Winterfest Spiritual Discipline Videos

Over a decade ago, I remember attending my first Winterfest youth rally.

Growing up in San Diego, I was in a youth group of about 10 students. But when we moved to Dallas, my family started attending the Highland Oaks Church of Christ. And there were over a hundred kids that  were a part of my youth group. It was quite a shift.

But my paradigm was blown open the first time I attended Winterfest in Arlington, TX (they also have a larger gathering in Gatlinburg, TN). There were thousands of teens who showed up to listen to speakers and worship their hearts out. It gave me a vision of the kingdom larger than the tiny circles I usually found myself in.

Just this past year, things came full circle as Dudley Chancey, the Director of Winterfest, invited me to film a few videos on the spiritual disciplines that would be sent to youth leaders and teens as they sought to follow God after going home from the conference.

Here are those 3 videos.

Click here to check out the rest of the spiritual discipline videos put together by Winterfest.

Two of My Least Favorite Scriptures

I'm a contrarian. I'm blessed with friends who display grace after grace. I'm blessed to have a wife who puts up with more than she deserves.

Don't ask me to the movies and expect me just to have a good time. And if you do, don't ask me what I thought about the movie. I'm always critiquing culture in light of the story it's telling and the movie theater is one of my favorite places to do cultural exegesis. 

I know, I know. I should learn to have fun. Our family is having a blast on our Intentional Fridays...because I've set aside a time to have fun. I'm a tortured soul.

And my criticism often moves into the world of Christian bookstore trinkets. I don't know who creates these items, but they don't usually have a stake in understanding the context of the verses they put on their wares.

Two of my least favorite passages are Philippians 4:13 and Jeremiah 29:11.

It's not that these verses are any less inspired. In fact, these are two of the most important verses in all of Scripture. 

But taken out of context, these verses lose their incredible impact. These aren't verses meant to go on the graduation announcements of upper-middle class students hoping for a bright future. These verses are written at a time of trouble. These verses are written for people who find themselves in times of trouble. 

These verses are meant to comfort the afflicted rather than to promise success to the successful. They won't guarantee you the Mega Millions prize.

The apostle Paul writes Philippians 4:13 while in prison. Paul isn't writing successful business tips from a corner office. Paul is writing to encourage those who are down on their luck to find contentment outside of their external surroundings. It's about finding a joy and contentment rooted more deeply than one's circumstances. Paul has learned to do all things, including finding contentment in prison, through Christ who strengthens him.

That's a powerful word for those who are in trouble.

It's not a word for the star of the high school football team who hopes to score a touchdown on Friday night. It's a word for the kid who didn't make the team and can't imagine ever finding life on Friday night.

It's not a word about overcoming First World Problems. It's a word about having joy as a third world, HIV-infected, orphan girl in Nairobi, Kenya.

The context of Jeremiah 29:11 isn't any more hopeful. 

Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon promising them that God knows the plans he has for them in exile. He wants to prosper them rather than harming them as they might suspect.

But the news can't be all that comforting to its original hearers in exile. It's not exactly a promise of health and wealth. It's not even a promise for the readers of the letter. God's promising a future beyond circumstance. Most of the readers of the Jeremiah's letter, if not all of them, will die in exile. They won't see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

God's going to save them...IN SEVENTY YEARS!!! Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. Not even next decade. After they are long gone and buried, God's going to do a new thing. It's not exactly the most inspiring message to put on your bathroom mirror from the lovely people at Family Christian Bookstores.

Context is everything. Yet, while these verses are two of my least favorite verses today,  there will be a day when dwelling on these verses might just be the glimmer of hope that is needed.

So, if you see me venturing into Mardel for a religious trinket, don't ask me how my day is going. I can assure you, it won't be the best day of my life.

Story Time With Maddox

Holly and I have always led a devotional time at night with the kids. We usually read a story out of the Bible, sing a song, and/or say a prayer together.

But over the past week, I've been telling Maddox stories from Scripture from memory. And it has been one of the most helpful practices for my preaching of anything I've done in the past few years.

We preachers don't get it. There are a few church members out there who love appreciate learning Greek words, random facts about ancient Babylon, and savvy homiletical moves.

But those few pale in comparison to the number of people we preach to who need a good word in the midst of tragedy, trouble, or just the monotony of life.

One of the best things we can do to improve our preaching is to simplify it.

Story time with Maddox has been a great challenge and success this past week. I've retold stories about Adam & Eve, Noah, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, David, Jonah, and Jesus. Each story includes a noise or an action that he can remember vividly. And each night, we go over other stories I've already told so he doesn't forget them. It's so much fun!

Remember, it's always more difficult to prepare a 3-minute sermon than it is a 30-minute sermon. And three minutes is pushing it with Maddox.

He might not be able to understand what the kingdom of God is yet, but he's learning to love the story. And he's teaching me to love it again as well!

The 16th Hole at TPC Scottsdale

The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.

It's just 162 yards. Just a small, harmless par 3.

But it's so much more than that.

The 16th has become more than just a hole. Every Super Bowl week, over 20,000 people crowd into the coliseum that surrounds this tiny hole. It's known as the most exciting hole in golf.

The hole changed forever when Tiger Woods stepped to the tee in 1997. After his hole-in-one at the 16th, the fans roared and tossed their beer glasses onto the tee box as he fist-pumped his way to the green. Golf had never seen anything like it. That day, the "golf clap" was traded in for a new era of celebration from fans and golfers. That day, the 16th became the stage for the "most exciting hole in golf."

You can see the transformation in the pictures above. I've played the hole twice. Without the grandstands, it's just a hole. But come tournament time, the coliseum comes alive.

My question in all of this is: How does one par-3 measuring 162 yards transform the image of a sport overnight? What is it about the 16th that allows the image of golf fans to change from conservative old men with cardigans tied around their neck to rowdy college students who "boo" golf shots that don't come closer than 15 feet from the pin?

Several things converged to make this hole what it was:

1) New leaders who change the boundaries - Golf was a sport for wealthy white men. But Tiger Woods and crop of new young, bold golfers changed the sport. These young leaders pushed the limits of a previous culture with bolder wardrobes, extreme workout regimens, and a swagger that said they could do anything with a golf ball. They stepped over presumed cultural norms and found a way to appeal to a new audience.

2) The Cultural Setting - With Arizona State University and a young city nearby, they appealed to a group of spectators that wouldn't have been caught dead at a golf tournament just years before.

3) Capitalizing on the right moment - Tiger's hole-in-one became the catalytic moment that transformed a golf hole into an unbelievable cultural event.

4) Expectation - People come with the expectation of having a good time. We've all been in settings where everyone expects to have a good time. Usually, the expectation is fulfilled. So, much of life is about expectation. Comedians' jobs are easier because people come to the comedy club expecting to laugh. When people want to laugh, it's easier to get them to laugh.

Other golf holes have tried to create similar atmospheres, but most of them fail miserably because all of the elements needed for such a huge cultural change just don't quite work together as well in other places.

And I got to thinking, there are some serious parallels between the 16th hole and our churches.

Churches don't usually change overnight. And over the years, it's easy for a church to turn inward, circle the wagons, and die a long slow death.

But it doesn't have to be this way!

And if you'll excuse the image, we need a 16th hole at Scottsdale type revival in our day.

On second thought, don't excuse the image. In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, the synagogue was transformed into a scene much like the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. And do you remember the charge the onlookers made about the spectators in the house that day? The naysayers were afraid the Spirit-filled people from across the globe had imbibed a bit too much wine the night before.

I can't remember the last time I worshiped at a church where we were mistaken as a bunch of drunk hooligans.

We need a fresh wind of the Spirit. We need new leaders who will change the expectation in our worship experiences. We're insane to think that doing the same things over and over will bring new results.

But more than anything, we need to expect that God will show up and revive our churches.

Do you know why our kids love worship at church camp? Because they have an expectation and anticipation that God will show up. And he does!

Do you know why worship experiences in the Fieldhouse at Pepperdine are so powerful? Because we have an expectation that God will show up. And he does!

The 16th hole at Scottsdale used to be just a hole. And without the grandstands, it's just a hole. But come tournament time, it's more than a hole. It's an experience unlike any other. It's a party!

When you attend church this Sunday, the resources of revival are present. God and the Holy Spirit are ready for a party.

The question is: Are we ready?

So, take off your cardigan. Give up your "golf-clap." God wants to reach more than your standard golf fans. He's ready for a new day. Are you?

The Ancestor We Try To Forget

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.