Just the other day, I went into LifeWay Christian book store, which is a rare thing for me. Those kinds of places tend to frustrate me with their phoniness. Anyway, I went in to find a biography on either William Carey, Hudson Taylor, C.T. Studd, or John Wesley. I couldn't find any. When I asked the guy (probably about my age) if they carried any famous missionary biographies, he zealously brought me biographies on Tony Dungy, Sarah Palin, and Jerry Falwell... Really, really, really not what I was looking for. Like, really. No offense Tony (get it?!?!?), but I don't think you're yet on the same level as the greatest doctrinal thinker since the apostle Paul. I was just in shock that the heroes of the faith have been replaced by pop-stars. Tisk Tisk, LifeWay.
Love,
Steve
Friday, November 6, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Thoughts on Ungratefulness and Entitlement
Think about the complexity of electricity. Right now, I’m watching a football game. In this football game, electricity is being used to light the field, allow the head coach to talk to the offensive coordinator, and run all of the cameras. The cameras are linked through hundreds of connections to ESPN’s main station in Connecticut which then connects to thousands of miles of wires spanning the entire length of the country to my television, which is also powered by electricity. In my case, the electrical power running my television is being generated at a nuclear power plant about twenty miles from my hotel room. That power plant (I can attest) is a very complicated beast with thousands of control systems and hundreds of people working around the clock to generate power. That power is then routed to distribution lines, which are themselves very complicated. All of this happens without any of us giving it a second thought. The only time we recognize electricity is when it stops working. It may be a stretch on the metaphor, but I think we tend to view the God of the universe in the say shallow way.
It really does shock me that mankind has the tenacity to think of God in such small measures as we do. God is intimately involved with every day life. People often ask, “where is God?” as if the absence of massive blessings in their life somehow proves that God doesn’t care. Meanwhile, we forget (or never knew) that God gifted you with the last breath you just took. I think that the error in our thinking mostly comes from a false sense of entitlement. What are people inherently entitled? Health? Money? Air? The answer is simple: If you think secularly (as in, without God in mind), then people are just people…neutral to claiming things inherently deserved or owed. If you think spiritually, then people are owed punishment for their constant rebellion against God. In either view, the presence of good things is more than we deserve (what Christians call blessings or mercy). Instead of praising God for all the blessings, we all live and think like an ungrateful thirteen year-old kid with the world’s best parents. It doesn’t matter how many good things exist in our lives, we still get hostile when we’re not given the one blessing that we wanted or thought that we deserved, regardless of the fact that we don’t deserve ANY of the previous million blessings. How wicked. With this view in mind, is God unjust when your health fails? No, rather he is incredibly merciful when your health doesn’t fail. Instead of critiquing God for withholding one blessing out of millions, why are we not praising God for the millions? This is the ultimate blasphemy for which we are all guilty.
It’s kind of hard to not stand in awe when you truly realize how dependant you are on God.
It really does shock me that mankind has the tenacity to think of God in such small measures as we do. God is intimately involved with every day life. People often ask, “where is God?” as if the absence of massive blessings in their life somehow proves that God doesn’t care. Meanwhile, we forget (or never knew) that God gifted you with the last breath you just took. I think that the error in our thinking mostly comes from a false sense of entitlement. What are people inherently entitled? Health? Money? Air? The answer is simple: If you think secularly (as in, without God in mind), then people are just people…neutral to claiming things inherently deserved or owed. If you think spiritually, then people are owed punishment for their constant rebellion against God. In either view, the presence of good things is more than we deserve (what Christians call blessings or mercy). Instead of praising God for all the blessings, we all live and think like an ungrateful thirteen year-old kid with the world’s best parents. It doesn’t matter how many good things exist in our lives, we still get hostile when we’re not given the one blessing that we wanted or thought that we deserved, regardless of the fact that we don’t deserve ANY of the previous million blessings. How wicked. With this view in mind, is God unjust when your health fails? No, rather he is incredibly merciful when your health doesn’t fail. Instead of critiquing God for withholding one blessing out of millions, why are we not praising God for the millions? This is the ultimate blasphemy for which we are all guilty.
It’s kind of hard to not stand in awe when you truly realize how dependant you are on God.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
10 Year Life/Ministry Strategy
“Let’s quit and go be missionaries.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve uttered these words, usually after a go-get-‘em sermon or conference. We’ve all been there. As young followers of Christ, we often have more drive than direction, stones than strategy. It took me a really long time to accept my initial calling as a “normal” engineer. After living the last five years in a Christian community and being surrounded by people who are all trying to serve the Lord, I’m convinced that being a believer in a secular workplace is a more difficult ministry than most others for a number of reasons. I don’t say these things to boast in a “higher calling” or even to receive pity. I’m really just making some notes of things to be cautious of for myself, as well as others who are in a similar place. Here are just a few observations of Christian strategy in the work place that I’ve made over the past six weeks (which I understand is a laughable amount of time to claim as experience).
1. Fight the people pleasing attitude – Matthew 10:22 “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” How do I see this playing out in my daily work? Don’t compromise beliefs for peace. I’ve already seen a few instances of guys being hated, but ultimately respected for doing the right thing when it wasn’t convenient. This scares me because I know my tendency to try to please people.
2. Be accepting, but not condoning of normal behavior – I’m just going to be honest here. I’ve already failed at this one. I have people that I work pretty closely with that speak endlessly about sex. Not wanting to sound judgmental, I’ve listened and laughed without making any attempt to end the conversation (one sided as it may be). I’ve been asked several times if I’ve “hooked up” with anyone in town yet, to which I simply answer, “no” instead of telling them the deeper truth, which is that I’ve hooked up with everyone in town…just kidding, the real truth is that I’m not even trying because I’m a follower of Jesus. I have professed to be a Christian, but everyone is a “Christian” around here, so that’s not really saying much unfortunately. I’m actually trying to work the word Christian out of my vocabulary for that reason. You may disagree with that strategy, but the word Christian has so many unwanted implications that I think a name change to follower of Christ would at least cause people to make a distinction, as well as give a better definition. Romans 10:9 “…If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” There is something freeing about confessing that you have given you life over to be transformed and used by God. I suppose it’s the same kind of rush a streaker gets out of running across a baseball field during the seventh inning stretch. The freedom comes from knowing that it’s all out there for the world to judge. Steve, stop now, please. Just move on to your next point.
3. Actions speak louder than words, but words must be spoken – Rom 10:14 “…And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” There are too many people in this world trying to be Christ followers without ever speaking the good news to anyone. They believe a quiet life of morality and good works will bring the world to faith. While morality and good works must be present in a follower of Christ, speaking the truth must also be a common activity. I have heard it said by multiple believers that evangelizing is worthless because there is no way to properly explain the infinite and all knowing in finite terms. True, articulating Christ in terms that properly emulate his character is indeed impossible. However, this logic is unbelievably faulty because Christ (that infinite and all knowing figure that was mentioned) commanded us to speak. Follow the new set of logic: Not speaking the truth (even if it is impossible to convince others of said truth) is a conscious decision to reject the knowledge of an all-knowing God. Stated more bluntly, not following the commands of Christ is stating that your finite logic is more trustworthy than Christ’s infinite understanding of the world as HE created it. How ignorant. Truth must be spoken, even if it seems completely useless.
4. Don’t forget your first love – I’ll admit, the things mentioned above are possible by shear determination, but that’s not the heart of God. If you’ve been a believer very long, you’ve probably tried to be kind, be moral, or witness by your own strength. My experience says that using your own strength doesn’t last long. You almost always end up dejected. Instead, continually step off your throne so that Christ may take his place. Christ doesn’t promise that this will feel good. Someone pointing out your inadequacies usually doesn’t, but the true Christian life isn’t about feeling good, contrary to popular belief. It’s about acknowledging the God of the universe as such, which often means acknowledging his ways over your own.
With that said, I’ve decided that it is entirely possible to be a useful follower of Jesus in the workplace. With that knowledge, I’ve made a ten year plan to become closer to Jesus and better at my job (I no longer see them as mutually exclusive). They are:
Take the FE/EIT exam – this is a test that all engineers must take in order to get their PE (professional engineer) certification. There is a five year period after the exam when you need to gain experience before getting your PE, but this is the first step. The way I see it, if God calls me into overseas mission work in the future, professional engineers don’t need insurance to practice and thus, don’t need a large company to ensure them. Most “creative access” engineers are PEs.
Learn French – Why? I’ve felt a strange inkling towards France for almost four years. I was sent there just over a year ago, and I figure that there may be some larger reason why God brought me to a company owned by the French government…maybe.
Start/Possibly complete a MS degree - I learned to love academics in college. Call me a huge nerd if you must, but I’m really interested in engineered materials. Of course, that would also help in my job a lot (plus my Co. would pay for it).
Smaller goals:
- get more involved in my church (starting to happen)
- visit friends (a must)
- sell my motorcycle (anyone interested?)
- end this blog (done)
In Christ,
Steve
1. Fight the people pleasing attitude – Matthew 10:22 “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” How do I see this playing out in my daily work? Don’t compromise beliefs for peace. I’ve already seen a few instances of guys being hated, but ultimately respected for doing the right thing when it wasn’t convenient. This scares me because I know my tendency to try to please people.
2. Be accepting, but not condoning of normal behavior – I’m just going to be honest here. I’ve already failed at this one. I have people that I work pretty closely with that speak endlessly about sex. Not wanting to sound judgmental, I’ve listened and laughed without making any attempt to end the conversation (one sided as it may be). I’ve been asked several times if I’ve “hooked up” with anyone in town yet, to which I simply answer, “no” instead of telling them the deeper truth, which is that I’ve hooked up with everyone in town…just kidding, the real truth is that I’m not even trying because I’m a follower of Jesus. I have professed to be a Christian, but everyone is a “Christian” around here, so that’s not really saying much unfortunately. I’m actually trying to work the word Christian out of my vocabulary for that reason. You may disagree with that strategy, but the word Christian has so many unwanted implications that I think a name change to follower of Christ would at least cause people to make a distinction, as well as give a better definition. Romans 10:9 “…If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” There is something freeing about confessing that you have given you life over to be transformed and used by God. I suppose it’s the same kind of rush a streaker gets out of running across a baseball field during the seventh inning stretch. The freedom comes from knowing that it’s all out there for the world to judge. Steve, stop now, please. Just move on to your next point.
3. Actions speak louder than words, but words must be spoken – Rom 10:14 “…And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” There are too many people in this world trying to be Christ followers without ever speaking the good news to anyone. They believe a quiet life of morality and good works will bring the world to faith. While morality and good works must be present in a follower of Christ, speaking the truth must also be a common activity. I have heard it said by multiple believers that evangelizing is worthless because there is no way to properly explain the infinite and all knowing in finite terms. True, articulating Christ in terms that properly emulate his character is indeed impossible. However, this logic is unbelievably faulty because Christ (that infinite and all knowing figure that was mentioned) commanded us to speak. Follow the new set of logic: Not speaking the truth (even if it is impossible to convince others of said truth) is a conscious decision to reject the knowledge of an all-knowing God. Stated more bluntly, not following the commands of Christ is stating that your finite logic is more trustworthy than Christ’s infinite understanding of the world as HE created it. How ignorant. Truth must be spoken, even if it seems completely useless.
4. Don’t forget your first love – I’ll admit, the things mentioned above are possible by shear determination, but that’s not the heart of God. If you’ve been a believer very long, you’ve probably tried to be kind, be moral, or witness by your own strength. My experience says that using your own strength doesn’t last long. You almost always end up dejected. Instead, continually step off your throne so that Christ may take his place. Christ doesn’t promise that this will feel good. Someone pointing out your inadequacies usually doesn’t, but the true Christian life isn’t about feeling good, contrary to popular belief. It’s about acknowledging the God of the universe as such, which often means acknowledging his ways over your own.
With that said, I’ve decided that it is entirely possible to be a useful follower of Jesus in the workplace. With that knowledge, I’ve made a ten year plan to become closer to Jesus and better at my job (I no longer see them as mutually exclusive). They are:
Take the FE/EIT exam – this is a test that all engineers must take in order to get their PE (professional engineer) certification. There is a five year period after the exam when you need to gain experience before getting your PE, but this is the first step. The way I see it, if God calls me into overseas mission work in the future, professional engineers don’t need insurance to practice and thus, don’t need a large company to ensure them. Most “creative access” engineers are PEs.
Learn French – Why? I’ve felt a strange inkling towards France for almost four years. I was sent there just over a year ago, and I figure that there may be some larger reason why God brought me to a company owned by the French government…maybe.
Start/Possibly complete a MS degree - I learned to love academics in college. Call me a huge nerd if you must, but I’m really interested in engineered materials. Of course, that would also help in my job a lot (plus my Co. would pay for it).
Smaller goals:
- get more involved in my church (starting to happen)
- visit friends (a must)
- sell my motorcycle (anyone interested?)
- end this blog (done)
In Christ,
Steve
Sunday, July 26, 2009
God is Food and Food is Good
Hypothetical situation:
A man walks up to Steve and asks, "What is the greatest commandment." Without hesitation Steve replies, "Be fruitful and multiply. The second is like it, kill and eat."
This heretical situation came to mind as I was savoring a 12 oz, farm fresh steak with potatoes, sweet corn, and lots of melted butter. If God is after the heart, and the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and God made all food, then shouldn't every meal make me love God more? Well, this one did. Just thought I should share.
A man walks up to Steve and asks, "What is the greatest commandment." Without hesitation Steve replies, "Be fruitful and multiply. The second is like it, kill and eat."
This heretical situation came to mind as I was savoring a 12 oz, farm fresh steak with potatoes, sweet corn, and lots of melted butter. If God is after the heart, and the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and God made all food, then shouldn't every meal make me love God more? Well, this one did. Just thought I should share.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Update #2 - adventures in hotel living
When you've spent the last seven days in three different hotels (as I have) your need for survival tends to push aside that little voice in your head whispering, "Don't wash your underwear in the sink." I've spent nearly every night digging through my Uhaul attempting to find another nice shirt to wear to work the following day, impulsively checking my email every three minutes, and watching reruns of "the Deadliest Catch." Cooking has been the most interesting of my hotel living adaptations. I started out just eating microwaved meals until...Ooops, my reservation was only through Tuesday. Now I'm in a much classier hotel than the previous two. Unfortunetely, the classiness of the hotel didn't come without a loss. This room is without the capacity to heat or cool food and drink. Don't worry though. I can improvise with the best of them.
An ice box is really just a tiny, damp refrigerator...right?
...and coffee pots are nothing more than a glass cup on top of a hot plate. Yes, those are pancakes.
An ice box is really just a tiny, damp refrigerator...right?
...and coffee pots are nothing more than a glass cup on top of a hot plate. Yes, those are pancakes.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Update #1
Hey Friends,
In the wee hours of Thursday morning I hopped in my truck and drove trans-Appalachia to my new home of Lynchburg, Va. Well, I can’t officially call it home until I have an actual home. Currently, the extended stay hotel off of University Ave. is where I’m taking sanctuary. I’m looking into the historic downtown district of Lynchburg. However, the landlord at my potential complex, “takes every opportunity he can to close the office,” said Neil, a tenant taking his smoke break out in front of the building. I guess the week before July 4th qualifies as a good opportunity to leave tenants out in the rain. So instead of sulking in self pity, I decided to make the most of my freedom. I’ve spent the majority of the day today (Friday) walking around downtown Lynchburg, looking at other loft apartments, furniture shopping at antique stores, reading in the local coffee shop (where this post is being drafted), and getting lost all over town (comes later). My arrival in Lynchburg is bitter-sweet. Mostly bitter at the moment, but I can see the potential for sweetness (end metaphor now). So last night I drowned my sorrows with a healthy dose of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Tonight, I’ll be preparing myself for work on Monday by ironing shirts, reading tech journals, and practicing my “Thriller” moves (too soon?). I miss everyone a lot, and it was pretty hard to leave family, but I’m actually pretty steady at the moment. I’ll just feel better once I find a place to put all my junk.
War memorials – From my vast experience in Virginia, this state is the most patriotic state without supporting the idea of a unified country. The civil war happened a few weeks ago as far as most are concerned.
Downtown – The downtown area is really nice. However, not too many people take advantage of this niceness. There are a lot of shops and restaurants, but I think some might be closing soon if the crowd doesn’t flock. It’s also cool to see 100+ year structures. We have those in northern Illinois too, but these are different…they’re Virginian.
Stock Points – The weather is quite nice. As you can see, it’s -223.32 degrees virgineit. I’m sure I’ll come to understand their systems of measurement and manure of speaking.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning I hopped in my truck and drove trans-Appalachia to my new home of Lynchburg, Va. Well, I can’t officially call it home until I have an actual home. Currently, the extended stay hotel off of University Ave. is where I’m taking sanctuary. I’m looking into the historic downtown district of Lynchburg. However, the landlord at my potential complex, “takes every opportunity he can to close the office,” said Neil, a tenant taking his smoke break out in front of the building. I guess the week before July 4th qualifies as a good opportunity to leave tenants out in the rain. So instead of sulking in self pity, I decided to make the most of my freedom. I’ve spent the majority of the day today (Friday) walking around downtown Lynchburg, looking at other loft apartments, furniture shopping at antique stores, reading in the local coffee shop (where this post is being drafted), and getting lost all over town (comes later). My arrival in Lynchburg is bitter-sweet. Mostly bitter at the moment, but I can see the potential for sweetness (end metaphor now). So last night I drowned my sorrows with a healthy dose of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Tonight, I’ll be preparing myself for work on Monday by ironing shirts, reading tech journals, and practicing my “Thriller” moves (too soon?). I miss everyone a lot, and it was pretty hard to leave family, but I’m actually pretty steady at the moment. I’ll just feel better once I find a place to put all my junk.
War memorials – From my vast experience in Virginia, this state is the most patriotic state without supporting the idea of a unified country. The civil war happened a few weeks ago as far as most are concerned.
Downtown – The downtown area is really nice. However, not too many people take advantage of this niceness. There are a lot of shops and restaurants, but I think some might be closing soon if the crowd doesn’t flock. It’s also cool to see 100+ year structures. We have those in northern Illinois too, but these are different…they’re Virginian.
Stock Points – The weather is quite nice. As you can see, it’s -223.32 degrees virgineit. I’m sure I’ll come to understand their systems of measurement and manure of speaking.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A Glimpse of Heaven
The last few days have been out of this world. I had fourteen of my closest friends come to Chicago for the long weekend. There were dozens of times over the past few days when I simply looked around and praised God for my friends. We ate some great food, walked dozens of miles, laughed harder than I have in a long time, and just sat and enjoyed each other. I never thought I could care so deeply for a group of people (other than my family) than I do about these people. My heart was so full at times that it ached with joy. As I look back over the weekend I’ve realized a few things. I’ve realized that my friendships have already changed without me realizing it. I can’t just go over to Ben and Emily’s apartment at the drop of a hat, or call up Chase to pick me up when my bike breaks down. But even though my friendships have changed, I know more so now than I did before that they will last. The crazy part is that while I am sad that there is distance between us, there is a hope in me that can only be present with the Spirit of God. My second realization was that that hope is based on the little glimpses of God that He allows us to see. This weekend, I saw a glimpse of God’s glory so bright that it made me wonder if I could even withstand the joy felt in heaven without melting.
For God says through his prophet Isaiah,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
My weekend experience was nothing in comparison to the things that God has prepared for my brothers and sisters. “No eye has seen…”
Man…that gives me chills.
For God says through his prophet Isaiah,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
My weekend experience was nothing in comparison to the things that God has prepared for my brothers and sisters. “No eye has seen…”
Man…that gives me chills.
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