This has been a very busy week. Enjoy this picture until next week.

This is worth a look. The preacher is Matt Chandler

I have been a part of numerous volunteer organizations including church. I know that before every event there is a large amount of work that goes on. That is what makes me laugh about this cartoon.

Seth Godin on his blog had a post entitled: “What if Surfing Was Your Job”

He writes:

“Same waves, different day.

The risk of skin cancer. The falling. Sand in your socks. The people hassling you for your spot on the wave. The pressure to do more sets. The other guys at the beach who don’t appreciate your style. The drudgery of doing it again tomorrow, when the weather sucks. And then every day, from now on, never-ceasing.

Where would you go on vacation?

Your drudgery is another person’s delight. It’s only a job if you treat it that way. The privilege to do our work, to be in control of the promises we make and the things we build, is something worth cherishing.”

This might be true of many aspects of your life and not just your job. Something to ponder.

A few years ago Outreach Marketing starting promoting that the Sunday that is one or two weeks after Labor Day is “Back to Church Sunday.” Their research showed that people often start skipping Church in the summer and once the labor day holiday is over they often start returning. In an effort to help this process along they designed a “big day” campaign called “Back to Church Sunday.”
Outreach Marketing’s website says that over 21,000 Churches have signed up to participate. Well, I did not sign up formally, but I think going back to Church this Sunday is great. In fact, I think going back to Church any Sunday is a great idea.

Let me give you three reasons I think going back to Church this Sunday is a good idea:

1. You need Christian relationships in your life. All of us need people to speak truth and grace into our lives.

2. You need a place to learn about God. There is no other place that I know of that is wrestling with significant and eternal issues every week. Each week Churches speak about love, marriage, parenting, heaven, change, and dozens of other big issues. Churches can challenge and encourage and strengthen you no matter what you are going through.

3. You need a place that promotes grace and second chances. The essential message of the Church is about forgiveness, mercy and grace that are found in Jesus Christ. You are not just trying to forget or even do better next time, instead the message is that you can have a clean slate before God and a chance to do it right with His help.

Yes, the Church is full of messed up people and not everything is perfect. Honestly, no organization on planet earth is even close to perfect. But the Church is the only place that tries its best to consistently give you the three things above. Maybe you should go this Sunday for the first time or maybe you should go back to Church. Either way, just go!

Yesterday I ended up getting very upset at some people in my Pop Warner football organization. Last night I lied awake in bed and replayed every word I said. I hate the attitude that I had but I have been pushed and pushed lately. As I replayed this in my head I started having a secondary thought – What would people say if they knew how I (as a Pastor) had acted? That lead me to come up with today’s title.

This may not be true of every pastor, but I know it is true of a few – especially me.

1. Sometimes I get really mad. In the last 4 years I can count at least 6 times that I have had a meltdown. Twice it has been fairly public. I wish this were not true of me, but I have strong emotions and when I get pushed and pushed, or worse, when my family gets pushed, I get angry.

2. Sometimes I dislike certain people. A pastor friend of mine is sometimes called into Churches as a consultant when they are experiencing difficulties. One of the things he does is ask people to raise their hand if there is one person in their life that they really do not like. Usually almost everyone raises their hand. He then says, “If that is true of all of you, do you think it might be true of your Pastor?” Sorry, it is true.

3. I fight hard to like people somedays. I often get to see and experience people at their worst. I see how couples treat each other behind closed doors. I hear the lies people tell in public after I find out the truth in counseling. I could go on and on. Some days it is hard for me to like people. I have to continually fight with my heart to see the best and think the best of people.

4. I have bad days. There are days in my life when I see the glass as half empty. Things break at my house, kids disobey, I don’t get enough sleep and on and on. It is hard to be a pastor when things feel like they are falling apart.

5. I desperately need second chances. The reason I preach about grace and second chances in Jesus so much is because of my life experiences. Last night as I lay awake all I could think is, “God please forgive my lousy attitude.” Pastors and preachers are people saved by grace just like everyone else.

So if you are a Christ follower and you know of a time that your Pastor didn’t act like a Christian. Can I ask that you would forgive him his sin. Can I ask that you would forgive me?

After watching Miley Cyrus disgusting performance on the VMAs, angry mom Kim Keller wrote an open letter to her 13-year-old daughter to turn this ugly display into a teaching moment.

Here is Kim’s “Dear Daughter” letter:

“Dear daughter, let Miley Cyrus be a lesson to you.

Yes, this is what happens when you constantly hear everything you do is awesome. This is what happens when people fawn over your every Tweet and Instagram photo. This is what happens when no responsible adult has ever said the word ‘no,’ made you change your clothes before leaving the house, or never spanked your butt for deliberate defiance.

If you ever even consider doing something like that, I promise you that I will run up and twerk so you will see how ridiculous twerking looks. I will duct tape your mouth shut so your tongue doesn’t hangout like an overheated hound dog. I will smack any male whom you decide to smash against his pelvis – after I first knock you on your butt for forgetting how a lady acts in public.

Why would I do that? Because I love you and I want you to respect yourself. Miley Cyrus is not edgy or cool or sexy. She’s a desperate girl screaming for attention: Notice me. Tell me I’m pretty. See how hot I am. I know all the guys want me. All the girls want to be me.

You probably know girls who will emulate this behavior at the next school dance. Don’t do it with them. You are far too valuable to sell yourself so cheaply. Walk away. Let the boys gawk and know in your heart that they see only a body that can be used for their pleasure and then forgotten.

I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt sad because I haven’t gushed over everything you’ve done. My role is to praise when praise is due, but also to offer constructive criticism and correction when it is needed as well. I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt demoralized because your Instagram following isn’t in the thousands, and I’m sorry those ‘selfies’ can never capture how amazingly beautiful you truly are. I’m sorry if you’ve ever wished you had a friend instead of a mom, and I promise you that I will probably get worse when you hit high school.

Dear daughter, I am going to fight or die trying to keep you from becoming like the Miley Cyruses of the world.

You can thank me later.”

This was taken in Homer several years ago of a moose at our McDonald’s – it still makes me smile.

Last night the NFL season started for the 2013-2014 season. Here is why I am glad that it started again. Some of these are very Christian and some are not. You are to guess which is which.

1. I get to watch my Packers play and hopefully win another Superbowl.
2. When I watch football I can usually shut my brain off and relax. It is a needed time of rest.
3. I get to spend time with my boys watching and talking about the game.
4. Sunday naps during the 2nd and 3rd quarters🙂 More rest
5. It is nice to watch something I do not have to participate in.
6. Something to talk to the men of the Church about that is non-threatening
7. I can pull out my entire Packers wardrobe for the season without questions.
8. Strangers stop me and ask me about the Packers. It is a great discussion started with non-Christians
9. I am getting very tired of the food network and I have seen all of the Duck Dynasty episodes.
10. Every season is full of surprises. I love to see a new player rise above expectations. I even enjoy seeing an underdog win games unless it is against the Packers.

*Bonus – Parties at my house with lots of food.

Once my mind started thinking about this topic I have had several additional thoughts. These are just simple Christian lessons I am learning from youth football. So continuing from yesterday…

6. There is a difference between experiencing pain and being hurt – I recently had a conversation with a couple of my coaches and they were telling me how many of their kids were hurt and then we got into an interesting conversation about pain. One coach commented that if you play football you are going to hurt after a game. But then he added there is a difference between hurting and being injured. If you are injured you need to see a doctor, and if you are hurt you need an ibuprofen and toughen up. Unfortunately, there are a large group of kids that want to set on the sidelines the moment they experience any pain when they are not really injured. Some kids just need to get back out there and learn to play with a little pain.

*Christian application – Life is hard. A life of faith may be harder. There will be pain and disappointment that are encountered throughout this life and sometimes we just have to hang on and endure it. The Church is full of people who want to set on the sidelines because something went wrong one time and they had a difficult experience. We need more people to get out there and keep playing.

7. Dads are invaluable in a young boys life. This is just a generic observation. Every year I notice which children have their dad’s support in football and which ones do not. The season is usually a lot more difficult for those with no support from dad. I also notice those kids without support looking to the coaches and their peers for some male role model.

Christian application – Where are you dad? Your kids need you to a vital part of their lives.

8. Volunteers are vital everywhere. I have noticed through the years that for anything good to happen in the world someone has to give up their time to make it happen. This is true in school, sports and Church. Youth football is just like every other area though in the fact that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. We need more volunteers to make the world a better place for our children.

Christian application – Where do you give your time? Do you give it to activities that really matter? Do you give it to activities that may not benefit you in any way? The world is a better place (more like the kingdom of God) when people donate their time to worthwhile causes.

That is it for today. Perhaps I will write more tomorrow. Until then, thanks to all of the dads who volunteer to do anything in this world, I know it is not always easy.