I have been reading through Leviticus, which is always a barrel of laughs, and what really hits me is all the nasty stuff that the priests had to do in service to the people. Just to highlight, their duties involved sprinkling the blood of animals and dealing with their entrails (intestines).

Sometimes I can level with that, but most of the time I stay far too clean. Serving is hard because it is done in the trenches of the lives of people. Our lives are messy, so when we start to really connect with one another we should expect that to be messy as well.

I encourage you to get messy today. Its not glamorous, but it is beautiful.

I just got the book Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam and I am excited. Today I flew through the first few pages of the book and have already learned some interesting tidbits that I thought I would share. Putnam writes:

As the 1960s ended, sociologists Daniel Bell and Virginia Held reported that “there is more participation than ever before in America”

But as quickly as 1990 we began to see civic organizations completely die out and close the doors. Even though civic participation was at an all time high in the 60′s it seems to have bottomed out in the 90′s.

So, what does this mean? Well, it means that those reaching adulthood in the 80′s would have had only a small opportunity to participate in civic organizations and in culture as a part of a larger community. Those reaching adulthood in the 90′s had virtually no opportunity to participate in civic organizations, because these organizations were dying at the time and would not have even shown up on the social radar of most young adults. And, those people reaching adulthood later than 2000 would have virtually no knowledge that such organizations exist and little reason to think about life as anything but an individual journey.

So the shift in thinking as gone from community minded to individual minded because most adults younger than forty have thrived in a culture of declining togetherness.

This has been my personal experience as well. I can remember my grandmother talking about her weekly Bridge game (it’s cards people) when I was a kid and wondering why she would want to get together and play cards with other people. For some reason the idea of spending that much time with other people for only recreational purposes seemed odd. Now I realize that my thinking was odd.

As I am reading this book and realizing how frighteningly individualistic our culture has become I am more convicted than ever that believers must redeem a culture of community within the body of Christ and secular culture. We must learn to live life together. We must learn to build up and rely on one another. I am convinced that life is better together.

Any thoughts?

Last Sunday I pulled away from FBC Austell for the last time as an official staff member. I expected it to feel monumental because this is such a huge life change, but, to my surprise it felt very average, as if nothing had changed. I also expected to feel a deep sense of sadness, but it never came, I just felt, normal.

After thinking about why such an unusual event evoked such an average response I have come to only one conclusion; we weren’t saying good bye. Leaving didn’t feel monumental because I left knowing that we would be back to visit. It didn’t feel sad because I knew that I would see all of our friends again.

I am realizing more and more how interconnected we are through Jesus. In reality we aren’t just a church family, we are more than that. We are a body, and as a body we can’t be separated easily. My life has been touched by the people at FBC Austell and will continue to be, just as my life will continue to impact and minister to them. And so, even though we will see each other less, we are still connected as brothers and sisters through the Heavenly Father.

I would say that my only regret is not embracing how interconnected we really were while I was still on staff. It seems that only in leaving do I realize the impact of both my life on others and their lives on me. I only hope that in the future that my eyes will be open to see how closely my life is interwoven with others and be more intentional in developing those relationships.

So, I’m planting a church, but haven’t completely nailed down where yet. We know that we are called to live and plant inside the perimeter, which pretty much means Decatur or Atlanta for me. This morning I just happened to drive through both, and I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon on Nehemiah 11. Mark just happened to be talking about the strategic value of church planting within a large city…fitting. Here are some of his thoughts and some of the reasons I feel the urban call.

Driscoll’s thoughts:

• The city is dense and diverse. So, there are lots more people within walking distance and a broader range of people that believers can connect with.
• People in the city are open to change. The nature of cities is to grow and change much faster than surrounding suburbs. Part of this willingness to change is a willingness to think about new things, like getting to know Jesus.
• The people living within a city tend to be the culture makers. This means that culture tends to flow from within larger cities out to smaller ones. One example is that fashion tends to flow from Paris or New York out to other large cities, and then out to smaller ones. So, if we want to change the way our culture thinks and acts, we need to touch the hearts of the people that have the ability to shape culture.

My reasons to love the city:

• Because the city is dense, it is community driven. People living within closer proximity to one another are bound to effect each others’ lives through relationship. I love community.
• Atlanta happens to be home of the busiest airport in the world, meaning that people from all over the globe tend to pass through Atlanta frequently. Imagine the possibilities for the spread of the gospel to the world if this fact is used strategically. Also, imagine the global reach that a new church is capable of having with such a transportation hub in its back yard.
• Part of the diversity of the city is the fact that the rich tend to live within a few blocks of the poor. I have a heart for the poor and want to see them succeed. And, recently God has especially burdened my heart for poor children in need. I want to create a church that will be intentional about helping the poor.
• The city tends to draw in the innovative, urban types. I like those guys. I feel at home hanging out with both tattooed artist types and pocket protector engineer types. Only in a city will you find these types living close together.
• I like the pace of the city. It’s faster, more intense and (for me) very exciting.

Listening to that sermon and being down here has gotten me pumped. I want to start tomorrow! But, preparation is good and God is sending me into a season of preparation first. For this I am thankful.

In Rich Mullins’ song If I Stand there is a line that says, “There’s a love that is fiercer than the love between friends”, talking about God’s love for us. This has gotten me to thinking about the fierce love that friendship actually requires.

It seems like most friendships start off well, even easily. You start talking more, hanging out and really getting to know each other. Then, as time goes on and your friendship begins to mature you enter into maintenance mode. The newness and convenience of the friendship have worn off and you find yourself with another person in your life that you are close to. Now you have a choice, will you maintain that closeness, or will you let it dwindle over time?

I believe any friendship that lasts will last only because of a fierce and intentional love for that person and that relationship. This love has to be tough enough to endure your own selfishness and pride, humble enough move you into submission at times, and merciful enough to love your friend in light of their faults.

Unfortunately, it’s often easier for us to just let friendships fall by the wayside in pursuit of a selfish agenda. We find ourselves saying, “I really don’t have time to call them back” or “they just live too far away” or insert lame excuse here. We have all done this. And, we should all repent of it. This type of thinking is selfish, it hurts good relationships, and therefore it is sinful.

The truth is, we all have time to build up the friendships that we have, but only if we are more intentional about communicating with friends. And, only if we are intentional about setting aside time to spend with friends.

Friendships require attention and intention, without these components friendships will die. Friendships require fierce love. Are you fighting for you friendships?

“He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty”
-Job 6:14 (ESV)

And the chorus of a country song that has ministered to/convicted me in this area:

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn’t know
This is where the truth don’t lie

{Chorus}
You find out who your friends are
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think ‘what’s in it for me?’ or ‘it’s way too far’
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends ar
-Find out who your friends are by Tracy Lawrence

The other day my wife shared this scripture with me, and it’s fascinated me ever since. It says:

So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
2 Kings 13:20-21

This intrigues me. God was so powerful within the life of Elisha that God’s power still remained in him in his death. And, even in death, God was able to work through him to bring life to someone else.

After reading this I find myself feeling personal conviction and asking tough questions. I wonder if I am bringing life to people that come into contact with me? I wonder if the depth of my relationship with God is strong enough to effect people when I am nothing more than bones?

I think as followers of Jesus that we must intentionally bring life to everyone that we come into contact with, the life that is Jesus. When I think about this I think back on Rich Mullins and the impact he often had on individuals. I used this quote from Homeless Man about the life of Rich Mullins a few months ago, but it seems necessary to repeat it here.

Jonathan Brown: He completely shattered me. I sat with him in a car for an hour journey, and at the end of that I realized, this guy lives in a shack in the middle of nowhere teaching kids between four and five or five and seven music, and he just feels so alive to me. And I felt so dead at the time, just talking to him. And I came back from that thing realizing how much I appreciated life.

My desire is to live a life that brings life to others, to be so full of the presence of Christ that people are inevitably drawn to me and blessed, to walk so closely with God that long after I am gone people still find life through God’s work in me, and to honor Jesus both now and in death.

I want to bring life, do you?

In A Testament to Freedom Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:

The meaning of love is consummated where one’s own person is no longer seen, and so reaches its “self” in the most intimate communion with the other, a community which may be called blessed.

I think that Bonhoeffer is making a good point. We only fully understand love within the context of real community. This is true because deep, tangible community is the only place where love can be stretched to its limits, beyond reason and emotion, and edge toward its source, God Himself.

True love is found in the selfless act of living in communion with others.

Any thoughts?