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4 years

4 years ago today I married the most beautiful woman in the world. We've been through quite a bit in the last four years, both great and difficult, but through it all she has just continued to become more and more amazing to me.

I've read stories of couples that are more in love in their sixties and seventies than ever and I realize that I've found the woman that I can live that out with. We're still in the beginning stages of our journey together, but it's already been the best trip I could possible imagine.


Jen, I love you...more today than ever before.

peace,
glo

O.A. Revisited

A while ago I posted about the concept of "Ordo Amoris", which St. Augustine defined as "the ordinate condition of the affections in which every object is accorded that kind and degree of love which is appropriate to it." I've been wrestling with the concept for quite sometime now and seem to have had an epiphany while sitting in my chair this afternoon doing some studying.

The question is what "kind and degree of love" is appropriate for us to offer to God? I think Paul sums it up quite well in Romans 12, verse 1...

I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.

That's it. Nothing less, nothing more. I think the problem most of us have with this idea of "living sacrifice" is that we think it's the end of our lives. It isn't at all. It's actually just the beginning. The obvious place to go with this line of thought is to reference how Jesus came into His kingdom by the resurrection, after the cross...which was His ultimate sacrifice. But I want you to think of it another way. Think of someone you respect, they can be someone you know personally or just someone you know of. They can be alive or have been dead for hundreds of years...just put this person in your mind.

Now, why do you respect them?

Is it because of all the cool stuff they own(ed) in life? How about because of how well educated they were or the home they live in? If it's someone that is alive today do you respect them because of the car they drive?

I would venture to guess that your respect for said person is not based off what they have or have accomplished for themselves in their life. You probably respect them because of what they have given or accomplished for others.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mother Theresa

The whole crew of "Extreme Home Makeover"

"insert your hero here"

These people and the people you are thinking of are remembered because of the sacrifice they made for others. For the things they accomplished for others...

Not

For

Themselves!

What have you done for someone else lately? What "living sacrifice" (as Paul would say) have you lived out?

Are you living for yourself? If so, you will live a shallow and meaningless life, filled with empty regrets. If you don't believe me just look at human history, it speaks more poignantly than I.

Live for others. It's the only way
to
truly
live
at
all.

peace,
glo

Article of the Month!

You have to read this...it's awesome!

Shortly before landing, Bob Hayden and a flight attendant had agreed on a signal: When she waved the plastic handcuffs, he would discreetly leave his seat and restrain an unruly passenger who had frightened some of the 150 people on board a Minneapolis-to-Boston flight Saturday night with erratic behavior.

Hayden, a 65-year-old former police commander, had enlisted a gray-haired gentleman sitting next to him to assist. The man turned out to be a former US Marine.

"I had looked around the plane for help, and all the younger guys had averted their eyes. When I asked the guy next to me if he was up to it, all he said was, 'Retired captain. USMC.' I said, 'You'll do,' " Hayden recalled. "So, basically, a couple of grandfathers took care of the situation."

The incident on Northwest Airlines Flight 720 ended peacefully, but not before Hayden, a former Boston police deputy superintendent and former Lawrence police chief, and the retired Marine had handcuffed one man and stood guard over another until the plane touched down safely at Logan International Airport around 7:50 p.m.

State Police troopers escorted two men off the flight. Trooper Thomas Murphy, a State Police spokesman, said one of the men was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for "an unspecified medical issue, possibly mental health."

He said State Police detectives will investigate whether the man's behavior should be treated as a medical or criminal matter. A second man escorted off the plane identified himself as the unruly passenger's brother. Murphy said police would not release the names of the men, who Hayden said appeared to be in their 30s or 40s.

Dean Breest, a spokesman for Northwest, confirmed that "there was an incident that required State Police to come on board the aircraft" but declined further comment.

Hayden said the unruly man's behavior upset some passengers. One told Hayden the man had said, "Your lives are going to change today forever," as he shouted and refused to take his seat before takeoff and at various times during the nearly three-hour flight. He said that at one point the man lay on his back and was screaming, moaning, and thrashing on the floor.

"Some people were crying," Hayden said. "I thought it might be a diversion. I kept scanning the back of the plane to see if anyone was going to rush forward. The flight attendants did a great job, literally surrounding the two guys who were making all the noise. I told one of the flight attendants I was a retired police officer and would be willing to assist, so we agreed on a signal."

When the captain announced preparations for landing, the man jumped up shouting, the flight attendant held up the handcuffs, and Hayden and the Marine came bounding down the aisle. Hayden said he and the retired Marine, whose name he never got, received an ovation from fellow passengers, and "some free air miles."

Hayden's wife of 42 years, Katie, who was also on the flight, was less impressed. Even as her husband struggled with the agitated passenger, she barely looked up from "The Richest Man in Babylon," the book she was reading.

"The woman sitting in front of us was very upset and asked me how I could just sit there reading," Katie Hayden said. "Bob's been shot at. He's been stabbed. He's taken knives away. He knows how to handle those situations. I figured he would go up there and step on somebody's neck, and that would be the end of it. I knew how that situation would end. I didn't know how the book would end."

Big...really Big

There will be a hugemongous announcement this Sunday at church that will be freakin awesome! You don't want to miss it...

It'll rock your face off!

peace,
glo

where's my card?

Alright, so 9 days ago I officially turned 30 years old. While it seems as though general opinion is that you should have everything together by this time in life I still have a few unanswered questions that are bugging me. I am going to proceed to list them in an effort to get some answers.

1. Where's my flying car? Come on people, it's freakin' 2007 and I still have to buy new tires for my vehicles? I want a flying car, or at least a hovering car...I'd probably even settle for a hoverboard like they had in "Back to the Future 2".
2. Animal talk? Why haven't they figured out a way to translate animal sounds so we can finally understand what they are saying. My guess is probably that the technology already exists but they were shocked to discover that dogs and cats literally only think about food, sleep, attention from their owners and how much they loath the other species.

watch this...you'll laugh, hard.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZCYaw5tGYAs

3. Where's my adult ID card? Really. Aren't you supposed to get a welcome packet of information once you've reached full adulthood? I want a laminated card. It's weird to think that when people say I look young it's actually a compliment now...that must mean I'm not "young" anymore. Nope, I refuse to believe it.

Welp, that's enough rambling for today. I can't ramble too much you know, I'm an adult now and don't have time for such childish things.

peace,
glo

Ordo Amoris

St. Augustine defined virtue as ordo armoris, the ordinate condition of the affections in which every object is accorded that kind and degree of love which is appropriate to it.

Appropriate affection. I've been meditating on that sentence for a few days now and I keep coming back to one though...I keep wrestling with it like Jacob wrestled with God and I'm afraid I might have the same outcome that he did...I've got a limp.

The problem I'm having is trying to wrap my mind around what the "kind and degree of love" should be that I have toward God, my Creator, who sent His son to die for me. It's not possible. There is nothing I can offer, nothing I can say or do...and yet, He loves me with everything He is. This doesn't ignite in me some unending apathy. Quite the contrary, it makes me want to give Him everything I have. It's an understanding of what John Piper would call "faith in future grace".

My God, thank You.

peace,
glo

e-community

It's seems strange to think that 15 years ago the Internet didn't really have any impact on any one's life, much less have any sense of community built into. But that is where we stand today, with sites like myspace, facebook and others creating the sense of a genuine online community of friends that can communicate with each other in ways that you would have never believed even 10 years ago.

Which gets me thinking about prayer. In some sense, the idea is as abstract to some as the Internet was 15-20 years ago. Think about it. If someone would have come up to you in 1990 and said "In the next 10-20 years there is going to be this thing called the Internet where people can type conversations to one another and share photos, music and even videos" you would have thought they were crazy. Especially if they told you it was going to be wireless (which is how I am connected to this "crazy" Internet thing right now). You could have presented a pretty good case to make them seem like a complete loony. Now we know this as a reality in our lives though and it seems as though the only crazy ones are the ones who aren't plugged into, or wireless connected to, the Internet. Everyone uses it, but do you really understand how it works? I don't. I'm sure some tech-genius's do somewhere, but the majority of people using the Internet really don't have a clue how it works, they just log on and surf away.

I think we should be more like that with our prayer life. You don't have to understand how it works or have it all figured out. All you need is the basic equipment, a relationship with Christ and the ability to speak your heart, and you're good to go. Your knowledge of how to pray will increase the more you do it, just like surfing the net. God is available all the time, all you have to do is open your heart and let your mouth talk to Him. You don't even have to be plugged into something, He's been wireless for centuries now. (He's way ahead of the times)

So we recently re-designed the website for KC Life Church and added tons of new content. It's turning into quite the little online resource and community builder...if you have a few moments (and of course you do because you just wasted 3 minutes reading this) you should run over and check it out....

www.kclifechurch.com

peace,
glo

walking by beauty

A friend and fellow blogger recently posted this article on his blog and I think it's awesome...take a few minutes out of your day and check it out.

He emerged from the Metro at the L'Enfant Plaza Station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on the way to work, which meant, for almost all of them, a government job. L'Enfant Plaza is at the nucleus of federal Washington, and these were mostly mid-level bureaucrats with those indeterminate, oddly fungible titles: policy analyst, project manager, budget officer, specialist, facilitator, consultant.
Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if he's really bad? What if he's really good? Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn't you? What's the moral mathematics of the moment?
On that Friday in January, those private questions would be answered in an unusually public way. No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?

The violinist was world-renowed Joshua Bell. He was playing a violin worth over $3.5 million. He made a total of $32.17 over the course of an hour.

peace,
glo

Greatest April Fools prank ever!

Either Jesus was exactly who He said He was or He was the greatest prankster in the history of humanity. Actually, if the resurrection is false and He didn't raise on the third day then I'm not sure "prankster" is really the appropriate term to define Him with. Prankster implies a joke that is used for the humor of others and the enjoyment of a surprise. One can hardly relate the affect that the claims of Christ have had on human history to that of a practical joke. Oxford University Press released an article claiming that there were over 45 million martyrs for Christ in the 20th century alone. That doesn't seem too funny if they died for a lie. That would actually make Christ the most evil and horrible human being to ever live. Think about it. About 5-6 million Jews died in the holocaust, historians say that about 15 million slaved died during the slave period of American history. Both of those numbers are horrific, but they pale in comparison to the number of people who have "died for Christ". If what He claimed was false and He didn't raise from the dead then He has sent more people to their death than anyone in history. Hardly someone you would want to call a "good teacher" or "good man". He has to be one of two things...either exactly who He said He is, The Son of God...or the most twisted, evil human being to ever walk on the face of the earth. Read what He said, look at His life and think about it.

This is what we're going to talk about at KC Life this Sunday morning...the greatest April fools prank ever!

well said...

I've been a Cash fan for a number of years now and was listening to one of his CD's the other day and couldn't get over how powerful the lyrics of "Man in Black" are...so...please take three minutes out of your day and think about what he's saying...

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

...well said Mr. Cash, well said.
peace,
glo

who's your neighbor?

So it happened. I had one of those moments in which I was reading through a passage and read something that I've never noticed before. Here's the scripture that struck me...

Numbers 35:34 - Don't desecrate the land in which you live. I live here, too—I, God, live in the same neighborhood... (MSG)

I know I've read this passage before and it says the same thing in every translation, but I think it was the way that Peterson puts it in the message Bible that really made it stand out to me this morning. It really got me thinking about the fact that God is here among us, He is not sitting up on some throne in some land with golden streets just waiting to throw down lightning bolts and divine sized drop-kicks. He's here, right in our neighborhood. The New Testament is fairly clear that He lives in us! Wherever we go, He's going as well.

I don't want to take this passage out of context, so it needs to be explained that the entire chapter of Numbers 35 is talking about how to handle the act of murder and what to do with the one who committed the murder and the one who wants to avenge the death. So how does God end that discussion, by saying don't desecrate your neighborhood cause I live here too. It may be easy for us to read through that chapter and think "I've never murdered anyone, so God obviously isn't talking to me" and be done with it, but Jesus challenges that thought head on in the gospels...

Matthew 5:21-22 - You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. (MSG)

That puts a whole new perspective on the matter doesn't it? How many times have we flippantly said something negative about someone without giving it a second thought? How many times have we held onto anger or even hatred in our heart because of an offense? I'm sitting in my chair this morning feeling convicted that I shouldn't be crappin' up the neighborhood that God is living in...me. I suppose maybe it's a new realization of the fact that when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor He is, in turn, also commanding us to love Him as well. If we fail in our love for those around us, we fail in our love for God too.

However, when we live lives that are motivated by the selfless love of God it can be a catalyst for amazing change, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of everyone around us. Why? Because it gives complete liberty to God to move through us in ways like never before.

Maybe try loving a little more...after all, God is living in your neighborhood.

peace,
glo

To resurrect or not to resurrect

Well, once again we have come into the season of Jesus' resurrection and once again there is a media explosion of questioning whether or not He actually was raised from the dead or not. It's nice how every year around this time some "new" theory comes up to try to discredit what almost all historians and scholars have considered to be true for almost 2000 years.

Of course the latest version of this "uncovered cover-up" is the finding of Jesus tomb. Which actually was found in 1980. There are so many problems with the "story" they are trying to put together that I don't have the time to write about them all, but I will mention one. They use select parts of the Bible to support their position. That's fine, except in the same documentary they also discredit parts of the Bible in order to further their position. Here's where they face a dilemma that they convieniently forgot to mention in the Discovery channel program.

The Bible is one of the three following...

Absolutely true from beginning to end. - Of course they can't align themselves with this position because it would completely discredit what they are trying to prove.

Absolutely false from beginning to end. - Well, they can't take this position either because they use parts of scripture to support what they're saying. They can't use it to support their argument if it isn't true and was all just made up.

True in some areas and not true in others. - This is their position, which, if backed up with reasoning, could be discussed on an intellectual level. But it's not. They don't explain why they choose to take certain passages as reliable and then discredit other passages in the same context. The only motivation that can be found is the obvious one, they're just trying to make their story sound more reliable without using an form of academic research or accountability. With, in turn, completely discredits their story.

So, in actuality, it doesn't matter which position you take on the validity of the Bible, the way it is used in the "new" discovery is completely self-refuting.

Here's another thought to chew on for a while. I cannot think of one person in my life that I know would die for a lie. If the disciples really did steal the body and hide it, don't you think at least one of them would have confessed up when they were facing death? The odds of that many people knowing about a "conspiracy" and facing death because of it without confessing the truth are impossibly small. Just a thought.

peace,
glo

The irrelevance of relevance

A while ago I got to hear Erwin McMannus speak in Atlanta and something he said has stuck with me these past couple years and probably will be with me the rest of my life. I think it was so thought-provoking for me because I didn't expect to hear it from someone who is part of a church that is as "cutting-edge" as Mosiac is, but after he said it, I understood why they are like they are. He said he doesn't care about being relevant because if you are trying to be relevant to someone or something else in culture you are basically saying that someone else has already been there or done that and you just want to be like them.

We're basically copying someone else's creativity, which in turn, puts a paralysis on our own creative ability. Don't misunderstand me, I don't mean that we cannot be inspired by something that someone has done, all we have to do is read a beautiful poem or a great book, look at a masterfully done painting or watch a beautiful sunset to be inspired. But if we are simply inspired to copy that which has impacted us then we have not only incapacitated what we are capable of, we have cheapened said thing that has caused the reaction in the first place. I'm not trying to present a formula, for in esence, that is the very thing I am revolting against...but what we should allow to happen in our lives is a genuine inspiration of something touching the deepest parts of our own souls to ignite the creativity that we are all born with. Sometimes the best way to do that is to look at or experience a representation of that very thing from someone else's "depths of the soul".

Instead of trying to be relevant to what someone else says why not be relevant to who we really are deep down inside. Simply put, the most relevant way we can ever live our lives is to simply live them as genuinely and passionately as possible. Our imagination and creativity is not something that we should supress as followers of Jesus Christ, it is something that He calls us to dive into and use in our everyday lives. Do not be afraid to think, to dream, to imagine and to create. We are made in our Father's image and He is a creator...we should follow suit.

peace,
glo

More than a good idea...

I was recently "lurking" around some online religion forums and came accross a thread about some small groups that a church was going to start. They seem like they are going in the right direction with the motivation and topic of the small groups, but I read a post on this thread that broke my heart...

Well I think the unvarnished groups is a good idea on paper....but won't be participating.

This breaks my heart because it's an attitude that is far too prevalant in today's Christians. And it is one of the most deadly attitudes we can have. I use such strong language because I've seen this as the main attitude of more Christians than I want to admit. Christianity is NOT about debating ideas and philosophies (even though it is the basis for all logical philosophy that is not self-refuting...but that's a whole 'nother post). It's about life, it's about living the lives that God created us to live. It isn't about sitting back and reading all the "pretty scriptures" and saying that's a great idea, or moral position and then not participating in it by refusing to live it out in our lives!!!

I've been listening to Switchfoot's new CD "Oh, Gravity!" (which is very good) and one of the songs has a line that says something to the effect of "what if we saw love as a verb again". I've started a four week series on the "verbs" of Christianity, first and foremost of which is love.

When I read that post I immediately got challenged to examine my life and make sure I'm not just sitting back and watching in any areas of my walk with Jesus. I would strongly encourage you to do the same...you'll never regret it.

Christianity is so much more than "a good idea on paper."

peace,
glo

First Sunday morning!

Alright, so it's finally here. Sunday, January 28th I will preach my first sermon as pastor of KC Life Church!!!

I am so excited, I don't even know what to type. God has really been speaking to my heart about rebuilding the community of Westport and helping the "down and out" in the area. So many people just need to know that they are loved...

peace,
glo

Walkin up the hill

I had one of those "moments" last Friday, unexpected...as usual. I was walking up the hill behind Dean and DeLuca (my former employer) and I had a thought...but before I get to that thought I suppose I should lay down the backstory of what got me to that hill in the first place.

A little over four years ago I heard God speak to me in prayer telling me that He was calling me to ministry. It was confirmed just five days later in a miraculous way...(that's a whole 'nother deal). So I began volunteering and serving in just about any ministry that would have me. Fast forward a few years.

About 19 months ago I was sitting in my mentors office and a mutual friend came by and asked me to lead worship for the youth group the following night becuase he was going out of town. I said ok (believe me this is all going somewhere). We led worship, Pastor Linda Saunders preached and all was well. The next week I got a phone call from her son, who had planted a church in Westport and wanted to talk to me about being the worship leader. Long story short, my wife and I moved down there to help start this church. The church was small at first...like 6 people on Sunday morning small...but we've grown. Pastor Linda came down in January to take over as Pastor and we've being growing ever since. I've been working at Dean and DeLuca for the last year and a half, while serving at the church to the best of my ability.

So that catches you up to my last trip up the hill...

You see, I would walk down this hill every morning and up it every afternoon after work, I did this for a year and half. Friday was my last day at Dean and DeLuca because I am taking over the pastoral position at the church (Pastor Linda is moving to California with her hubby, and man is she excited!!!). So I was thinking about how this has been a four year journey in my life and how Friday afternoon as the last time I would walk up that hill...and it struck me. It was no different that any other time I walked up that hill after working all day, it was just a normal hill, with a normal guy taking a normal walk. ( I just read a qoute in a book that said "great people are simply average people that refuse to give up.) There were not beams of radient light shining from heaven, there was no choir of angels singing...there was nothing. Other than the grace of God to allow me to see that this is how He works in our life more often than not. In the everyday, humdrum, monotonous things we do. The problem isn't that God isn't active in our lives, the problem is that we don't take the time to see how active He really is. We don't notice it because he rarely operates in our lives in the way we expect it. But He is always there, always acting and working on our behalf. What an amazing God we serve!

So on Monday I begin a new chapter of my life. I must say that I am so excited about this I can hardly control myself. It's funny how it's been a four year journey to this...which is truly just the beginning. Ha! It took me four years to get to the starting line, now the race will really begin...

peace,
rev

So, I'm still walking around the magical land of Narnia in my studies for my Sunday night sermons and I was just profoundly hit with a very simply, yet powerful, thought.

The world identifies by what we have...God identifies by what we give.

It won't go away...so maybe I should "Selah"...maybe you shoud too.

peace,
glo

"I was the Lion"

Those were the words that Aslan spoke to Shasta in the dark (A Horse and His Boy). In describing all the events of Shasta's life that had led him to that point, Aslan simply said...I was the Lion. Our God is so awesome, even when we don't realize that He is there (He is the Lion), He is always with us through good and bad. It is so easy though, in this life, to lose heart, to begin to doubt if there is really any good out there, especially when we go through hard times. In my studies I've found three misunderstandings (so far) about the nature of God that prevent us from trusting Him when we are going through something difficult. We misunderstant God's...
Position - as our loving Father
Punishment - for our sin, that was actually poured out on Christ while He died on the cross. (there is no condemnation for those who have Christ Jesus)
Providence - the amazing blessings of our lives that we take for granted everyday (especially here in America)

What we must understand is that God is the "Lion" in our lives, through good times and bad, even when we don't understand why we are going through what is happening to us...He is there. Hopefully, in this holiday season we will all take time to sit back and reflect on all the good things that we have in life...and remember that it's not about the gifts we give, but the love we share.

peace,
reverend glo

It has been said that when God looks at His children He sees them in a red "tint" because of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sins. On November 19th we are going to "gather the red" together for a night of intimate worship at kc life. Our gathering will begin at 6pm and all who desire a genuine intimate experience in worship that incorporates all forms of artistic expression are welcome. We will be gathered together to express our love to God through music. We will be gathered together to express our love to God through the performing arts. We will be gathered together to express our love to God in each of our unique ways. You are more than welcome to gather together with us.

peace,
the rev