Stay with me, this may take a while. I fish. I fish a lot. The bays I fish in exist because Texas has barrier islands that create all sorts of coves, inlets, lakes and bays. Many of these places are connected not by open water but by small cuts. Imagine a stream anywhere from 10 to 20 feet wide and you have the picture. To navigate these cuts and the lakes they connect you need a boat that can run in as little as 6 inches of water. You can get around in boats that don’t run that shallow but you may find yourself parked on a sand bar somewhere. My boat can handle five full-grown men and get the job done, but there is still the danger of running aground.

Now imagine yourself running 30 miles an hour, along one of these cuts which never run straight, hoping you can keep the boat between the banks and not find a sandbar or a crab trap or a boat coming from the other direction to ruin your day.

That’s the feeling I get in life a lot of the time. I’m running along hoping not to hit anything that will ruin my day. The trouble is I hit stuff all the time.

Six months ago my wife’s dad tragically died. There is no way to explain it. There are no answers. It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t add up, and it doesn’t go away. The whole family ran head long into an obstacle that didn’t give an inch.

We are people of faith so we go on. We know all the biblical truth but that doesn’t fix it. We know we will see him again, but that doesn’t change the pain of today. We mourn, we pray, we support each other, we get angry, we cry, we get frustrated, we ask questions and we get up, go to work and slug our way through another day. In other words we get back in the boat, get it up on plane and start looking out for the next sand bar.

In all of this, God shows up. He’s here, he hurts with us, he does more then watch, he’s present, but he doesn’t make the pain go away, he doesn’t fix things and he doesn’t tell us there won’t be another sand bar to run into. The fact is he promises to be there the next time and every time we run into something.

So we’re back in the boat amazed by God’s work in creation and in us, knowing that when the next obstacle appears, we will survive and we won’t be alone.

Read a friends blog yesterday who said he was lamenting a loss in his life. It hurts to hear but I know the truth behind the words. The American church doesn’t do lament very well. We seem to be a lot better at the happy go lucky, your best life now, God give me what I want brand of discipleship then lament.

In this world pain is real. Suffering is ever present. Loss is part and parcel of every day. We do our best to avoid the realities of others suffering while at the same time denying our own. I can understand the desire to avoid pain but I can also see the danger in it.

Rejection, failure, and loss do more then just hurt. These and all the other pains that haunt our lives provide a door for God to enter in and be with us. How will we ever know Gods comfort and rescue if we never need it? How will we experience the miracle of Gods “peace that pass understanding” if life is only peace?

While knowing this doesn’t help the hurt it does make me see the world differently. Lament doesn’t become my friend, but it is no longer an enemy to be avoided at all cost. Much like the running I do, I don’t like running but I really enjoy having run, lament becomes a means to an end. The process is no fun but where the process takes me is exactly where I want to go.

How does the church communicate? What language do we use to proclaim the Good News of Christ? I think these are important questions that we had better answer if we are going to engage this time and culture with any hope of making a difference.

The language of my generation no longer speaks to the generations behind me. The rational approach of logic and argument finds very little acceptance in today’s world. What seems to connect with people born after me today is story. I don’t have any problem with this since the vast majority of scripture is found in story form. My kids have seen more movies in there life then I will ever see. There generation is not mindless and shallow. There generation connects stories and finds meaning in them.

How do we who claim to be disciples engage a culture that seems to hear best when told a story? My suggestion is that we start with our own stories. We need to be able to articulate how e came to faith and what the journey was like. We also need to be able to communicate the truth is story form rather then logical argument.

This week I’ll preach one of the most powerful stories in scripture, the parable of the prodigal son. My job is to let the story speak and not try to fill in around it. The story itself communicates the good news of Jesus.

I had a reader say she was disappointed I didn’t write about fishing with my son so here goes.

Fishing with my kids has been part of the family for a long time. One of the joys of owning a boat is when you get the kids on it they can’t get away from you. Sooner or later they will talk.

Fishing Friday with Eric was an afternoon spent laughing. We were joined by Brandon green who is currently playing for the St. Louise Rams. We’ve known Brandon for years do the time on the boat was very comfortable. We drifted what we’ve come to call hallelujah corner and found a few fish or I should say Brandon found a few fish. Mostly Brandon harassed Eric about his earring and me about not catching fish. It’s a guy thing.

Saturday I hurt my back launching the boat. The nose of the boat hung on the front roller so I just thought I’d pick it up. Bad move on my part especially considering I had a 270 lb. NFL defensive lineman next to me. The day was spent with Brandon whining about being out fished by a kid with an earring and a cripple. My what a difference a day makes.

Here’s what mattered about the weekend. I had to practically have Eric carry me into the grocery store on the way home so we could get a few things most importantly medicine for my back. When we got to the house he made sure I got on a heating pad while he unloaded everything. Basically he took pretty good care of he decrepit father. It’s nice to see your kids grow up to be good people and its even nicer to know they really do care about you.

If I’ve learned anything about raising kids its there is no such thing as quality time, there is only time and it is essential.

Were headed to Abilene in a few weeks to see my daughter’s end of year concert. She’s in ACU’s Acappella chorus. It will be a great time to do that time with the kid’s thing again.

I attended a funeral yesterday and heard these words sung. Not being familiar with the song the words struck me as very meaningful.

Thou, Who at Thy first Eucharist didst pray
That all Thy Church might be forever one,
Grant us that ev’ry Eucharist to say
With longing heart and soul, “Thy will be done.”
O may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.

For all Thy Church, O Lord, we intercede;
Make Thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
Draw us the nearer each to each, we plead,
By drawing all to Thee, O Prince of Peace;
Thus may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.

We pray Thee too for wand’rers from Thy fold;
O bring them back, good Shepherd of the sheep,
Back to the faith which saints believed of old,
Back to the Church which still that faith doth keep;
Soon may we all one bread, one body be,
Through this blest sacrament of unity.

So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
May we be one with all Thy Church above,
One with Thy saints in one unbroken peace,
One with Thy saints in one unbounded love;
More blessèd still, in peace and love to be
One with the Trinity in Unity.

The song is a beautiful prayer for the unity of the believers. How appropriate that in communion we remember the Christ who’s death makes us one. As I sat listening to the congregation sing I hurt for all the division that has plagued the Body of Christ for the last two thousand years. Will we ever be one bread and one body?

Ten Things I Hate About Spring

1.Yard Work I hate cutting, edging, weeding, trimming and anything else associated with my yard.

2. Allergies This time of year is not as bad as cedar season, but its close.

3. Washing The Car The winters grime doesn’t look all that bad, does it?

4. Spring Cleaning Give me a break. Why should this time of year be any cleaner then any other? It sounds like profiling to me.

5. Spring Break Now that my kids are in college, the last thing I want to see is a week where they have nothing to do and I have to pay for it.

6. Wind Whoever coined the phrase “wild as a March hair” lived in South Texas.

7. Lonely People There are large folks out there who wear far too little clothing when the weather warms up, and I figure they have no friends. If they did their friend would have told them, you don’t need to wear that.

8. Professional Basketball I love the college game but whatever these so called professionals play, its not basketball.

9. Spring Forward I hate losing an hour of sleep I’ll never get back.

10. No Football The college football season is so far away it seems like it will never get here. Its worse then Christmas when I was a kid.

Ten Things That Are Great About Spring

1. March Madness. This is the only sporting event that comes close to Bowl season.
2. Fishing. Most folks won’t get out when it’s a little windy or cold so that leaves the bays to the rest of us. This is the time of year to find a trophy trout.
3. Great Mornings to Run. I hate to run in the cold so winter moves my running to the afternoons. Spring has the perfect mornings to run, just cool enough to make it comfortable.
4. Fruit. My wife starts to by watermelon, grapes and all that good stuff again.
5. Short Sleeves. This is the time of year the wardrobe changes back to really comfortable stuff.
6. Sandals. See number 5
7. Utility Bills. We still haven’t turned on the a/c and we don’t need a heater. Take that big bad oil companies!
8. Driving With the Windows Down. See number 7
9. Cooking on the Pit. While this really knows no season, it’s just nicer this time of year. A pair of shorts and barefooted on the back porch is way cool.
10. Beach to Bay. The most fun you can have running.

How about you. What’s your favorite part of spring? Next time ten things I hate about spring. This may be easier for some of you.

In his book Calling and Character, William Willimon makes this observation.

The Acts of the Apostle’s is, by my reckoning, a great early Christian treatise on Christian ministry, but Acts hardly ever turns away from its drama to give ethical admonition. Rather, all ethics is by implication, through imaginative, dynamic analogy, by creative inference from the models for ministry of people like Paul, Barnabas, Peter and Tabitha. As Stanley Hauerwas has said, “The lives of the saints are the hermeneutical key to scripture.”

If this is the case, is it reasonable to assume that we learn more from watching the people in scripture wrestle with what it means to be faithful then from any list of faithful activities? To be honest I like this idea. If faith is something living and on going I tend to think faith will look different in different people.

I realize there are moral fundamentals and who we are cannot be separated from what we do. We live out what we believe for the most part but ethics and faith is not the same thing. If I want to see what faith looks like, shouldn’t I be looking at a life, instead of a doctrine? The thought also occurs that the life I should be looking at more then any other is the life of Christ. While the life of the struggeling saints provides a picture of holiness incomplete Jesus shows me what a truely human life looks like.

This weekend I get to fish with my son. The only thing better then that would be my daughter being home so she could go to. I love being on the water but it’s always better when the kids are there.

The fishing forecast is good but the real joy will be found in the companionship. Two friends will be with us so you can bet on some friendly competition, a lot of smack talk, and a few practical jokes all surrounded by some really good food.

As a Dad I would tell any one make sure you find something to do with those kids. Fishing is perfect if you have a boat because once that kid steps on the boat they can’t get away from you. Sooner or later they are going to open up and you’ll get a look at what’s happening in that brain of theirs.

I hope your spring break is great and you have a chance to spend time with the people who arte most important to you.

My life is a lot slower then it used to be. My kids are in college, which leaves time for my wife and I to do pretty much what we want. No more chasing kids to concerts and track meets. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of fun doing those things but life is a lot slower now because they are in the past. For the most part life moves at a comfortable pace that is until I read I Thess. 4:11,12. Paul calls me to make a quiet life my ambition. All of the sudden my life doesn’t seem quiet so calm when I think about these words. I push through writing sermons when I need to move slowly so I can hear God speak. I rush writing class material when I need to take my time and see where God is leading. While outside my life looks pretty calm and quiet, inside there is this constant hurry and push.

I feel like the guy in the commercial I watched last night. Some obviously oriental guys are watching a horde of barbarians ride down on them when the leader of our peaceful group motions for his servant to push the “easy” button. Suddenly a huge wall springs up between the barbarians and our group except for the leader who looks up to see he is on the wrong side of the wall and the barbarians are almost on top of him. He speaks a foreign language and the sub title reads “darn”. Sometimes I look up and see my inside world about to be run over by a rush of fear, nervousness and worry and all I can say is, darn.

My goal is to live a quiet peaceful life but sometimes the fates seem to conspire against me, not to mention a few well meaning church folks. Maybe Paul says for us to make a quiet life our goal because it’s one of those things we never seem to quite accomplish completely. A little worry and stress come with the territory if you’re truly human. While I long for that quiet, peaceful serene inner and outer life I know if I experience more often then not, times are good.

I like cars. I’m not the Tim the Tool Man Taylor guy who builds cars but I like cars. My first car was a 66 Mustang. Navy blue with a white pony interior. Three speed on the floor with a six cylinder under the hood. Cool car. I had it three days. The breaks failed and I parked in the trunk of an LTD.

My second car was a 68 Dodge Charger. Serious upgrade. Dark green, which beat that Dukes of Hazard look all to pieces. Rally wheels, custom interior, and a big beautiful 383 under the hood. Even though this was a low compression, 2 barrel, automatic transmission car it could still break the tires loose in all three gears.

There is just something special about the muscle cars of the late sixties and early seventies.

Right now I have a 72 Plymouth Duster parked in my garage. Black on yellow, original rally wheels, a killer custom interior, a rear spoiler and snorkel hood scoop. While the power plant is just a stock 318 it certainly looks the part of one of the great Mopar muscle cars.

When I drive this car I get more attention then a heart attack victim. You can’t stop to buy gas with out someone wanting to look at the car and talk about the one they had or their dad had or the one they always wanted. You also can’t stop with out buying gas! Two years ago we drove it to Nashville (14 hours) and never stopped once without some type of comment. One lady at a gas station even showed us the pictures of her husbands Duster like it was a grandchild.

What is it about cars that fascinate so many of us? I really don’t have any answers. I have many things in life that I enjoy and I figure cars will be one for about as long as I live. The cars I own now are old for the most part. I don’t like to spend money on cars I just like them. I guess it’s like the great art of the world or a beautiful sunset. There are things we can enjoy with out ever having to possess them.

I have some great memories in cars. My daughter and I sanded an old 85 Dodge truck together getting it ready for paint so she would have a car to drive. My son and I put a lot of work into that Duster. I still think fondly of that old Mustang and Charger. Trips to the beach, cruising around town and just washing and working on them are good memories.

How about you? What car memories have you got?

While I tend to lean toward the cynical side when it comes to my view of western Christianity I realize there’s a lot of good being done out there. The fact is Christians are feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, caring for the sick and basically going about the work Jesus did while he was here on earth. Now we might not being doing everything we can and I think every one would agree we could all do better the bottom line is some really good stuff happens.

My struggle as a minister is what would be more effective when it comes to the work of the Kingdom of God? Should I decry the shortcomings of myself and my brothers and sisters or would it be better to shine the spotlight on the good that is being done? I find myself torn because I’m afraid the answer is yes.

What I mean is, to grab the attention of the faithful I need to show exactly how inadequate our efforts are and have been. On the other hand to reach those outside the faith I need to point them to the work that God is doing through His people.

I spend the vast majority of my time speaking to those who claim to be imitators of Christ. That seems to mean I spend the bulk of my time pointing out shortcomings. That really starts to wear on you after a couple of decades.

I hope that in the future I can spotlight what God is doing and both the lost and the saved will respond to the call. My heart is hopeful but my head is still very much a cynic. Talk about a split personality. I guess all any of us can do is trust God will use our shortcomings and weakness for His glory and leave it at that.

I think I’ll get a cup of coffee and have a discussion with myself. I think the cynic will win today but you never know.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News

to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will

be released,

That the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,

and that the time of the Lord’s favor

has come. (Luke 4:18,19 NLT)

If this is what it means to have the Lord’s Spirit on you, to bring Good News to the poor, proclaim the freedom of captives, preach that the blind will see, the oppressed be set free and the Kingdom of God is here, I wonder how many of us have the Lord’s Spirit on us. As a preacher I wonder how many times I’ve actually done this. This text brings lots of questions to mind.

Who are the poor Jesus and Isaiah speak of? Considering this is at the very least a veiled reference to the year of Jubilee when all debts are forgiven, doesn’t it make sense they he speaks at least partially of the worlds starving and truly poor?

The same question can be asked of the captives, blind and oppressed. Who are they and what does Jesus mean?

Is this, year of the Lord’s favor, still with us or did it have a shelf life of some type?

This text haunts me. It makes me question everything I believe and have thought I understood. It puts the Kingdom in a different light. It puts Jesus in a different light. It puts me in a different light.