - You've never cooked a meal I haven't enjoyed. Don't argue with me on this one. Compare my waistline today with my measurements on our wedding day.
13) Your Family - I love my in-laws. Not everyone can say that, but I can.
14) Carefree Disposition - You've never demanded your way in over 7 years of marriage. I wish I could claim the same thing for myself.
15) Love - I didn't know agape love until I experienced it with you.

The last decade has been the greatest blessing in my life! You are amazing! I couldn't ask for more out of a wife than God gave me in you. You are my Proverbs 31 woman. I love you Holly Packer!

Distracted

2011-11-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

So, I saw this picture on a friend's Facebook page. (Shout out to Vanessa and Nic Mount, missionaries friends of ours who are spreading the kingdom in Hawaii...Don't laugh...this is legit mission work)

And I got to thinking: How would our small group react to this idea? How would our church react if we had a bin in the back of the room that everyone placed their cell phone in before entering worship? My guess is...not too well.

But I think this move might be one of the most countercultural commitments a church could make to stand out in our culture. Are we willing to believe our worship of God and conversation with the people around us is more important than a phone call or text we might receive?

I know, I know. I sound like an 83-year old man: "Back in my day, I had to carry around coins to insert in a pay phone to call my mom to pick me up from the golf course. You can live without a cell phone." But hear me out.

Have you been to a playground recently? Back in my day, my mom would talk with other moms or interact with us at the public park. I dare you to go to a local park today and start a conversation with another parent. I guarantee the Facebook app on their phone would be a tough competitor to a conversation with you, as a human being. Or try to start a conversation at an airport or a restaurant waiting area.

I read a study recently that mentioned the problem of nursing mothers giving their attention to their cell phones and iPads instead of their nursing babies. The special bond made between nursing mothers and babies is being affected by our addiction to technology.

I'm tired of it. I'm tired of my lunches being interrupted by a cell phone call. I'm tired of diverted attention to a Twitter reply when I'm in the middle of an important conversation. I'm tired of hearing, "Oh, I'm sorry. I've got an important phone call I must take."

I'm tired of my child interrupting me when I'm reading a blog or checking my Facebook notifications. Oops! It's not just those people. It's me.

Jon Acuff, author of the popular blog called "Stuff Christians Like," confessed a similar struggle recently. His poignant story recounted his daughter asking him to take a picture with her that he wouldn't post immediately to his myriad of of social networking sites. It seems documenting the fun times with our families has become more important than having fun times, which is a shame really.

The ministry of presence (being physically, mentally, and spiritually present with the person in front of you) has never been more needed, more powerful, or more countercultural. I'm rarely with a person who gives me more attention than someone they are communicating with outside of the room.

And as families, we're going to have to find new ways to do this with so many technological distractions.

I'm already noticing a problem with my 2-year old. He prefers the iPad to human interaction.

I'm just really struggling to find out where he learned that.
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Thoughts?

Agnosticism as a Spiritual Practice

2011-11-01T11:31:00.000-06:00

Humility and theology don't tend to go together, but I'm not sure one can do good theology without an extra measure of humility.

I've spent much of my life in a religious tribe with many people who lacked humility as they shared their beliefs. And in any movement that lacks humility, you can expect to experience never-ending fractures and divisions.

So, as I thought about ministry as a career, I went to Abilene Christian University to get the answers to all of the right questions. But what I found there didn't meet my expectations. I didn't get the answers.

It's not that my professors weren't brilliant. Many of them received degrees from seminaries of great esteem, but they didn't make me memorize information that coincided with the answers they had received from their Ph.D. program. They taught me to think, which is perhaps the greatest gift one can receive.

I've said it before. Today I'm less certain about many things, but more certain about the few things that really matter. I'm committed to being a Jesus-centered person who points people to the kingdom through my words and actions. I believe whole-heartedly that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I'm trying to center my life on his teachings.

At times, I wonder if my lack of certainty on my beliefs about about peripheral matters is a concern to people in my church. Do people need their spiritual leader to feign certainty when he/she struggles with doubt?

And with all of these questions, this question keeps coming to mind: Is agnosticism such a bad thing when it comes to our theology? Is it ok to be an agnostic when it comes to my understanding about the end of the world? Is it ok to be an agnostic when it comes to my opinions about the best practices in corporate worship? I think so.

Hear me closely: I'm not advocating agnosticism when it comes to the essential core of our faith (basically Jesus).

Maybe it's my postmodernism speaking, but agnosticism might just be a path toward greater unity.

Let's face it: We all think we're right about everything. If we didn't believe we were right, we'd change our beliefs.

But there are elements of our faith that are not worth dividing over. Unity is not the same as uniformity. There is room for a diversity of practice at the table of the Lord.

In the words of Ian Cron, "Five words that could change the world - 'but I might be wrong...'" I don't know for certain, but he might just be right.

Worship Minister Search

2011-10-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

The leadership at the Littleton Church of Christ just announced a search for a Worship Minister. But the job is aimed at so much more than improving the quality of our worship on Sunday mornings.

What we want to hire is a new set of eyes who can make our "front-door" as hospitable to newcomers and guests as we can possibly make it.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of viewing churches through the eyes of guests. Because every time a new person walks through our doors, they are interviewing. And few churches have the vision to think through their vision from a guest's perspective.

Recently, I went to a couple gatherings at a mosque in town. It was part of an inter-faith dialogue I was involved in this summer. And let me tell you: You don't know what it is to feel like an outsider until you're a Christian standing outside of a mosque unsure about etiquette and wanting to make sure you don't offend anyone in the process.

Few Christians know what it feels like to be an outsider in church. We know the language, the rituals, and the idiosyncrasies well. We know how to get connected at a church. We know which children leave during worship and where Children's Worship meets. We know when to stand up and sit down during service. We know what to wear so we won't stand out.

But guests don't know that. Churches have to do a better job of creating hospitable and welcoming worship gatherings. We need to make it easier for newcomers to easily become an included member of the family. If anything, as insiders, we need to accept discomfort knowing that our role is to make the outsider comfortable and included. I think Scripture has something to say about that!

So, if you're interested in the worship ministry position at Littleton, get in touch with me. But we're looking for a worship minister who also wants to be our "Front-Door" Minister. Someone who has a heart for outsiders and including them in the life of the church. Someone who will walk beside guests from their first step in the door until they are fully integrated into the church.

More than anything, our churches need to be a place where "life" can be found. Our gatherings need to be places where people are filled up and sent out again into the world with new eyes to see the world and their vocations.

If you or someone you know is interested, e-mail me at collin.packer@littletonchurch.org.

Entering a New Season

2011-09-28T08:40:00.001-06:00

It feels like a new season. Yes, fall is upon us, but the heat of summer hasn't been very brutal at all in Colorado. One thing I love about Colorado is that we live through four true seasons. Growing up in San Diego, we really only had one real season...72 degrees and sunny. The Mesquite trees of Abilene never really went through a beautiful Autumn like Denver does.

But the seasonal change for my upcoming ministry season has shifted as well.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend ACU Summit (the old ACU Bible Lectures). It was an incredible week of fellowship with some of my great ministry buddies. I had no teaching responsibilities, so I was blessed to spend the week filling my cup for the upcoming season.

Tonight, I leave for Oklahoma City. I will be speaking at OC's (Oklahoma Christian University's) chapel on Thursday and Friday on the topic of gender identity for guys and girls. I'm grateful to Dudley Chancey for the invite.

It's also an exciting season at the Littleton Church of Christ. We're in the middle of a month focused on missions as we lead up to our annual Missions Sunday offering. I'm blessed to be a part of a church that is committed to foreign and local mission in powerful ways. In addition, the elders and staff are looking forward to a month of conversation about our future vision coming up in the month of November. I look forward to some new challenges and exciting opportunities in the next few months here at home.

In October, I've accepted invitations to speak at two different churches as a fill-in for two preachers I've come to respect a great deal.

On October 9th, I'll be speaking at Valley View Christian Church, which is a local church in the Denver area. Since moving to Denver, I've been involved with a Christian Church Preacher's group, which is the place I met Gene Barron, the Senior Pastor at Valley View. It will be exciting to share my gifts and get to know more of my Christian Church brothers and sisters.

And the following week, Southern Hills Church of Christ has asked me to fill in for Phil Ware during ACU Homecoming weekend. I was born into the Southern Hills Church during a time when my dad was the Involvement Minister there. Southern Hills was also our church home while Holly and I were married in Abilene and I interned there as a Preaching Intern during the summer of 2007. We are blessed with so many incredible relationships with many wonderful people in that church.

And finally, later in October, I'll be a part of an incredible preaching conference that David Fleer has put together at Lipscomb University. It's more than just a place to soak up information. It's a conference in which every participant will preach a sermon and receive feedback. In fact, there's a possibility that I might preach in front of Walter Brueggemann, an incredible OT scholar and preacher.

And I'll finish that week with 12 of my greatest preacher friends in the world as we meet for our annual retreat. I couldn't do ministry without the prayers and support of these guys and the other incredible mentors who have walked beside our group.

And the most exciting part of this upcoming season is the way our family is growing and expanding. Maddox is learning new things all of the time. And Addison is growing up way too fast. Holly and I are excited about this season in our family and we look forward to all of the challenges and blessings we will face in the year to come!

(If you're interested in knowing more about the family. Holly's blog is the best place to stay up on all of the latest news and pictures. Her blog is way more exciting than mine, which she reminds me of often! Her blog is linked in my blogroll on the right side of the page. Check it out!)

If you're in the area of Oklahoma City, Valley View, or Abilene during Homecoming, please come and meet me. I always love to meet blog followers when I get the chance!

Pt. 5 - In Conclusion - What I Like About CofC

2011-09-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

As I said, at the beginning of this blog series...I like Churches of Christ.

I like Churches of Christ because, at our best, we exemplify these core values:

1) Congregational Autonomy
2) Unity
3) Centrality of Jesus & Scripture
4) Apolitical & Kingdom Focused

When these values get highlighted, we're at our best.

The bad news is: We're rarely at our best.

Currently, these values that were core at the start of the Restoration Movement have been lost to a reputation of rigid doctrinal stances, sectarianism, and an inability to renew our churches' practices with the needs of culture.

If we have a future, we have to regain these original virtues.

First, we need courageous church leaderships who will be willing to utilize our great value of autonomy for good. We don't have to be bound to a list of "brotherhood" non-negotiables. Those non-negotiables truly are negotiable unless we plan on allowing a "denominational" pressure to keep us from incarnational ministry that makes the most sense for our time and location. In other words, be the church in this time and this place. God never intended for us to restore 1st century worship traditions. We need a restoration of the Holy Spirit's presence and the church's mission in the world first and foremost.

Second, we've got to get our heads out of the sand when it comes to the universal church. I was at a Church of Christ preacher's lunch yesterday. Somehow, sectarianism has manipulated that group to believe that we have 25 churches in the Denver metropolitan area. Either we're doing bad math or we've lost our vision of unity with any church that would submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. In Post-Christian America, we no longer have the luxury of sectarianism. It's time to work with others for the sake of the kingdom.

Third, let us recenter ourselves on Jesus. If we don't plan to represent him in our conduct, we might as well remove his name from our signs and buildings. The worst thing we could do is represent his name in a manner that causes people to want to have nothing to do with him. Jesus is the exact representation of God (Heb. 1:3). If it can't be said of Jesus, it can't possibly be true of God. It's time to stop restoring perfect worship and start pursuing relationship with a perfect Savior.

Fourth, let's return our focus to the kingdom of God. Jesus' message was not about the church or even about heaven. His message was centrally about the kingdom of God, God's vision for the world. The church isn't the kingdom. The church is a sign and foretaste that, when it's at its best, gives people a vision of what heaven looks like on earth. We are a colony of heaven showing people the future that is on its way.

I do not love Churches of Christ. I'm not wed to that title. That's sounds more like idolatry than anything else.

But I am tied to these four values and instincts that were a part of our DNA in the mid-1800s. I believe in the vision of that church. And I'm willing to lead a church that is committed to those things.

And to be honest, there are plenty of churches out there (who aren't part of our movement) that get this better than we do. I know of churches across the theological spectrum who pursue congregational autonomy, unity, the centrality of Jesus and Scripture, and an apolitical, kingdom focus better than many of our own churches do.

So, what will it be, Churches of Christ? Can I stay here and lead our churches toward this vision? Will you accept a minister who places these four values at the forefront of his focus?

It's your decision! There are other places I can go to live out this vision. There are other churches that could use a leader committed to these things.

But I'd like to see it happen again with you because you've instilled this vision within me. You've been home for nine generations.

I'll be waiting to hear your response.

Love,
Collin Packer

Pt. 4 - Apolitical & Kingdom Focused - What I Like About CofC

2011-09-06T18:07:00.000-06:00

The fourth value I'd like to highlight from our history in the Restoration Movement is a much more unknown value. We started with apolitical and kingdom focused values.

This part of our history is mostly unknown because we live in such politically charged times.

We're coming up on an election year, which means my inbox is about to be filled with junk mail garbage about every political topic you could imagine.

One of the things that shocks me as a preacher is the assumptions that people make about my political leanings. They assume their jokes about the other political party are something I will find humor in. In fact, I keep a folder of "special" political spam e-mails I get, just so I can make myself feel worse on bad day.

But our movement didn't start with a focus on politics and civil religion. Barton Stone, David Lipscomb, and Alexander Campbell (in his later years) would be considered radicals today in their views of a Christian's relationship to the state.

We started out as a kingdom focused movement with strong bents toward pacifism, little involvement in politics, etc. But as World War I & II strengthened the country's nationalism, we lost our way as we wed ourselves to the state. And those who struggled to keep their radical kingdom views were labeled as communists and Cordell Christian College (a pacifist institution) closed its doors as a result of this rapid shift toward the kingdoms of this world.

Today, Churches of Christ do retain a great measure of apoliticalism in our DNA. Few of our buildings sport American flags and few of our preachers are known for using their pulpits as their political platforms. And I appreciate that legacy of our movement. Yet, it's still not as it once was.

The kingdom of God has never been about political power. We must remember that Jesus died at the hands of the empire. The Christian church lost its plot when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Instead of being persecuted by the sword of the state, the church began to use the sword to coerce pagans to become Christians.

As one of my favorite writers has said, "Mixing the church and state is like mixing ice cream and cow manure. It may not do much for the manure, but it sure messes up the ice cream!"

Let us remember that most of Scripture was written by people who had the boot of the empire on their necks. The Bible is an oppression narrative. And as citizens of the world's only superpower, we ought to have our eyes opened to how our social location shapes our biases when we come to Scripture.

As Tony Campolo has said, "We may live in the best Babylon in the world, but it's still Babylon and we are called to come out of her."

Let us return to our roots as a movement. Let us regain our apolitical, kingdom focus.

For all of us who have been baptized into Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, neither Democrat or Republican, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Pt. 3 - Centrality of Jesus & Scripture - What I Like About CofC

2011-08-16T13:50:00.001-06:00

As we reviewed last week, our penchant and reputation for sectarianism could have been stopped had we lived into unity, which was one of the key instincts of our movement from the beginning. So, the question that ought to be asked is: How did a movement of Christians who were focused on unity become known as such a sectarian institution?

I believe it happened because we failed to live into another key instinct I'd like to highlight today.

The third key instinct in our movement that I appreciate is our commitment to Christ and Scripture. One of the early identifying statements in our movement is that we have "no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no law but love, no name but the divine." Not a bad vision worth pursuing.

It's hard for any group of people to say they have truly held to Christ only. Our actions often seem to betray that desire. But this motto is a vision we ought to live into.

One of the earliest sermons I preached at Littleton was entitled "Becoming a Church of Christ." I likely angered people on both sides of the congregation with that title for a couple of reasons. For those that wanted to jettison our past, the title brought back memories of a painful past with our movement. Why would we want to hang on to a title that reminds us of so many painful memories? On the other hand, some were likely excited by the title, but disappointed by the sermon. It was a hopeful moment to think their 24 year-old new preacher wanted to take the movement back to its "glory days."

But that wasn't the point of the sermon. The sermon was not an argument for keeping the name "Church of Christ" on our signs and title deeds.

Now, before you get your panties in a wad, I wasn't set on changing the name because it was embarrassing to me with all of the baggage the name carries. That might be an issue in some areas, but not in Denver, Colorado. I was clear that we must take "Church of Christ" off of our name if our church is an embarrassment to Jesus. If we fail to reflect Christ, then we'd be better taking the name off than continuing to do harm to his name.

I have to admit...I kind of like our name. It explains to everyone that the body that meets at 6495 S. Colorado Blvd. belongs to Jesus. He's our head and we intend to put him on display in everything we do as a church.

But too often, our name has come to stand for things that have nothing to do with Jesus and his central message of the kingdom of God. And when that happens, we're better off hedging our bets by taking the name off of the sign than continuing to do business as usual with his name being equated with traits that turn people away from the good news.

When's the last time you remember saying, "Oh, you're from the Church of Christ, huh? You're those people who do your best to live exactly like Jesus did, right?"

I talk to more and more people who are fascinated by Jesus, but they're continually repulsed by Christians who serve as roadblocks on their path toward Christ. If we could return our focus to Jesus over every other pursuit, I think there would be more interested in joining us on our journey.

So, I think we should pursue this original vision. Let's make Christ our creed. Let's make Scripture our script. Let's make love our only law. And let's bear the name of the divine one, Jesus Christ.

Pt. 2 - Unity - What I Like About CofC

2011-08-08T13:40:00.001-06:00

In the last blog, I highlighted our value for congregational autonomy. However, the downside of our autonomy has been our unwillingness to work with other congregations for the sake of the kingdom.

The second instinct I want to highlight from our movement is unity. When coupled with autonomy, our movement's emphasis on unity should allow us to bridge the gaps between ourselves and other independent churches and denominations.

Unity was the glue and engine of our movement from the start.

Barton Stone and five other key leaders wrote an important document in 1804 called the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. These leaders of the Presbyterian church near Caneridge, KY chose to put a stop to their particular denominational ties in order to join with the larger body of Christ, which has no distinction.

They wrote: "We will, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large; for there is but one body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our calling." These powerful words were instrumental (pardon the pun) in our movement's beginning."

Another key phrase of the early Restoration Movement was "We are Christians only, but not the only Christians." This important distinction has been eclipsed by a more sectarian vision in the late 19th and 20th centuries. But a return to the original instincts of our vision must include a call to unity to be lived out in tangible ways.

Lately, I've heard some who have asked me: "Are we just wanting to become a community church?"

Now, I want to unpack that question because it's loaded. In an effort to be generous with the question, I believe there are some who see the American megachurches' self-critique of being "a mile wide and an inch deep" as a possible result of such a move. Let's be honest, I don't know of a church leader in our movement who desires to see spiritual shallowness as a result of any changes.

The question takes an intentional shot at community churches. I believe the question itself is sectarian in nature and reveals the fact that we've become more of a denomination than we often admit.

Some might interpret the question to mean that we don't want to lose our distinctives in an effort to become all things to all people. But remember Barton Stone and the others from the Springfield Presbytery left their own distinctives in order to pursue Christ without the boundaries of their previous traditions.

Is it possible that today's community church trend is a move similar to our own movement's instincts from the very start? Are community churches pursuing the Restoration Movement's plea toward unity and autonomy more faithfully than we are in Churches of Christ? These are questions we must grapple with in an increasingly post-denominational world. Because our original impulses would set us up perfectly for the coming world in the 21st century.

So, how did a movement that started based on a plea for unity get a reputation for believing we were the only ones going to heaven? I'll address that next time with the third instinct of our movement that I appreciate.

Thoughts?

Pt. 1 - Autonomy - What I Like About CofC

2011-07-29T13:42:00.002-06:00

The first value I want to highlight in Churches of Christ is our commitment to congregational autonomy. Because it's the water I swim in, I haven't always appreciated this impulse of my movement. I guess I always assumed that every church had elders who made decisions for their particular body.

As I've gotten to know ministers in several different denominations, many of them would jump at the chance to minister in a church that had fewer hierarchical structures and complications. It would be difficult to work in a church that was forced to submit to decisions made from leaders at top who were not familiar with the contextual issues present in each congregation.

One of the greatest traits of Christianity is its contextuality. While there is a consistent story, God's good news works itself out differently in different locations and times. If Jesus were to be born in 21st century America, his ministry would have looked and worked very differently.

One of the key verses that speaks to Jesus' contextual ministry is John 1:14. The message translates it best, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Since then, God has called the church, his body, into neighborhoods throughout the world.

The Quran (Islam's holy book), when translated into languages other than Arabic, is not considered fully inspired. Only in its original language is the Quran considered Allah's inspired word. Islam, as well as other religions, are not nearly as contextual as Christianity is. But Christians do believe different versions of the Bible are fully inspired. Our best missionaries (those not involved in colonialism) have always shared the good news throughout the world in ways that are contextual to the cultures they find themselves in. Congregational autonomy is one of the best means churches have for doing the best on-the-ground, contextual ministry.

I value autonomy because decisions are left up to leaders who, when at their best, are making the best decisions for their sheep. No denominational leadership knows each congregation as well as church leaders do. If certain changes make sense for our church, our church's leaders are able to make a discernment that will impact us without impacting dozens of other churches.

Now, we do have to be careful not to equate American values with kingdom values. We have to be aware that our movement emerged in specific context. The American frontier valued rugged individualism a great deal. And many of our churches have taken this value to an unhealthy end. Our autonomy, at its worst, has devolved into a competitive spirit, which has kept us from working with other churches.

But no worries, next time I'll talk about another key impulse of our movement that allows us to retain our autonomy without sacrificing the ability to work with other churches.

Things I Like About Churches of Christ

2011-07-18T16:28:00.000-06:00

I like Churches of Christ.

There...I said it.

There are some who would likely argue I'm an enemy of our movement. But I really like our movement. I've never called another church home.

In fact, I'm about as Church of Christ as one comes. I've got the pedigree. I'd put Paul to shame. By my count, I'm a 9th generation member of the Restoration Movement (a movement that birthed Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, and Disciples of Christ). I was named after Collin McKinney, an ancestor of mine who was baptized by Barton Stone and who planted churches in north Texas. McKinney, Texas and Collin County are named after my namesake.

I'm the preacher at a Church of Christ. I've been raised in a Church of Christ. I've been taught by Church of Christ professors. It's all I've known. And I'm grateful for it (most of the time)!

But I'm also critical of Churches of Christ. I've got enough skin in the game to critique us. I think I'm experiencing what Leroy Garrett described as "A Lover's Quarrel."

So, in an effort to work through my "daddy" issues (What do you call issues with a whole movement?), I've decided to begin a series to remind myself and others of the "things I like about Churches of Christ." Because while I'm a bit embarrassed about our quirky uncles and strange cousins, it's my tribe and I've got a lot to be grateful for.

Over the next few weeks, join me in a conversation about Churches of Christ. Whether you're an ex-member, enthusiast, or member of another faith tribe, please join me in a discussion about our history, present, and the hope we have for the future.

We're not the whole kingdom, but my prayer is that Churches of Christ have pointed people to the kingdom in the past and will learn to be more faithful in the future.

What are some things you value most about Churches of Christ?

Introducing Addison Grace Packer!

2011-06-29T23:11:00.000-06:00

[Note: I'm embarrassed it's taken me so long to get this up. But I have a great excuse. I was just waiting on her 1 month old pictures so you could compare :)]

Our daughter, Addison Grace Packer, was born Tuesday, May 31. She was 7lbs and 20 1/2 inches long. I'm glad to share that Holly and Addison are doing great.

Holly and I were so grateful to share this special moment with both of our families that were able to be here for her birth. Their support means so much even though we live far away from them.

I wondered how I would ever have as much love for my second child as I've had for Maddox. But as people promised me, Addison has opened up another level of love that I didn't know was present within me. I love playing baseball and wrestling with Maddox, but I can already tell I will have a different kind of love for Addison. It's a love that draws out my protective nature from those pesky boys. It's a love that has me wrapped around her little fingers. Holly and I look forward to this journey with our baby girl.

So far, she's sleeping well and gaining her weight back. Maddox is responding with an expected amount of jealousy. It is a transition for him as it has been for all of the firstborns who have ever had siblings. But, it is so special to see Maddox gently take care of Addison. He's going to be a great older brother and he's already fitting in his role so well!

So, now we're a family a four! Holly and I have children, which is so strange to say. We're so grateful to God for his precious miracle that he has added to our family.

And as we've prayed from the time before Maddox was born, we long for the day when Maddox and Addison will confess Jesus as their Lord. I can't wait to see the kingdom dreams they will bless the church and the world with.

Lord, receive Holly and me as disciples of yours. May we lead our children in the way of Jesus. May our words and our actions always lead them toward a clearer vision of the world as you intended it to be. Where we hold them back from your kingdom adventure, challenge us to let go. When our fears of what will happen to their bodies keep us from unleashing them as your missionaries to the world, help us to close our mouths and watch with excitement. Give Addison a love for welcoming heaven to earth. May she have Sunday eyes for the world and may her hands and feet follow the dreams you will give her!

My First U2 Concert

2011-05-25T10:41:00.003-06:00

I've followed and been a fan of U2 for awhile now, but Saturday night was my first U2 concert experience. The first stop of their 20 city North American leg of their 360 Tour. The Fray, one of my favorite bands, opened at the packed Invesco Field at Mile High.

U2 came with 102 trucks and spent 4 days putting together their $70 million stage.

I've been to some incredible concerts in my day, but this one topped them all. It was pure spectacle combined with a deep concern and passion for good music and social justice. If U2 comes to a city near you, don't even think about missing them.

U2 played many of their classic favorites and played quite a few songs from their latest album.

Since the concert was on May 21st, 2011 (a date suggested by Harold Camping to be the end of the world), Bono humorously dedicated "Until the End of the World" to Mr. Camping.

But the highlight of the night came during a 4 song set before they walked off stage for the first time. This stage that had been the scene of a raucous rock concert turned into a holy space of worship and concern for those who endure injustice at the hands of the empires of this world.

The apostle James, in one of the few and clearest mentions of religion in all of Scripture, defined religion like this: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - James 1:27.

With those for eyes to see, Invesco Field, usually a coliseum filled with football, scantily-clad cheerleaders, and loud cheers, turned into holy ground. It even felt more worshipful than most of the more than 1,500 worship services I have been a part of on Sunday mornings throughout my life. Bono led the crowd in songs of lament, hope, and unity.

The band lowered the lights a bit and started into "Sunday Bloody Sunday" while showing scenes of oppressed people throughout the world. It was interesting to see people shout and cheer to this lament, a song that speaks out against the historic bloodshed in Ireland. In fact, one of the most iconic moments of U2's early years is the footage of Bono parading a white flag around with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in the background."How long must we sing this song" sounds hauntingly like the words of authors of the Psalms.

Following "Sunday Bloody Sunday," Bono led the crowd in a repeated refrain of "Rejoice" to a new melody the boys had created.

Then, Bono introduced a video with the recently freed Aung San Suu Kyi thanking U2 fans for lifting their voices to free her from house arrest in Burma. As Bono puts it, Aung San Suu Kyi is to Asia what Nelson Mandela is to Africa. That video was followed with "Walk On," a familiar U2 song written for Aung San Suu Kyi praising her for her activism in fighting for freedom in Burma. And as if on cue, Amnesty International workers carried in candles representing the 3,000 prisoners who are still unjustly imprisoned in Burma. And one of the great lines from that song, "a place that has to be believed to be seen," took on a whole new meaning in the midst of this 4 song praise service in the middle of a rock concert in Denver.

The band then followed with one of their most acclaimed songs "One," which took on an incredible sound in the midst of this worship chorus.

And before the encore, the band finished with "Where the Streets Have No Name." It was an incredible song set. And the worship of the crowd (with eyes to see and ears to hear) was a more authentic cry to God for justice, unity, and lament than perhaps any worship service I have ever been a part of.

And at the end of their encore, they finished the concert with one of my favorite songs, "Moment of Surrender." It was the perfect ending to an incredible night!

I was forced to ask, "How could our worship experiences be more authentic like my experience at the U2 concert?" I know the spectacle and setting had much to do with the impact I felt. But could we write more authentic lyrics? Could we write songs of lament to fill our normally joyous celebrations.

As I sat with a couple who feared the lost of their unborn child in a service recently, the worship that so normally fills my soul with passion and love for God suddenly echoed back so hollow. Where was the note of lament for this couple? Where was the cry of desperation to God? It was nowhere to be found in that service and I'm afraid that's too often the case. But plant that couple in the midst of 80,000 people in Invesco Saturday night with ears to hear, and I think their experience might have been much different.

We need musicians and writers who will chart a new path for Christian artistry. I'm so glad there are bands like U2 that remain in the secular scene to bless a wider audience. But Saturday night made me cry out for more bands like Derek Webb and Gungor who will sing it like it really is and write lyrics for our services that seem to miss the mark so often.

Thoughts?

Love Wins - Pt. 4 The Most Threatening Virtue

2011-05-16T09:28:00.002-06:00

So, Rob Bell came out with a book a couple of months ago. I'm not sure if you've heard about it. It's created quite a conversation.

Here's the link to the video that caused all of the controversy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUvw2McL8g

Controversial? Yes.
Important Conversation? Yes.
Questions people are asking today? Absolutely!

Now I must give an obligatory warning like every preacher gives. Do I agree with everything in this book? No. Do I agree with everything in any book? No.

OK...now that that's done let me get real with you.

I have read the book (important distinction because many who have critiqued Bell failed to read his book before doing so). I have listened to him speak on two occasions on his book tour. I heard him speak and he answered one of my questions at his book signing at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Highlands Ranch. I also heard him speak at Denver Seminary the following day. I've been a Rob Bell fan for quite a while. And I'm still a fan!

He's willing to tackle questions that most aren't willing to touch. And while he might come off as a shallow, emergent, trendy preacher with dark-rimmed glasses, he's got some theological depth to him.

I appreciate his first century Jewish background work and how his relevant messages reach a postmodern crowd.

There are people who disagree with what he says, but I think most are unknowingly more upset with how he says it. He writes for a postmodern crowd that appreciates the right questions more than the right answers. And Rob asks questions that must be asked.

His view of the new heavens and the new earth are spot on. His chapter entitled "Does God Get What God Wants?" is worth the price of the book.

Some have labeled him a universalist, which is absolutely incorrect if you've read his book closely. He's certain some individuals will choose hell even though they have the opportunity to receive God's grace.

I guess my question comes down to practice. Most of us would reject the descriptor of universalist were it used to describe us. And on a theology paper I would reject that title as well.

But...

How many preachers are practical universalists when it comes to preaching funeral sermons? (I say this knowing some of you have likely heard a few preachers condemn people in the coffin.) In practice, when it comes to the moment of death most of us are either universalists or agnostic at worst.

And even if you're ready to send people to hell at funerals, most of us at least are generous enough to let God be the judge in the end. And most people I know are this way. If asked who is going to hell, they will back away from answering and admit, "Well, I'm not the judge. God is the judge."

The truth is, we don't know and we aren't the judge.

But the scary thing is that I think some of us desire for hell to be more populated than heaven. And that is not God's desire. God "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) Perhaps we should want the same thing!

The truth is C.S. Lewis wrote some of the very same things that Rob Bell has written (perhaps parable form is safer). And he is the poster child of the same conservative evangelical critics who condemn Bell as a heretic.

I like how Rob described what he was doing in his book while he was at Denver Seminary. And I think we should be after the same task.

He said, "This books sits on the edge between urgency and possibility. It's my intention for it to sit there."

In other words, we should live our lives with all urgency and passion to welcome the kingdom of God to earth. Rob's book isn't a call for complacency while we wait for God's grace to invade our dispassionate lives. In fact, I would argue the escapism of evangelicalism's traditional story about heaven and hell lacks more reasons for urgency about life on this earth. So, we are urgent to proclaim and live the good news welcoming God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

On the other hand, we hope for the possibility that God's grace might just be larger than our box often allows him to be. We live with urgency, but we leave open our judgment to the Great Judge who happens to want all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

But perhaps what concerns me most is the angry response of Christians to Bell's book. My question is this: If claiming too many people will go to heaven is heresy, why don't we consider it heresy to claim too few people will go to heaven?

I want to live with urgency as I welcome the kingdom of God to come in its fullness on earth as it is in heaven.
I also want to live with the possibility that God might be more gracious than our imaginations can fathom.
I want love to win! Do you?

Al-Zarqawi & Bin Laden: Same Story

2011-05-02T13:32:00.003-06:00

I'm copying a blog post I wrote June 9, 2006 - almost 5 years ago.

These words are just as relevant as they were then. Substitute Al-Zarqawi's name for Osama bin Laden and I think I'd write the same words today.

-----------------------------

Which Terrorists?

As I walked into class today, I was informed of something that made the class cheer in approval. As I turned on the radio, I heard that it was a good day. As I turned on the tv, I was forced to look at the face of a man who was supposed to bring me joy.

Normally a seminary class cheers when God has answered a long awaited prayer request. Usually my radio makes me feel good when my sports team wins or when one of my favorite songs comes on. Most of the time I rejoice when I look at the tv and see the hopes of the homeless being answered on Sunday nights on ABC.

However, today was not such a day. In fact, I might sound un-American, but that is not my biggest worry right now. Today a man was killed and millions rejoiced for that reason alone. Al-Zarqawi, the second greatest threat in the Eastern World, expired. No, I take that back, he died by means of two 500 pound bombs. Pardon me if I don't rejoice. Pardon me if I don't feel like singing praises to my God right now for upholding the cause of America. My veins don't bleed red, white and blue when my country's best news this year is found on a tv screen showing a dead man's face.

I have to admit that my ideas have changed in the past few years. Four years ago I would have thought this was a great thing, but as I am mastered more and more by Scripture and God's Kingdom, it becomes more difficult for war and fatalities to bring a smile to my face. The Kingdom of God asks different questions than how can we preserve our lives best in America. I have stopped pretending that God favors America any more than anyone else. I have stopped praying for God to bless America and start blessing the world.

Call it pacifism if you want. Call me a coward, but I don't think justice is served in retaliation and I don't think this endless string of violence will end with one more assassination of an Arab person (or Arab target as many call it). I don't have many answers, but I have a model to follow in all of this. Christ has taught me to follow his path down the road to the cross. I am called to turn the other cheek and pray for my enemies.

Sure, we need to uphold the cause of the oppressed and there may be justification somewhere in all of this, but surely we can hold our cheers when we hear of the loss of a person's life. We must mourn for those the terrorists murder, our troops and our enemies. I can't quite see Christ rejoicing in this news today.

The best news I heard tonight was from a father whose son was beheaded by al-Zarqawi a couple of years ago. Larry King interviewed him and asked him some volatile questions. He asked him if al-Zarqawi's death brought any closure. The father said (paraphrase), "No, any loss of life is a loss for all of humanity." King went on and on trying to get the father to admit some joy or relief in this death, but the father obstinately denied feeling any relief or vindication. Al-Zarqawi's death would not bring his son back and vengeance wasn't the answer.

Wow! What a testament. Perhaps we can learn from this father. I'm not sure what I really believe. I don't condone terror or rejoicing in the death of another person, but what do I do with with the murder of an unrepentant sinner? Is it ever right to condone and rejoice in the death of another? I need more time to reflect and think, but I'm not sure I can do this.

It was sickening to hear the applause of classmates today. It was gross to hear a radio personality claim victory in the death of another. It was appalling to continually see the face of a dead man on tv tonight. I am a part of the Kingdom of God. My goal is for all people to be transformed by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We must lay down our lives for the sake of others. We must share the good news with those easy to love and those difficult to love. In short, we must be Christ to a world in the midst of suffering, terror and murder. We must proclaim, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" not only to the Arabs but to ourselves when we condone acts of terror abroad and among our friends and relatives.

Father,
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.

My Mentor - Pt. 3 The Most Threatening Virtue

2011-04-13T15:56:00.002-06:00

One of the huge missed opportunities in our churches is intergenerational connection. So many of our churches spread five generations, yet we only seem to experience the pain of those differences rather than the joy.

In fact, I've argued in the past that the church's current struggles are the fault of modern medical science with its increased life expectancy. Paul likely never had to deal with bringing a congregation of 5 generations together. Yet, I wonder if there are hidden benefits we miss.

Which leads me to a story...

In 8th grade, my family began attending the Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. I was a leader in the youth group and after leaving for college, I served as a summer preaching intern there as well. My dad serves as an elder there. It's my home church when I return home.

However, I never met my mentor who shared the same church home with me all of those years until about three years ago. We'll call him Jim (I changed his name to protect the guilty.) After I entered ministry, Jim pursued me and invited me to lunch.

Now, Jim was a preacher in Churches of Christ until he was divorced, which was the end of his professional ministry career. But since then, he has served as a beloved teacher and mentor of other young ministers. I've been blessed to receive his love, prayers, and advice. Every time I've returned to Dallas since then, we've caught up over lunch and I've shared my musings from ministry. Unfortunately, in the last few months, the doctors told them he only had a few months left due to an aggressive form of cancer. He has handled this announcement with so much grace and love.

I remember our first encounter over lunch vividly three years ago. With a stomach full of excellent pizza, we returned back to his house for hours of swapping stories about ministry. He listened as I (the young, naive minister) shared my struggles, concerns, and questions.

Finally, I shared with him my struggle over how to deal with judging people in their sin. I shared with him my desire to love people while acknowledging the need to judge them "so as not to let sin get a stranglehold" or some bizarre reason I can't currently recall.

Jim smiled and asked me a piercing question that will roll through my head for years to come. He said, "And what role do you feel God has called you play in this matter?"

I told him, "I'm called to love the person."

He responded, "Is there any other role you play?"

And I thought and responded, "Well, as the preacher, it must also be my role to judge the person. I can't allow sin to go unchecked. I must let them know the truth."

He said, "Is that your role?"

Our continuing discussion that day changed me forever. What is our role as Christians when it comes to judging others?

Well, in the past, as one with the truth, I've been confident in my ability to judge others. When you know you're right, it's easy to commence with the judging. Having colonized God and knowing he's on our side,it's an easy and inevitable next step to arrogantly judge others who struggle with greater sins, which often brings alienation rather than restoration. Interestingly enough, I even judged non-Christians by a standard they had not themselves committed to living out (bizarre really).

But today, I sit in my office with Jim's question still rattling around my brain. What is my role? What is the role of a Christian in bringing about the restoration of God's prodigal children?

First, I think of Jesus' statement in Matthew 7:1-2. He says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." And then he goes on in a humorous way about planks and specks in people's eyes. Interesting!

Second, I think about Paul's words in Galatians 6:1. He says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." I don't recall too many attempted interventions with sinners that could be described best by the word "gentle." Important distinction.

Third, I think about Paul's words to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3. Guess who brings growth in people's lives. Not us; it's God! We plant the seeds and water them, but God brings the growth.

Which allows us to define our role a bit better. God brings the growth. The Holy Spirit's role is to convict.

Our job is simple. Guess what it is? I bet you could guess.

Our Job: Love.

We are called to love. Love sums up Torah. Love shows that we are connected to the father. Love brings the possibility of restoration.

Shane Claiborne says it well, "I've learned that people can be right and still be mean!"

What we believe is important. But just as important is how we believe what we believe.

Because love wins.

I appreciate my mentor's words. They'll remain with me for a long time.

I'll preach the truth (at least the truth as I perceive it), but no amount of truth that I preach will make up for a unloving Spirit.

But know this: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." - 1 Peter 4:8

Cranky Church Members - Pt. 2 The Most Threatening Virtue

2011-04-03T08:14:00.003-06:00

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

It's that simple! If you love, you know God. If you don't love, you don't know God.

So, the world should know the church by what characteristic most? Well, I'll throw a suggestion out there. Perhaps, love.

But surveys show that the first thing unbelievers say about us isn't "You know what bothers me most about Christians? They're just too loving!"

Now, I know, I know. I can just hear some Christians begging me to define love before this gets out of hand. I can just hear some saying, "But love means loving people enough to tell them the truth! It's not loving to let someone perish without letting them know they are in error."

True, but can we just admit that's not exactly the gospel's best definition of love? 1 Corinthians 13 doesn't harp on love being a trait of judging people's eternal destiny. It's more about patience, kindness, and humility...words that rarely get thrown out in discussions about truth. (Save your breath. I know some of you want me to point out that love rejoices in the truth...I'm way ahead of you.)

I'm concerned about the church. But not for our lack of truth...for our lack of love.

Let's face it: In some churches, the longer you go to church, the crankier you get. Ask any of your preachers. I don't have a desk full of angry letters from people under the age of fifty (now I've created more hate because I've defined what it means to be old).

It seems to me that if our churches are spiritually forming people into the image of Jesus, then people who had been in church longest would be the most loving. Let me be honest, that's not always the case.

And I'm not really pointing the finger at our members. I think it's the fault of our leaders. Christians certainly bear some responsibility. But our churches must not exactly be love factories partly because our focus has been on perfect doctrine to the detriment of our loving lives.

The moment one is baptized ought to be the moment a Christian loved least. The love chart ought to be a quick upward trend following that moment.

Perhaps we ought to check the water for more than its temperature because it's not bring the desired outcome when it comes to love.

In the past three weeks, I've had three conversations with people who are upset because of my recent preaching and blogging. All three of those conversations have to do with the dialectic between love and truth.

I get it, we need to pursue truth. But not at the cost of love.

They will know we are Christians by our love. Love is the name on our jersey. It's the name we go by.

I'm just not so sure the world knows it yet?

Jesus and Love - Pt. 1 The Most Threatening Virtue

2011-03-23T08:57:00.002-06:00

God is love.

And Jesus seems to think love is important as well.

One day, one of the teachers of the Law tested Jesus with a question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Tough question. To be honest, I'd be a bit reluctant to answer a question like that. Like most preachers, I've become quite adept at sidestepping tough questions by answering the question I want to answer. For me to make such a pronouncement about the Law, I'd have to more proficient in the Law. I was taught growing up all of that "Jewish rulebook stuff" was unimportant. So, I have to admit I don't know the Law well enough to even give a guess.

But notice, Jesus doesn't answer the question like we would expect him to. As Post-Reformation Christians, we would expect him to say, "The Law? Why are you so concerned about the Law? I've not come to fulfill the Law. I've come to abolish the Law with a new covenant." However, it would be tough to get there if you pay close attention to Matthew 5:17-20.

Jesus never skips a beat. He quickly wades through 613 Old Testament Laws that he has certainly studied quite often (he was a Jew by the way, which we seem to forget), and he replies, "Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18." Well, not exactly. He actually says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (OK, he still answers the question in his own way by giving two laws instead of one).

Basically Jesus says, "613 laws are commentary on these two. Just love God and others and you've got it covered."

Now, this response didn't work for the Pharisees. And unfortunately, we're still trying to put caveats on Jesus' simple response. It's like we want to remind Jesus, "I think you forgot a few important things Jesus." But I'm sure if Jesus was here to defend himself he'd reply, "I didn't leave anything out. That's it. That's your job. Leave the rest to the Father."

Jesus loves the strangest people. He loves prostitutes, Samaritans, tax collectors, lepers, a rich young ruler who can't leave his idol of wealth, and women caught in adultery. And his love separates him from the Pharisees. And his love threatened all of the religious leaders of his day.

We want to say, "Yes, Jesus love is important. But aren't there other things that are important too."

It's almost as if we want to pat Jesus on the head and let him know that he's naive about the world. But I'm not sure he's all that naive. He preached a message of love and was sincere enough about his message to die for it. That doesn't sound too naive.

For some reason, Jesus' boundless love was threatening to people in his day.

And as we'll see in this blog series (and possibly the blog comments as well), I think love is still quite threatening today.

The Most Threatening Virtue of All

2011-03-18T14:35:00.004-06:00

Lately, I've noticed that people are threatened by the strangest thing. We're threatened by love.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Collin, you must be paranoid if love is so threatening to you."

My response: I bet if you take a closer look, you might just be threatened by love as well.

Look around and you'll notice how threatening love really is:

-When you look at the gospels, the most unloving people aren't the Romans or the pagans. The Romans kill Jesus and they come off appearing even more loving than the Pharisees and religious people of Jesus' day. The religious elites seemed to be threatened by a Jesus who loves people at all the wrong times (on the Sabbath, at the well, on the cross, etc.).

-Church leaders know the truth about Christians perhaps more than any other group of people. But I must admit, love isn't the first characteristic I would use to describe church members. Unfortunately, it doesn't even make the top 10 characteristics I would use to describe church members.

-Three years ago, I had a conversation with a mentor who forever challenged the way I thought about our task as Christians. It all had to do with how threatening it can be to find love as our primary duty as Christians (and I still remember that conversation vividly).

-Rob Bell writes a book called Love Wins and the Twitter world and blogosphere go nuts. And it's not because so many non-Christians commented on Bell's book. Bell's name lit up the internet because Christians were bickering with one another over how literal hell really is. The conversation wasn't about love. The conversation became about whether Bell was a heretic or not. And love didn't win.

And the world looks on wondering what in the world Christianity is really about. Or perhaps they've stopped wondering because we've confirmed their suspicions all too often.

Over the next few weeks, I want to develop these four experiences and express why love seems to be so threatening to Christians.

So, come back for my thoughts and for conversation. My hope is that love might not just be the topic of these blogs to come. Perhaps it might even characterize our conversation.

Perhaps this time, Love might win.

Why My Unborn Baby Girl Has Rocked My World

2011-02-01T15:57:00.007-07:00

The good news is that Holly and I are expecting a baby girl in early June. Everything looks healthy. We've even given her a name. She will be called Addison Grace Packer.

I'm so excited! Yet, this is new territory for me. Growing up, it was just my brother and me. So, as I continue to see the pink outfits and bows already going on the credit card, it's becoming a bit more real.

But while our bundle of sugar and spice and everything that's nice is growing in Holly's belly, I'm becoming a wreck. Not just in the knowledge of fending off our pretty girl from those obnoxious teenage boys, but from the theological problems this causes me.

Because now, the discussion of women's role in Churches of Christ isn't an issue. It involves my own flesh and blood (Although, Holly has often reminded me that I've always had a wife who's been affected). It's now about my daughter. It's now about me. And if I'm honest our position on women's role has always affected more than the women. It's affected all of us and diminished all of us.

On my blog, I've been careful not to rock the boat too much. Perhaps I write so infrequently because most of what I want to say I'm afraid might make too many waves (or perhaps too few because I'll finally find out how few actually read my blog). Perhaps the echo of my professors' voices warning us as students not to publish things on blogs that will cause us trouble when looking for future jobs still rings in my ear.

But there comes a time that silence must give way to words and action. And the arrival of my baby girl has created just that space for me.

So, here it goes: Our churches must begin to talk about the role of our women in leadership and in our public assemblies. We must make space for these discussions. We cannot allow our fear of some unknown enemy to keep us from engaging in a conversation that should have already happened.

I wonder how many of our members are as dumbfounded as many of our ministers about our current practices with women in our churches, but have allowed fear and caution to keep them silent as our practices remain the same.

Is it groupthink? Do we have well thought out theologies supporting our current practices? Do most of us realize the oddity of our male dominated services in 21st century society? Perhaps there are more who want to ask these questions than we sometimes imagine.

Last year at ACU Summit, Stephen Johnson and several women in the Graduate School of Theology at ACU began a conversation entitled "Half the Church." There was a great deal of discussion at the end of last year surrounding their studies and dialogue about women in Churches of Christ.

If you are not yet aware of this ongoing conversation, be sure to check out www.halfthechurch.wordpress.com. Listen to the podcast, "She Is Called." It's a moving piece. Also, subscribe to the "Half the Church" podcast on iTunes.

But my baby girl has rocked my world far more than she will ever know before Holly's third trimester has started. And I'm sure I will never be the same again. Thanks be to God!

Year in Review: 2010

2010-12-31T16:30:00.002-07:00

2010 has been a wonderful year in the Packer household. Here are some of the memories of 2010.

-I trained and finished in the Dallas White Rock Marathon! I beat my goal running a time of 4 hours and 37 minutes. Finally, a New Year's Resolution that I actually kept.

-Holly and I kept another New Year's Resolution by not drinking any carbonated beverages all year long! We are Dr. Pepper addicts. But we're proud to say, we did it! (If we can hold out a few more hours) Maddox actually thinks we're healthy by choice at this point in his life. By the way, we've stocked up on about 10 liters of cokes for 12:01 AM.

-Because I kept the first two resolutions, I lost 25 pounds in 2010. Let's see if I can keep up the healthy habits.

-Our family continues to grow. 2010 was a year of tremendous growth for Maddox. He went from being unable to crawl to running in 2010. We also found out that we're expecting our second child in June of 2011. We find out the gender in just over a week.

-Holly and I celebrated 6 years of marriage this year! (Yes, we were only 20 when we got married). We also celebrated a decade since our first date. I love you Holly and look forward to the next 10!

-Our sports teams were up and down this year. Football was miserable. The year started with Colt McCoy going down with an injury and the Longhorns losing the National Championship. And this fall, our Horns and Cowboys were pitiful. Baseball was a brighter spot. We had a 10-game season ticket package to the Colorado Rockies, which was a lot of fun. Also, the Texas Rangers won the ALCS!

-I was invited to teach classes at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures and ACU Summit this year!

-We took our first vacation with Holly's family to Hawaii!

-I had another great year of growth as a minister serving the Littleton Church of Christ. We are blessed to live in such a great city and imagine and dream with God about the future of his kingdom here. We're excited to see what God will do in the coming year!

I've got some great plans for 2011!

The Packers wish you grace and peace in the coming year! Happy New Year!

White Rock Marathon

2010-12-14T16:08:00.003-07:00

Well, I finished the marathon. It was an incredible experience! It's interesting to hear what people want to know about my experience. Some want to know if it was hard. The answer is: yes. Others want to know if I enjoyed it. The answer is: Yes, immensely. The following is my attempt to document the race for future reference and let you in on how it went.

My goal for the race was 5 hours. An 11-minute pace would have ensured me beating my race goal. I knew I could keep that up for 20 miles, but I wasn't sure about the last 6.2.

Here's my experience from race day:

5:30-Wake up and rub on tons of Body Glide (no chafing for me on race day).

6:00-I pulled into the parking lot at Fair Park south of the Cotton Bowl. The parking lot filled in less than 30 minutes. As I entered the coliseum, I saw hundreds of runners prepping for their run. The room was full of excitement. Everyone was trying to find a bathroom, so they wouldn't have to stop during the race.

7:50-A nice prayer by a man who did everything he could to leave Jesus out of it (a perfect display of civil religion really lit a fire within my body to run the race as fast as possible).

7:55-Military Fly-Over (Again, pumped up!)

8:10-The elite runners started the race. FYI: I was not apart of the elite runners, but they said I could try to qualify again next year. I think I failed to win the race because I wasn't able to pace myself with the Kenyans. 5 Kenyans ended up placing 1st-5th place.

8:45-I crossed the starting line. I can't explain the feeling of crossing the starting line on your first marathon. Nerves are pumping. Heart is pounding. My training gave me confidence, but I had no idea what might go wrong in the next 26.2 miles. Wind chill was about 25 degrees at the beginning of the race. The weather was perfect for the runners, but not so much for the spectators.

Mile 3-Left hamstring was a bit tight, but I kept running hoping it would loosen up.

Mile 6-1st sighting of my family. Holly, Maddox, Clark (brother), Lara (sister-in-law), Dad, Mom, and Ganna (Grandmother) were all present to show their support. They gave me a real boost.

Mile 8.5-Marathoners split off to the left while the half-marathoners made a turn to the right to head back to Fair Park. Believe me I was happy for them...not! It was tough to turn left and know I had 17.2 more miles to go.

Mile 9-I was surprised to see more family. Morgan (sister-in-law) and Cathy (mother-in-law) were there to greet me!

Mile 13.1-Halfway to the finish. I was feeling great. At this point, my pace was under 10 minutes per mile. And around the halfway point, I was running in the low 9s. I felt great, but I was concerned that I might be launching out too fast. I would tell by the end of White Rock Lake if my pace had been too quick.

Mile 14-I saw my family again at mile 14. My knee was beginning to hurt a bit at this point, but I was feeling great otherwise.

Mile 18-Holly's family and my family greeted me again on the east side of White Rock Lake. I was beginning to get more tired and sore at this time, but I was beginning to think a 4 1/2 hour marathon might just be possible.

Mile 20-One last sighting of my family as they passed me in a car. Mile 20 was a scary point because 20 miles was the most I had ever run before in my training. All of the miles ahead were new territory for my body. It was an unknown, but I still felt pretty good at mile 20.

Mile 21-This is where the race got tough. At mile 21-22, I met what is known as the Dolly Parton Hills. I won't tell you why they are named after Dolly Parton. I'll just let you guess. These hills killed me. It was only about a 100-foot climb, which is nothing in Colorado. But when you've already run 21 miles, a 100-foot climb isn't too fun.

Mile 24-My pace is falling, but I knew I was going to be able to finish. My IT-band injury in my right knee began to cause more pain. My goal was not to walk during the race and the temptation was pretty strong to stop, but I'm proud to say that I finished the race without walking (other than at water stations, eating my "jelly beans," and short stretches for my lower back).

Mile 25-At this point in the race, I headed south toward the Cotton Bowl. The finish line is almost in sight. I was passing a great number at this point because many were walking.

Mile 26-The crowds began to get thicker. As I turned the corner to see the finish line, I began to pick up my stride and run with all I had left to the finish.

The Finish Line-I can't describe the feeling of crossing the finish line. It was actually a very emotional moment. Tears came to my eyes and I got chills. And as I crossed the finish line, it was as if I had a warp-speed movie of my training quickly run through my brain. All of that work paid off as I met my goal. What an incredible feeling!

My time was 4:37:50. I had run 26.2 miles in a per minute pace of about 10 minutes and 35 seconds. I was so pleased with my time. Seeing my family after the race was one of the best moments of the race. Their cheering along the way helped me so much.

I want to dedicate my race to Holly and Maddox. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to do the training. Holly spent countless Saturday mornings without me in order to let me do my long runs. I can't thank you enough Holly. You and Maddox were my inspiration in the moments I wanted to quit! I love you and Maddox so much!

Day Before the Marathon

2010-12-04T07:54:00.002-07:00

Well, it's less than 24 hours before the marathon. I can't believe it's here.

I vividly remember stepping on the track at Rock Canyon High School the first week of this year and running one mile. One mile was all I could muster. My lungs hurt! More than anything my ego was hurt. Although, I was in the Mile High city, so my bruised ego was less hurt than it would've been at sea level. Whether that made any effect, I made the excuse anyway. I truly couldn't imagine running 26.2 miles. It was a dream that likely wouldn't come true.

I don't really have a runner's body. I know that might surprise you based on my chiseled physique, but it's true. Though I was athletic, I was the kid with the worst flexibility and the lower mile times in elementary school and junior high. Teachers said I was blessed with brains, but it was probably just to ensure I never pursued a career in athletics.

But here I am the day before the race and I actually feel prepared. So many things could go wrong tomorrow. My injury to my right IT band worries me. The vision in my head of me crossing the finish line looks more like a fatigued Olympian more than a maimed rabbit hobbling to the finish. All kinds of things could go wrong tomorrow. I've rarely cramped in my training, but that could be the situation tomorrow. Who knows? It's not worth worrying about really.

But I must say I'm excited. I'll drink lots of water today and consume many carbohydrates, but most of all I'll enjoy the fact that I have done everything I could to train well for this event. I can actually say "I'm ready" just as I could say in the next sentence, "I'm not sure if I've prepared enough."

Sounds like a story a preacher could use in a sermon. But don't go stealing my story...I've copyrighted this one with my own sweat.

I'll update you soon on the race!

The Preaching Event

2010-11-12T13:58:00.002-07:00

We don't come to expect much as the preacher walks onstage, do we? We don't expect a life changing encounter. We don't expect a riot to ensue. We don't expect the powers and principalities to come in and shut down the service because something too revolutionary has been spoken.

The truth is: We don't expect much of anything!!

Our young people don't dream of becoming preachers. What excitement is there in that kind of life? How will I see concrete evidence of success as a preacher? It's just a 30 minute speech!

Our best and brightest are not studying to become preachers. They're challenged to become doctors, lawyers, politicians, professors, and teachers. And let me just say, we need Godly people in all of these positions. Everyone is a minister. Everyone is a missionary. But we also need preachers and the well is drying up.

Regardless of what many believe, I believe the world needs more better sermons. I don't think the sermon should be boring. It should be an electric moment of anticipation. I don't think people should have to sit through a sermon so they can go to lunch.

Just a 30 minute speech?!?

Hardly.

The sermon should be an event that rattles your cage, disturbs you, comforts you, inspires you, and provokes you. When the prophets and Jesus spoke, you didn't just sit back and evaluate the sermon. You were caught up in something because the communicator was caught up something.

Now, we might not want a preacher who rattles our cage. I know of people who come to church to be creatively reminded of what they already know. There are people in our churches who believe it's the job of a preacher to say what they already believe better than they can say it themselves.

That's pandering, not preaching! That's itching ears, not prodding hearts!

Some have pronounced the death of preaching. But I'm not ready to preach the sermon's eulogy yet.

We need more young people who can imagine a new kind of preaching. Not a preaching that confirms old traditions. Not a preaching that will ensure a larger auditorium in the next five years. We need preachers who are so wooed by the story of God in Scripture that they can't help but paint a vivid picture of God's burden for humanity to a congregation parched for the living water.

Thoughts?

Marathoning

2010-11-02T14:22:00.003-06:00

Less than 5 weeks from my marathon. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. Perhaps any good thing in our life is scary and exciting at the same time.

Initially, Holly baited me into running a marathon because "If the Biggest Loser contestants could do it, then I could do it." I'm not sure of the motivation behind her cunning challenge, but I have my guesses.

The road has been long and difficult.
-Injured foot (stress fracture or tendonitis)
-Hundreds of Miles
-Mental Battles (The left side of my brain still tells me I'm crazy)
-Wild coyotes and dogs to dodge on the running trail
-Running when I don't feel like it
-Saturdays filled with running instead of watching college football
-Sermons filled with running imagery (my congregation is tired of it)

When I stepped on the track in January, I could barely run a mile. As of last Saturday, I ran 18 miles in just over 3 hours. The transformation has been incredible and the discipline has carried over to other areas of my life.

It seems crazy, but I can honestly say that the half marathon race coming up in a week and half seems like an easy race.

Now, the journey is not finished. I've still got time for injuries or sickness to knock me out of the race. But at this point, I think I've learned something important. It's not just about the destination. It's about the journey! (Who am I kidding? If I don't finish the marathon next month, I will not be a happy person to be around.)

Lord willing (I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I think it means something like "Bless your heart!"), I'll have crossed one more item off the bucket list on December 5th. But I'm not so sure I can shake this running thing. It's like a drug. Once you start, you can only up the dosage to keep your high.

If only the habits of my spiritual life were as addictive.

Perhaps that will be the challenge for 2011.

Reflecting on the VMA's

2010-09-13T14:14:00.003-06:00

Last night, Holly and I sat in front of the television for a couple of hours watching the VMA's. For those of you who aren't familiar with what the VMA's are for one reason or another (I can't imagine why not?), they are the Video Music Awards on MTV. (If you aren't familiar with MTV, it's the music station that no longer plays music. Confusing I know!)

I'm sure there are many Christians who would look down on me for watching such foolishness. If you feel that way, hear me out before you ditch the blog forever.

10 years ago, I consumed pop culture like most high schoolers. What MTV was selling, I was buying. (Sorry mom and dad)

I have to admit I don't connect with MTV much anymore. I don't get Lady Gaga, Eminem, or Justin Bieber. Ke$ha's songs are just plain annoying. And the guy who sings about wanting to become a millionaire badly needs a new lyricist. I guess I'm already admitting the beginning of my cultural descent at age 26 away from what everyone else thinks is cool. Confession is good for the soul.

But for those of you who dismiss MTV out of hand, you might need to pay more attention before you lose your kids.

While there's much about MTV that I'd like to argue with, I learned something about our kids last night in a major way.

MTV is giving our kids a narrative to live in that we're failing to give them with the gospel. Their vulgar, absurd story with their even stranger cast of characters is speaking to our kids in ways our flannel graph characters aren't quite doing. Each of the characters in MTV's world (Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kanye West, Ke$ha, Justin Bieber, etc.) are playing a role in a story that our kids are connecting with.

To pick on Lady Gaga for a moment, so many are connecting with her bizarre antics and role. She plays the role of an outcast, which many of our kids can connect with. She's this generation's Marilyn Manson only a bit more mainstream. She's the outcast from high school who preaches a message of acceptance and tolerance for every group that's despised by mainstream media. And for the teens who find themselves in those awkward years struggling for acceptance, they connect with her character and live into her story.

And with this postmodern generation, if the gospel isn't a big enough and compelling story to live into, our teens will find other stories to live into.

Donald Miller tells the story about a set of parents who are struggling with their daughter's downward spiral. She was experimenting with drugs and was dating the guy every parents prays their daughter will never choose to date. And as the father and mother sit around the breakfast table, the dad interjects, "Why would she date this guy? Didn't we raise her better than this?" And the mother responded, "She's living the best story she knows. We haven't offered her a better story. She has drama, intrigue, chaos, love, and emotion in this story. It's a better story than we've offered her. So, of course she's going to choose this guy."

The next morning the father gathers the family around the kitchen table and tells the family, "I have failed you as a father. I am not offering a good enough story for our family to live by. Here's what we're going to do over the next two years: We're going to raise money to build orphanages for children in West Africa." And within three weeks, the daughter had dumped her jerk of a boyfriend.

No girl who plays the hero in her story chooses to date the loser. That girl wasn't in need of more rules or boundaries as much as many parents might think. She's in need of a larger, more beautiful story to live into.

I believe the gospel can become that story if we begin to share it with our kids in all of its boldness, danger, and wonder. We've domesticated the gospel and the kingdom so much that the culture is selling better stories than we are. And it's got to stop if we're going to see a vibrant church in the next generation.

Perhaps the church should watch more MTV. Not so that we can tell a more relevant story, but so we can understand what story our kids are buying into. The gospel is more compelling than Lady Gaga. But MTV's doing a better job than the church of telling its story.

It's time for the church to tell it's story again in compelling ways. Christianity and church are only boring when we domesticate the untamable message of the kingdom. So, let's take the shrink wrap off of our Bibles and allow our kids a chance to experience Jesus' untamed radical message.

Thoughts?

Creativity

2010-08-10T07:57:00.003-06:00

For those of you who haven't subscribed to Littleton's podcast, we've been on an eternal journey through the book of Exodus. There are only 3 more Sundays in the series, which will end up being a 6 month process.

I love the book of Exodus. It's message must be heard by the church today. Our God is a God who stands with the poor and oppressed and frees his people. But as we've found out during the series, God doesn't free people to become autonomous. He frees them from taskmasters in order to serve the best master possible. As Paul says in Romans 1, we're going to be slaves to something. We might as well choose a loving God rather than an abusive overlord.

Anyway, this past Sunday was one of the best Sundays we've had during the series. It was awesome! The sermon was entitled "Creative Arks" (sometimes brilliant titles just come to me) out of Exodus 31:1-11 & 35:30-36:7.

In these passages, Bezalel is the first person in Scripture who is described as being filled with the Spirit of God. Now, why would God choose to give the Spirit first to a creative man who works with his hands?

Well, that leads me to another question. If we serve a creative God and have creative members created in the image of God, then why is church not considered the most creative place on earth?

The church has always been a bit leery of art. Christians certainly weren't encouraged to go to the theater in the early centuries. And then there was that whole thing about mutilating the nude statues all over Europe. For some reason, we've launched our creative people to do their creative projects in the secular world, but we can't imagine that has anything to do with our sacred rituals on Sunday morning. But God never separated the sacred and secular. That was our project.

And then there's those of us who don't think we have a creative bone in our body. Many of us don't think of ourselves as creative, but that's because we've conceived of creativity all wrong. We've confused creativity with artistry.

But let me assure you, not all artists are creative. Just because you're not artistic, doesn't mean you're not creative. And just because you are artistic doesn't mean you are creative. There are many artists out there who only imitate others because their fear of failing to step out and create on their own is so great that they never create the beautiful picture that God has born within them.

The interesting thing about creativity is that if you don't create what you were intended to create, it will never be created. You have a unique creation within you that won't be born if you don't create it. If Bheetoven wouldn't have written his 5th, it wouldn't have been written. If Leonaro da Vinci hadn't birthed the Mona Lisa, we wouldn't have her. If Michelangelo hadn't carved The David out of stone, it wouldn't exist. If Michael Jordan hadn't committed to basketball, we'd still hail another as the greatest to have ever played the game. If Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and Dieterich Bonhoeffer hadn't stood against oppression, the kingdom would have never been unleashed to the same degree.

God created you to create. Don't let fear keep you from birthing the beautiful gift has born within you.

Sunday was the kind of service you pray will come together. We displayed quilts, photographs, paintings, books, stamps, and cross stitches that were each original creations from people within our congregation. Two youth group girls painted a picture as I was preaching. And the Spirit of God filled the room on Sunday.

The question is: Will the Spirit of God breathe life into dry bones Monday through Saturday?

Look around...You might just get your answer.

A Message For Those Waiting By the Phone

2010-07-07T16:32:00.005-06:00

We all want to stand out. We all want to be known for something. We all want to be remembered when we die.

Perhaps that's why tattoos are so popular.

It's one of the main questions that people ask at the end of their lives. Did I make an impact? Will I be remembered? Did my life count for something?

Ministers happen to ask these questions as well. I don't think it matters what size church you find yourself in. You ask certain questions.

Am I making an impact on people's lives?
Would they even miss me if I were no longer at this church?
Why aren't we growing like we should?
We're growing in numbers, but is anyone looking more like Christ?

Perhaps our Children's Minister search process is prompting these questions right now. Currently, there are about at least 10 Churches of Christ larger than Littleton looking for Children's Ministers. However, there are very few candidates out there. You might say, "Good job security!" And you'd be right!

As I've reflected on this situation, I think there are several reasons why this is the case.
1) Most of the Children's Ministry degrees at our universities are quite new.
2) Many Children's Ministers were inside hires who were members before they were ministers. (They chose to attend the church before they worked there)
3) Many Children's Ministers' spouses make more than they do.
4) Many Children's Ministers' are there for the kids rather than waiting on the next big church to call.

Now, several of these items look like criticisms of ministers in other areas of church ministry. And unfortunately, too often they are. While many ministers find great satisfaction in the church they currently serve, there are also many ministers who are positioning themselves (by the phone) for the next phone call from the next big church.

Which is sad. If all you do in a church is preach sermons in order to be heard well by congregations that might be listening in, you shouldn't consider yourself a preacher. The point is not to climb the ladder. The point is to serve God's people. Ultimately, it's not about you. It's about God. But we often mistake the main character in our stories anyway.

Maybe we can learn something from our Children's Ministers. They aren't up front all of the time. They don't get the "atta boys" and "atta girls" that some of us in the more public roles receive. They go about their business loving kids and making an eternal impact.

It's easy to spend your time playing "Pity Party." It's a party that not that much fun and the food's not that good anyway.

So, hear this as an encouragement fellow ministers. You're making an impact. The size of your pulpit has nothing to do with God's power at work within you.

Jesus said, "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." But perhaps as ministers we need to hear this word, "Unless you become like Children's Ministers, you will never find joy in your ministry."

Discharge the duties of your ministry and you can be assured that you are making an impact. Serve your people well and you can be assured they will miss you if God ever calls you elsewhere. Lead people in the way of Christ with your teaching and example

There's always going to be a bigger church you can wait on (unless you're Joel Osteen). There will never be a more important group of people to minister to than the people God has put in your church!

Maddox's First Birthday

2010-06-29T06:11:00.002-06:00

I want to start out by encouraging you to visit my wife's blog to see pictures from Maddox's first birthday party. She is the picture-taker, premier family blogger, and blog designer in my family. If pictures are what you're looking for, her website it the place to find it. www.hnpacker.blogspot.com

Being the preacher, I provide the prose and words to describe our lives through the lens of word pictures (Which is another way of saying I'm a lazy blogger who can type but lacks the skill to make this an incredible website, but I digress.)

I know every parent is proud of their child. I know every parent thinks he/or she is the best child that has ever lived. I get that. But it's important to sketch out these thoughts through a theological lens or we remain unaffected by the divine in special moments like this.

Today, is Maddox's first birthday. Just that fact brings back a flood of memories. The montage going on in my head goes something like this: Chili's on June 28th with our families, hospital for induction, waiting on Maddox, painful labor (What! It was tough for me too!), beautiful boy, tears, dreams, love, leaving the hospital scared to death, learning to be a father (physically), learning to be a father (in every other way), sleepless nights, swings, prayers, smiles, sitting up, crawling, standing, coos, giggles, cries, "dadda."

All of these words represent pictures in my mind. They're not just black letters on a screen. As I type them, emotion follows these words and pictures. Tears stream to my eyes as I think about this first year of fatherhood.

Let me just say, I'm crazy about Maddox. I love him so much and would do ANYTHING for him.

We want him to live a happy childhood, but more than that, we cannot wait until he confesses Jesus as his Lord in baptism. We cannot wait until he chooses servanthood over selfishness. We cannot wait until he dreams up kingdom dreams that scare us to death. We cannot wait until the world receives the gift that God has given to us in ways that will change the world forever. One year later, we still smile, love on him, and dream of what he will be. There will be a time when our dreams will shatter or become reality, but for now we dream and pray.

Our life has been changed forever by Maddox. My life has been changed forever by Maddox. My actions now impact him in more ways that I want to think. But that provides an incredible opportunity as well. Just as I've told my congregation, so I want Maddox to know the same thing. I want him to follow me as I follow Christ. And as humbling as that statement is, it's also the truth that I want to live out.

Our children don't just pick up God and follow him. They hear about God. They experience God. They see God in us. And eventually, they make their own choices. My prayer this morning is that through all five senses, Maddox would experience God through me. May he see Jesus in me. May he feel Jesus in me. May he hear Jesus in me. May he taste Jesus in me. May he smell Jesus in me.

Because ultimately, spirituality is not a disembodied experience. It's so natural. It finds itself in all of our senses. Our faith is an embodied faith. It's an earthy faith. And if Maddox is to ever pick up a kingdom lifestyle, it will be because of people in his life who choose to embody faith in real ways.

Maddox, your mother and I love you. We would do anything for you. We'll keep giving you bottles and keep you well fed. You might receive a toy or two in the future as well. But our most important gift we can give to you is to aid your five senses. God has given you those senses for a reason. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Update On Life

2010-06-10T11:30:00.006-06:00

I'm regularly reminded by my sweet wife that theology is incredibly boring on a blog and family life is much more interesting. Judging by our hit counts on our blogs, I believe she's right. If you want to check out her blog, you can find it at: www.hnpacker.blogspot.com. She does a much better job of updating people on our family.

But I do want to say that we are so blessed to be in the place we are in right now. We're at a stage in life where you just want to hit the slow motion and make sure life doesn't pass by so quickly.

Maddox will turn one on June 29th. It's hard to believe it's already been a year, but he's an incredible boy (I'm aware no parent has ever said that about their child). I love hearing his belly laughs and watching him grow into his personality. It's been a great 11 1/2 months and I'm so excited to watch him continue to grow. It's been a blast to be his father!

Holly and I are so glad to be in Colorado. We miss our families at times, but we're blessed to be in such a great area. Yes, God blessed Texas, but it's a little more obvious the ways he has blessed Colorado when I drive to work looking at the mountains every morning. We will be celebrating our 6th anniversary next month. I'm so blessed to be married to a woman who is a wonderful mother, an incredible spouse, and most importantly a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

The church work is going well. We're in the midst of a lot of staff transition right now, which is never easy, but I know God is at work in creating the staff he will work through at Littleton. God is doing great things and the people in our congregation are such a blessing in our lives!

All in all, life is good. We're training for a marathon, which is a big commitment, but we're well on our way. I have some book ideas I hope will become a reality some day. And preaching is the best possible profession God could have called me too!

Reflections on 26 Years

2010-05-15T10:18:00.003-06:00

I turned 26 in March, which has got me doing some thinking (I know, what's new?). In the past 10 years, everything in my life has changed. I guess most people should expect things to change over a decade. But in my last decade, there is almost nothing that has stayed the same.

10 years ago, in March of 2000:
-I was a junior in high school (reunion is coming up)
-I was single (I started dating Holly in December 2000)
-Tiger Woods was my idol (with a squeaky clean image)
-9/11 hadn't changed the world yet

It was a different world. We weren't afraid of terrorism. Golf was my life. I wondered if I'd ever find a girl who would date me.

Today, I can honestly say, I only agree with a handful of the things I believed when I was 16. My beliefs about everything have changed because of my encounter with Jesus Christ. In fact, if I were to have a debate with my 16 year old self, I think I would disagree on almost everything except my belief in Jesus Christ.

10 years ago:
-I was basically a dualist (everything was black and white)
-I believed heaven was where my disembodied soul would go
-I thought my money had little to do with my discipleship
-I was a Christian American caught up in nationalism
-I was a Church of Christ apologist
-I was a fundamentalist
-I was a homophobe
-I was solely concerned with my individual salvation

Today:
-I see many more shades of grey on many topics
-I believe God will restore all of creation and put the world to rights
-I struggle with how to best utilize the blessings God has given me
-I am a Christian who happens to live in America
-I am a committed to the Jesus story more than institutional religion
-I read Scripture as a story to live into
-I leave judgment to God and fulfill my role as a lover of people
-I am committed to the message of the kingdom of God and social justice

The list could go on, but that's enough to show the changes within me. I'm proud that I've come to a more holistic view of the Jesus story. I'm so glad I've found the message of the kingdom of God. Most of all, I'm glad I've found the story of Jesus compelling enough to give my life to.

But I've been thinking, the thoughts in my head have changed over the past 10 years, but how much has my behavior changed. The goal of the Jesus story is not just a perfected intellectual understanding of the Christian faith. We're called to live into this story in radical ways that change our actions and behavior. God wants to use the church, as his tool to put the world to rights. He's asked us to join him in his kingdom project.

So, I hope my thinking continues to grow and shift over the next decade of my life, but even more I hope my behavior catches up to my thinking about the kingdom. Because I know a lot more Bible than I do.

For the next decade, I'm committed to the message of Micah 6:8: "He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I don't want to be a Christian who knows what to do, but fails to do it. The wise man in the Sermon on the Mount is the man who hears Jesus' words and puts them into practice, not the man who memorized and understood the Sermon on the Mount better than anyone else. The man who knows the Sermon on the Mount backwards and forwards, but does none of it, is actually the foolish man.

When I look back at my 36th birthday, I hope I can say that justice, mercy, and walking humbly with God are ways I have grown.

I hope my life is a pursuit of justice for the poor and oppressed in significant ways. I hope my children will look at my life and know that I care deeply about social justice (regardless of what Glenn Beck might say about me). I hope this quest changes my standard of living and improves the standard for others. I want to break down systems of injustice in this world.

And I hope my kids will see mercy in my life. After all, if I've received mercy after mercy from my God, how can I be a harsh man with the people around me?

And I hope my kids see my humble relationship with God. I cannot lead them well if I'm not following God well.

So, here's to the next 10 years. May I continue to grow in knowledge, but may I most of all grow in my pursuit of justice, mercy, and relationship with my God.

Pepperdine Bible Lectures

2010-05-03T15:49:00.006-06:00

Holly and I are making final preparations for our Pepperdine Lectures class. For anyone who will be out there, we will be teaching Wednesday morning at 8:30 in the Kresge Reading Room in Payson Library.

Our class topic is Let Freedom Ring (The Exodus: Good News or Bad News?). It will be interesting to teach with Holly because this is the first time we've ever taught together. And even for people at Littleton who have been listening to my sermon series, hearing Holly's thoughts on the Exodus will be well worth the price of admission. And if you get a chance, come to hear Littleton's praise team lead worship. I'll be leading communion for one of their worship times.

The Pepperdine Lectures are one of the great events in Churches of Christ. It's a highlight to my ministry year. Great location, incredible preaching, and needed fellowship! And this year, one of my favorite preachers, Jonathan Storment, gets a shot to address our movement. God's got great things in store!

We're very excited (and maybe a little nervous). Malibu, CA is a tough place to go to a conference, but somebody's got to do it!

Of God's Kingdom

2010-04-27T08:09:00.002-06:00

OK, OK, I know. A blog is meant for blogging. I plan to do a better job. Here is the last post of my series on Littleton's vision. I've got some things on the horizon, so check back.

Of God's Kingdom.

I've grown up in a world of practical atheism. No, my parents didn't brainwash to believe God wasn't active in the world! No, my private school education was not a surreptitious attempt to steal faith from the next generation. No, our Church of Christ was not a radical group with deistic tendencies.

What I mean is, I was slowly, through the use of propaganda, brought to the place where I believed God didn't interact in the world. Sure, I prayed and was taught to pray. But when it really (and I mean REALLY) came down to it, I believed God didn't interact in the world. More on that in a minute.

In the first century, there were four main groups of Jews. The Pharisees, the Herodians, the Essenes, and the Zealots. Each of these groups lived during a time when the Roman Empire had its boot on their necks. They were all asking one major question: How is God going to liberate us? They all had different answers to that question.

The Pharisees believed that a recommitment to the morality of God's law would secure their freedom. They thought, "If we could perfect our lives in concert with Torah, God will send a liberator to free us from the Romans."

The Herodians took a different viewpoint. They were the political realists of their day. They thought, "No one can defeat the Romans, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." So they bowed down to Caesar and tried to use the political system to bring change.

The Essenes were the Amish of a previous time. They sought to leave the evil of the city by moving out into the wilderness to create a "holy ghetto" away from the world.

The Zealots were violent revolutionaries who hoped God would support them in their zealous attempt to overthrow Rome. They got their guns, tanks, and planes and were ready to go to war. Their hero was King David and they were ready to go slay Goliath (Rome).

Today, we can still see similarities between these groups and current day attempts to ask the question, "How will God liberate us?" We, in Churches of Christ, know about the Pharisees. We know all too well about those who seek to use politics in order to make God's kingdom tangible among us today. "Holy ghettos" still pop up on our religious landscape. And violence is still a means some religious people think of using to advance God's kingdom.

But one look at the life of Jesus shows that he doesn't join any of these ideologies. Instead of joining the Pharisees, Herodians, Essenes, or Zealots, he came declaring a new kingdom that has nothing to do with any of these groups. He announces the kingdom of God on the earth. He prays for the kingdom of God to come on earth as it is in heaven.

The kingdom has been misinterpreted so many times throughout history. It's been equated with the church. We've seen it as something that we build. At times, it's even been an earthly political kingdom (which is so antithetical to the life of Jesus).

But the kingdom of God that Jesus announced rejects the ways of the world. It lays down power rather than taking it up. It lays down the sword rather than using it to advance itself. Through the kingdom, Jesus is inviting us into a better way of being human than we've lived out before. The kingdom of God is an alternative to the ways of the Empire.

Now, what does this kingdom business have to do with growing up in a world of practical atheism? I'm glad you asked.

I'm amazed how much of my life and ministry could be done without God. Have you ever asked yourself the question, "What huge kingdom dreams am I currently a part of that I couldn't possibly do without God stepping in?" What plans are you making that are so big that God would have to step in to make those plans a reality? We live such puny lives because many of us have become practical atheists who don't even need God in order to live our lives.

Other than your salvation, how would your life be any different if God wasn't actually in your life?

I'm amazed how often my thinking is so small because I don't believe God is going to do anything. It's all on my shoulders, so I get desperate and act in ways that are inconsistent with the way of Jesus.

Every sin is an act committed (or omitted) because we don't believe God can step in and give us a better life. We're practical atheists. Every act of violence occurs because we've lost the imagination that God might step into our world.

At Littleton, we want to pattern our lives after the kingdom of God rather than the kingdoms of this world. So, we're building an imagination again about what God can do. We're trusting in the ways of the kingdom found in Matthew 5-7. It's a journey, but it's better than practical atheism.

The kingdom of God is about radical trust and belief in a God who inaugurated his reign in Jesus Christ and who will bring his reign to fullness in the new heavens and the new earth. Come, Lord Jesus.

May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

In Pursuit

2010-03-18T14:52:00.002-06:00

In Pursuit.

It's seems like a strange phrase to strain out of our vision statement. At first, I wondered how I could preach a sermon on such a small, seemingly insignificant phrase, but I've found it to be crucial to what it means to be the people of God.

We believe that God has called this church to more than just settling down without a vision. We believe that God is calling this church to pursue something larger than ourselves. We're called to love God and go love people.

The word "pursuit" reminds me of the language of journey and movement. It's not stagnant. Pursuit means we are after something. But pursuit also means risk.

When you pursue a degree, you risk wasting money and failing.
When you pursue a career, you risk the many other options of careers that might be more comfortable.
When you pursue a spouse, you risk your heart in the process.

But anything worth pursuing implies the risk of losing what we had before.

In Hebrews 11, we find what we've always called the "Hall of Faith." We read name after name of people who have followed God faithfully no matter the circumstances. But when I begin to read this chapter closely, I notice that the chapter has a lot of language related to "pursuit, journey, and camping."

I think this principle can be tested: God's people at their most faithful have been people who are on the move who realize they have not arrived. The times we are most unfaithful are the times we begin to build our hopes, dreams, and realities in a city that does not last that we do not call home.

When the Israelites set their tent pegs in the ground tightly, they begin to want to look like their neighbors. They follow after foreign gods. And in 1 Samuel 8, they want a king just like all of the other nations. Yahweh was their king, but that wasn't good enough because the other nations had kings. In that chapter, God warns Israel what will happen with a king, but they settle for a human king anyway.

Over and over again, the people of God have settled in a city and God has had to "put them on the journey" again to get them moving. They settle in Egypt because there's a famine, and God's boots them out through Moses. They settle in the Promised Land and God has to use a time of exile in Babylon to get them moving again. The church settles in Jerusalem despite the Great Commission, which command them to go into all the world, and it takes the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD before they move out again.

And today in North America, we're facing another time of unsettledness. For 1600 years, since the days of Emperor Constantine, the church has enjoyed a time in Christendom when the church and state have gotten along well in the West. For over a millennium and a half, the church enjoyed its place at the center of culture, with its tent pegs tightly in the ground. But I think we're beginning to see signs that God is loosening our tent pegs.

So the question is: Will we fight God's "hint to us" and fight our way back to the center of culture or will we choose to journey with God again in the wilderness as we become faithful on the journey again.

We, as a church, desire to be on the journey of God. Wherever he wants to take us is the place we desire to dwell.

And then there's this incredible verse at the end of Hebrews 11:

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only with us would THEY be made perfect."

Now, that's a verse you've got to sit with for a minute. All of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 are waiting on us to receive what was promised.

We have a part in their story! In Scripture, we don't just read about past times when God worked through people. Somehow, he's planning to use us to finish the stories we read about in Scripture. Through the power of the resurrection and the Holy Spirit, God is continuing to journey with us.

So, yes...we're in pursuit!

For Missional Living

2010-02-10T10:01:00.003-07:00

For Missional Living.

One of the first questions I asked in my interview with Littleton was, "If Littleton was to close its doors, would your immediate neighborhood be impacted at all?"

This question haunts me at night. We're mainly a regional church. So much of our growth over the years has come from transfer growth from the South. But what kind of impact are we making on our neighborhood?

The Message (Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible) says it so well in John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." God, himself, who created all things moved into a specific location on the earth. He lived, moved, and ministered in a neighborhood. God understood, in Jesus Christ, that no ministry is one-size-fits-all. It's specific to culture, language, and location. So, Jesus was born a poor Jew in the first century during the reign of Herod and Caesar, which should be important to us.

For years, ministers have gone to conferences and tried to implement the next great fad to help their church grow. We've thought, "If one church (Saddleback, Willow Creek, etc.) grew in this way, then we, too, can grow in the same way. So, ministers tirelessly go to conferences to stay current on the next great "church growth" strategy. And I believe churches have grown tired of following fad after fad trying to grow.

But God has called us, as the body of Christ, to move into the neighborhood again. We're not looking for the next great parcel of land in the spreading suburbs that will multiply our numbers and make us look great. At the Littleton Church, we're committed to our neighborhood and seeing that God's kingdom will come and his will be done in this neighborhood as it is in heaven. We've moved into the neighborhood and we're not going anywhere.

Now, that decision means that we will have to get to know our neighborhood better. Demographic studies aren't going to help us impact our neighborhood. What will change our neighborhood is when our people get to know our neighbors. Change will happen when we enter our neighbor's lives, sit at their tables, and listen to the way the Spirit is inviting a new imagination about being church in this context.

In their book "Introducing the Missional Church," Alan Roxburgh and Scott Boren, have talked about the church's mission like this:

"The task of the local church in our present situation is to reenter our neighborhoods, to dwell with and to listen to the narratives and the stories of the people. We are to do this not as a strategy for getting people to church but because that is how God comes to us in Jesus, loving us without putting strings on the relationship. It will be in these kinds of relationships that we will hear all the clues about what the Spirit is calling us to do as the church in that place. But this is not a strategy we take to a context; it is a way of life we cultivate in a place where we belong."

Now, wouldn't that change your church! Imagine that! What if the church stopped worrying about growth at any cost and starting thinking about impacting the neighborhood.

Have you ever thought about Jesus' impact on the earth. He could have had a greater impact by traveling all over the world in a jet sharing his message of good news with those in the Western Roman Empire and the Far East, but instead, he chose to stay in an area about the size of New Jersey. It's not the large-scale mission plan we might have thought up.

Christ moved into the neighborhood and eventually changed the world. Perhaps the church needs to take its cues from Jesus. It's time for us to move into the neighborhood and perhaps God will change the world again!

Lamenting For Haiti

2010-01-24T14:23:00.002-07:00

Today, was an incredible day at church. It was one of the best in the year and a half I've been at Littleton.

We had a lament service.

I know. I know. It's not what you would expect would be my favorite Sunday. More than anything, it felt good to be honest and relevant with our feelings today. Today the masks came off.

While there are many benefits to worshipping with the lectionary, today provided the opportunity to stop and lament for the tragedies going on in our own lives and across the Gulf of Mexico in Haiti. It's inauthentic to worship God blindly in the midst of such tragedy and we resisted the opportunity to go on with our lives as if we didn't even notice the pain around us.

So, today we started with a reading of Psalm 42, a lament psalm. There are more lament psalms than any other genre of psalms. Yet, for some reason, we don't know how to do lament. After reading Psalm 42, we spent a congregational time in prayer together.

After the silence, I preached on theodicy, the problem of evil. Some of the questions I sought to deal with were:
-If God is so good, why is his world so bad?
-If an all-loving, all-powerful God is running the show, why does he seem to be doing such a poor job of it?
-Why do bad things happen to bad people.

These questions have plagued me at several points on my journey.

After 9/11, I wondered how God could cause/allow such evil to go on in New York. When my grandmother died, I wondered how God could fail to listen to the faithful prayers of my mother. And when Stevie (a boy in our youth group) died, I wondered how God could bring any good out of such a young death.

Today, I think the problem wasn't God's faithfulness. I think the problem was my skewed expectations of God. I'm now convinced that one of the most fatal flaws to faith is bad theology.

There are some competing religious voices that try to explain how God works in the midst of suffering and chaos in our lives:
1) Deism says that "God does nothing in the world." He created the world, but since that act, he's just waiting for it to stop spinning.

2) Calvinism is a very popular view that is gaining a lot of ground in certain circles. (While I consider Calvinists to be my brothers and sisters, I am very uncomfortable with their view of God's action in the world when it comes to suffering.) Calvinism says that "God does everything in the world." Somehow, in the end, you have to trust that the blessings and tragedies with make sense in the end. But make no mistake, God creates hurricanes and heals diseases. The atheists are having a hay-day with this view right now. The problem of evil is especially a problem if evil comes directly from God.

I'm suspicious of both of these views because this God has no appreciation for what he has created and this God isn't worth trusting.

But I think Jesus offers a third way of looking at how God deals with suffering. He admits that pain and suffering are real (In this world you will have trouble), and the genius of Christianity is not that God omits suffering from the baptized, but that God comes near and suffers with us. He's not the God who causes suffering, he's the God who hears the cries of the oppressed and mourns with them. He's the God who sent his only Son into the world to suffer for the sake of the world, so that he could redeem it.

Romans 8:28 has it right. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Now, this is one of the most misunderstood passages in all of Scripture. It doesn't mean God is changing circumstances in order to bless his people. It's saying that God can crawl into any situation, no matter how hopeless it looks, and do his work of redemption. God will work IN ALL THINGS (good or bad) to reconcile the world to himself.

God isn't doing everything in the world. He's doing something WITH everything in the world! And that's good news, Amen!

Tragedy is still tragedy. Only time will tell what God will do with Haiti, but I still believe one thing. Nothing is beyond the scope of God's redemption. Nothing!

Committed to Being Formed

2010-01-04T09:29:00.003-07:00

Our church is committed to being formed.

Now, that's not how our original vision statement read. It originally read "A Christ-centered community committed to forming disciples..." That's good, but it misses a good deal of the point.

You might ask, "Why is transformation important? I thought we were in the business of "saving souls." Well, we certainly believe conversion important, but more and more, I'm beginning to see conversion as more of a process than an event.

In Scripture, salvation is bigger than baptism. There are three important emphases of salvation in Scripture:
1) We have been saved at the cross and the resurrection.
2) We will be saved when Christ returns to the earth.
3) But there's a third emphasis we rarely focus on. We are being saved!

Acts 2:46-47: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number those who were BEING SAVED."

1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are BEING SAVED it is the power of God."

Salvation has a past, present, and future sense to it. It's rooted in an historical event, waiting on a second coming, and in process in those who have chosen Jesus as their Lord. It's this present sense that spiritual formation focuses on.

The Western Church has thought in either/or terms for so long. And when it comes to spiritual formation there are basically two camps:

One camp says that we are the main actors in our transformation. It's as if we're saved by what we do and changed by the actions we take. You have to do more, work more, and become perfect on your own. Have you ever heard this message before?

The other camp says we can do nothing to jump start our transformation because it's all the work of God. He's elected and predestined certain individuals for salvation and transformation.

I'd like to take a both/and approach. Transformation is the work of God. As much as we want to think we can "pull ourselves up by our own spiritual bootstraps," it takes the fruit of the Spirit to develop an authentic life of faith. God is certainly involved in the process. A caterpillar can’t become a butterfly by behaving like one. Nor can butterflies give butterfly lessons to caterpillars. People cannot change themselves, and spiritual leaders cannot do it for them.

But on the other hand, it's also not a passive process. Christian history is full of people who have submitted themselves to the spiritual disciplines and have seen God's grace at work through them. We have to be committed to spiritual formation as a process or we won't be changed.

In other words, “Only God can bring about change, but he never chooses to do it alone!”

So, I like our statement now much better. At the Littleton Church of Christ, we are committed to being formed.

A Christ-Centered Community

2009-12-16T16:28:00.004-07:00

The first phrase in our vision statement declares that we want to be a Christ-centered community.

The Copernican Revolution truly changed the world.

For most of history, humans believed the earth was the center of the universe and the sun rotated around the earth. But in the 1500s, that idea began to change. Copernicus released his hypothesis in the year that he died that the earth rotated around the sun.

At or around 1610, Galileo began to publically support the idea that the earth was not the center of the universe. This idea did not suit the church very well. It was around the time of the Roman Inquisition and the church denounced Galileo’s premise as heresy. After all in Joshua 10, the sun stood still in the sky, so Galileo’s premise couldn't be correct. Galileo was warned to stop his heresy, which he agreed to do, but 16 years later he published a book that argued that the earth wasn’t the center of everything. He was then tried in the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy,” and spent the rest of his life (8 years) under house arrest. But as we’ve come to find out, Galileo was absolutely right and the church was wrong.

But the Catholic church of the 1500s wasn't the only one to put itself at the center of history. It's a common problem we all have, isn't it?

We've been told a lie. We’ve been told that we are the main actors in our lives. Culture tells us this, but even scarier, Christianity has also assumed the same plot.

It’s all about having “your best life now.” We’ve somehow believed the lie that everything is about us. Salvation is about us. Grace is a reward for our works. The church service is about us. We’ve made Jesus out to be a means to our best possible life on earth. Somehow we’ve been led to believe that we are the main actors and that God sent Jesus in order to help our story. Almost as if Jesus is our life coach.

Our church is trying to proclaim another story. We want to acknowledge that God is at the center of God's story and we are not. Too often, churches make individuals the center of the story. We think that God's grace is given to us because of our faithfulness. We mistakenly place ourselves at the center of the universe, which makes us into consumers who are take the place of God at the center of the story. But we are beginning to understand more and more that God is the writer and director and somehow he has graciously written us into his script of redemption. For some reason, God has chosen to use his broken church to redeem the brokenness within all of humanity.

We want to be a Christ-centered church. God is the subject and he enacts the verbs.

In addition, we want to be an authentic community of people.

So many of us live in a world of pseudo-community. We ask how each other are doing each Sunday, and we're shocked when anyone would tell us anything other than "Great!" We've resigne ourselves to seeing church as a masquerade ball. Many of us wear masks to church in order to hide the pain of our lives.

Through connection groups and other ministries, we are striving to become a more authentic church. A church that seeks to find a place for everyone in our community. We, at the Littleton Church, desire for community to break out in more ways in the future.

The Copernican Revolution changed many things. And with God as the central character in our story, we hope he will change many things in our community as well.

Love God. Go Love People.

2009-12-03T11:14:00.003-07:00

Love God. Go Love People.

Many churches have taken Jesus' two great commandments to be their church's vision. We want to be a church that loves God with everything we have and a church that loves others as ourselves.

Too many churches today are known for the number of people who go to their church and for their church's distinctives, but we want to be known for our love. For years, the Littleton Church of Christ has been known as a place where anyone is welcome. No matter your history or the mess you find yourself in, Littleton is a place where you can find acceptance and help to get your life back on track. Often, that has looked like accepting divorced people before other Churches of Christ were ready to do so, but in the coming years it will mean finding our pews filled with couples that live together, people of different social backgrounds, and homosexual couples.

I know, I know...How could a faithful church find such people in their pews? Because Jesus found tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners as followers around his table. And like Jesus, we don't invite these people to continue their broken lives. We invite these people to join with us (fellow broken people) to find ourselves again in the Jesus story. We invite them with us on the journey because we can't think of a more hypocritical way of life than to define our brokenness as more socially appropriate and less serious than "those" kind of people.

But more than anything, we join other broken people on this journey because we know that God wants to bring healing in all of our lives. So...we'll love God and love people.

But there's another word in our vision statement that can't be missed. GO!!! The call of the church doesn't stop with loving God and loving people. We can do that in the safe confines of our church building. We also believe the Great Commission calls us to leave the doors of our building each week and find ourselves again on God's mission in the world.

This charge is intended to be a short statement to describe what we are called to do every time we leave our doors. In fact, every week at the benediction, I end our service with this phrase (Love God. Go Love People). It's a reminder that we are called to live our the Great Commandments and the Great Commission in all that we do. While this statement, if taken seriously, would change the future of our church in major ways, these are two of Jesus' most fundamental messages. We want to be identified by our love more than any other distinctive we might want to hold up.

Littleton's Vision

2009-12-03T10:50:00.004-07:00

Well, it's been 12 months in the working, but the Littleton Church has committed itself to a new vision that the Holy Spirit has led us to. The whole idea of vision is difficult at times. I'm much less concerned that our church has a vision and I'm much more concerned that God's vision has our church. But I feel like the words we have put together will guide us as we seek to be a community of faith that reaches the community around us.

Our new charge is: Love God. Go Love People.
Our new vision is: A Christ-centered community committed to being formed for missional living in pursuit of God's kingdom.

These two statements are packed full of dreams and imagination for what God might want us to become. Over the past six weeks I have unpacked that vision during my sermons. It was a challenging set of lessons focused on calling our people to a more positive vision. Over the next few weeks, I'll unpack more of what this vision is all about on my blog.

I'm excited about what God is currently doing in our body. We are becoming a much less self-obsessed church as we seek to find ourselves again in God's story of mission and redemption.

For a long time the Littleton Church has been a regional church that has reached out to people throughout the city of Denver, but we are beginning to focus more and more on our surrounding neighborhood.

The question that has been on my mind most over the 16 months I've preached at Littleton is this: If the Littleton Church of Christ were to close our doors, would our neighborhood miss us or shed a tear over our absence? More than anything, I want the answer to that question to be YES!!!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have walked our surrounding neighborhood with three other guys from our church. We have been knocking our neighbors doors, but this is not traditional door-knocking. Instead of handing them a tract and inviting them to church, our first words to our neighbors have been: "We're members at the Littleton Church of Christ across the street and our church has been here for over thirty years. We've been terrible neighbors for not getting to know you, so we're knocking on your door so we can get to know you better and know if there's anything we can do for you or pray for you about."

The response has been pretty amazing so far. People are shocked in a very positive way. We're not selling them anything or expecting them to show up at church. We're just trying to be better neighbors and for some reason they're finding that to be revolutionary.

Churches have to begin to reach their neighborhoods again, but not in the traditional ways we have in the past. We need to imagine new ways that we can get rid of any negative perceptions that might exist when we encounter our neighborhood.

What are some ways your churches are reaching their communities?

Maddox: That's a Wrap

2009-11-16T16:52:00.004-07:00

Well, I've got so much more to share with my little buddy and fortunately I've got many more years to share my advice. I hope these words will be a blessing to him years down the road. In summary, I love my son and can't wait to see him grow in his love for the Lord. I'll be excited to watch him grow into a radical follower of Jesus Christ. I can't wait to see him do so many new things.

Fatherhood is a great challenge and a great joy! Life has certainly changed. I love his smiles and sounds. There will be many challenges ahead, but they will all be worth it in the end.

Maddox, in closing, I want you to live into a story that is bigger than most people live into. Many people settle for small dreams like the "American Dream." Most of our dreams are selfish. We want to become something big.

But God is begging for you to take on his story. He wants you to find your story within the pages of Scripture and join the heroes of faith on their journey with God.

Just this week I was preaching on Hebrews 11 & 12. We often call this passage the "Hall of Faith." We focus on the idea that all of the people in Hebrews 11 had great faith. And at the end of chapter 11, the passage conludes with this statement,

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Wow! I've always read Hebrews 12:1-3, as a passage focusing on the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us and cheers us on our journey, but the end of chapter 11 says something entirely different. Somehow, we are actually the ones who are making their story perfect. Only together with us, can God's story be completed as he desires it. God has graciously written us into his unfolding narrative and we are there alongside Abraham, Moses, and all of the rest of the heroes in Hebrews 11.

Maddox, don't accept a plotline that is too small. God has given you to this world for greatness. He desires to write you into his incredible story. So, dream big, get to know Scripture well, jump into the Bible's story and live like there's no tomorrow (knowing that there is an eternal city that will one day wait on you.)

I love you son!

New Look...

2009-10-14T22:36:00.002-06:00

This is Holly here and I have hacked into Collin's blog in order to give it a fancy little facelift :D. Since he is out of town, I needed something to keep me busy!! So this occupied me for a few hours at least.

I hope you like the new look babe...We miss you and can't wait for you to get home!! Love ya lots!! :D - Hols

Maddox: Risk-Taking

2009-10-11T17:03:00.003-06:00

It seems that more and more the greatest Christian virtue has become balance, which seems completely opposite of Scripture's story. Somehow we've been led to believe that good Christians are those whose life produces the least amount of risk possible.

One look at the life of Scripture's heroes shows something completely different. Abraham? Moses? Deborah? Elijah? The Prophets? John the Baptist? Mary? Peter? Paul? Jesus? I don't think so.

These are men and women of outrageous dedication whose lives looked completely out of balance. The world tries to form us into the same mold as everyone else, but the Sermon on the Mount beckons us to buck that trend.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Don't be angry with anyone? Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Don't worry?

We're not called to be calibrated to the world's directional compass? We're called to be calibrated to the life of Jesus Christ, which puts us way off balance.

Maddox, may God bless you with an imbalanced life that looks like Jesus Christ. Along the way, you might want to take a risk for the kingdom of God. You might want to start an inner-city ministry or become a part of a Christian peacekeeping team in the midst of city torn apart by war. When you have those dreams, don't let your mother and I stand in the way of them. We might want you to stay safe, but don’t let our desire for your safety get in the way of God’s kingdom dream for you. I give you permission to defy us if we are standing in the way of you living out your kingdom vocation.

Should you choose to live this kind of imbalanced life, the world will look at you like you're crazy. However, few balanced people have ever changed the world. Be a risk taker for the kingdom of God. Perhaps nothing else will wake up Americans from our spiritual slumber than your risky life of discipleship!

Maddox: Heritage

2009-09-17T10:58:00.002-06:00

I'm going to sound like an old man, but here it goes:

Tradition and Heritage, Maddox. Two words that you must learn to appreciate (Am I really 25?). Many children grow up unappreciative of the heritage they have been born into.

Maddox, should you choose to accept this mission, by my calculations you are a tenth generation member of the Restoration Movement. One of your long lost ancestors, Collin McKinney, was baptized by Barton W. Stone and helped to start some of the first Restoration Movement churches in north Texas. While we did not give you the honorable and distinctive name "Collin," this is your heritage.

Much like me, you have been born on third base, Maddox. Many children in the world do not grow up with grandparents and parents who all love the Lord, but you will. You will actually be born into a home with parents who have taken a combined 9 semesters of Greek and 2 semesters of Hebrew. (While your mom is not a nerd, I am open enough to admit that your father is.) While your mom and dad will not be perfect examples of Christ to you, we are committed to doing the best we can. You won't have to hit a homerun all by yourself and round all of the bases. You've been born on third base. You just have to find your way home.

I've grown up in the same situation. I was blessed to be born on third base. The walk home wasn't always easy, but it was a huge blessing to have parents, grandparents, and ancestors who paved the way for me to Jesus Christ. At times I took for granted my Christian heritage, but I encourage you to appreciate it. Even though being a preacher's kid isn't always the most fun, you will have advantages other kids won't have.

At this point, you don't know anything about Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, Walter Scott, David Lipscomb, or T.B. Larimore. You don't understand the vision it took for your great-great grandfather, Robert S. Bell, to start the Bell Trust, which gives Churches of Christ a chance to do mission work across the world. You don't know the names Prentice Meador, Rick Atchley, Mike Cope, Rubel Shelly, Chris Seidman, Josh Graves, or Josh Ross, but these are men who have paved the way for what will come next in Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement.

It's easy to be critical of things. Anyone one can tear down a wall. But there are few who can build a new one. I pray that you will be grateful for your heritage. Not grateful in a naive way so that you won't be able to improve things in the future, but grateful so that you can help the church become more faithful to our changing context in the future.

And ultimately, please know that I'm not most concerned about you giving your life to a specific church or movement. I'm most concerned that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ in the most extreme way. Never forget that!

Maddox: 2009

2009-08-28T15:40:00.003-06:00

Maddox, you've been born into the world at a fascinating time. In 2009:

-America swore in its first African American President and Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
-America struggles with a recession that only falls short of the Great Depression in our history
-In my estimation, 2009 has not been a great sports year thus far:
-Golf (Major winners Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover & Stewart Cink)
-Texas Longhorns were robbed of a chance to play in the National Championship football game
-But things are looking up for the Cowboys because Tony Romo broke up with Jessica Simpson
-It's a long shot, but a Rangers-Rockies World Series could happen
-And we're on the brink of football season! (Maddox saw ACU for the first time last night)
-Coldplay continues to dominate the music charts.
-Television continues to put out better material than movies with shows involving lost a bunch of lost people and employees who can never seem to get work done in an office.
-Conan O'Brien took over for Jay Leno on the Tonight Show
-Several important people have died this year:
-John Updike
-Paul Harvey
-Walter Kronkite
-Michael Jackson

Maddox, you will grow up in a world where you are able to get to know your grandparents, aunts, and uncles over webcam instead of just hearing their voices over the phone.

However, many Christians are not very excited about the future of Christianity in America. Several articles have come out this year projecting the decline of Christianity, but this is only bad news for those of us who have a stake in the power of Christendom.

The truth is the kingdom of God is multiplying in many places throughout our world. The decline is only true of white Christianity. There was a time when Europe was the center of Christianity, but all that's left now are a few followers of Jesus and many empty cathedrals. And if I'm honest with you, I think we are entering a similar time in our nation.

But the exciting thing is that God is bringing incredible growth to his kingdom in other places. Christianity is exploding in South America, Africa, and China. Our God is a God of surprises and he is doing some surprising things across the globe. We're finding out that his mission doesn't depend on the West quite like we thought it did for the last millennium.

By the time you turn 25, there might be less than 50 million Christians in America. I tell you this not to scare you about the future, but to let you know that your generation will be crucial to the future of Christianity here. And God wants to recruit you to be his missionary to the United States for such a time as this. Like the first century, you will likely be persecuted for your beliefs. But God always grows his kingdom in times of persecution. He grows his church at the margins. You can be the next Moses or Joshua here. You can be the next Peter or Paul. God has great things planned for you, my son!

Maddox Austin Packer

2009-07-08T10:15:00.002-06:00

I've been waiting to post about the birth of our son because I had an idea about a post I wanted to do for Maddox. But in typical Blogger Collin fashion I've procrastinated and come up with a better idea to hide my procrastination.

Instead of my original brilliant idea, I'm going to write an even more brilliant series of blog posts in the coming weeks in honor of my dear son. These posts are intended to orient him to this broken world and to prompt him toward God's healing kingdom that continues to blossom. While he might not be able to read these posts yet (he's pretty smart so we'll see), I hope these will be posts he can refer back to when he grows up.

I will preach an abbreviated series at Littleton in the next two weeks that will cover some of the content in these blog posts entitled "Finding God in the Delivery Room." My first sermon will focus on the the things the church can learn from our hospital experience. The second sermon will be a sermon directed to Maddox prompting him toward a radical kingdom lifestyle. That sermon will often be very helpful for Littleton to overhear as we seek to become a church that lives as salt and light in our culture. It should be good stuff!

So, let me end post one in the series with the stats. Maddox Austin Packer was born Monday, June 29th at 7:59 PM. He was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

But more than that he's the perfect gift of God that has been given to us for a time. Father, Holly and I commit to raising him in a Christian home. And we long for the day when we will hear the confession "Jesus is Lord" in the baptistry with him. Thank you for this gift!

Perceptions

2009-06-16T08:34:00.003-06:00

I am currently in the middle of six week series entitled "Perceptions." In this series, I've tackled the top six perceptions 16-29 year old outsiders have of Christianity. The research behind this series has come primarily from the book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. The Barna Group has put out this research and I believe the church must consider these findings.

What are the top perceptions?
1) Christians are hypocritical.
2) Christians are only out to convert people.
3) Christians are antihomosexual.
4) Christians are sheltered.
5) Christians are too political.
6) Christians are judgmental.

It's easy to get defensive about these perceptions, but for the people we're trying to reach, perception is reality. It's been a great series so far! The church has certainly responded well to these difficult subjects.

We'll see how it goes this week. I'm preaching on perception #5 (too political), which might be a bit controversial. But if we can't talk about these things at church, where can we talk about them? I believe our people want to have these conversations. And so far, Littleton has confirmed my hypothesis.

What do you think about these perceptions? Are they fair? And what other perceptions aren't named in this list?

Tribute to Prentice Meador

2009-05-13T14:22:00.003-06:00

Prentice Meador was one of the most influential mentors in my life. My first preaching internship was under Prentice in the summer of 2003. Prentice not only showed me how to preach well, he tutored me in the way of Christ. And he was the first person to tell me that I had what it took to be a preacher. His encouragement and advice marked the path that I am still continuing down. And many people don't know that he is one of the biggest reasons I ended up at the Littleton Church of Christ.

Prentice passed away last year unexpectedly on November 21st at 70 years old. His unexpected passing was felt by so many people throughout the world. I was grateful to be able to express my appreciation to him during the Lipscomb Conference on Preaching last October. While many miss him, we are grateful for his life and the impact he had on so many of us.

I am excited to announce that, under the vision and leadership of Bob Chisholm (Prentice's long time friend and co-worker), there is going to be an upcoming book of sermons on the Psalms produced in tribute to Prentice. Psalms was one of Prentice's favorite books and he taught his last college class on the Psalms as well.

The book, currently untitled, will be published by Leafwood and released in October at the Lipscomb Conference on Preaching. The proceeds from this rich resource will go to fund a Christian scholarship in Prentice's name at Lipscomb University. Bob Chisholm and Dave Bland will write an introduction to the book and Randy Lowry, the President of Lipscomb, will write the forward.

Here is a list of preachers who will have sermons in the book:

Lynn Anderson – Psalm 23
Rick Atchley – Psalm 103
Bob Chisholm – Psalm 115
Mike Cope – Psalm 137
Jennings Davis – Psalm 112
Ken Durham – Psalm 126
Harold Hazelip – Psalm 90
Gary Holloway – Psalm 142
Tom Jones – Psalm 51
Jim Martin – Psalm 73
Royce Money – Psalm 71
Collin Packer – Psalm 32
Jack Reese – Psalm 89
David Rubio – Psalm 13
Scott Sager – Psalm 22
Landon Saunders – Psalm 27
Chris Seidman – Psalm 63
Tim Spivey – Psalm 122
John York – Psalm 34

I am so honored to be a part of this project. It will be a great resource for preachers and a great tribute to the legacy of Prentice Meador.

Pepperdine

2009-04-23T17:14:00.002-06:00

Well, I've written the last sermon I will write for a couple of weeks. After 16 Sundays in a row of filling the pulpit, Holly and I will be taking nearly two weeks off while we are in California. This is a big trip for us. It will be our last vacation together as a married couple without kids. It will be our first experience at the Pepperdine Lectures in Malibu (It's great to be a preacher!). We will get to see my parents for the first time since Christmas. And I'm teaching my first class at a Lectureship. We're so excited!

The class I am teaching is entitled "Musings of a Young Minister (Reflections and Regrets from My First Year in Ministry)." In my class, I hope to give valuable feedback to members in a congregation with a young minister, leaders who are tending to a young minister, and to young ministers who are about to begin their ministries, with a bit of a humorous view into the life of a minister that most people never see.

So, as I prepare for my class, I'm thinking back on the past 9 months. Holly and I were talking today about how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were pulling our moving van into our apartment complex. God has been faithful. There have been blessings, curses, and challenges all along the way. But most of all, God has been faithful. And he is certainly at work at the Littleton Church of Christ.

Transitions are sure to come as Holly and I start our family together, but we are so blessed to be surrounded by the body of Christ in Denver. We know there will be no worry of finding baby sitters. We already have so many who have vowed to become surrogate grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, and mentors. It's nice to be able to preach about the Acts 2 community, as I experience it in my own congregation.

So, here I sit, penning my thoughts for my lectureship class. There are already so many good memories and laughs that can be told. And there are many times I have wept for the people in this city and within this congregation. God is at work and it's great to be in the center of his will!

Welcome Clint Askins

2009-04-14T11:00:00.003-06:00

I'm excited to announce that we have hired Clint Askins as our new youth minister. We, at Littleton, are so blessed to have Clint join our team. He is one of the best youth ministers out there and he's going to add so much to our team.

I've known Clint for about 7 years. And while his personality lends itself so much better to youth ministry than mine does, he also brings a wealth of training and internships to his new role. Littleton already is blessed to have one of the best church staffs around, but Clint is going to help us as we move forward with our vision. His heart for reaching out to our community will aid us in our desire to continue becoming a missional church.

- - - - - - - - -

It's been awhile since I updated. So, here are a few things going on in the Packer household:

-Birth Prep Classes (Those videos are a bit too revealing for my taste)
-Two new preaching series before the baby comes (Get excited! No more Mark)
-Tax Day (Everyone loves April 15)
-We're closing on our new home later this month!
-Guys' Golf Trip coming soon
-Pepperdine Lectures
-Maddox on the way! (Our Son)
-5 Year Anniversary (Has it really been that long?)

Life is good! God is good!

25...March Madness

2009-03-18T09:19:00.003-06:00

Well, I turned 25 last Friday. I had a great day skiing with Holly's family up in Breckenridge. You can't beat having your birthday on Spring Break every year. I've been skiing on my birthday at least 6 or 7 times. We had a great time.

And on another note: 25 means that I'm able to be on the insurance of the church vans now. The office made sure to rib me about this. There aren't too many churches who hire preachers who aren't even allowed to take the youth group to any events in their vans. But as of Friday, I'm not the preacher boy, I'm the young preacher. Getting old doesn't feel so good!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

March and April are also two of my favorite months for sports. The Masters is coming up in a few weeks, which is perhaps my favorite sporting event of the year. But this weekend is the opening weekend of the College Basketball Tournament. You can't beat opening weekend of the tourney. 48 games in 4 days. My couch and I are about to become very good friends again! Make sure and fill out your bracket.

Here are my picks:

Final Four - Louisville, Memphis, Villanova, Oklahoma

Championship - Louisville over Villanova

Let me know your picks!

Jesus Wants To Save Christians

2009-02-25T09:56:00.004-07:00

I don't use the words "Must Read" too often, but Rob Bell's book "Jesus Wants To Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile" is as close as it comes. He has written the book I had hoped to write in about 15 years.

Rob has an incredible touch on the pulse of Christianity and culture and what it means to be the people of God in this particular time. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the Jewish background to Scripture. He's an incredibly helpful minister to other ministers.

In his book, Rob takes his readers through Israel's story. Israel was a people who began as slaves in Egypt. Then, God gave them commands of how they should live as his people at Sinai. Then, they became Egypt when they enslaved others in order to build God's temple. And finally, they entered exile and becames slaves once again.

God always hears the cries of the oppressed. And anyone with their boot against the necks of the oppressed are in God's line of fire. It's not going to fair well for them.

Bell gets into what it means to be the people of God when you are the empire or when the empire has its boot against your neck. And Bell makes an incredible case for why America is the empire today and what we, as Christians, should do about it. Incredible stuff! Challenging stuff!

Now there is a danger if you read this book and go to my church. It is possible to think Rob Bell came up with these thoughts, but the truth is I did and I failed to copyright them. So when you hear them from my pulpit, I don't want you to think I'm stealing them. (Wink!) God is doing a new thing among a new generation. Let's continue about what it means to be the people of God in our location and time!

It's a Boy!!

2009-02-10T09:17:00.002-07:00

Holly and I found out last Thursday that we're having a boy!! And I have to admit, I'm very excited. While a spendthrift like me is excited by anything that will lessen my child's wedding expenses, there's so much more to be excited about with this news. (C'mon people I'm not that shallow!)

The dreams are beginning for me. Dreams of what my child might become. The next Tiger Woods? (Although it sounds like the competition might be stiff because Tiger just had a boy of his own named Charlie Axel Woods.) The next Warren Buffett? The next Dave Matthews? The next Martin Luther King Jr.? The next Max Lucado? Who knows? And that is what's so exciting.

While Holly gushes about the opportunity to pick bedding and nursery, my dreams are about playing catch with my son, worshipping with him in my arms, and teaching him about the way of Christ.

What are your first memories of dreams you had for your first child?

The Greatest Feeling

2009-02-03T11:27:00.003-07:00

While most of my posts are related to Christianity or some serious subject, Holly reminds me that I need to branch out with the content of my blog. So...

Holly's pregnancy has been a time for experiencing firsts. I remember being amazed by our first sonogram and seeing our miracle for the first time. It's beyond comprehension to think that somehow Holly and I have created a human that's growing inside of her. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time was also incredible.

But for the past few weeks, Holly has been able to feel the baby moving around and I haven't yet. Until last night! It was such an incredible moment to feel our baby move. And it's so reassuring to feel movement after our serious car accident about a week ago. There are many firsts to go. It's definitely an exciting time.

Also, Holly and I found out that we are going to find out if it's a boy or girl on Thursday. The dreams that every parent has for his/her child are beginning to form in my mind. And they will solidify when we find out the gender later this week.

But regardless of the many dreams I have for our child, the number one dream is for the day when our child will confess Jesus Christ as Lord in baptism. And I pray that he/she will live a life aimed at transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. And that prayer is more important than any other prayer I could pray. I want our child to be healthy. I want our child to do so many wonderful things. But all of the dreams I have are worthless if he/she isn't a child of the king. So pray with me! Continue to pray for the health of our child. But most of all, lift up prayers for his or her transformation into the image of Jesus Christ.

That's what being a parent is all about!

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T09:36:00.002-07:00

On the heels of January 19th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today is inauguration day. And some are claiming Martin Luther King's dream speech is coming to fruition today. But I have to wonder if that is the case or not today.

Don't get me wrong. Today is a historical day that I will one day tell my children about. It's a momentous occasion when any country can overcome years of prejudice and racism to elect a person from a tribe once enslaved on our own watch. Today, I must say "I am proud to be an American," despite the greater allegiance I have to the kingdom of God.

Technology is amazing today. I'm able to watch CNN's live stream on my computer while watching the Facebook comments of my friends on the right side of the page. It's something would have been inconceivable only four years ago.

And I must say that I'm concerned. Not concerned about the direction of this nation today, like many of my friends on Facebook. I'm concerned about the civility of the comments of Christians about this moment. As Christians, our words are always to be seeded with salt and light. We are people who give comfort in times of distress and encouragement in times of grief. No matter the flavor of our politics, as Christians, we are called to speak words of grace and peace rather than words of hate and dissention. In fact, speech of this kind is unchristian and unbefitting of anyone who claims the name of Jesus Christ. And when our kids are spewing hate on Facebook, it is telling because they are learning this hateful speech from somewhere. And I'm afraid all too often they repeat the words they hear from their parents.

As Christians, who pledge their allegiance first to the kingdom of God, our call is to submit to the governing authorities (Rom.13:1-5) as long as they do not conflict with our calling as citizens of the kingdom of God (Acts 5:29) and to pray for our leaders and seek to live at peace (1 Tim. 2:1-3) as much as possible so that we can go on as citizens of the kingdom of God.

Now, back to our focus on Dr. King's speech and how today is the fruition of his dream. Dr. King's end goal was racial equality for all people, but for him, the possible means to that goal were few. Taking his cue from Jesus and Ghandi, Dr. King insisted that lasting justice and peace can only come through loving our enemies rather than retaliating against them. In several of his speeches, Dr. King demanded that no one participate in his rallies who harbored hatred in their hearts against their oppressors and who were not willing to commit to nonviolence regardless of the actions of those they encountered. Dr. King's dream was for freedom, but not at any cost.

And that is why I question the fruition of Dr. King's dream today. Today is a great day, but have we gained any ground on the heart of King's dream, which was exclusively about love, nonviolence and nonresistance? I'm not sure we have. And as Christians this should be our task. We are people called to live as citizens of a kingdom who refuse to engage in violence, hatred, and dissention.

I'm still after King's dream because it is Jesus' dream. The kingdom of God is expanding. I'm praying for our President today. I'm praying that he will receive wisdom from God. But more than that I'm praying that God will bring his kingdom and that he will reign over all nations and kingdoms today. Amen!

2008

2008-12-31T20:51:00.010-07:00

What a year! This year I've gotten to know responsibility and transition more than any of the previous years of my life. Holly and I are so blessed. God has been so good to us. Here are my top 7 highlights of 2008.

7. Tiger Woods' US Open Victory - While Tiger Woods places this year's US Open victory as second on his incredible resume (to the '97 Masters), it is his best victory and the most incredible sports moment I have ever seen. With a double stress fracture of his left tibia, Tiger dismissed his doctor's orders, downplayed his injury to the media, and grimaced to victory in his fourteenth career major. To be honest, my biggest worry wasn't whether he would win or not. I was most interested to see if he could finish his third round, fourth round, and playoff round still walking. Incredible drama! I can't wait to see how his return goes in 2009.

6. A 30 yard addition to my golf game - Following the golf theme, my golf game improved a great deal this year. While my golf score remained a mediocre "lukewarm," I improved my distance by thirty yards. However, you might be surprised that this had nothing to do with the large size of my biceps. Instead, my thirty yards can only be attributed to the thin air found in mile-high Denver. But I still added 30 yards!

5. Graduating with my Master of Divinity - While this degree conferred on me some level of divinity, I have been upset that people haven't begun to call me master. My dad has his doctorate and people write him letters calling him Dr. Packer, but I haven't been written to as Master Packer once yet. Although, I do like my new name, Pastor Packer. It fits very well.
Graduation was a great moment. I had worked so hard for six years to get my degrees, thus it was great to finally walk across the stage knowing I had accomplished something. However, I didn't learn everything in school. In fact, my most repeated phrase so far in the office is "I didn't learn that in grad school!"

4. Moving to Colorado - Though there is much to love about Texas, the move from Abilene to Littleton was a "step up" (no offense to my Abilenian readers). Even though I haven't experienced a full winter yet, I can already tell Colorado will not take much getting used to. A strategic office facing toward the mountains doesn't hurt too much either. Though I will never outgrow my love for the Cowboys and Longhorns, Colorado is a wonderful place to live and minister.

3. Obama's Election - For anyone who knows me well, you might be surprised by how high this one made it on my list. I've always had an interest in politics, but I am continually convinced that God desires for us to work to bring change through laying down our lives in the kingdom of God rather than taking up power to influence the kingdoms of this world. But regardless of your political affiliation, I hope we can all agree that America has come a long way. We have a long ways to go, but November 4th was a historic day in our nation. Americans have gone from enslaving African Americans to electing an African American as our 44th President.

2. Joining the Littleton Church of Christ - We couldn't have asked for more out of a church family. While Holly and I have had wonderful church families over the years, we love the people at the Littleton Church of Christ so much. I love preaching. I love the people. I love the leaders. And I love that we are a church that wants to reach out to our community in relevant ways. We still feel like we're in the honeymoon phase, but there are some exciting things having to do with vision that are going to take place in 2009. I can't wait to see the incredible things that God is going to do through his church in Littleton.

1. The Pregnancy - While Holly might not put the pregnancy, itself, as our greatest moment of 2008, we would both agree on how excited we are to become parents in 2009. We're excited to find out if we are having a boy or girl in February. We are just so excited! And to share that news with our extended family and our church family was one of the most incredible moments of our year. We are so blessed and excited to be where God has placed us! We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to!

May you all have a blessed 2009!

Bachin' It

2008-12-16T10:00:00.002-07:00

Well, I'm in the middle of the my nine-day bachelor experiment. Holly is on her trip with her sisters and her mom to St. Kitts. This is the longest period I have been away from Holly since we started dating during our junior year of high school (2001).

It's interesting to gauge the responses of people to my situation. People are genuinely concerned about me. But being the analytical person I am, I'm trying to determine the reason for their concern. Some are concerned because they know how it feels to be without a spouse for a period of time. Others are concerned for my health and well-being. But I promise I won't get tired of alternating between Cheerios and Wheaties for nine days. Some are concerned for Toby, our dog, because they worry he will starve because of my forgetfulness.

But I hear the tone of others and they are genuinely concerned about if I will make it. They know Holly is my better half or 3/4's, but am I that helpless? Perhaps the answer is yes. With a church as loving and caring as mine, I feel like I'm on Survivor and people are excitedly watching my life to see if I will get through the week or bow out due to malnourishment, emotional distress, or some other treatable disease.

Thank you for your love and encouragement. I love and miss my wife dearly, but as they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Don't feel sorry for me. But feel free to drop by and leave a meal at the doorstep if you don't mind.

The Question We've Been Asked Most

2008-12-02T09:11:00.002-07:00

People in Colorado have been so wonderful to us. We were warned that people from Colorado are not as warm and inviting as people from Texas. That has not been our experience, though part of that might be because so many people in Colorado are originally from Texas.

It seems as though every stage of your life begs a question from people. When Holly and I got engaged, the question was "How does it feel to be ENGAGED (with emphasis and a higher pitch on engaged). Then when we were married, the question was "How does it feel to be MARRIED (same emphasis). But since we've moved, the question we've been asked most is "How is your transition going?"

To go public with our answer, the truth is it has been wonderful. There's always a concern when you move that you will be unhappy with the new location and want to move closer to home. But we haven't felt that way at all. We love Colorado. We love South Denver. We love the people at the Littleton Church of Christ. And we love our lives. But most of all, we feel called by God to live here and that is the most important feeling we could have.

We are here for a reason and we are continually reminded of that. I have always felt I was called to make the most kingdom impact by preaching for an established church that was willing to reach out to lost people. And our church is on that journey. We are currently repositioning ourselves for greater kingdom impact. We want to be a church that loves God and leaves the doors each week to love people.

So, you can ask us the question again, but our answer is "We're doing great. We've made the transition. We're ready to be considered just another couple in a church that is ready to grow and do exciting things. We are ready to be hospitable to outsiders. We are ready to be creative and innovative in our practices. We are ready to go!"

However, I'm smart enough to know another question is about to be asked of us: "Are you ready to be parents?" That one I'm not so sure about. You'll have to ask me a few more times.

A Baby On The Way

2008-11-24T09:39:00.002-07:00

According to Holly, my blog is always too serious and theological. Well, I thought I would take a break from the deep subjects of life and work in order to write a personal blog. One that should be worth your while.

If you have not already heard, Holly and I announced last night at Journey that we are expecting our first child. We are so excited to have received this news! At this point, Holly is about 9 weeks along. So, we will be looking forward to this change of life around the middle of summer. (At least we're in Colorado rather than Texas. 90 degrees seems more bearable than 100.)

We would ask for your prayers during this transition in our lives. Prayers for the safety of Holly and our little one. Prayers for us as we prepare ourselves to be parents, and most of all, prayers for the day that the child growing inside of Holly's womb will one day confess Jesus Christ as Lord. More info to come!

I Love Preaching

2008-11-18T09:36:00.002-07:00

I love preaching. My love of sports goes back farther than my love of preaching, but my love for preaching is growing. There are many today who are insisting that the power of preaching is diminishing. With so many words out there in the world, some claim that the power of the spoken word is losing its significance.

But I am part of a group that believes that preaching is still so important. I believe there is great power in the spoken word. Any time God's Word is proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit, there is great opportunity for incredible things to happen. People are still being changed.

However, the competition is much greater today. WIth the invention of the iPod and podcasts, the best preachers from around the country are now available and contained in iPods across the country. There have always been incredible preachers, but now more than ever, those preachers are available to the masses across the world. It's a wonderful and scary thing all at the same time.

I have my favorite preachers. I have my favorites from previous generations including David Fleer and Rick Atchley among others. David has a unique way with words and images that I could only hope to one day touch. His introductions at Preaching Conferences are written with more flourish than sermons I spend an entire week on. And Rick is a prophet who speaks the truth despite the consequences. He is certainly a man of God. Mike Cope, Lynn Anderson, and Jerry Taylor also have a special place in my heart.

And I have my favorites who fill the speakers of my car each week from those who are a bit older. I'm grateful for Chris Seidman, Tim Spivey, Dan Bouchelle, Wade Hodges, and others who excite me about the ways our generation will follow in their footsteps.

And I am excited by the men who are my age who are just starting to speak the truth in exciting ways. Josh Ross and Jonathan Storment are two who come to mind. I can't wait to get their podcasts and listen each week. They make me want to be a better preacher.

And I have also been blessed by several outside of our movement who help me think in creative ways about my preaching. Rob Bell uses more Hebrew in each sermon than I could ever use in my preaching career. You have to be amazed by preachers who plant a church with a series out of Leviticus. I also think a lot of Erwin McManus and the Mosaic Church in Los Angeles. Their church is on the cutting edge in their belief that creativity is a natural result of spirituality. Holly and I were blessed to be able to go to his church while we were in California earlier this year.

So, who are your favorite preachers? What do you appreciate most about good preaching?

Election Day

2008-11-04T10:54:00.003-07:00

I have my feelings, theological and personal, about today's events. I'm sure we all know by now that today is election day in the US. I've heard many comments about each of the candidates. People are opinionated. So I want to take my own poll today without inserting my biases.

So two questions. Are you voting today? What is the (one) word that describes you most today as you await the announcement of America's next President?

I'd be interested to hear as many responses as possible.

(I'd also be interested in the word that describes those after the announcement of the President.)

What Is Your Name?

2008-10-27T10:38:00.004-06:00

One of the most amazing experiences for preachers is having your sermon go in a different direction than your sermon preparation would have predicted. I had that experience this week.

I was preaching on Mark 5:1-20, the story of Jesus casting demons out of a man and sending them into a herd of pigs. My sermon preparation told me that I should preach on God's restoration of people. But as I began to write my sermon, Jesus' question to the man began to change the way I looked at the text.

He asked, "What is your name?" Now that might seem like a silly question, especially since Jesus gets the inane response, "My name is Legion, for we are many!" But I think Jesus' question is a question we often forget to ask.

Names are important. When we use a person's name, we humanize him/her. Too often we characterize people as Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, Republicans, Democrats, homosexuals, conservatives, liberals, or terrorists, and we never get to know people by their names. As long as we don't get to know people in these groups well enough, we can continue to demonize them as opponents.

However, my great desire and longing for church unity came when I met Jamie who happened to be a Baptist. It's interesting how people's views toward divorce and remarriage change when their children go through a divorce. We have to start knowing people well enough to know their names, so that we stop allowing generalizations to keep us from knocking down walls.

In Mark 5, Jesus asks this question to a man who had been known by every other designation except his real name. He was known as a lunatic, a demon-possessed man, a monster, etc. But Jesus cared enough to ask him his name.

Let us stop the cycles of dehumanization that our culture allows to continue by asking people their names. Our country found it easier to kill and take land from this country's original inhabitants because we called them Indians. It was also easier to dehumanize and enslave Africans when we made up horrible nicknames for them rather than learning their real names. And it's easy to create laws against illegal aliens when we use them for their services and never learn their names.

We have to stop these cycles of dehumanization. Every empire's downfall began when they stopped caring about the names of the people they enslaved and destroyed. Perhaps we should learn one another's names. Who knows? It might just save us from our sectarian past and it might just save this nation from God's wrath.

The Shack

2008-10-16T09:29:00.002-06:00

Last night, beside the leadership of Dick, a friend and mentor, I began a discussion class on The Shack for our Wednesday night classes. It was a great start to the class. Many Christian leaders have crossed this book off of the appropriate reading list for their congregations. While I understand some of their concerns, I cannot understand their unwillingness to have a conversation with our culture. Whether you agree with the book or not, millions of unbelievers are reading this book in their quest for spirituality.

Christians have had an interesting relationship with culture through the years. There have always been those who have walled themselves off from culture in monasteries for their spiritual quests. Others have sought to censor every book afraid of what some ideologies might do to those with "weaker" faith. In the process, Christians have missed many opportunities to have viable conversations about God with those who are seeking.

It is my belief that we must discern who God is in whatever ways culture tries to portray him. It will be important to name heresy for what it is. And it will be important to name God-honoring material for what it is. But to me, missing out on culture's conversation about God is always a mistake. The DaVinci Code and the Passion of the Christ are just two cultural phenomena that gave us an opportunity, but many churches failed their members by not preparing them for the conversation.

I am always excited by Christians who want to have a conversation with the world. Perhaps the most positive thing Postmodernity has given us is a group of people with a renewed interest in their search for spirituality. New age movements have caught their attention. Eastern spirituality is on the rise. There are all kinds of pseudo-spiritual conversations going on out there. It's time that we join the conversation. And the next few Wednesday nights provide the Littleton Church an opportunity to do just that!

And beyond the class itself, I have an incredible opportunity to watch an incredible teacher teach beside me. And no one should pass up an opportunity like that either. The next few weeks will be full of possibilities!

Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John?

2008-10-06T08:56:00.002-06:00

One of the most interesting experiences of my first three months in ministry is meeting so many new people. This experience naturally happens with any move, but ministry tends to send many people your way. While I have never considered myself a psychologist (I haven't even taken any psychology classes at any level), I love to hear people and stories and understand how their background shapes their future.

Experts would claim that they could determine one's personality by asking several questions in an instrument (e.g. Myers-Briggs, DISC, Prepare-Enrich, etc.).

But I have my own study I like to do with people. I think a Christian's favorite gospel says a lot about them. Each gospel writer emphasizes certain aspects of Jesus' life and tells the story in a different way. Some of the gospels are more oriented toward Greeks, while others are written for Jews. One gospel seems to be written for second generation Christians. Some gospels include more of the red letters, while another is written with just the facts.

So, I'd like to take a poll this morning. What is your favorite gospel and why?

ACU Lectureship

2008-09-29T13:54:00.002-06:00

During my time at ACU, one of my favorite times of the year was lectureship. Few students took advantage of the offerings and speakers, but I attended every hour of lectureship that was possible. I loved being challenged by new ideas.

Last week, Holly and I got to go to Abilene for lectureship. It was great to see many old friends, professors, and ministers. In the future, I will treasure ACU lectureship and the opportunity to take a break from my routine in order to rest, renew old friendships, and think critically about the church's future.

While at ACU I had the opportunity to hear sermons from our movement's greatest preachers. I heard David Fleer, Randy Harris, Rick Atchley, Chris Seidman, and Rubel Shelly share powerful messages from their heart. These are men who are not only wonderful thinkers and preachers, but they are also incredible men of God who care deeply about the church and live righteous lives.

I look forward to future lectureships. I look forward to opportunities in the future to think deeply about the church and how we can be more faithful to God's call to be relevant in our culture.

I left Denver excited about a week to break from my routine, but by the end of lectureship I was lamenting that I would not be preaching on Sunday. I love preaching. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. Lectureship was just what I needed. And I am excited about lectureship at Pepperdine in May. Abilene is wonderful, but there is something about Malibu that makes me think I will have a good time there also.

New Blog Design

2008-09-15T10:05:00.002-06:00

Well, those of you who know me best know that I would have never changed my blog design. I'm the kind of person who never changes up my menu selections at restaurants. I like to keep things stable for the most part. So, who changed my blog design you ask?

My wonderful wife Holly did. She has a great eye for design and she loves me enough to do it for the inexpensive price of $0. And for those of you who know me, you also know that I wouldn't pay for such a change. So, it's an all-around good deal.

Holly, thanks for my new blog. I love it and I'm grateful for the time you put into it. For all of you bloggers out there, I don't want to commit Holly to anything she doesn't want to do, but a new business my be brewing in the Packer house. We'll see. Great job Holly!

Transitions

2008-09-09T08:56:00.002-06:00

Last January, I wrote a paper on life transitions. William Bridges is an expert on transitions who has been a part of a few transitions in his own life. He talks about three stages of any transition. Transitions include an ending, an in between phase, and a new beginning. These stages might seem obvious, but many people go through change in their lives and never make the transition that must go along with any change. Each stage is crucial for someone to successfully traverse change.

The questions people seem to be asking Holly and me most are "So, are you settling in? How's the transition going? How are you doing?" Without knowing it, people are concerned and asking most about our transition. They ask us this question over and over again because transition is vital and we all struggle with it.

We did a great job of ending in Texas. We said all of the good-byes to friends and family. We're grateful to Littleton for the time they gave us to recover from graduate school, say our goodbyes, and make the first stage of our transition successful. Now, our ending doesn't mean we don't miss Texas. Right now, we don't miss the weather, but parts of us miss the people we love so much.

I hope we spent enough time in that in between phase. The neutral zone is important. It's so important to reflect on the past and set new goals for the next stage of life. Having two months in Dallas with our families allowed us time to reflect on what the future might hold. We left for Denver with so much excitement about what God might have waiting for us to do in Colorado.

And now we are finishing that transition in our new beginning. We couldn't have asked for more really. We have had an incredible welcome to Denver. It seems like every night of the week we are meeting new people who want to get to know us. We couldn't be happier with our new church family and friends.

The transition is coming to a close. We will still deal with the affect of our move for years to come, but we are doing well. We are grateful for the past and excited about the future. And there's not a better place to be than that.

The only transition we are struggling with most is our sports teams. I rooted for the Broncos last night, but Dallas still holds our hearts if Denver were to ever face the Cowboys in a Super Bowl. Some would say that's poor transition, but at least we're loyal, right?

Olympics

2008-08-25T16:17:00.002-06:00

I am amazed by the Olympics.

Just a few things to be amazed by:

-$40,000,000,000 spent by China to put on the games.
-The incredible number of hours spent by each athlete to prepare for the games.
-The ability God has given so many people in this world.
-The creativity God has planted within individuals that was shown during the opening and closing ceremonies.
-The amazing diversity of God's Creation.
-The unity that is forged by these games between countries that cannot talk together otherwise.

I guess I am most amazed by the last two amazing parts of the Olympics. It is easy for us to conceive of God's kingdom as mostly made up of Americans. But the Olympics reminds me of the diversity of God's Creation. The new heavens and the new earth will include people from all nations and nationalities. In fact, as I watched the closing ceremonies last night, it was as if I was watching heaven on earth.

There are protests in the city of Denver as we speak around the events of the Democratic National Convention. There are also wars and genocides which place violence as the means to fixing the worlds problems. Yet, amidst all of the chaos in this world, last night I sensed heaven on earth.

Other than sports, what event or situation brings all nations together under one roof? I can't think of anything but the Olympics. Unfortunately the Olympics represent a two-week hiatus from the strife between nations. However, we serve a God whose kingdom is advancing against the powers of this world.

Last night, sports provided a glimpse of the kingdom and I was a happy viewer!

Becoming A Church of Christ

2008-08-20T07:27:00.003-06:00

I love Churches of Christ. I am a ninth generation member of the Restoration Movement. If I didn't love our movement, I wouldn't have become a minister in Churches of Christ.

However, we also have a checkered past and a poor reputation in many areas. Our arrogant "We are the only ones going to heaven" attitude has surely turned people off in the past. Our movement was never intended to become such a sectarian movement. We began seeking to be "Christians only and not the only Christians."

I want to see us thrive again! I want people to know Churches of Christ as a group of churches that loves God and loves others. I enter ministry in this movement in order to transform our reputation, but more than that, to further the name of Jesus Christ above all other names.

This past Sunday, I challenged Littleton to become a Church of Christ. In other words, to become Christ's church. We represent Jesus in every moment of our lives. And if we are going to leave Christ's name as the center of our name as a movement, we must be willing for him to lead our church in every way. The sign claims it's his church, but often we try to make it our church.

We are always becoming a Church of Christ. We are on a journey, and until Christ comes again, we will always be in the process of becoming his church. Live into the name on our sign. Ask God to transform you into the image of his Son.

Grace

2008-08-16T07:22:00.002-06:00

What a week it has been! My first baptism as a minister occurred this last Wednesday night as Larry, an 88-year young man asked me to baptize him. I couldn't have been more pleased. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to raise Larry out of the waters of baptism with the smiles we shared together.

That night I was preaching on grace. This ever-elusive doctrine we preach, but that we rarely understand and experience in our own lives. I can remember thinking of God as a judge who demands perfection from us. God the judge wasn't preached from the pulpit, but somewhere in my beginning understandings of God was this harsh taskmaster of a God who would never be happy with me. So, I tried to be good enough for him, and with every sin I was turned away from God.

But grace asks something far different from us. Rather than turning away from God, grace allows us to turn toward God as we move closer to his heart. At times, I think the pendulum has swung in our churches. Instead of the fire and brimstone law that was preached from our pulpits years ago, we preach grace, grace, and more grace. And that is the gospel isn't it. Not a cheap grace, but a deep grace that heals us from our deeper understanding of our sin.

God, the judge never made me feel accepted. But God, the one described in Scripture as steadfast love, is a God I want to follow. I want to seek him in his silence. I want to chart his wonders in my life. I want to live for him. That's a God I can worship!

Tomorrow, I begin my series in the gospel of Mark with an intro sermon out of Hebrews 1:1-3. I've entitled it "Becoming a Church of Christ." You'll have to wait and hear it (at church or online). Doesn't a title like that just peak your interest. More on that in the coming week.

The Four gods I've Worshipped

2008-08-06T21:03:00.003-06:00

I've begun a four-week Wednesday night series entitled "The Four gods I've Followed." Through this series, I am intending to let the congregation know about my evolving relationship with God through the years. Each week I am talking about a different understanding I have had of God throughout the years: God the genie, God the judge, God the absentee father, and God the great lover.

Each time we enter worship together as a community, we should become aware of new facets of God. He cannot be kept in the boxes we try to keep him in. He is bigger, deeper, and more mysterious than the church during the Enlightenment could ever consider. God isn't either/or, he is both/and. Love and wrath, grace and judgment, mercy and demands, personal and mysterious. I love experiencing him in new ways every time I encounter him.

The past two weeks have been wonderful and difficult at the same time. I feel so blessed to work with such a great staff and church. The people are wonderful. The view out of my office window could not be better. Holly and I are so happy in Colorado. But the past two weeks have also brought their share of struggles. We have mourned the loss of two incredible people in our church.

The phrase that I keep repeating is "I didn't learn about this in grad school!" And that is the exciting part. Though I've finished a good part of my academic education, I'm getting an entirely new education on the job. And nothing can replace the things I am learning now.

Question: What other ways have you understood God in your life?

My First Sunday

2008-07-29T15:55:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, but my first couple of weeks at church have been a whirlwind. I am busy with many good things, but busy nonetheless. I'm going to have to learn a new word over the next year or so. "No" is not currently in my vocabulary. I'm a people pleaser, but in order to keep my priorities straight with my sweet wife, Holly, I'm going to have to learn to say "no" at times.

Sunday was incredible! The congregation stood in applause on Sunday for Mike Myers's incredible 35 years of ministry at Littleton. Mike and Carol are already such a blessing in our lives. I will be blessed by our relationship for years to come. The elders also prayed over Holly and I in our new ministry. To have a man like Charles Roberts ask God's blessing over us was a great joy on my first Sunday!

Sunday night was also a great time of fellowship and ice cream. Several people from the congregation gathered to celebrate Mike's many years and my entrance into the body of Christ at Littleton.

For those who were not there, the sermon went very well! I had so many people praying for me in Littleton, Dallas, and across the country. Thanks for the prayers offered on my behalf! I felt such a great peace and the people were so gracious in their response.

The daily grind of ministry is already upon me. And the I already feel the tyranny of preaching, that is that Sunday comes once a week. But God is faithful and he will continue to supply the words that he wants spoken. So, I will listen and wait on him to prick my heart with his desires for this congregation.

Holly and I are so blessed! Keep up the prayers!

Crouched At the Starting Line

2008-07-12T09:40:00.004-06:00

Holly and I are now officially residents of Colorado. On Tuesday, we loaded up our 26-foot Penske truck with all of our belongings and set out west for Littleton. It is such a strange feeling to know that all of your belongings are behind you inside of a single truck. Not only did we move our things this week, but we also picked up and moved our lives, which is perhaps a bigger revelation.

Though there were a few bumps along the way, we rolled into Littleton on Wednesday evening with the promise that there would be several people at the apartment on Thursday to help us move into our 3rd floor apartment. Sure enough, we had more than 10 incredible guys who moved all of our "stuff" into our apartment in under an hour. We were completely floored by the help we received!! It was an incredible blessing to meet and sweat with these men who we will share our lives with in the coming years.

We are getting to the point of being settled this weekend. It is so exciting to think about how God will use us to bless the people of LCC and how we will receive similar blessings as well. I could not imagine moving away from our families if it were not for our new family at LCC! We already feel like we have people who we can call on for anything we might need and we can foresee so many wonderful relationships that will bloom in the coming months.

What an exciting time! While we have moved beyond our comfort zone, God uses our discomforts, weaknesses, and needs to show his incredible blessings and mercy. We cannot wait to see what God is about to do in our lives and in the lives of those in this area. We sense so much excitement within the church and it is impossible to share how excited and confident I am that God will pour out his incredible blessings in the coming days. It is a great feeling to know that Holly and I are in the center of God's will.

Soon the anticipation will end, the first sermon will be preached, and our journey with LCC will begin. But for now, I stand at the starting line with a great cloud of witnesses surrounding me. To use an Olympic image, the starting blocks are set and the gun is about to go off. I've trained for this moment in every way I could conceive possible, but I have yet to run the race. (By the way, the air is a bit thin up here, I hope I'm in shape for it?) It's time to start running.

Please pray, pray, and pray some more for us, LCC, and God's kingdom in Littleton. And when you're finished praying, pray some more! My prayer is that God's kingdom would come in strong measure on the hill overlooking the city of Littleton. God, by your power, do more than we can ask or imagine. May your name be glorified in all that we do!!

It's That Time of the Year Again...

2008-07-04T08:09:00.004-06:00

It's the 4th of July, which means...we are hours away from Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest! Set your TiVos and DVRs to ESPN at 12 PM EST if you cannot watch live. This incredible Fourth of July tradition occurs each year in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY.

For newcomers to competitive eating, last year was a contest for the ages. Six-time defending champion Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi lost his crown to a relative newcomer, Joey Chestnut, who won by devouring a world-breaking record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. What an upset! Last year, ESPN proclaimed Chestnut's victory as "The Greatest Moment in American Sports History!" If it's not the top moment, it has to come in the top 1,000 moments (I hope you all sense my tongue-in-cheek).

My money's on Kobayashi. He doesn't falter when a challenge is thrown his way.

Enjoy the break you have today. I'm spending time with my family and my hope is that everyone enjoys their time with their friends and family as well.

Time With Mentors

2008-06-21T20:48:00.002-06:00

I have been blessed over and over again in my life with a plethora of incredible mentors. These men and women are a diverse group who have formed me into the image of Jesus Christ and provided me an example of what it means to be salt and light in this world. Some of these spiritual mentors have no idea of the impact they have made on my life and others have been intentional about taking me under their wing and teaching me incredible lessons about ministry, marriage, and spirituality.

During my four preaching internships, I have had incredible opportunities to shadow and learn from incredible men who have become peers and friends. I thank God for Prentice Meador, Tim Spivey, Ronnie Norman, and Phil Ware. They all were so gracious to give me their time and energy as I sought to learn what it takes to be a preaching minister in the twenty-first century.

At ACU, several more professors were key participants in my formation. Randy Harris passed along a rare ability to make Scripture come alive in new ways for people in a congregation. David Wray allowed me a glimpse into a man's life who is seeking after spiritual formation in so many ways. As I saw him share his stories of confession, personal devotion, and pastoral care, I saw how a minister must treat a congregation. Jack Reese shared with me a vision for the kingdom that seemed impossible years ago. Charles Siburt taught me how to care for a congregation in times of crisis and conflict. We all want peace, but Charles is a peacemaker, first and foremost. I have so many mentors at ACU that will continue to be my teachers as I enter ministry.

Many ministers have also had a big impact on my development as a minister. Mike Cope, Eddie Sharp, John Siburt, Scott Sager, Doug Peters, Vann Conwell, and all of my internship supervisors have been incredible examples of service in a congregational setting. I appreciate their preaching, but more than that, I appreciate the love they have for their congregations. I am so grateful for the gifts of time and wisdom they have shared with me over the years.

Then, there are the mentors who are closer to my age. Josh Ross, who was once an intern at Highland Oaks while I was in the youth group, is now the preaching minister at the Sycamore View Church of Christ. Josh has always been an incredible friend and mentor who has loved me enough to push me when I needed it most. He saw the spiritual leader in me far before I could sense God's call on my life. I am grateful for his big kingdom vision, his love for his family, and his deep love for the marginalized and oppressed.

I write this post because I have been reminded again this week of how wonderful my mentors are. In the past week, I have shared meals with Lynn Anderson, Rick Atchley, Chris Seidman, and Ray Hardin. What a week it has been! I have been able to ask so many questions and listen to so many stories of God's faithfulness in their lives and ministries. Repeatedly, these men have blessed me with so much advice and many prayers of blessing as I begin my ministry.

For those of you who have lived awhile on your journey of faith with God, share that journey with someone who is beginning their journey like me. You may think your age difference will be a roadblock to community and mentoring, but my life would be so much poorer if others had not poured their lives into mine. I am committed to mentoring others in the future, and all of God's people have a responsibility to share their lives with others. Mentoring is nothing more than poor spiritual beggars sharing their crumbs with other spiritual beggars on the journey of faith! God has given us enough bread to go around. Start spreading the crumbs!

Please comment and tell about someone who has mentored you in your journey of faith!

Tiger Woods

2008-06-16T23:03:00.004-06:00

He did it again! Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on an 19-hole playoff today. Even with his knee still recovering from surgery, Tiger was incredible as he earned his fourteenth major championship trophy on his way to Jack Nicklaus's record of 18.

I can still remember the first time I saw Tiger Woods play golf. I was 12 years old when he won his third U.S. Amateur Championship after rolling in a long putt to beat Steve Scott on the 38th hole of their incredible match. Soon after that day, he turned professional and changed the PGA Tour forever. I remember mimicking his fist pumps and even wearing his shirts and hats on the golf course as I sought to emulate my new favorite athlete. At one point, my dream was to become a professional golfer who would challenge all of Tiger's records, but my guess is my golf hopes have dwindled to living vicariously through Tiger's triumphs as I sit on my couch.

This U.S. Open showed a new side of Tiger. While he has certainly not started to inch down the back side of a declining career yet, I saw Tiger struggle more than he ever has before. He double-bogeyed four holes while grimacing after most of his swings during the week. I never imagined Rocco Mediate might have a chance of beating Tiger Woods in an 18-hole playoff, but he certainly looked to have Tiger's number after rolling in three birdies on the back nine today.

Until...Tiger stepped on the 18th tee. The feeling I felt both times Tiger stepped on the 18th tee yesterday and today was indescribable. It's why we watch golf (for those of you honest enough to admit that you love watching golf...hopefully there are a few). Somehow, I knew he was going to make the impossible happen and he did!!

It's fun to follow your favorite players in person and on TV. However, Tiger isn't just one of the best current players. He is one of the best of all-time, and he likely will be the best of all-time. Each time he steps on the course, he rewrites history. It will be so much fun to tell my kids about the rounds I watched him play.

But like my dad, years from now my kids will not be impressed. They will say, "Tiger-who?" just like I say to my dad, "Jack-who?" I guess that's when I'll know my dream for the tour is over. I can't wait!

And a note to my wife who endures my zeal for golf: Thanks for watching (and sleeping on the couch while I watch) golf with me and caring enough to listen to me talk about Tiger. While a 25-hour golf weekend might seem excessive, I assure you that history is being made. And I won't be on the couch again watching Tiger again until...well...a few weeks from now when the British Open begins. I love you!!

A Taste of Littleton

2008-06-10T20:56:00.003-06:00

Last night, Holly and I were given the incredible opportunity to spend time with several kids from the Littleton Church of Christ youth group. This visit was the first time we have been able to meet any members from Littleton since we have accepted the preaching position. In addition, we got to meet the interns who are spending their summer serving the kids of Littleton.

Rick Odell, the youth minister, had asked if I would be willing to meet the group in Abilene on their trip across the country and lead a devotional for them. If these youth group kids are any indication of the entire church (and I have no doubt that they are), God has certainly blessed us with an incredible group of Godly men and women who seeks after God with all of their lives. It was a special night for us to get a taste of our future.

The excitement is building! I was grateful for the chance to pray for the students in the youth group, but I was especially blessed by the words of encouragement and blessing we received from them in return. God used our new friends that we met last night to impart his grace and joy to us. Though it was a small taste of what is to come, we thank God for such a wonderful blessing last night! As I went to bed last night, I could not sleep as I dreamt of the ways God would work in the coming weeks, months, and years! And the amazing thing is that he can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. The future is bright!

One of the Joys of My Life

2008-06-05T07:30:00.006-06:00

One of the most amazing transformations in my life over the past six years has been my growing love for reading. In high school, I dreaded homework and I certainly was not going to sit down and read a book over the weekend. It is possible that my love for video games got in the way. I received good grades, but no one would have described me as a focused student who loved to learn.

However, as I began my freshman year at ACU as a Christian Ministry major, I developed a new joy for education and reading. Instead of dreading my school work, I could not put down the books. I loved learning more about Scripture and church history. I read books that challenged me to grow spiritually and others that challenged me to dream more about God's intentions for his church.

One of the most exciting benefits of graduation from my master's work is that I get to read the stack of books that have intended to read for a long time. During school I read many good books that I was forced to read. But now, I get to read books that I have chosen to read, which is always an added benefit.

In the future, I plan to suggest certain books for those who might be interested in a good read. Some of the books I get excited about would only be worth reading for those who are admitted "Bible nerds." These are the kinds of books I would never pass along to Holly. But there will be other books that I think others might be very excited about.

Today, I want to suggest two books for your future reading schedule.

The Shack is the first book I would suggest. While many people might think of the Trinity as an antiquated notion without much relevance today, William P. Young authors an incredible story that Eugene Peterson has dubbed the Pilgrim's Progress of our generation. This book is sure to widen your perspective about God and "his" presence in our lives. I would certainly encourage you to pick up this book when you get a chance.

The other book I have recently finished that I would pass along for your reading pleasure is Same Kind of Different As Me. This book weaves the stories of an African-American sharecropper and a white, upper-class art dealer who become close friends because of the impact of one woman in both of their lives. This book has widened my view of God's kingdom.

I hope these books will benefit your lives as you seek to be people who embody the values of the kingdom in your everyday lives. God wants to use each of you for his glory today! As God blesses you, commit to giving him the glory for the ways he shines through your life.

If you have any books that you would suggest for me to add to my future reading list, please let me know.

Whoever Has Ears to Hear...

2008-05-31T09:46:00.003-06:00

Recently I changed my blog title from "Collin Packer's Blog" to "Sightings, Sounds, and Sniffs of the Kingdom." While I thought my old title got the point across, I thought a little more creativity might be worth my time.

I like the new title. I believe God is still very much at work in the world today. Scripture does not describe our God as one who created the world only to let it spin without his hands at work in the world. From the beginning, God has remained among his people. He always seems to show up in different ways though. For instance, off the top of my head I can remember God showing up as a gardener, a bush on fire, a cloud, a pillar of fire, a group of strangers, a presence among the Tabernacle, and as the God-man (Jesus). Apart from these specific instances, he also shows up in a variety of other ways. He sends manna and quail for the Israelites, fire down on the altar on Mt. Carmel, tongues of fire on the heads of several people at Pentecost, etc. Yet at other times, he shows up in a whisper to Elijah or he remains silent for hundreds of years. It's really all a mystery to me.

Signs of God continue to show up in all of our lives. At times, he is easily sensed through miraculous healings. At other times, we pray to him and wonder why he never chooses to show up. I believe if we are honest, we have all sensed God's obvious presence in our lives and sensed that he has completely forsaken us at other times.

In Mark 4, Jesus says to the Twelve, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom - you know how it works."

For those of us who have committed our lives to Christ and become transformed into his image, God has given us insight into the kingdom. As we live in the world, we must be committed to always looking for sightings, sounds, and sniffs of the kingdom in our own lives. At times, we will be amazed by God's kingdom when we praise God in a worship assembly. At other times, we will be amazed at the way God shares his kingdom through secular movies and music where we might expect never to find glimpses of his reign.

God is at work in the world! We are his representatives and ambassadors to people who seek him without even knowing the object of their pursuit. As detectives of the reign of God in the world, may we all begin to sense the ways he is active in our lives.

How have you seen, heard, or smelled the kingdom this week?

Tremendous Welcome

2008-05-25T09:26:00.004-06:00

To those of you who commented on my blog over the past week, I want to thank you so much!! Holly and I could not imagine the incredible welcome we have received. We are so blessed to be welcomed so greatly by the congregation at Littleton!

Holly and I are currently on vacation in California. We are traveling with our best friends from ACU and it has been a wonderful trip. When I finally returned to check my e-mail and blog, I was amazed by the overwhelming response from Colorado. From Littleton members alone, I had 41 messages welcoming Holly and me and letting us know we are being prayed for. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

It's so exciting to think about the future. What will be the focus of my first sermon series? Can I really preach every Sunday for the next 40 years? Have I been prepared for this task?

Yet, as I consider these questions, I am continually comforted by God's overwhelming power, mercy, and grace. His power is made perfect in weakness. It would be a sign of being unprepared if I didn't ask these questions. When we are called into ministries and situations that cannot be accomplished without God's help, we know we are in the will of God. He has called each of us to extend ourselves beyond our abilities and gifts so that he will receive the glory.

O Lord, grant us the willingness to step out beyond our comfort zones. Grant us enough failure to know how much we need you. Do not give us so many gifts, that we forget our need for you. May your Spirit guide us and lead us in the way of Christ. This is my prayer!

The Ministry To Which We Have Been Called

2008-05-17T23:59:00.006-06:00

If you have not heard the good news yet, I have accepted an offer to become the preaching minister at the Littleton Church of Christ in Littleton, Colorado (a suburb of Denver)!! We have such great peace and excitement about this decision. Though our search process has been long and uncertain at times, I could not imagine a better place to begin my ministry.

Though we will certainly enjoy this beautiful location, the most attractive part of my new job is the incredible people of LCC. During the entire interview process with the elders at Littleton, Holly and I could not have felt more loved and supported. The ministerial staff has an incredible reputation among churches in our tradition and I have heard nothing but good things about the administrative staff as well. In the coming weeks, Holly and I cannot wait to meet more of the congregation.

In the past week, my own discernment of my calling to ministry has been affirmed twice. A week ago, the professors of ACU acknowledged my call to ministry and blessed my future as a leader in God's kingdom. And just a few days ago, I got the call I had been waiting on for six years now. All of my education means very little without the calling of a church that discerns my gifts of leadership and preaching. With the call from Littleton, I feel completely sure of the ministry to which I have been called. Praise God for the work he has done in my life and for the ways he has called me into a position of impact in his kingdom!

To those who have mentored, befriended, taught, and prayed for Holly and me in our preparation for ministry, I want to thank you for all you have done for us! We will continue to covet your prayers, advice, and friendship in the future. God has placed you in our paths for a reason and we will never take for granted the blessings you have given us.

And to those at the Littleton Church of Christ, Holly and I want you to know how excited we are to minister alongside you. We have prayed for God to lead us in the direction of his choosing. We feel confident that he has done just that! We are excited to meet every one of you. We have been praying for each of you for the past few years now. May God bless you with his grace, passion, and peace.

To those who will be come to know Christ through God's ministry of grace spread through this weak vessel, I pray that God will open your hearts to his message. I know the Holy Spirit is already at work in your lives. God, help me in my role as a missionary among lost people.

God, may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And may we join you as your reign increases on the earth. Use us as your hands and feet among the hurting. Use us as your salt and light to infect a world of darkness with your light!

One More To Go!!!

2008-04-24T09:31:00.002-06:00

One more paper to go. I cannot believe it. After this paper, I will have completed:

212 hours of undergrad and graduate work
18 hours of Greek
6 hours of Hebrew
9 hours of Preaching
15 hours of Church History
Countless Papers
4 incredible internships
6 years of life at ACU
An entire chapter of my life story

Guess what my last paper is about?

Wrong! It's not about my systematic theology or my philosophy of ministry. Instead, I am currently researching about sexual addiction in an effort to construct a model of Crisis Intervention for families and churches suffering from this growing epidemic. Who knows? Perhaps this paper will lead to some kind of important men's ministry in the future.

It's almost time to turn the page.

What will be written on the next page? The ink is ready and I'm as ready to read the words on the next page of my life story as anyone else.

Where will Holly and I end up? How many kids will we have? Will we be able to have kids? What will my ministry look like 5 or 10 years from now? What will my passions be? What joys await us? What tragedies will we have to endure?

While I have many questions, there are many things I expect to remain the same. (It might be funny to look back at this post 20 years from now!)

I will be more in love with my perpetually beautiful wife, Holly.
I will still enjoy sitting on the couch as I root on my favorite sports teams.
I will enjoy reading books I want to read rather than books I have been forced to read.
I will passionately preach the message of the kingdom of God so that Christ might transform the hearts of people.
I will continue on the journey of faith without reaching my destination.
I will worship God in times of joy and times of intense pain.
I will continue to love the church for all of its blessings and in spite of its blemishes.

These things I am confident of.

So, I ask for the author of my story to pick up the pen and continue writing. While his pen has been known to write tragedies, I know his heart! He longs for me to worship him with all of my life! He loves me and has called me to be transformed for the sake of the world. He will take care of me just as he does for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. It's time to turn the page!

Preaching Search

2008-02-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

The time is coming! I have been involved in intense education, internships, and church ministry for nearly six years preparing myself for the coming weeks and months. God has definitely been involved in the process all along.

Although, I can't say my expectations have been met in some ways. When I began my undergraduate degree, I believed that I would have all of the answers for faith and church leadership. And while my education, experiences, and internships have matured me more than I can say, I must admit that I have more questions than answers at this point. Christianity is a funny thing. The more you know the more you don't know. And the more you are formed into the image of Jesus Christ, the more you are able to see the untransformed areas in your life that you were once unable to see.

I must say I am excited. Holly and I cannot wait to enter a church and start loving the people there. We cannot wait! We have been in prayer for years that God would prepare the hearts of the church that we will minister to, and we believe that he is already at work.

There are many exciting things ahead. I look forward to preaching each week and helping a church realize its gifts and vision. We look forward to settling down in a city and starting a family. We are excited about making new friends and building relationships. But most of all, we are excited about living out the life that God has called us to.

Holy God, grant us the wisdom to see you at work in our lives. I pray for the church that we will choose to work with. Bless their transition. Give them a heart for the lost. Transform their lives. May they be a community of mission, care for one another, and love. Grace and peace to them. And may you grant us grace and peace while we wait for the opportunity to begin our ministry!

I Don't Like People Like Me

2007-08-14T08:30:00.001-06:00

Well, this summer has been a great summer. I've been able to preach so many times and I have received so much encouragement. Most of all, I have been reminded why I am going to be a preacher. I love the church. I love envisioning a future for a group of people. I love spending time with God and listening to what he thinks the congregation must hear in order for it to grow. During grad school, I have had moments in which I have questioned my calling because I have gotten caught up in the papers and forgotten that this thing is really all about people. But being back in ministry this summer, I can't imagine any other kind of work that I could do. This summer I have been reminded that I can still preach and that I still have a love for being with people.

However, I have had an interesting revelation this summer. Perhaps it began when my brother told me what he tells others about the kind of preacher I will be one day. He said, "You know your stuff. You have studied and you know what you believe about many things. But, you are so confident in everything you believe that it will leave you inflexible as you deal with people who do not agree with you in every area." This was truly a wake up call for me. In some ways, I think he is right. I have developed many ideas about how the church should be. I have an intense desire for unity and the mission of God. But unfortunately I have become as inflexible as the people I had hoped to not be like. For instance, I don't want to be sectarian in any way like some in Churches of Christ, but in some ways I have moved away from conservative sectarianism to a new form of academic, progressive, elite sectarianism.

This summer I have been a part of a hospital chaplaincy. The head person over the program has been very critical of the church and really has nothing good to say about it. I have met several people this summer who are very critical. And to be honest, I can't stand to be around them. Unfortunately, when I take a look at myself, my hyper-critical nature developed through my time in school, has made me like the people I don't want to be like most.

I want to be a positive person. I want my kids to think of me not as a person who looks at the glass half empty, but as a father who always encouraged them in everything they did. I want my wife to be able to say that she never experienced a critical moment with me, but unfortunately I think I am rubbing off on her in some negative ways in these areas. How do you stop being like people that you don't like?

I guess it will be a God-job. As a perfectionist, I have always been a bit hyper-critical. I don't think I will ever be the Barnabas at a congregation, but every critique should also have with it an opposing robust view of what is right and good. When people come in line with the positive opposite of my critique, I should be the first to praise it and value when people's lives reflect God's unity and mission.

Honduras

2007-07-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

Holly and I just got back from a trip to Honduras. We went with Southern Hills, but we joined some students from ACU and two other church groups from New York City and Memphis. It was a wonderful trip. Our group treated nearly 1000 people in our medical clinic, and we also helped people in our optical clinic and with our construction on the church.

I met so many wonderful people. These people have very little, but somehow they understand joy and it exudes from them. This often seems to be the case. Those who have much seem to never be content, while those with very little seems to understand contentment. We experienced hospitality from people who had nothing to be hospitable with. It was frustrating not to be able to communicate with the people because I do not know Spanish (I wish I had payed more attention in my two years of high school Spanish). However, the language barrier did not keep me from loving the kids there and receiving love in return.

My third world experience was disorienting enough, but I also was disoriented by a book I read on the plane. I read The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. His radical community (the Simple Way) is doing some incredible things. His challenges included living lives of radical simplicity, creative nonviolence, fully committed discipleship, and responsible living in God's creation. He challenged Christian wealth, redemptive violence, nationalism, just war, church expenditures, and many other of the church's accepted practices. But rather than being an assault, he wrote in story form, which allowed his radical lifestyle to quietly destroy any argument for what we've come to understand Christianity to be. It's a wonderful book. And as I thought about it in the context I was in, I wondered how it was ever ok for my bank account to accrue more and more while the people of Honduras don't have enough. No wonder they don't have enough. We have it all stowed away in our mutual funds and bank accounts. Tough stuff to sift through, but a needed challenge for my faith.

All in all it was a great week and I enjoyed seeing Holly's interaction with the other kids. She is so wonderful and those kids understood her love more than they could ever understand mine. She is a blessing!

It's Thursday?!?

2007-06-28T08:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Thursday and not a word of the sermon is written yet. I'm not a last minute procrastinator. In fact, I started studying Monday of this week, but the Lord speaks his word when he is ready and not when I am. There's no magic button for the Spirit to start speaking. So I will wait. And read the text. And wait. And read the text. And wait. And read the text.

My sermon's title this week is "It's Sunday and Friday's Finished," which plays off the title of Tony Campolo's sermon "It's Friday, But Sunday's Coming." But right now, it's Thursday and Sunday's coming and I have no sermon. My prayer is that the hard work of sitting with the text will bring a flood of insight this afternoon.

So here I wait. In an office in Abilene, Texas waiting for a sermon that I will preach in Dallas. I have no doubt that the message will come, but here I wait. Father, I wait in eager expectation for what you will bring. I do not worry for you alone are my God and you are the one who has authored the story I will tell Sunday.

Speak, O Lord.

The Power of Preaching?

2007-06-18T08:45:00.000-06:00

Well, the sermon seems to have gone well by the response. I get so hyped up when it comes time to preach! Each morning before I preach, the excitement is so great that I can't imagine doing anything else. (Well, I could imagine playing in the US Open on Father's Day and maintaining a schedule on the PGA Tour if I was good enough, but that's beside the point.) But as I thought more about what I plan to do (preach), I began to wonder how much of a difference will I make?

I had prepared my sermon on Wednesday of last week and I was excited about the coming Sunday. After all, it is a pretty big deal to preach at Southern Hills. But when I entered the haircut store that afternoon I began to question myself. As sat down in the chair the conversation went well until I mentioned where I am working this summer. Then, it turned to silence. That put my Sunday experience in perspective. How small a thing it is to preach each week! That's not going to make a difference for the lady cutting my hair and at times I wonder if it makes a difference for the people at church. Do sermons form people in any significant way? Or is it just a bunch of language put together to entertain? My prayer each week is that God will pour through me the gift of preaching so that Christ might be formed in the hearts of those present, but does it make a difference?

My theory of language says that it does. I believe the word itself makes an impact on the hearer - that language is in some way performative at times. But is that all just theory or are our sermons making a difference? Surely the pastoral parts of ministry make a difference in lives, but does the sermon itself form people. I'd like to think so. Let me know about your experience.

Internship

2007-06-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

I have started a new internship at the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, TX. It has been two full years since I have been in the middle of full-time ministry. During my summers in undergrad, I spent every one of them doing preaching internships. It was through those internships that I received my call to the ministry of preaching. I love school so much, but there is something about getting my hands dirty in day-in-day-out ministry that revives my spirit.

Two out of the past three weeks I have been in classes and I still have papers to write for those classes, but this internship will allow me to leave the academy in order to let God remind me what all of my schooling is really about.

The next three weeks I will preaching. The first two I will preach at Southern Hills and the third I will preach at my home congregation, Highland Oaks. I am more than excited about these opportunities. I will be preaching on Simon of Cyrene and Peter's healing of Dorcas. I can't wait to meet God in the text in the powerful ways he always meets me when I spend time in study and sermon preparation. It has been over a year since I last wrote a sermon so I am a bit anxious to see if the gift is still there, but God is faithful and he will show up if I open myself to his word.

For three weeks, I get to do exactly what God has gifted me to do. What more can a person ask than to delight in what God has gifted him or her to do. This is what life is all about and I am excited to depart on the journey. This morning I enter the text. Who knows how it will shape me in the coming weeks? God, I'm ready for the journey. Guide me as I help others enter the text in ways they might have never considered it before.

Once A Semester Musings

2006-11-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

I start with an apology as I have the last five posts or so. I have to admit, I'm responsible with many things, but with blogging I am irresponsible. It's definitely not first on my list.

One thing that has turned me off to blogging recently is the negativity present in most of the blogs I frequent. We need prophets who continually critique the church's current practice. My Old Testament class has convinced me of this, but if all we do is critique, who is there to pick up the pieces and do something about? (Wow! This is a great argument. I am being critical of those who are critical.) I just tire quickly of those who critique without any praise and I would rather not post if all I have to say is prophetic. The church has a lot wrong with it. Everyone who knows me knows that I believe that, but the church has a lot of good going on as well. This is not a sufficient excuse not to blog, but it has kept me from writing much lately.

This semester has been difficult for me. I am currently in Christian Spiritual Formation, Ancient & Medieval Church History, Advanced Introduction to the Old Testament, Narrative Evangelism and Supervised Practice of Ministry. As has often been the case in school, God usually brings certain passions to my life through the course of each semester. Somehow the material in all of my classes and the rest of my life causes me to become passionate about something. In past semesters, this passion has been for church unity (denominational and racial), Missional Church, the issue of civil religion in America and preaching. This semester I have been challenged to become more involved in social justice and make it an emphasis in my life.

Christian spiritual formation has caused me to see my spiritual life as a broader thing than I have seen it as in the past. I used to believe prayer, Scripture reading and going to church were the practices of formation, but this semester has forced me to see how many more things are formative. Social justice and contemplative spirituality have not been emphases of our tradition in Churches of Christ, but they are integral parts of a person's formation. Intro to the Old Testament has forced me to struggle with parts of the prophets I have never really thought much about. Scripture cares deeply about justice for the poor and oppressed and worship without an ethic of justice is worthless to God. This flies in the face of our tradition where we have focused on correct practice rather than worship that demands an ethic to follow it out the door of the sanctuary. Ancient & Medieval Church History has also challenged me to think about asceticism and ethical living. The church made a huge difference in Roman culture because of its care for the poor. Following is a quote that continues to haunt me from Jerome:

"All riches come from iniquity, and unless one person suffered loss another would not make gain. Hence the popular saying seems to be true: A rich person is either wicked himself or the beneficiary of someone else's wickedness."

How are we complicit in the plight of the poor? What is our responsibility as Christians to the poor and oppressed? Surely, we don't think our political views and voting are the answer. It takes getting our hands and feet dirty in order to meet more friends who are not like us.

If Jerome is right, Americans have a lot of explaining to do. How can I responsibly argue for having lots of money in the bank when there are so many that could use the money that I invest so that I can be secure when I retire? There seems to be a disconnect somewhere. God help us! We save so that we don't have to have faith that you can provide. How can we better help the poor with our abundance? How can we believe it is perfectly fine to put so much money into our cars and homes while so many have no food to eat while our pantries are full. These are disconcerting matters that I would rather not think about, but people are dying as we begin to move this matter to the back of our minds.

Just something I've been thinking about. What do you think?

What time is it again?

2006-08-28T08:54:00.000-06:00

Ah, yes. You know it's school time when you have...

- 13 hours (grad school none the less)
- 27 books
- 5 new syllabi
- weekends filled with papers
- to pay for all of this

Can't live with it, can't get a job without it. Yet, somehow I love this time of year. Maybe it's the school and the books that I've grown to love. Or, maybe it's the college football season coming on. Well, here it goes.

Summer

2006-08-04T10:35:00.000-06:00

It's been a strange summer for Holly and me. For the past three summers, I have been doing internships. This summer has been different. We are spending our first summer in Abilene, which is definitely a shift from our summers in Houston and Dallas. It is a different town without the college kids. All of our friends from undergrad are gone for good. Eric and Sarah moved to New York and Chad is only miles from the powder keg in the Middle East. We miss them so much. And Holly doesn't even have a summer for the first time. Who knew that adults didn't get the summer off? Holly is having to learn the hard reality. We really are growing up!

I have not been without church work this summer. It has been an honor to work beside three other friends from grad school to prepare and teach "Lessons From the Front Porch" on Wednesday nights. We have spent so many hours planning and God has been faithful to teach us as we led the church in its worship. It has been such a growing experience. Also, I've preached many times this summer at churches in Buffalo Gap, Aspermont, Abilene and Snyder. These have been great experiences, but we are ready to rejoin our family at Southern Hills in the fall.

I took two classes at the beginning of summer, Pastoral Ministry Skills and the Gospel of John. I learned so much, as I always do, in my grad school classes. Fortunately, I have finished with all of my work.

Summer is coming to an end. It's been strange, but God has been faithful and formed me in the midst of change. We are building great, new friendships with couples at Southern Hills. God always brings people into our lives that even make Abilene feel like home. Now, we can look forward to our cruise. After, all it is Holly's only week of summer so we better make the most of it.

Which Terrorists?

2006-06-09T00:24:00.000-06:00

As I walked into class today, I was informed of something that made the class cheer in approval. As I turned on the radio, I heard that it was a good day. As I turned on the tv, I was forced to look at the face of a man who was supposed to bring me joy.

Normally a seminary class cheers when God has answered a long awaited prayer request. Usually my radio makes me feel good when my sports team wins or when one of my favorite songs comes on. Most of the time I rejoice when I look at the tv and see the hopes of the homeless being answered on Sunday nights on ABC.

However, today was not such a day. In fact, I might sound un-American, but that is not my biggest worry right now. Today a man was killed and millions rejoiced for that reason alone. Al-Zarqawi, the second greatest threat in the Eastern World, expired. No, I take that back, he died by means of two 500 pound bombs. Pardon me if I don't rejoice. Pardon me if I don't feel like singing praises to my God right now for upholding the cause of America. My veins don't bleed red, white and blue when my country's best news this year is found on a tv screen showing a dead man's face.

I have to admit that my ideas have changed in the past few years. Four years ago I would have thought this was a great thing, but as I am mastered more and more by Scripture and God's Kingdom, it becomes more difficult for war and fatalities to bring a smile to my face. The Kingdom of God asks different questions than how can we preserve our lives best in America. I have stopped pretending that God favors America any more than anyone else. I have stopped praying for God to bless America and start blessing the world.

Call it pacifism if you want. Call me a coward, but I don't think justice is served in retaliation and I don't think this endless string of violence will end with one more assassination of an Arab person (or Arab target as many call it). I don't have many answers, but I have a model to follow in all of this. Christ has taught me to follow his path down the road to the cross. I am called to turn the other cheek and pray for my enemies.

Sure, we need to uphold the cause of the oppressed and there may be justification somewhere in all of this, but surely we can hold our cheers when we hear of the loss of a person's life. We must mourn for those the terrorists murder, our troops and our enemies. I can't quite see Christ rejoicing in this news today.

The best news I heard tonight was from a father whose son was beheaded by al-Zarqawi a couple of years ago. Larry King interviewed him and asked him some volatile questions. He asked him if al-Zarqawi's death brought any closure. The father said (paraphrase), "No, any loss of life is a loss for all of humanity." King went on and on trying to get the father to admit some joy or relief in this death, but the father obstinately denied feeling any relief or vindication. Al-Zarqawi's death would not bring his son back and vengeance wasn't the answer.

Wow! What a testament. Perhaps we can learn from this father. I'm not sure what I really believe. I don't condone terror or rejoicing in the death of another person, but what do I do with with the murder of an unrepentant sinner? Is it ever right to condone and rejoice in the death of another? I need more time to reflect and think, but I'm not sure I can do this.

It was sickening to hear the applause of classmates today. It was gross to hear a radio personality claim victory in the death of another. It was appalling to continually see the face of a dead man on tv tonight. I am a part of the Kingdom of God. My goal is for all people to be transformed by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We must lay down our lives for the sake of others. We must share the good news with those easy to love and those difficult to love. In short, we must be Christ to a world in the midst of suffering, terror and murder. We must proclaim, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" not only to the Arabs but to ourselves when we condone acts of terror abroad and among our friends and relatives.

Father,
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.

The Journey to God Knows Where

2006-05-12T07:45:00.000-06:00

This is the title of my sermon I am preaching Sunday at Southern Hills Church of Christ. This year the church's theme is "The Journey to God's Horizon," so I thought I would take a stab at what that journey is.

What is our journey as the people of God? As I've thought about it, I've realized that is new language in some ways. Christians have not always perceived themselves as being on a journey, but at our most faithful, we are pilgrims who do not call this world home. However, all too often, we have been comfortable here forgetting our journey at times.

I have always seen Hebrews 11 as the "Hall of Faith," but there is a tremendous amount of journey language there as well. Abraham was an alien who lived in a tent who sought a city designed by God. Moses left the confines of the Moses' palace to suffer disgrace for the sake of Christ (thousands of years before Christ was here). These people were on a journey and did not stay stationed anywhere for much time.

But, the journey stopped for many of God's people. The Israelites asked for a king and a temple and God allowed them to have these things, but these are the first things that keep them from their journey. Israel becomes a sedentary people who forget to journey on.

The people of God are most faithful when they are pilgrims on a journey, but they are most unfaithful when they settle for an earthly kingdom rather than an eternal, lasting city.

In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine created Christendom (Christianity was the state religion). And for 1600 years, Christianity has been at the center of culture. The church was built in the town square not by accident. This reality symbolized the social location of Christianity. But, in the last few decades, the church has moved to the margins. We are losing our place as the powerful church. Some would even say we're losing our influence and for some that is scary.

Many want to regain our position at the center of society. There are two main ways to do this. Many try to seek political power. These people try to legislate through the courts what has already been lost in society. Others try to market the church and these churches become vendors of religious goods and services for consumers. Both of these possibilities miss the mark. If we seek political power as the church did in Western Europe, we risk losing the story of Christ exhanging the spiritual city for an earthly kingdom. If we market the church, we risk losing the uncomfortable and challenging message of Scriptu8re in an effort to gain people through attractions.

Hebrews 13:11-14 gives us the response of those who want to rejoin the journey. We are to follow Christ who went outside the city bearing disgrace and we are to join him on that road. We must leave the safety and security of the city to rejoin God on the journey. We drop all attempts at regaining power because we follow the one who accepted his role at the margins of society ministering to the marginalized.

This is the church's call. To become a pilgrim people who forsake power as we continue the journey that Abraham and Moses began. We are to leave the city. We are to live in tents. And we are to follow Christ outside the city on the path of disgrace. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

WATS Day

2006-05-01T10:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was WATS (We Are The Sermon) Day. Southern Hills, with several other Abilene area churches, left the building early and went to do acts of service in the name of Jesus throughout our community. What a blessing it was!

I had the opportunity to be our group's team leader, which gave me the chance to meet the lady we would be working with beforehand. Josephine was the owner of the house we worked on. She was an older woman who had no family to help her. In fact, we heard story after story about how she had been mistreated by them. Her son had come by earlier in the week for the sole purpose of cutting her air conditioning line in 90 degree weather. She was in need of so many things.

We decided to take on the task of painting her house because it was very run down. It was great to see our young marrieds' class working together outside of the church building in the community. There were over 50 projects just like ours throughout the town of Abilene going on simultaneously. What a work of God. I will never preach a sermon in all the years I have ahead of me that will make such a difference in so many lives.

Yesterday, I saw the church as God intended it. We were salt and light. We were the hands of feet of God bringing cold water and shelter for dozens. Many might say the work we did could not possibly further the name of Christ, but I want to say the work we did was more powerful to Josephine than any tract or sermon could have ever been. Instead of being a church that waits for people to come into our fortresses, we were "sent out" to the lost. This has to be the model for the church in the future.

There is a picture from yesterday that will stick in my mind forever. On the corner of Josephine's street was a Church of Christ. Her house was next door to the church, but she said she had never met anyone from that church in all the years she had lived there. This woman, living in poverty in a house that is needing to be condemned, had not been visited or helped in all of these years. I was amazed, but then I was convicted. How many neighbors has Southern Hills neglected? How many neighbors struggling to get by has your church looked past? There are so Josephines in our communities who can see Christ through us if we take the time to see them and meet their needs.

Josephine couldn't have heard a message of Jesus without her house being fixed. Meals on Wheels had been planting seeds for years with her, and I believe that we have watered those seeds and I am confident God will bring the growth. What a blessing it was to serve Josephine yesterday. Yesterday was what church is all about.