I forgot how to pray...

I went to see an "old" friend yesterday...at a long term in-patient drug and alcohol treatment center. He's only 21 and I hadn't seen him in 7 years. Over his teenage years, he made some really stupid decisions and ended up messing up his life royally. He is on the right road now and just recommitted his life to the Lord. Good stuff.

So he says to me..."How do you pray? I forgot how."

Great question. We had an awesome conversation about prayer and what it is and what it isn't. He said that he has a hard time praying for himself...that he is just too thankful and doesn't feel like he should ask God for anything for himself. So he prays for his family and his friends. And he prays a lot of prayers of thankfulness. And yet he isn't sure that he is praying "right" because he isn't praying for himself.

Wow...humbling indeed. I think that young man...that young Christian...may have just taught something huge to this old man...this seasoned Christian...

They Always Come in Threes

I'm sure you've heard it. Somebody you know dies, then somebody else, then someone says "you know these things always come in threes." Well, I'm having a little problem now. First, Ed McMahon died. Then Farrah Fawcett. So I'm ready for the third, and it was Michael Jackson. OK...theory confirmed. But then, bam, it's Billy Mays. Wow, so that makes four. Now what? Today, it's Karl Malden, which, by my count is five...

...or is it two, on the second three? Scary, huh?

Vacation Thoughts

Well we're back from vacation and here are a few quick thoughts:

- We like vacationing in the off season
- Myrtle Beach was nice but we probably wouldn't go back
- Charleston SC is a fantastic place to visit and we will go back and spend more time
- It is hot down south
- The south has different standards of cleanliness
- Kinzua Dam is a deserted but beautiful place
- There's no place like home

Bluegrass Therapy!

So what's on my iPod right now? Nothing but bluegrass! It has been a very trying and demanding week so far and one way that I connect with God in the midst of it all is through music. I love bluegrass...and it speaks to my soul and allows my soul to speak too. Thank you Lord for the gift of music...especially bluegrass!

Spiritual Giants

My friend Chris brought this to my attention a number of weeks ago. I was in the garage polishing some chrome on the hawg and checking my latest twitter updates. I posted "I'm polishing chrome." He then posted "Where are the spiritual giants of our time?" I posted "They're polishing chrome!" He then posted back that he was serious, so I had to be too!

It got me to thinking...who are they? There are so many Christian leaders today who are talking about all kinds of things, but mostly just about leadership and the church. They are church giants perhaps, but who are the spiritual giants? And in our own UM Conference leadership, we have our leaders and stuff, but who are the spiritual giants? And in our own church, Cornerstone, I am a leader and we have a capable leadership team and staff, but who are the spiritual giants?

The Bible is filled with tales of none of the types of people I've just mentioned. The reason? They did nothing to change the world. The Bible is instead filled with tales of spiritual giants...people who boldly loved and preached the Word of God. And in this day and age, who is that? It should be me, and it haunts me with the question...why isn't it?

Oh Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble...

This morning I was blessed once again to be a part of a men's Bible study group. We meet at Panera every Thursday morning and it is cool in many ways. First of all, it is great to come together to pray and study the Word in a public place. Also, I don't lead the group! A faithful and humble servant of the Lord leads it, and for sake of anonymity, I will mention him only by his stage name:

Mark Meanor!

So this morning, he was leading us in prayer for a variety of things, including his own journey to become a school teacher after years as an engineer. And he prayed for he and his family to "survive together" during this difficult time. And it struck me, what incredible humility. Most of us, especially me, would probably pray to thrive. We want to have it all...for life to be easy...to come out a winner. But Mark prayed simply for survival.

Now that, dear readers, is true humility. Thank you Mark for your faithful, humble leadership and your witness and example to us all...

Innovate

So I'm at the Dubois Harley dealer last week (and BTW Carla won us a $50 gift certificate in a drawing there...yippee...we're going back for more chromeage!!!) and I, true to my nature, had to pee. So I goes into the men's room, and what do I behold? Voila:

Cool eh? For you womenfolk readers, that's a urinal. It's something every guy wishes he had in his home. But this urinal was extra special....there were handlebars to hold onto, a rearview mirror (for safety reasons!) and, are you ready...to flush it, you pulled in the clutch!!!! No joke! I knew Carla wouldn't let me sneak her in to see it so I took this picture to show her. She was as thrilled as I was (NOT!)

So what's my point? I love it when people think...do a new thing...innovate. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, God uses Paul to talk about the newness we have. In Isaiah, God says He is doing a new thing. Jesus talked about new wine and new wineskins...God is a Creator...Innovator extraordinaire! And He created us to be the same.

So how do we exercise our creativity to honor Him and to reach those who don't know of His love and grace?

Caring Enough to Confront...

So next Tuesday I'm beginning a three week Bible study entitled "Caring Enough to Confront." In it, we will deal with how do we care enough to speak the truth in love. If we did, there would be a whole lot less gossip. If we did, there would be a whole lot less misunderstanding and whole lot more understanding. If we did, we would probably end up sharing our faith a whole lot more often and much more effectively.

So whaddya think...do you care enough to confront? When do you wimp out and why?

IMPORTANT BLOG UPDATES AND ADDENDUMS

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to bring you this important annoucement:

I visited with my family while on vacation and had a delightful time.

(my mom didn't even email me and comment on how I neglected to mention that in my recent blog posting about my vacation.)

The Shack...

So one of the books I read on vacation was "The Shack." Who's read it? What did you think?

Here are some of my reactions:

The book wasn't necessarily a smooth read, but the subject matter kept me engaged to the end (which is rare for me!).

Obviously the book wasn't written as a theological treatise and we could play games all day about the theological "problems" with the book (as we do about every book, even the Bible!).

My greatest reaction was it got me to thinking very differently about how the Lord wishes to interact with His people and how He views this life of ours very differently than we do. That was very enlightening and very refreshing, indeed!

He's Back!

Hi kids out there in blogland! I am back from a week's vacation and I thought I'd check in with y'all. I enjoyed my week of goofing considerably with some of the following:

Reading books. I finished The Shack...what a great book.
Napping. Need I say more?
Riding the hawg...put about a thousand miles on last week.
Turning 44. It didn't hurt a bit!
Spending some time w/ my best friend Carla. Priceless.

So now I'm back and ready to "press on toward the prize." I'll blog more soon, I promise!

You know it's Easter when...

...I have a cold. It seems like I get a cold before all the major high and holy holidays in the church. Why? Satan is trying to dampen the celebration? Sorry dude...I read the book...Jesus wins.

...Newsweek and the History Channel run stories making it seem like Christianity is damned. Why? Satan is trying dampen the celebration? Sorry dude...I read the book...Jesus wins.

Happy Easter!!!

Ch ch ch ch changes....

Why does human nature hate change? There is this ongoing furor (or fervor, depending on your choice of words...) about the "new" facebook. I am working with our Leadership Team to change our vision statement which is causing some unrest. We're not doing the "same" Good Friday service this year...I hope nobody leaves the church because of it! Because, it seems, we don't like to change.

But change can be a wonderful thing...a new opportunity. God is changing the world and that is the fantastic news of Easter. Change means we have Spring instead of winter all year long (and I promise, winter is nearly done!). Change means we meet new people, have new experiences, and have new opportunities to love and serve an awesome God.

So I say "change...bring it on!"

Was it something I said?

His name is Fred Miller. He is probably one of the greatest Christian men I've ever had the privilege of knowing. He is a life long resident of New Paris PA and is one of the most faithful members the New Paris United Methodist Church has ever known. He was an unofficial mentor to me and taught me more about Jesus, more about ministry, and more about the church than any person or seminary ever has.

One day we were sitting in my office peeling oranges and eating breakfast together...part of his gentle way of getting me to slow down a little. I was lamenting to him about how somebody was upset with me because of a decision I had made and how difficult it was to have somebody angry with me.

He sat and thought, and then he said "Brett, you're the pastor and you're a leader. If at any given time someone isn't upset with you, then you're probably not living into your calling."

Wow. Those words still humble and inspire me. Already today, a decision I made has somebody upset. I'm sorry they are, but I'm not sorry for my decision. That's what leaders do. Pray for me that I will always make the Godly decisions. And pray for me that I don't let others' discomfort with those decisions dissuade me from living into my calling...

Let the Whining Begin!!!

Yippee!!! It's Spring. This is one of my four favorite seasons of the year. This is the season where we stop whining about the cold and the snow, and we begin to whine about the rain and wind! And, oh boy, what comes next? The season where we get to whine about how hot it is and break out the favorite expression of the masses: "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." I can't wait...but for now, I'll just whine about the rain and the wind (and maybe even a little about all the mud while I'm at it!)

I am the church, I am the church, I am the church together!

Maybe you've heard that annoying song "I Am the Church." I'll bet you're singing it right now and wishing you weren't..."I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together!" Cheesy? Annoying? YES! True? I'm afraid it should be but it is not.

The mentality seems to be, at least in America, that I am all the church needs. And when the church doesn't conform to me, then I go elsewhere. If I don't like something, then I must hit the road because I am the church.

Since when? It sure doesn't sound to me when I read Scripture that this is God's plan for us. I foolishly thought that Jesus really wanted us to be together through thick and thin, in comfort and discomfort, in strife and in peace, in tribulation and in celebration. I guess I just misunderstood what He prayed for us.

Since When Did This Become "The American Way"

We have become a nation of whiners!!! When did it become American to complain about everything and do nothing to change it? Let me offer a few observations:

1. The NEW Facebook. OMG, the complaints about that. The "I Hate the New Facebook" groups and the "Bring Back the Old Facebook" groups...Pa-Lease! You don't like it? I see a few options: 1.) shut up. 2.) don't use it. 3.) launch your own version of social networking.

2. The government. Here we go again...can't seem to find anybody that voted for Obama. The "stimulus" package is less than stimulating. Whaddya expect?! I see a few options: 1.) shut up. 2.) vote the bums out. 3.) move, like to a "better" country.

3. The church. (ruh-roh, is this where I offend?!) We grumble about the church...does too much of this and not enough of that. The messages are too long or too deep or too shallow or too boring. We don't do enough outreach or we don't take care of those who are already here. We don't do enough of this and that or when you do this and that, it doesn't fit my schedule. Hey, we're not in a perfect world! I see a few options: 1.) shut up. 2.) work to change it and do your part. 3.) start your own "perfect" church.

This concludes my whining for the day. Thanks for listening!

Dear Contact First Name,

So I gets this email today that starts out: "Dear contact first name..." How personal! I know I want to respond to this right away!

Which reminds me of the message series we're in at Cornerstone called "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." That's the kind of church we want to be. I believe that the days of the megachurch are over and that the next generation is going to be earnestly seeking to belong in a true sense of community. And that is our vision for Cornerstone.

But we live in a world where this isn't always the case. I went to a small college, worked for a small manufacturing company, prefer pastoring a "smaller" church, have a small amount of hair and even a smaller brain. I guess I just value small. It is in the smaller more communal settings where I never have to be addressed as "contact first name..."

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering. That picture has nothing to do with my blog.

Blabbermouth!

OK...guilty as charged. I talk. I like to talk. I talk a lot! But I think I know why...because that is how I think! I can't think by myself. My brain has this thingy in it that disconnects it unless my mouth is moving and I'm listening to somebody and I'm doing something all at the same time.

So you may say I'm weird. Go ahead, I'll wait.




But the point isn't how we think, but THAT we think. My hope is that with a great wife, some great friends, a great staff, some great leadership, and an awesome God, that I'm able to do some awesome thinking. And I hope and trust that there is fruit from those thoughts!

Just When I Needed You Most...

I love that song. Makes me cry every time, and I love to cry! I'm a lachrymaniac! Anywho, I got a call this morning from an old friend. I haven't talked to her in a long time...maybe a year or two. She's in trouble. She has just spiraled in the last while...drinking, arrests, got fired from her jobs...she has hit bottom.

Why she called me, I'm not sure. But she said that she basically has nobody left. All of her recent friends are a bad influence and she needs to end those relationships. All of her old friendships, her Christian ones, are gone. Now she is alone.

So I shared with her one of my favorite stories from the Bible...Mark 2:1-6. The bottom line is that she is paralyzed. She knows she needs to get to Jesus, but is too paralyzed to get there. She needs friends on the corners of her mat to carry her there...at any cost. I want to be one of those friends...

Christians brothers and sisters, Jesus never, ever leaves us. Never. For any reason. He never gives up. So why do we sometimes give up on people just when they need us most? Not that they really need us, but they may need us to carry them to Jesus feet...

I'm SO busy!

OK...reality check. If you're blogging about how busy you are, you're not that busy. If you're updating your facebook status to say that you have SO much to do or whatever, you obviously don't.

A wise man (namely me!) once said if you're truly busy, you're too busy to update your facebook status about how busy you are.

Now I gotta go because I have SO much to do...

To tell you the truth...

Why do we use that expression? It's almost as if we are admitting that we don't tell the truth, which probably isn't far from the truth. I am just astounded at how much we (and by we, I unfortunately mean "Christians") lie. I was at a conference last week where the presenter was giving illustrations to make his point. He was talking about one of the churches he had served early in his career, before he had become a famous author. My friend had his book and was comparing the "facts" given in the book to the "facts" he was sharing in the story. Um, not even close.

And it isn't just at some conference in some far away land, it hits home right here at Cornerstone. Lies and untruths abound in our casual conversations, let alone when we're under stress. I have really been convicted of just how much this is a problem in our lives.

Tonight, the people called Cornerstone will gather for a time of prayer. I'm claiming the words of Psalm 139:23-24...that God would search our hearts and remove the unclean from us...especially the lies and deceit. I'm praying that He replaces is with truth, His truth, truth who has a name, Jesus.

"After Me"

So I'm driving back from the gym this morning and I come to this four way stop sign. Some dude in a luxury car seems to think that he got there first even though I was the clear winner in the race. As I pulled out in front of him, I said loudly "after me, bub."

And then it happened...you know, conviction? God says "Brett, since when is it about you?" I find myself using and I and me statements a lot, and yet God said that the greatest of all shall be the servant. I should have let the guy go, my turn or not. I should be placing the needs of others above my own, but I don't always. Lord, thank you for your forgiveness and thanks for your conviction. May I use it for your glory!!!

Back by Popular Demand!!!

Wow..somebody anonymously asked me to blog, so away I go.


First, happy Ash Wednesday (I think....)

Second, I'm going to North Carolina for a few days for a conference. I'll be back Saturday night so I'll be preaching Sunday. Sorry. My message is:

Third, I love winter but please pray for Spring. I want to ride my bike. I did get accepted into the very first round of motorcycle safety school so I'll be able to get my license by early April! Then no more permit restrictions. Woohoo!

See You in Kilt

So I have this Blackberry with a modified QWERTY keyboard. (Mom: don't even ask, you'll never understand.) So I'm texting or emailing somebody and they say when is the mission trip this year? I TRY to respond "July." Seems simple, right? I mean that's why we have these things like Blackberrys, right? To make life simpler and better and happier an' 'at? Oh, but no! My QWERTY keyboard brings up Kilt as the first option. Now c'mon. How often do you use Kilt in a sentence?!? Can't we make July the first choice in the line of possible options?

I'm telling you, as soon as I redesign those rear seatbelts in my parents' '77 Impala, then redesign my lamppost cover so I don't lose the screws in the @%&*$*!! flowerbed when I replace the bulb, THEN I'm fixing this QWERTY quirk.

As they say in my family..."Why must I be tested?!"

Unfacebooked

I just "unfriended" a facebook friend. For those of you still stuck in the dark ages (of last year) (read: MOM), facebook is a free "social networking" website that allows people to interact. It's kinda like being at a party online. You can "talk" to people, share photos or play silly party games. You can also choose who you want to be in your online party by making them your facebook "friend."

So today, I uninvited someone. I guess you could say I asked him to leave my party. Why? Because he is just so arrogant. He is forever talking about himself and has all the answers. The real "know-it-all" type. Drive me CRAZY!!!

So then I think, what about me? Maybe his arrogance is so annoying to me because it reminds me of my own? I hope not. And if I am, then Lord I am asking you to take that from me and replace it with only you. May I become less so that you can become more. May "my party" be about you.

Steeler Mania!

I was watching the game and I am sitting there with a blood pressure reading of roughly 800/500 and I'm wondering WHY? Why do I care so much? It's only a game! What difference does it all make? And yet, I'm so psyched I could barely sleep Sunday night. It is unbelievable how we get caught up in the energy of it all. At any rate, congrats to the Stillers and Lord, might my passion for you be as captivating and contagious!

"Shop Supplies"

So I takes my car to the garage to fix the windshield washers. They're not working. If you live in or near Picksburgh you know how mucho importante it is to have such a luxury on a vehicle. Well the first time I take it in, they "fix" it by heating the nozzles with a hair dryer to thaw them. And they charge me like $88 dollars. Thanks, but coulda done it without you. So a few days later I take it back and have them replace the pump and motor like I told them in the first place. Then they charge me like $123.

Now that's not the issue. It's that little part of the bill that says "shop supplies" and they tack on $5 or $10 to it. I don't have an issue with them having to buy supplies for the shop, JUST INCREASE YOUR HOURLY LABOR RATE!!!!!! Why charge me $65 per hour for the "labor rate" and then what essentially amounts to another $5 per hour "shop supplies"? I have an idea. Just charge me $70 per hour.

It's like the lawn mowing service a previous church I was at contracted with. They charged a certain amount to "mow the lawn" and then an additional "gas surcharge." I'm sorry, but that just gives me gas. Just charge me more to "mow the lawn," enough to cover your "gas" expenses. OK? Thanks...it will certainly make my life more pleasant and, well, I'll just think you're more honest!

While You Were Sleeping...

To be honest, I felt like our congregation was asleep yesterday. I've been feeling like the church has been in a general state of malaise and unsure what to do about it. So I've been listening to this song by Casting Crowns called "While You Were Sleeping." It draws the parallels around how Bethlehem was asleep when Jesus was born, Jerusalem was asleep when Jesus was crucified, and we're asleep for His return. In Romans 12:11, God implores us to never lack in our spiritual zeal but develop our fervor for Him through patience, joyful faith, prayer, and service to Him. In this week while Pittsburgh prepares to celebrate its 6th Super Bowl victory, zeal and fervor are not in scarce commodity. So how is it that our spiritual fervor is? Anyone care to weigh in? How can we shed this and come alive in Jesus?!?!

"A Little Good News"

You know I always have at least one song stuck in my head. Lately, it's been Anne Murray's "A Little Good News." You prolly know the song about how she is sick and tired of bad news and stuff. Anywho, I love the song and the message. Last week, America found a new, true hero. The pilot of the "Miracle on the Hudson" is truly a hero. Your average American Joe just doing his job and not looking for glory or cash does a great thing. That rocks. This is the kind of person we need to be holding up to our nation's young people! Thanks Sulley for bringing this nation a little good news for a change. And yes, Mr. News Media, you can keep talking about it all you want...I promise I'll never get tired of that story!