Lost & Found

The 'Last Battle' for U2

2009-04-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Since the moment I first heard the song 'Desire' blaring through my high school gym in Colorado, I've been a fan if U2. That relationship has carried me with them over two decades and I have seen them in person on every tour since 1992.

To give an idea of what a nut I am for my Irish brothers... I got my ear pierced as a conservative Bible major, ministry student before going to see them for the first time. I have listened to all 11 CDs and 145 release songs 4 times straight through Boy to Horizon in the last 2 weeks. I have almost 400 songs by U2 on my iPhone. I like them.

I am worried about Bono. Is this their last hurrah? Larry says it cannot last forever. He says he hasn't told the band his feelings, but they must know.

I am worried because the CD us the exact opposite of what Larry expresses. No Line on the Horizon suggests no end in sight. The disc begins with a big kiss for the future (one that personally, nationally and globally looks darker with each shady back-alley bailout).

The disc even ends with a challenge that both politically and spiritually invites us to love our enemy and keep them as close as neighbors and friends. This is more than the guidance of a messiah. These are the words of children in the last battle by the great C S Lewis. Not only has Bono been a reader of Lewis through the years but U2 have been at times the rock n roll embodiment of the great thinker and author. That is why I am worried. Because the end of "Horizon" is a page from Lewis' last children tale about Narnia. Book 7. Choose you enemies wisely because they will define you. Too bad George W. Bush did not read Narnia at Yale. Our world might be different right now instead of a firy ball of fury.

I am worried that U2 us telling us something through a mixed Larry & Bono message. Which drum beat do we hear? If ticket sales mean Anything then this band is at the absolute top of their game or any other game in the history of this world. Period. That should get the attention of the eternal, like those shepherd boys songs have four thousands of years. Obscurity doesn't suit these boys with their eyes always beyond the horizon to something beyond. They make you want to pursue something beyond belief.

So I am worried if this is the horizon. But the music tells me otherwise. This is a disc that captures sound and elements from 30 years of their music and moves forward. The lyrics are deep and reverberate on the soul. By are they finishing? Have they moved from one white album to a final white album?

I hope that like Lewis' "Last Battle" this is only the beginning of a new horizon with many more expanding horizons in the future.

Birds of the Weather

2009-03-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hope flooded my heart last week that winter might be over. The temperatures have been erratic - one day 80, the next day 30 degrees.

However, even when temperatures were in the 30s, the sight of birds flying north in Vs brought hope. Could warmth be coming. Forget the groundhog's shadow visibility. These are the instincts of a real animal, giving me hope that winter is over. I could trust birds migrating.

However, that hope washed away when on Monday in 30 degree weather . . . I noticed "V" after "V" of birds flying south. Wrong direction!

So, with flags standing at attention for more than a week, I must find hope in some other horizon than the weather. How about U2's new disc? "No Line on the Horizon" is the all-world band's 12th studio album. It will be for sale at 12:01 am tonight.

As a U2 super fan, I have already listened to the entire album online. The first single "Boots" sounds vastly different from what we've heard from U2, but that is true to form. Reinvention yet faithfulness to what is the core for these Irish lads.

Confetti of Leaves

2008-11-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

Like most days, my birthday began like any other week day. Alarm clock echoes NPR. Up, shower, shave, eat, and walk with my son to school. We always talk along the way. I prefer the days when we walk instead of the cold days or "late" days when we are forced into a quick, buckled car ride to school. In-out-in and off again. But the walks, these walks are windows to the soul of my son and often illuminate the world beyond. The Abilene wind was blowing in bursts. We walked under a tree and a gust loosened hundreds of amber yellow leaves descending to life separated from the tree. Leaves embraced us like a New York street parade of confetti. I turned down to Nathan, whose hand I would soon let go to float into his classroom, "It is confetti from God, Nathan." He looked back up and said, "God must have known it was your birthday." After a hug, we released each other to our days apart. Just another day, one more day removed from our birth - another day vibrant in the parade of life.

The Day Al Died

2008-10-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

My friend Al died. He died on the day my son was born seven years ago. Al was 50 years old when he died, but in my life he was only 3 1/2. Life. Death. Dates to remember of beginning and ending. The dash between two dates is all that marks life. One date a birth the other a death. These dates are only two of thousands of other dates: conception, marriage, birth of children, graduations, cancer diagnosis, baptism, newspaper articles published, and more (read more about Al). Just over three years ago I witnessed first hand Al and his wife Val experiencing a rebirth. We were surrounded in water. They admitted life was better with Jesus. They were willing to die to themselves and embrace an eternal life with God. I was there, right there. The change in their life was a joy to behold because we were seeing God at work in our human frailty. But then there was the surgery, the diagnosis, the treatments, and the prognosis. I am sad that six months to live turned out to be six weeks. I am sad his family must say, "goodbye for now." Still I will cling to the same hope that Al showed me. Life is better with God. Death is better in God. Just as Al will go on living beyond death, so I will go on living through death.

Doctor from Community

2008-07-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Not everyone can become a "doctor." It takes years and in some cases decades to become a medical doctor. I will never become an M.D. It just is not in me. I'm not the kind of "doctor" who can help anyone physically. This past weekend I received my diploma for having completed my doctorate in ministry and spirituality. No, I cannot serve in the ER nor can I prescribe any medicine (well, I am now prescribing Tylenol and all forms of over the counter cough medicine . . . but no one is paying me for that).

Whatever one does, it cannot be done alone. It always takes a community of people. I was blessed this weekend that all of my immediate extended family on both sides (except for my grandparents) traveled to Pasadena for my commencement. While I actually finished my degree in March, the ceremony was in June and became the excuse for a huge vacation to Southern California.

It was a great trip at every turn - days at Disneyland, afternoon at Huntington Library Gardens, day at the beach, Price is Right, Jay Leno, dinners, lunches, 15 passenger van rides through LA, Dallas Willard speaking at the hooding, Richard Mouw speaking at commencement, having all my family together - it was all great. It made me realize over and over again that I could never do this alone. We are not self-made people. We are a community. Even if I had no wife, kids, parents or family, I could not "educate myself." It takes a community of students and professors and administrators to make that happen. Life is community even among the most reclusive of individuals.

I thank my wife and kids who were my immediate community. I thank my parents and sister who were my first community. I thank my in laws who adopted me into their community. I thank my brother in laws who are brothers in love. I thank my niece and nephews who show me that community keeps going beyond us. I thank the one whose echo invigorates the human soul. Doctors are doctors of nothing without a community of people to serve and be served by.

Beach Math (or "Springing Thoughts" pt. 2)

2008-06-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Talking with Nathan or Lizzie is like looking into a deep spring well and wondering, "where do do these waters come from." The wisdom of a child flows from unseen places. It causes wrinkled adult eyes to take a double glance and wonder at the ripples.

As Nathan and I enjoyed the cool breezes of Huntington beach as we dug into the hot sand, here came one of those streams of wisdom. He looked down at the sand in his hands. Nothing else mattered. His attention fixed upon the flowing sand. Gazing down the length of the beach stretching as far as the eye could see in any direction, Nathan stated, "The sand in the world is more than all the 'things' in this world."

Hum. I slowly repeated it back as a question, "the sand in the world is more than all the 'things' in this world." Pausing I said, "Yeah, I think your math is probably pretty close." There is something a bit eternal, and quite a bit baffling about thinking that type of thought. I am not going to be able to double check it. My wife is the math person. However, from a philosophical or theological perspective there is a vastness to his metaphor.

An old fellow named Abe claimed to have had this conversation with God. It was one of those dreams or experiences that kept happening over and over and over. You may have some dreams that repeat. Anyway, Abe clearly hears God tell him that his children would be of incalculable number . . . more than the sands on all the seashores. Strange dream. Like you and me, even Abe did not buy it. Yet 4,000-6,000 years latter it is getting more and more true. The great news is that anyone and everyone can walk the beach and be one of the billions of billions of people God' calls children.

Princess Dreams (or "Springing Thoughts" pt. 1)

2008-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Talking with Nathan or Lizzie is like looking into a deep spring well and wondering, "where do do these waters come from." The wisdom of a child flows from unseen places. It causes wrinkled adult eyes to take a double glance and wonder at the ripples.

A long day in the man made "park" that Walt built makes for tired kids. The little energetic ones and the bigger older ones that have to buy the tickets. This my third venture in what is supposed to be a world of dreams was no less tiring. It seems like man-made parks are fun and entertaining, but they do not have the ability to renew the energy like a natural park with birds and grass and flowers and trees and kids making dreams with their imaginations.

Well, little kids still have the ability to say things that just spring up and make you grin or reflect. Tonight little Lizzie went to bed full of joy. A second day of being a princess in a dream world worked for her. She left with a princess bank, princess crown, and was eager to return home to get her 'wish' or her wand.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face and said, "I have enough dreams for tomorrow."

Life should be like that. Dreams spilling over into a new day. Joy that overflows into the next day. In reality, these dreams will fade. She is just young enough that in time the crown will break, the memories will become fixed photos, and the princess bank will be emptied with pealing paint.

What we dream is what we become. How we live becomes where we live. Who we choose to be today becomes the person we will be for all eternity. So, the dreams and the joy and the hope and the faith I have is placed in something beyond myself in the one who is beyond and behind and within every moment. The joy of the Lord will be my strength.

Our Kisses Can Drive

2008-02-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

This month is a little anniversary of sorts. This is kind of calendar clocking that young lovers engage in. It is when two young love birds share how many days or weeks they've been together or how many months, days, and hours till their wedding.

In this month of Valentines, the kisses of my wife are now old enough to drive. Sixteen years ago we kissed for the first time. Fifteen years ago we were engaged. And later this year we will have been married for fifteen years - a decade and a half. Okay, I warned you this is the kind of calendar games young lovers play. Our marriage is not old enough to drive yet, but our kisses can . . . and that is what counts.

I am overjoyed that love is young whatever our age. When intimate love is shared and entrusted to one other person, the rewards never stop "wowing!" I love my wife.

Google For Good & Better World

2007-11-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

It seems that I am constantly impressed by Google. The company with a funny name indicating a seemingly infinite number is making a difference unlike any company of which I have knowledge. I and a billion of my closest friends use Google on a daily basis. It's simple search engine is fast, accurate, easy, and the portal to seemingly infinite information.

Then, came Gmail the beta program you had to be invited into, but then was offered as a free limitless storage email. I love it. Whenever something comes along that takes a completely different approach and makes the ordinary tasks of life extraordinarily easy and even fun, I love it.

Then, I caught wind that Google is working to digitize every piece of literature ever written into a super-Google library. This too is an amazing feat and one that will make study, learning, research, and potential growth available to anyone with access to the internet.

Just last month Google announced that they are entering the cell phone industry and will have a Google Phone sometime next year. They are not invested in hardware, per se, but the software that makes accessing the internet and email available to users of cell phones. Their logic is that there are significantly more cell phone users in the world than computer users. So, they will bring the internet simply and efficiently to cell phones.

Then, today while reading my Gmail across my webclips comes an article about Google pursuing renewable energy. They are investing millions upon millions of dollars in renewable energy. Sure it is for lowering their own corporate energy costs. However, most Wall Street observers think the move is sheer insanity and a case of a company trying to do too much. Many guess that Google will outreach its ability to produce. While their name represents an infinite number of zeros and seems to mirror their net worth, their goal is not making money. What? A huge multi-billion dollar company is not in it for the cash? No wonder Wall Street frowns and shakes a discouraging finger.

Get this. In 2004 when they went public with their initial public stock offering, founders Page and Brin wrote to investors:

"Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. In pursuing this goal, we may do things that we believe have a positive impact on the world, even if the near-term financial returns are not obvious."

The bold italics are my addition to highlight their stunning assertion, which means "it is not about the money." They are focused on positively improving life for as many as possible. Wow! What if everyone had that as a goal? Think of the impact that one person could make who was willing to give their life - even painful embarrassing death - for the good of as many people as possible. It sounds like a hint of a faith I could really hang onto tightly. Sacrifice some of our perks, power, hours, and cash so that others could see seismic difference in their lifestyle.

The story of Jesus (and those who follow him) has green reproductive power even today. If people of faith will get out of mere sermon listening and into changing the world, then life would be better for more people. Don't get me wrong, this is not a "rah-rah" chant for human potential. I think it can only happen on the shoulders of a God who stretched his arms wide in love of the world (the whole world), but he also accomplishes it through you and me and Google. God is bringing all things to their perfection in Jesus. I am ready to follow him.

Picture Perfect Imperfect Faith

2007-10-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Standing on the curb, I watched my kids wave at parade floats while I spoke with old friends. They were enjoying the new experiences of Homecoming, while we adults were reminiscing about our college lives gone by. Homecoming at ACU is always fun because the Alumni community is strong and our graduating class size was small. So, it is more likely that you see people you know. However, being at a "Christian" college in a town full of three Christian colleges means that there is a. . . well, a surplus of Christians. It is great to raise a family, but not necessarily a realistic world for the greater portion of America.

As I stood with friends and current students, we watched carloads full of "the homecoming court." These pretty girls with straight teeth and combed and conditioned to perfection waved to the crowds. I overheard the student next to me say to his girlfriend, "Yep, I bet she loves Jesus." I looked and he was nodding at a pretty young girl waving from a sports car, one of the many chosen beautiful girls.

The truth of the offhanded comment stuck to the back of my brain - "she must love Jesus." Of course, the obvious curse of blessings. Who wouldn't love Jesus if their teeth were white, face beautiful, hair held perfectly by a crown, and figure worthy of a Queen's title. With everything going for them, why not thank and bless and honor God?

But what about the rest of us? What about those who stand sneering on the sideline of life longing for the perks of life that pass us by? Many of us live in the "if only's" of faith. If only God would give me X, then I would believe. If only God answered my prayer about X, then I could follow. If only God . . ., then I could.

So we look in the mirror, recount inadequacies, list unfulfilled dreams and scoff. All that is missing in our lives becomes reason enough to let following God go, too. What has God done for me?

As his words about loving Jesus echoed in my head, it was clear that some people love Jesus for what he can give them. Jesus is easy to follow when he is leaving big blessings for us to pick up behind him. It is more difficult to follow when the road is marked by suffering, tragedy and death. I wonder which faith is more valuable: faith in a Jesus who makes life perfect or faith in a Jesus despite an imperfect life? Probably the more noble is the imperfect life that mirrors Jesus way of the cross.

Come to think of it what is the difference between a faith that follows Jesus when blessed and a faith that rejects Jesus when life is less blessed? Not much.

Blanket Rolled Into the Sky

2007-10-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Nathan and I were again walking to school. There were hundreds, likely thousands, of birds eating in massive groups across the intramural track and field. So we sprinted right through the middle of this huge mass of blackness. Running as fast as we could the birds took to the air all around us. We were laughing and somewhat in awe of all these birds flapping the wind all around us. After we ran through them for the first time, Nathan said that it looked like a black blanket being rolled up into the sky. Now that description sounds poetic to me.

We have made a habit of running through the birds and sending them upward and away in flight. We've only done it maybe three times. Today, Nathan associated two experiences (the one were birds were in church and the other where birds fly) and said, “I think they are in church.” So there we were sprinting hand in hand as the sun was just beginning to peak through the pink sky with hundreds or thousands of black birds flying around us. Indeed, it is church - a sacred moment of worship. God's creation of animal and light and life is present powerfully in a moment shared between father and son.

Jesus spoke about birds and invited us to consider them. It is funny how we will consider scripture or meditate on a commentary or reflect upon a great new book, but not a bird. When Jesus watched the birds he explained the wisdom they reveal about life. These birds do not have barns nor seed planting strategies nor cookbooks full of recipes. Yet, God does not let them go hungry. We worry and fret and wring hands about much that we are not even in control of. God is in charge. So, enjoy life. Stop worrying about what you cannot control. Live in the church of life and let God care for you.

No Name Tag Needed

2007-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

The ZOE Conference has been a delightful experience this weekend. I wondered who I would see. . . there were name tags everywhere Like any conference there are people you know, people you think you recognize, people you know of, people there you never see, people you have heard of, and people you meet for the first time. Name tags are a beautiful thing. For the people you recognize or know of you can remember their names. Name tags help emblazon the name of someone just met into memory.

And then there are people for whom you don’t need a name tag. Regardless of how long it has been, you just know them. Tonight I ran into my childhood friend Tim. He lived a few doors down when I lived in Oklahoma. We played Star Wars, Lego, football, basketball, tether ball, and camped out. I have no idea when the last time was that we saw each other, but I moved away from Tim twenty some years ago.

Tonight we went to dinner and swapped stories of the events of life good and bad that have come upon us. For the last two years we have been praying for time and Kristi. Their two year old daughter has serious health issues. She was not expected to live through pregnancy nor childbirth nor many months. Now, she is two, which is a miracle in itself, but it is a miracle that has come with costs. Life experiences give us much and take much out of us. Twenty four seven care of a child is tough, but when two other children are in the home it is tougher.

I asked Tim how he made it through knowing his unborn child might die. He said that the night they went to the hospital he had a ZOE CD in the car and it was playing “Blessed Be Your Name.” He had never really paid attention to the words, but that night "the road marked with suffering" became a reality for them. The song gave him the words to return thanks to God through good and bad. Sometimes all we have left is the opportunity to say "Blessed are you God" and that is enough to show that God is at work.

Amazing. Life comes with questions, doubts, and difficulties. There are not cute answers that heal or solve it. But there is a God who walks with us through it.

Bird Sanctuary

2007-09-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning the sun rose with pink and orange fire, silently brilliant across the sky. Our family toddled noisily through the silence of the morning and were buckled into the car. "Why do we have to go to church?" my five year old whined. Being strapped into stiff clothes, child car seats, and a five point harness, the question was a fair one. There was little choice about his clothes, the seat, the seat belt, or the destination. However, he rarely complained about going to church . . . surprisingly he likes going to church.

I tried to duck the question with distraction, "look at those birds up on the high wire looking at the heavens." This time diverting my son's eyes did not divert his question, "Why don't birds have to go to church?"

Ok, there was no escaping. This was the pre-game for repeating this question all the way to church. An endless game of, "But why Daddy?" "I don't want to go" "Why do we have to go." So, I had to audible a blitz on his questions.

"The birds are already in church," I said.

"Hugh?" he cocked his face and wrinkled his nose.

"Sure they are already in church. They are always in church."

"How can they be in church?" he asked.

The best way to answer a five-year-old's question is usually another question. "They are outside under trees and flying through the sky. Who made the world?"

"God did."

Yes, that is right. God made the sky, sun to rise, trees to raise their branches, and wind to blow. They are exactly where they need to be worshiping God in all that they do.

Humans, while somewhat different, could learn from the birds of the air. We are always in the sanctuary of God.

Long before we strap in to a new day - Sunday or Thursday, comfy cloths or starched - we have the skin that provides sanctuary to God in a world that is his sanctuary. How we sit on a wire and watch the sunrise on Sunday and how we respond to voice mail on Monday is as much worship at pew sitting.

Sunday worship then begins to look like a whole different skyline. It is not a "have to" but a chance to fly with other creatures and explore how we might better worship God in every moment. Birds, sunrises, seat belts, and children included.

When our worship becomes strapped human routine, it will be the sky that worships because "the heavens declare the righteousness of God." Jesus himself said that rocks will speak if we refuse to speak. I will be watching the birds, soaking in sunrises, and laughing with children. Because if I listen closely enough I can hear a crescendo much larger that the worship I attend, prefer, demand or ignore.

May you find sanctuary in God and may God himself find sanctuary in you.

What's Missing

2007-09-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

The event set sail tonight, but what was missing? We were not missing great worship thanks to Steven Moore. He warmly led an inspired group in worship. We were not missing great preaching. Jerry Taylor brought the message powerfully and eloquently. Yes, we were missing Royce Money, but that simply could not be avoided with an honoring of Representative Bob Hunter elsewhere in the country. Jack Reese fit the bill eloquently. So, what were we missing? The center screen with the video backdrop. You know, the one that displays the theme. It was absent due to missing hardware to hang the video projector.

These are the things I never noticed about lectureship. Missing screens, how the greenery magically appears, the height of the stage, and other invisible details behind the scenes. That is where prayer is a priority. Not as a magic fix to life's issues, but as the reminder that each breath of life is given from a creator. The invisible details of our existence are easily overlooked, when they should be offered in prayer to a God who makes the sun rise and set.

Prayers of The Green One

2007-09-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

I wore my green shirt today. It just seemed the symbolically correct way to go. This week I will be observing Lectureship from the inside. You might want a voyeuristic look behind the curtain. Sure I saw the sun rise this morning (and many more worked through the night), but all hard the work took place in the twelve months prior to this sunrise.

I packed my purple tie because tonight Jack Reese will introduce me as the new Director of Ministry Events. Tonight will be a great beginning to the Lectures with Dr. Jerry Taylor getting things rolling. Thousands will come to welcome the words of the Prophet Micah. If only he could experience the kind of welcome he will receive this week. Prophets are usually only welcome long after they are dead. So, it is appropriate that we honor this words. Micah would likely not be impressed with our red carpet rolled out for him. Prophets like to make a fuss. They do not wish to be pampered. But we could count on him bringing his message of performing Justice, loving Mercy, and walking in Humility with the one true God.

Tomorrow morning will begin with prayer. Jacob's Dream will be the site for morning prayers beginning at 8 a.m. This quite place will prove to be the intersection between human and divine. Prayer is our response to God's action in our lives. In years past, the ACU students have taken on the task of praying for every class presenter and keynote speaker. This year it is not happening officially. Instead, I will be praying for lectureship non-stop through the event. I will be praying for speakers, teachers, vendors, food service personnel, participants, and others. You are welcome to join with me in praying that God's Kingdom arrive in big and small ways throughout this week in ways that will strengthen God's activity in homes, churches, and workplaces throughout the world.

Director in the Shadows

2007-09-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

The ACU Lectureship countdown has begun. This year I get to watch the behind the curtain events. I don't know what to expect. The schedule is intense. Anytime it takes a year of build up to plan and pull off an event one can only imagine how the seconds matter at the event.

First Day of School

2007-08-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

Who could have guessed that I would start to school the same day as my five year old? He goes to Kindergarten. I go to teach at the university.

Who could have imagined even three months ago we would both live in Abilene, TX? Tomorrow morning, I will walk with my son to school and then I will turn and walk in the opposite direction to serve as faculty in the College of Biblical Studies at ACU.

Nathan has grown into a super little guy. He is thrilled about his school, excited about his new town, pleased about his teacher, and looking forward to learning with brand new friends.

His Dad, on the other hand, has a less clear picture of life. Oh if only I had to buy glue, markers, Kleenex, and pencils. If only my biggest concern was where I would sit in my one classroom. Instead, I make a major career change from daily ministry and weekly preaching to become Director of Ministry Events and adjunct professor of undergraduate and graduate Bible students.

I have not yet put my finger on the right word. It is not worry nor fear nor sadness. It is something like uncertainty. Actually, it is a lot like the feeling I got on the night before school before a major grade change. Like when I went from elementary to junior high or junior high to high school or high school to college. There was just a bit of uncertainty, the unknown was all I could know the night before the new experience. Once my feet were wet, I never looked back.

Tonight my prayer is that I will walk with the same zip and energy to teach that Nathan will have to learn. We will both be learners. In life, even those who teach learn from the eternal wisdom of the ever present teacher. May we never stop learning from the new experiences of life.

Welcome Home

2007-08-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

It is a great feeling to watch other people come in and load all of your heavy furniture onto a truck. I have never experienced someone else moving my stuff for me. Sure every time I have moved other people have helped. Friends, family and members of our faith community always chip in and make quick work out of moving. However, this time I was able to sit back and watch rather than direct and sort and lift and load. It was great and it was the only thing that helped fight back the sadness of leaving behind our life in Denton.

The crew left by 3:30 p.m. and Donna and I cleaned for the next three hours. The house was left in perfect condition, clean, touched up, and looking like a brand new home. We pulled out to eat our last meal in Denton at New York Sub Hub on loop 288. They make the best sub sandwich around. Fresh bread is made every day by La Madeline Bakery. There means and veggies are complimented with a great secret Italian dressing that is perfect. Donna announced to the owner manager that this was our last meal in Denton. He was pleased at our choice.

By the time we got into our cars we were worn out. We talked to each other on cell phones as we left the city limits of Denton, leaving behind the home and friends and church family we had know for the better part of a decade. I put my MP3 player on random and we road into the sunset.

Supposedly, we were heading to “the hill” in Abilene, Texas home to Abilene Christian University. However, on the outskirts of Fort Worth the terrain flattens and the road descends like a plane coming into a runway. While we were going to the hill, we were descending from the hill of Denton, Dallas, and Fort Worth.

Our rent house had no Air Conditioning so we asked the Siburt’s for a place to land for the night. We arrived at their home on the hill a few minutes before 10 p.m. Charlie’s first words were “Welcome Home.”

Welcome home . . . we both chuckled. That’s right a short journey had brought us to a new place, that was an old place, and already was a home welcoming us to a new life.

Free Chick

2007-08-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Our home group began to get excited about a field trip. Normally, we do pretty basic things together each week: eat, laugh, pray, cry, tell stories, share Bible stories, and encourage one another. But our group had the chance to do something out of the ordinary - an all night field trip.

Our local Chick-fil-a at the Denton Crossing shopping center was celebrating their 1 year anniversary. The first of a very limited number of people through the door would receive free Chick-fil-a (or what my 2 year old daughter calls "Chicken Play") for one year. Free food for a year sounded pretty good to our group.

Most people do not know that every brand new "Chicken Play" does this at their grand opening. A month earlier our group had tried to do this, but none of us could swing it. So, here we were out all night with our home group. We played board games, threw the football, listened to music, slept, talked, and had a great time watching for the sun rise.

After a night of fun, we high-fived a cow in PJs and sat down for a chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich. What crazy thing have you done lately? Is life about routine and order and schedule? It may be that there is room for some of your God given creativity to break through and enjoy the free chicken play of life.

Travis

2007-08-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

I recently caught a Travis concert at the House of Blues in Dallas. It is always great to see one of your favorite bands live, but this was outstanding. My buddy James and I made our debut visit to the House of Blues and really enjoyed the venue.

We had trouble finding the door when we walked up to HoB. We stopped next two huge tour buses in what we later discovered was the back. Out of the bus pops two guys who begin playing soccer on the sidewalk. I elbowed James and said, "I think that is Fran." It turns out the lead singer is a pretty good soccer player and that roadies make for good partners.

I stood there wondering what to do because I did not even have a pen. Finally, we just went up to him to see if he really was Fran. He was extremely nice. He even went onto the bus to get a Sharpie pen and sign my ticket. Finally, he posed with us for a picture. There were quite a few things I thought later that I should have asked, but I guess that is the way it goes. You don't expect to meet the lead singer of your new favorite band on the street corner.

The concert was a lot of fun. These guys obviously love what they are doing and let nothing stop them from having a good time and playing great tunes. Travis seemed unphased by frigid Texas A/C, reverberations from the next room, or faulty guitar on the first song. They played a number of my favorites: Side, My Eyes, Humpty Dumpty Love Song, Sing and my son's favorites: Selfish Jean and Closer.

I never could tell my 5 year old son that I was going to this concert. He would have been bugging me every day to go. He is a big fan and plays their songs over and over again. Nathan was thrilled when I told him about the concert and showed him my picture with lead singer. Music is good for the soul.

The One Thing

2007-07-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

Back in February, Donna and I went on a retreat with the Pastor's Retreat Network. Each day we enjoyed a lunch time conversation with eight pastors from all over the country about life and love and ministry. Betty, the retreat leader, always left us with a probing question to ask of God for the next twenty-four hours. We dwelled on this one question in prayer.

On Tuesday Betty's question for us came from the story of Jesus and a blind man. Jesus asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10). While the answer seems obvious (. . . um to see again . . .), it is stunning that Jesus asks what we want him to do for us. The retreat participants were to tell Jesus what we wanted him do for us. Now that is a thought provoking question. I immediately knew that I wanted to know “the one thing” that God wanted us to be doing. Did God want us to find another church to serve or stay for 20 more years at Singing Oaks? Did God want us to sell everything and begin a new ministry to the poor in Denton or did God want us to sell everything and go plant a church somewhere. I spent the day praying and asking God what was “the one thing” he wanted us to do.

The "one thing” appears rarely in scripture. There is really only one time that it appears with a clear purpose. However, there are some great ones. In Mark 10:21 (Luke 18:32), Jesus has a conversation with a man who wants eternal life. They talk about following the law and the man has been doing this his entire life. Jesus looks at him and scripture says, “He loved him.” He loves this man who wants to do one more thing. He already follows God, but he wants to live with God forever. So to this man whom Jesus loves he says, “One thing you lack. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor.” The man went away sad because he had many possessions. Not only did he posses a thorough knowledge of the law and great righteousness, but he also possessed the things that sometimes tend to come to those who live right – stuff.

There is another “one thing” story. This time Jesus is at the home of Martha. Martha scurries about making the house and the meal special and perfect. Mary her sister sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to him. Martha busily prepares a perfect occasion. Mary contentedly enters the perfect occasion. Martha gets frustrated at her sisters laziness and unwillingness to help. Jesus points out Martha’s own worry and distraction by many things. Jesus says there is need to do only one thing. He commends Mary for choosing the one thing (Luke 10:42).

I wanted God to tell me the one thing. I did not remember these stories about “the one thing.” Instead, I prayed and read all that afternoon. This retreat was all about hanging out with God. Late that afternoon, I was using a prayer book for my prayer time. It led me to Psalm 27 . So, as I read and prayed this Psalm there were things about the Lord being my light and my salvation and my stronghold. Then, I got to verse four “one thing I asked of the Lord.” I stopped, shocked that God was speaking to me through scripture. This is what I had been praying and meditating on all day long. Now, here it was written thousands and thousands of years earlier. I read on. “One thing I asked of the Lord that I will seek after: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” I fell flat on my face and began to cry, to weep in the presence of God.

You see in my heart, I wondered what God wanted to use me for. I had worked the better part of a decade trying to help a church grow and grow closer to its Creator. I wanted to be the greatest preacher ever in churches of Christ. I considered planting a church and help people on the outside of Christianity get inside in their relationship with God. I had all of these aspirations and wondered if I was best using my gifts and talents.

Last year I had asked Donna if this was the way we wanted to use the most productive years of our life. Did I want to continue running a church office? Did I want to go to elders meetings? Did I want to continue give ideas and plans that were shot down?

I fell on my face in prayer because I realized that my question was really about me. I wanted to know what God wanted ME to do. What I really meant is what "big important thing" did God want me to do. Here in this ancient prayer, the one thing was to seek God. Period. Seeking the face of God is the one thing this psalmist begins to pursue with his whole heart.

I spent a long time praying and crying as this new room of meaning opened to me. Over the four weeks of our Sabbatical in a combination of personal and family retreats, I realized that what God wanted more than anything else from me – was me. God wanted me to seek him all the days of my life. My plans, my dreams, my ambitions to preach, plant, start, serve, achieve just did not matter. Donna received this very same message. Through her prayer and reading and study she also realized that God wanted us to seek him whole heartedly. The music we heard in church and the books we read all pointed us to this. Remember the song, “purer in heart oh God help me to be, that I may do thy will.” Remember the new song “Give us clean hands, give us a pure heart.” Suddenly everything was about seeking God. I remembered the words from the Sermon on the Mount, which I memorized and recited as a sermon last spring. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” The promise Jesus offered to people who give God their hearts is the ability to see God. What more could we want than God. What else mattered? Donna and I returned to Singing Oaks with renewed focus and energy and most of all trust in God.

From that point on our immediate future was no less clear, but our long time future was assured. We were to seek God in the present moment. Psalm 27 became a vital part of my daily prayer life and it became a wellspring for my relationship with God.

As I began praying this Psalm daily, I realized things about it. The psalmist actually gets a three for one. It is the old genie in the bottle trick that I have always wanted to try when I find my magic lamp. You get three wishes and so you use the last wish to wish for three more wishes. He gets three things out of his “one thing.”

Dwell in the house of the Lord, see the beauty of the Lord, and inquire of the Lord in his temple. The one thing is to dwell in the house of the Lord. The other two things are results of dwelling with God. I read this as that God had plans for me to stay preaching and residing inside the church to serve.

To dwell in the house of the Lord does not mean to stay inside of a church building. This is not a command to become a temple servant or to become the building and grounds person who lives in constant prayer. It easily could mean those things but it does not have to mean a new job inside the church. To dwell in the house of the Lord is to begin to see your body as a temple of God. Your heart is the new residence of the Holy Spirit of God. The presence of Jesus as God’s son in the world and the residence of his Spirit in the hearts and lives of believers is God’s permanent dwelling. The promise of God dwelling with his people is realized when we welcome God into our life.

If you and I are to dwell in God’s house all our lives there are two results. These are the results of hanging out always in the presence of God. First, we will see the beauty of the Lord God. I have read this phrase in about every version of the bible there is. Some render it enjoy the presence of God, taste the sweetness of God, and they are all phrases that make me think about a very good marriage, where you just love being in the presence of the one you love. You love just dwelling there and being there. The second result of dwelling with God is the ability to inquire of the Lord God in his temple. Again imagine the temple of your body as a place where you might constantly be in conversation and questions and dialogue with God. It is beyond amazing that the creator of the world has invited you into this kind of relationship with him. A relationship where his presence is always with you. This relationship is one where you need only to make yourself available to him.

Yesterday we were in Abilene for the Summer workshops. We stopped again by Jacob's Dream. As we walked back to the Bible Building, Donna noticed that "one thing" was carved into the stone. The phrase "One Thing" was written exactly where I had placed the camera to take our family picture. From the perspective of the "one thing" one can see the cross and the verse where the blind man says he does not know who Jesus is but "one thing I do know, I was blind and now I see."

May your one thing always be God.

The Letter

2007-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

[This is my resignation letter read today to the congregation of people I dearly love. I will tell more of the story behind this decision in a later post.]

July 17, 2007

Dear Singing Oaks –

Eight years ago this month, Donna and I moved to Singing Oaks to partner in ministry with you in Denton, Texas. We had fallen in love with the people of this church. Still today we enjoy every moment with you. In 1999, we came with no children to a town of 75,000, joining two other ministers and 330 people in worship on Sundays. Needless to say a lot has changed. All of it has been wonderful.

We have been offered an opportunity to work for Abilene Christian University as Director of Ministry Events and Adjunct Professor of Bible in Abilene, Texas. This position oversees the annual Lectureship program as well as other annual ministry events for churches and church leaders. Additionally, it would involve teaching Bible and Ministry courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Obviously this is a great honor and a rare opportunity for service in the Kingdom of God. After hours and hours and days and days of prayer, fasting, crying and reflection we accepted this position and will release our ministry here as Preaching Minister. We will be leaving rather quickly on August 21^st in order to begin school this Fall.

Without the support and experience and training we have received here this opportunity would probably not be available to us. We believe that you share in the honor given us by this role of ministry to the fellowship of Churches of Christ and teaching young people in the university setting for ministry. In so many ways, you participated in our development in and for ministry. We are forever grateful and will continue to share this partnership with you.

This decision was not easy. We so dearly love the people we serve, the ministers we work with, and the elders we serve beside. Few come anywhere close to you. It is so difficult to leave such an outstanding church with great potential. However, we leave you with God and trust that God will continue to nurture a spirit of unconditional love, unity, and desire to follow him at all cost. Our future together is bright as we seek God in all things.

Always yours,

Brady and Donna Bryce
Nathan and Lizzie

Music Memories

2007-06-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today we drove back from New Mexico after a great vacation in the mountains around Ruidoso. We stopped in Abilene to show the kids Abilene and share some memories. They love the monument called Jacob's Dream on the campus of Abilene Christian University. So, we stopped by to let them play and to eat at Subway.

Sitting in Subway every song we heard was released my freshman year. There were songs by Nirvana, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and other bands that took me back a few years. Donna and I were thinking about our freshmen year and talking about our dear friend James, my college room mate and long-time friend. Then a group of girls came in the door. They were cheerleaders from Wylie High School. I began calculating their age and realized that they were all born just before James, Donna, and I came to college here. Now, they were seniors. It made me laugh and then it made me feel old.

I just had to pass along this revelation to my buddy James. He was pleased to travel down memory lane with me. That is until I brought up about the ages of the High School cheerleaders. Then, he seemed pretty depressed. Well that is what friends are for . . . we pick each other up and knock each other down. The best thing about friends is that no matter how much time passes, they remain friends. Plus, the longer the friendship lasts the younger you feel every time you are in their presence. In the Kingdom of God, friendship is a head start on eternity together with God.

Life in Dallas

2007-04-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

There are so many things to pursue. Living in Dallas-Fort Worth, everything is available. The latest technologies, the newest entertainment, world renown speakers, resources, opportunities and more. However, the remain people who are unable to access what is available. People who lack the information, connections, knowledge, or ability to reach what is available.

God is available. God is present. God is looking at you. The presence of God does not depend upon something you create, but upon your willingness to seek a God seeking you. God made heaven and earth. God does not need our religion, office space, sacred space, or even a chair. God created it all.

God looks at is the one who is humble. God looks at the one who is sincerely remorseful. God is looking for the one who is moved to tears at his word.

Miracle Neice

2007-04-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

My closest blood relative . . . the woman who came from the same womb I did . . . experienced a miracle today.

My sister Kelly and her husband Michael have been unable to give birth to a child. For years they have prayed and tried and suffered through infertility. But, still no life. Last year they were chosen as adoptive parents. It was an answer to prayers. With little time to prepare, they readied their home, their lives, and their hearts to receive a baby. Every hurdle was passed with a bit more joy, until at the last possible moment . . . the adoption was canceled. It was the equivalent of a still born death. We were heart broken.

Then, amazingly Kelly got pregnant. A "one last shot" attempt with treatments worked! The last nine months have been anxious for me and I know they have been uncertain for Kelly & Michael. Yesterday, we met another of God's miracles, this one named Taryn.

Life never turns out the way we expect or plan or dream. However, the one true and living God is able to surprise us with life through our death.