Housetraining Father Murphy

I grew up with dogs and I've wanted one for years, but my wonderful wife was never so excited about it as she did not grow up with dogs and she likes her house to be in order. Puppies and houses in order do not go together very well! But, alas, on my last birthday she surprised me and told me that she was getting me a dog. I was completely shocked, but thrilled. After spending a lot of time looking at rescuing a dog, we still ended up getting a little Westie (West Highland White Terrier) from a breeder. I decided to call him Father Murphy because of all the Irish jokes that I've heard that started, "And so Father Murphy went into a pub." (Never mind that Westies are Scottish!)

Of course, the first order of business is to housetrain the puppy. Remember what I said about the house being in order! Even though I've been around dogs a lot in my life, I've never actually had to completely housetrain one. I always thought that it looked easy enough with the basic idea that you just keep taking him outside to go and when he does you praise him. Eventually he gets the idea that going outside is a great idea and going inside is a bad one. Sounds easy, right?

Well here we are almost a month into the whole ordeal and ole Father Murphy just took another leak on my bedroom floor after just having done the same thing outside a half hour before. Every time that we think that he is getting it we are clearly shown that he does not quite get it just yet. My wonderful wife is basically at the point that she thinks that he never will get it.

Of course, this does remind me of ourselves in relation to God. As a pastor I'm constantly trying to work with people spiritually and just when I think that they are getting it then they take a leak on my bedroom floor. Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. And then I think to myself, "Will they ever get it?" How self-righteous of me! I think that way and completely ignore the fact that I'm not getting it either; as if I've got it all together.

When we see people we must see them for who they are, and that is loved by God and made in his image. I don't have it all figured out and neither do you and we won't unless we have Jesus and then one day we'll be in glory. Then it will all come together. Not because I finally figured out, but because God finished the work in me that he had started from before the foundation of the world.

The Michael Scott Syndrome

Probably the funniest show on TV today is The Office that is on NBC. Everyone who has ever worked in corporate America will say that they know people like the characters that are on the show and that is what makes it so funny. But I say, as someone who thankfully has never worked in corporate America, that we all have known people like that. The guy who stands out for me is Michael Scott played by Steve Carrell.

Michael is the branch manager for Dunder Mifflin, a paper company. Michael is one of those guys that is so socially awkward that it actually pains you to watch him interact with people at times. And yet at the same time he will occasionally come out with something so kind and innocent that endears you to him.

The problem that Michael has is that he is completely insecure about who he is that as a result he is constantly trying to put out a different personality that he thinks people will like. He thinks that if he is just funny and "cool" that people will like him and respect him. However, what happens instead is that people think he's an idiot. We all know people like this and they suffer from the "Michael Scott Syndrome."

I had a friend growing up that suffered from the "Michael Scott Syndrome." As a matter of fact, I used to use his name for this syndrome and quite frankly I'm glad to use another name. Let's call him "Joe." The problem my friend Joe had, and may still, is that he was incredibly insecure about his own personality and so he traded his personality for another. Joe thought that no one would like him for himself and so he was always trying to put out this really "cool" personality that was so fun. The irony is that no one liked this alternate personality and they hated to be around him. Since I had grown up with him I knew that this was not the Joe that I knew and so I put up with it, but others did not know that. If only he could be secure in his actual personality then so many more people would have been his friend because Joe's real personality was a lot of fun.

Everyone knows what's it like to be insecure about themselves. No matter how secure someone seems they have many insecurities that they struggle with. As a pastor I hear the stories all the time and often I get to see the real person and I really like the real person. So how can we learn to be secure in ourselves? Ironically the answer is by finding our identity in something other than ourselves.

The answer is finding our identity in Jesus. Now I know that some of you will think that is so completely idiotic, but I really believe it. Before I had Jesus I completely looked to how well I would make things happen or how much people like me. I'm not saying that I don't care about those things anymore, but they have greatly diminished over the years as I have rested in Christ for my identity. And as I have rested in Christ for my identity it frees me to be the very person that God has already designed for me to be.

What do you think? Where does your identity come from?

40 Days of Prayer - Commitment

4Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
Psalm 37:4-5

I will never forget the first time that I saw the speech of Gen. George S. Patton from the movie Patton (censored, of course!). I can still see George Scott playing Patton and standing in front of the American flag telling his men why they are going to go out and fight in that war. For those of you who are too young, maybe it was the time that William Wallace in Braveheart was inspiring the Scots to fight for their freedom. Either way, we know that feeling we get when someone comes out and inspires us with their words. We know that feeling that we get when there is nothing that could stand in the way of our good cause no matter how great the cost. We stand together, shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight, ready to do what we need to do. The only problem is that eventually we forget. We forget the speech and we forget the cause and all we seem to be able to remember is the cost.

How do we take what we’ve received from these forty days of prayer and transfer it into actual action? How do we take what God has been teaching us and moving in us and actually use it to reach the people of Albuquerque, indeed the people of the world? How do we take the inspiration from the training field and bring it to the battle field? It is only when we take action that we make a commitment.

For each person that commitment will be somewhat different. For some it is their role in certain ministries like the Storehouse. For some of the men going through officer training it will be as an elder or deacon. For some it will be giving of their financial resources to serve the church in that way. Whatever role that we take on, and in most cases it is several roles, it is important that we make a commitment and stick to it. We must remember the vision that God has given to us for reaching this city and be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder in seeing it through.

At many times have we found ourselves at a crossroads which is what makes our name so appropriate. I believe that we are at another such crossroads. This past Spring we have seen growth and new excitement happening at Crossroads, but it is time to take it to the next level and trust in God for what He will do. Will you join with us? Will you join the fight and make the commitment to the future of Crossroads Fellowship?

40 Days of Prayer - Ministries

40 Days of Prayer
Ministries

Ephesians 4:11-16
11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

How do you love somebody? And how can someone know that they are loved? In our culture there are lots of ideas on how best to do that and know that. There are songs that tell you that it’s in a kiss. There are movies that indicate that it’s just some nebulous feeling. And there are buddies that tell you that it’s all in the looks. The problem is that kisses, feelings, and looks are all fleeting and will one day be gone. Love is more of an action than it is a feeling. At Crossroads we seek to love people and to love them in real ways no matter their situation or how much it is “deserved.” We do this because we are driven by the gospel and it is the gospel that tells us that it was Jesus that loved us by dying on the cross for us. His love was demonstrated primarily in his actions and not just in his words. How can we love people in our actions?

We love people through our ministries; that is the point of them. It is not a race of trying to have more programs than the “other guys,” but rather finding ways that we can love more and more people in deeper ways. Whether it be teaching our children, handing out a foodbag to a homeless person, giving away a bike to those in need, or gathering in our community groups, each is a way of giving and showing love in real ways.

As I sit here at my kitchen table writing this, I can hear my daughter through the monitor singing in her bed. Many times the song that she chooses to sing is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” That’s right, my two year daughter’s favorite song is that classic hymn. How can teaching children old hymns show love? Because it is one way that points them to the only real hope that there is; and that is the hope that Jesus Christ gives us. Why does offering a homeless person a bag of food show real love? Because it opens up opportunities to tell them and others about the only real hope that there is and the perfect demonstration of love ever given.

As we pray and consider the future of Crossroads Fellowship and any potential ministries we must keep in mind the gospel of Jesus Christ because that is what drives us. We are not driven by what other churches are doing. We are not driven by what churches that we attended in the past did and we thought was really great. And we are not driven by some kind of narcissistic church model where everything is about what I get out of the deal. We are driven by the gospel and to show that gospel to those that we come in contact with.

40 Days of Prayer - Community/City/Neighborhood

40 Days of Prayer
Community/Neighborhood/City

Revelation 21
5And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."… 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

One day God is going to take and make all things new. He will take all things and return them to the way that they were meant to be, something I call the restoration of shalom. Won’t that day be absolutely wonderful! All Christians should look forward to that day with great delight and anticipation, longing to see it sooner rather than later.

Did you realize that we can begin to see the beginning of the restoration of shalom even today? As Crossroads ministers to the city of Albuquerque, we see the restoration of shalom taking place. One day God will make Albuquerque new, but in the meantime we can do much in seeing things restored by loving our city and the people in it in real and tangible ways. The city is the place where ideas are shaped and created, and Albuquerque is no exception. Let us make a decision to radically love our city and the people in it and pray that God would do amazing things through that love.

How are we to do that? We start with our neighborhood and where we live. We show respect and a desire to care for people in whatever situation of life they may be in or lifestyle they have chosen. When our neighbors are in need, we are the first in line to help out. Next we consider how we can serve the greater city by reaching out to the poor and to those who have been rejected by the rest of society. Third we seek to improve the places of learning that have such a major influence on the philosophy that people live by. Fourth we pray for and encourage other churches and Christians that are faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And fifth we seek ways to interact with the culture of our city rather than running away from it. Each of these gives us ways to tell others the hope that can be found in Jesus Christ that are authentic and meaningful.

This fifth idea can be so controversial for some. Consider the words of Tim Keller from an article that he wrote for Christianity Today:

The relationship of Christians to culture is the singular current crisis point for the church…It will not be enough for Christians to form a culture that runs counter to the values of the broader culture. Christians should be a community radically committed to the good of the city as a whole. We must move out to sacrificially serve the good of the whole human community, especially the poor…So we must neither just denounce the culture nor adopt it. We must sacrificially serve the common good, expecting to be constantly misunderstood and sometimes attacked. We must walk in the steps of the one who laid down his life for his opponents. Tim Keller

The vision that I believe God has given me for Crossroads Fellowship is one that is a powerful and important influence on our city. Our unwritten motto (sorry but I can’t write it down or else it wouldn’t be unwritten – but it has something to do with impacting Albuquerque in such a way that if we were no longer around the city would notice) emphasizes our desire to make that kind of lasting impact that would be felt for years to come. Will you join with the other people of Crossroads in praying for ways to make an impact on this city?

40 Days of Prayer - Vision

Did you ever have one of those meetings with a boss that asked you, “Where do you want to be in five years?” And during this meeting all that you could think about was finishing the next task on your to do list before the deadline so that very same boss won’t yell at you. Sometimes it’s really hard to think about the future of your life or of your church when the blur of the present clouds everything else.

This week of the 40 Days of Prayer we focus on the future of Crossroads Fellowship. The following weeks will bring about the specifics of the future, but this week is meant to be more general. Either way we have to start with being open to whatever God would have us to do, including things that we don’t want to do.

When Charlotte and I moved to Albuquerque to start this church we had a vision for what God would do in this great city. We saw Crossroads as being a multiplying church. In other words, Crossroads would be a church that plants more churches. There is no reason that the PCA can’t have more than five churches in the Albuquerque area. We saw Crossroads as being a church that impacted the lives of those who are less fortunate than we are. We saw Crossroads as having a significant ministry to students in college. I believe that one day UNM will have a RUF ministry that will impact the campus in unique ways that aren’t currently happening. We also saw Crossroads as being a church that reached out to people that didn’t feel that they belonged in any other church. That coincides with the, “Don’t put your church face on at Crossroads” statement that I make all the time. I want people to come to our church just as they are, in the same way that our Lord receives them.

When God called Abraham to leave his home and go the promised land, Abraham had no idea what that would look like in the end or even what the journey might bring him. At Crossroads we have been called by God to go and bring a message of hope to this great city. We are not sure what it will look like in the end or even what the journey might bring and yet we still go. May God give us an understanding of the journey and a willingness to do the hard things as we see how He will reach and impact Albuquerque and even the world through us. I’ve included a prayer below that may help in your time of prayer.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
Sir Frances Drake

40 Days of Prayer - Righteousness

10as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
Romans 3:10

I suppose that is not the most encouraging way to start out, but it is important to remember when we are discussing righteousness. I’m often reminded of the lack of righteousness in myself, because I happen to be the father of little children. As sweet and cute as those little children are, they will still bring out some bad aspects of my personality such as a complete lack of patience. And since I’m a father of little children, I am also reminded that they don’t exactly come out of the womb as little angels. There is one time when you look at them and you think to yourself that they could do no wrong and that is when they are sleeping! Those of you who are parents know exactly what I am talking about and the rest of you probably think that I’m really mean.

What is righteousness anyway? In a simple definition it means being right before God or in His eyes. It is being blameless in our lives and innocent in the face of accusation. There are times, such as the Psalm that we studied last Sunday, where righteousness was claimed for a particular accusation. There are also times that it’s used to describe a person who demonstrates a general life of righteousness and has a good reputation in the community. However, neither one of those examples mean anything if you don’t have complete righteousness before God. So how does one go about getting that? There are two basic ways to achieve righteousness before God.

The first is really quite simple: never sin. From the time that you are born you need to lead a perfect life. We don’t really want to think this way. We would much rather compare ourselves to other people to see how good of a life that we’re living. It is like the murderer in Virginia this week; we can all say with great confidence that we’re doing better than that. The problem is that when we think that way, we are not thinking about righteousness, but self-righteousness. What we’re doing is looking at ourselves and drawing our own conclusions that we are better than everyone else. We all do it. It might be at work, or school, or even in our marriages. We think about how we’re doing in those situations and draw the conclusion that we’re pretty stinking good! The problem is that we’re all pretty biased when it comes to judging our own actions and behavior and that when we see it from God’s perspective then it’s not stinking good but stinking bad. The good news is that God knows that and so he offered a second option.

The second is quite a bit more attractive: follow Jesus. Consider the words of Paul in Philippians 3:8-9:
8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

It is true that no matter how hard we try we will never achieve righteousness, but we don’t need to because we can have it in Christ. It is Christ that does two things: the first in giving us righteousness before God that He might find us blameless in the day of judgment; and second that we might have the strength to rest in that righteousness and actually live righteously.

Why does all of this matter? Because we can rejoice in being made right before God and we can also be a wonderful witness by our behavior to this great city of Albuquerque. As we move forward with these forty days of prayer, let us pray that God would reveal the righteousness that He has given in order that we might live righteously.