Live NOW. What are your other choices? You can’t relive your past. Trying to relive your past only leads to regret. You can’t prelive your future. Trying to prelive your future only fosters anxiety. Instead, live now. It’s all you have. In this short video, Alan Watts advises you on how to live NOW.
Make Your Own Kind of Moments
I received this picture from somewhere out on the Atlantic Ocean.
It is the itinerary from today’s Delbert McClinton Sandy Beaches Cruise. If you look close enough, you’ll see on the schedule, at 1:00 is The Moment, in Ocean Bar #3, described as “A Service of word, prayer, and song, celebrating the moments that make up our time together. Led by Carol Warren and Etta Britt.”
How many other worship services have you seen where in the same space following is a “Tropical Mixology Class?” It is, after all, Ocean Bar #3.
We started having our Moments north of Nashville on the Britt’s farm, moved into a bar in Nashville, headed south out to Carol Warren’s farm, and then bounced around to a homeless shelter and other places. We found Moments everywhere and everytime we looked.
Genesis 1 says that in the beginning, when God created the earth, God didn’t make a holy mountain to live on or a large cathedral to live in, but a holy moment, a Sabbath, a holy place in time. That’s a moment. Encountering God and others anyplace, anytime, with any and everyone. Thanks be to God. The Lord works in mysterious ways God’s wonders to perform. Rock on.
Be a Britt, Lift Up Others in Love
Today, I get to pick up two of my friends who’ll be staying with my family for a few days. Fresh off the Delbert McClinton Sandy Beaches Cruise, they’ll be helping lead worship at church with my congregation on Sunday night.
Bob and Etta Britt are two of my most cherished friends and have been for over fifteen years. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, I went to see Bob and Etta play at Third and Lindsley. To a bar full of folks, Etta announced, “My preacher is here. Anyone want to hear him do a sermon. He’s pretty good.” You can guess the answer.
Live Your Moments: Leave Your Nets Behind
According to Alan Watts, “The great symbols of our culture are the rocket and the bulldozer.”
Each is a conqueror of space. Since we cannot go too much farther in outer space in our era, and there is little land left to explore below the stars and above the oceans, we turn back to time. We try to conquer time by transforming time into another space which we refer to as the calendar and the ‘to-do list and fill every minute with as much ‘stuff’ every day making our schedules as tightly packed as our closets and our attics. To encounter God, we are called out to a place beyond our understandings of both time and space. Here is my version of an ancient story I heard from Alan Watts,
Once there was a fisherman. He cast his net into the water. After fishing for a while, he held up his net and looked through the squares and into the horizon. Off in the distance, he saw the mountain. He had been there when he was younger but found the mountain too difficult to climb. Now that he was older, there was something comforting about looking through his net at the mountain in the distance. What he could not climb, he reduced to what he could count and measure The mountain was six spaces across and four high.
He took his net with him. Through the spaces, he measured and compared his hut to other huts. That night he had a disagreement with his son, he held up the net to see how many squares tall his son was.
Others adopted his way of measuring and made similar grids putting space on parchment and then paper. Even time was transformed to space as days were given formal boundaries on calendars. Moments gave way to minutes and lives transformed to lists.
In the midst of this objectifying of time and space walked a rabbi. He approached the shore and some fishermen casting their nets into the sea. “Follow me,” he called. They did. He had one initial requirement. They had to leave their nets behind.
What are your nets? Spaces you use to gain control of your life unaware they can become barriers to the call of God.
Lies Churches Tell, The Deceptions of Seminary, and the Good News of the Gospel that Trumps All
Luke 3: Learning to be Beloved of God
Live Your Moments: Be Here
In 2011, following the Nashville flood and downturn in the economy, in a time of uncertainty in my life, I prayed to God, “What do you want me to do?” God responded, “The question is not, ‘What do I want you to do?’ The question is, ‘Who do I want you to be?’” For me, a good sign that God is speaking to me and not just my own voice echoing in my head is when my questions are answered with another question. Apparently, The Socratic Method is not dead with God.
I thought for a minute. Carefully considering my response, then I asked, “Okay, who do you want me to be?”
Silence. No response. No answer. Three months. Six months. Longer, still waiting and left with the question, “Who am I to be?” For a year, I tried being good, competent, successful, effective. I tried being like Jesus, which in my mind, somehow meant being ‘nice’ to everyone even though few perceived Jesus as ‘nice’ in the gospels. I even tried being like Old Yellar, yes, the dog from the Disney movie, loyal, faithful, defending his family, sacrificing himself. I tried being anything and everything I could for about a year. I failed repeatedly at many different things. “Who am I to be?” went unanswered.
Wisdom Transformation: Going Home By Another Way
Reflecting on the Magi, the Wise Ones, on Epiphany, I came to realize that perhaps they weren’t much smarter than the rest of us. Herod knew Jesus was trouble so he couldn’t see anything other than what he already thought. The Magi, however, when confronted with a power greater than they imagined, were open to learning some new way God was working in the world. This is what makes wisdom, when you are aware enough of your ignorance of the workings of God to be able to see God at work in a new way, even when God works in mysterious ways, God’s wonders to perform.
For a deeper study on the way of the Magi, check out the following books and the specific chapters:
The Psychology of Jesus, Chapter 8: Herod: People and Events Don’t Bother Us, But Our Perceptions of Them Do
and Out of The Crowd, Chapter 15; “The Anxious Crowd”
Best Gift to Give For Christmas
This Christmas, don’t just buy something, give those you love your attention.
Be near.
Be kind.
Be loving.
And most of all… Be Present.
Christmas Gift
My favorite Pat McLaughlin quotes…
When asked to sing at church, “I don’t know any sacred songs. Well… perhaps they’re all sacred songs.”
After I finished worship, “That’s the best #*^##* sermon I ever heard.”
This song is not a carol, and it won’t ever be in a hymnbook, but it brings me joy inside. Shouldn’t all Christmas gifts bring us joy inside? With that intention, have a Funky Christmas. (Merry Christmas, McLaughlin Family. Missed you at Thanksgiving.)
Don’t know what to get your music lover for Christmas? Support quality song writing in Nashville and have yourself a funky Christmas. http://www.patmclaughlin.com/
How Did We Travel So Far Away?
and she took the babe, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger… Luke 2
How did we travel so far away?
Backroads & Spotlights
My wonderful friend, Etta Britt, has a book coming out in the next few weeks. For those who have heard her life revealed in her songs like Quiet House and others, in this book she shares her soul from which her music comes. My connection with Etta Britt is so strong that at times I cannot tell if she is singing my sermons or if I’m preaching her songs – like this one, I Believe.
It’s just a matter of time,
we’re gonna wake up to find.
This world is moving so fast
every moment, make it last.
When you give hope then you’ll see,
love is all we need to believe.
A touch of a hand, one smile
make someone ‘s life worthwhile
I believe…
Moments Not Minutes
Moments Are More Than Minutes
When we reflect on our lives, we realize the difference between time measured and time experienced. We ask so often, “What time is it?” when the more important question for life is, “What kind of time is it?”
So far, we’ve noted there is time measured (minutes) and there is time experienced (moments). Before we look deeper into types of time across languages and cultures, let me simply set forth this contrast of moments to minutes.
Minutes are measurements of time.
Moments are experiences that transcend time.
Minutes are time at its worst.
Moments are life at its fullest.
Continue reading “Moments Not Minutes”
Where are you? Where are you going? The key to relationships…
When the authors of the Bible, especially the gospels, want to tell you something about a person, they speak less about who or what they are and point to where they are. Consider the Bible characters and what you know about their locations. The major characters have tell-tale locations: Zacchaeus up a tree (Luke 19), the demoniac in the tombs (Mark 5), the lepers on the outside of town (Luke 17), the woman at the well in the middle of the day (John 4), Nicodemus who comes at night (John 3), Herod in Jerusalem (Matthew 2), Lazarus in his tomb (John 11), the disciples behind locked doors (John 20), Thomas away from the other disciples (John 20), Peter and the other disciples returning to their boats (John 21). The list is not all-inclusive but enough to illustrate how the gospels use locations to tell us about people and how Jesus paid attention to location noting not only where people were but where they were relative to others. For example, it is not just that Zacchaeus is up a tree, but he is up a tree away from the others.
Continue reading “Where are you? Where are you going? The key to relationships…”
Hyponyms – Beyond Synonyms and Antonyms – Beyond Us and Them
Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Both groups are shocked.
The sheep, through their surprise, also exhibit their attitude toward others. Again, with emphasis for understanding, the Son of Man says to them, I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ In their surprise, they respond, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
The sheep acted. The sheep helped others. Their action was also, like the goats, rooted in their perspective. Sheep have a different mindset from goats in the parable. Whereas the goats perceived the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick or the prisoner as other, as them, the sheep didn’t. The sheep saw no others, no less than, no them, just us. The difference wasn’t in value but need. Whereas the goats had a dualistic mindset of us and them, for the sheep, there was simply us. Surely there were people in need and people who weren’t, but there was no distinction of in and out. Jesus hints at this difference between the two groups in their judgment. To the sheep, the Son of Man calls the least of these who are members of my family, and for the goats, they are simply referred to as the least of these without the family marker. Make no mistake, the sheep aren’t doing charity by helping those in need, they are simply helping out other members of their “family.” They did not see any distinction. Just us. Continue reading “Hyponyms – Beyond Synonyms and Antonyms – Beyond Us and Them”
What if Jesus Came Back Today?
What if Jesus came back today, what would you say?
On my last two trips to Haiti, I’ve worked with Pastor Bob LeFranc, affectionately, ‘Pastor Bob’. He and I have an ongoing disagreement. Bob thinks Jesus is coming back very soon to judge the world, very soon, as in, tomorrow if not before. My point in our debate is this, for two thousand years people have been saying the same thing, “Jesus is coming soon!” For two thousand years, as far as I can tell, they’ve been mistaken. This statement has also used to let those with wealth and relative prosperity to continue to rest on our laurels while others stay in poverty.
Pastor Bob and I do not continue this discussion very long when in Haiti, unless stuck in Port Au Prince traffic. On this past trip to Haiti, after meeting a couple of new partners and seeing their orphanages, schools, and children’s homes, I told Bob, “With so much to do, if Jesus comes back today, we’ll have to tell him to come back later because we are busy.” Do you feel like that most days of the week? Do you feel like you’re part of something that is changing the world and you just need more time to make the world a better place, more like the kingdom of God?
In 1986, a Gallup survey showed that, for the first time in decades, more people in the United States thought that their children would grow up to find a world in worse shape than the world they grew up in. This perspective is not what I found in Haiti. Each person we talked with had a vision for him or herself and for Haiti, including our group.
When we said, “Goodbye for a while,” to the children of Bon Samaritan Orphanage, Abbie told me that she was happy with me and mad at me. “Mad at me?” I asked. “Yes,” she admitted, “Glad that you brought me here and mad that you are making me leave.”
When will we go back? I don’t know. The rebellion of a daughter that wants to go back to work with children in Haiti is a rebellion, that I believe, that can change the world. I believe the transformation can be so g
reat in Haiti and beyond that Jesus, even if he is coming back soon, will say to others in heaven, “Let’s watch this and see what happens!”
So, how did you feel when you got up this morning? What would you say if Jesus came back today? What vision of the world are you working toward?
See how you can join in our effort by checking out www.nochildhungry.net
Read Something New? Write a Review.
For independent authors and other artists, books, songs, and even some movies rise to the surface because someone cares enough to share. If you have a book you love or a singer or band you enjoy, write a review to share their art with others. Reviews on Amazon, ITunes, or Google Play are all helpful. The review also gives the artists feedback on how his or her work connects with others. Care enough to share!
If you’re willing to write a review on one of my books, then click the following link: http://amazon.com/author/dwjones. Thanks for your help.
Organic Christianity
When I was a child, “organic” just wasn’t part of my vocabulary. I don’t recall ever hearing it except as a form of chemistry in college. Since I avoided all classes of chemistry, organic seemed no different than any other. I would not have imagined there could be organic sections of a grocery store, that some vegetables could be organic, and others, by default, inorganic.
Since organic seems to be a category now popular in many areas of life, what about Christianity? Can there be such a thing?
Well, upon some reflection, I think Charles Darwin pointed the church toward Organic Christianity.
Below is a section from an article I have coming out in the May edition of SciTech that I’ll provide a link to when it is released. It is based on a chapter from my book, Out of The Crowd. The title of the article is Darwin’s Gift.
Friday, But Sunday’s Coming
As I pray and prepare for a Good Friday Sermon, a Sunrise Easter Sermon, and an Easter Sermon, I can’t help but think of my favorite Easter sermon. I’m glad to see Tony Campolo is still telling about it. He preaches a sermon about his pastor preaching, and it is still tremendously moving! Anytime there is Friday, I remember Sunday’s coming!
Eagle or Crane?
I 
began 2015 with this vision. While riding my bike on the edge of Orange County, I saw this eagle. It is neither easy to sneak up on an eagle while on a bicycle nor capture a picture of the sky king. 
Closer to the city, I found other birds much more complicit in my picture taking. Almost posing, they allowed me to take several.
The contrast in images and in birds was clear asking me, “In 2015 will you soar like an eagle reaching high for all God has to offer or be content like a crane, only flying stretching your wings when absolutely necessary?”
I remembered the promise of Isaiah 40,
Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
I vowed to take the eagle as my example and sang out the words of Steve Miller, dooo dooo dooo dooo, I want to fly like an eagle.
A similar contrast and challenge is in the story of the Magi coming up for Epiphany Sunday presented clearly in the difference between the approach to life and God by Herod and the citizens of the city of Jerusalem and the Magi in Matthew 2,
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Herod and Jerusalem lived in a culture known for their traditions, titles, and luxuries, valuing stability and security over stars and adventure. For them the poverty of some was a prerequisite for the palaces of others. In contrast, for the magi, the world was their home, their life was in the skies where stars shined, God spoke, and Messiahs could be found anywhere. They were not known by their titles but their gifts. They were not characterized by their comforts but their visions and their journeys. Treasures were for sharing, not protecting. They were like eagles, not cranes stuck to the ground, but flying to the skies of God’s heavens.
Two clear images. Which will you choose? Who will be your role model in 2015?
Listening From Tomorrow
I’m not very good at waiting which is why Advent is a difficult season when waiting is a holy activity. Nathan was with me when we picked out his Christmas present, then I hid it. 
Like son, like father, neither of us is very skilled at waiting. Even now, Carrie, Cayla, and Abbie are about two hours away. Waiting on them to make the trip this week has taken longer than any trip I’ve ever made.
Dawn Neff sent me this devotional which came quite timely I want to share with all and any of you who share my impatience in character.
Dawn Neff sent me this devotional which came quite timely I want to share with all and any of you who share my impatience in character.
Listening from Tomorrow by San Francisco Theological Seminary Professor, Dr. Virstan Choy.
“(I am) the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me according to your prediction.”
The theme for this year’s Advent devotions is a helpful reminder of the multi-sensory nature of Advent and other journeys of hope: It is not just about seeing (vision); it’s at least also about hearing (listening). And according to Donald Zimmer, as with Advent journeys, so with leadership: “To govern effectively within the church, leaders must first be able to listenindividually and together to God.”(Zimmer, Leadership and Listening: Spiritual Foundations for Church Governance).
But in my work with leaders of congregations in search of hope in the midst of uncertain futures, and leaders seeking hope in the midst of seemingly intractable conflicts, the key to listening is what organizational consultant Michael Black calls “listening from tomorrow,” rather than listening from yesterday or even today. To listen from tomorrow is to engage in what Otto Scharmer calls “generative listening” in his book, Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges — listening in which one intentionally seeks to let go of the perceptions and attachments that inevitably form when what one is hearing is information that arouses one’s feelings. Such listening requires that we suspend our judgment about how things are or ought to be so that we can be more open to the potential that surrounds us and fills us.
“(I am) the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me according to your prediction.”
The theme for this year’s Advent devotions is a helpful reminder of the multi-sensory nature of Advent and other journeys of hope: It is not just about seeing (vision); it’s at least also about hearing (listening). And according to Donald Zimmer, as with Advent journeys, so with leadership: “To govern effectively within the church, leaders must first be able to listenindividually and together to God.”(Zimmer, Leadership and Listening: Spiritual Foundations for Church Governance).
But in my work with leaders of congregations in search of hope in the midst of uncertain futures, and leaders seeking hope in the midst of seemingly intractable conflicts, the key to listening is what organizational consultant Michael Black calls “listening from tomorrow,” rather than listening from yesterday or even today. To listen from tomorrow is to engage in what Otto Scharmer calls “generative listening” in his book, Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges — listening in which one intentionally seeks to let go of the perceptions and attachments that inevitably form when what one is hearing is information that arouses one’s feelings. Such listening requires that we suspend our judgment about how things are or ought to be so that we can be more open to the potential that surrounds us and fills us.
And in the passage for today, Mary’s listening moves from listening–to to listening-from. Gabriel lists a number of tomorrows that are about to happen-tomorrows involving God, but tomorrows involving Mary herself, too. Mary listens to and begins to respond from her place of today–what is true today (“But how can this be?”), but then shifts to listening from tomorrow.
Is not Mary’s movement a movement from listening to/listening from today to listening from tomorrow? Robert Brawley’s translation above in the recently-published Fortress Commentary on the Bible helps us to hear Mary’s “Let it be with me according to your word about the tomorrow God is bringing into being.”
And Advent is our opportunity to remember tomorrow, the tomorrow that is the destiny of humanity, the destiny which is embodied in Jesus, as Roger Haight tell us: “Jesus is one of us– what occurred in Jesus is the destiny of human existence itself: et homo factus est.” (cited by James Carroll in Christ Actually: The Son of God for the Secular Age).
What seeds for our destiny are being planted by God within us and around us this Advent? How are we seeking such hope–listening as well as seeing from tomorrow?
If this post came up for you like it did on my phone, then today and tomorrow are links which can connect to your calendar to set an appointment, in this case, with God. Advent tells us that whether or not God is on our agenda, we are on God’s. Ready or not, the Christ of Christmas comes – so be ready!
Is not Mary’s movement a movement from listening to/listening from today to listening from tomorrow? Robert Brawley’s translation above in the recently-published Fortress Commentary on the Bible helps us to hear Mary’s “Let it be with me according to your word about the tomorrow God is bringing into being.”
And Advent is our opportunity to remember tomorrow, the tomorrow that is the destiny of humanity, the destiny which is embodied in Jesus, as Roger Haight tell us: “Jesus is one of us– what occurred in Jesus is the destiny of human existence itself: et homo factus est.” (cited by James Carroll in Christ Actually: The Son of God for the Secular Age).
What seeds for our destiny are being planted by God within us and around us this Advent? How are we seeking such hope–listening as well as seeing from tomorrow?
If this post came up for you like it did on my phone, then today and tomorrow are links which can connect to your calendar to set an appointment, in this case, with God. Advent tells us that whether or not God is on our agenda, we are on God’s. Ready or not, the Christ of Christmas comes – so be ready!