Twenty Years From Now

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do." - Mark Twain

I ran across that quote by Mark Twain the other day in a book I am reading, and the words seemed to jump off the page at me. Those words, combined with some other things I have read, heard, and discussed lately have really struck a deep chord within me. They have caused me to do a great deal of thinking on two different levels.

The first things that came to my mind when I read those words were thoughts about risk. And thoughts about how I am not good with taking risks. Taking risks is something that has been percolating in my mind for a couple of weeks. As I mentioned in my last post, a couple of friends and I have recently finished the book "Good to Great in God's Eyes" by Chip Ingram. In that book, Ingram writes about the things that great Christians do that set them apart from good Christians. One of the chapters that spoke to me the most was "Take Great Risks." If you want to move from being a good Christian to being a great Christian, you must not be afraid to take big risks.

I am not a big risk taker. I prefer to play it safe. I know this about myself, and that is why I have been wrestling with the idea of taking risks ever since I read that chapter in the book. I have had feelings over the last six months or so that what I am doing right now is not what I am ultimately supposed to be doing. I do believe that what I am doing right now is what I am supposed to be doing at this moment in time, but I think the feelings I have been trying to sort out and other things that have taken place in my life lately might be God's way of preparing me for something else. What is that something else? I wish I knew. That is what I am praying about and trying to have clarified in my heart and mind. But whatever it is will certainly involve great risk and, quite frankly, that scares me to death.

I think risk scares me because I have got it so good. I have a good wife and two good kids...a good family. I have a good house in a good neighborhood on the good side of town in a good city. I have a good job with a good company that pays good money. My kids go to good schools. My family goes on good vacations. I have good friends. You get the point. Good, good, good, good, good, good, good. I have it very good. So why would I want to potentially upset the apple cart and take risks? Risks could affect my good, comfortable life. But the problem with being comfortable is that we do not take the risks that could take us from our good lives to having great lives.

Our sermon at church this past Sunday was focused on dreaming about greatness, and the pastor started his message by reading the first paragraph of the original "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. In the first paragraph of that book, Collins writes about how good is the biggest enemy of great. Good is the enemy of great because so may people like myself settle in and enjoy the comfort of our good lives. We do not want to do anything to risk the the good place we are at in our lives. But the first thing that Twain quote made me realize is that I do not want to look back 20 years from now and regret the fact that I missed out on something God had in store for me because I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone and risk shooting for greatness.

The second thing that quote made me think about was the moments that I am missing because I am not taking the time to notice them. Opportunities that I am missing with my family because I get so caught up with life and with doing so many things for different people. Good things, mind you, but things that shift my focus away from things that are even more important. I do not want to look back in 20 years and think about the things that I should have done with my wife and kids. I want to look on those years with a smile on my face from all the memories of good times and special moments spent with those I love. I do not think anybody ever looks back and wishes they had spent more time at the office, but I have heard many people say in hindsight that they wish they spent more time with and created more memories with their family and friends. Or spent more time doing things to help and serve others. I do not want those reflections to be mine.

So that quote challenged me, and I hope, challenged you, to do two things. To be willing to step out of our comfort zones and be willing to take more risks in our lives that could elevate us to the greatness that God has in store, and to make the most of the time we have right now with the people we love. Two things that, in 20 years from now, will help us to look back, not in regret and disappointment of the things we did not do, but in celebration of the things that we did do.

What are You Thinking?

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day." So I ask you this question: What are you thinking?

If you are like the majority of Americans, you are probably thinking about a million things at once. If you are like me, you can't even shut your thoughts off when you crawl into bed at night. You might lay in bed staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning or, like me, reading...anything to slow down your thought process long enough to fall asleep. We are a people constantly consumed in thought. If Emerson was right, if our life consists of what we are thinking about all day, then having a positive life should be a snap because all we have to do is think positive thoughts. Easy, right?

But how many of us consistently think positive thought? How many of us are truly positive people? Think about it. How many truly positive people do you know? I am not talking about good people, nice people, pleasant people, or even happy people. I am talking about truly positive people. I bet if you are honest with yourself it is not as many people as you think. But why?

I have a sign on the wall of my office that says "Garbage In, Garbage Out." I am sure you have heard that phrase before. I work for a printing company, and that sign hangs there as a reminder to people that if we are given less than desirable artwork to begin with, the end result when it comes off the printing press is also going to be less than desirable. There is only so much I can do to make the job look good when I am given garbage upfront. It is the whole lipstick-on-a-pig principle. You can only put so much lipstick on a pig, and no matter how much lipstick you apply, bottom line is it is still a pig. Garbage in, garbage out.

That same principle applies to our thoughts as well. If we constantly feed negativity into our minds, guess what? We are going to be negative people. We can be good people with the best of intentions, but we will still be negative people overall if we allow constant negativity to invade our thoughts.

I had dinner recently with a couple of friends. We met for dinner to discuss a book that the three of us had just finished reading. We have started a kind of informal book club (though book club sounds way too Oprah-ish for me), where we will pick a book to read once a month and get together and discuss the book and bounce ideas off each other, the idea being to help each other grow personally and spiritually. The book we just read and discussed is "Good to Great in God's Eyes" by Chip Ingram. The very first chapter of the book is titled "Think Great Thoughts," and it goes into much detail about how what we think about determines what we will eventually become.

As a result of that discussion, we realized that we were not very positive people. In fact, it doesn't take much to turn us into negative people. We are good men. Family men. All of us leaders in our church. But we are essentially negative people. And that is not how it should be. Why are we negative? Because we are constantly surrounded by negativity. Negativity is being constantly fed into our minds. And that is something we have vowed to change. And we have vowed to do our best to become change agents. To get rid of the negativity within us and to confront, challenge, and change the negative people around us.

This change is not going to be easy. Where does one start in a quest to become more positive? I think it all goes back to our thoughts. Garbage in, garbage out. For me, the first change I have made is to go on a self-imposed media fast. No television news, no news talk radio, no sports talk radio, no newspaper, no online news. This may not sound difficult to some, but to me it is very difficult because these are the things I watched and listened to all day long. And if you don't think those things are full of negativity and anger, stop and really pay attention - you'll be surprised. I have gone fie days without these things, and I tell you, I can feel a difference. I have a more positive spirit already, not to mention the fact that I can almost guarantee my blood pressure is lower. And this is just the beginning - just the first week of trying to become more positive.

So I challenge you to think more positively. Think great thoughts. Cut out some of the negativity that you are feeding into your mind. There are things in your life that you can't change, but there are a lot of things that you can. Remember - garbage in, garbage out. Think positively. I'll end with the words of Paul that command us to do just that.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is holy, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" (Phil. 4:8).

Thanks a Lot, Church

I work in the printing industry. If you know anything about the printing industry, you know that it is a pretty rough industry. Printers are not known for being choir boys. I've been told that there have been studies conducted that show that the printing industry has the second-highest rate of alcoholism, and I believe it. Alcoholics, drug users, felons, wife-beaters, pain pill addicts - all very common. I've worked with them all at one time or another. I work with many of them still. It's really a pretty profane industry. You don't usually find that a high percentage of people working in the printing industry are Christians. Not that I have come across, anyway. It's tough sometimes, being a Christian in an industry such as mine. And I'll tell you what makes it even tougher - churches.

Everyone I work with knows where I stand. They know that I am a Christ-follower. They know that I am active in my church. They respect that fact, for the most part. And while many of them may be messed up in one way or another, they are still basically good guys. But they do need Jesus. And, because I like these guys, because they are my friends, I want to help them find Jesus. It can be tough being the only Christian, or one of only a few, in a workplace full of non-Christians. You see, I am one of the only people representing Christ that many of these people know, and they watch me. They watch to see how I handle certain situations, they watch to see how I act or react in certain situations, they listen to how I speak when I am mad or when I am stressed. Sometimes it feels like I let them down, like I let God down by not representing Him as I should. I am human. I make mistakes. I say things I shouldn't sometimes. I react in ways I shouldn't sometimes. But for the most part, I think I do a pretty decent job at being different, of setting an example for these guys. And then the church comes along and screws it all up.

We deal with just about every kind of company imaginable. We do work for banks, schools, insurance companies, car dealerships, hospitals, retail stores, advertising agencies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, musicians, authors, sports teams, etc. Name an industry or an occupation. I'm sure we do work for at least one person or company in any industry you can think of. And, oh yeah, we do work for churches. And I wish we didn't. I could get my co-workers to buy into what I am trying to talk to the about, about Jesus, if we didn't do work for churches.

You see, of all the companies, organizations, and industries we do work fro, churches are by far the worst. They are the most demanding, the most unreasonable, the most condescending, the most rude, and by far the most cheap. Churches are notorious for asking us to produce the most unreasonable jobs in the most unrealistic time lines for the most ridiculous low price. Standard turnaround time of 5-7 days? Not good enough for the church. They want, no, they demand, it in two days. For no other reason than that we are a church, they represent God, their work is more important, so we should drop everything else and cater to them. But guess what? The people I work with don't care who you are or what you represent. You are just another job on the schedule.

The church really needs to be careful about the people they have representing them to those outside the church. The biggest jerks we have to deal with are people who represent churches. Make a mistake and mess up a normal customers job and they might get made mad, but they usually realize that these things happen from time to time, and as long as you correct the problem and make things right for them, it's okay. Make a mistake and mess up a job for a church and they go ballistic 95% of the time. I'm talking absolutely ape-poop mad. They take it as a personal assault on them and they lash out. They yell, and scream, and threaten to take their business elsewhere (churches make that threat more than anybody else). They show you none of the grace, mercy or forgiveness that the church is supposed to stand for. And it is always a good thing to roll-up to the print shop for a press check in your $70,000 Escalade and proceed to treat everyone in the building like they are your personal servants who are not even worthy enough to shine your shoes. Acting like your time is more important than theirs. Acting like you are more important or more worthy than they are. After all, you work for a church. You work for God. Nice witness, bozo.

This is not something that is new. This is something that I have noticed for years. I do want to clarify that not all churches are like this, but sadly, a majority of them are. And this is really bothering me right now. This past week, the guys who work in our shop have had to deal with this twice. Each instance was a different church. And when a co-worker who I have been trying to reach for three years says to me after you leave, "Hey Travis, is that how all the people at your church act? They don't seem very Christian to me," you have ruined all the work that I have done in trying to reach this person for the Lord. i can assure them that my church is not like that until I am blue in the face, but if all the churches he is coming into contact with are like that, he has no reason to believe my church will be any different. So thanks a lot, church.

Call me crazy, but i think it should be the other way around. I think churches should be the most pleasant organizations to do work for. I think that the people representing churches should be the nicest people we come into contact with. Not creepy, smiley, Joel Osteen fake nice, but genuinely nice and kind people. They should be understanding. They should not ask for the unreasonable. They should not ask for special treatment for the sole fact that they are a church. if something goes wrong, they should handle the situation with grace and with love. You don't have to be pushovers, but you definitely don't need to be pompous jerks. You need to represent the love of God in all of your dealings, not just on Sundays. You need to realize that they way you conduct yourselves during the week while doing the business of the church will directly influence how those who do not know the Lord view him and His church. You need to realize that there might just be one or two Christ-followers who are doing their best to set an example and show the love of the Lord to these people in hopes of one day leading them to Jesus. Please stop ruining all our hard work.

Book Review: Churched

The last Book of the Moment selection that I had talked about on this site was Churched: One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess by Matthew Paul Turner. Churched is a book about Turner's growing up in a fundamentalist church and family, and how he managed to survive it all with his faith intact.

Being the same age as Turner, many of his tales read as though they were pages out of the book of my life. While not as strict as Turner's, my upbringing was similar. I was the son of a pastor, so I was in church every time the doors were opened, and the doors were opened a lot more in those days than they are now. But most of the things I could relate to came from common experiences I had while attending a Baptist school. Turner shares many of the same ridiculous things that I was taught at school. Things such as Azrael, the cat on The Smurfs, being an agent of Satan. When I read it, I could not believe that someone else was taught that little nugget of absurdity. Or being taught that pretty much all rock music could be played backwards to reveal secret, subliminal messages to worship the devil and consume copious amounts of illegal drugs. Not even contemporary Christian music was safe - many groups, especially those with electric guitars, were considered to be of the devil also. And last, but certainly not least, was the story of being shown what is perhaps the worst piece of film-making of all time. If you guessed A Thief in the Night - you are exactly right. I thought I had repressed the memories of being shown that awful film in junior high Bible class until reading Churched. Nothing quite as traumatic as showing impressionable young girls and boys footage of being beheaded on a guillotine, with nothing but a laundry basket to catch your severed head. Good times. Good times, indeed. I think I had nightmares about that movie for a month.

Churched is hilarious. Hardly a page went by without a laugh out loud moment. But, in addition to being funny, it was also moving - more so than I thought it would be. So, if you are looking for a more light-hearted read - something that will make you laugh while still speaking to you, pick up a copy of Churched.

I'm Back

To all of you who checked this blog on a regular or semi-regular basis during the month of December, only to be disappointed by the lack of new posts, I apologize. December, as you know, is a busy month for most people, and I was no exception. With multiple Christmas parties, programs, and services to attend, as well as a family vacation to Disney World and three, yes three, separate Christmases, I neglected the blog. But enough excuses. I am back with things to say, questions to ask, rants to rant, books to review (I owe you reviews of three books - they will be coming shortly), etc. So check back often. Happy New Year!

Book of the Moment: Churched

The current Book of the Moment is Churched: One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess by Matthew Paul Turner. After my last Book of the Moment, Vintage Jesus, I decided I needed a lighter, more humorous read, and from what I have read so far, I have gotten just that in Churched.

Matthew Paul Turner and I are the same age, and Churched is his story about his fundamental Baptist upbringing. While I did not grow up in a fundemental Baptist church, I did grow up the son of a pastor and I did grow up attending a Baptist church school, so I am sure I will read many things I can relate to having grown up under similar circumstances.

Check back in a day or two for my thoughts on Churched. Thanks to a couple of sleepless nights, I have already worked my way through much of the book and should be finishing it up in the next day or two.

Book Review: Vintage Jesus

I have just finished reading my first Book of the Moment selection, Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. The book answers twelve important questions about the life and work of Jesus Christ. These questions are:

1. Is Jesus the only God?

2. How human was Jesus?

3. How did people know Jesus was coming?

4. Why did Jesus come to Earth?

5. Why did Jesus' mom need to be a virgin?

6. What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?

7. Did Jesus rise from the dead?

8. Where is Jesus today?

9. Why should we worship Jesus?

10. What makes Jesus superior to other gods?

11. What difference has Jesus mad in history?

12. What will Jesus do upon His return?

I found Vintage Jesus to be a very good book. I cannot say that I agree 100% with all of the theology in the book - I don't think anybody agrees 100% with anyone else's interpretation of Revelations - but when it comes to cutting through all the myths and stereotypes about Jesus and painting a biblically accurate picture of exactly who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, Driscoll does it as well, if not better, than most.

The problem that some people may have with Vintage Jesus is that the book is written, and the twelve questions are answered, in typical Mark Driscoll style - upfront, authentic, brutally honest, in your face and a little confrontational. While this is one of the things I enjoy about the preaching and writings of Driscoll, many people find it offensive. And I agree. Mark Driscoll is offensive. But guess what? So is the Bible. And that is a good thing. Like I wrote in my previous post, perhaps our churches and pastors need to start being a little more offensive and stop sugar-coating the Gospel and only teaching that which is most convenient for their congregants or only the stuff that makes them feel good about themselves. We need to walk out of church feeling like we just had our butts kicked every now and then. I think Driscoll does a masterful job of communicating with his target audience, and those who are offended by his style are more than likely not part of that audience. Your blue-haired grandmother is not part of his target audience. Neither is your ten year-old little sister. Driscoll pastors a church in Seattle, which among its other titles, has the title of being the most unchurched city in America. He has a Sunday night service that starts at 10:30 p.m. because that is when much of his target audience is just starting to get their day rolling.

While many find it offensive or unnecessary, I think his ability to use the language of the current culture to cut through the myths about Jesus and the Bible is great. I mean, where else are you going to get references to South Park and quotes from Homer Simpson at the same time you are getting solid biblical truth about Jesus? But enough about the author, let's get back to the book.

I would highly recommend Vintage Jesus to most people. While I firmly believe everyone would benefit from reading the book, I do know that there are some people who just wouldn't be able to handle the style in which it is written. But if references to Bethlehem as a "dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wresting is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy," do not offend you, or if you don't come unglued over statements such as "Scripture does not teach that Mary knocked boots with God," then read the book. It has a lot of really good stuff in it. The chapter answering the question of why we should worship Jesus is fantastic, as are many of the other chapters. Like I mentioned earlier, I do not necessarily agree with every word written in the book, but for a in-depth look at who Jesus really is, Vintage Jesus is a must read.

As for my next book, I have five or six books that I am looking forward to reading. I will make up my mind on which one is next and let you know in the very near future.