bloggingpaul

I miss blogging

2011-08-29T09:42:00.001-04:00

I miss blogging. I'll get back to doing it tomorrow.

Daddy God

2011-05-22T21:37:00.003-04:00

So I'm typing this in my daughter's room. I just put her to bed.

Putting my daughter to bed is one of the most precious times in my week. It's a time of connection, relationship building and intimacy. It often reminds me of what is really important.

As I was putting her to bed, I just had some random thoughts. They were really too personal and complex for a Facebook post. So if my Facebook friends want to think deeper thoughts with me, they must leave the medium of Facebook and enter this world of multiple words and paragraphs. Honestly, I'm not going to spend a long time crafting this...I'm sure the usual spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes will be there. I'm just processing -- and if you want to read my thoughts, you may do so if you so choose.

So just some quick musings...

1. Scripture suggests that God loves me far more perfectly and completely than I love my daughter.

Wow. No way.

If that is true (and I take it by faith that it is), that ONE concept is so far beyond my comprehension. So far beyond my comprehension that, quite honestly, I'm not sure I will ever grasp it. Or (and this sounds like heresy, I know), really believe it.

I want to believe it... but I'm not sure I do most of the time. Or I believe it in an intellectual way, but not really at the core of who I am and how I live.

Confession: I often struggle with seeing God as more than Big God.

Sovereign God.

Powerful God.

I can kind of "get" the forgiveness thing -- I mean, I believe and know that God forgives -- but mostly because He has to forgive me because it's in His nature.

I sometimes struggle with God as Gentle Daddy.

The Playful Daddy.

The One who really just wants to spend time with me because He delights in me.

Moments ago, I was laying there, watching my daughter sleep. She was cuddled into me because she was afraid of the storm. She quickly fell asleep, knowing she was now safe with her Big Dad.

I get that.

I see God that way. God is strong. God protects. God is big.

But then...

Then I just laid there. I watched her sleep. And honestly, there was no other place in the world I wanted to be more than right there in that moment with her. We weren't DOING anything. I wasn't doing anything. We weren't relating in any conscious way. She was just laying there, quietly snoring in my ear. And my love for her in that moment was overwhelming.

And I think, "God loves me more than this?"

Honestly, it is overwhelming to me.

And it should be to you as well.

2. When I take Lydia to bed, we have our routine. My wife also has a routine with her. I found out they are very different. But both routines connect us to our daughter.

Sometimes, when I go to put her to bed, I'm in a hurry. I want to get through the routine. I'm busy or distracted or I have things to do. Sometimes, quite honestly, I don't initially want to go through our routine...

But the routine gives space for relationship. It almost forces (facilitates?) relationship.

And sometimes, in the midst of that same-old, same-old routine, we find moments of true intimacy and connection. It becomes a channel for us to express love and care.

I wonder if this is how God sees our devotional life? The metaphor doesn't fit perfectly, but it seems to me that the goal is not a quiet time. A routine. The goal is connection and relationship. But the regular practice of spiritual disciplines (routines) can place us in a position where, every now and then, we have true connection with God.

The routine is for us. Not for God.

3. Final thought for now. In the past several years I've moved away from Father language for God. Some of it is theological. I believe God is MUCH bigger than one image or ideal. Some of it is pastoral - in fact - there are significant populations of people for whom God as Father is, at best, not a helpful image. At worst, it defames the character of God.

But the thing about most of my God language now is that it depersonalizes God. It makes God in to Big God. Powerful God. Sovereign God.

You see where I'm going with this, right?

So maybe... at least in my own quiet time (routine)... I will return to God as my Daddy. And maybe it if say it more, I'll believe it more.

Sabbatical

2011-05-11T18:42:00.000-04:00

I've spent much of this past week writing a grant to fund a sabbatical I'm taking next summer. To say that it was this last week is misleading... I've been thinking about it for a year or so.

So the thing about writing a grant for your dream sabbatical is if you don't get it you dream is gone. This is a once in a lifetime chance. When I started it, I was kind of, "Well, if I don't get it it's not that big of a deal." But as I have finalized it... it's a big deal.

Sick Kiddo

2011-05-04T09:56:00.003-04:00

Lydia has always had this allergy thing. She gets it multiple times a year and it's pretty bad. It starts as a cough and then she usually has a fever at some point. When I got home from work yesterday, she had it. I made her dinner and put her to bed by 7:30. I gave her this breathing treatment and some medicine the doctor recommended; we keep a large stash on hand.

So 3 am I hear her cry out, "Daddy!" (Which is some sick, I-need-to-be-needed kind of way, is one of the most beautiful sounds to me.) I go in and take care of her. Get her her medicine. Do the breathing treatment. Mostly, I just cuddle her and try to get her to relax so she doesn't cough as much.

As she is doing the breathing treatment, I've built us a little "nest" on the bed and she is cuddled into me. I read her a story and am stroking her head. I turn off the light. Then we sit quietly in the dark for a good 15 minutes or so...no talking... just being with each other. (One of the best times of my week.) I'm stroking her forehead (which she loves) and she is doing this thing where she strokes my arm (which doesn't exactly bother me either).

At some point, I decide that both she and I need sleep, so I gently say to her, "Lydia honey, I think you need to lay back down and get some sleep."

To which she replies, "Awwww! 'Cause this was really working for me!"

It was working for me too.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

2011-04-12T20:21:00.001-04:00

Yeah, this will go down in the record books as a pretty good day.

Lessons Learned - Day 2

2011-04-10T18:06:00.005-04:00

So, this morning I went to church. I went three times. Because I'm a sinner and need it. Or an overachiever pastor. Actually both. And I'm going to another in a couple of hours.

I'm sinner and an overachiever... OR I don't have much of a life.

Yes.

I plan to write more when I process this more, but some quick, general observations.

1. If John is any indicator, my Saturday night preaching experience is pretty common.

Like mine, John's Saturday sermon was longer and not as tight as on Sunday. I actually liked it more. There was more historical stuff. He cut stuff on Sunday that I liked a lot. He also got more animated as the services progressed and ad libbed more. Interestingly, they use the Saturday message for the other video campuses, so even if it's not as good, it can't suck as hundreds of people will see it.

2. Prediction: video venues are the way of the future (if not the present).

Menlo is out of room. Saturday was probably at 50% capacity. The traditional 8 am service at 80%, I went to a second site at 9:30 and then back to the main campus for 11, which was at 90% or more. I think the balcony had some seats. The only way for them to grow, is to plant other campuses or build a bigger building (which they can't do as there is no land -- and the world doesn't need another pull barn).

This is only my third time visiting a site where the teaching was done on video, but all three times I WENT asking, "Why would people come to this?" and LEFT thinking, "You know, this might be the service I would go to if I went to this church." I watched John give the same message live on Saturday, and then watched the exact same message on video at one of their video sites. It was better on video. It was just uncanny. But honestly, people were more engaged watching the video.

Now, I think video works for a really large church where the sites are smaller. I'm not sure if it would work for, say, Central. But each of their video campuses are about the physical size of Central... and they were packed. I mean packed. I mean really, really, "I can't find a chair I think I'll sit on the floor" kind of packed. (Again, probably 90% capacity if everyone moved in and sat next to each other).

Here is the thing: What the satellite campuses had, that they main campus didn't have, was informality and intimacy. (You can bring in coffee, it's smaller and more intimate). The reason I wonder if video would work with a church the size of Central is that Central already has informality and intimacy.

But I actually think that video venues work.

There, I said it.

3. If people are excited about something, or if they get the big picture, they will put up with inconvenience.

There are a number of ways I saw this played out, but a big one was children's ministry. I had this idea for our second site and my staff "poo pooed" it -- but Menlo has their children's ministry for their cafe campus, at their main campus (about 3 blocks or so away). So people drop their kids off at the main campus, and then drive or walk to the cafe campus. When I asked, "How do you get this to work? Don't the parent complain? Don't they fear leaving their kids?" the children's person looked at me with this dumb look and said, "No. But we don't have a choice."

This kind of plays into the consumer mentality. I could go on and on about this, but I won't. But it was interesting to see what Menlo didn't offer.

Which leads me to the last one (for now), and this is a big one.

Ready?

Cause I'm going to say it.

Here we go.

4. Central, we do NOT have a parking problem.

Quit whining. No really. Seriously. I mean it. Quit. There are people who parked 5 blocks from the church. Their lot is the size of a postage stamp. (Okay, that is a huge exaggeration, but it's way too small for the church). Now, granted, it's California and the walk was really, really nice. They don't deal with snow. But seriously, if the early church can meet in catacombs under persecution, we can walk a block or two. Really, we just need to get over this.

continued...

2011-04-10T18:00:00.003-04:00

Top 10 ways to make this lunch really, really, uncomfortable for John.

#6. "Thanks John for having lunch with me. So I have this one question that I really, really, have always wanted to ask you. So... [pause], what's it really like to work with Bill Hybels? Is it as cool as I imagine? I mean... you must be so honored to have worked with him...." [gushing about Hybels continues on through the entire lunch].

An open letter to the Time Zones

2011-04-10T05:34:00.004-04:00

Dear Time Zones,

We need to have a little talk. You see, 5:30 a.m. may be a good time to wake up normally, but because of YOU, it's 2:30 a.m. here in California. This is unacceptable.

So here's the deal: I'm going to try to explain this to my body. If it doesn't listen by tomorrow night, I'm just going to ignore all of you. You heard me, I will ignore each and every one of you.

So, I suggest you put in a good word for me and get this worked out soon OR you are dead to me. Hear me? DEAD TO ME!

Sincerely,

Paul

Everybody's Normal

2011-04-09T22:58:00.007-04:00

Normal is good.

So today I flew to California to take a few days to study Menlo Park Church and, more specifically, to have lunch with John Ortberg. The flights were good... but man... I'm not sure you can cram many more people into that space. Sheesh.

By the way... my administrator rocks. She did all the logistics: booked my flight, car and room; and handed me a folder with all my stuff (in order) that I would need. She even included a sheet of bonus material, including an excellent Indian restaurant which I tried tonight. I can't tell you how much I hate doing that stuff... what a great gift to me. I don't want to post her name, but you Central people know who I'm talkin' about. Well done! Go give that girl a hug!

Tonight I went to the Saturday evening service at Menlo. I plan to go to 5 worship services this weekend: tonight, 3 on Sunday (including their satellite campuses) and their Sunday night "next gen." service.

Full Disclosure: It. Was. Not. What. I. Expected.

First, it's a traditional presbyterian church. Yes, they installed lights, screens and cameras.... but it feels "small church" in every way (Granted, it probably holds 700?) John's name is on the little sign out front. A lot of older people. I came early (of course), went around beforehand and just struck up conversations with people asking about Menlo from an insider's perspective.

They talked about it like it was the church down the street.

And what surprised me is that they talked about John just like he was another pastor.

This is very different from my other experience with John, which was while he was at Willow. Willow, by its sheer size and prominence, breeds a kind of "unapproachable pastor" aura. The pastors are the people on the stage. They are celebrities. Now, I'm not saying they are arrogant or even that they reinforce this image... but the medium is the message in this case. Put a person on stage in front of 7,000 people with their image on two huge jumbotrons... and you just can't help it.

John is a normal pastor here. He stood down front and talked with one or two people after the service... just like I do. People didn't crowd around him to get his autograph. (This is different from my common experience at Central, of course... where people clamber to get my autograph).

Actually, I spoke with 3 people for some time before the service and the first two people I met said, "Honestly, I'm not crazy about John's preaching. I liked the last guy."

WHAT!!! This is JOHN ORTBERG!

So honestly, this makes me feel better about my life. Because, if John can't please everyone... man... I'm not sure who can.

With rare exceptions (none of which I can even think of right now, so maybe it's "without exception"), I have never visited a church and wished I was the pastor there. I love Central. I love my community. Yes, there are days when I have wondered if it was time to move on. Yes, there are days when I'm sure Central wonders that as well!

But the grass is not greener on the other side.

Even if you are a famous author.

Or if you are in a church and you get a new pastor who is a famous author.

Leaving, on a jet plane...

2011-04-09T08:41:00.004-04:00

So I'm sitting in the Columbus Airport at AA gate 32. My flight doesn't leave for an hour, but I'm one of those, "get-to-the-airport-really-early-so-you-can- leisurely-stroll-to-the-gate-and-watch-the-people-who-show-up-5-mintues-before-boarding-run-like-their-hair-is-on-fire" kind of guys.

I'm actually flying to California to have lunch with John Ortberg (see previous post). I'm also visiting their other sites to see if I can get a better sense of how they do the multisite thing. Turns out I also get to attend an meeting of the executive team to do some strategic planning, meet with some staff and attend a creative team meeting. I'm pretty excited.

People have asked me if I'm nervous or if I fear anything about meeting him. Honestly, what I fear most is being perceived as a stalker. I mean, really -- I'm flying to California JUST to have lunch with this guy.

I actually think I have a healthy perspective on "celebrity." Plain truth -- in many ways John has been my pastor and mentor through his writing. (Pastors don't get a lot of pastors as we are usually pretty busy on Sundays.) I respect him a great deal. But although I deeply respect John, I really am not all that star struck.

Although, just for fun, my wife and I began a list of "Top 10 ways to make this lunch really, really, uncomfortable for John."

# 10. Have a shirt made with his head on it (older Central folks, think of the Aaron S. floating head shirt). Have something printed on the back like, "I [heart] John Ortberg."

#9. Bring a stack of his books (yes, I own all of them-- and a couple I have multiple copies) along with a pen to the lunch. Ask him to sign them all, "To my best friend Paul. I will never forget this wonderful day together. Let's do lunch again! Love, your friend, John."

#8. Bring a photographer along and stage random "grip and grin" photo ops. At various points throughout the afternoon, just throw my arm around him and smile. [FLASH!]

#7. Pull a picture out of my wallet and say, "Here's a favorite one I have of you and your family on that secluded beach. I had to use a really big zoom lens but eventually I worked my way closer."

I have a couple of more, but the plane is here. Time to fly.

But feel free to add to these. I would love your ideas. BTW, his wife nancy is joining us, so I also thought about asking for really explicit marital advice....

One year.

2011-04-02T09:27:00.003-04:00

Today is the one-year anniversary of my dad's death. Oddly enough, this morning I woke up at 5:32 am, the time my mom called to tell me dad died. I suspect the day will pretty much be as it is most weekends: House of Breakfast date with my daughter, work during the afternoon, Saturday evening service, dinner and hang out with Laura in the evening. And as of right now, I don't feel particularly sad or melancholy. But there is no doubt that my life is not as rich as it was when dad was around.

I hear my daughter talking. It's time for a date. Because everyone needs a secret store.

2011-03-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

CS Lewis

dizzy

2011-03-18T19:20:00.004-04:00

I've been struggling lately with dizziness. I had a bunch of test done and the best they can determine is that my blood pressure is high pretty consistently.

I've never been good at self care. Truth is, I've always been overweight. My tendency is to always put other people's needs before mine. I have a somewhat stressful job and I stress eat. There have been seasons of my life where I have exercised pretty regularly, but not lately. Really, this past year or so has been exceptionally bad in terms of self care and this has been especially true lately, on multiple levels.

So my doctor put me on blood pressure medication while I try to bring it down naturally. Honestly, I feel like a failure. I feel really, really old. Defeated. For some reason this doesn't feel motivating to me ("Wow, now I really need to make those changes!"), but more of a nail in the coffin. It has had a profoundly negative effect on my self perception. So yeah.

All of this could be a really long blog post. One that is probably a lot more personal than I want to make it, so that is pretty much it for now.

Except to say that I found the #1 side effect of the blood pressure meds very humorous:

Dizziness.

Hearing God

2011-03-11T16:32:00.001-05:00

"I truly believe that the onslaught of social media, constant barrage of text messages, unlimited interruptions by email and the perpetual buzzing of a cell phone…has created such a wall of sound in our lives…that we can no longer can hear from God. In the 21st Century the quest for food is no longer the driving force that pulls us from our quest for God. What pulls us from our quest for God is the quest for…connectivity. We get distracted from connecting with God to connect with our families through texting, our friends through Facebook and the world through Twitter. We allow our churches to pay for retreats, conferences and events for us to connect with God…yet commit the sin of poor stewardship by spending the entire time with our thumbs flailing on the smartphone keyboard. We stand in the pulpit and declare that God has given us a vision and word…yet we never actually hear it because we fail to shut off the computer, smartphone, e-reader or electronic tablet. We lay awake in fear at night worrying if we are leading our congregations down the wrong road…but not in enough fear to block out the beeps, buzzes, ring tones and pop-up screens."

Chris Elrod

Happy New Year, Dad.

2011-01-01T00:16:00.001-05:00

We miss you.

The Best Christmas Present Ever

2010-12-25T11:24:00.007-05:00

So my wife gave me the best Christmas present ever. It was creative, thoughtful... and thoroughly me.

Some background: Both of us enjoy Christmas, but neither of us loose sleep over it. I mean, we are not scrooges or anything, but we are not fanatical. Actually, I think we have a pretty healthy perspective on the whole gift-giving thing. We buy each other a few gifts -- and often times one of those is nicer. Again, we enjoy Christmas but it's not like we run to open presents.

I knew something was up when, a couple of days before Christmas, Laura got absolutely giddy about Christmas.

My wife does not get giddy.

On Wednesday she said, "Your Christmas present came -- but not to the house." She talked about it with my mom. Mom got giddy. Lydia was giddy. The dogs were giddy. There was a lot of hush-hush-giddiness around the Risler household.

Christmas Eve we open our presents. I open a picture frame. A pair of snow pants. And then a small remote controlled helicopter. I was pretty happy about the helicopter... and assumed that was the cause of the giddiness. But there was one more small box.

I started to open it (Laura got giddy again).

I opened it and found...

well....

this.

Yes, you are correct. It's a turtle Christmas Tree ornament. (At this point she is about to explode of giddiness). I looked at her with this "what-in-the-world-is-wrong-with-you!" look, honestly busting my brain trying to figure out why in the world she is so excited about a turtle Christmas tree ornament.

To be clear, I don't collect turtles. I don't dislike them, but I don't have a particular affinity toward them. And, if you are trying to use this turtle to figure out what the gift is... you won't. It has NOTHING to do with the gift.

Press Pause.

Did you ever play that game where you answer the question: If you could have lunch with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? For the past 15 years or so my answer has always been the same.

My job is more than a job to me. It's a passion. I particularly like the art of preaching. I mean, yes, it's a major part of my job. But I'm about as passionate about the actual task of preaching as I am about pretty much anything. I don't just do it. I read about it. Listen to a TON of people who do it. I think about it recreationally. If anyone was willing, I would stay up late at night and talk about preaching.

Yes. I need a life.

Back to the gift.

The gift was not the turtle. The gift was the little scrap of paper inside the turtle. On the scrap of paper was an email address.

The email address of Nancy Ortberg, John Ortberg's wife.

John Ortberg is, hands down, my favorite author and pastor.

My wife has been corresponding with Nancy Ortberg.

For Christmas, my wife is flying me out to California to meet and have lunch with John Ortberg.

My wife rocks.

2010-09-22T09:29:00.003-04:00

Dear Dad

I doubt one can access blogger after this life is over -- I'm not sure YOU would be able to find my blog anyway -- seeing how I bookmarked it on your computer when you were alive and you couldn't find it. Or maybe you did and just never told me. :)

Even so... I wanted to tell you that mom found a letter you wrote me just after I told you I was going to become a dad. I already had the one you typed... this one was the rough draft. It's in your handwriting so it is even more meaningful to me. I'm glad mom found it in one of your notebooks. You know, the one with the blue tape.

I've told you this so many times, but I love you. You were such a great dad and I was always so proud that you were my father. There is a lot going on in my life right now. Big decisions. A storm that hit our neighborhood. I'm working really long hours and am tired a lot. I have a lot on my mind. And this would have been one of those days I would have picked up the phone and called you. I would have asked you about my roof. About leadership. About dealing with insurance people. I would have told you about the stuff going on. And you would have told me to not to let work consume me -- to take care of Laura and Lydia and enjoy them while I can. You would have told me that you were proud of me. I know what you would have said, but I would love to hear you say it.

Today I just really feel raw. And empty. I'm just tired. I'm sure I'll feel better in a couple of hours. But in this moment, I just miss you a lot.

Love you.

Wishing time would stand still

2010-06-01T08:17:00.002-04:00

On the way to the "House of Breakfast."

Thanks to Stephanie Lyell Photography

Johnny Ace Palmer

2010-05-31T16:33:00.001-04:00

This is the guy I blogged about, Johnny Ace Palmer, performing really hard magic under the absolute worst conditions in the world.

2010-05-08T10:14:00.002-04:00

"All the chisels I've dulled carving idols of stone
They have crumbled like sand 'neath the waves
I've recklessly built all my dreams in the sand,
Just to watch them all wash away

Through another day, another trial
Another chance to reconcile
To One who sees past all I've seen,
And reaching out my weary hand,
I pray that you'd understand,
You're the only one who's faithful to me."

"Faithful to Me" by Jennifer Knapp

Lesson #3: "Marry Well."

2010-04-28T23:20:00.010-04:00

To know me is to know my dad. I'm Ed's son. So much of who I am, so much of what I do, has been formed by my dad. These posts are a series of reflections on some life lessons my dad taught me. They are based out of the eulogy I did for my dad's memorial service on April 7, 2010.
________________________

Life Lesson #3 - My Dad taught me how to marry well. How to love passionately, and how to show respect to women.

My dad loved my mom deeply. He wrote her love notes, did little acts of kindness for her, bought her cards. Dad was always thinking about what mom liked or what would make her happy.

And they were very affectionate.

And I liked that. Their affection for each other always made me feel lucky to have them as parents.

Years ago, I was at an outdoor craft festival and I was standing at one of the craft booths. There was an older couple at the next booth over and they were holding hands and showing affection -– at one point they started kind of dancing with each other. I heard a person at my booth say to another – “Aw, isn’t that sweet. I love to see older newlyweds. I bet they are on their honeymoon!”

Well, those newlyweds were my parents, and they had been married longer than those people had been alive.

My dad respected my mom. Growing up, my dad always made it a point to honor my mom to me. He was never threatened by mom’s intelligence, and my mom is one smart woman. Dad would always say to me, “Paul, marry a smart woman, smarter than you. And when she corrects you – you will hate it, you will complain... but she is probably right -- so listen to her.”

Mom, don’t get a big head.

Laura, you can skip that part.

But my dad cherished my mom. He called her “the love of his life” and he said it often, and wrote it regularly, and meant it always. He he said it in front of me. And he said it to me. And he said it to mom.

And his little boy was watching.

I watched and I learned from my father what it meant to be a man. That being a man was about commitment over competence. Loyalty over luxury. That being a man had less to do with strength of body and more to do with strength of character.

My dad realized (as I realize BTW), that he married up. Our wives are both WAY out of our league. And knowing many of my married male readers -- you did too! And out of thankfulness, he lived a life of service to mom.

My dad didn’t know it, but he was imitating God.

The book of Ephesians, chapter 5 begins, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Then down at verse 25 it say: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

There are a lot of people who seem to focus on Ephesians 5:22 -- "Wives submit to your husbands." But that is not the central message of this text. In fact, the husband's call to submission and love is so much greater than the wive's in the passage.

Dad was not a perfect husband... but he wanted to honor mom. And he taught me an important lesson: Marry Well.

Lesson #2: "Being wanted is more significant than being needed."

2010-04-18T21:45:00.013-04:00

Dedication

2010-04-17T12:43:00.007-04:00

Johnny Ace Palmer is one of my all-time favorite magicians. If you are not a magician, you probably have never heard of him (although he has been on TV several times). But among magicians, he is one of the best close-up performers in the world.

My dad and I met Johnny probably 30 years ago. He was a just a local kid performing in a Magic Convention talent contest in Columbus. No one knew his name. He was far from famous. In fact, one night after the evening activities were over, dad and I were going to our hotel and we walked past this car in the convention parking lot. And Johnny was sleeping in his car. He didn't have enough money for a hotel room.

So dad and I invited him (and his animals -- doves and peeps) to stay with us in our room for the rest of the convention. We took him out to dinner with us, hung out with him. If you have ever seen me do the trick when my ring vanishes and it appears back on my finger... Johnny taught me that one (and btw, does it MUCH better than me!)

Months after the convention we opened the mail and there was a small check from Johnny -- trying to pay us back. My dad returned it to him... in shreds... with a note saying something like, "We hate to return this check to you, not because of the current value of the check, but because we believe the signature will be really valuable some day."

Years later, when Johnny had become famous, he was headlining at the same convention where he slept in his car. Dad and I were there -- and Johnny returned the favor. He saved me a seat right up front. After his show, there was this huge line of people (including me) waiting to get his autograph. He saw me there and called me to come up with him. That night, he took dad and me out to dinner and introduced us to all his famous friends -- for a young magician like me, this was one of the highlights of my life.

I sent Johnny an email to tell him about my dad's death. I was not sure he would remember us and not sure how he would respond. But almost immediately, he sent a return email. I'm including our correspondence below.

Honestly, I have had trouble grieving my dad's death. I haven't cried much at all. Until today, I haven't really felt much emotion... any emotion. But the gift of this short email exchange is that it somehow opened me up to feeling again. And I cried.

I cried because I wanted to tell my dad something... and I realized I could not.

Maybe I've moved out of "denial" - I didn't realize I was there. But in an odd way, it feels really good.

I miss my dad. I would have loved to have read him this email exchange. Instead, I let you read it.
_____________________________

On Apr 17, 2010, at 8:28 AM, Paul Risler wrote:

Hey Johnny

Hope you are well. I'm hoping you still remember me... my dad and I met you years ago at the Magi Fest... which I hear you are coming to next year! I'm buying my tickets. :)

Hey, I wanted you to know that my dad died in early April. He had been getting sick for a while... bunch of stuff wrong... so although it wasn't expected, it was anticipated. In fact, one of his "last request" is that we go and see you. We had talked about coming to see you at the Magic Castle this April if he was doing better and then he went back into the hospital. He died the week you were performing.

I wanted you to know how much he loved your magic... more than that... how much he appreciated you. I just started getting back into magic this year (went to the Magi-Fest in Feb for the first time in probably 10 years or more -- and without dad). So it will be weird going next year.

Anyway... hope you are well. Just wanted you to know.

I still may come out and see you sometime. I will call to make sure you are actually around. :)

blessings,

Paul Risler

____________________

Dear Paul,

You and your dad are fondly remembered.

Your note is much appreciated.

As you probably know, instead the appearing at the Magic Castle the week that includes April Fools Day, I am performing this week. Tonight, I will dedicate my first show to you and your dad.

It will be great to see you at the Magi-Fest.

Please do come visit; whenever you are able.

Once again, thank you for the note.

100% His,

Johnny

Life Lesson #1 - Everyone needs a "Secret Store"

2010-04-09T23:21:00.015-04:00

To know me is to know my dad. I'm Ed's son. So much of who I am, so much of what I do, has been formed by my dad. These posts are a series of reflections on some life lessons my dad taught me. They are based out of the eulogy I did for my dad's memorial service on April 7, 2010.
________________________

Life Lesson #1 - Everyone needs a “secret store.”

When I was little, dad would take me to a convenience store. It was about a 10-minute drive from home... out of town, over a bunch of windy roads. The funny thing is that we actually drove by several stores to get to it; I always thought that was strange.

But this wasn’t any store.

This was the “secret store.”

Now, there really was nothing secret about it. Of course, Mom knew about it. She also knew when we were going and how long we would be there, what we would buy (usually chocolate Yohoo and something called a "Slim Jim" – an oddly-flavored meat product with a shelf-life just 15 years shy of a Twinkie). So the secret store wasn’t really much of a secret to anyone.

But, of course, to a 7-year old boy, everything is much cooler if it is a secret.

In fact, we had secret stores, secret snacks, secret sandwiches, secret adventures – which I honestly only realized the other day that our "secret adventures" now seem remarkably like pulling weeds on the back patio of our house. (Wow, our secret adventures were actually my dad violating child labor laws. But at the time it seemed fascinating! And it was a secret!)

So Dad and I went to the secret store... because everyone needs a secret store.

Of course, only in college did I discover the real secret.

The real secret was not the store.

The real secret was the 10-minute drive from home; out of town, over windy roads. Just my dad and me. I found out later that the store was partially chosen for that very reason. Another investment of his life into mine. A break in our lives where, for 30 minutes or so, a dad had the undivided attention of his little boy.

And so now, every Saturday morning, the tradition continues.

Now, every Saturday morning that I’m in town, since my now-5-year-old daughter was 3-months-old, I’ve taken her out to breakfast.

She calls it the “House of Breakfast.”

It's really a secret store.

And the secret is, of course, that it’s a 15-minute walk.

And I grab my daughter’s hand... and I feel that little hand in mine. And I pray that time would stand still.

She jabbers on about squirrels and worms and about her pretend friends...

At least that is what she talks about for now.

But one day it will be about boys, and body image; peer pressure and life plans. One day she may need to talk to her dad about hard things and will need an opportunity for that to happen.

And it was my dad who taught me how to create the kind of space for that kind of conversation to happen.

One of the things I appreciated about my relationship with my dad is that we lived with no regrets. When my dad died, there wasn’t a single thing I needed to say to him that I hadn’t said a dozen times. There wasn't a single thing I needed to hear from him that I hadn’t heard over and over.

Maybe that was the real secret of the secret store.

Life Lessons from My Dad: An Introduction

2010-04-09T21:37:00.007-04:00

So this week I did my dad's funeral.

Yeah, that was strange to write.

To know me is to know my dad. I'm Ed's son. So much of who I am, so much of what I do, has been formed by my dad. He was my best man at our wedding. He was my greatest cheerleader. My dad was my hero.

As I write these words, I'm sitting alone in a hotel room, wearing one of his favorite shirts. Honestly, one of my hopes in writing these posts is simply to grieve. To make my dad's death (and life) real. To process with my words.

Because my dad died on April 2, 2010 (Good Friday), I really haven't had the chance to let it sink in. Between Easter services, caring for my mom, doing the funeral, officiating a wedding this weekend (and having to be "on" for all of this stuff), I'm not sure I have really grieved. Who knows, maybe I won't grieve in the way I expect. I've been around death enough to know that everyone grieves differently. But, for as much as I was honored to be the "pastor" at my dad's funeral, in some ways I felt cheated from just being "son."

So I write these words as Paul: Ed's son.

First, let me put this out there: Eulogies, of course, are meant to accentuate the positive. It only makes sense. Even the word, “eulogy” is from the Greek meaning, “Good Words.”

So to begin with...

I just want you to know that I’m not going to write about the time when I was 9 and he lobbed a shoe across the room at me to get my attention (I had drawn on the wall with a marker). Or the way he repeated himself over and over - giving the same instructions; telling the same stories. Or that dad could be a bit stubborn at times. Or that he labeled everything – I mean everything - with blue painter's tape (notebooks, bottles, boxes, antifreeze, detergents -- you really have to see it to believe it).

And I’m certainly not going to talk about my dad having at least 100 spiral notebooks laying around the house in various locations -- with random phone numbers, maps, drawings of things he wanted to build, rough drafts of letters he was writing or cards he was sending, lists of medications, restaurant recommendations, newspapers clippings... all often in the same book, but neatly written with little tabs on the sides to section everything off; tabs usually made of blue painter's tape.

I’m not going to talk about those things.

Okay, a few of those idiosyncrasies might sneak in every now and then.

So I want to start by writing the obvious: my dad wasn’t a perfect man. He had his faults. He had imperfections. I'm sure he didn't always treat my mom as she deserved. I’m sure many people could even look at the way he parented me and find fault. He wasn’t a perfect man, a perfect husband, a perfect father...

But he was perfect for me.

I believe that, in my dad, God gave me what I needed to be the man I am now. In profound ways, much of the best of who I am, came from my dad. My dad was God's first act of grace to me.

So I invite you to give me some of what is the most important thing you have: your precious time. The moments you spend reading these posts over the coming weeks you will never get back. They will be lost forever.

But my hope is your life will be enriched by me giving you glimpse of my dad and what he taught me about life.

Dad's Eulogy

2010-04-08T13:22:00.003-04:00

Eulogy \ˈyü-lə-jē\ - from εὐλογία, eulogia, Classical Greek for "good words."

This week I did my dad's memorial service.

wow.

As a part of that, I was asked to do a eulogy. A eulogy is different from a funeral sermon, in that a funeral sermon is about God and God's action in a life. A eulogy is about the person. It's intended to honor the person and their life.

Good words about my dad's life.

It was actually pretty easy to write. In fact, I had to cut in down quite a bit. So I have decided to make a bunch of post about lessons my dad taught me based on this eulogy and include stuff I cut. This may take awhile. It's going to be a series longer.... maybe longer than my series on Revelation! (Okay, probably not).

These are going to be long posts. Honestly, I don't expect you to read them. I think if you do read them, you will understand more about me. I think you might even learn a thing or two about life. But I post these for me.

It's time for me to start process this week and I started blogging years ago as a means to do that. So I invite you into my thoughts. My past. My life.

Ed Risler: July 8, 1933 - April 2, 2010

2010-04-03T17:38:00.001-04:00

I'm glad I listened to your stories over and over.

I wish I could listen to them again.

Beauty

2010-03-26T23:51:00.002-04:00

This is going to sound rude - it's not meant to be - but I'm discovering that most people look better to me in two dimensions.

What I mean is that I can know a person for years and never think, "Wow, that person is attractive." But when I take their picture, I see something in them I didn't see before. Maybe it's that I ALLOW myself to see something in them when I look through the lens that I don't see in "real life."

With that said, there is no woman more beautiful than my wife. She is beautiful, bright, funny, godly -- and no camera anywhere can capture her beauty.

Wow

2010-03-02T19:44:00.001-05:00

I have cursed the man that you have made me,
as I have nursed the beast that bays for my blood.
Oh, I have run from the one who would save me.
Save me Hosanna!

O Hosanna! See the long awaited king, come to set his people free.
We cry O Hosanna! Come and tear the temple down. Raise it up on holy ground. Hosanna!

You have crushed beneath your heel the vile serpent.
You have carried to the grave the black stain.
You have torn apart the temple’s holy curtain.
You have beaten Death at Death’s own game.

Hosanna! O Hosanna! Hail the long awaited king, come to set his people free.
We cry O Hosanna! Won’t you tear this temple down, raise it up on holy ground.
O Hosanna! I will lift my voice and sing: you have come and washed me clean. Hosanna.

Andrew Peterson (Resurrection Letters, volume II)

Again

2010-01-17T13:44:00.001-05:00

poured out.

Got to love the news

2009-12-23T22:37:00.001-05:00

"Re-creation" -- seriously?

Nothing else needs to be said

2009-11-23T13:47:00.002-05:00

What really happened to the dinosaurs

2009-11-15T23:13:00.001-05:00

Love Rubs Feet

2009-11-07T12:48:00.003-05:00

This post was written back on May 5th. I often write posts and never post them. Honestly, for me, much of blogging is personal journaling. But I was thinking about this again this week, looked up the post, and decided to go public with it.

______________________

This weekend I'm teaching on love. It's a sermon I have done before... actually several times. I heard another pastor at a conference give this basic outline back in 1991 and said to myself that day that I wanted to preach that outline every year of my ministry. Well, that hasn't happened. But I have given this outline maybe 5 or 6 times between the two churches I have served. Of course, some of the content changes... I would get bored with it otherwise... but the simple message is a good one:

Love boldly.

I have been thinking about love a lot lately. And much of it is born out of pain. I have been watching my parents struggle through dad's decline. I have another man I deeply respect who is in a battle with leukemia and doesn't seem to be winning. My friend and co-partner in ministry has a mom who is fighting her own health issues. In the midst of all of this darkness... there is this light. It's the love I see breaking through in these dark places.

Today I sat with this man named Paul. He is a pastor of sorts. And he is one of my heros. I had heard of him before I came to Athens and was really excited to meet him. In the past couple of years he, his wife and son became a part of the church I pastor. And at first, honestly, it was kind of wierd to have this guy who I kind of looked up to, be a part of my congregation. But in these years I have gotten to know him, his wife and son and I have seen a spiritual maturity that just blows me away. (Maybe I will write more about this another time).

But for now I just wanted to say: true love is really hard.

It rubs feet.

It changes bandages. It cleans up messes. It calls out the best in people. It forgets the worst in people.

So often our culture thinks of love as naked bodies writhing in pleasure. We even call it, "Making love."

That's stupid.

I'm not even sure "love" happens in the first years of marriage.

Love is when it becomes difficult. Sacrificial.

Love is when you talk to that friend and you don't want to talk.

It's when you give and don't want to give.

When you call and don't want to call.

Love rubs feet.

________________________

Paul Martin
June 28, 1946 - August 14, 2009

The "cutting room floor"

2009-11-05T19:57:00.006-05:00

"And by the way, lest you think that Jesus taught some wishy-washy, "can't we all just get along" kind-of-message, let me just say it this way: Nobody ever crucified Big Bird."

Paul Risler

___________________________

I wrote that line for my sermon this weekend. For some reason, I just like it. But this afternoon, I cut it out of my message (as well as the whole larger section of which it was a part).

I hated to see it go.

People often ask me what's the hardest part of preparing a sermon. I think most people expect me to say that it's the research, or coming up with illustrations, or getting started, or ending the message...

For me it has always been the edit.

Almost without exception, every message I write (a finished message is approximately 20 half-sheets of paper long) is whittled down from about 40 pages. Usually the Tuesday before I preach a message, I have this 2-hour-long message that I run through. I take it on the treadmill, on the elliptical... I carry a copy of it in my coat pocket. I have even been known to read the entire thing into a voice recorder and play it in my car on long trips. I work on it whenever I have an extra couple of minutes.

And with each section, each paragraph, each line, I try to ask myself, does this REALLY support the main point? Does this REALLY make people wrestle with this text? Does this REALLY shed any extra light on anything?

Or do I just like it?

See, here's the thing: I think some of my best stuff ends up on the cutting room floor.

It's stuff I WANT to say, but I have to discipline myself not to say it.

Sometimes it's stuff I have poured hours into finding, wrestled with theologically and personally, mulled over anywhere from 6 weeks to a year or more. It stuff that I think is funny, or clever, or illuminating...

And it never gets said.

At least in that message. At least for now. Maybe there will be a time. Maybe there will be a season and I will give it a shot. But not now. Even if I WANT to say it.

Discipline.

Focus.

Wait.

It's good... but is it the best thing I can say?

___________________

I think some of the best stuff in life ends up on the cutting room floor.

Or at least it should.

Each of us has so much to do and so many options. And sometimes, the hardest part in life is the edit. It is asking ourselves, "Is this REALLY going to add to my life? Is this the right thing for my life right now? Maybe it will fit better later, but given my priorities and what God is calling me to do... is this really what I should do? Is this really something to add to my schedule? Do I really need to take this on?"

Discipline.

Focus.

Wait.

It's good... but is it the best way I can live?

I think some of the best stuff in life ends up on the cutting room floor.

Sign him up.

2009-11-03T18:11:00.001-05:00

I'm writing our worship leader now and trying to sign this guy up.

Oh my.

Gambling - Vote no on 3

2009-11-02T23:47:00.006-05:00

For those who know me, you know that I try to hide my politics. I certainly believe that Christians can be Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green and just about any other label you can put on a political party. There are way too many things to divide us already.

With that said, I want to say a word about Issue 3, the casino gambling legislation. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm simply going to publish a letter written by the bishop of the West Ohio Conference of the UMC. I hope it sheds light on the issue and is helpful to you.

For my vote, I'm voting a big "No."

_____________________________

For the fifth time in 19 years, The United Methodist Church and the Ohio Council of Churches are successfully mobilizing tens of thousands of voters from many faith communities to vote against casino gambling in Ohio. The gambling industry has mounted a well funded and deceptive marketing campaign to introduce predatory gambling into our neighborhoods. Issue 3, on the ballot in November, is a dangerous proposal which inserts new language into the Ohio Constitution, and creates a monopoly to run casinos in four Ohio communities. We call for an extensive effort to stop casino gambling from harming our citizens for these reasons:

1. Our position on gambling is consistent with our beliefs as United Methodists.

The United Methodist Church is very clear. Our Social Principles state that “gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic and spiritual life and destructive of good government.”—2008 United Methodist Discipline, Paragraph 163,G. We also live by these Three Simples Rules from the founder of Methodism, John Wesley – Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. Gambling does harm to families, economies, business and changes the fabric of life in communities.

2. Casinos create an illusion of free money.

The lingering economic downturn in our state and around the globe is frightening and devastating to individuals, families and institutions. There is incredible pressure on our state and community leaders to turn to the lure of casino gambling as the answer to our economic woes. We understand this. Noted economists call this “casino capitalism.” Casino capitalism contributes to an illusion of free money by preying on those least able to afford it. Across America, predatory gambling has helped create a culture based on financial gimmicks, false hopes and pure chance. This culture has led to and perpetuates the massive economic crisis we find ourselves in today.

3. Casinos do not bring positive economic development or create additional jobs.

This fact is documented once again in a report on the statewide economic and social factors of Issue 3 recently published by Ohio’s Hiram College. Casinos have the opposite effect by ultimately pulling money out of the local economy. This harms existing businesses and causes thousands of hard working citizens to lose their current jobs. The out of state companies that will operate these casinos will deplete the Ohio economy further as they take their profits elsewhere. Casinos ultimately lead to the loss of jobs and small businesses in the communities in which they are located.

4. Casinos are predatory by their very nature.

Casinos make windfall profits for their owners from the gambling losses of our most vulnerable neighbors, deriving much of their profits from the poor who spend more than they can afford to lose. Proximity to a casino also increases the levels of addiction. National studies indicate that people who live within 50 miles of a casino are twice as likely to become gambling addicts.

5. The social costs as a result of casino gambling will exceed revenue 3 to 1.

Let this sink in – for every dollar gambling generates, it will cost the taxpayers of Ohio three dollars in social costs. Problem gamblers ruin their lives and harm their families through increased debt, bankruptcy, home foreclosures, divorce, spousal abuse, child abuse and suicide. Casino gambling always does more harm than good to families. This amendment is economic nonsense in a time when we most desperately need sound, sustainable economic policies.

6. Law enforcement will need increased budgets & manpower to manage higher crime rates.

Nationwide, studies of existing casinos and surrounding communities have consistently found that crime rates increase by 10% each year after a casino opens, including violent crimes against people. In addition, 40% of all white collar crime is rooted in the gambling industry.

7. The casino owners do not care about our state or our citizens.

The proponents of Issue 3, just like their predecessors, allege they want to operate casinos in order to help the citizens of Ohio. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their well crafted promises of economic development, jobs and millions in revenue are motivated by greed, not by good will. In reality, they are seeking extravagant profits for themselves and are fear-mongers, not benefactors.

8. It is bad public policy to allow for-profit casino interests to write their own section of the Ohio Constitution.

Yet, this is precisely what they have done. They wrote the language in the proposed amendment and they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather signatures to place their self-serving proposal on this November’s ballot. Their language not only grants them an exclusive monopoly on casino gambling for all time, it also dramatically limits the ability of the Ohio General Assembly to regulate their activities. The amendment specifically prohibits our state government from controlling the days or hours of operation, the size of the bets or even the types of gambling that will be allowed.

The language of the constitutional amendment is frightening and has loopholes. In fact, the language states these monopolies can inflict on our citizens any type of gambling that is currently allowed in any other adjoining state or any new types of gambling these states may experiment with in the future, including live sports betting. These casino interests even dictated the maximum amount they will pay in taxes and wrote in an amount that is dramatically lower than in some of the surrounding states. Other language in the amendment creates a loophole stipulating they will not pay any taxes when cash is directly used to place the bets.

We understand that the gambling industry is well organized and well funded to exploit the current economic pain and fear experienced by so many Ohioans. Issue 3 is not about jobs. It is about altering the very fabric of our life together. That is why Ohio citizens have voted consistently and overwhelmingly against bringing predatory casino gambling into our communities each of the previous four times this has been on the ballot.

We urge every United Methodist congregation in Ohio to be a public witness against Issue 3. There is no legal prohibition against churches taking a stance on ballot issues. Please join us in this endeavor as we abide by our Social Principles and live out our Three Simple Rules – Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.

An Open Letter to my High School Class

2009-10-22T22:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Facebook, I've re-connected with some former High School classmates -- I guess that is part of what we "old people" do on Facebook.

It's been good. It's fun to see my HS class all grown up. It is strange to see us with kids, jobs, and responsibilities. I've enjoyed following the threads of sharing memories. Catching up.

As I type these words, I realize that some of my former classmates may actually read this blog (although I'm betting most of you have more to do with your time than stalk my blog!). I hope this post is not misunderstood. In fact, I hope my words ring true to you as well. I would love to hear your thoughts, either here or in my inbox.

______________________________

Dear Former Classmates of Toronto High School

Recently, I got out my HS yearbook (yeah, I was trying to figure out a friend request). It was the first time I had looked at that book, or for that matter, even deeply thought about high school in years.

And as I looked at the pictures, matching names with faces, I realized something: At the time, so many of your opinions meant so much to me (I guess that is the way high school is for a lot of people). Today, I don't remember many of your names. Some I couldn't remember at all.

I realized that I had forgotten who the HS quarterback was, and I couldn't name more than two cheerleaders. I'd forgotten who was voted class president or prom King or Queen. (I did remember Gretchen was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" but only because she was my first girlfriend and my first kiss. Come on, I was in 5th grade, I think... so I'm sure she will own up to it.) But I had forgotten who was voted "Most Popular" or "Prettiest Hair," etc.

I don't say that to be mean. In fact, I'm kind of embarrassed by it. But it WAS a realization that the particular part of my life called "high school" was actually a very small part in the overall picture, and a fairly insignificant part.

I smiled when I looked up the section of the yearbook where we voted for "Prettiest Smile," "Funniest," "Most Talented," etc. I smiled because, at the time, those things actually meant something to me. I looked at the pictures of the guys who were so popular. I looked at pictures of the girls I had huge crushes on... I remember feeling like I was on the outside most of the time.

But here's the point: In those days my classmates' acceptance of me mattered. My day would rise and fall based on their opinion of me. Opinions based, not on any substantive character issues, but on who was "in" who was "out."

That is so sad.

And now, with age and perspective... I really regret the way I saw myself and others in high school.

So I'm writing this letter to my entire class to apologize.

I'm sorry for those of you I may have excluded. I'm sorry I made you feel like others made me feel.

I'm sorry for those of you I judged, or put into a box, or stuck a label on: "stuck up," "jock," "nerd" -- whatever. We label people to control them. To categorize or even dehumanize them.

I'm sorry for the years I lost because I cared more about avoiding you, or impressing you -- rather than caring for you or impacting you.

I'm sorry I was so worried about you noticing me, that I didn't really notice you.

I suspect many of us felt "on the outside" in HS.

I suspect many of us wore masks.

How stupid we were.

If I could do it again, I would do it differently.

So I commit to trying to live that way now.

Posting soon

2009-09-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

Dear Blog

I miss you. I miss writing deep thoughts. I'm tired of posting mostly humor and video clips. I miss being vulnerable. I miss sharing my soul.

I realize that when I took you "public" that now hundreds of people read you. Your stats counter scares me. RSS readers find you whenever I post.

But I didn't create you for them. Yes, I want their interaction, I love to read their thoughts... but I don't need their approval in order to write.

I think we should meet again.

Soon.

The conclusion of it all

2009-08-20T21:00:00.001-04:00

I'm sorry.

2009-08-01T14:35:00.004-04:00

No really.

Don't watch this.

You won't get these 5 minutes of your life back.

That's just over 5 mintues. Over 300 seconds. And it's not really worth it -- watching a cartoon called, "Cows with Guns."

No really.

Dooooonnnnn't! Stop!!!!

cal

Too late. Tee Hee. I warned you.

Ian and Kelly's wedding

2009-07-24T09:41:00.001-04:00

I'm leaving right now to go officiate Ian and Kelly's wedding. Decided to change the processional.

2009-07-21T10:29:00.002-04:00

I keep finding these lists of accountability questions. I find them convicting and fascinating. First, it's not the questions are asked... in fact... I have several relationships where these kinds of questions are asked. It's the intentionality and the regularity by which they are asked.

Curious to know your thoughts.

Again, John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?

4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?

5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

8. Am I enjoying prayer?

9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?

10. Do I pray about the money I spend?

11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

12. Do I disobey God in anything?

13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

16. How do I spend my spare time?

17. Am I proud?

18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?

20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?

21. Is Christ real to me?

_____________________________

Wesley's Band Meeting Questions - these are the questions JW small groups would ask each other when they met each week.

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?

2. What temptations have you met with?

3. How were you delivered?

4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?

5. Have you nothing you desire to keep secret?

Reference: John Wesley's Class Meetings: a Model for Making Disciples, by D. Michael Henderson, Evangel Publishing House, 1997, pp. 118-9

_______________________________

Chuck Swindoll's Pastoral Accountability Questions:

In his book, "The Body," author Chuck Colson lists the questions used by Chuck Swindoll (pastor, author and Chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary).

1. Have you been with a person of the opposite sex anywhere this past week that might be seen as compromising?

2. Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?

3. Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?

4. Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?

5. Have you given priority time to your family?

6. Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling?

7. Have you just lied to me?

________________________

Neil Cole (executive director of Church Multiplication Associates)

1. What is the condition of your soul?

2. What sin do you need to confess?

3. What have you held back from God that you need to surrender?

4. Is there anything that has dampened your zeal for Christ?

5. Who have you talked with about Christ this week?

______________________

HT: Journey ten questions:

1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?

2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?

3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?

4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?

5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?

6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.

7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?

8. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune so that you might excel?

9. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?

10. Have you been completely honest with me?

Exepectations

2009-06-30T23:48:00.004-04:00

It's easier not to have any expectations than to have them and be let down constantly. That is the problem with having a vision for life... the vision so often doesn't match reality.

Is trying to figure out...

2009-06-30T16:09:00.002-04:00

How this doesn't get someone arrested. But I guess satire is protected.

And funny.

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

This isn't funny

2009-06-26T12:10:00.000-04:00

No really. So don't laugh.

A sad passing...

2009-06-20T21:42:00.001-04:00

But an honorable tribute.

John Wesley's questions

2009-05-30T14:43:00.003-04:00

Some questions Wesley (who was the founder of the Methodist Movement) would ask himself at the end of the day. He required his pastors to do the same. Might not be a bad idea for any of us.

John Wesley’s Small Group Questions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?

4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?

5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

8. Am I enjoying prayer?

9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?

10. Do I pray about the money I spend?

11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

12. Do I disobey God in anything?

13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

16. How do I spend my spare time?

17. Am I proud?

18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?

20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?

21. Is Christ real to me?

"big" Grows Up

2009-05-29T07:59:00.003-04:00

Yea, yea, yea... it's an old movie and released before many of my readers were born... yadda yadda....I'm assuming some of you may have watched it on the "Oldies" station.

But remember the movie "big?"

Remember the "chopsticks" scene?

Big grows up.

We got it right.

2009-05-07T10:32:00.007-04:00

Okay, maybe the United Methodist Church finally got it right... at least in the advertisement.

I really like this.

dad

2009-05-01T02:14:00.002-04:00

I guess I have been reluctant to write about my dad. I haven't slept well the past couple of weeks and I have been stress eating like crazy. Things that used to make me excited just feel flat.

I'm kind of a "wear my emotions on my sleeve" kind of person - transparency has never been an issue for me. But this struggle seems more private to me. It's been harder to talk about for some reason. And there is a tiredness to this season of my life that goes deep to the bone. Even to my spirit.

If you don't know, my dad has had serious health issues for the past 5 years. Slowly, I have watched his body deteriorate. Three weeks ago he had major open heart surgery (replacing a valve and repairing another). He spent the past couple of weeks in ICU struggling to recover from that surgery. And wouldn't you know, the day after they took him out of ICU, he had a stroke. He now has limited movement on his right side and has a lot of trouble getting words out. It's clear he knows what we are saying, he just can't put the words together. (This is in addition to the heart surgery and other complications.) So where most people are up and walking after 3 days, my dad is worse off now than when he went in.

To really know me is to know my family system. I'm incredibly close to my parents. My dad is, hands down, the most influential man in my life. Growing up, he was my hero. He could do anything. Fix anything. Overcome anything. He worked 30 years in the same classroom and loved every minute of it. He was loyal to his wife, his work, his friends, his family. I loved the way he loved my mom. He was my best man at my wedding. I could go on and on...

Tonight I was lying in bed trying to sleep and, for the first time, it dawned on me that I might have had my last "conversation" with my dad (as least as I knew it).

Even writing those words seem so surreal to me.

And really painful.

Growing up, dad would be teaching me something and he would say, "I know I have probably told you this before, and if so, I'm sorry. Just listen to it again. You know, when I was your age I used to get so frustrated with my dad. He would say the same thing over and over. But now, I really wish I had him around."

I guess I just want to "listen to it all again."

Rascal

2009-04-18T22:52:00.003-04:00

This has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures of Lydia. Not because it's that great of a shot (although I like it), but because it captures who she is to me.

I really love my daughter.

So sad...

2009-03-28T07:33:00.001-04:00

[sniff sniff]

Funerals are so sad.

Extreme Sheep Art

2009-03-20T08:32:00.000-04:00

(Thanks Jessica)

leftovers

2009-03-19T17:01:00.001-04:00

The problem with making a meal for everyone else is that you often live your life just eating leftovers.

The Solidarity Challenge

2009-03-10T19:56:00.003-04:00

If you are doing the Solidarity Challenge in some form, I would love to hear how it is going. Please go to our Solidarity Challenge Blog and tell us what is happening.

Photos by Matt Eich

Optical Illusion Girlfriend

2009-02-18T05:46:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, this is just REALLY funny to me.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

When Ad Agencies have too much time on their hands

2009-02-06T23:12:00.000-05:00

Cadbury Eyebrows from Nils-Petter Lovgren on Vimeo.

Haggard Update

2009-02-02T15:05:00.003-05:00

Those of you who follow this site know that I have blogged about Haggard before. I find the whole situation so interesting. Recently, Haggard was featured in an HBO special. I have seen several interviews with him in the past couple of weeks, including the one below. My take is that he actually seems to be getting perspective and maybe healing. I'm curious to know what you, my loyal readers think.

Just amazing

2009-02-01T14:50:00.003-05:00

So this is one of the most amazing, creative videos I have ever seen. I can't imagine how long this took to put together... but the I think experiencing the creativity behind it is well worth the 4 minutes you will spend watching it.

Thanks Tobias for sharing this.

We really want to know you.

2009-01-30T12:24:00.007-05:00

Dear Blog readers who are a part of the Central community.

We really need your help.

If you haven't already done so, would you take some time and take the survey that is linked on our homepage called "Spiritual Life Survey"? Please only take this if you are a part of Central (or have left within the past year). It is really, really important to us. It will take about 20-25 minutes but we believe this will help us in where this congregation is headed in the coming years.

To my RSS readers... the first link didn't work for some reason. I tried to link it directly...

Again, please only take this is you are a part of Central.

Thanks

Weight

2009-01-26T15:11:00.003-05:00

Recently I have made the decision to really work on my heath. I have tried and failed many times to lose weight... but I'm coming to a stage of my life where I feel if I don't make changes now, I never will. In addition... now it is more than a weigh thing to me. This is about my relationship to God, my family, my church and myself.

So, I have made some pretty bold moves in terms of accountability. I have a nutritionist. A doctor. A work-out plan.

And I have over 400 accountability partners.

My Central family knows that I made the decision to put my weight up on the screen each week as an ongoing accountability. It seems radical... but the changes I need to make are radical. I've also asked people to sponsor me per pound lost. (Several are doing this at $10-$20 a pound over several years! -- helps with matience!). The money is going to an intern program to develop young pastors that I'm pretty passionate about.

BTW, I would love to have you join me if you want to sponsor me!

I've been overweight pretty much all my life.

Actually, my weight has defined who I am, and how I see myself.

So I start by telling you that I'm not a guy who has a few pounds to lose. I'm a person who defines himself as "fat" and all that accompanies that three-letter word. The pain of not fitting in. Of using humor to deflect the piercing words of others. Of never feeling comfortable in my own body.

And some of you don't understand this. You have either always been thin, or you have gained a few pounds and you need to go on a diet.

But that is not me.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I see food as a "god."

I go to it to celebrate. To mourn. To get encouragement. To comfort.

I need to change the way I see food...

I need to change the way I see myself.

So if I blog about this... show my mercy. It is what God is doing on my life. And I need you, my community... to help and encourage me.

____________________

"God, show me what I was when you first dreamed of me. When your eyes saw my unformed body. When I was hidden in the secret place. I suspect I was not who I am today. And that is the person I long to be. I don't want to be more than that... for your vision for my life is sufficient. In fact, it is more than I could ever dream. Allow "redemption" to redeem all of me. God, show me who I was when you first dreamed of me."

Interesting perspective

2009-01-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Spend, spend, spend.

2008-12-26T20:33:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure that I don't agree with Fred Thompson on all the issues. I'm not sure I would have voted for him. But much of this is pretty brilliant.

Christmas Eve Heat Miser

2008-12-22T11:19:00.003-05:00

According to my iPhone weather forecast, it's supposed to be 53 degrees on Christmas Eve.

Poo.

Go away Mr. Heat Miser!

Play, the sequel (4 years later)

2008-12-20T17:19:00.005-05:00

Almost 4 years ago I wrote this post.

Go ahead, read it. I will wait.

[Waits]

You done? Good.

The other night my wife and I took our daughter sledding for the first time. It was really a spur of the moment thing. I was going to make a snowman with her in the front yard. Wrong kind of snow. So I pulled her around on a sled in our yard (which is basically flat). There is a small dip in the yard, and when she went down the dip (I thought she wouldn't like it -- she frightens easily) she giggled at the top of her lungs and yelled, "Wheee!"

The quest was on.

Now, I live in a town called, "The Plains."

No, really.

This is NOT a good name for a town when you want to go sledding. But we went over to a local church in the next neighborhood over that has a small hill behind it. Driving by, the hill hardly seems big enough to sled on. But walking up the hill with a four-year-old, the hill seemed mammoth. I had visions of her getting on the sled, going down the hill, crying and screaming -- never wanting to get on a sled ever again.

She had a ball. She loved it.

Her mom and her went first. And originally I was just going to let the two of them keep going. Two years ago I had surgery on my knee and I have been a little hesitant of anything physical ever since. I had visions of slipping or breaking the sled or whatever. Watching them sled was enough at the time. It was cold and I figured one or two trips down the hill and we would go home. But I decided, I wanted to go down with her.

I sat down on the sled and put her between my legs, shoved off and down the hill we went.

Wheeeee!

Okay, so I can't tell you how much fun I had. No really. I haven't been on a sled for over 25 years. All though my childhood, sledding was a huge part of my life. Every winter we would drag out our sleds and a bunch of us neighborhood kids would race down hills together.

And in that simple moment with my daughter, going down the hill on a sled, I was young again.

There were no financial pressures, no terrorist bombings, no Sudan, no friend with Leukemia, no leading an organization trying to make budget, no aches and pains. I was on this hill behind my house in Toronto, Ohio, racing down the street. School was canceled the next day and I didn't have a care in the world.

After multiple trips down the hill, the snow started to turn to rain, and my wife said, "We better go home." I could have gone a thousand times more. I didn't want that night to ever end.

"Just one more time, please!"

And now, like a child, I sit in anticipation of my next snow day when I can skip school and play once again.

I miss you

2008-12-13T14:32:00.002-05:00

I miss you all and I miss blogging. If you don't know, I've been having trouble with my left hand (some variant of carpel tunnel) so I have not been typing as much. But as it heal, I'm getting ready to blog again. Assuming people still have me on their RSS feeds or stop in every now and then.

Genesis 2008

2008-11-22T06:25:00.003-05:00

If the book of Genesis was a Facebook page.

"If you are a visitor with this week, this is NOT normal"

2008-11-17T13:23:00.003-05:00

I leave for the weekend. Jim's in charge... everything is fine, right?

I text him Sunday afternoon and ask him how the worship times went... how did Saturday go?

Here is the email I get on my iphone:

_________________________

last night was ok. only about 35 people though. the service seems to be shrinking. not sure why.

this morning was . . . uhmm . . . interesting. first service was fine.

second service we had a "minor disruption." i had to call the police.

seriously. probably a nice weekend to be gone and miss out on the "fun!"

talk to you soon,

j

______________________

Hummm... do I call him and find out what is going on? What do you think I did?

It's not a Central worship service until someone calls the police.

Payment

2008-11-09T23:28:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry, I have no idea if this is for real.... but I just find it hilarious. For the whole story, go here

Goodbye Fall

2008-11-08T11:55:00.002-05:00

I always miss it when you go.

More on Flickr

Anti Christ

2008-11-06T12:34:00.003-05:00

Hey, this is from Ken Schenck. I said this during my Revelation series, but this guy says it MUCH better than me! (And he was my Greek professor in seminary, so he also says it with more authority as well.)

I have NO IDEA why I'm posting this, I just thought it was interesting.

____________________________________________

The Anti-Christ

There's so much talk of Obama being the Antichrist, that I thought I might throw a couple posts that direction.

Some background:

First, this whole idea of an Antichrist comes directly from a set of pre-modern interpretations of several different passages ingeniously woven together in a pre-modern way. By pre-modern, I mean an unreflective reading that is unaware of the difference between how the text is being read and what the text originally meant.

The whole Darby-Hal Lindsey-Tim LaHaye end times scenario weaves together Scriptures from Daniel, Ezekiel, Mark 13/Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 John, and Revelation ingeniously without

1. ... recognizing that these are different books addressing different situations that use words differently from each other and refer to different times...

2. ... or that these books to a large extent were not addressing today but their own times and situations. We want to leave open the door that some of their material might be addressing today. But our default expectation is that they were actually relevant to the people for whom they were actually written.

I want to reiterate my hermeneutic. To varying degrees, the NT generally does not read the OT in context. Paul can take the story of Sarah and Hagar and say that Sarah allegorically represents the Jerusalem above and Hagar the earthly Jerusalem--when this story is located some 800 years before Jerusalem even existed as an Israelite city. Matthew can see Jesus growing up in Nazareth as a prophetic triangulation of Scriptures like "Samson will be called a Nazirite" and "A branch [nazir] will come from the stump of Jesse."

In short, a Christian hermeneutic should probably allow for strange Spiritual "reader-response" variations like LaHaye. Maybe L & Friends are right and prophetically inspired. At the same time, what I want to point out in this post and a couple more is that 1) their interpretation is vastly unaware of what these texts originally meant and 2) their interpretation is not the long standing interpretation of Christendom. For my three-fold understanding of Christian hermeneutics, see this post.

The title "Antichrist"
This morning I want to start by pointing out that there is nowhere in the Bible where a figure is called the Antichrist. The word comes from 1 John (2:18, 22; 4:3). In 1 John, the term does not refer to a solitary figure who is coming at the end of time:

2:18: "Children, it is the last hour, and even as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come."

2:22: "Who is the liar if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."

4:3: "And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus [is the Christ] is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, that you have heard is coming and is already now in the world."

The first rule of contextual (original meaning) interpretation is not to see more meaning in a verse than its original context requires. This distinguishes it from "theological interpretation" where one brings a Christian (reader-response) context to bear on the words beyond the original contexts. In this case, neither approach yields the Darbian interpretation.

So we should immediately recognize that 1 John has no teaching about a single figure in the end times who will set himself up in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem as God during a seven year tribulation. It is legitimate to ask whether the "you have heard" element of this passage maps to 2 Thessalonians 2's "man of lawlessness" or Revelation 13 and 17's "beast." But from the standpoint of contextual interpretation, we cannot just assume they are all the same figure.

So what do we notice about these passages in 1 John?

1. The likely antichrists of 1 John have to do with its situation, which we can sketch from comments scattered throughout this homily of sorts. The church in question has undergone a split in the late first century AD. A group of early Gnostics, probably Docetists (who believed Jesus only seemed to be human) have left the church. The references to antichrists more than likely refer directly to them, to people who have been dead for 1900 years.

2. The first reference, "antichrist is coming" does not have the word "the" in front, despite the as usual horribly inadequate NIV. "You have heard that antichrist is coming." The reference is not to one individual but to a type of individual, as the next sentence indicates, "Many antichrists have come."

3. Who is such an antichrist: "the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ." It would thus seem that there are a lot of antichrists in the world today. 1 John knows nothing, though, about a single Antichrist.

So ironically, the only place where the actual word "Antichrist" is used in the Bible has nothing to do with any solitary end times figure.

I might add in closing today as well that the "last hour" John is talking about was 1900 years ago. Of course a last hour can last 2000 years. In which case there have been many antichrists these last few minutes.

wow

2008-11-05T18:55:00.001-05:00

Does this scare anyone else?

Not just in the US

2008-11-04T09:57:00.001-05:00

I'm glad to know that other worlds are in this battle too.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Remember: "Paul for President!"

Last minute incentive!

2008-11-04T08:44:00.003-05:00

Lydia just told me that she would be my running mate!

She will now type her name:

Lydia

Remember, vote early, vote often!

Final Reminder

2008-11-04T07:55:00.004-05:00

No matter who you vote for today... um...just go vote for me. Remember: Paul Risler for President!

Even if you have a lapse of judgement and vote for someone other than me... just go vote. I have installed a device on my blog that will not let you read it unless you vote. It will also call you "stupid!" when you go to my homepage. Just make sure your volume is turned up.

And for those who already voted, I thank you for your support.

Yes.

2008-11-03T11:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, this is funny.

technology fast

2008-10-30T20:52:00.004-04:00

Friends. I'm on a technology fast for 4 days (until Monday night). No blog, email, cell phone, facebook, twitter, gchat... nothing. So if you don't see me around virtually, it is because I'm only reachable in person. If you need to get a hold of me... maybe a letter? Walk over to my house? Call my wife? Carrier pigeon? The options are limited. Have a great week.

Religious right...and left

2008-10-29T22:40:00.002-04:00

I honestly get uncomfortable when either party claims Jesus. But there is a shift happening in religious/political landscape that is interesting. But just to remind you... wheather you are a McCain or Obama supporter, neither of them will bring in the Kingdom of God. No my friends, that is much your responsibility as anyone's.

Dueling church signs

2008-10-29T15:25:00.003-04:00

Okay, this is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. I must say that, in my opinion, the Catholics won the sign duel: certainly in humor.

Donald Miller on Issues

2008-10-27T16:17:00.003-04:00

Donald Miller is a Christian leader and author who is publicly campaigning for Obama throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. I got these quotes from another blog -- these are his thoughts about Obama on the issues of gay marriage and abortion. I thought it was interesting.

It is also interesting that he offered this quote about McCain: "I do wish he were a Christian, or would talk about faith, Jesus, Redemption or the Cross."

I have to say that quote hit me like ton of bricks. Interestingly enough, I'm not sure I have ever heard McCain claim to be a Christian? I mean, maybe he did... but come to think about it, I'm not sure I have ever heard him mention Jesus. It's interesting that I assumed he was. (And he may be).

I'm curious to know your thoughts.

BTW, for the record: even as a pastor, the first thing I look for in a president is NOT Christian faith. I would rather have an good president who is a non-christian than a bad one who is a devout. Feel free to comment on this as well.

________________________________________________

Donald Miller on Abortion: "I am a pro-life voter, but do not believe John McCain’s plan on the issue will work. McCain’s only stand on the issue has been a recent switch to a pro-life position, and a promise to continue the attempt to criminalize abortion through the Supreme Court. I believe this is an empty promise, and anybody who understands our judicial system would know this. Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court (our most conservative Judge, many feel, and the pro-lifers greatest hope for the plan to criminalize abortion) has stated that Roe V. Wade “is the law of the land” and has been backed up in precedent by the Casey case. He does not believe it is plausible to overturn both rulings. Of course it is possible, but it would take a judicial miracle and the appointment of even more conservative, activist judges. This is the only way the overturning of Roe V. Wade will happen. The continuation of rhetoric about being pro-life but not having a realistic plan has tired me of the Republican Party. As more and more evangelicals walk away, I hope Republicans will stop giving lip-service to this important issue. My hope is they will realize they are going to lose more and more votes until they are willing to engage in a bipartisan effort to make progress with comprehensive legislation that is realistic and actual.

"The Democrats have proposed comprehensive legislation called the 95/10 initiative that aims to reduce the number of abortions that take place in this country by 95% within 10 years. While Barack Obama is a pro-choice candidate, he supports this and similar legislation. This is the only proposed and realistic strategy that can move us around the cultural impasse that is breathing hate and anger into the Christian community.

"While Barack Obama opposes late-term abortions, he has made promises to the National Organization or Women to make progress in a woman’s right to chose. I wish Obama were more strong on this issue. Still, I do feel he will accomplish more than John McCain, as John McCain has only recently taken this position and offers no legislation and no plan.

"This is a very debatable issue. There are facts on both sides that seem to refute any argument made. But I have had to do the research and take a position and, for now, this is my position."

Donald Miller on Gay Marriage: "This is not an issue I think much about because I am neither gay nor married, but I understand the evangelicals desire to protect the sanctity of marriage and define it as an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman. I agree with both candidates on this issue as they both oppose gay marriage but protect constitutional rights for domestic partners. In order to oppose civil rights for homosexuals, you would have to change the constitution which I think is dangerous. I agree with McCain and Obama both on this issue as they have stated the same position.

"On other issues that are no less important although less heated such as the economy, globalization and trade, the environment and energy, I support Barack Obama’s positions over John McCain’s."

Donald Miller on Faith: "But let me make something very clear. I don’t dislike John McCain. I think he is a good man and a drastic improvement over Republican candidates in the past. I do wish he were a Christian, or would talk about faith, Jesus, Redemption or the Cross. Barack Obama does, very often, and very unashamedly. I am uncomfortable with the idea of a truly secular man in the White House, a man who has no church, no pastor, does not read the Bible and may not even pray. John McCain seems like a good man, but a secular man. I want our next President to talk and listen to God."

Stay at home dads and marriage

2008-10-21T16:27:00.002-04:00

So....

I have some opinions on this, but I'm going to give you all an opportunity to chime in if you want.

McCain Won

2008-10-17T11:03:00.003-04:00

You may or may not think McCain won any of the debates. I feel that each debate simply reinforced the base of each candidate. But, I believe McCain won the "humor debate" hands down at the Al Smith dinner.

Each year, candidates do this kind of roast... kind of a tradition. Obama was okay. McCain was absolutely hilarious. You have to watch both parts... he actually gets funnier as it goes on. I have to say, this was really good. Really, this is well worth your time to watch.

Also, I will say his honoring Obama at the end showed real class. I was impressed.

And I LOVE the way he ended. Classic.

Prediction

2008-10-15T22:00:00.003-04:00

Today... I predict that Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

What are you trying to say?

2008-10-15T04:43:00.003-04:00

This was the gchat status line of my administrative assistant last night.

Should I be expecting a call from OSHA?

Are you for us or against us?

2008-10-14T16:59:00.002-04:00

I am within seconds of perhaps the biggest rant I have ever done on this blog. But I have to pick up my daughter, so fortunately, I will show restraint. You are welcomed to rant for me.... or perhaps you think this prayer is good?

Must.... show... restraint....

Paul for President

2008-10-14T14:30:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard, I'm choosing my cabinet. I might unveil my folks the week before the election. Give me that last minute bump.

But I found some people I want on my team:

Real priorities

2008-10-09T23:01:00.002-04:00

When I first started watching this, my initial thought was, "Okay, this really crosses the acceptable line of humor. It is in poor taste."

But it didn't take me long to catch that it is actually pretty profound if you think about it.

Gunman Kills 15 Potential Voters In Crucial Swing State

Pro-Life

2008-10-05T20:23:00.004-04:00

I'm curious, how much the "pro-life" issue (meaning the legal availability of abortion) factors into your current leaning around who you will vote for in this election? Would that issue be the only issue for you (meaning, if you disagreed with someone's foreign policy, economic policy, tax policy, etc. but agreed with you on the issue of abortion, would that be the "swing" issue for you)? How should Christians view this issue between the two candidates?

I thought this was interesting.

How does this issue make you feel about Christians and the election process?

Okay, let me set some posting ground-rules:

1. Don't be a jerk. Speak about people as you would like to be spoken about.

2. Don't make absolute statements without using I language. ("I believe... " rather than... "you are a stupid jerk if you...")

Thoughts?

I'll take 2

2008-10-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

Tee Hee

2008-10-04T11:28:00.001-04:00

I've had conversations similar to this.

And now...

2008-10-04T06:42:00.002-04:00

A word from our sponsor.

Palin's Giving

2008-10-03T22:17:00.003-04:00

I posted the Tim Steven's blog below about Biden, Obama and McCain's annual giving. Palin's tax returns were released this week and the Palins' gave 3.3% of their income in 2006 and 1.5% in 2007 (an average of 2.4% for the two years). The average American family gives about 2% of their income to charitable organizations, the average Christian gives around 2.5% (Wow, we Christians are so generous!). Honestly, given Palin's overt Christianity, I am very surprised it was that low. I expect more out of our leaders.

Vice Presidential Debates

2008-10-02T22:34:00.001-04:00

Well, what did you think? To be honest, I thought they both did a good job.

rest

2008-10-02T20:32:00.002-04:00

"Because we do not rest we lose our way... poisoned by the hypnotic belief that good things come only through unceasing determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest. And for want of rest our lives are in danger."

Wayne Muller

Interesting compairson

2008-10-02T13:08:00.003-04:00

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, I like politics. Especially the politics of a presidential election. I love the exchange of ideas, I love debate... and I love to talk with thinking people who may have strong opinions but are willing to "play" and allow themselves to be pushed. I have not done this with my Central friends (I don't believe that is appropriate given my position), but this blog is as close as I will allow myself.

Let the truth be known, I'm actually giddy about tonight's debate. I think both candidates will come in fully armed and it will be a good debate. Let's see how that goes. It is predicted to be the most-watched vice-presidential debate in history. Some are saying the most-watched debate period.

I found this on a website (taken from "Leadership Magazine.") I thought it was very interesting an and insightful and I wanted to share it with my blog friends. You are welcome to share your thoughts or just keep to yourself.

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"You can listen to every stump speech and read every position paper, but nothing compares to evaluating presidential candidates side-by-side during a debate. Their contrasting styles and views emerge in ways you hadn't noticed during the long primary season. The candidates practice their lines and prepare their strategies, but the format allows for precious moments of spontaneity and even humor. The best candidates deftly address issues in ways that lodge them in the public consciousness.

Perhaps the best example of this is President Reagan, who in 1984 famously said, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." His 56-year-old opponent, Walter Mondale, could only look on in laughter.

The first debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama provided no such memorable moments. But it did highlight important distinctions between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Namely, McCain and Obama represent key differences between modern and postmodern cultures. Analyzing their debate through this lens reveals similarities to the church's own debates about how to respond to shifting cultures.

Obama spoke with empathy about the personal effects of the current financial crisis on Main Street America. He advocated greater oversight for Wall Street. McCain, too, said he wants oversight, but he emphasized different reasons for the crisis. He spoke of individual greed and said the government needs to hold the failed executives accountable. As the debate progressed, McCain spoke passionately about members of Congress who perpetuate the "evils of this earmarking and pork-barrel spending." McCain underscored personal morals where Obama accentuated communal values.

Obama consistently drew attention to points of agreement with McCain. He credited McCain for opposing President Bush on torture, for example. By contrast, McCain chided Obama for not understanding the issues and for displaying naïveté. He perpetuated the Right vs. Left dichotomy by describing Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate. While Obama sought to build consensus, McCain pointed out their differences.

The debate's most contentious moments came when Obama reiterated his intent to "meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing, if I think it's going to keep America safe." Despite taking a political beating for this view from Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama willingly contrasted himself with McCain:

But we are also going to have to, I believe, engage in tough, direct diplomacy with Iran, and this is a major difference I have with Senator McCain. This notion--by not talking to people we are punishing them--has not worked. It has not worked in Iran, it has not worked in North Korea. In each instance, our efforts of isolation have actually accelerated their efforts to get nuclear weapons. That will change when I'm president of the United States.
"So let me get this right," McCain responded. "We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, 'We're going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,' and we say, 'No, you're not'? Oh, please."

McCain is a man of action and frank talk. Obama sees intrinsic value in engagement, which may even produce unexpected tangible consensus. You could plug in certain pastors and see the same differences.

Nationalism is a key reality of the modern world. But postmodernism prioritizes the global community. McCain hammered Obama for advocating precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, which McCain said would result in a host of horrendous consequences for America and the Middle East. He promised to seek American "victory and honor." Obama was more concerned about America's global reputation. Near the end of the debate, he shared a story about his Kenyan father writing letters so he could attend an American college. At the time, Obama said, America offered hope that hard work could pay off. "The ideals and the values of the United States inspired the entire world," Obama said. "I don't think any of us can say that our standing in the world now, the way children around the world look at the United States, is the same."

In their exchanges, Obama called McCain by his first name, drawing attention to his personality. McCain never reciprocated, indicating respect for Obama's office but not necessarily for Obama himself. This difference highlighted Obama's preference to question McCain's judgment and prudence as McCain drew attention to his own experience and record. McCain even mocked intuition and President Bush when explaining his views on Russia.

"I looked into Mr. Putin's eyes, and I saw three letters, a 'K,' a 'G,' and a 'B,'" McCain said. "And their aggression in Georgia is not acceptable behavior."

Not everything in the debate can be framed as the difference between a modern and postmodern worldview. But like our church debates, a little awareness about perspective goes a long way toward understanding. The November election's results may help church leaders gauge the mood of their own constituencies. A tougher challenge is knowing when and how to confront those cultural assumptions for our own good and for the sake of the gospel."

Does this matter?

2008-10-01T23:04:00.005-04:00

WARNING: the following post makes statements that may appear partisan. They are not to be construed as such, but rather simple observations of the political process. Quit trying to figure me out. I'm an equal opportunity offender.

"Where your treasure is, there your heart lies also."
Jesus of Nazareth

I read this a week or so ago, and (given my theology of giving) found this to be pretty disappointing. Does what one give have anything to do with how he or she would run a nation? Maybe, maybe not. But I found this very interesting.

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"Last year, Joe Biden made $320,000 in income. And yet, how much did he give to charity? He gave a whopping $995...about 1/4 of 1%.

Maybe he had a bad year? Nope, it turns out that last year he gave more to charity than any of the past ten years. Joe Biden's total giving to charity over the past ten years adds up to $3,690. That is how much a tithing family making 1/3 his salary gives every four months.

Why does this matter? Can't you run the country without giving to charity?

Maybe, but for me, this is huge. Charitable giving speaks to your belief in people. It reflects your heart and whether you truly want to help people who are less fortunate. Lack of giving reveals a selfishness and self-sufficiency. It says, "Screw the world, they are on their own." As a politician, it speaks loudly that your confidence is in big government and not in the American people. And, for someone running for political office who knows his tax returns will be made public, it shows a lack of political astuteness at best (and sheer stupidity at worst) to not think this will make a difference.

I'm not saying Biden needs to be a Christian and give money to a Baptist church to be vice president. But couldn't he find any cause to believe in? Perhaps finding a cure for cancer, helping people with the AIDS epidemic or giving money to help unwed mothers. Surely there is some cause in the world worthy of his support? Nope.

Biden's spokesman, David Wade, says that he simply "doesn't have piles of money to give." Yeah, I feel bad for him. Only $320,000 last year. Imagine if that was the attitude of every American family. Hospitals would close. Churches would cease to exist. The Red Cross wouldn't be around to help during the next disaster.

How are the other candidates doing? Barack Obama wasn't doing much better until 2005 when he began running for president. Prior to that time, his charitable giving averaged 0.9%. Since he's been running for president, it increased to 4.7% in 2005 and 6.1% in 2006. Whatever his motive, I'm glad to see it increasing.

Governor Sarah Palin has not yet released her tax returns, but I'll be watching closely. John McCain gave more than 25% of his income in 2007 to charity. He and his wife believe so much in the concept of helping others that they set up the John and Cindy McCain Foundation to help manage their charitable giving. He didn't just start doing this recently. He has given ALL of his book royalties to charity since the first book deal in 1998 (more than $1.8 million given to charity in ten years). In 1991 (yes, 17 years ago), he opposed a pay raise that the Senate voted for themselves, so he gave that pay raise to charity that year, and every year since, adding up to more than $450,000.

This stuff matters. It's not the only issue on which I'll base my vote, but it is a very big issue. And right now, I'm pretty ticked off at Joe Biden and his lack of leadership and terrible modeling."

Source: Tim Stevens: Leading Smart

Character Formation

2008-10-01T22:45:00.003-04:00

"You can't take an epidural shot to ease the pain of giving birth to character. In a sense, every day of your life is labor; the rhythmic agony of producing the person who will wake up in your body tomorrow, creating your reputation, continuing your legacy, and influencing your family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and countless strangers, for better or worse."

Brian McLaren, "Finding our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices"

An Open Letter to People with Migraines

2008-09-30T17:30:00.005-04:00

I'm sorry.

I never knew.

I'm a fairly compassionate guy. I'm empathetic by design.

I'm "intuitive" off the charts.

But honestly, when people with migraines told me they had a migraine headache, I mean...yea...I felt bad for them. But my primal reaction was, "Ah, suck it up. We've all get bad headaches. Take an Advil and get on with it."

Until today.

Today I had my first migraine.

Oh my Lord.

So, I'm honestly still a bit "fragile." I'm terrified of anything that might set this thing off (and I just looked up Migraines and I had a short one -- about 5 hours). But a few quick words:

1. To people, particularly my staff and friends, who put up with this on a regular basis, I'm so sorry. It really sucks. I hope I never find out what it is like to have this problem often. I hope and pray this is not a sign of things to come.

2. My apologies to my staff, who got the brunt of this as I was about to enter into a staff meeting (a rather important one at that) and then just lost it. Special thanks to Sue who drove me home and Jim who drove my car home. You all are the best.

3. I'm buying Betsy S. dinner to celebrate her thesis. I don't know what she is writing on exactly, but I think it has something to do with migraines. And maybe she is working to get rid of them. I LOVE you. May children everywhere rise up and call you blessed.

4. I'm sorry to Ian, who honestly, I love like a son... or at least a MUCH younger brother. He called me to ask where I was just before the staff meeting. I answered the phone and honestly was in so much pain that... well... um... I just thought really bad things about the idea of talking with you.

Let's see: I felt like someone took a sledge hammer to my head, I wanted to throw up, I was breaking in a sweat, I was stuck in traffic, behind a truck pumping out exhaust fumes, with 10,000 students crossing the road going between a long line of cars (waiting patiently for them to do so), with the sun blaring in my eyes, with construction equipment all around me rumbling and pounding -- and oh yea, my phone rings. There was almost anything else I would rather have been doing in that moment than being in that place talking on the phone.

In short, I'm sorry if you picked up on the fact that I wanted to kill you.

I really don't. I really do love you, brother.

5. To the makers of Advil. I am forever indebted to you. I will give you my first born, as right now she is yelling at the top of her lungs, "DADDY, WHERE ARE YOU?" Please come and take her now. And turn off the lights when you come in.

The interest of others

2008-09-29T20:14:00.002-04:00

From a favorite blog of mine

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Here's the quote of the day: "We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican, declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. "Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me.' "

What else could you expect from an economic system predicated on the notion that everyone acting in their own self-interests will always lead to a win/win situation. Somehow, I wonder: WWJT. What would Jesus think?

He'd think that we should put the interests of others before our own. He'd think we should put the interests of the kingdom before our own. He'd think we should live generously. He'd think we should open our homes, share our food, and care for those who can't care for themselves, and that these kinds of things should be our priorities.

We've been trying to reconcile Adam Smith and unregulated economics with the gospel for a long time. Can we please stop? What's needed is a new model where the government rewards, not self-interest, but service and sacrifice. This might be an opportunity to build a new energy and technology infrastructure. Maybe America can begins producing goods again, rather than trying to live off fabricated wealth. Maybe, but I'm not sure. If Christians, who have the very words of Christ about money refuse to altar their view of self-interest economics, how will the rest of world do?

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Feel free to share your thoughts.