We started a mini-series at Crash last night. Talking about the idea of Sabbath. We quickly connected Sabbath to our Tension series in August as it is a discipline we feel helps us live amidst the tension God is calling us into. But, we felt it needed more of a fair shake.
As always, check out the podcast in the iTunes store or on rhinocrash.org on Tuesday afternoon.
Week 1 was titled “Sabbath and My World.” Big Idea was “Observing and remembering the Sabbath reorients our focus onto God and off of ourselves.”
Some soundbites for your Monday morning include:
-”I was yelling at this guy DUDE DUDE DUDE!!! Completely embarassed my wife.”
-”Honey, I think they had been to the restaurant more times than we had….Huh, no wonder I was getting the evil eye all night.”
-”God is the creator and sustainer of all life. We are not.”
-”Sabbath was part of God’s design for human life from the very beginning.”
-”Sabbath wasn’t created to give us a break from work, as if work were bad. Work is good, Sabbath is good. I think we will have both in heaven. Both were present in the very beginning.”
-”Many of us struggle to disconnect because we believe the world will fall into a cataclysmic disaster along the lines of crappy movies like Armageddon, Deep Impact and Knowing.”
-”Job and Ecclesiastes are two of the best, yet most often overlooked books in the Bible…some of you have only experienced Job via Mission:Impossible.”
-”Is it possible that God might be saying to us what he was saying to Job – ‘are you done yet?’”
-”Sabbath is important because of Resurrection since we realize the limitations of our life, our influence, our ability to produce the outcomes we want. We are mortal, we will die, and much of what we do will die with us.”
-”Many of us resist Sabbath because Sabbath pops the bubble of our over-inflated view of ourselves.”

Part 2 is next week. Before then, read Mark 2:23-3:6. Consider two questions:
-Why is Sabbath made for man?
-Why do you resist Sabbath
Also, read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. Consider the question:
-What would it mean for me to seek reconciliation with my friends, family, and co-workers.

We will celebrate communion as a part of Crash on Sunday, September 6th.

I decided to combine these two sections of the Old Testament.
The wisdom books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
The books of prophecy begin with Isaiah and continue through Malachi.

Psalms gets a lot of noise because its comforting and makes us feel good in times when we feel crummy. But Psalms is also full of brutal honesty from the people of God in the form of “laments”. There are more lamenting Psalms than any other kind.

Job gets overlooked all too often. It’s a tough book, don’t get me wrong, but it deals with the place where we have all been or are – pain, hurt, suffering, loss, grief, etc. Most of us are just too wimpy to deal with it because it doesn’t resolve easily.

Ecclesiastes is a perfect book for our day and age. It deals with meaning, frustration, money, relationships, etc. More films today reflect the musings of the author of Solomon than any other biblical book.

Song of Solomon affirms the fact that God created sex and called it good. Song of Solomon speaks about what makes relationships work and what can derail them.

Proverbs is full of incredible wisdom. It is one of the most well-read books in the Bible because its short pithy and accessible. It can be read in a month (31 books – 1 book a day) without too much effort.

Now, the Prophets…Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible and Isaiah is not too far behind. God is at the end of his rope; His patience wears thin in this section of the Scriptures. This is hard for some people to take. But there is so much great stuff in here. Jonah, Micah, Hosea, Malachi, Amos – these are all great books which continue to shape our understanding of who God is and who God calls is calling humanity to be. Now, things do get a bit crazy when it comes to some of the apocalyptic prophecy in Daniel and Ezekiel.

Again, I am re-connecting with these passages and others this fall with a group of friends. I think we need to take seriously the Old Testament and the New. It may be the end of summer, but consider what it might mean for you to re-engage these areas yourself.

-Savage

Yesterday we talked about why the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy are so vital to our lives, why they have so much to speak into our lives.

Today, we are talking about the books of history that follow the Pentateuch. These books included Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

This section includes two of my favorite books of the Bible – Joshua and Nehemiah. The history within the pages of these books reveals the work of God in the lives of so many men and women. I think we can learn so much about who God is from the stories of the interaction of these people with God. We tend to think that we can only learn about God is from the theologically-rich letters of Paul. But these stories have much to speak into us.

Here’s a short list…
-There are few stories of redemption as powerful as Ruth.
-Joshua is a man who I find I connect with almost as powerfully as any other in the Scriptures.
-Judges is a lesson about the importance of character within leadership.
-Nehemiah is the best book on leadership in the Bible and one of the best books ever written.
-Ezra shows what can happen when a leader merges their faith with their influence.
-Esther is a book all about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that TERRIFY us, yet are simultaneously God’s destiny for us.
-1 and 2 Samuel teach us why it is important to not only succeed in your work, but in your relationships (Eli’s failure with his sons and David’s failure with his family are prime examples).
-1 and 2 Kings communicate to us why God made “have no other gods before me” the FIRST commandment…idolatry undoes the entire nations of Israel and Judah.
-1 and 2 Chronicles helps us see the historical arch of the kings, their lives, and their influence. We will never be kings of countries, yet our influence is our responsibility to steward – through our lives, we can propel or handicap the lives of others.

Confession? I struggle to read the Bible regularly for my own benefit. And I do not think I am alone in this. Bigger confession? Going to seminary only made it worse. No, I don’t blame seminary for making it hard for me to read the Bible. I just really struggle to read it for my own personal benefit, especially when I am spending so much time in it for projects related to my job as a pastor.

Some close friends and I are starting a program soon to read through the Scriptures together. And in light of this, I have been thinking a lot about this because I am excited to go through sections I often miss and that a lot of sermons tend to overlook. In 8 posts, over the next two or three weeks, I am gonna talk about the importance of the Scriptures. I think we all tend to favor one section over another (most of us preferring the New Testament – either the Gospels or Paul’s letters).
I hope this is insightful and beneficial for all of us.

The first section I want to tackle is the Pentateuch or the Torah. This section includes the first five books of the Christian Scriptures – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Many of us know the stories of Genesis and Exodus and some of us have engaged Deuteronomy for the section on the Ten Commandments. But we tend to skip Leviticus and Numbers because they can be what one of my friends recently called “literary tryptofan” (the natural sedativein Thanksgiving Turkey that sends us looking for a pillow and into a nap).

I think this section of the Scriptures is vital for several reasons.
1) The stories within these books give us great insight into our humanity and the character of God. The lessons are timeless and human struggles remain consistent. I find myself in so many of these men and women.
2) It gives us a good opportunity to affirm that God is the same God in the Old and New Testament. This is a difficult thing to swallow, but a vital truth to accept as followers of Jesus.
3) It gives us a good opportunity to explore the common misconception that the Old Testament is all about the law and the New Testament is all about grace. There is a lot of grace on God’s part in these 5 books and you can get a context for why the law came about. (Reading Romans later gives us insight as well – but that’s another post).
4) It challenges us to consider the question – “do I believe that all of the Bible is God’s inspired written word for me?”. Most of us deny this in practice, if not in principle.
5) We can learn to allow all of Scripture to “read and interpret us”, rather than just us reading and interpreting Scripture.
6) All of the laws about discharges and sexuality in Leviticus are a good thing to explore when we get bored during a sermon.

See you tomorrow for part 2 on the books of history.

-Savage

Maxie wrapped up the Tension series with his talk “Elephants and Resurrection” last night. Great stuff about following the model of Jesus in facing our elephant. I feel very privileged to get to watch my friend wrestle through this stuff in his own life and see him apply the message he is sharing, even as he is sharing it and allowing God to use it to transform others. Check out the podcast at www.rhinocrash.org/currentconversation or subscribe to the podcast
via the iTunes store by searching for “Crash at North Phoenix”.

Some good nuggets from last night:
-Jesus’ disciples had no idea how to deal with their elephant – the fact that Jesus was going to die.
-Jesus faced the elephant in his life.
-We don’t do well dealing with Jesus’ humanity. But make no mistake – this was not just a “non-issue” for Jesus. This was a struggle.
-Scholars don’t know what to do with the phrase “sorrow to the point of death” in Matthew 26.
-My favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz.
-I connect with the Lion. He is like the worst character. But I see myself in him.
-Jesus wasn’t saying the spirit is good and the flesh is bad. This isn’t more Gnosticism.
-He didn’t “frou frou it” or “God-it” away. (“God-it” is a new one for me).
-Denying your humanity and sucking it up because that’s what Christians do is NOT the answer.
-The only way out is through.
-If you can’t get over it, you’re gonna have to get into it.
-Elephants are a part of life. It’s not the elephant’s presence that defines you; it’s what you decide to do with the elephant that will define you.

New series at Crash this Sunday, August 30th. Short one – 2 weeks. Title is Sabbath. See you there (or on the podcast).

Dani and I have been relaxing and vacationing in San Diego all week. This is our third summer in a row that we have spent time in this cool oasis amidst the hot days of Phoenix summer. We even honeymooned there last July. We have discovered restaurants we love. We love the fact that 68 degree weather makes us feel okay about wearing hoodies. The ocean is awesome. It’s become one of our favorite places.

As we wrap up this week here on the blog, I would love to hear from you. Where is your favorite place to take a deep breath? Maybe its a vacation spot like San Diego. Or a secluded space with childhood memories. A chair in your home or a spot in your backyard. Share with us where you go when you need a deep breath before the next big season in your life.

-Savage

There have been many changes in my life since I came on the staff of North Phoenix Baptist Church three years ago. My hair has calmed down. I have learned how to speak more slowly when I teach. I now have an office instead of a flourescently-lit cubicle. I got married. I shifted from a PC to a Mac. I graduated from seminary. I started Twittering (much to the chagrin of some people like my wife and Danny Estavillo, who repeatedly ask me “who in the world cares about what you are doing right now?”).

But one of the biggest changes in me has been that I have become more teachable. I am not saying this out of my own observation, but because it has been the observation of others. There are still some people that I struggle to be open to learning from. I believe some of those places and people will be different over time; some I think are going to remain difficult places for some time.

This shift has been life-changing. It led to our Joshua Generation series at Crash, my blog series on the generation gap, and my recent sermon on fear and hope. I realized that the value of being teachable is paramount. Someone once told me that when I stopped learning, I would start dying. That’s one of the reasons why I read and read and read. Why I seek out older men and women formally and informally as mentors. Why I read blogs, listen to podcasts, and attend conferences. That’s why I went to seminary and why I will pursue a doctorate one day. I want to go further faster by leveraging the experience of other people to engage my calling with excellence, passion, and integrity.

Those who I meet and know who aren’t teachable, in the most general of senses, are often those who are working through difficult and painful seasons. The struggle is when those people decide that it is easier to be bitter, angry, and moan, than it is to forgive, let go and begin to lead again. Tony Blair, former prime minister of the UK, said, “You can’t moan and lead at the same time.”

As I have become more teachable, I have found that I moan less and look for solutions more. I am all for deconstructing what is not working and taking a long hard look at what’s wrong, but I must never forget the challenge of leading and reconstruction after this. When I wasn’t teachable, I reveled in the deconstruction. Now, I see too much work to do to spend too much time there.

Where are you becoming more open, more teachable? How is that transforming your life?

-Scott

I was watching a video recently that profiled the TED conference. Several well-known speakers at TED were sharing about what it is like to speak at this exclusive and prestigious event. TED’s unique feature is that their speakers are required to speak within 18 minutes. No matter if you are a Nobel prize winner, world class athlete, internationally known artist, or powerful politican, you get 18 minutes and you WILL stay within your time limit.

The video included a behind the scenes look at TED and one of the women who was sharing described how 10 minutes into her talk, she realized that she had two options. She could continue to share the compelling content – the academic and research-based burden of her subject. But she realized that she could also shift gears and share from her heart – with authenticity, vulnerability and passion. She shifted gears and her talk is one of the most well-known in TED history. She said, “I remembered the words of a friend who told me when given a choice like this – to go out on a limb, because that’s where the fruit is.”

I quoted this woman in my recent sermon on Sunday morning at North Phoenix. Right after I shared her words, I went out on my limb. Confessing the sin of my generation in front of thousands of people (live and online). It was a scary prospect for me – both in rehearsals and live. But for me, it was the essential piece of my message. And I cannot tell you how many phone calls, emails, text messages, hallways hugs with tear-filled eyes that I have been on the receiving end of over the last week. Many of those people reference that moment.

I have seen my friend and ministry partner, Maxie Burch, become a powerful example of this. Maxie told a story this spring about his experience at the Citadel and the bond that created between him and every other man (and now woman) who has attended that school. He told a story last night about the 23 years he didn’t speak to his father, and the fact that this was an elephant in his life for far too long.

I think we all need to find limbs to go out on…because I think that is where the fruit is. So what’s your limb?

Naturally, I am a perfectionist. I hate sucking. I hate failing. I hate it when I am not the one breaking the curve or setting the bar high. I thrive on my will to win and succeed and to get better and better and better.

Failure is like a swift kick to the…well, insert your own word there. It knocks the wind out of you. It makes you pull off the road for a few. You have to make your way to the bench. It makes you stop.

Failure can make you do more than stop though…it can lead to quitting, retirement, resigning, giving up. I have been thinking recently about how failure can be a great teacher. There are things we learn when we step out and risk and try something new that we never could have learned any other way. I often don’t risk in an area because I couldn’t stomach failure. I think failure has a very real potential to define you, but I also think a great deal of how we get defined or remembered or what our legacy looks like – I think we get to make that choice; it’s our responsibility to take or surrender.

I have included a couple of blogs below that were thought-provoking to me along this subject, from a couple of pastors whose words I read each week.

http://www.evotional.com/2006/12/godipodcom.html

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/03/10/failing-forward/

Mark Batterson – the blogger at evotional.com and pastor of National Community Church in D.C. – tells about the psychological reality (in his book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”) that we regret in the short term our actions. These are things we shouldn’t have done – the “I was young and stupid” things. But he describes how as we get older, those regrets fade and the regrets of inaction become the strongest. These are things that we should have done, but didn’t. A risk in our career, a move to a new city, a chance that we were too afraid of failing in, a dream we couldn’t leave safety to pursue.

Failure can be our greatest teacher if we can get over the fear of failing. And as Batterson said, in the post on the Swerve blog, the antidote to the fear of failure is small failures – the kind that remind us that failure is not fatal nor final.

What do you think?

-Scott

As you read this, I am enjoying a vacation with Dani in Southern California (San Diego and Newport Beach). I have left blog posts for the rest of this week, so you will have something to read. But I wanted to let you know what I have been reading and what I am about to crack open this week. And I would love to hear about what you have been reading.

Recent reads:
-”The Divine Commodity” by Skye Jethani. Incredible book on how consumerism is shaping/has shaped the church. Jethnai stays focused on solutions that begin with the daily disciplines we have in our lives, and his analysis was sharp and challenging, yet humble. I liked his use of art and the story of Van Gogh in the book and I look forward to more stuff from him.

-”Furious Longing for God” by Brennan Manning. Very simple, straightforward book that reminded of why Manning is one of the best writers on God’s love for his children and how we easily slip into legalism and Phariseeism.

In the middle of…
-”The Blue Parakeet” by Scot McKnight. This has been a great book for me to appreciate the Bible post-seminary. McKnight has challenged me on why I read the Bible and what baggage I bring to. What makes up my filter. And I have been inspired and encouraged by his words. Look for the influences of this book in Crash over the next 6-12 months.

Just starting…
-”Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Classic book, I love good stories.

-”Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Aspergers” by John Elder Robison. Story of a boy who grew up with Aspergers but didn’t figure out he had it til he was 40 years old. Autobiographical.

-”How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines” by Thomas C. Foster. I am doing a lot of work exploring what makes a good story work well for an upcoming series at Crash. Trying to engage some good stories and learn from some expert storytellers and story-scientists.

Future Reads:
-Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan
-Drops Like Stars: A Few Thoughts on Creativity and Suffering by Rob Bell
-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller

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