Joy and I will be moving this coming December back to the Lafayette area.
We will be living by Battleground.
I will be supervising about 130 churches.
Joy will begin her career as a Speech Therapist.
Marion has been good. This time of our life is good.
Through the grace of God we placed my folks in the caring hands of Heritage Pointe.
We are near Rachel Marie at Ball State, and Joy is attending the University as well.
I am being changed by my wonderful pastors and churches and hopefully making a difference in someone's life and the world.
We have made good friends here.
We laid to rest the tiny, beautiful creature called Jamie.
The river down the hill has and is good to be near.
But we will be moving near another river relatively soon.
Life, like the river, is a beautiful, winding, and mysterious journey.

Two Old Friends

Very Near

Winter and Lent are here.
Spring and Easter are coming.
Amen.
PS That's my Jamie down there. His spirit is very near.

Jamie David LaSuer

Our doggie Jamie is dying.
He is a 14 years old miniature daschund.
He has helped raise our children.
He has played with them, protected them, and poured his unending love into them and everyone else. And we have given Jamie much love and 10,000 kisses!
Joy and I have probably walked with him a thousand miles through woods, neighborhoods, and along the river.
He is black with brown spots around his eyes, paws, and nose....a cutie.
He has had a favorite toy which is a squeaky bone.
He loved getting presents, especially from my mom, and would put his nose deep into the present to see what he was getting.
I love him so very dearly.
I thank God for Jamie, this most marvelous God creation.
I am sad, but I am truly thankful for the gift of his life.
I plan to stay connected to his spirit.
This week, we are loving, spoiling, and drinking him in.

Bow Before the One

So, what kinds of things are holding your life together right now?
I have a piece of paper in my Bible that says,"I bow before the king."
It reminds me to do this once a day.
I pray on my knees.
I come before the One that is the king...that is creating the kingdom in my life, the life of my family, and the world.
I bow before the One and pour out my prayers for folks who need them.
There is something about the physical act of bowing which makes the time of prayer more significant...and it reminds me of my relationship with the one to whom I pray.
I don't write this to get brownie points. It just means so much to me...and I need those things that keep me hanging in there... so I thought I'd share it.
There's something to posture....both physical and spiritual posture...and in this case, the posture of bowing.
And this fits my theology because I believe and trust that the good news of the kingdom of God is at hand for my life, through my life for others,and for this world.
So I bow before the One who brings that good news.
I bow before the king.

the day

home, sweet, home.
tired.
good day.
time with daughter rachel at her work at the blue bottle coffee shop.(by the way Thomas, there was some sweet blues playing!)
drove with joy to frankfort to visit em in jail.
i think i saw an eagle flying over the frozen and snowy river.
met with a builder to discuss building a new home...exciting.
now watching george carlin special.
yesterday got a facebook message out of the blue from my cousin who I hadn't heard from in decades. This is an amazing and good thing.
joy and i are sitting next to each other on the couch both using our laptops and listening to the carlin show.
got my pj's on.
had some pecan pie and milk tonight.
beloved old dog back in his bed where he spends most of his time now...just like my beloved mama and papa.
coming soon... sweet sleep...another consciousness...dreams...rest and re-creation.
i'll say it again, thanks george.
and i'll also say, i'm thankful for the day.

Got People?

Last night I emailed a few friends and asked them to pray for a meeting I had today,
because a few of us supervisory types had a hugely important conversation with someone.
The meeting went well through the grace of God, and I could feel the power that came forth from the lips and hearts of my friends.
As the song writer says, we get by with a little help from our friends.

Joy and I kid around that "we've got people." We've got people to:
help us take care of my parents;
help us figure out some things about our future;
take care of our little dog Jamie;
and yes, even pray for something on a moments notice.

But what if someone feels like they ain't got no people and feel freakin alone?
We've all felt that way before and know someone who feels like that right now.
Help us Jeshua be their people.

God bless America.

God bless President Barak Obama.

God bless our world.

God bless us as we seek to do our part to further God's Dream.

My heart and my hope is full.

A Connection Celebration

I have come to understand that the major part of my job is to create CONNECTIONS...
connections between pastors with pastors and churches with churches...
connections between these churches and the work of the church in the state of Indiana and the world...
and connections between pastors/churches with a vision that what we are all about is the changing of lives and the changing of the world.
Creating connections is a good thing because, as my papa would say, it is very important message to let people know in this world that they are not alone!
Maybe it's because I'm getting older that these relationships are becoming more and more important. I think about how wonderful and absolutely crucial are connections like:
Our family and the staff of the nursing home with my old mama and papa;
My bottomless adoration for my wife;
Our relationship with our children;
Our friendships;
Those who feel alone and just want someone to care;
The simple yet profound interactions we have with both folks we know and strangers
on a daily basis;
The invisible connections that hold our society and world together;
The one we have with the Source of our Shalom.

Went to Florida. Sweet. Back to work. Also Sweet
Tonight I'm inside and warm, and it's cold outside.
Watched Frontline online. Thanks David for turning me on to that.
Learning to appreciate different kinds of people...big picture types and anals, quiets and louds, those loving change and those not. But even those people aren't always just one way or another.
I love you God. The gifts of life, love, purpose, community, family, and your presence.
I've always been afraid of death, and who knows I still may. But two things have happened lately. First, I've decided that at the end of my life I am going to say "thank you" to God for this most amazing journey. Secondly, I had a dream the other night in which the Spirit flew me into space and showed me a planet which she said was heaven. Hmm.
Trying to focus on Wesley's 3 simple rules.
Do no harm.
Do all the good you can.
Stay in love with God.
BY THE WAY, GO SEE GRAN TORINO! AMAZING!!!

Let's enter into this 2009 gig together!
And thank you God for all the blessings found within 08.

The conversation continues

Barack Obama has invited Rick Warren to give the invocation at the presidential inaugaration.

Let that sink in .....

I am amazed, happy, elated, and thankful that such a thing is happening. Not because I think Warren will somehow lean to the left (or with Obama, vice versa) because of this, but because two people of spirit are sitting down and saying, "You know, we're at the same table here for pretty much the same reasons. Yes, we can disagree about some things, but we can agree about other things, too. Let's talk about those things where we can work together for the kingdom of God."

Here is a good opinion article about this from Beliefnet.

Rich and Rick: A Post-Partisan Parable

I see hope. I see change. I see a country that is in the midst of turmoil and trouble, looking for answers, and realizing that we alone do not have all the answers, but we together have a better chance of finding answers.

In The Midst Of

In the midst of my pastor's mother struggling/dying...
Christ is born.
In the midst of some of our family gathering together and some having to be "distant"...
Christ is born.
In the midst of economic fears and other forms of chaos...
Christ is born.
In those precious few, beautiful, quiet moments...
Christ is born.
In the inner sanctuaries of our churches as well as our hearts...
Christ is born.

Christ is born.
In the midst of it all...
Christ is born indeed.
And I am a life...that has been changed.

Sensing...His Birth

Sunday night.
Joy is decorating for Christmas, and I'm putting the stuff downstairs that's to be stored until spring...some pretty cool stuff of meaningful memories like a picture of Rachel sitting on the wall of a Wales castle and Joy and I sitting at a Paris cafe....but nonetheless stuff that someday our children won't be sure what to do with just the way we're not sure what to do with all my parents stuff now!
Todd Rundgren is playing in the background...playing his excellent music mostly about God things in his own rock n roll, hippi way.
Obama was interviewed for 45 minutes tonight on Meet The Press. Wow. One smart dude.
Next to me sits one of the Christmas decorations which I'm sure one of our kids made when they were young. It's a beautiful, colorful, stain glass-like, marker drawing of the Madonna and Child. In fact, if I really open my eyes I see that I'm surrounded by all sorts of decorations the children made many years ago. I'm glad Joy makes this part of our annual tradition.
Hmm, opening my eyes to see. I wonder what else I'm missing. I pray that this season you and I will have the senses to experience...his birth.

We're Not Alone

My dad keeps saying that he wishes he could pastor a church again. I asked him the other day that if he was pastoring again, what would he preach about. He paused and pondered, and then my 86 year old papa said, "I'd tell them that we need each other and that we are not alone."

***Our friend Jonnie is staying out at the Peacefield farm with Kev and Jen. She's not alone...and neither are they.

***I had to make a very tough decision over the last two days and to do that I discussed the matter with Joy, my brother Steve, and my friends Frank and Barb...and of course, the Lord. I am not alone.

***Thanksgiving was at our house and there was a good and deep connection with family. We are not alone!

***I attended a funeral today in an African American Church for a man named Richard who was a nationally known musician and composer as well as a locally honored teacher, but died at age 58. The church was full of people who prayed, praised, and proclaimed with power to each other and especially to his family that we are not alone!

So preach it papa. Preach it with power. And praise be to God that we have one another, and that we are not alone.

P.S. The picture is my mommy and doggie re-united at Thanksgiving.

Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright

I recently (and finally!) finished N.T. Wright's Surprised By Hope. The book's subtitle is Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. With this book, Wright is now my favorite theologian.

Those familiar with McLaren's writings on the kingdom of God/heaven will be familiar with the first section of Wright's book. Both writers are "on the same page" with their interpretations of the kingdom of God and the reality of heaven being present and overlapping with creation, not something off in the distance within our space/time continuum. But Wright takes it further....

Wright then ties that with the resurrection of Christ that points to the future of creation, when heaven and earth become one as God intended his creation to be redeemed. I had not thought too much about the bodily resurrection when Jesus returns, so what Wright says about the resurrection of Christ being a "the future brought into the present" really blew me away. Wright has little patience for "left behind" theology and deftly takes it apart using solid Biblical interpretation.

Finally, Wright concludes with how the church should respond knowing the future hope revealed in the gospel of Christ. Our kingdom work today will be redeemed and come to fruition in the redemption of all creation when Christ returns. What we practice today prepares us for the reality of God's promised future.

Wright also tackles the "where do we go when we die" question, and the media attention given to his book seems to focus on that, but the book is about so much more and puts forth an important vision and mission for today's church. I don't want to try to state Wright's complete position on life after death here because I don't want to misstate it. I will say that he talks about a "life after life after death" (the resurrection of the dead) as being much more important than where our spirit may happen to dwell right after we die. Wright says that the Bible doesn't talk too much about the latter, and says a whole lot more about the former. Wright admits that he just can't fathom how a redeemed creation where God dwells with his people can exist with a "concentration camp" in the middle where people are being tortured for their sins. You really must read the book if you're interested in more about this and don't take what I've just written as a complete summation.

Reading N.T. Wright is not easy. He's challenging to read, even for this book which is supposed to be more accessible than his other books. But this is worth it, along with Simply Christian which came out a few years ago. If you like reading McLaren, I think you will like reading this, but Wright goes much deeper into Scripture than McLaren.

Thanks Giving

I give thanks...
for the gift of each day,
for my wife, children, family, and friends,
for books,
laughter,
challenges,
community,
health,
connection to God,
and breakfast cereal (Ok, I'm writing at breakfast time!)
and so much more.

I'm also very grateful that we can continue to do our part
in joining God to bless the lives of the broken.(Which we all take turns being!)
Amen....and Yes.

It's His Business...And Ours

He's about changing lives.....again and again.

I know he set me free from drugs a long time ago, and he keeps forgiving me and setting me free.

The other night I met with a few churches, and there were some testimonies shared.
One woman lived across the street from the little church. She finally went into the building and ended up staying because she was shown hospitality. She is now seeking to follow Christ and hasn't drank for 9 months. This is his business...and ours.

Another testimony was from a man who had found Christ in the church about four years ago. He went down to Mississippi for a work trip this last summer. He testified that he didn't much like the folks whose home they were fixing up. He says that right there in the woods Jesus told him that he needed to learn now as a disciple to stop being so judgmental.

The last testimony was how the church was helping to feed hungry neighbors.

Jesus, change our lives. Set us free. Set us on fire. Change lives and communities through us.

It's your business...and ours.

Grant Park.
November 4th.
Thousands upon thousands.
America, A VERY DIVERSE NATION, speaks clearly and loudly and elects as our President
Barak Hussein Obama.
I wonder if the church of Jesus will be able to hear, include, speak to, and love them
as did he.

VOTING!

What a privilege to vote in America......and I'm leading the way!
God's kingdom and way come to our land and our world...whoever wins.

P.S. I went to Chicago's Grant Park with son David and 250,000 others. Felt like a revolution of hope.