Encore

Meredith's favorite musical artist is Alan Jackson. So, I took her to one of his concerts a couple of weeks ago, and we had a great time. I appreciate his down to earth, normal guy, humble approach to his music, and therefore, was mildly surprised that he "ended" the concert only to come back for an encore.

I really dislike the encore. A singer or band gives a false ending, waits for the crowd to cheer loudly for a prolonged time, and then comes out to appease the applauding fans. What's the point of all of that? It seems to me that it's an ego driven thing. There is something inside of performers that crave the applause. They need to see and hear that they are connecting with the audience, and they need to see and hear that the audience wants more.

So, we do it. We clap and scream hoping the house lights never come up (because that's the real indication that the concert is over). If we are lucky, the band won't put us through it again...there's not much worse than the multiple encore call.

As much as I dislike the encore, I'm fully aware that we are all susceptible to calling for the applause of others. We post comments on facebook hoping people will make comments and give the thumbs up indicating they liked the post. We write blogs and hope people tell us they like it. When nobody says anything at all, we question the significance of the thing, and then ultimately question our own significance.

Somebody likes that status update, comments on that blog post, and we feel like we are connecting. We feel like they want more of us. It feels so great, and then someone abruptly turns on the house lights. That's the way it's supposed to be though. The abrupt return of the house lights always gives us another opportunity to realize that our significance is already established in the one who created and recreated us. May we always make the most of those opportunities.

Committed To Winning

Michael just finished up his second season of football. It was a developmental league where no one actually kept scores of the games. Early on, his question was, "How do we know who wins?" While no team actually wins a game, there is plenty of opportunity for "wins" for each player. The win I wanted for Michael was confidence. I wanted him to be on the field with other guys, playing, having fun, hitting each other and not be self-conscious about his ability to "hold his own".

Up to the last game, the season was OK...no real victory...he did OK...he always second-guessed himself. Then, the last game. Michael intercepted the ball, recovered a fumble, made 3 tackles and scored a touchdown. Unbelievable. As I watched the coaches and other players slapping him on the helmet, and giving him high-fives, I saw his entire demeanor and facial expressions change. He won, and none of us will ever forget it.

As a pastor, I have the opportunity to see these internal "wins" in people's lives every week. Sullen people, weighed down by the challenges of life and sin, responding to the gospel and the freedom Jesus brings. We often ignore these victories and focus on others that are more easily quantifiable (such as attendance). Nothing compares to the win of life-change. I'm committed to it...for myself and alongside others.

Assessing Things

Right now, at this season of life, Karoline is showing a lot of interest in my role as a pastor. It's an absolute joy for me. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can. Recently, she picked up my Bible, looked at all the tabs I have stuck in there, and asked what they meant, why they were colored the way they were, and how I prepare to teach each week.

She also was recently selected to the praise team at her school. The very first time she was scheduled to sing in their chapel service, I was scheduled to speak. Leading that service together was a GREAT daddy/daughter moment, and that only added to the interest in "what I do".

As she continued to reflect on me and my role, she spoke up the other night and said, "Daddy, as I think about it, I think you are the 5th most important person in our church. Pastor Matt is first, Mrs. Cheryl (our children's minister) is second, Mrs. Laura (our preschool minister) is third, and Mr. Mark (our student minister) is fourth. If it wasn't for them, there would be nobody at our church." Then she said, "Now that I think about it, you are probably behind that new college guy (Brad Lewter, who isn't even here yet) too."

Karoline is more than correct, and I'm thankful to even break the top 10. I appreciate the way she thinks, and I appreciate being part of a great team of people my kids look up to.

Listening and Responding in Marriage

A challenge and benefit of being a pastor is working with people who are struggling in their marriages. The challenge is that it is always hard...everybody hurts. However, the benefits are numerous. One benefit is that I am continually pushed into opportunities to glean from the process and hopefully respond positively in my own marriage.

Recently, I have been made keenly aware of the importance in listening and responding to our spouses. So much rides on doing both. To hear and not listen only devalues our spouse. It shows we don't care to really understand. To listen and understand and not respond devalues them more. It shows we don't care about them more than we care about ourselves. Over time, this lack of listening and responding results in a deficiency of real intimacy. Then, small problems consistently become big problems, the marriage reaches a crisis point, and the husband and wife wonder how they ever got there.

Trying to pay attention...

Struggling and Thankfulness

My son struggles a bit with spelling, yet he is great in math and other subjects. Michael tends to focus on the things he doesn't do well. At a recent parent/teacher conference, his teacher told me about her strategy with Michael. She lets him know two things. First, she is struggling for him. She wants him to know that she's "on his team". Secondly, she reminds him of the things he does well, encouraging him to be thankful for those things. She knows that those two things will help him battle against false thinking that he's "not good at anything" (words that come out of his mouth).

In one way, her strategy aligns with the apostle Paul's strategy with the Colossians. Wanting them to stick to Truth, and avoid false teaching, he lets them know (in Colossians 2:1-7) that he's struggling for them and that they should abound in thanksgiving. That helps. I pray that we will constantly struggle for each other and remind each other of how much we have to be thankful for.

The Hope of Glory

Due to my dad's colon cancer, I now get to get what I affectionately call, "the camera" every few years. I had it done yesterday. The day before such a procedure is a horrible experience, but the day of the procedure is pretty good. I never knew it happened and recovering from a large dose of anesthesia has it's perks. The doc found a couple of things to biopsy, and I get to start taking some medicine for some hernia. Nothing big.

Karoline also found out that she has to start wearing glasses. She's

good with it. She drew a picture of herself in glasses, and she's looking forward to picking out some "cool" ones.

One day, we won't deal with breaking down, imperfect bodies. All will be new, perfect and glorious. That's partly what Paul means when he writes about the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

THIS day is always easier when we don't lose sight of THAT day.

They'd Be Sorry

Here's what Karoline, my 9 year old, has just gone through in the last couple of weeks:

Falling off a chair and almost breaking her elbow followed by a...

Crazy spider bite, which caused her arm to swell followed by...

Allergic reaction to the spider bite generated antibiotics followed by...

Down for 4 days with flu-like symptoms.

At one point during all of that she said, "I wish earth was already like heaven so we wouldn't have to have sickness. I bet if Adam and Eve could still see what was going on, they'd be sorry for what they did to all of us."

I thinks she's right.