Everyone has a worldview.

It is impossible to not have a worldview. Even if you think you do not have a worldview or haven’t decided what your worldview is, you still have a worldview because you live in the world and view it everyday. This view includes how you see God or don’t see God, what you believe is right and wrong, what you consider valuable or insignificant.

And the crazy thing is, you are right.

From where you are standing, this is your point of view.

Now, lets stand next to each other and view the world together. When I turn on the news to view the world, this is what I see:

• 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean or safe drinking water.
• 36 million deaths each year are caused by noncommunicable diseases
• 27 million people are trapped in a form of human slavery and trafficking
• 7.5 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and mostly preventable diseases, each year

I view a world that is falling apart.

Are you seeing the same thing I’m seeing? Are you viewing the same world I am viewing? Do you think others see this world too and would agree? Is it safe to say that a universal worldview exists that includes recognizing that the world is falling apart faster than we can put it back together?

Broken pieces tell a story. Thirst points to water.

And our ache for a better world clues us in to a world that either once existed or will exist one day.

Universal Worldview: The world is not as it should be; the world is not as it could be. Christian Worldview: The world is not as it should be; the world is not as it could be.

This sounded like a much better idea 8 weeks ago when I was standing in the hallway outside a conference in San Jose on my cell phone…

One week from today, I am going to get in a cage and fight another man to the point of knock out or submission in an effort to raise $6,000 in ticket sales and donations. All proceeds go toward a tribal church plant in Papa New Guinea and 1000 backpacks full of school supplies for kids in our community.

Three reasons why:

1. If I help Justin Rees and his family finance this move to Papa New Guinea jungles to translate the Bible into the native language… I don’t have to move there with my family to make sure they hear the Gospel. I can stay home!
2. Every year about this time, right before school starts, single moms stress out on how they are going to buy new school clothes, new shoes, and new school supplies for their kids in time for the new school year. What a great opportunity for the Body of Christ to step in and help.
3. Ultimately, I am a missionary to the San Fernando Valley. I have been called to reach the most unlikely demographic of any given Sunday morning church service: Men between the ages of 20 and 27. MMA is the fastest growing sport in America; dudes love the UFC. This isn’t just a cute idea to raise money, this is a strategic effort to develop inroads into a social framework of fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons of our community. These same men who crave significance, join the military, and lay down their lives for their country are the same men I moved my family to the Valley to reach with the Gospel. Just give us one of them. We will train him up, disciple him, and show him how to lay his life down for the greatest mission of all time.

Shoot, if I get knocked out… we still keep all the money from the ticket sales for the backpacks. And if my preaching is lousy the next morning, people will understand.

Hope you will consider buying a ticket to support! There will be 4 big matches that night; you will get your money’s worth. Click here to register through our website. www.notyourmomschurch.com

If you can’t make it to the event, but you still want to support the backpack drive, you can give online through our website at http://freedomchurchsfv.com/#/give

]]> http://justicecoleman.com/2011/07/09/cage-fight-fundraiser-3-reasons-why/feed/ 0 justicecoleman Fight - Main Spred front flier http://justicecoleman.com/2011/07/09/freedom-church-update/ http://justicecoleman.com/2011/07/09/freedom-church-update/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:31:23 +0000 justicecoleman http://justicecoleman.com/?p=208 Continue reading →]]>

The Freedom Church train has left the station and now we are all holding on for dear life!

12 weeks ago we started a brand new Sunday morning church in Chatsworth California, Freedom Church. We launched BIG on Easter Sunday, gave away 200 bikes to kids in the community, packed out the Irish Pub and Karate Dojo where we meet with 300+ kids and adults, water baptized 25+ new followers of Jesus right outside the pub on the busy boulevard, and then proceeded to hold our breath until the following Sunday. If you have ever been apart of starting a church, you know what I mean by “holding your breath.”

3 months later and we are waist deep in CHURCH. And that is a good thing. I love church. The videos, pictures, website, and testimonials all make Freedom Church and our adventure look so polished and fun! But the truth is, half the people from the launch never showed again, there are baby Christians pooping, peeing, and snotting all over each other, the hype is dissipating, marriages need restoration, hearts need healing, and people… every last one of us… need raw, relentless discipleship. Normal stuff. CHURCH stuff. Sometimes I ask myself, “When are things going to stabilize around here?” Haha. What a silly question. As long as there are sick people, God will use His church as the hospital. And I am honored to pastor a hospital.

These testimonies were compiled before our launch, but the story stays the same.

90 days in and more than ever I am floored by God’s grace, the power of the Gospel, and the amazing “dream team” that is crazy enough to give their lives to these people and this mission, week in and week out. (you know who you are )

Chicks may have 9 different “BFF” girlfriends, but every dude has at least one “wing-man.” A wing man is your partner in crime and your roll dog. Despite weather conditions or flight risks, every time you hit the skys, you know your wing man has your back. He is your roll dog; till the wheels and the hubcaps fall off. But you also know that every time you get together, you better buckle up because you will most definitely find yourself going on a ride!

I was in ATL awhile back at a pastors’ conference when I ran into a fore-mention friend in the hotel lobby. And when I say “ran into him,” I could mean literally because he is a giant of a man. Erik lives in Norway and he is a beast. In some circles he has earned the name “Erik Van Doom” due to his ominous stature and earth shaking voice. He has made a career of missionary adventures taking the Gospel to uncharted territories- adventures so scary, M. Night. Shamaylan would reject the screen play. He has hands the size of catcher’s mitts and shaves each morning with the blade of a battle ax. He’s tougher than Chuck Norris, more resilient than Jack Bauer, and more interesting than the Dos Equis guy. Lets just say that when I lay in bed at night, I imagine Erik driving a Viking Ship to work on Mondays… it just feels right.

Honestly, when I ran into Erik by the elevators that day, it didn’t take us more than 2 minutes and bear hug to devise our next adventure; shark diving at the Georgia aquarium. Did I mention the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta boasts the largest tank in the world with 8.5 million gallons and hosting hundreds of species of fish and sharks, including whale sharks (40 feet!) hammer heads, sand-sharks, and to my dismay… SAWFISH.

I don’t remember much of the details of the scuba/snorkel training class. Or what I was thinking when I signed my life away on the simple two-page waiver. I can’t say I even remember if the water in that tank was cold or not. All I remember is that when I slid off that dock into the shark tank… I made SURE I was right next to my wing-man, Erik. I can’t be sure, but I believe he was carrying a trident spear.

As we swam “buddy-system” across the tank, our group eventually began to break formation. It was getting too difficult to monitor the distance of our designated partner and still take in the full panorama in the foggy goggles. I eventually drifted away from Erik and his size 14 fins just enough for my tunnel vision to open for a better view. And it was at that moment I saw the scariest looking creature I have ever set eyes on… a full grown, dark brown, beady eyed, 11 foot sawfish swimming toward me.

To this day, I don’t know why I broke formation to get a closer look. I should have swam toward Erik, not toward the beast. It was a mistake and I paid for it. The saw fish aka “chainsaw face” lunged straight at me. I put my hands over my face just in time as he took 4 or 5 lightning fast jabs with his nostrum. It happened so fast, I don’t know how a I blocked my face in time.  It felt like someone took a baseball bat to my forearms. The sawfish knocked me into another diver and then as quick as it had started, it was over.

That attack shook me up pretty good. I was scared, disoriented, and bleeding a little bit inside my suit. But I didn’t get out of the tank. Im not going to lie, the remaining ten minutes of that dive were the longest 10 minutes of my life, but I didn’t get out of the tank. I just stuck close to Erik.

I share this story because it is time to wade into treacherous waters once again. My family and I have officially moved to the San Fernando Valley to start a church in 2011. After a year of leading Bible studies in homes, water baptizing in pools, and serving local families through ministries such as “Laundry Love,” we are planting in Chatsworth California. Much like the shark tank, it would be foolish for us to take this dive without some wing-men on the journey. That is why I am asking for you to consider partnering with us on this adventure in one of the following areas.

• Join us! Sign your life away on the waiver and jump in with us. We need volunteers, musicians, children’s ministry helpers, set-up tear down crew, etc.

• Give financially! Money makes the world go around and we are trying to impact this world. We are a legitimate fully fledged 501C3 non-profit organization. This means all gifts made out to “Freedom Church” are tax dedcutible.

• Join our prayer team! We aim to build a prayer team of 300 warriors. Commit to pray for us and you will receive regular email updates on how things are developing and situations that need specific prayer.

To partner in any of those ways, write a separate email to JusticeColeman@gmail.com so we can add you to our team of wing-men.

Lets change the world together and start a revolution of Jesus followers in the San Fernando Valley.

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” – Romans 7:18-20

This guys sounds like a schizophrenic.

And the crazy thing is, this is an excerpt from a letter written by pastor who had never even met the group of people to whom he was writing.  Is this really how you want to introduce yourself?

“Nothing good lives in me… the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”

If we haven’t met, my name is Justice. I also, am a pastor and schizo.

I have had a rough last few days. I have been sinning left and right and in return, confessing and repenting left and right.  If I told you the nature of my mistakes, you might laugh it off at their insignificance. Basically, watching the kind of movies Jesus wouldn’t, saying things Jesus wouldn’t, and thinking about things Jesus wouldn’t. But at the end of the day… today… my spirit hurts.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.”

My spirit hurts. But here is the worst part.

It is the night before Easter and I am getting in bed about to set my alarm for a 10:45am morning service tomorrow, when I remember that a friend of mine from a local Spanish church invited me to a 6am Easter morning service.  I have never been to a 6am Easter Morning service in my life… not to mention one in another language.  And here is the thought that goes through my head tonight.

“I have had a rough few days giving into sin. And even though I don’t speak Spanish and probably won’t understand a single word, I should get up early and go to the 6am service.”

I want to THROW UP just typing that right now.

I am more of a wicked mess than I ever realized when the day comes that I think for one second that going to an extra church service on Easter Sunday in some way earns additional points toward my righteousness!!!

AS IF JESUS CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS AS PENALTY FOR MY SINS IS NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT FORGIVENESS FOR MY SINS!!!

The Almighty God of the entire universe loves us so much that He gave His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross as substitute for OUR sins. The moment we try to add anything to that is the moment we must realize that we have missed the Gospel.

It was good enough the first time, He doesn’t need to do it again.

“Thank you Father for showing me how valuable I am to you by making such a sacrifice. And thank you for forgiving me for all my sin… and all my future sin.”

I am still going to go to the 6am service.  But not as “penance.”

But because I GET TO!

ITS FREAKING EASTER MORNINGI! THE DAY JESUS CONQUERED DEATH FOR US!

I COULD SING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY LONG!

Did Jesus have dry seasons?

Did Jesus ever have one of those days when He said to Himself, “Man, it doesn’t matter how much I read my Bible, the Father just seems so far away right now.”

Sometimes I think God is playing “Hide and Go Seek” with my soul. And in a weird way, that encourages me. If God promises that He is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” (Heb. 11:6) then at least I am comforted in the fact that He is faithfully waiting for me somewhere.

And I think Jesus clues us in on that “somewhere” just days before He death.

Once Jesus got to Jerusalem, He knew the clock was ticking. If His people hadn’t figured out that He was the Messiah by now, there was no time to waste. So He marched straight into the temple courts and pulled out His old whip.

Imagine what was going through everyone’s minds at this point? Years of ministry and miracles, the triumphal entry into the city, the clearing of the temple, and now here He was standing at the capital of the nation of Israel and the very epicenter of Jewish faith. Could this be the Christ? Is the Kingdom of God at hand? Are we about to witness a revolution?

And right when everyone is on the edge of their seat, Jesus puts down His whip and shares three of the scariest parables about the Kingdom of God ever recorded; each one ending with a group of people who don’t make it in and are left to suffer eternally.

The last parable is particularly haunting. But what has He got to lose? Jesus knows He will be laying His life down at any moment, so He calls it like it is.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matt. 25:31-33, NKJV).

We know the story well. There are those who know the King already and those who don’t. Yet, both are surprised when they discover that they do know Him!

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” (Matt. 25:37-40, NKJV).

When we seek out the lost and feed, clothe, visit, and invite them; we don’t do it for God. We do it to God.

God doesn’t identify with the person who does the good works, God identifies with the person who receives the good works.

Is He beckoning us to a deeper, more experiential encounter with Him? Is there a greater dimension to “knowing” the God of the universe that we might be missing?

The cry of the Father’s heart, even in His last days before the cross, is that we would know Him. Maybe He is playing “Hide and Go Seek.”

If He is and if you are in a dry season and can’t seem to find Him, start with the lost. He would say that is where you will find Him and He is already there waiting for you.

Prayer Focus: “Lord, we want to find you. Will you help us?”

Justice Coleman
NextGen Director
Greater Los Angeles District

As you may know, I recently stepped out of 5 years of youth ministry at my local church and into a new role in ministry.  I compiled the following top 9 lessons I learned in youth ministry as a gift to my successor, an anointed young lady who has been on my leadership team for years. This post was originally a document addressed to her, but hopefully you do not need to fully understand our context in order for some of this to resonate in one way or another.

To Sharon!  a.k.a “Share-Bear”

You have been prepared and appointed by the Holy Spirit for such a time as this. You are going to do an amazing job.

1. Leadership is Lonely

There is an old saying, “when you are called, you are separated.”  This does not mean that you are separated into some magical special place of pastor-hood where you and God meet for breakfast on a mountain and He permits you to gaze upon His Glory. No, now that you are the leader, YOU will ultimately be making the calls and that will separate you. Especially the hard calls. When left on the tough side of a decision, you might find yourself at a very lonely place. Grow accustomed to this place; God didn’t call you to an easy job. But don’t grow accustomed to the loneliness.  Loneliness is the first thing that God deemed “not good” (Gen 2:18) and it is still true today. More than ever you will need the Body of Christ. Open your eyes to the support and companionship around you that is not at your church.  These partners will become your lifeline. Remember exhausted Elijah at the end of his rope? God encouraged him by sending him to where and to whom? (1 Kings 19:18,19)

2. A Bad Plan is Better than No Plan.

God has called you to lead His people. That is your job; your appointment is to lead people to Jesus by taking their hand and placing it in Jesus’ hand. There will be times when you do not know what to do and you will ask God what to do and not hear an answer.  That might even be most of the time. But at the end of the day, people are going to follow you even if you don’t know where you are going, especially lambs. In these times, have faith in the God who has faith in you and make a plan. (Prov. 16:3) Sure, there will be times when that plan will be to “wait on/for the Lord” (Isa. 40:) but I have found that this is often more of a cop out than a solution. When you are reluctant to lead, you lead reluctance within your community.  Be bold as Paul was bold and say, “Hi, my name is Paul, and I have been appointed by God as an apostle and called by name, so FOLLOW ME as I follow Christ… and tell your friends too.” You want a bold Spirit filled youth group who is confident in who they are in Christ. Believe in the God who believes in you, he knew what He was doing when He appointed you.

3. Lead from Your Knees.

Two things happen when a pastor leads from this foundational posture of humility:

1. Service is magnified from your knees. When you serve your leaders like Jesus and lay your life down for them, you earn the voice to speak into their lives and you earn the right to lead them.  How can your leaders bad mouth you or question your heart when they are looking down at you as you wash their feet? Servant leadership (Mark 10:45)

2: Prayer sets the tone. Let’s just say you need to start asking yourself some questions when a week goes by that you have not prayed and fasted for your pastor, youth leaders, and youth group by name. The bottom line is, if you don’t lead from this place, something is wrong and ask for forgiveness.  We are talking about kids lives, God’s little ones, and a higher accountability under God as a teacher. (James 1:3)

The truth is, you WILL make mistakes. But when you heart and character is not in question, people tend to let it slide a lot easier.

4. Families Make the Best Disciples

I wish I could give you a scripture about youth ministry from the Bible, but I don’t know any.  The truth is a mom and/or dad is more influential than any program or service will ever be.  Family trumps Youth Pastor. Parents are already (this is not always true obviously) discipling their kids and their love and parenting will make a bigger impact than anything we say. Partner with Parents.  It is not your job to raise their kids. Speak with all the parents you can at church on Sunday mornings, rather than just the kids, you’ll see the youth at youth group. Call them at work, send them a newsletter, have them over for dinner. I have heard it said that “parents are your greatest asset.” Well, that is backwards. God gave a kid parents for their entire life, you are lucky if you get two years. Partner with parents when making disciples to maximize effectiveness and make an eternal impact.

5. Every Youth Pastor’s Endgame is Discipleship

When people talk about “growing” a youth group any other way than discipleship… I get nervous.  Here is the formula: healthy things grow. A “healthy” disciple of Jesus Christ is obeying the Father by making disciples and baptizing them. This is your endgame. Look at your kids, do you have enough leaders assigned to them for discipleship? Are your leaders picking up kids and their friends and bringing them to church? Are they at student’s baseball games and on their Myspace page? I have heard it said, “discipleship is caught, not taught.” Discipleship happens by leaders and students spending time with each other, but you might have to teach them that.

6. Youth Groups Don’t Have Their Own Mission Statements

God has called your entire community of faith to a particular vision and will hold your senior pastor responsible for this vision. If you have submitted yourself to him or her, than the youth group should be an extension of this vision. Honor your pastor with this commitment.  If you have been commissioned by the Lord to serve these people, than you have been commissioned to serve your Pastor as well. Scripture instructs us to make their job easier (Hebrews 13:17) Mission statements can be powerful, just make sure your senior pastor helps you write it. Ask yourself if it is more powerful to re-write your church’s mantra or to have an army of young people who lead the adults into embodying this statement and living missional values centered on the church’s values?

7. The Word of God Transforms Lives, Not Game Night.

There is one particular parable found in Mark that is not recorded in any other Gospel accounts. It is only 3 verses long and you can find it in Mark 13:26-29. In this parable, Jesus illustrates the power of the seed. As you know, the general focus of Jesus teaching in similar parables concerns the soil; rocky, thorny, uncultivated, etc. But in Mark’s version, Jesus illustrates an alternate scenario in which a farmer simply scatters lots of seed and much to his surprise, the next morning wakes up to find a developing harvest.  I have heard it said, “don’t blame the seed, blame the soil.” But only time will tell if that seed has taken root, you may never see the fruit. Always teach God’s word, because there are times when that is simply enough for God to interrupt someone’s life and for that seed to take root for a harvest.

8. Community is A By-Product of The Mission

Is there time for a game night? Maybe. But I have never done one.  I imagine the thinking behind game night is to create an environment to fosters community, giving kids more opportunity to connect.  Community is a pillar of the church no doubt, but chasing community is backwards. Chase mission. Real authentic relationships, the ones that endure, are a byproduct of the common pursuit of mission.  It will be the mission trips, retreats, and outreaches that bond kids together, not Guitar Hero. Remember our first mission trip to Mexico? We called it “camp on steroids.”  Between ripping out carpet, painting, Bible study, and VBS, we didn’t have time to chase community.  But what happened when we got back? We were so focused in Mexico on the mission, advancing God’s Kingdom and loving and serving His people, that we didn’t even notice the glue which had developed amongst us. We returned as a real community with Christ as our foundation.

9. Discipleship Takes Place Within The Context of Discipleship

It always saddens me when a teenager tells me she is not ready to make disciples of her own or that she feels unqualified to do so. Discipleship can begin with nothing more than a foundational understanding of the Gospel message. At that point it is GO TIME. Jesus said, “You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Does that means that holding back the Truth may in turn keep someone in chains? And I don’t have to tell you that I am not a fan of the “blow horn guy.” Haha, no one is! When I say discipleship, I definitely define that ancient language to include ministry through relationship… relationship coming first.

Jesus has instructed us to make disciples and to baptize them. (Matt. 28:18) One day when we stand before His throne, He will ask us how that went. Think about baptism; what would it look like to have an army of young people leading their friends to Christ and then baptizing them, (young people, not you!) in front of the entire congregation on a Sunday morning.

0o0o0o… I’m getting chills.

CHAOS.

This is the word that comes mind when I think of the upcoming holidays. You can feel it in your bones… its brewing.

Tomorrow we Americans will celebrate our gratitude and appreciation on Thanksgiving Day. And the following day we will celebrate our greed and consumerism on “Black Friday.”  Sprinkle a little extra family time into the momentum approaching Christmas and the New Year and suddenly your November/December makes the new Jackson Five Tour reality TV show look like a Partridge Family bus ride.

This year has been particularly chaotic for my family.  It started with traveling cross-county to Texas to help my parents move back in together after seven years of separation.  But as I watched my family pieces fall together, I found front row seat as my church family fell apart. We made it through, but after a gut-wrenching church split, I am not sure if my heart has mended yet.  And at what seemed like the hardest possible time, I stepped into a promotion as a district youth pastor for our church denomination, consequently leaving my wife and I with our hardest decision to date: to leave our beloved local church and youth ministry after 5 amazing years. 12 years for her. Did I mention that this is the same year I finally graduated college after breaking a school record for taking the most classes online and on campus in a single semester? That somehow I trained for and ran the LA Marathon? Entered the real-estate world? And my wife is halfway through her first pregnancy with a baby boy?

Chaos.

Tomorrow as I sit round the Turkey Day spread and listen to each family member take turn expressing gratitude toward our faithful Father, I might just skip over the part where I thank God for getting me through the chaos. Of course he walked me through it! I am pretty sure He saw it coming and walked me straight into it! No, if I have to pick one thing to be especially grateful for, I will thank Jesus Christ for PEACE amidst all the chaos and transition.

There is a story in scripture about a man named Daniel who faithfully followed God throughout a lifetime of chaos and transition. I am talking about the kind of chaos and transition where your family is ripped from your home, exiled to a foreign country, and your allegiance to your God lands you on the wrong side a King’s temper and walking around inside a burning furnace. But the truth is, when the smoke cleared and the chaos calmed, Daniel came out on top and the king ended up appointing him as one of the highest positions of authority in the most powerful nation in the world.

But eventually that kingdom was overthrown and a new king took the throne.

Which left Daniel, an 80 year man at this point, amidst a whole new realm of chaos. Scripture says that as this new season transitioned, Daniel was so “distinguishable” in all his doings as the new king’s chief of staff, that a promotion was around the corner naming him ruler over the entire kingdom. Well, his jealous subordinates wouldn’t stand for that, so they conspired and formed a hater “fan club.” After hatching a plan hinging off Daniel’s only weakness, his devotion to his God, the fan club approached the new king with a flattering proposition: a straight month dedicated to worshipping him as king! And if anyone prays or bows to any other god other than the new king, then they will surely suffer death in the bottom of a lion’s den!

The king signed the bottom line and made it official.

According to scripture, when Daniel heard the news, he grabbed his cane and waddled his 80 year old butt straight home, slid his curtain out of the way, opened his window as wide as he could so the whole city could see, and got down on his rickety old knees to…

PRAY AND THANK GOD!

I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time focusing during my prayer time as images of being eaten alive by starving lions flashed through my mind. Not to mention my soggy pants.

Somehow Daniel appears to retain PEACE amidst CHAOS.

Maybe this is what the apostle Paul, the author of Philippians, was explaining as he penned the letter to the church in Philippi amidst his own chaos sitting in a prison cell.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Maybe there is a connection between CHAOS, PRAYER, THANKSGIVING, and PEACE.

Maybe it is a formula: CHAOS + PRAYER/THANKSGIVING = PEACE

Maybe when we get down on our knees and thank God for all the times He has been faithful to us so far, never once letting us down, our prayer/thanksgiving serves as a catalyst within the chaos. In this place, in this posture, where the future may be blurry but the past is clearer than ever. He is a good God. He is faithful. He loves you. And nothing is going to change that.

Then, as we return to our feet, we can walk peacefully into the chaos He leads us through.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

“So you’re telling me you are THAT guy…. Hmmm.”

This was the response I received recently from a friend as I began to share of my last airplane experience.

If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t too many bucket seats on airplanes. More like rows of couches with armrests jammed in between. Isn’t it crazy how many people cram onto an airplane?

So I guess I am THAT guy who meets my best friend on each flight by choosing the middle seat so I can pin him against the window in conversation… about Jesus.

And no apologies. J As I try to calculate just how many flights I have been on, I would have to say well over 200. And maybe in another blog I will share some cool stories about introducing people to Jesus over the Atlantic Ocean or at baggage claim, but a couple weeks ago I was sitting next to a guy on a flight reading a book (which could possibly be interpreted as the universal sign for “don’t try to engage me”) with an unusual cover.  And I don’t mean unusual because it was unique and drew attention, I mean unique for the opposite reason.

This book was wrapped in plain dark brown paper.  It reminded me of Jr. High when we had to cover our school textbooks using grocery bags and scotch tape.  It was exactly like that, only the purpose, it appeared, was not to protect his paper back novel, but rather to conceal the title in order to keep his reading selection private.  This of course further provoked my attempt to discover his literary preference.  After all, I was also reading… but I was exposed.

It turns out my new friend Jim was halfway through a fascinating book by a Muslim author attempting to compile and cross-reference the origin of ancient religions and there intersection with Egypt.  I found this fascinating and really enjoyed Jim’s brief synopsis.  But what really intrigued me was Jim. And this book was my only window at the moment into his journey. Why would this forty something your old hipster from Glendale, a professional artist with a highly enviable mustache of epic proportion, (it was awesome an awesome mustache… on its way to Looney Tunes’ Yosemite Sam status) secretly read such an obscure piece of literature?

Jim has a kid who is starting to ask questions, I guess that is what two year olds do. And as a self-proclaimed atheist, is on a discovery of sorts to establish an objective framework of faith and morality to help navigate his family’s growth and development.  He and his wife, according to Jim, need some sort of reference point for guiding their family.

“Jim,” I said, “I know exactly the kind of compass you need for your journey… and let me introduce you to HIM!!!”

JUST KIDDING, I DIDN’T SAY THAT! Hahaha. Cheese.

No, I just listened.  Jim said he and his wife weren’t “religious” and though they didn’t despise religion, they obviously had some reservations.

Fast forward two weeks.  Yesterday I had youth group. There is a neighborhood kid who got “saved” under my ministry a couple years ago who is just tearing it up for the Kingdom.  He brought a couple kids to his small group last week and gave them Bibles and such, but later when he called to invite them to youth group one young man said, “are you trying to make us religious? I’m good… thanks.”

Here is what I want to say to the father on an undercover search for a moral compass yet fears institutionalized religion.

Here is what I want to say young people who are willing to “try” small group at their friend’s house but not attend church service.

Jesus came to SAVE you from RELIGION.

Religion is mankind’s attempt to explain God. To reach the Creator.

Jesus is God’s attempt to explain Himself. To reach creation.

That is why we DON’T NEED religion and never will. Because Jesus is enough. To say we need both… well, I guess we could call that heresy.

There is a scene in the movie MEN IN BLACK where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones visit a coin locker in a train station. When they open the locker we discover an entire tiny alien civilization living inside! I don’t know how these thousands of little aliens got inside this locker but it is obvious they have never left and the inside of the locker is all they know. The moment Will and Tommy open the locker, the extraterrestrial community goes wild, chanting their names and worshiping them as their king. After all, their only vantage point is from the inside of that locker; their entire worldview is limited to this incredibly limited perspective. They have no idea what exists outside the locker and to show them or even try to explain the rest of planet Earth to them would probably cause their little alien brains to explode. I feel like one of those tiny aliens worshipping Will Smith.

And I am now realizing that he is all I need. All I really need is Will Smith. I don’t need to know everything God expects and wants and has planned and trying to know everything would be impossible to comprehend. But God gave me Will Smith and if I keep my eyes on him… I think that is enough of a glimpse for me to start with. I can’t wrap my mind around eternity. I can’t begin to understand or figure out the King of the Universe. At times I barely understand the Bible. But I can follow someone. That simplifies everything.

What if THAT was our Christian agenda: Believe Jesus really is God and follow His every move. What if the somewhat limited and short anecdotes of his life that we DO HAVE from thousands of years ago are enough to get a peak into what and why we were created? Maybe trying to figure out the universe in order to know God and please him is just way to monstrous for a reason and following Jesus is really the most strategic course of action? I know the Christian way is to embrace Jesus ethically and philosophically, but what if we are over spiritualizing his instructions, behaviors, and parables? What if he meant it when he told his followers that we who don’t visit people in prison, or clothe the needy, or spend time with sick, or feed hungry people, we have never really known God and will never know God into eternity? Matt. 25:31-46

Part of my circle of friends have been talking a lot about what is “The Church” and what should The Church look like and blah blah blah blah…. What if we just look at what we CAN see… it may only look like a giant WILL SMITH, but isn’t that enough?

I want to surround myself with people who are content with simply following what Jesus did: Healing, loving, & serving. Being a friend to the lonely and outcast. Valuing relationships where you get nothing out of it other than friendship. Addressing injustice and poverty. Making fun of religious people (just kidding!) I want to spend my time doing things like him; mimicking him, borderline imitating him. Fake it til you make it, right?

I want to posture myself in this way not only because that is what Jesus DID, but that is where Jesus IS! Jesus said when you do take care of the sick, or feed the hungry, or visit the imprisoned, or help keep someone warm… you are not doing it FOR him or just on behalf of him, but we are doing it TO HIM! That is how we MEET him. That is where HE IS. He lives in that place. I’m realizing that I can study the Bible six ways til Sunday, but if I don’t spend time with the lonely, marginalized, impoverished, and abandoned… I become spiritually lonely and spiritually impoverished because that is where Jesus is waiting for me. It is so easy to miss Him.

I am tired of people talking about how to “do church” and Father forgive me for being one of those people. But my ears can’t take anymore talk about methodologies, systems, or philosophies. And please, just take my word when I say that this is not coming from any place of personal bitterness or self-righteousness. Guess you’ll just have to believe me ☺

But for the love of God (literally) will someone put their money in a hat with me and come do laundry for some single moms at the Laundromat in Highland Park? Or baby-sit their kids with me so they can go on a date? Or plan a BBQ with me at the little park on the corner of YORK and FIGUEROIA where all the homeless hang out every single day. Or play some shuffleboard with the retired army veterans at the Community Senior Center. Ill be the first person to admit that I don’t know what having a “RELATIONSHIP with God” means. Sometimes I feel like I am sitting on God the Father’s lap with my arms around his neck and sometimes I don’t even know if he exists or if He is a million miles away in outer space. I know that because of Jesus I am now cleaned up and forgiven, but lately, if I want to visit Him, He has been leaving breadcrumbs leading from my “quiet time” into the dirtiest and most uncomfortable places of my community. And it would really help if I had a team of people (we can call it “church” if you want, I think Jesus would) who would make these issues a priority and do it with me. Because trying to do it on my own just never works out. Never.

Thank you God for giving me WILL SMITH, even if I can only see a short timeline and few dozen stories of his life. And thank you for giving me the local church so we can unite as your body, hands, and feet.