Premature End to "The Prodigal Son"

Because of a message series we are currently in at NECC, I am obsessed with all things related to that wayward boy who goes out and blows the family fortune on loose living and wild women. Jesus tells the story in Luke 15...he is talking here about lost things and how they are valued and about the celebration that ensues once those valuable lost things are found.

I am doing my best to let these stories capture me like they may have when I heard them first. I am also spending way too much time searching for this story as it is represented in higher literature and pop culture. This clip is an example of the latter from Mick and Keith. It's from four years before my birth so I wasn't able to make it to MSG to see it live but here we get to see how pervasive and important this story of love and redemption is to many people.

We also see why these guys are the superstars they are. As a live performer myself I love it when a plan goes screwy in front of the whole world...and if you watch close that's exactly what you'll see here.

To See, To Feel

I've been thinking about last Sunday's message at NECC. We started a new series called "Get on Your Boots" where we are examining Gospel texts, specifically to see the passion and action of Jesus, especially toward the helpless and distressed. Our hope is that "The Gospel" will inspire us to become "good news" to the other in our lives.

This first week we talked about the importance of seeing the need. More specifically, what did it look like for Jesus to see the hurting around him. It seems like it's almost impossible to not see the need and many days it seems like I see so much need that I just turn it off and say "I can't do everything." For Christ however, we see that what he saw affected the way he felt, which in turn was the impetus for his actions.

Since he was all human what he felt was similar to what we can feel, but maybe not similar to what we do feel. This was a huge realization for me.

The text that caused all this thought and the resulting fall-out was Matthew 9 verses 35 and 36. Jesus has already been working; healing the sick and diseased and teaching the good news of the Kingdom but as he was traveling around we read that "when he saw the crowds he had compassion." This phrase "had compassion" describes the Greek work splanchna which carries with it the idea of inward affection, tender mercy or...wait for it...."bowels." That final word hit me hard because of the depth (literally and geographically in the body) that it describes. For Jesus then his visual awareness of the people's pain did not hit him lightly or just give him mental pause, but instead generated physical discomfort. He was hit in the solar plexus, his breath was taken away, he was bent over in discomfort. This is a depth of feeling that I can relate to as it regards my wife and children and painful situations I have experienced but to date I don't recall that kind of reaction to the guy on the corner with the sign.

And then there's the why? Why did he feel that kind of pain? Because we read "they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Harassed here doesn't carry with it some sort of light thing like we might say about a friend, "oh I like to harass her and she loves it" but instead would mean something more like molested means for us today. And helpless shouldn't conjure up just the idea of a sweet and innocent child dependent on her parents for help but would better describe something almost like a wrestling term that could be translated "pinned down by force." There is real violence at the heart of this last phrase.

So what image can you bring to mind that describes the phrase "molested" or "violently pinned down by force" This is what Jesus was impacted with when he saw those in need. It's not the kind of feeling that allows a human to just walk by and ignore it.

My confession: I don't normally feel this way toward people in need. Compassion for me (most often) is a second thought or a second order response. So I see a need, and remind myself that Christians care for those in need and then maybe take appropriate action.

But the fully human Jesus reacted immediately, he reacted physiologically...and he reacted.

My prayer this week: Jesus make me fully human, unable to overlook the need in others.

Our Up Songs Differ Greatly

This past Sunday I spoke on the topic of "An Up Song" at the church where I pastor. Actually the real title was "An ((Up Arrow)) Song" but I can't figure out how to do that here. I took Psalm 125 as the text and talked about what the header "A Song of Ascents" that Psalms 120 through 134 are labeled with means. The application was in the importance of having "an up song" that you sing, both when things are good and also when things aren't so good.

As a part of the setup, in order to demonstrate what I had in mind with "up song" I played 4 short clips of what I think of as "up songs". I played Wild Cherry's Play That Funky Music from the 70's, The BeeGee's Staying Alive from the 80's, Snap's The Power from the 90's and Enur's Calabria 2008 as a current example. It was amazing how immediate and positive the reaction to those songs were...especially the first three. People's "I'm getting settled in for a boring 25 minute speech" expressions changed quickly to "I'm ready to get my groov-sizzle on" ones. The second thing I noticed was how age-specific the reactions were. The older the crowd was the more immediately they responded to the 70's and 80's example while the younger portion didn't really start to move in their seats until the opening of the Enur tune.

After the examples, I asked for a few people from the crowd to shout out what their "up songs" were. The first brave ice-breaker yelled out "Dancing Queen" and I could tell immediately that many other people identified with that choice. Next someone said "Right Now from Van Halen" and although it is a song I would have never thought of (I would have thought of "Jump" first for sure), it is definitely a great example of "an up song." The third person to respond said "The Soundtrack from The Sound of Music." I don't think many people identified with that choice and I started to make fun of the person that suggested it until I realized that might not be so good for future crowd-participation exercises or their self-esteem.

I've had a few people respond on FaceBook since then with the following songs they count as
"up songs."

Wang Chung- Everybody Have Fun Tonight
The Cure- Just Like Heaven

Aerosmith- Amazing

So what about you? What's your up song? A song that you sing when you feel really good and want a song to match your mood or you're headed to celebrate and want a song to match the occasion. Or a song that you sing when things aren't good and you're looking to give yourself some encourgismo. Let me know.

Use Some Real Words!

Recently my ears have become hyper-sensitive to a few words and phrases that we leaders like to use....a lot. I say "we" because I too have been guilty of tossing in a few of the words listed below. As we know though, the first step to recovery is to admit that I have a problem, and the next step is to blog and condemn everyone else for doing what I was doing up until yesterday. (This spiritual rule here for those of you who are so inclined is called "The Right of Ridicule based on Recently Retained Righteousness Principle." So my intention here is to at once cleanse these words from my vocab and do my best to purify those I have influence with as well.

I was tipped over the edge driving in this morning by a local "cash-for-gold" commercial which employed two or three of the words that I want to call "I'm using this word so I don't have to say what I really want to say" words.

So here they are. First the word, the word used in a sentence (just to be annoyingly clear) and then what the speaker/leader really has in mind when she uses them.

1. Next-Level - I'm listing this one first because quite simply it has to go. We leaders like to say things like, "Hey, it's time we take this thing to the next level" or "you really brung (yes I know) it out there, you took it to the next level." What we really are saying is "As a leader I would like us to grow/progress/advance but I really don't have a clear picture of what that looks like or even a specific end in mind, so I will choose to use this ethereal phrase instead." Or "you're doing a good job and I really like the presentation you just gave but I'm not gonna take the time to actually describe what I liked about it or give you actual praise for your performance, choosing instead to use this here lazy phrase."

2. Win-Win - OMG+FacePalm=Utter Disgust. If I hear this phrase spoken today I am likely to head-butt the unfortunate user repeatedly. We say, "if we do it this way it looks like it will be a win-win" and "I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but it looks like it ended up being a win-win for everybody." What we are usually really saying is this "This is a really good deal for me and it doesn't like it's awful for you so that's not too bad is it?" or "Since I'm the boss/team leader I don't really have to make it good for you anyway but it looks like you're going to get some benefit out of the deal to so hey!"

3. Paradigm Shift- "Excuse me, could you be just a little bit more vague? Thanks." We say, "What I'm talking about is not just doing things a little bit differently. This is a complete paradigm shift" and "in order to see insert business/team/industry_here turn-around it will take a paradigm shift." What we really mean is "I like things done differently than you do them, and in all actuality it's not all that terribly different from the way you do things now, but it is going to be more inconvenient for you, so I'm going to use this word to give you a sense that at least all your upcoming sacrifice is to accomplish something great" or "I'm not really all that sure of the path we are going to take to turn this thing around (see paradigm shift's cousin "next-level thinking" above) so I'm going to invent a new paradigm because since no one knows anything about the new paradigm there can be no real tracking of my success as a leader."

4. Outside-The-Box - I'm sure that one or two times this phrase was used honestly but now it's the most throwaway phrase in existence...please join me in never using this phrase again...ever. We say "we are really going to have think outside the box here." What we really mean is "as a leader I am sitting up here in front of you completely stumped about what to say and how to lead this meeting/team/group so I'm going to throw in this phrase as a distractionary (see I'm not only deleting words from our vocab, I'm also inventing a few new ones for use) technique so that you can't see my ineptitude and so that we won't sit in the uncomfortable and awkward silence that might actually be helpful in producing the idea we were looking for in the first place."

Now there are many more. Maybe I'll touch base going forward and we'll push the envelope a little bit more. At the end of the day though, it is what it is. So let's hit the ground running, stop drinking the kool-aid and....ummmm....bring our A games?

Tortured by Unforgiveness

Recently I've been reading through the gospels with an attempt to see past what I have "known" about the stories, so that I can know the good news the stories communicate. Anytime I do this it's really uncanny (let's just call it a coincidence) that the people I meet and pray with are really hurting on topic with I've been trying to digest. Most recently it's forgiveness, and the story that's bringing me new life is The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35.

I had the privilege of beginning a journey toward forgiveness and full life with a fairly new Christian this week. They said at one point, "I don't think I can forgive...I've tried, it just hurts too much and I'm not a good enough person." That reminded me of the story I had read that morning. One that Jesus tells in response to Peter's question "Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me?"

The story is probably familiar to you, so I won't recap, but what hits me the hardest is this. The servant forgiven of the unpayble debt (I think it works out to 60,000,000 days of work) is forgiven not because it makes good business sense or because the servant has done well (frankly how do you rack up that kind of debt unless you have done anything but well) but simply because the King responds to his cry for mercy. The story says that the debt is canceled because the King felt something deep down inside of himself, and the undeserving debtor is let go.

But the crux of the story for me, since i am one who has been forgiven much, comes in the next act. When presented with the opportunity to be merciful himself on a fellow servant who owed him a very repayable debt (probably about 3 or 4 months wages) he reacts in rage and with cruelty. The story ends with the King making the unmerciful servant re-accountable for his debt, thrown in prison and wait for it....tortured.

So why is it that we are prone not to show mercy when we have been shown mercy? Could it be that we haven't really accepted, realized and owned our forgiveness? Could it be that deep down inside we actually counted ourselves worthy of the forgiveness we were given? Or maybe we hate ourselves so much for getting ourselves into a situation that required forgiveness in the first place, that we let that venom spill out the next place it can.

My takeaways for this week.

1. Realizing that I have done nothing....nothing....nothing, to earn forgiveness, mercy and salvation. The reason the ledger has been thrown away is because the King felt something deep down on the inside for me specifically and decided to act in love.

2. Understanding the great chance I have to be that same person for someone else. I will have the opportunity to release a debt, maybe emotional, financial or some other way, for someone who "owes me something."

3. Realizing that when I don't take advantage of those grace moments, in some way I become re-eligible for the previously canceled debt. Because I make the choice and because I bring that on myself...in that way I torture myself.

Faith + Hope + Love (coming next week)

I have been shaped as a worship leader by Hillsong Music. Although as a critic of songwriters I often make fun of the patented Hillsong form ( intro.v1.breakdown chorus.full on v2.double chorus.instrumental.breakdown chorus.full on double chorus.outro) the truth of the matter is that Hillsong has changed what worship in the church sounds like.

I'm okay with that, because I believe they have helped move us to a better, more authentic and increasingly energized place. And in the last 5 to 7 years the songwriting has become more and more ChristEvent-focused, which is what is needed to transform lives (starting with mine.)

So, I'm exceedingly excited about the new Hillsong release dropping 8.4.09...

titled Faith + Hope + Love

Here's a sample from the album, featuring Hillsong worship leader Brooke Fraser (one of my fav's.)

I Will Exalt You - Hillsong from Carlos Whittaker on Vimeo.

You can (and should) pre-order Faith + Hope + Love here...

Enjoy and be moved by it.

I Waited...

On Sunday I preached a message from Psalm 130, as a part of NECC's "God At The Movies" series. I had been personally moved by the passage recently and really felt on mission for that message at that time and place for that people. I titled the message "The Call, The Wait, The Promise" and I would normally hyperlink to the message where it is posted but I was losing my voice Sunday AM. Since it was painful for me to listen to on Monday, I won't subject any of you to it.

My premise was this..."What does salvation look like?" Now I didn't have in mind, "getting saved" particularly or what we mean when we say "giving my heart" or "accepting Jesus." But more specifically what does it look like to be rescued, when we're in over our heads like the Psalmist in 130 seemed to be. So using the first four verses I talked first about the importance of "The Cry."

It seems as if salvation in scripture (and in my life come to think of it) always starts with the cry. More than that, on Sunday I said that "it is essential to what it means to be human that we cry out." I was reminded of this yesterday as I visited a brand new baby born to friends of ours, and as they were showing her off, she gave out a yell, to which her grandmother say proudly, "see there, she's doing well, listen to those lungs."

It also seemed important to me from the passage that our right to cry out is not based on how good we have been. In the passage right after the author cries out, there is this piece of confession coupled with confidence, "If you Lord, kept a record of sing, Lord who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you." Psalm 130:4-5

So I was reminded that I don't have to lie in the messy bed that I made, and I don't have to reap everything I have sown, and that I can still cry out. More importantly, we see throughout the Scriptures that God hears the cry of the oppressed and brings salvation.

But it was in the second section...in "The Wait" that I hit a sore point. Most of us are pretty good about crying out, but in the wait...not so much. I say a sore point because afterward in the lobby and this week since, I have heard several times, "I don't like to wait" and "I'm tired of waiting." I can identify. Now it's easy to see why, especially right now, in our advanced age, we don't like to wait...because we don't ever have to. Recently I was at the beach and upset because I didn't have a fast enough internet connection. I was connected to the internet sitting on the beach but I didn't like having to wait an extra 11 seconds for the email I wanted to read to download.

But waiting hurts so much. Because of the not knowing and the not having. In verses 5 and 6 of this passage, we see that after the cry comes the wait, and in both the Old and New Testaments our existence in relation to God is often described as one of waiting. You can see a patient waiting in the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 but here in the Psalmist the wait is an anxious wait. The condition of our relationship to God is first of all one of not having, not seeing, not knowing and not grasping. I think we often forget that, and when we act as if that's not the case (as much of Christendom today does) we have then replaced God with our own creation of an image of God. A God that we don't have to wait on then is a God that we can possess. If we didn't have to wait for God, then God would not be free and by definition God is infinitely free.

But even though waiting is not having, not possessing it is also having. The fact that we are waiting for something in some way shows that we already have it. Waiting anticipates that which is not yet real, but will be real. This is the truth that Romans 8:25 makes clear when the apostle writes, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." I was absolutely leveled by the repetitive simile (it's not a simile in the TNIV but I still prefer to think of that way) that the wait section of Psalm 130 concludes with. We wait, "More than watchmen wait for the morning...More than watchmen wait for the morning." Psalm 130:6.

So how do watchmen wait for the morning? They wait with eagerness, anticipation and joy. The morning is when the midnight shift has ended, when they get to rest, when the city has been delivered safe through one more evening. Secondly, they wait with confidence, because they know this one thing: Although the night might be dark, the morning is coming. The morning always comes. The sun is coming. The wait will be over soon.

The passage ends with "The Promise." I love that although there is anxiety, the Psalmist ends with these two key God-directed promises. "...with the Lord is unfailing love" and "with him is full redemption." Psalm 130:7

But that's another sermon. :)