I have P.M.S.

I preached yesterday about Jesus' invitation to each of us: "Follow Me". I love communicating and teaching, but it seems like every Monday morning after a sermon, I have some sort of spiritual hangover. I call it PMS (Post Message Syndrom). I'm not sure why it happens, but I suppose it makes sense. Whenever we pour ourselves into anything (whether it's a sermon or some other type of intense project), we're bound to be emotionally and physically drained after the task is completed and the adrenaline has worn off. Maybe this is one of the reasons why Jesus often secluded Himself after sermons and intensive times of teaching around large groups. I'm sure the physical and emotional sides of Him experienced fatigue just like the rest of us. I suppose it's just part of being human.

What I think about Joel Osteen

For some reason, people ask me all the time what I think about Joel Osteen. "He has pretty teeth" is my most common response, but then they press me to critique his theology and approach since he has become the voice of Christianity to the masses and (in many ways) our ambassador to unchurched people everywhere. He has taken much criticism for his "health and wealth" style of preaching, but the fruits of him ministry are undeniable. I hate to presume to "critique" a fellow pastor (especially one whose impact is roughtly one trillion times that of my own), but in fairness to all of you who have questioned me on this, I now feel compelled to record a few thoughts on the issue. Here are my candid thoughts on Joel taken verbatim from an email I sent as a response to a question on Joel and his brand of preaching...

These are tough issues, because the message of “abundance/health/wealth” is so intoxicating and attractive. In some ways, I feel that God uses people like Joel (whom I believe to be sincere) to make Christianity attractive to unbelievers and baby Christians. In the same way, the reality that I create for my toddlers has more candy and fluff than real life will when they reach adulthood, but it’s all they can understand at the time so their sense of reality isn’t so much “untrue” as much as it’s just immature. In the Kingdom of Heaven, I see Joel as the Kindergarten teacher. We need good, uplifting, encouraging Kindergarten teachers (and Lord knows we have plenty of Kindergarten Christians). The problem arises when people stay in Kindergarten. We are called to continuous growth and the more we mature in Christ, the less we will be fueled by abundance for our own personal pleasure and the more we will become concerned about abundance for the sake of reaching others with the life-changing message of Christ who is greater than any material treasure we could ever imagine.

Toddlerhood

As most of you know, I have two precious little boys who (along with their hot mother) are the light of my life. They can be such angels, BUT there is a dark side. I don't know how it happens or why it happens, but seemingly without provocation, these sweet little angels can become holy terrors. I wasn't 100% sure that demon possession still happened until I had a toddler. Now, I'm positive that it does-I've seen it first hand. It happens most often when we're exiting "Chucky Cheese", but it can also strike without warning anytime and anywhere.

The bad news is...I'm not much of an exorcist, because the episodes seem to continue. I guess the cliche is true: Pastors' kids are the worst! I have found that these tantrums can be controlled. Just as a bit advice to anyone who is in my same hectic season of life, I've found ice cream to be the toddler-exorcism-equivalent to holy water. It seems to work every time. Just make sure you've always got ice cream on hand and the toddler demons can be stopped. Sure, you might end up with a chubby toddler, but it beats the alternative (a demon-possessed toddler).

Old Dudes who could beat me up

Have you heard about this guy? If not, let me introduce you to Buster Martin who is training to become the world's oldest marathon runner. He's 101-years-old and he still works as a plumber in London, England. On top of his running and toilet fixing, he's managed time to have 17 children. Yes my friends, generations of people will have Viagra to thank for their existence.



The world seems to be full of old guys who could beat me up. After watching the new Rambo movie ("Rambo Fights Arthritis"), I realized that even though Stallone has had a lot of work done and help from substances that would have gotten him banned from pro baseball, he's still darn close to a hundred years old and he could rip my arms off and beat me with them. These crazy buff old dudes are just making me feel pretty lazy, so I think I'm going to the gym.

I got ripped off...but I'm not that mad.

Today was a really tough day. Ashley and I have been trying to reorganize our finances so that we can get completely out of debt which has caused some major changes. One of these changes was to sell my gas-guzzling old Ford Explorer and buy something more fuel-efficient. Last week, I did just that. I bought a 95 Toyata Corolla from a guy named Bob (his real name is Scott, but to protect his anonymity, we'll call him "Bob"). Bob and his wife seemed like nice folks and I'm a big fan of Toyotas ever since I worked two summers at the Toyota plant in Kentucky.

This seemed like a good deal until...the car exploded on me before I could even get it home. Literally, the engine was shooting out oil and smoke like a volcano. After a week of mechanics and carpooling, the prognosis finally came in and it was completely bleak. I had a lemon. I got in touch with Scott to tell him and at first he seemed very receptive to refunding my money (which we desperately need to purchase another vehicle). I found out just a few hours ago that he won't be refunding my money and I'm stuck with this car that I'm going to try to sell to a junk yard.

I've been through the whole range of emotions with this deal and I've had some extensive heart-to-heart conversations with God about this. My first response was sadness followed by rage followed by disappointment followed by confusion followed by that sick feeling in your stomach you get after you've been kicked in the testicles. After all of that, I just simply asked God what He was doing in all of this, and He gave me a good reply.

First of all, He reminded me that He is my provider and that I don't need to freak out over a couple thousand dollars (even if I don't know how in the world I'm going to ever buy another car). He also reminded me that He is in control even thought we live in a fallen, sin-stained world where all of us have a very selfish nature made pure only through Him. Finally, He reminded me how much He loves Scott and his wife and his precious little girl and how much He desires to have a relationship with them that will bring purpose to their lives and give them life for all eternity. My prayer in this is that through our collective prayers, God will draw this family to Himself. If that happens, then I would gladly pay $2000 many times over (even though I don't have it to pay) to see souls come to Christ. In the end, that's all that will matter.

Money: The Greatest of Servants. The Poorest of Masters..

Money. Why has it become a dirty word in the church. I think that we Christians are so quick to forget that Jesus talked more about money than He did about Heaven and Hell combined. He knew (as He knew all things) that there was no greater indicator of a person's priorities than how they spend their money. We can be quick to give Jesus our heart as long as He keeps His hands off our wallets. We might think we know our priorities, but all we need to do to be sure is to look at our credit card statements and our checkbook registeries. The numbers don't lie. The are a very accurate indication of the condition of our hearts ("Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".)

Marty preached a powerful sermon on stewardship a few weeks ago and the CBS Early Show was there to do a story on it. Marty did a great job (as always) and I believe God was honored by the refreshing Truth that was shared on this very complex issue. Check out the video clip and decide for yourself.

Heaven just got more exciting. Earth just got worse.

Friends, today was a tragic day. Cindy Lytle who for years has been "the smiling face of Stevens Creek Church" was killed this morning in an automobile accident on her way to the church. She has served as the church secretary for many years, lit up the stage with her musical and acting abilities, and warmed the hearts of thousands with her authentic warmth and brilliant wit. She has left a void that no one can fill and our hearts grieve, but even in our grief, we know that she is in a much better place.

I can only imagine the reception she is receiving right now as the saints gather round to hear her hilarious commentaries on everything that's been happening here on Earth. This is an unspeakable loss for us, and yet, we can't help but smile as we reminisce on how much she brightened our world with the brief time that God allowed her to be ours. An we know, of course, that this isn't really "Goodbye". We're so thankful to serve a Savior who has conquered death, so death is never the end. We miss you Cindy, but we'll see you again.