We are motivated by two conflicting fears in life: the fear of failure and the fear of insignificance. What we endeavor to do is determined by which fear is the strongest.

As an example of the kind of challenge Francis Chan is throwing out to the Christian community, here is a question – accompanied by a video of his wife with an abandoned baby in Uganda – he posed on his own vlog:

why is my life more valuable than this baby’s? Someone asked me recently why I don’t save money for emergencies, or retirement. My answer was how can I justify saving for myself “just in case” something happens to me when something IS happening to so many already. 29,000 kids will die today of preventable causes. If I’m to love my neighbor AS myself, why spend so much time worrying about me?

What do you think?

That is what happened when we heard about CompassionArt. Dan has long admired Martin Smith of Delirious? and the CompassionArt project was instigated by Smith as a way of uniting art and social justice. Every writer, some of the biggest names in worship music, gave up all royalty rights to the songs on this recording and turned them over to a number of charitable organizations. This is the kind of thing we would LOVE to do with our lives.

We’ve been listening to the CD for about a week. We’d like to add a couple of the songs into our regular service rotation and the idea that the CCLI royalty money will benefit the poor is inspiring. This is one of the promo videos.

Just thought I’d tell you about another thing I’ve been enjoying lately.

I have some favorite poetry, from the Bible and from other sources, but I will admit that my not-quite-literary favorite right now is in Macy’s bedtime book, This is the Sunflower by Lola M. Shaefer. It begins like this:

This is the sunflower

tall and bright

that stands in my garden

day and night.

Our favorite part is this:

these are the birds

full of song

that crack the seeds

black and brown

found in the blossom

yellow and round

that crowns the sunflower

tall and bright

that stands in my garden

day and night

The poem in this book rocks back and forth like the chair we sit in every night. By the time we get to the end, I’m ready for bed too. (I was also inspired to create a sunflower fort in our backyard garden this summer . . . more on that later!)

Share some poetry today if you get a chance!

This is a cute Veggie Tales short about St. Patrick. It is actually quite informative and funny.

I have to say that I’m struck today by how we have managed to take the celebration of a spiritual, influential man and reduced it to a color scheme and painful, punishing invasions of personal boundaries. I’m not saying there is anything to do about this … just something to consider.

For a semi-serious look at St. Patrick check out Jason Boyett’s excerpt from his upcoming book Pocket Guide to Sainthood. You might call it the young adult version of this felt-board spoof. I enjoyed it.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The message in Do Hard Things is based on Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to not “let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set the example for believers” in all matters of virtue and faith. The Harris brothers point out that the term teenager has only been in use for the last 50-70 years and, obviously, isn’t mentioned in the Bible at all. In other words, our cultural idea of being a teenager is a phenomenon that imposes ridiculously low expectations on otherwise capable young people. This book challenges teenagers to do hard things in five different categories:

1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.

2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.

3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.

4. Things that don’t earn an immediate payoff.

5. Things that change the cultural norm.

Even though I still FEEL like a teenager, I realize I’m not exactly the target demographic for this book. Still, I am challenged by this message of excellence. I would reccommend this book to the ‘tweens and teenagers in your life (and you could read it first).

Also, The Rebelution Blog put together a Modesty Survey that I found valuable. Christian girls anonymously asked questions about the way they dress and Christian guys answered. Sometimes it is helpful to see specifics when it comes to the modesty question. It is a topic I’ll probably take up later, but for now you might want to look at the work of some teenagers trying to do hard things!

If you struggle with the concept of suffering as a part of the Christian life you should read this book. Card explains the idea in a lyrical voice that will leave you softer and more at peace with God. The lament is a lost art in Western Christianity but Eastern Christians have understood its power for centuries. The idea is that instead of pretending you are not suffering or “claiming victory” without exploring the root of your actual feelings, you take your lament directly to God. As you pour out your honest thoughts and complaints, a natural shift will happen. Almost every lament Psalm takes this course. The path to praise is often through lament.

There is so much to this concept and I could take you through the literary structure of a lament for a really cool example of how it works, but you have parties to attend and exercise equipment to pull out of the closet. We’ll talk about it later. For now, here is a little soul food for your New Year in the form of lament!

17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.

18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD.”

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.

20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.

21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Watch this clip from Igniter Media. They do great multi-media stuff for churches. This piece on the Nativity is especially good.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-4y5mK_o9E]

Merry Christmas! Happy Jesus Watching!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU&hl=en&fs=1]

Sometimes a Rare Find isn’t a person but a ministry or a church. These are the groups who are showing the world what it looks like to be a living stone. They might be fighting for global justice, washing the feet of the saints, or just trying their best to show others the love of Christ.

Today I’m thinking about a BIG group of people for my Rare Find. This could possibly be my favorite kind of person: a Rare Find in an unexpected place. This weekend Dan and I had the chance to travel to a church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to lead worship for their Sunday night service. We knew something of the congregation, mostly that they were small. We knew the pastor, and Dan was quick to tease him about the old choruses he made Dan play on the piano.

The room we entered surprised us. The decor was extremely modern, the location was downtown. Our sound tech offered his assistance in black clothes and the remains of many tattoos across his knuckles, but his spirit was sweet. He served us with excellence.

As the congregation entered the room we began to realize what a contrast there was between the mostly older people (“gray hairs” as our sound friend lovingly referred to them) took their obviously established seats in the room. When a singer/guitar player opened up with a Jesus people song that everyone in the room knew except us, I began to worry that our contemporary choruses weren’t going to go over very well.

But then I saw the sound guy in the back again, closing his eyes and worshipping along with a style of music that was clearly not his preference. Still, he understood that worship is for God, not for us. When we asked if there was anyway to get a little more sound coming out of our monitor he explained that he has to keep the sound levels low for this particular congregation. He was a humble servant, a Rare Find in an unexpected place. I felt like we might have been there just for him, and him for us.

Our sets went fine. The congregation was willing to try new songs and responded well to our pastor’s message that night. As we left the impressive brick building in the downtown area, Dan asked the kind woman driving us to the airport about a particular red truck in the parking lot, one of the last vehicles there. “I’m guessing that truck belongs to Chuck. Is that right, Ma’am?” Yes, indeed. There in the middle of a lot full of Lincoln’s and other sedans sat a hot red pick-up truck on lifts with flames painted up the sides and decals covering the back window.

That’s what I love about the Church!