A Message from Guest Pastor Tony Dungy

I love football. Specifically, I love football coaches. More specifically, I love Tony Dungy. I love him so much that I’m currently reading his memoir “Quiet Strength”.

I have devoured the book and read it every chance I get. It’s like getting to talk with a dad, or a grandfather (my mom says she is particularly fond of Mr. Dungy because he resembles her father), or a very successful (as defined by God, not man) and wise coach.

This morning I read about one of Tony’s biggest “blow ups” at a team. When he was at Tampa Bay the team was doing really well, and were really beginning to cultivate a culture that was confident and hopeful (rather than depressed and anxious as they had been for nearly two decades). Interestingly, the blow up had nothing to do with the team’s performance on the field. What pushed the typically calm Dungy over the edge was that two of his players had missed scheduled public appearances. One missed an autograph signing at a car dealership and the other a meeting with a 4th grade class.

Tony was livid.

In his speech to the team he made these comments:

“Obviously your word isn’t important to you if it doesn’t involve the game of football…You’ll always find excuses for not doing exactly what you’re supposed to do. But that’s exactly what creates a losing environment.”

Always find excuses for not doing exactly what you’re supposed to do.

Wow.

I’m not sure how to explain what hit me so hard about the speech.  I read it and I know I am on the bad end of this speech.  The side that makes excuses.  That says they are determined and “all about it” in one area of life, but only in one area of life.

I am hopeful as I read the speech, though.  As we go through our study on who we are in Christ I feel like I am finally starting to really let my beliefs change me and become a part of me.  I really believe that as we continue to soak in these really strange ideas we will become more like the people Dungy is talking about.  People whose word is important in all areas of our life, not just the ones we think need to be important.  People who don’t make excuses, we just do what is right.  No questions asked.

I am hopeful about the kind of Christians we are becoming.  Of the immense growth that has come over the past couple of years fighting with this whole Christianity thing.  I imagine what it will be like to be a group that truly believes that who we are is infused with the Love of God.  I can’t wait to see what kind of people we will be as we open our eyes up to the many gifts and fruits that we can bear because a loving God lives within each of us.

I can’t wait until we can’t find the excuses because… it’s just how we roll.

Weaknesses

This week we have been reading Joshua 1. It struck me strange that in verses 6-9 God commands Joshua 3 times to be strong and courageous. God doesn’t usually repeat Himself unless its important.

So I decided to read a few different commentaries on it and came across one from David Guzik. He said, “Joshua is called to boldness in God. This exposes Joshua’s weakness; there was a need for such a command, because even a great leader like Joshua needed such encouragement.”

He also says, “This bold courage would not be in Joshua himself, but in God. We can be full of self-confidence that will take us to ruin, but we should instead be full of a genuine God-confidence.”

These passages and commentaries gave me great encouragement knowing that even when I need some God encouragement so did Joshua, a great leader for God.

a broken heart…

We talk and talk and talk about doing. We don’t do because we aren’t sure what to do. We reach and we scratch and we work. Mark has proposed a new pattern of discipline. It involves prayer, reading the Bible, reading works from other Christians, journaling, and engaging with each other about what we learn.  It sounds like work and I HATE work.

What is it really? It’s intentionally getting to know God. When I want to be friends with someone… I CALL them. I go for coffee with them. I spend time with them. I get to know their hearts. I have to WORK at it but it’s not work because it’s motivated by my heart. When I know them, I know how to please them. I know what to DO for them. Usually, the DO is really wrapped up in spending time with them anyway.

As I think of all of this, I hear this song. I invite you into it with me…

i've got faith in the bank and money in my heart
i've got a calloused place where your ring used to be, my love
i've traded naked and unashamed
for a better place to hide
for a righteous mask, a suit of fig leaves and lies

i thought the cattle on a thousand hills
was not enough to pay my bills
and i fell in love with those who proved me wrong
and now i want a broken heart
now there's a great pad lock
on the place where i was free
and i'm feeling bad from swallowing that key
now i work real hard but i mostly call in sick
of a broken back from the ground fighting back at me

i cannot look you in the eye
so i check the knots on my disguise
'cause i fell in love with fashion in the dark
and now i want a broken heart

i've got alibis for every crime
a substitute to do my time
'cause Your heart breaks enough on both our parts
and now i want a broken heart now i want a broken heart
now i want a broken heart

Pride & Prejudice… and Joy?

Jessica brought our lesson this Sunday.  Being the Queen of Succint, her “scene” consisted of those precious seconds of ”Pride & Prejudice” (the Kiera Knightley one) before the title has even appeared. 

I don’t really know how to do the scene justice except to have you close your eyes and imagine a beautiful sunrise coming up behind English hills.  Imagine the peace.  And as Jess reminded us, imagine that smell.  You know.  That morning smell.  Nothing else in the world smells like it.  I’m going out on a limb and saying it almost smells like God gave the earth a gentle sponge bath, refreshing it for the new day.  

For his anger lasts only a moment,
      but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
      but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5

Jess reminded us that there is something unexplainably joyful about the morning.  The freshness of a new day reminds us that there is hope, something different can happen.  Joy comes with a fresh attitude.  The morning seems to be God’s daily reminder of the joy that is possible if only we’d take Him up on it.

The twist is struggling to find those fresh moments in the midst of all the Pride and Prejudice.  As a group we discussed our own struggles with pride, our inability to see our contributions to the problems in our life.  Our own prejudices that stop us from getting to know the person behind the stereotype.  By opening our eyes to how dirty our Spirits have become because of the Pride and Prejudice we are more open to receiving our own gentle sponge bath from God. 

Lord, please prepare our hearts this Christmas season.  Help us experience the Joy, the Grace, and the Love that exists in each new day You have given us.  Help us breathe in that beautiful Joy Smell.  Thank You.

God Moments @ Work

Everyone kind of knows me as the guy that looks for God in the small moments of life. So to prove them right I am going to tell a story. The other day I was at work and David was working across from me. David is a really big gamer and I am somewhat of a gamer. Anyways he has been playing this game battlefield 2041 and he has a clan name. We got to talking because he has not been at work in a while so I found out he doesn’t have a girlfriend anymore. I was telling him it will only be awhile and he’ll have a girlfriend then a wife then kids on the way. Then he will have to sell every gaming system and buy a wii so the kids can play. (joking of course). So realizing that I am talking somewhat about myself he offers to rename his clan on his game to 4nj (for Nate Johnson) and I was so moved and touched!! Because I can’t play as often as I used to. For those of you that don’t know renaming something in the video game world for someone is total LOVE. I found out this week that he actually did rename his clan and everyone asked him why and they loved the idea of what he was doing for me!

“Blood”y Good Movie

We watched “Blood Diamond” on Saturday for Nate’s “Movie Sermon”.  Mark and I were hesitant.  I had avoided the movie because it looked boring, political and DiCaprio gets on my nerves.  I was pretty sure Nate was off base with picking this as his “I learned about God in this movie” movie.

I was wrong.

Nate pointed out the God elements that he saw in the movie.  The ability for something beautiful to come out of something so horrific and ugly.  And that’s definitely what I got from the whole thing, too.  God is all about redemption.

In my own life, I’m seeing this same theme on a smaller scale.  Mark and I are in pre-engagement counseling, and we paid $60 to find out I am afraid of conflict.  Afraid.  Pshh.  Terrified.

Why?  Because conflict is scary, horrific, ugly.  When I’m in conflict I feel like one of those child soldiers in the movie.  A little, scared, crying kid with an uzi.  It is wrong and dangerous.

Our counselor pointed out that conflict isn’t bad.  Conflict is natural.  Healthy, even.  And that on the other side of every conflict waits intimacy.  Journeying through conflict in a healthy and assertive manner was one of the ways we would reach the kind of intimacy we longed for.  Trust would be developed.  Our committment would be stronger.  Many good things would be born out of conflict… if I would try.

For me, watching “Blood Diamond” is more than just being aware of social justice on a global scale.  I am reminded that that same beauty can be found in the conflict and forgiveness of the everyday.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 
and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:26-28

Food…yummy!!!

I have have always been a foodie of sorts. Not in the gourmet sense but in the sense that i have a passion for eating and cooking food. I’ve never really thought about how this passion is significant to who I am. As marie likes to call it, its my “Holy Spirit Tingle”. Serving my family and friends and getting that warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside when they eat something i made. Its a great thing in my world. There is this deeply spiritual side of being a foodie that I never realized until on day at LRC. Having a passion to serve others with genuine gratitude and hospitality like Jesus did. Wow, apart of me is like Jesus! I’ve never feed thousands like Him but i like to think He had to start somewhere.

Family

It has a lot of meanings. 

OK, well normal people think it’s those people who are related to them. You know, the people who have the same last name or spend holidays with them or something silly like that.

 

I am not normal! For me, I have a lot of different types of family. In the end it’s always those people who are a part of my life and I am a part of theirs. It’s people with whom I am truly invested and who are truly invested in me.

 

Every time I leave “church”, I am overcome with knowing these people are my family!

 

I love Marie and Mark. I am so invested in their relationship. I love to hear how they are growing and I pray that they continue to do so. I am excited by their willingness to leave their future up to Jesus while still talking with confidence about their life together. It makes me laugh when Mark talks about Marie spending “his” money. I giggle when Marie looks at Mark with those puppy eyes that say “You love how silly I am! Don’t forget that!” I am honored to be a part of their family.

 

I love Nate, Jess, and Audrey. I am crazy about their little family. I get excited when I hear them say they just want to spend all their time together. I am impressed by the fact that they only work part time so that they prioritize each other. I get the “tingles” when I think about Audrey growing in Jess’ tummy. I am thrilled that Jess let me touch her belly and say hi to Audrey. I miss Audrey and I haven’t even met her yet. I am honored to be a part of their family.

 

I love that they love me. I am touched by Nate’s offer to physically protect my little sister. I am overwhelmed by Mark offering to use his tithe money to help her pay her bills. I am broken by Marie and Jess’ tears when they pray for her. I am honored to call them a part of my family.

 

This is the church! This is what my heart wants. I want people who pray for me and are involved with me. Church is not filing in and out of a building and getting an Oprah like message. It’s getting down and dirty with real life. It’s being invested. It’s promising that when Marie and Mark fight, we will be there to pray for them and support them and cheer for them. It’s committing not just to Nate and Jess but to helping them raise their daughter, through good times, bad times, pimples, proms, and boyfriends. It’s letting me cry about my family and then looking for real solutions (prayer, money, time).

 

And they will know WE are Christians (little Christ’s) by our love…

Pre-Partying

I remember first hearing about ‘pre-partying’ in college. I don’t remember what it means exactly, but I remember that it involved being significantly “under the influence” before stepping out to the “real parties”.

Well, I like to think that our dinner last night was some type of “pre-partying” for Thanksgiving. Our DiGiornio pizza night seemed to serve the purpose of getting me “significantly grateful” before the “real party”, a.k.a. Thanksgiving dinner.

Nate and Jess shared about their Disney World adventure. Nate bought a pink lanyard and began collecting Disney Character pins for Audrey (apparently, it is the cool new way to commemorate the Disney* experience). I thought this was really sweet, and a decent compensation for a really fun vacation that Audrey only got to kind of experience.

Sarah and her friend Erin came. We celebrated over Sarah’s new house, and committed to praying about some pesky paperwork issues that may delay the process. Overall, everyone is super excited about her new home owning adventure.

Erin’s presence made the event (hopefully) a truly hospitable one (when you break the word “hospitality” up it means to love a stranger like a friend. Erin was a stranger at 7:15, and she hopefully knows that she was considered a friend by 7:20…. even though she lost points with the table for not appreciating “Lady in the Water”… anyways, I hope our “stranger” felt loved). She was absolutely adorable, and it was great getting to hang out with her.

I am embarrassed to say that I hesitate to include some of the funnier moments of the night because this is our Church blog… and that just isn’t appropriate. Ha.

Nate and Jess will be hosting a movie showing at 8 on Saturday of “Blood Diamond”. The plan is that for the next couple of Sundays we will be using movies to talk about God. So far Mark and Sarah have used clips of movies. In Nate’s world, however, clips are for sissies… movie night it is.

No pictures because I forgot.
I also forgot to have anyone bless the food. So, Lord, thank You for the food, the friends, and the “stranger”/friend You provided. Thank You for nourishing our bodies with pizza and our souls with fellowship. We love You. Amen.

*Apparently, this blog was paid for by Disney World. It was like a commercial in that third paragraph… Cheese Louise.

Dinner Time

Tonight we are having dinner together.  I think a normal post would wait until after the dinner so that I could share amusing anecdotes and wonderful insights into the community that is being formed around the dinner table, but that would be… normal.  And I’m not normal, and these Living Room Church cats are way off in the 3rd standard deviation (I’ve got jokes… statisitic jokes to be exact). 

So I’m looking forward to dinner with the Church.  Looking forward to hearing about Disney World (Audrey will be disheartened to hear, one day, that she has already been to Disney World… on the “I’m still in the womb” discount).  Looking forward to hearing about Sarah’s 24 hour house hunt-offer-buy extravaganza.  The girl moves fast. 

There is a lot going on in our lives, and I’m excited about getting to share with everyone.

And I’m excited to have some blog fodder because of it.

And blog pictures.

You know.  In case we forget how fun Living Room Church can be.

We can alway just come to the website, read the blog, look at the pictures, and think,

“Wow, that Living Room Church is Dy-No-Mite!”

Dinner at Marie’s House at 7:00 on November 20th.  I think we are having pizza.