Boxing Day Party Today!

Today is Boxing Day in the United Kingdom. So we are celebrating here in Denver with an Open House at our place, 3 - 7 pm. We expect about 60 people - should be a blast. If you are in Denver you are very welcome!

Billy Graham's Christmas Interview

A man who is finishing so very very well.

Christmas Eve Mass

Carly and I went to a midnight mass tonight, on Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful, reverent time for me. It was at Church of the Risen Christ in Denver, a large Catholic church pastored by Msg. Ken Leone.
       I noticed a few things in the mass that We could learn from and appreciate:
* Symbol is very important, and can draw us closer to God;
* Jesus was THE center of the Mass - not Mary or angels or anything else;
* The Communion table was open to whoever wanted to partake;
* Pastor Ken's homily was entitled, "My Love Letter to My Congregation." It was profound, simple, and 10 minutes long. The service was an hour in all;
* There is a vocabulary/lingo that I am not familiar with. It can certainly become dead ritual, but it did not seem like that to people in attendance tonight.
       All in all this was a worshipful and gracious way to begin Christmas Day. Thank you to my Catholic brothers and sisters!

"I have to believe something extraordinary is possible"

In January (weekends of 8-9th and 15-16th) I am doing a two-week series at Lookout Mountain Church which I am calling, "To Dream the Impossible Dream." The focus is on Isaiah 59 and 60, which are a couple of wild chapters of the Old Testament.

       I am inspired not only by God's relentless love and grace toward "the peoples of earth," but also by artists (musicians, film-makers, poets, writers, etc.) who tell wonderful stories reflecting this crazy love of God.

       One of these films is A Beautiful Mind, the story of John Nash. Remember the scene when Nash's wife pointedly declares to him, "I have to believe something extraordinary is possible."

       Ya, I have to believe that too!

On Tolerance ...

Yesterday I was getting my teeth cleaned and had an enlightening conversation with the hygienist. She is Jewish, gay and grew up attending a Unitarian-Universalist church. She's also a great dental hygienist, by the way.
       She wanted to know what I am up to now, since I am no longer pastoring a church. I told her of my interest in Jews and Muslims (what I call the Isaac-Ishmael Initiative) and how reconciliation can begin to happen. She asked lots of questions, thought this was a wonderful idea and wanted to know how she could get more information.
       Afterward I thought about this brief encounter. It was awkward only because I had dental instruments in my mouth as I tried to talk. But it was not awkward even though we have some pretty different views on things.
       And I wondered why I do not have as positive interactions with some people of faith - Jews, Muslims, and Christians. I find it just a tad humorous to me that the gay Jewish lady who used to hang out at the Unitarian-Universalist church can teach us so much about acceptance and engaging in civil discourse.

Christmas Greetings from Christian Associates Staff

Merry Christmas 2010 from Christian Associates on Vimeo.

Thought for the Day

"I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery. "

~ Brennan Manning

A Prayer for Advent

I attended the Liturgy of Peace last Thursday put on by Urban Skye in Denver. It was facilitated so well by Ellen Haroutunian. It had been a truly bizarre day for me, so this prayer that we read made all the more sense in an odd kind of way.

Lord of the watching ones,

Overwhelm our fear,

that we might learn to trust one another.

Lord o the watching ones, the waiting ones,

Overwhelm our insecurities that we might seek the flourishing of all people.

Lord of the watching ones, the waiting ones,

the slow and suffering ones.

Overwhelm our loneliness so we might dare to reach out in love.

"God uses the talent pool available"

"Thinking back over the Christian personalities I’ve known, as well as those featured in both Old and New Testaments, I’ve come up with the following principle: God uses the talent pool available." ~ Philip Yancey, www.philipyancey.com
       One of my favorite authors is Philip Yancey. I think it is for three reasons:
1) His dominant themes are grace and suffering, and he deals with both very honestly and humanly;
2) he is a great story-teller in writing and listening to him speak;
3) he has not given up on God and the Church despite all the messes he has seen. That gives me hope!
       I was reading Philip's blog yesterday and read this principle: "God uses the talent pool available." It felt like a prophetic word for me personally. I am exploring a new focus in missions (still with Christian Associates) which is both exhilarating and is scaring me spitless (not typo there!). People are responding to me with excitement, confusion, skepticism, and hope! And I am having these moments like Moses in Exodus where he sends, "I can't do it! Send someone else!"
       Then I got to thinking about Philip's statement. And perhaps, just perhaps I am the available talent pool at this time in this place. Not sure about the choice of a Jewish kid from Long Island with my history in Europe and currently living in Denver. But, hey, God has done crazier things than that I suppose!

I'm beginning to believe God is doing the impossible

Last week I wrote something on my Facebook wall that said, "I'm beginning to believe God is doing the impossible. - oh me of little faith!" I got a fair number of responses to this and I want to say a little more about it.
       First, you should know that this idea came to me after hearing the theme song from "Man of La Mancha" in a restaurant! Not too spiritual, but bone honest. And just to be totally truthful, I LOVE that film and play! Really.
       Second, I spend way too much time living rationally and not so much living supernaturally. I realize that the opposite can be true also - that some live in fantasy and not in reality. But that's not the danger for me too often.
       Third, it seems to me that I only really grow and mature when my "impossible" meets God's "possible." That's where I desire to live more often than not.
       For all of you secret romantics who really want to live LARGE in God's vision for heaven and earth, enjoy this clip from "The Man of La Mancha"!

Larry King Finishes Up

Television talk show host Larry King went off the air today, after 25 years of being in Americans' living rooms. His final show was a great tribute to him. He has been quite the character indeed!
       Way to finish well, Larry.

The Giving Pledge Expands

The Giving Pledge, launched by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in 2009, has continued to expand. It is very encouraging to see the world's wealthiest people stepping up for the good of humanity.
       Among the more recent signers of the Pledge is Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, founders of Facebook and the most recently wealthy. They are also only about 25 years old, so to say that you will give away the vast majority of your wealth going forward is quite the statement by these guys.
       Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Time magazine named Zuckerberg Person of the Year this week.
       You may ask, "Does it make any difference to me that these Billionaires are pledging to give away most of their wealth? After all, they can afford to give most of it away. As for me I'm just scraping by."
       Personally I think it makes a huge difference in our culture when anyone cuts across the grain of society and decides to be wildly generous, whether can means giving billionaires or giving pennies. Generosity is contagious and so I applaud these wealthy individuals as pacesetters for us.

What We Are Handing to Our Kids

This is a sobering graph. Welcome to my children's inheritance.

Tax Cuts Extended ... Let the Donations Flow!

Last week the United States Congress and President Obama came to agreement to extend the so-called "Bush Tax Cuts." This means that individuals who earn more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $250,000 will continue to pay a lower federal tax rate. Translation: Wealthy people in America will have more disposable income in their pockets.
       So, let the donations and charity flow! I have heard from a number of wealthier people who have said they were keeping money in their wallets because they feared that the U.S. government was going to take more in income tax in 2011. Well that fear is now gone, at least for the next two years.
       I hope the wealthiest 2% of Americans will "step up to the plate" just like Warren Buffett has done - giving extravagantly for the good of our country and of this earth. Let the donations flow!

Thought for the Day

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.