A celebration

This weekend we celebrate the joining in marriage.  

Many of you are aware

Many of you are aware that Lindsay is in need of our prayers. Tonight a few of us got together via conference call and said some prayers for her. It was a moving experience.
A few of us thought it would be a good idea to have a conference call/ prayer call tomorrow night and open it up to anyone who wants to participate.
The call worked well tonight because so many have iPhones and are able to conference call.
We would like to schedule another call tomorrow night at 9 p.m. The call will last less than 30 minutes, depending on how many people participate and how the spirit moves.
If you interested in participating please private message me with your number and please indicate if your phone has 3-way calling options. We will take people up until 8:45 pm on Wednesday.
Lindsay needs us and this is our way of showing our love for her as a camp family.

Some notes for an upcoming sermon

Let me know what you think...Here are my notes for an upcoming sermon....

Play the song -Love is a verb-By John Mayer

Love is a verb
It ain't a thing
It's not something you own
It's not something you scream

When you show me love
I don't need your words
Yeah love ain't a thing
Love is a verb
Love ain't a thing
Love is a verb

Love ain't a crutch
It ain't an excuse
No you can't get through love
On just a pile of I-O-Us

Love ain't a drug
Despite what you've heard
Yeah love ain't a thing
Love is a verb
Love ain't a thing
Love is a verb

So you gotta show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
That love is a verb

You gotta show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
That love is a verb

Love ain't a thing
Love is a verb

This song is by John Mayer off his new album. "Born and Raised." This has become one of my favorite songs, for a large number of reasons.

Listen again to some of the lyrics as I read the to you;

Love is a verb, it ain't a thing, It's not something you own, it's not something you scream. When you show me love, I' don't need your words. Yah, love ain't a thing, Love is a verb. Love ain't a thing. 

A verb is a word of action. It means going beyond talking and into action. It does not mean talking about action. It means going beyond the talk and mondaineness (?) of everyday life. 

I recently read a book called, At Left Brain Turn Right. The book by Anthony Meindl, is a guide to 15 weeks of personal reflection and meditation. 

In the book Meindl talks of the concept of changing from a noun to a verb, 

"Jane Fonda says she changed from a noun to a verb, when she became involved in helping other people, relating to them beyond being famous. A verb is active and less-ego-oriented. Being a verb means being defined by action, not by title."

What an idea, what a concept! What would it take to change our lives and our world from a noun to a verb. 

How often do we let our lives become the opposite of a verb? How often have we told ourselves we are going to change the world? or how often have we told ourselves we are going to loose that extra 5 or 10 pounds?

Recently I read the book called "and" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. The book serves as a followup book to their earlier book "Tangible Kingdom."

In the book they talk briefly about Newton's three laws a motion, Here is there thoughts adopted to what we are talking about, changing from a noun to a verb.

Newton's first law states that particles with no force acting on them will continue to move without change in the same direction with a constant velocity. 

Simplified the law states "a body persists in a state of rest or of uniform motion unless it is acted upon by an external, unbalanced force."

How does this lead to change? To put it simply, we currently exist on our current trajectory, for better or worse, until we begin to intentionally act upon it with new paradigms.  

 Newton's first law gives us a vital reminder that a change from a noun to a verb won't just happen. 

Newton's second law can be simply stated by saying "force equals mass accelerated. 

Applied to the process of changing from a noun to a verb, this points out a challenging issue that we all have experienced. The mass of pure existence is so large in our lives that it will take an enormous amount of force applied in order to initiate movement in a new direction. In a practical sense, this means that we all need to work together. 

Finally, Newton's third law simplified states for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Throughout the process of changing from a noun to a verb we can expect some push in the opposite direction. It's a law of nature, when you push in one direction, you'll feel a push back in the opposite direction."

    Another good read is "Life of the Beloved" by Henri Nouwen, This book was the basis for parts of SPEC this summer. 

Henri was once interviewed by a journalist and the two became friends as a result. To make a long story short, the two developed a spiritual relationship and Henri was encouraged by his new friend to write this book, that would bring the conversation of  religion to a person level and to a younger generation.  

"I hear at my center, words that say; I have called you by name, from the beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests, I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest I keep watch.
I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover and your spouse...yes, even your child...wherever you are I will be. Nothing will separate us. We are one.
Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.
I have been doing a lot of digging lately and I know that I am just beginning to see a little stream bubbling up through the dry sand. I have to keep digging because that little stream comes from a huge reservoir beneath the desert of my life. The word "digging" might not be the best word, since it suggests hard and painful work that finally leads me to the place where I can quench my thirst. perhaps all we need to do is remove the dry sand that covers the well.
There may be quite a pile of dry sand in our lives, but the One who so desires to quench our thirst will help us to remove it. All we really need is a great desire to find the water and drink from it.
You have lived fewer years than I. You may still want to look around a little more and a little longer so as to become convinced that the spiritual life is worth all your energy. But I do feel a certain impatience toward you because I don't want you to waste to much of your time! I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me. For you I hope the opposite is true.
Therefore, I want to assure you already, now, that you do not have to get caught in searches that lead only to entanglement. Neither do you have to become the victim of manipulative world or get trapped in any kind of addiction. You can choose to reach out to true inner freedom and find it ever more fully.
So, if you are interested in starting on the journey of the Beloved, I have a lot more to say to you, because the journey of the spiritual life calls not only for determination but also for a certain knowledge of the terrain to be crossed. I don't want you to have to wander about in the desert for forty years as did our spiritual forebears. I don't even want you to dwell there as long as I did. You are very dear to me, a friend whom I truly love. Although it remains true that everyone has to learn for himself or herself, I still believe that we can prevent those we love from making the same mistakes we did. In the terrain of the spiritual life, we need guides.
In the pages that I now want to write for you, I would like to be your guide. I hope you are still interested I walking along."  
To me this is a prime example of changing from a noun to a verb.
Let's turn to the scriptures that address this very concept,
First lets turn to a scripture we are all aware of; John 3:16, in the opening line of that scripture it states,

"For God so loved the world."

Then there is the story of awoman, who had been caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus Christ by the scribes and Pharisees  as a test to see if the Messiah was a liberal in matters of the Law of God. In response he didn't condemn the woman, not because He condoned her sin. He was the only person there that day who was free of sin, the only one who had the right to "cast the first stone." He didn't stone her (or her accusers), but instead forgave her and told her to "sin no more."

Jesus turned a noun into a verb is this story as well. Without some kind of action this woman would have been stoned to death, because that was the common practice in that day. But, because of his love for her as an individual and a child of God he turned a noun into a verb. 

In my mind the church is taking steps to change from a noun to a verb, with the mission initiatives. 

The mission initiatives are calling the entire church to move beyond talking about changing the world in various ways, to actually doing it. 

In closing my friends, It's certainly my hope and prayer that we can take the necessary steps to change from a noun to a verb in our lives. Because we all know the world could us more verbs.   

A commitment to myself

So a couple of months ago I joined a gym here in town and have not used it as much as I should and regret each day I can not make it there for at least an hour. At the time it dawned upon me that I eat a lot of fast food, it's a little counterproductive, Monday is also my birthday.
For me my birthday is always a time of thought and reflection on how old I am getting.
So, with this in mind, I am going to commit myself to going to the gym during my lunch hour.
If I am successful, this will cut my intake of fast food and I may loose a couple of pounds in the process. 

An Old Pair Of Shoes

I have an pair of shoes I can't find the motivation to discard. I've worn them to the point they are starting to breakdown.
I have a big foot, size 13 or 14 (depending on the brand). So, when I shop for shoes it's hard to find a pair that fit just right. The kind of shoe you would want to commit to.
I can't remember how long I've has this pair of shoes. To me, these are the type of shoes that after a week or two of wearing them, you foot has found a groove and every time you put them on, it's like your foot knows where its going.
How often is that the case in life.
You find a groove and stick with that until something happens, or you decide it's time to make a new groove.
How often is this also the case with the church or our ministry?
How often in our congregation and ministry do we find something that works and stick with it until it dies, or well beyond?
To me the mission initiatives is a call to the church to find a new groove, a new perspective on ministries that have served us well.
My favorite mission initiative is, Abolish Poverty, End Suffering. I have taken that initiative and put it to work through my local Habitat For Humanity.
I am currently ready the book, 'At Left Brain, Turn Right' by Anthony Meindl.
In the book he writes, "Jane Fonda says she changed from 'a noun to a verb,' when she became involved in helping other people, relating to them beyond being famous. 'A verb is active and less ego-oriented. Being a verb means being defined by action, not by title."
To me that is what the mission initiatives are calling us to do, change from being a noun to a verb.
Singer/Songwriter John Mayer sings of this logic with his song, Love Is a Verb. "Love is a verb, It ain't a thing, It's not something you own, It's not something you scream. When you show me love, I don't need your words, Yeah love ain't a thing, Love is a verb, Love ain't a thing."
It is my prayer is that each of us can move from a noun to a verb.

  

10 days

10 days until Sr. High 2012

About a friend

Our community has lost a great man this weekend. Longtime community member and a friend to all, Nick Gampp lost his life.
There is no doubt in my mind that Nick was loved by everyone he came in contact with over the years.
According to his obit, nick was an Art and History professor at Shawnee State University and a member of Sunshine Church of Christ in Minford. Nick was a florist, local artist and active in the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center and area garden clubs.
SSU President Dr. Rita Rice Morris said in a released statement, "Nick loved his work and he loved his students. He touched many lives through teaching – and through his art. We will miss his influence on our Fine Arts Department and our campus. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, his family, and all who were fortunate enough to have known him.”
During my time at Shawnee State I majored in Fine Arts and I had the pleasure of taking numerous art classes with him. He became a treasured friend.
Nick was known for sharing his artwork, such as beautiful collages, made from things he found around the house or along his daily journey. He made one I fell in love with and had to have. After it was displayed in the Appleton Gallery
 in the Vern Riffe Center of the Arts, I expressed my desire to purchase it. To make a long story short, I ended up with the collage and it has hung in my house ever since.
Even though I graduated college six years ago and have seen Nick once or twice in that time, I still called him a friend.
As an example of the impact he had on this community and the SSU community. When the news broke on Facebook of his passing it was within a matter of minutes people were expressing their sorrow and fond memories.
One of his former students wrote,"He was a one-of-a-kind for sure. He taught many people not just about art but how to embrace it with passion. He was the only professor that has taught several members of family and we never have felt so blessed to have had him in our lives."
The scripture 2 Timothy 4:7 comes to mind, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”
As this community says goodbye to a great man, it is my hope and prayer that we will be thankful for the people we have in our lives.