20 Fun Facts to lighten your day

Mj and I picked up a copy of FUN FACTS, by David Letterman. I collected a few to share with you:

1. When it was introduced in 2001, the iPod was the size of a refrigerator and held two songs.

2. After you die, your tongue continues to grow.

3. The French Dip is consistently voted the world’s dampest sandwich.

4. At any given moment, 20 million men don’t realize that their fly is down.

5. In the days before limousines people flaunted their wealth by riding very long horses.

6. When a U.S. president dies, it is customary for his secret service agent to be executed and buried in an adjacent plot.

7. Wayne Gretzky prefers his soda without ice.

8. In 1978, a man found two snowflakes that were exactly alike, but they melted before it could be verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

9. There are only three documented cases of people juggling in their sleep.

10. Twenty-two percent of grooms secretly try on their bride’s wedding gown.

11. The nickel is only 25% nickel; the dime is only 15% dime.

12. Although a lobster’s claw is strong enough to crack a walnut, lobsters don’t really care for walnuts.

13. Due to a typographical error, Ohio law mandates a three-day waiting period before you can buy gum.

14. Historians believe Amelia Earhart’s final flight got lost because her navigator, like most men, wouldn’t ask for directions.

15. No one in the world has been found to have a birthday on March 16.

16. Before a budget cut, the Lincoln Memorial’s chair was supposed to come with a matching ottoman.

17. Few ranchers actually use ranch dressing.

18. Contrary to the popular slogan, 68% of what happens in Vegas leads to divorce and/or bankruptcy.

19. Matthew is the only gospel that mentions Jesus being ticklish.

20. Hearses carrying a body are eligible to drive in the carpool lane.

Houses That Change the World

So I've been really hitting this thought hard lately... how much do the lives of Western Christians—like me—really reflect the life, heart and presence of Jesus? Or do we just talk a great talk?

The thought hasn’t just come out of thin air. George Barna and others have revealed time and again in their surveys over the last few years that there's no discernable difference between Christians and non-Christians in America. So I’m trying to figure out—why is that? What’s the reason for that?

I was just reading more of Wolfgang Simpson's book, Houses That Change the World. Listen to what he says on p.34 (it's actually his key theme/ proposition of the book):

"The house church is an ideal setting to change values, transfer life and therefore transform lifestyles. An analysis of the western church shows that the congregational model is almost totally ineffective at changing basic values and lifestyles. Many Christians end up with the same lifestyle of people around them, and therefore become indistinguishable from society and lose their prophetic edge. House churches provide a place of radical transformation of values and reordering of life, offering mutual and organic accountability, where redeemed peer pressure is made to function for good, and not for bad."

This resonates with my experience. When I read the New Testament—Paul, Peter, John and others—following Jesus is shown to be more of a way of life, than simply acknowledging certain things or beliefs “to be true.” (The earliest Christians were first called followers of "the Way.") Acknowledging something as “true” (for example, “God exists” or “Jesus is the Christ”) does not have to have any real impact upon one’s life. People can hold certain truths or beliefs “to be true,” but if these truths aren’t embraced as life principles or seen as relevant to living life in the real world, they won’t define who we are deep down in our soul, or shape our character.

The Letter of James reveals that simply “believing that there is one God” in this world is no biggie. He writes, “Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” In other words, even the demons, or any opposing force, can “acknowledge something to be true,” but that doesn’t mean they follow it as a way of life, or embrace it as a life principle. They may believe something is “truth” but they don’t believe IN it.

Maybe this reflects more accurately the condition of Christianity in the West. Instead of being the church, we simply… go to church. It's easier to go to church than to be the church. (It's both, really.) Being the church is harder. In fact, it's impossible really, without being intimately connected to the Source of the church: Jesus himself. Which is why Wolfgang Simpson sees so much value in the house church model, and perhaps why he calls it a "supernatural communal life form" (p. 102).

It may be that the House Church setting provides easier access and intimacy to the “Presence of Jesus” than other forms of church meetings. I like where he's going. I'm wrestling hard on this one.... wondering how this can inform our current western ways of doing church.

A Wedding A Week

Do you like weddings? How about one every week... for a lifetime?

I’ve been reading Wolfgang Simpson’s book, Houses That Change the World, the Return of the House Churches. He compares the weekly Sunday morning gathering in a conventional church to a wedding celebration. Listen to what he writes…

“Life in any culture has two aspects, the private and the public, everyday life and the special events—weddings, festivals, funerals, and traditional events…. Everyday life is usually expressed in the family, the basic cell unit of every society and culture. Families are usually very organic, informal, relational and consist of whatever it takes to share lives. Weddings and other functions are extraordinary events, for which everyone duly prepares; they are usually formal, need much organization and are often highly structured.

“Imagine if you had to attend a wedding every weekend. It follows the same basic pattern, has even the same bridegroom and bride; maybe even the food is the same. After some weeks the excitement would wear down. You would know what to expect, and you would know what’s going to happen next. It would still remain a nice thing, a beautiful tradition, but it would feel odd to have the same type of festival every week.

“We need to be careful not to do this with church. Jesus has shown us not only a way to celebrate, but a way to live…. If we allow church to take on only ‘celebration structures,’ we will start celebrating ‘a wedding a week,’ and our behavior will soon be far removed from real life and cease to make sense to ordinary people. It will become an artificial, weekly performance.”

Does any of this ring true for you? The last two lines especially hit me in the gut: "removed from real life"... "weekly performance." Hmmm. It feels to me like Simpson has hit one out of the park. We hire professionals (I've been one of them) who work each week to organize the weekly “wedding celebration” FOR us. We give a lot of money to make the Celebration flashy, creative, lively and interesting. And yet—

And yet, national research studies have revealed that the lives of those who attend these “weekly wedding celebrations” don’t look much different from those who don’t. So maybe we’ve gotten the celebration part of Jesus’ message down, but we’ve missed the equally important “way to live” part. Anyway you slice it there does appear to be a disconnect between what we do each week in the “weekly Celebration,” and real life.

Looking After a Pedophile

Should a church look after a pedophile? How about for $1,000 a day? Would your church do it?

An Australian Church is doing just that, according to the CourierMail website: "A church group is being paid $1000 a day to look after serial pedophile Dennis Ferguson after he was relocated to an isolated area in Queensland.” Police Minister Judy Spence said the 60-year-old was being housed on the church group-owned property after last week being run out of a remote community.

"A well-respected, Christian-based group has agreed to provide support to Ferguson and keep him settled. The group was being paid $1000 a day to provide support to Ferguson and keep him settled.... This is a group experienced in working with prisoners in general and also prisoners who are sex offenders.” Founder of child advocate group, Bravehearts, Hetty Johnston said she understood people did not want Ferguson in their community.

What would you do if your church was asked to look after a local pedophile for $1000 a day?

(You can read the whole article by clicking HERE.)

A Chat in the Woods

She appeared unexpectedly just 40 yards up the trail. My first instinct was to look between the trees to see if she had a dog before Toast could get a glimpse of it and yank me off my bike with one of her sudden lunges. No dog—so I loosened my grip on the leash as we approached.

As the woman in peach came into clear view I noticed that she was slowing down, just like friends do when they prepare to greet each other for a brief chat on the sidewalk. I didn’t know who she was, although I think I had seen her walking on this trail before.

Her eyes lit up and she spoke with a big smile as I braked to a stop. She focused completely on Toast… “Oh, aren’t you a lovely little puppy? What’s your name?” She reached out to pet Toast, which was always agreeable to Toast. I was impressed with how friendly she was, and so plainly delighted at her good fortune. She marveled to me at how well-behaved Toast was. (If she only knew the truth.) “I would love to have a Golden,” she confided. “But it’s only me at home and I work all day. That wouldn’t be good for the dog.”

For the next few minutes we chatted on the trail. Comparing brief notes about life, and kids, and work. Two strangers drawn together almost as if by some Great Design, by means of the animal kingdom. It’s silly, really, that it takes an animal to facilitate social intercourse between two of the same human species.

I climbed back on my bike with Toast at my side. “Thank you for stopping,” she said. Thank you for stopping? It had been a no-brainer for me. She acted like she wanted to stop and pet my dog. (A common occurrence on my neighborhood trails.) So I stopped. Turns out that simple action brought a little delight into her life that day. Toast seems to have a knack for that. And somehow… I think it brings delight to God as well.

Next time I see this woman in peach I’m going to ask her if she’d like to dog-sit for an afternoon.

Gustav at 7:13 a.m.

It’s early morning on Labor Day, 2008, and I have one laptop window open to weather.com, monitoring Gustav, while another is open to my blog… trying to make sense of another hurricane bearing down on Mrs. Float and Mrs. Lachlin in New Orleans.

Gustav is already moving over the Louisiana coast. Nobody wants a repeat of the catastrophe of Labor Day Weekend of 2005. Just like the first time, I find myself glued to the TV—half watching to witness the raw power and fury of nature… half watching in empathy for the people in New Orleans. President Bush has already scuttled his visit to the RNC in St. Paul tonight. The whole RNC has altered its schedule in lieu of Gustav. You can bet John McCain will be showcasing his leadership skills as opportunities present themselves this week. And Obama and company will be close behind.

But I think mostly about Mrs. Float and her father, who have been living in a FEMA trailer in her front yard since Katrina. Her house sat empty when I visited in January (see Jan. 26, 2008 blog). Nothing but open stud walls from one end of the house to the other. My job was to finish the demolition with a small crew and prepare her house for rebuilding. I remember falling through the floor just outside of what used to be the bathroom. The 115+ years-old floor boards were beyond rotten. Fortunately the ground was only three feet underneath so I didn’t fall far, but enough to scrape up my leg with some minor wounds. I thought it was the least I could offer on the altar of sacrifices compared to what others had suffered.

I also think about Mrs. Lachlin (see Jan. 21 blog) and her newly rebuilt house on the east side of the city near Lake Pontchartrain. A large crew of 15 of us from Calvary hauled away the rest of the debris from the final demolition—it took two days. Then we dug in and finished off the inside structure and walls, installed a new roof, and sealed up the whole house from any further damage from the elements so that her bank could issue her a rebuilding loan.

There are thousands of Mrs. Floats and Mrs. Lachlins in New Orleans and Louisiana. I don’t know what they’re thinking or feeling this morning. But I have a little idea… as I remember how I felt as a 14 year old boy whenever a strong wind came up in the late evening, living in a trailer house, in the days and weeks that followed the Tracy Tornado that obliterated our house while we huddled in the basement.

Cone-head the Dog

At first it was a funny joke. Our six-month-old puppy, Toast, went in for surgery 10 days ago to be spayed. The vet tied this funny-looking plastic cone around her head to keep her from reaching back and biting out the stitches from her wound. Unlike our last dog, Penny, Toast didn’t seem to mind wearing the cone at all. So we thought, either she’s pretty dense, or laid back. We chose to think: “laid-back.” So we joked around with her and stared to call her “Cone-head.” All in good fun, of course. She didn’t seem to mind her new nick-name at all. But as each of the 10 days of “healing time” passed, with minimal exercise each day, she got feistier and feistier.

This morning it wasn’t funny anymore. (Well, maybe it little.)

Our daughter, who was up visiting us this weekend with her boyfriend, came running into our home office with a sick look on her face. She held up her boyfriend’s cell phone and said, “Toast just ate Jeff’s phone!”

Great. I pictured in my mind the both of them traveling back to Chicago, having to turn the dog over on her belly to punch in a phone number whenever Jeff wanted to call someone… and then cuddling up to the dog’s mouth to be able to shout down her throat so that the little microphone could pick up his voice.

Maybe every dog goes through this stage early on. Just to test you, to see how much you’re really willing to sacrifice to let this dog live with you. Our last dog did the same thing. It was when a good friend of ours came to visit. (It always happens when guests come to visit.) Marcia came upstairs in her bathrobe for coffee and breakfast. As we were laughing and talking Penny suddenly appeared, looking a little sheepish, and came up to Marcia to be petted. “What do you have in your mouth?” she asked sweetly… innocently, as she gently reached down to pet her and remove it from her mouth. Her face turned from smiles to frowns when she realized that she was holding what was left of her prescription glasses. Merlajean and I both looked for a hole in the floor to jump into.

That visit cost us $150 bucks for a new pair of glasses and almost a friendship. I have no idea how much this visit from our daughter and her boyfriend will cost us for a new cell phone. The ironic thing is, of course, Toast tries to spend every waking moment next to Jeff's side. I can’t tell if Toast is simply infatuated with her newfound friend from Chicago, or if she's just rubbing it in because she just got by with chewing up his phone and everyone thinks “she’s just a dumb dog!”

Glow Ropes on the 4th

The woman was a little strange. Both my wife and I thought that. But—we both wanted to see where this would go. And make some money too.

The Craig’s List gig that we applied for was to hand out glow-ropes at a park on the 4th of July just prior to the Fireworks. It was straight commission. $.15 on the dollar. Thousands of people would be coming out. Our group would be the only vendors. For a few hours work we could make a hundred bucks or more. Plus—it would be fun. Beside, what else would be doing on the 4th of July? Why not make a little money?

So we drove out to meet with the operator. She ran her business out of her twin-home. It seemed nice enough… a little smallish, I thought, for a business. After waiting forever at her front door and wondering if she was even home, she greeted us and invited us out on the deck for our “interview.” And, oh by the way, “Would we like a glass of wine?” she asked. She had plenty of wine—good wine, since she often did promotions for wine companies. Why not? I said.

My antennae went up a notch however when she brought out a half-corked, half-full bottle of shiraz with a date of 3-24-08 scratched on the label. It was three months old! I wondered exactly what “good wine” meant in her world. But not wanting to offend her—especially since it was free—I uncorked the bottle and poured out a couple of glasses. One for her and one for me. And we all talked. And laughed. And told our stories. And she told hers. I noticed that her eyes had that reddish, sunken-in-look appearance. Her skin was blotchy looking. I guessed that she struggled with alcoholism, especially since she kept ducking inside the house (to take a swig of some hard stuff?).

We filled out some forms and were told to show up at 5:30 on July 4 to meet the rest of the group and receive our final instructions. That was it. Nice to meet you. See you on July 4th. I guess we made the grade. A puppeteer and a church planter. Hawking glow-ropes at the park on the 4th of July. I was already pumped for it.

Well, it didn’t quite turn out the way we pictured it.

We met our fellow hawkers that night: a 24ish-year-old guy who worked as many gigs as he could, making very good money while still living at home; a 26 year old attractive woman, who was already on her third man, had four kids from three different men, but drove a Lexus crossover (what’s wrong with this picture? I wondered); a 26ish-year-old comedian, hoping to make it to the point where she could sustain herself with her stand-up routines, but working gigs until then; the business woman’s boyfriend, a very successful salesman, he told us (but then why was he living in HER twin home, with free rent?); and my wife and me, the straight couple, who somehow didn’t quite fit in but were trying hard to.

I wore my yellow and white striped "Cat-in-the-Hat" hat and started selling the minute I jumped out of the car. The first 30 minutes I couldn’t keep up. But then, everyone had one. The crowd numbers were down from previous years. There were too many of us selling and too few people in the crowd buying. My wife and I raked in a total of $30. When I added up all our training and working hours, I figured that we each made about $1.83 per hour. Before expenses.

Live and learn I guess. It WAS a blast though. My wife and I laughed and joked with our new friends, the Glow-Rope Hawkers, and with the crowd. We had some great conversations. Interacted with lots of kids. Maybe even brought some joy to their holiday. We came in thinking we would develop relationships with whomever we met and worked with. And bring the presence of Jesus with us. And we did.

Yeah… I’d do it again.

Gym-encounter with a young female trainer

Earlier this week at the Converge Alpha Conference in Chicago Dan Kimball told us about a recent time when he went to the gym (a “once-every-two-years-habit”) and got to talking with a young female trainer.

“So… what do you do for a living?” she asked him. Dan hesitated. If he told the truth, would she brush him off? Maybe he should make something up? But what would he say? He was trapped. Finally he just went for it: “I’m a pastor” he said. The lower jaw of the young female trainer literally dropped, she back-peddled a few steps and fell into the weight machine behind her. “Oohhh, that’s creepy” she said.

(Creepy? Since when did pastors become “creepy” characters?)

Kimball talked to her for a few minutes and tried to unpack her less-than-glamorous characterization of his occupation. Well… turns out she didn’t know any Christians, personally. Turns out she’s never been a part of any Christian church. Turns out—not surprisingly—she didn’t even know any “pastors,” personally.

Okay, that makes me feel a little better. After all, THAT’S California. THIS is Minnesota. I haven’t run into that. And my hair doesn’t look as weird as Dan’s (uh… I mean, “as cool” as Dan’s).

But this 22 year-old trainer at the gym is not alone. Kimball said that many young people in his experience would agree with the statement made by one of them: "Jesus is cool, but some of his followers give me the creeps.

So, we might wonder… where did she (and others) get this characterization? Well, probably from the same place that most of the rest of us get our passing impressions of pastors (and Christians). From the media. And Hollywood. And on cable TV when you’re flipping through the channels and you pause just long enough to hear a 10 second snippet of a TV evangelist as he/she stares right at the camera, yelling into a microphone at you, like you’ve done something wrong.

Based on those sources of information, I would agree—pastors (and even some Christians) look creepy. But if that’s true then it’s even more important that, since I'm the only window through which some people will ever look to get an impression of Christianity, I need to change from acting the same as others in the world—but looking different, to looking the same as others in the world—but acting different.

Little Yellow Rental Car

My little yellow rental car started talking to me yesterday in the middle of Wisconsin. I’m serious!

After several hours of driving from Chicago to Mpls I was getting bored. So I started fiddling with the rear-view mirror (which had a lot of buttons on it), wondering how you adjust it on this car. (Hey—that’s what guys do.) I grabbed a hold of it and tilted it upwards. There. Much better. At the same time I noticed that my music suddenly stopped playing. Then I heard a woman’s voice coming from inside my car. I looked in the rear-view mirror to check the back seat. Maybe I had a guest passenger who slipped in at the last gas stop. Except that she didn’t seem to be talking directly to me. I heard her say something about “…On Star system.” The next thing you know I hear a phone ringing. I looked around to answer it. But like—WHERE was it? Then a guy with a smooth voice answered, “Emergency On-Star system. How can I help you?”

Great. I’m caught! Hey, all I was doing is dinging around with the mirror and the next thing you know the emergency services is calling me to find out what I’m doing to their mirror! I wanted to say something but… where’s the phone!? For a moment I thought… “Just pretend he’s not there.” I mean, where IS he, anyway? Really?

Then it occurred to me, “okay, if I can hear him without picking up a phone, then maybe he can hear me.” So, as I was buzzing along at 71 mph in the middle of Wisconsin, I started talking to my car. “Ahhh, sorry… I think I must have hit a button by mistake.” I waited. Would there be an answer? The smooth voice answered back, “That’s okay, sir. Have a nice evening.”

Hmmm. That’s interesting. Obviously this little yellow cheap Chevy has an On-Star system. I looked more carefully at all those buttons on the rear-view mirror. I noticed that one was reddish and looked like the culprit. So I guess that means that no matter where you are on the planet, no matter how far away from civilization you can drive this little yellow Chevy, no matter how isolated you are from other human beings, you’re not really alone after all. The whole world is just waiting on the other side of the door, ready to barge into your life. All you have to do is press the little tiny reddish button on the rear-view mirror, and someone comes to your assistance. Cool! Or Yikes! Depending on your perspective.

Actually, Cadillac didn’t invent this concept. It’s been around for thousands of years. No matter where you are, no matter what how badly you’ve screwed up, no matter how far away from others you've become, no matter how isolated you feel… all you have to do is start talking out loud, into thin air, just like I did in that little yellow rental car in the middle of Wisconsin. And God hears you. The concept is called prayer.

A Growing Interest in Jesus

Yesterday I listened to Dan Kimball speak at the CONVERGE Alpha Conference in Chicago. Dan wrote the recent book, They like Jesus, but not the church. He gave us a GOOD NEWS/ BAD NEWS scenario about Christianity and the state of the church in the USA, especially among young people (ages 20-35).

The Good news: There's a growing interest in Jesus, especially among young people.

The Bad news: There's a growing disinterest in Christianity and the organized church, especially among young people.

Earlier in the day Nicky Gumbel, author of the Alpha Course talked about a 22 year old woman who attended his most recent Alpha course in London. In one of their conversations she told him that she had never known, met, or interacted with a Christian. Nor had she ever been to a church service or stepped inside a church building, including for weddings or funerals. Ever.

Thirty years ago it would have been difficult to go through 22 years of life without ever having encountered a Christian or the Christian culture in the U.K. It’s not difficult anymore. And that’s the point of the story. Does this 22 year-old signal the “Tipping Point” of the waning influence of the Church upon our life and in our society?

Now, we might be tempted to dismiss this story as an aberration. If, for no other reason, because, of course, that’s London. Right? But—and here’s the rub—we in the U.S. are moving down the very same road. We’re just 10-15 years behind our English friends. Because I don’t sense that the movement toward secularization in the U.S. is slowing down or retreating. Do you? If anything, its rate of speed is ever increasing.

Nicky went on to observe that British culture is moving out even further on the spectrum of secularism, from a post-modern Christian culture, where truth is regarded as relative, (and Christianity is tolerated), to a culture where Christianity is not even tolerated anymore as one among many religions, but is increasingly becoming the focus of direct attacks by atheists and others hostile to Christianity as being "dangerous, untrue, and even abusive," and therefore ought to be banned altogether.

It seems like an oxymoron doesn't it? A growing interest in Jesus... accompanied by a waning influence of "the Church" on society? On some level deep down inside of me this makes sense, but it sure doesn’t look or feel like Kansas anymore.

Imagine There’s No Church (building)

Ok, here’s one for you. Think about this for a moment. Imagine your church. Got it? Ok, now… what does it look like? How would you describe it to a friend?

My guess is that the picture you have of your church is… of the church building. Right?

Now—here’s a really crazy thing—imagine your church… WITHOUT its building. (I’m serious. Try to imagine it.)

Hard to imagine? Sound strange? Okay, I realize it might be weird—but, can you picture it? What does it look like? What would be happening “at church” if there was no building?

It’s not a trick question. Just an honest attempt to get down to the core of what “church” is really all about. And no… I’m not going to give you credit for thinking, “No problem… we’ll just rent some other space and meet there!” No, I’m talking about having NO building, whatsoever. What would the church look like and how would it function if it had NO building?

Here’s some more questions… do you think your church could survive without a building? What would keep people connected? How would the surrounding neighborhood be aware of your church, if there was no building that occupied a physical “space” on one of the city streets? What purpose would your “church-without-a-building” really serve?

Okay, so what’s the point? Just this. That “church” has a lot more to do with being “a body of believers” than it does with having a building.

(read on for part 2)

Imagine There’s No Church (building), Part 2

(continued)
This doesn’t mean that we should run right out and sell off all our buildings, lease temp space, and go “building-less.” It means that how we think of “church” has a lot more to do with BEING the church Monday through Saturday than it does with GOING to church on Sunday. Church-buildings tend to obfuscate the practice of being the church, as the New Testament presents it.

For example, not once does the New Testament refer to “church” as a building. The word “church” (ekklesia) is mentioned 114 times, but in every instance it refers to a body of believers. Not a building. “Church,” and a “church building,” are not at all the same thing in the New Testament.

Here’s the kicker. For over 300 years “the church” survived (actually, it thrived!) without church buildings. The earliest Christians met in their homes for much of the first three centuries. Only as Christianity became an officially “tolerated” religion of the Roman Empire did buildings begin to be constructed for the purpose of having a meeting place for the believers.

Today Christianity is spreading like wildfire in China. And Asia. And Africa. For the most part it’s a House Church Movement, especially in China and Asia. There are very few, if any, official church buildings. Just like in the first three centuries. It’s spreading like wildfire because the believers ARE the church in their towns and villages. Their focus is on BEING the church rather than GOING to church. Here in America we have invested billions of dollars in beautiful church buildings over dozens of decades that we can GO to on Sunday morning. But attendance at “church” continues to decline precipitously all throughout the U.S., and virtually all denominations have lost millions of members over the last 40 years.

So, I’ve been wondering… are we missing something here?

More Reflections on “Surprise Me, God”

For the past 30 Days MJ and I have started out each day (most of the time) with a simple prayer, “Surprise Me, God.” This 30-Day Faith Experiment has not turned out as I expected. I figured that God would “show up” more often and in more pronounced ways that He did. So I’ve learned—once again—that…

§ God doesn’t “snap to” and show up more frequently or in more pronounced ways in our lives just because we decide to run an experiment as such.

§ Praying this kind of a prayer first thing in the morning puts you in a frame of mind where you’re ready and looking to see how God is working in your relationships, in your work, in your thoughts, and in your family.

§ God has His own way of handling things and working in the lives of people. I was surprised that the one neighborhood couple who formed this 30-Day group with us had just learned of an impending family crisis in their lives as we began. We didn’t know each other before we got together. But we all concluded that... "what was the chance of just the four of us getting together… at this particular moment… around this particular theme… in this particular neighborhood… only a few doors down from each other?"

I'm glad we began this 30-Day Group, for just such a time as this.

Day 30—Surprised.

Wow, the last day of our 30-Day Faith Experiment has come. Seems like we just started.The goal of this 30-Day Experiment was to begin each day with the simple prayer, “Surprise Me, God.” Each day we invited God to barge into our lives anytime, anywhere, anyhow He pleases, and in the process, for us to become better aware of God’s presence in our lives.

If you’ve been following along you may be wondering …well, did He? And—were we? So I went back over the last 29 days to see what happened:

First, this little 30-Day Experiment Group is a God-story in itself. We formed it with one other couple from the neighborhood. None of the other dozen-or-so neighbors that I invited were interested. (Mostly I invited neighbors who didn’t appear to be engaged in a church.) So, initially it felt like a bust. But then, it turns out that the one neighborhood couple who did join us was just learning about an impending family crisis. They had no other group to be there for them. No one else to talk to. But Shazzam! Now they did. You have to admit that the timing was… well, “providential.” We had our “group” (although it wasn’t at all what I had envisioned) and Jesus was keeping His promise to this couple (“behold, I am with you always until the end of time”) through this little group.

…oh yeah, and then there was the “coincidental” sale of our home. Our next door neighbor came over one day and asked if we would consider selling to his mother so that they could live next door to each other. Even though we had no immediate plans to sell it seemed like a gift that dropped out of the sky, especially in today’s housing market.

…and then there was the mysterious “healing” of our dog’s front leg. (Her limp disappeared a few days after our small group prayed over her. See “Day 26.”)

…and the beginning of a new partnership with some Kingdom-oriented people in the downtown area of the city.

…and as I continued to meet with and counsel several individual guys, I was privileged to witness how God was transforming their lives, their relationships and their hearts into new men. During the last 30 days I have witnessed a new strength and confidence in my own faith (the ability to stay focused in the middle of chaos).

So…did God surprise us? Did we see the hand of God working these last 30 days? Yeah. It’s a no-brainer. He did indeed. And—we were.

Day 29—The World in Slo Mo

When I got home the power was out. Right in the middle of making supper. So we fired up the gas grill, sliced up the potatoes and meat, and threw on the whole supper. I even toasted my frozen bagel on it. It tasted a little smoky, but I loved it—it felt like we were on an early spring camping trip. So did the rest of the evening.

It’s funny. Bit by bit the world slowed way down. We went out to the porch where the sunlight was brightest so that we could read. After a while we began to notice how quiet it was—no phones ringing, no internet to plug into and check emails, no TV (no great loss there), no power for my music, no washing machine sound. Just quietness, a setting sun, and the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze.

Darkness crept in, little by little, until it was finally too dark to read. We looked out and saw little burning candles in the windows of our neighbor’s houses. Quaint. Just like Christmas but without the snow. Just as I was preparing to fire up the camping lantern the lights came back on. Too bad, I thought. “What a nice little respite that was, God.”

Even though we weren’t running around frantic today, we were idling a lot faster than I realized, because as soon as the power went out, our body-engines began to slow down almost as fast as the little motors that run all our appliances. We both really welcomed the forced time-out. So now I’m in the planning stage of trying to figure out how to knock that pole out every evening around 6:00ish. (Without getting caught, of course.)

Day 28—Toast and Bones

“Toast and Bones”—it’s a strange combination, I’ll admit. But it’s not a new breakfast entrée. They’re actually the names of two dogs—ours and our neighbor’s.

I peered out from between the blinds today and just caught sight of a slight wag of a tail. “Yup,” I thought, Bones must see our dog coming up his driveway for a play-date. The wag of his tail grew more pronounced as he anticipated the ecstasy in which he was about to indulge. I KNOW that sounds like hyperbole, but you have to see it to believe it.

Little 16-week old Toast does the “puppy-run” up the lawn and leaps with NO FEAR onto the face of Bones. Bones feigns indifference with a gentle swipe of her head away from Toast’s leap, but quickly turns back to see what she’s going to do next. Then we humans take our seats as we begin to watch “wrestle-mania.” Dog style.

First one dives for the other’s neck and clamps down. Then the other shakes free and dives for the first one’s neck and clamps down. Sixteen-pound Toast tries to tackle 2’10”, 67 lb. Bones. She loses and goes rolling side over side down the hill. Amused, Bones takes his shot and tackles her. Whummph! Toast is body-slammed to the grass. Her tail wags wildly now! And she attacks Bones again. Pretty soon they end up in one indiscernible puppy-pile, rubbing each others' throat and neck with their heads. There’s nothing like dog-on-dog-smell I guess.

Then quick as lightning they both release their grips and start to tear around the yard in circles tighter than the key on a basketball court. One after the other. Opps—Time out! Found a new smell that needs sniffing. Then, just as quick—back to wrestle-mania. By the time they’re done we’re left with two very happy panting dogs, who are content to simply lay next to each other. Both are covered in fur, hair and lots of fresh dog spit. Oh boy.

I don’t know how else to describe to you what I’m watching except with the words: “unabated delight.” I’ve watched them play like this for several times now. And each time I watch, I can’t help but wonder… am I somehow peering deep down into the Design of God itself, seeing something of the sheer grace and delight with which God created His world, that’s woven into the very fabric of every part of His creation? And most of the time you and I just miss it because we’re enslaved to the Task Lists that we’ve fabricated from our own creations? It makes me wonder.

Day 27—Early Surprise

It all started with a simple phone call. Our son suggested that he come home and stay overnight so he could take Mom out for Mother’s Day. Great idea! Then his mother decided—why not see if Grandma is free and they can both ride down together and we could meet them halfway. Great idea! Then she decided—Hey, maybe the other Grandma is free and we could pick her up and meet the others for the Mother of all Mother’s Day’s Dinners! Great idea!

There are approximately 2.5 million people living in the Twin Cities area. Since it was raining out for most of the day, I think everyone else in the Twin Cities had the same idea. Because as we opened the door to the restaurant we were confronted with a solid wall of human flesh. It took us five minutes just to push our way up to the reservation desk. And it was still early! Already the first round of Mother-Diners was finishing up and little old ladies with big smiles on their faces were maneuvering their walkers to mow down the crowds that packed the entryway as they made their way out with new energy, fueled by their renewed sense of strategic importance in the world!

After our 58 minute wait in the entryway, packed together like sardines, the initial conversation at our table felt more like we were sitting down to a mother-in-law dinner than a Mother’s Day dinner. But once we got our drinks and downed a couple of cheesy-biscuits a piece we morphed back into the delightful smiling mothers and children that we came in as. It was then that my son turned to me, once all the turbulence had died down, and said in a low voice… “I just made a simple phone call to see if I could take Mom out for dinner tomorrow.”

Which just goes to show: “No good deed goes left unpunished.” Maybe next time he'll just send a card. (just kidding, honey)

Day 26—A Higher Purpose for Toast

I strained my eyes to see it. The vet-doc pointed to an area on the x-ray that—quite honestly—looked no different from any other part of cloudy images of light- and dark-gray shades and shadows that covered the film. “Kind of…” I heard my wife and I mutter when the vet-doc asked us if we could see the tiny hairline darker-gray shadow within the larger lighter-gray shadow area. “I think that may be a fracture” she said, pointing to a spot of light gray shadow … “and if it is, that would be causing her enough pain to make her limp around on it.”

We’ll know for sure in a few days. The vet-doc is sending the x-ray to a radiologist. In the meantime, we’re giving our 16-week Golden, “Limpy,” a little extra TLC. (Her real name is Toast.)

Now—you may think what I’m about to tell you is weird, so I’m not going to tell you exactly what we did, but—last Tuesday night our small group gathered together in our house. Near the end of our bi-weekly meetings we always share prayer needs for our various family members, and any other needs, and then enter into a time of prayer. Sometimes, when one of our members is in need of specific healing, we’ll lay hands on them while we pray. I’m not going to tell you exactly what we did that night but our limpy dog conveniently sat in the center of the room (like she always does) while we prayed. The prayers that were offered that night covered a little broader range of the population than usual.

It was a little weird, I’ll admit. But that kind of ministry might actually bring some animal lovers into the Kingdom when nothing else would reach them. Who knows. Maybe Toast has a higher purpose!

Day 25—(part 2) “Faith” (or A Ride on the Steel Viper)

(for part 1, see below on Day 24)
Now, what do you suppose prompted my friend’s former colleague to phone-call him, on this particular day? Ten years later? Without any previous communication or contact between them? Just out of the blue? And here’s an even deeper wrinkle… why this particular person, for whom the life situation was just the reverse ten years earlier? Why not just a close friend?

I know it sounds flaky and half-baked to say that God’s hand was in this. I know that it doesn’t stand up to reason. I know that there’s no way to “prove” it’s not just a coincidence. (Which is why it’s called faith.) But, on the other hand, there’s no way to “prove” that gravity exits either, except by observing its effect on certain objects in relationship to other objects. Because of the way that objects interact with one another we conclude that there must be a “force” that causes this particular interaction even though we can’t directly see “gravity.” And there’s no way to “prove” that quarks and neutrinos really exist either. No one has ever actually “seen” one. We commonly accept that they exist because of the way particles behave and don’t behave when certain forces are applied.

In a similar way when I observe certain coincidental events, or coincidental meetings between people, or coincidental experiences that are shared, I “see” the Spirit of God working. Answering prayer. Guiding and directing with counsel and wisdom. Planting thoughts. Opening our eyes of awareness. Softening hearts. Healing broken bodies and spirits. Shaping and forming a new Spirit inside the human heart—all because it was asked for in one way or another.

For me, I choose the way of faith as I interact with the world. Because I believe that God’s Spirit is still very much active in the world. I see evidence of it by Its effects on people and events. I observe it over and over, even though I can’t “prove” it, and even though I can’t “see” it directly.

The Bible talks about it this way, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1). Actually, this is really a perspective from which to interpret the world and make sense of life—a biblical perspective. It’s a way of doing life. A way of interacting with the world.

I love my life of faith. I find it to be very life-giving. I’m thankful to God for leading me into it. It allows me to catch glimpses of the divine mechanics behind the multiplex networks of life.

Day 24—“Faith” (or A Ride on the Steel Viper), part 1

Today’s surprise: a wild roller-coaster ride in the cab of life! Sparks began to fly (in a good way) in the middle of a meeting when a friend and I began to realize that our paths, and the paths of several mutual friends and colleagues, have been recently crisscrossing all over the place! We laughed and giggled like kids in a candy store the more we talked and shared a mutual vision for working together.

There’s a part of me that identifies this kind of thing as a movement of God, a brush with the Holy Spirit, a glimpse of the Grand Arranger for those who have eyes to see. Another part of me holds back though, wondering if I’ve just stumbled into a dazzling array of coincidences, looking for a pattern where there is none. At least, none that is intentionally planned. There’s no way to know for sure, is there? You can’t prove it either way. You just have to choose which way you want to go in life. And you choose based on what you believe, what you know, and what you’ve experienced.

One choice is often called “faith.” The other is often called “reason.” They’re not always mutually exclusive, but in this instance they are.

For me, I choose the way of faith. I choose to see the hand of God working behind the scenes. Bringing people together in one-off ways. Prompting long-lost friends to phone-call one another out of the blue… for no particular reason, at just the exact right moment. That just happened to a friend of mine yesterday. He hadn’t seen or heard from this former colleague for ten years. Then, on the very day that he needed a key word of encouragement and “sign” that God was still walking right beside him in life—he got a short phone call. From a long-ago friend. To say just what my friend needed to hear.

The timing could not have been more perfect if it had been scripted by Hollywood (where everything always works out just perfectly in the movies).

(See part 2, continued on Day 25)

Day 23—Ordinary Gambling

Today’s surprise: my son needed some reliable wheels to get him from MN to WA this summer, so he bought a truck this afternoon! (And Dad was there to help.) A 4-wheel drive somehow seemed to match his upcoming adventure working in the mountains and rain forest of Olympia National Park. The big decision was… how and where do you gamble your money to get the biggest bang for your buck?

Do you Shoot the Moon by going for a truck, knowing that the gas mileage won't be the best, but the purchase price will be great (as in “cheap”) because they’re a dime a dozen right now? Or, do you hunt and scrape for the better gas mileage wheels that everyone else is also after, knowing that you’re going to lay out a bigger wad for that privilege?

He opted for the truck. For a college student money is especially tight. Mostly you don’t have any. So here was the next line of betting… do you gamble with buying an older truck with more miles but has a greater potential for repairs and break-downs, but seems to run well, requires only half the cash outlay as the other one, and leaves you with a smaller loan total after graduating from college? Or, do you gamble with buying a newer model, with half the mileage of the other truck, half the likelihood of repairs and break-downs, also runs well, but requires double the cash outlay and increases your college loan totals?

Or, do you gamble that your ’92 Saab might actually get you out there?

Okay, probably not. We both were pretty confident that his Saab was not the most reliable vehicle for a cross-country trip. What if it broke down in the middle of Montana, for example? That’s a scary thought. The closest Saab dealer would probably be in... San Francisco—or Sweden itself. We figured that the tow truck driver would probably just take out his shotgun and shoot it to put it out of its misery.

Tough decisions today. Either way you try to play the odds that favor your values and goals. It’s the ordinary gambling that most of us engage in every day of our lives.

Day 22—Dead-ends and Detours

You know how you wait and wait and wait for the chance to have that coveted interview, and then finally the day arrives and you head into it with great expectations? Well, that day came and went for me today. What surprised me is that it didn’t turn out like I imagined it would.

I’m a simple Christian really. And so I pray ahead of time about things like this—for mental sharpness, for a relaxed and calm demeanor, to be myself without pretenses, and for God to lead me during the process. Nothing fancy or flowery. It’s how I approach life. I move along in life in the belief that God is leading me, and that God has a stake in what happens or doesn’t happen to me. I also pray for things like this after the fact, and if I’m especially sharp and alert, even during things like this.

Sometimes the outcome is pretty much what you expected. Sometimes it’s a surprise. And sometimes you come to a dead end. It’s never pleasant when you get that sinking feeling in your stomach as the gravel road that you’ve been driving on in the middle of the country strangely comes to an end even though the map says it doesn’t. Opps. “Guess this road doesn’t go to there after all,” you hear yourself think. Suddenly you have to come up with a Plan B. It’s a bummer.

But I guess most dead-ends in life actually turn into detours, don’t they? Detours that are unmarked, unanticipated, and unplanned. You don’t realize that you’re on one until you have can't go any further and have to turn around. And way you deal with a detour is… you follow it until it takes you back to the main road again, where you can pick up another route to take you to your destination.

Day 21—Sunday Morning Dissonance

Something’s not right. I can feel a dissonance of sorts. See what you think….

Here we are, living in America, totally free to worship pretty much whenever, whatever, and wherever we please. Right? So… I walked into a worship service this morning where I was with some brothers and sisters in Christ that I hadn’t met before—just visiting. We gathered together to thank and praise the God of all creation… Think of it--the God of all beauty… of all power… of all grace… of all mercy… of all love and life. Can you picture it? The God of the Universe! What could be more awe-inspiring?

We sat within earshot of the Word of God, hearing a message that offers life, healing and second chances. To everyone. No matter what. And yet—. And yet when I casually glanced around (our pew-chairs were arranged in a big square so that we could all see each other) I couldn’t help but notice a choir of yawns breaking out from every corner of the room. Some tried to discretely conceal their actions so as not to offend the person up front. Others—I don’t think—were even cognizant of where they were at the time. (It was almost noon, by the way, so no--it wasn't too early.)

Once, I almost laughed out loud—a guy yawned so wide that I swear I saw his appendix! (Okay, not really… but almost).

Now, I’m not writing this to be critical. In fact, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if this was just a one-shot experience. But—and here’s what’s got me baffled—I’ve been noticing the same thing recently, in several different churches, over several different Sundays, as I’ve attended several different worship services: lots of yawns. Have I just stumbled into some one-off Sundays? Or have I just happened to attend a few of the less dynamic services of worship in my area?

I’m not sure what to make of it. But… somehow, something doesn’t seem right with this picture.

Day 20—Embracing the World

Just finished reading Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson’s book, The Externally Focused Church. Very encouraging. But very troubling.

I was especially encouraged by the way some Churches are investing themselves in making their schools, communities, and neighborhoods better places to live. In one example, several churches in town got together and sent thousands of volunteers into the public schools to rebuild playgrounds, landscape entryways, lay carpet, construct hundreds of much needed cabinets, and paint hallways and classrooms—without being solicited. One fourth-grade teacher stood watching, amazed at the work being done on her classroom by complete strangers and said, “If this is Christianity, then I’m interested.”

Actually, it’s always been who Christians are. Second century Christian writer, Tertullian, wrote, “[Do we not] dwell beside you, sharing your way of life, your dress, your habits and the same needs of life? We are no Brahmins or India gymnosophists, dwelling in woods and exiled from life… We stay beside you in this world, making use of the forum, the provision-market, the bath, the booth, the workshop, the inn, the weekly market, and all other places of commerce. We sail with you, fight at your side, till the soil with you, and traffic with you; we likewise join our technical skill to that of others, and make our works public property for your use.”


But Christians haven’t always been very authentic about living the Christian life. What’s troubling is that the majority of Christian churches in the U.S. are still holding onto a “refuge” theology, trying desperately to stay safe inside the walls of the church while keeping the world safely outside.

Day 19—Simple Church

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of stuff on the Simple Church/ House Church movement... Christians gathering together in smaller groups in houses rather than in church buildings. The reason, they say, is because they want to connect more fully and deeply with God.

They yearn for a first-hand experience of their faith rather than a pre-digested, programmed experience of it. They don’t want to pay someone to care for the poor, they want to care for the poor, personally. They don’t want to pay someone to organize a committee to serve meals, they just want to cook it and go. They don’t want to hear a 20 minute presentation about how they should love their neighbors as themselves, they want to personally engage in dialogue about how to put this into practice, in real life, tomorrow morning when they go to work. They don’t want to submit a prayer request to a member of the church staff for attention, they want to pray for each others’ needs personally before the meeting even ends and they head back home.

At least, that’s my sense of it. I see similar dynamics at work in the House Church that I’m a part of—people engaged in ministry, first-hand, some for the first time. I’m hopeful that the Simple Church movement can help Christians be the church in more authentic ways, instead of just going to church.

Day 18—What’s In A Name?

I walked into a room crowded with people, all eager to advance the cooperative efforts of campus ministry on the University campus. The meeting was already in full swing when I joined them. I tried to slip in quietly but several shouted out my name.

It’s always nice to hear your name, isn’t it? I guess it validates you. Gives you a place. Ties you into a group. Confirms your identity in some basic, intangible way.

Anyway… the surprise today was that one of the guys who had just arrived before I got there was THE person that I was hoping to connect with next week, based on a referral from the day before from a friend who was totally unconnected to this meeting or its focus.

That was quick.

Day 17—The Chore and Fruit of Networking

Networking is hard. Especially as time stretches out. You keep meeting with people, knowing—hoping—anticipating—that the next contact may be THE ONE that leads to the right opportunity. But you don’t know for sure. So you keep moving through your list. One at a time. It’s like sales. You keep calling, keep networking, keep talking, keep exploring who’s around the next curve in the road where you haven’t been yet. Knowing that the further you go the more the odds improve in your favor to bring results.

Today I met two different friends, each of whom gave me additional contacts and places and people to explore. I’m thankful for these friends and contacts. They’re little surprises along the way.

Day 16—Brainwaves and Canyons

Apparently your brainwaves wash over and cut through your cerebral cortex much like melting snow washes over and cuts through the side of a mountain on its way down to the bottom, forming small ruts, then small streams, then gushing rivers, which eventually form deep canyons. That what the magazine article said anyway. The kind of repetitive thoughts we think, and our patterns of thinking—both positive and negative—carve deeper and broader pathways through our brain as we age. The danger, say neurologists, is that when you get locked into patterns of thinking that are negative, self-defeating or destructive, you allow your brainwaves to create pathways that are not positive, healthy, or life-giving. You get “stuck” in patterns of negativity.

Several years ago our physician was telling us the same thing when we were experiencing some tough months as a family. She gave us some ways to change the way we think, which in turn, over time, would carve new pathways in our brains that were healthier.

This is not a new idea. It’s just the scientific explanation for what the Bible has taught us for centuries.

• For example, the Apostle Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

• He writes similarly in his Letter to the Ephesians, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

• And again in his Letter to the Colossians he writes, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
  

Now obviously Paul is not talking about brain waves and pathways in our brains. That’s a very recent scientific frame of reference that was not available to him. Paul’s frame of reference was theological. Spiritual. But I think Paul was onto the same idea.

Here's why. In each of these instances (and there are many others) Paul is focused on the outward behavior of a person who becomes a new person (“creation”) in Jesus Christ, not on their brainwave patterns. But underlying each of these admonitions for behavior change is a presumed change in attitude… a change in the way one thinks. We know from psychology that what we think and believe determines how we feel and behave. Easier said than done.

Changing our behavior begins with a change in what we believe and how we think, which Paul says is accomplished by nothing less than the power of God (the Holy Spirit) acting upon one’s life. Becoming this new person (which is a gift of grace from God) is a process, not a one-time event. In other words, it takes time to grow into this new identity. Which helps explain how the deeply rutted, carved-up mountainsides of our cerebral cortexes can possibly be remade into a different-looking landscape over time. What other power could completely transform the landscape of a canyon-carved mountainside?

Day 15—Ordinary Days (Thank God!)

Seems like forever since I’ve journaled. I’m way behind on my daily “Surprise Me, God” writings.

Here’s a confession—I don’t see a “surprise” everyday from God. That’s probably not a surprise to you because I’m thinking that you experience the same thing. Yeah... I see God working most every day. It’s not that. It’s just that some days are just ordinary days. Actually, most days are ordinary days. I think I’d get burned out if I didn’t have some ordinary days just to cruise. Like yesterday—I got exhausted just thinking of having to “look for God,” for any “surprises.” I just wanted to BE—not have some goal in mind when it comes to God. Maybe that’s partly what’s behind the verse, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). It’s a reminder to me that God doesn’t necessarily “show up” in out-of-the-ordinary ways.

Days 13 & 14—Painting

Went up to my mom’s this weekend to help paint three rooms and ceilings in her house. Toast (my puppy) came too. Probably not the best idea. She brought along her own surprises, which surprised us all, and after which none of us wanted any more surprises. In spite of the blizzard outside, unwelcomed surprises from the dog, long days on a ladder, paint-splattered lenses in my "good" glasses, half of the ceiling falling down in the middle of our project… life is good.

Day 12—Two Women and Two Dogs

Today’s Surprise: I keep running into the same two women and their dogs. One has a Great Dane and the other a yellow Lab. They live in the next neighborhood over and we walk our dogs on the same park path. Of course, everytime I walk my little 14-week-old Golden Retriever (“Toast”) past them the dogs HAVE to stop and play. Toast shrieks with delight, jumps up on the big dogs, tries to grab hold of their neck (like she did with her brothers and sisters a few weeks ago), and runs around them in circles. The big dogs are amused, I think. Sometimes slightly bothered. But they seem to get that she’s a puppy. And puppies behave that way. Sometimes abnoxiously. But they tolerate it. Unless the puppy gets too obnoxious. And then they’ll give a little growl or grunt to ward off Toast. And fortunately for Toast, she gets that.

The only thing for the humans to do is … to interact. We really want this anyway. But how do you just go out walking and stop people on the street to have a conversation? You don’t. You can’t. People might be polite the first time, but after that they would see you coming down the street and suddenly decide to take a left at the next corner before they get to you. So we get dogs. Dogs become our excuse to HAVE TO stop and talk with people.

We’re slowly getting to know each other, our names, our dog’s names, where we live, etc. It’s a little thing… but I’m eager to see what happens the more we keep running into each other.

Day 11—12 Guys Striving

Twelve ex-cons listened as I explained how to beat temptation and resist evil. I began by telling them who I was, including a number of natural disasters and life-crises that I have lived through. I told them that I hoped that I could earn their trust by the end of our time together. I didn’t want to presume anything. I shared what I knew and what has worked for me in resisting evil. I shared what the Bible says about resisting evil and how to overcome temptation. This was a subject they were very familiar with. Some had seen more victories than defeats. Others more defeats. But they all wanted more victories. Many shared their own tricks of the trade and secrets in defeating the enemy. The younger guys took notes. It was a good night. I was blessed. My prayer is that they were too.

Day 10—Coffee at 6 a.m.

I get energized when I get up early and head out into the day. Especially in the fall when it’s duck hunting season. Or like today… when a cup of Caribou dark roast beckons me with a good friend for conversation.

Today’s surprises: the privilege of listening to a friend’s tough turn of events, and bringing the presence of Jesus into it. I’m reminded again that in spite of how people appear on the outside, it’s no indication of how they’re doing on the inside. It’s always an honor when people let you into their lives, especially when you have something of great value to offer them that can redeem it.

Day 9—Church

I’m in awe. I don’t know how else to describe it. Every two weeks I walk away from our Tuesday night House Church meeting amazed at what God is doing in our midst. In an ordinary house. In an ordinary neighborhood.

Grandmas and emergents laugh together, appreciative of what the other brings to the group. The limping and healthy offer lavish compassion and prayer for one another. Smiles emerge from faces that have seen long days. Small talk provides a sweet appetizer. Tears flow freely, sensing hope within this body of Christ. Plenty of food somehow finds its way onto the table, but always shy of an over-abundance. Worship is led using a karaoke machine (I know, I know… but you have to experience it to believe it!). Scratchy voices mix with baritone voices, sweet voices, and off-key voices, all rising together in an amazing cacophony of sound that is pleasing to God, even if not to a trained audiophile. Scripture, teaching and discussion play together with the spontaneity of children who come to the park on a summer day ready to play but not knowing what the game will be until they get there. And—you might have guessed it—through it all God richly pours out His Spirit upon this gathering that comes to worship Him in the name of Jesus.

This is church. It’s not “going to church” so much as it is “being the church.”

Day 8—Deep Feeding

Today’s Surprises: This morning in my quiet time I prayed for the Lord to pour out His life-giving Word into the deep recesses of my soul. I needed His life to feed mine. I am grateful for how the Lord sustains me. Over dinner I became aware of how the presence of the Lord had quietly crept over me all during the afternoon while I did my work. A quiet and welcomed surprise.

Day 7—Grass in my toes

Our mini small group met tonight and discussed our first week of “Surprise Me, God.” No earth-shattering revelations were given to any of us. At least that we were aware of. And that’s really the crux of it, isn’t it? Being aware. Being aware of what God is doing. Being aware of how God may be moving in our lives. Being aware of how God may be moving behind the scenes where it’s difficult to see Him. Being aware of how God may be involved in our relationships and interactions with other people. Being SURPRISED.

One question from Terry Esau's book, Surprise Me, that we’re wrestling with: “Do you ever wish you knew for certain which of your thoughts/ideas came from God? How would it be easier/harder if you had this information?” We all agreed that we yearned to know with more certainty which ideas and thoughts came from God. We could move ahead much more productively in our lives without all the discerning, and reflecting, and decision-making, and failing, and the starting over again. (This may not necessarily be a value of God’s, however. God may be perfectly comfortable with lots of discernment, discussion and decision-making. The Bible seems to hint in this direction, anyway.)

My “surprises” today? The beauty of neighbors flooding out-doors, strolling casually down the streets! I enjoyed several serendipitous conversations throughout the day. Met lots of neighbors. So did Toast, my 14 week-old Golden. It was fantastic. (Hey—for all you non-Minnesotans who are poking fun at us for such a silly thing… just remember—it’s been six months since we’ve felt grass between our toes!) Thank you, God.

Day 6--Courage

One more day and we're already a quarter of the way through this 30-day faith experiement! It's going so quickly. For those of you who are following along... What has God been saying to you? Has God surprised you along the way this week? (Feel free to send a comment.)

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a friend from my House Church over coffee. I listened to his story of how God has interacted with him over the course of his life. It was a privilege. And an honor. It always is whenever someone trusts you enough to tell you how their life has interacted with Divine Life. After all, who can really say if it's real? How can you "prove" it? How do you know if it was "God" who said or did or led you in certain ways... and not just your own "inner voice?" Talking about the Divine is a risk in itself, isn't it? You have to have the courage and self-confidence to lay out your story, and your interpretation of the story, before the world with the fear of proven wrong, of scoffed at, or simply discounted. And who wants to sign up for that?

No wonder we're gun-shy to talk about matters of faith.

My friend did anyway. And as I listened, I saw glimpses of God's handiwork all over the place. What a privilege. Thanks for the nice surprise. Lord.

Day 5—Dr. Moritz

Today was the 2nd and last day of the mini-class on the “Theology of House Churches,” with some surprising new insights from the life of Jesus. Thorsten Moritz (New Testament prof from Bethel) taught the course. One of his main themes was that following Jesus has more to do with BEING the church than GOING to church. Jesus spent most of his time living out what he taught rather than teaching it--in a formal way, at least. The 12 disciples who followed Jesus did the same and lived this lifestyle as well. So being a Christian has to do with who you are at any given moment of the day and how you’re living the New Life that you’ve been given by God through Jesus. But too often we’ve reduced the Christian faith to whether we “go” to church on a given Sunday, and if so, "where," rather than focus on living it out 24/7.

So here’s a question I’m thinking about… what holds more potential for life-transformation: going to church on Sunday each week for about an hour or so, or adopting a new lifestyle (following Jesus) that operates 24/7 in your life? (By the way, I’m not suggesting that they’re mutually exclusive, since both are important. Just—which holds the greatest potential for life transformation?)

Day 4— Confusion in Convention

Nothing earth-shattering today. Just a drive with a friend to audit a seminary class on the Theology of House Churches. Maybe more than I bargained for, though. After my pre-reading and seat-time I learned that there’s much more behind a simple House Church than a simple house church. Like many conventional church-starts, there’s a high number that take a nose-dive within the first year. Mostly because folks are just trying to reproduce what they’re familiar with, i.e., taking a conventional church model and just fitting it into a smaller setting, say—the living room of a house. Which is like trying to use plumbing pipes to circulate the antifreeze solution throughout your car engine. No matter how hard you try, it's not going to work. They're not made to work together.

So I’m closing out the day with more questions than answers. Questions like… What has prompted 9% of adults in the U.S. (according to The Barna Group) to now attend a House Church in the U.S. during a typical week rather than a conventional church? What prompted Pastor Bill Hybels to say last fall that much of what Willow Creek Community Church has been doing the last decade or so hasn’t really been effective in producing disciples of Jesus? Why are so many Christians leaving the conventional church, not because they’re losing their faith, but because they want to “preserve their faith,” according to Reggie McNeal (The Present Future)?

It’s a confusing time. Which means, it’s probably an opportune time as well. God seems to be able to get our attention more effectively when things aren’t so clear cut. So... “Surprise Me, God….”

Day 3—Distractionally-challenged

I realized today that “life” is already crowding out my 30-day experiment in faith. And it’s only been 3 DAYS! How distractionally-challenged we are as human beings! At least—it’s true of me, maybe less true for others. Okay, I need to stay focused and attentive.... As I reflect back on today, I can see God continuing to lead me toward the next “thing.” It's still very fuzzy though. A meeting that I had with a new friend led me to several new leads and contacts that I would have not considered, as I flesh out my future.

Day 2--Something stirs

The whole time that I was driving to pick up my friend John I wondered what it was that he wanted to show me. “Can you drive?” he asked when I waked into the cafe. “Sure I could drive. But where are we going?” I asked. “You’ll see.”

We headed west toward downtown, down Washington Avenue to Hennepin, turned right and headed across the bridge. Then, right again and parked. “We’re here,” he said. I looked around—“very nice” I thought.

As we walked inside John began to tell me about the building, how he used to office here with his computer company. Lots of shops and restaurants. Everything was light and airy, as we made our way around corners, into hallways that opened into mini-retreat areas and fresh gardens. Lots of open space. Very inviting, with the smell of food wafting through the spaces. But the store-front spaces were less occupied than the developers anticipated, I think. We rounded another corner and stepped out into a grand indoor park area and were greeted by a waterfall, bushes, and some tables with a few people eating and talking. To my right was a glass-enclosed meeting area. John pointed to it and said, “I thought that would be a great space to worship in.”

Yeah, I guess! Very cool. It was brilliant. And beautiful. I wanted to linger, but he needed to get back. And that was it. A mini-surprise of sorts. The image of the glass-enclosed meeting space captured my imagination and set me thinking….

John gets leadings and images, visions and words from God, that are mostly intended for other people, for the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:7). This one was intended for me. It’s a gift. At least, that’s the way I received it anyway. I’m pondering it in my heart, like Mary. We’ll see what unfolds….

Day 1--A Magic Wand?

No big surprises to pass on to you from DAY 1 of my 30-Day Experiment. It was a quiet day. I made phone calls. Took the puppy on a walk. Did research. Went to the gym. I was looking—. I was waiting—. But—nothing. Nothing dramatic, anyway. But here’s what I was reminded of with subtle clarity.

Prayer is not a magic wand. Just because I pray “Surprise Me, God,” doesn’t mean that God is at my beckoning command. It doesn’t mean that God is ready to grant my earnest wish or the desire of my heart now that all the pressure's ON HIM. (yeah, right.) It doesn’t mean that God will finally “surprise me” by answering the prayer requests that I’ve been bringing before Him for these many months.

No, nothing changes on God’s part just because I start praying, “Surprise Me, God.” The Bible teaches me that God is constant, never-changing. God is always loving. Forever faithful. Infinitely merciful. God doesn’t START becoming more of these just because I start praying a new prayer. What changes when I start praying “Surprise Me, God”… is me. Or at least… I have the potential to change. God is always working in my life. Whether I see it or not depends on my openness to God’s leading. To God’s movement. To God’s voice—the spiritual “hungriness” of my heart, if you will.

Okay, now that I’m straight on that—again—there’s just one thing left to do today: to pray, once again, “Surprise Me, God.”

"Surprise Me, God"

30 Days. A Three-word prayer. A trail of surprises. Who knows what will happen?

Beginning Monday, April 14 a few neighborhood friends will join Merlajean and me for a 30 day faith experiment. For the next 30 days each of us will begin our day with the simple three-word prayer, “Surprise me, God.” Then we’ll keep a short journal of what happens each day. Or doesn’t happen. It's as simple as that. No laundry lists of requests. No specific agenda. Just a simple invitation each day for God to barge into our lives any old way He pleases.

You’re welcome to come along too and join us for the next 30 days, via this blog. Each day I’ll be posting a blog entry. You can write in and respond any day using the “comments” button. Feel free to join in. Who knows… you may offer just the encouraging word that someone else needs to hear.

If you’d like more information about the “Surprise Me, God” experiment, go to author Terry Esau’s website http://www.surprisemegod.com/. Terry is the author of the book, Surprise Me, God, an account of his first 30-day “surprise me, God” experiment. Terry also offers a 30-day journal with daily reflection questions and five study sessions for a shared weekly small group experience.

Let the journey begin...