a prayer for all of us
While President Obama’s speech was no doubt memorable. While many will discuss, praise, or argue over Rick Warren. An 87 year-old preacher took the stage, and it is his prayer that I will remember about today.
With a face worn by years of struggle, he spoke words delivered from a heart strengthened by hope, renewal, and living out the realization of Dr. King’s dream. He began his prayer quoting the words of the Negro National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and finished by quoting the prophets Micah and Amos.
Here is a transcript of his prayer … may it be ours too.
“God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.
We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.
For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.
And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.
Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.
Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say, Amen."
this thing called church
As of now, we are in the fifth draft of Derasha: This Thing Called Church. Derasha is a book series that I write for our community at Ridge Point. We call the books Derasha because it is the Hebrew word for discourse. Its roots are as ancient as the Prophets. This series of books is designed to promote dialogue, raise questions, and act as a subject for conversation. Our discourse is not intended to be for the purpose of dialogue alone, rather it is intended to lead us to action. Our prayer is that our discourse would lead us to act on what we have learned in the name of Jesus, for the good of the world .
Derasha is released in connection with our Mid-Week Teaching at Ridge Point. We will gather each Wednesday in The Commons at Ridge Point at 5:45 PM for dinner. We will begin our discussion at 6:30 PM. Feel free to join us for Mid-Week Teaching a place where everyone there is able to speak and be heard.
Volume 2 will be released the weekend of February 3/4 and will be available for purchase at The Source at Ridge Point. Next week I will preview the introduction of This Thing Called Church.
judging a goalkeeper
There is something that needs to be said. I am judgmental. This is hard to admit as it flies in the face of who I like to think I am. However, it is true. The only thing that comforts me is the fact that most everyone else is judgmental too (is that a judgmental statement?).
My brother-in-law roped me into playing indoor soccer. Having not played for over four years I was mildly hesitant to play, until he said that it was men’s rec league. Last night we played our third game. When I walked onto the field I saw two old acquaintances Jeremy and Christian. I have played with and against these guys in years past. To be honest, both of them are jerks. They trash talk, cheap shot and taunt their opponents.
I greeted them and chatted a little before we played. Throughout the game Jeremy would make a save in goal (he is a goalkeeper) and roll the ball out to a teammate. He never said anything to those on the opposing side. At one point I fired a shot on goal, and he made a brilliant save. He bounced back up with a smile, and said, “Nice shot bro!”
What was happening? Jeremy is a jerk. My worldview was crumbling. While it has been some four years since I last played, it has been seven or eight since I played with Jeremy or Christian. They both played hard, smiled, and complimented the opponent. They were different, yet in many ways I was the one who stayed the same.
After the match Christian said to me, “Do you remember when I used to have to take you off the field and warn you about your temper?” Christian remembered me when I was fifteen. He remembered a hot-headed teenager who once ran across the field during a dead ball, and kicked a defender as hard as he could in the knee. He smiled, put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Now you have kids … we all grow up.”
Indeed we had all grown up.
I was judging. Christian was remembering the past, and celebrating newness (probably because I did not kick him in the knee). Jeremy told me after the match that he was playing less because he was coaching his daughter’s team. Another guy I ran into told me how he and his wife had spent two years in Africa serving the poor and needy. Like me, these guys had changed.
On the way home I wondered if they thought, “Wow Michael didn’t kick anyone, curse, or lose his cool. That is amazing!” I walked out onto the field knowing how I have changed over the last fifteen years since I kicked that guy in the leg. Yet so often I keep others where they are in my memory. I judge them and at the same time exonerate myself.
On the way home I said out loud, “God thank you for allowing people to change.” So often it is easier to keep people in a category or a box so that we can be comfortable with who we are. When we grow alongside others our strengths and weaknesses tend to remain our strengths and weaknesses. The things that we would rather not recognize about ourselves are still visible.
As we left the field Jeremy, Christian, Dave and I spoke about playing together again. Glory days have long since past us by, and we are out-of-shape but we still love to play. And we will play together as a team of people who have changed and are changing.
one billion dollars
Please take a moment to send a letter your representatives and urge them to co-sign the Brownback-Durbin letter in the Senate and the Lee-Shays letter in the House of Representatives, urging Congress to fund some of the crucial poverty fighting measures that were passed in 2006.
To learn more about this bill and how it will affect those suffering from senseless poverty and AIDS or to send a letter to your rep please click here. The need is urgent, and the time for action is now.
furious pursuit: a review
Occasionally I will receive a request to review a book on my blog. I have actually never accepted an invite to do this until now. In late November I received an email from a guy named Tim King asking me to read his book and blog about it. So I thought I would give it a whirl. I was interested because I saw the words “furious pastor” and I thought it would be a treat to read some rants from an ex-pastor who was angry.
I received the book and read it all in one sitting (I had an allergy testing appointment that lasted more than three hours). Tim King and Frank Martin co-wrote the book Furious Pursuit. Both are from Colorado Springs. The first thing that struck me was that neither of these guys were angry; they were both broken and humble men writing honestly and from experience. The book begins with a story of a guy who is discouraged who asks the question, “Why doesn’t God pursue me?” I was intrigued and began to read faster through the book.
Tim and Frank do a wonderful job of telling of God’s love affair with the human race by weaving stories seamlessly together. We see this love first in the garden after Adam and Eve sin. God comes to them to find them. We see this love when God comes to Noah and Abraham. We see this love when God comes to his people in Egypt. We see the God who comes to live with his people in the desert and in Jerusalem, we see this picture of love in Jesus. The picture of God with us. We have the hope of God living with us forever.
It is this love spoken of in the Text that King and Martin do a good job of revealing in our world. So often the Bible and its message can seem distant and foreign to us. Furious Pursuit reminds us that the God of the Bible, Immanuel, still pursues men and women by moving within our world and bringing hope to us. At times the book can border on feeling “me-centered”, but if the reader can understand the intent of the authors he or she will recognize this is not the case. The authors are pointing not toward "me", rather they are revealing the loving nature of the One God.
The book is a good read, and one that I would recommend to anyone. If you are interested in reading the book for yourself, or receiving any of the materials that go along with it please visit www.timkingbooks.com. Thanks both to Tim and Frank for the opportunity to review a well written book.
hi, i'm larry
Each day when I arrive home I meet someone new. My son opens the door and tells me who he is for that day. Often he is football guy, sometimes he is basketball guy, other times he is Batman (who he believes is a bad guy), but more recently he has been Larry. Yesterday my wife took him the library and he was introducing himself to people as Larry. One person who he engaged in discussion even said, “Well goodbye Larry.”
Larry is not an arbitrary name for Myles. He knows exactly to whom he is referring. He thinks he is Larry Mullen Jr. Larry is the drummer for the band U2. Myles has taken to playing the drums lately as he watches U2 Live in Milan on DVD. He recently informed me that I am Bono (vocals), my daughter is The Edge (guitar) and my wife is Adam (bass guitar). Last night I referred to him as Myles, much to his dismay. He said, “No Bono, my name is Larry!” Bono apologized and kept singing as he danced with The Edge.
My son is only three, so we think of this kind of imaginative role playing as normal. However, if I were the one who spoke of introducing myself to people as Larry you may have concerns, with good reason. I am older, I am not supposed to do that. But if I am honest, I do pretend often to be someone else. Before you point the finger at me also realize that you do too. We all do.
There are many reasons for this I am sure. I think that many of us live in fear wondering what people will think of the real us. So we have to create masks and live in a dizzying world of acting, pretend and make believe. We are scared to reveal our dreams, desires and fears because others may well use those against us. Somewhat subconsciously we develop an outward front for others, and over time we begin to deceive ourselves. Without a second thought we tell others our name is Larry.
Self-deception is perhaps one of the most damaging things around. It is amazing how easily we can fool ourselves, and with full certainty and authenticity in our hearts we make ourselves believe the worst or best about ourselves. We build ourselves up so that we can tear others down. We beat ourselves up because at one time or another we let down someone we care about. If I can create another person the real me will never get hurt.
This kind of living is a huge step back from the design that God created. Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame. This seems to be a metaphor for more than just their bodies. They knew each other fully. They were buck naked and had no fear of being judged by the other. I am not saying that we should be naked all the time, but we need to take off the other person. We can start this by being honest with ourselves.
The next time you are in an argument. Stop and ask yourself why you are mad? Is it really about the other person, or is it about you? Just this morning I was driving to work, and the light turned green. The car in front did not move. I waited and found myself getting edgy. The person in the car then saw their blunder, and quickly accelerated. I was just about to say, “You idiot!” Then I caught myself.
I thought, “What is it about you that makes you so mad when people do things that are not directed against me or anyone?” I am confident that the person driving that car did not wake up this morning with the intent of making me angry at the light on Fuller Avenue. It is me. I began to ask myself, “What makes you edgy?” I prayed and thought through the things inside of me that are solely focused on me. What a lonely existence! Living with myself in the center.
The bottom line is we need to stop being a bunch of Larry’s, and be who we are created to be. This begins by being honest with yourself.