Monthly Archives: January 2009

Uniting Humanity

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Four AMAZING guys! (L-R Blake Schilly, James Stuard, Taylor Sprague, Keith Savage, me)Today, I had a new experience.  I went to the FBR Open for the first time.  For those of you don’t know, the FBR is a crazy popular golf tournament in Scottsdale, AZ, which breaks many of the traditional “etiquette rules” for golf.  My friend Blake (far left above) invited me and we had a blast.  Blake even made the ESPN.com Live Blog at the 16th hole, which is worthy of  its own post later.  But this post is not about golf; it’s about life.

Blake and I watched golf, ate Chick-Fil-A and caught up on life, while driving all over North Scottsdale.   We laughed a lot, met some amazing people, and made some new memories.  As I was driving back to Central Phoenix, I was reflecting on how awesome it is that Blake and I have been good friends for almost six years.  I am so privileged to have his friendship in my life.  

I think most of us wrestle with three things in their life – relationships (family, friends, and romantic), work, and spirituality.  We find most of our meaning, significance and purpose in these three areas.  And these three areas are the sources of most of the happiness and joy, frustration and pain that we find in our lives.  

As I walked around the course today, I realized that so many of my struggles in life have been made easier because of Blake and others (like the guys in the picture above).  When I meet someone who seems unable to work through the difficulties in their life, they are often lonely, isolated, and scared.  Sometimes they need a friend more than they need advice or resources.  

As a human race, as a family of people of all kinds of backgrounds, we often forget that we are more alike than we realize.  What unites humanity is our need for other people and the role that our relationships play in bringing meaning, significance and purpose to our lives.  While our spirituality and our work are huge parts of our lives, we find our relationships invading all areas of our lives – bringing brokenness and pain or peace and hope.  

I am incredibly grateful for Friday mornings at golf tournaments and friends like Blake.  I hope you find friends like Blake, who meet you where you are and accept you for who you are – something that Jesus did every day while he was on earth.  

Loving Phoenix, 

-Scott

 

 

 

The Arc of Story

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One of the most difficult aspects of a Christ Follower’s life is learning to tell your own story; what God has done in your life, what God is doing, and what hope you have for God will do.

Great storytelling is, in essence, told in three acts. Think of all the great modern stories. For example, Star Wars had three acts (I’m not counting the more recent three acts!). Think about it: the first movie, A New Hope introduces all the characters. Empire Strikes Back puts all the characters in peril.  Then, in The Return of the Jedi, all the character’s stories are resolved. Things are best remembered in “three’s”

We can think of our lives with God in the same way. Consider the three big spaces of our lives: Past, Present, and Future. What God did for you in your Past?  What is God doing in your life right now (the Present)?  What do you hope God will do in your life in the Future?

Write this down in three acts: Past, Present and Future. Hopefully writing down the story of God working in your life in advance will help you communicate it more confidently to others when you get the opportunity

Cheers,

Robert Payne

Communion and Stories

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December and January have been times of great laughter, great family and great food.  There have been many times where I have gathered around a table or sat around a living room – eating everything from blueberry pancakes to turkey to ham to beef-on-weck (it’s a Western New York thing – ask my wife) to clam chowder and I could go on forever.  I have sat with people I have met for the first time and I have sat with people I have known for years.  The uniting factor of all those experiences has not been the food or the people; it has been the laughter and the stories. Just a couple of days ago, I was sitting with a couple of friends, telling stories and laughing til our stomachs hurt.  I then retold the stories last night and we laughed again.

Stories have this way of bringing people together (and tearing people apart).  Stories have this way of taking a group of people back to a powerful moment in the past that is full of joy or pain or surprise or frustration.  Stories bond new friends together; stories renew the bond of old friends who have been absent from each other’s lives.  For me, communion is all about story.

For everyone who is a follower of Christ, for everyone who has put their faith in what Christ accomplished through the cross and the empty tomb, for everyone who have surrendered the life over to God, the celebration of communion is all about story.  Communion is the re-enactment or the re-telling of our story.  What Christ has done for us.  How we who were far away found a way back to God.  When Holy Spirit began to live within us.  How our brokenness has been made whole.

Whenever I get the privilege of leading a community of people in taking the elements that Christ himself raised one evening in an upstairs room in a home in Jerusalem, I remind people that this is all about story.  And if you have not become a follower of Jesus, if you have not put your faith in Christ, if you have not surrendered your life to God, this story is not your story (hopefully someday it will be).  To take these elements and participate in this celebration would be  like  inauthentic and not genuine.   This celebration is for those who understand how their lives are a part of the story of God and who are coming together with our Christ followers to remember what God has done on their behalf.

So, when you look forward to a Communion moment, it is always a great moment to think about your own story and how and where the story of your life has connected to the story of God.  To consider, “Am I in this story?  Is this my story?  What kind of story am I allowing God to write with the pen that is my life?”

Oh, and one more thing….communion is always more fun and meaningful when you take it with others.  The community I help lead – Crash – is taking it together this Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 6pm in the Chapel at North Phoenix.  For more info on Crash, go to www.rhinocrash.org.

It’s all about story!

-Scott

Listening

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“The first duty of love is to listen.” -Paul Tillich, theologian

Listening makes friendships work.  Listening makes learning possible.  Listening creates the context for real conversation and dialogue.  Okay, so listening helps our relationships move forward.  Got it, Savage!

But, I am convinced that listening also facilitates our spiritual transformation.  We must listen to God, not just talk all the time or turn up the noise of our lives to drown our God’s Spirit.  If we love God, then we must listen well.  Especially in moments when things seem less than clear and when we are lacking courage.

I started a habit when I came on staff at North Phoenix.  Twice yearly spriritual retreats.  I have been 2/4 so far when it comes to actually making it happen.  This week will make me 3/5.  I am excited to listen and quiet the noise of my life so I can listen.  Excited and hopeful of what will come of the next couple of days.

-Scott

How I am spending my five weeks of freedom?

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How I am spending my five weeks of freedom?

I have a 5 week break between my last two semesters of seminary.  During this break, I normally meet with a lot of people, work on projects I haven’t had time for, read books that I want to read, and watch a ton of movies.

So, halfway through my break, here’s my list of suggestions for your benefit from all of this:

Places to hang out:

  1. Cibo – http://www.cibophoenix.com – had dinner with my friend Taylor here this week.  Great place in downtown Phoenix.  We split a salad and a pizza and the prices were very reasonable.  Very accessible from the light rail.
  2. Lux Coffee – http://luxcoffee.com/- Lux has been my coffee shop of choice this fall.  The Velvet is amazing, and I normally go with an Iced Coffee.  Great vibes, normally good music playing or a DJ spinning techno.  Right along the light rail route too!
  3. Press Coffee, Food, and Wine – http://presscfw.com/ – Press opened this fall at CityNorth up near Desert Ridge.  Steve is the owner and he makes an amazing latte.  Not so sure on CityNorth as a development, but I will make the drive once a month for some fantastic coffee.
  4. Buffalo Exchange – http://www.buffaloexchange.com/ – I buy 90% of my clothes here.  There are almost always deals to find and prices are awesome!  Plus it is 5 minutes from my house and my office.  I even have Dani (my wife) drinking the Kool-Aid now too!

Books to Read:

  1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell -Gladwell finishes his turkey with his third strike in a row!  Fantastic book about success, talent, and opportunity.  I read this on the flights home from Buffalo, and I was engaged the whole time.  Well worth your reading and reflection.  http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231459928&sr=8-1
  1. Tribes by Seth Godin – Godin’s little books are packed full of insight and challenge about business, leadership, and our culture.  This book calls out leaders among the rise of social networks which give birth to countless causes and small tribes of people.  I was stirred by this short read. http://www.amazon.com/Tribes-We-Need-You-Lead/dp/1591842336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231459979&sr=1-1
  1. The Fine Line by Kary Oberbrunner – Kary asked Maxie Burch to review this book pre-release.  I got to read an advance copy and enjoyed it.  Kary encourages followers of Jesus to live relevant lives that connect what they believe to how they live.  The incredible story of one pastor and a church plant he led through an incredibly difficult set of events was awesome.  http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Line-Re-envisioning-between-Culture/dp/0310285453/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231460000&sr=1-1

Movies in Theatres:

  1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button – epic, beautiful, LONG, amazing.  Must see.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/23060/trailers

  1. Four Christmases – very funny Christmas movie.  Great combo of Vaughn and Witherspoon.  http://www.moviefone.com/movie/four-christmases/25133/trailers

Movies on DVD:

  1. Run, Fat Boy Run – gut-busting laughter was created and I cackled and cackled.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/run-fat-boy-run/27011/trailers

  1. The Dark Knight – movie of the year, hands-down.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-dark-knight/27016/trailers

  1. August Rush – beautiful story, incredible music.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/august-rush/29690/trailers

Things to spend leftover Christmas money on:

  1. Moleskine – most of my sermons, ideas, blogs, dreams first see the light of day in my Moleskine.  A must-have.  http://www.moleskine.com/index_eng.php
  1. Fossil Sunglasses – bought a new pair over the holidays.  Sunglasses are ESSENTIAL in Phoenix! http://www.fossil.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=12052&catalogId=10052&departmentCategoryId=30001&categoryId=30014&productId=22060700&N=0&Va=46&Ns=p_weight|0||p_order_history|1&rec=16&pn=c&imagePath=MS4755060
  1. Sanuks – the most comfortable pair of shoes I own.  I live in these.  But they aren’t shoes – they are sandals.  http://www.sanuk.com/

I start classes on January 26th, but I am very excited for my last semester.  I am also looking forward to some time away on a personal retreat soon, along with a weekend trip over to SoCal to see my brother at Azusa Pacific, NPBC students attending Cal Baptist, and my friends Matt, Hank, and Eric at Mosaic.

Happy New Year!

-Scott