Our Whimsical God: Consider the Platypus

So, yesterday, I wrote a blog that lamented my loss of childlike wonder and whimsy.  I proposed that this not only robbed my life of joy but that it also robbed God of glory.  We have a delightful God who delights in delighting us.  I proposed that the fact that we even have a sense of whimsical pleasure is simply an outgrowth of God's creative joy.

So, today, a case in point.  Exibit A: the platypus.

The Platypus is such an unusual animal that when it was first discovered, scientists assumed it was a hoax.  It simply doesn't make any sense.  Consider these facts about the Platypus:

• It has the body of an otter, the bill and webbed feet of a duck, and the tail of a beaver.
• It's a carnivor, but it has no teeth (it feeds off the bottom of lakes and rivers using gravel to grind up its food).
• It swims gracefully, but the webbing on its feet retract to expose claws for walking on land and digging its burrow.
• It is a mammal, but it lays eggs (one of only two mammals to do so).
• Baby Patypuses (Patypi?) are the size of lima beans and are completely helpless, requiring their mother to focus all of her care on them for two to three months.
• It doesn't have teeth, but the males have poisonous stingers in its heels.
• It has eyes but doesn't use them when hunting for food, relying instead on a sonar-type sensitivity in its bill.

The platypus is just plain weird.  It doesn't make sense - but it is delightful.  I wonder if God laughed as he created it - not in derision, but in joy.  I wonder if he laughed when he thought about us today trying to make some sense of that crazy animal.  God delights in delighting - he is whimsically creative.

So, today, take some time and enjoy the small things God sends your way to remind you that he is good and creative and bigger than your stress and more delightful than your small vision of life.  Worship God by delighting in God.

[I picked up that second platypus image here]

The Whimsical Heart of God

So a friend posted a video on facebook that made me smile.  It was an advertisement with a very creative hook.  Essentially, they got people to text different words as they waited for a bus (words like "bored" or "hurry up") and then something funny would happen in response (a circus would show up or a blonde in a sports car would pull up and offer a ride).

As I watched the video, I found myself experiencing something that I simply don't experience much anymore.  A childlike experience called "whimsy" - a response of joy in my heart to a playfully creative or humorous experience.

Whimsy is what makes a place like Disney Land so attractive to a small child.  Children get lost in the colors, characters, and fantasy of being someplace that is designed simply do delight them.  I still remember the first time I rode the Pirates of the Caribbean - there was so much silliness, so many funny faces, so many details that existed for no other reason than to give me joy.  And I did enjoy it.  It was my favorite ride - well, that and the wonderfully chaotic experience of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

I have been back to Disney several times since my childhood with my own kids, and while I still enjoy Pirate of the Caribbean and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, they just aren't the same.  I don't just see the funny faces and moving figures in the same way.  I see faded paint and the hydraulic cables that run them and the track that we ride on and the dirt piled up in the dark corners.  As we walk around, I don't just see fanciful characters in bright colors - I see tired workers and frustrated employees and overpriced churro stands (which really bums me out, because I love churros).

So, what happened?  Well, in part, I grew up.  I see the world differently.  I understand better how it all works and why it all works the way it does.

Some of this is healthy, the result of maturity and a better underdstanding of capitalism and human nature.  It is good that, even as I enjoy my overpriced hotdog, I never take my eye of my daughter who is lost in the wonder and illusion of safety in a place where things are not as they seem.

But some of this is actually quite sad.  In growing up, in getting a keener eye for the way things "truly" are, I may have also diminished my ability to experience wonder, delight, and whimsy.  This is sad because I believe that what we call "whimsy" is, in fact, a reflection of an aspect of our God's playful and joyful heart.   We have a God who delights in delighting, who loves to surprise us with his creativity and generosity.

How sad if in growing up we outgrow our capacity for sponaeous joy and amusement.  How sad if we, as followers of a delightful God, diminish in our ability to respond to his gentle nudges of whimsy.

So, I invite you to join me today in renewing my vision of delight.  Here are a few suggestions:

Look outside.  God, the Great Creator, has embued his creation with relfections of himself.  Right now outside my window, it is snowing.  The flakes are dancing in a current of wind.  As I pause and watch them, I stop seeing the practical reality (it's cold, wet, and slick) - and instead see a dance of quiet beauty.  Stop looking at the world around you and, instead, start seeing it.

Look at people around you.  People can be hilarious - but I am not saying look at them to find something funny about them or to mock them.  Look at them to see them.  When you go home, don't just look at your kids or your spouse, see them.  People are more than they seem.  We are mud-men and mud-women created in the very image of God - and even though we're all messed up, and that image is marred - it's still there.  Ask God to give you eyes to see it.

Find small pleasures with all your senses.  Have you thought about the gift of your senses?  God gave you the ability to touch and to taste and to feel and to hear and to see.  Those gifts weren't given just to help you survive - they were given to you so that you could delight.  Pause when you eat good food or hear a bird song or listen to good music or feel the touch of a loved one or see a glorious sunset.  Pause.  Slow down.  Stop being so grown up and so busy and so scientific - and be a kid again.  Delight and let your delight point you back to the God who delights in you.

Resources to Help Us Process Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook was an overwhelming display of evil.  It left us with sorrow, pain, and a lot of questions.  I plan to write some thoughts about how the Bible has helped me process the overwhelming amount of suffering in the world, but I realize that many of my friends have questions and are looking for resources to help them process all of this from a Christian perspective now.

So, here are a few links to some short articles that can help you process all of this from a Christian perspective.  I hope these links may prove to be useful to you.

Albert Mohler, Rachel Weeping for her Children - The Massacre in Connecticut

John Piper, How Does Jesus Come to Newtown

Russell Moore, School Shootings and Spiritual Warfare

Joey Newton, Weeping with those who weep, a first-hand response from Newtown

Justin Taylor, 10 Reasons Why God Allows Suffering

Why You Shouldn't Go Into Vocational Minstry

A friend of mine tweeted this last week:

Jonathan McIntosh ‏@JonMcIntoshWhat if - to prepare a pastor for the work of the ministry - you need more suffering than seminary?

Jonathan's question is a good one.  What truly prepares a man to work in ministry vocationally?  That is a complex question - but one thing I know is true.  A degree isn't enough.  In fact, a degree may be a foolish investment of both time and money.

Choosing to invest in a degree that is designed to lead to vocational ministry before you know whether you have the gifts, the calling, or the depth of character is just plain stupid.  Just because you had a life-changing experience on a missions trip doesn't mean you should go get a Youth Ministry Degree.  Just because you love to study the Bible and like to hear yourself preach doesn't mean you should go spend tens of thousands of dollars to get an M-Div.  Just because you love the idea of working in the church doesn't mean you will or should be paid by the church.

This advice comes from many hard conversations across the coffee table from young guys who got the seminary or Bible college degrees, started pursuing vocational ministry, and were realizing they may have made a mistake.  Sometimes the issue is that they simply do not like working in full time ministry - it isn't what they thought it would be.  Sometimes the issue is that they haven't developed the depth of character necessary for the weight of ministry, and they find themselves falling apart privately even as they pretend to have it all together publicly.  Some of them realize that they don't have the competence necessary to lead the group, or the band, or the ministry because of a lack of life experience.

They have the education, but they haven't developed the competency, or, more importantly, the character.  And this is the tricky part of vocational ministry.  It isn't just another career path.  It is a calling.  Just because you have a degree doesn't mean you are called.

The problem for the many guys I have counseled in this position is that they are already stuck.  They've already invested tens of thousands of dollars in a degree that made them qualified to pretty much only do one thing: get their paycheck from the church.  They need money.  Their families are telling them to keep pushing through and work their way up.  They look at the job landscape and don't see many attractive options open to them.

Some of them had the maturity, courage, and resolve to do the right thing.  They found other jobs.  They went back to school.  They were honest about their gifts, their struggles, their maturity - and made the hard choice to give themselves room to grow and, maybe, one day be paid by the church to work in ministry.

Now let's 'be clear: They didn't walk away from being full-time followers of Jesus (every believer in Jesus is in full time non-vocational ministry).  If anything, their decisions to walk away from ministry was itself an act of faith in God.  For some it was an act of repentance from a hidden ministry idolatry, freeing them from needing to serve or have people look up to them to feel worthwhile about themselves.  In fact, walking away from ministry was the very thing that equipped some of them to walk freely in ministry without growing in frustration and bitterness.

Others weren't as wise.  They had cast their die and were unwilling to admit they might have made a mistake.  So, they moved from church to church, hiding their weaknesses and failures.  They compromised their convictions to take jobs at churches they didn't like and didn't fully support. They hid.  They hid their insecurity.  They hid their growing frustration with themselves, the church, and God.  They hid their sin and bitterness.  They felt trapped, having to pretend to be what their job descriptions required them to be.

So here is my soap box:

Love Jesus with all your heart, study his Word, invest in his church, and grow in your gifts.  Work hard and manage your money well.  Just don't assume prematurely that you should be paid to do it.  The bottom line is that if you are not willing (and, in fact, joyful) to do the work of serving the church non-vocationally, you aren't qualified to get paid to work for the church.

Thoughts on Being the Church

Yesterday, I once again was privileged to preach at Trailhead Church. I preached from Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1.  Paul was asking God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we would know "what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints."  The central idea was this: God's glory is the most valuable thing in the universe and he has buried that glory in an unlikely field: the church.

After the sermon, I had a good conversation with one of our leaders.  He loves the church and wants to serve it more, but finds it frustrating that his life is consumed with having to make money to make a living.  He wasn't saying he wanted to work for the church - more that he would one day love to have enough money that he could be self-sufficient and devote full time service to the church.

So, I asked him what he would do if he were financially independent that right now could not do (in service to the church).  He thought for a moment and responded that he wasn't sure.  So I shared the story of a good friend of mine.

This friend once thought he wanted to go into full time ministry.  He was a dynamic young guy with obvious leadership potential.  He started fundraising in college to get the support he needed to take a position with a college ministry.  He found, though, that he was very good at raising money.  In fact, he enjoyed it.  He liked business and sales and felt like that was what he was wired for.

Through that experience, he discovered something.  God was calling him into full time ministry - but his paycheck wasn't going to come from the church.  He followed his passions and has become a successful businessman.  He is also an incredible husband and father.  He mentors younger men and faithfully serves people in the church.  He meets, gets to know, serves, and shares his faith with strangers.  He gives generously from his hard-earned income to fund ministry in his and other local churches.

I would propose that he is no less in full time ministry than I am even though he has never earned a single dime from the church.  In fact, on some days, he may be more so.  How can this be?  Because being in full-time ministry has nothing to do with who pays your check.  It has to do with what motivates your life.

My friend is living in a very simple truth.  Church to him isn't someplace to go - a building, a job, or even an institution.  He knows that the true church is made up of people who are called by God, redeemed by Jesus, and sent on mission by his Spirit.  By loving God and serving others, he simply is being what God has said he is - a real, significant, and full-time member of the body of Christ.

The reality is that this is exactly what Jesus calls everyone one of his followers to do - to be full time followers.  We are all in full-time ministry.  We may fund our ministry from different places, but we all have the same ministry.  We are to love our missionary God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.  And we are to follow our God on mission to love others even as we love ourselves.

Refusing to Grow Up

I have always loved physical, aggressive activities - skateboarding, skiing, hiking, poker...  In the last two years, my middle daughter has gotten me into parkour.  I am far from even being called,"Good" - but I do enjoy it.

About three weeks ago, I busted my knee trying to do a kong vault in the gym after a couple months away.  I clipped my feet jumping over a 4 foot obstacle and was sent sprawling face first and full speed.  Thankfully it was a gymnastic floor - not padded, but springy and more forgiving than concrete.  Even so, it was a hard enough impact to cause immediate swelling and limited movement. Grrr.

So, I have spent the last three week alternating compression and ice to reduce the swelling and give it time to heal.  The swelling is gone, and I am back to around 3/4 movement.  I hope to be back at it in another week...hopefully?  Anyway, in the mean time, here are a few videos of my having fun.

First, a couple monkey vaults:

A wall spin...

A couple kong vaults (I'm the second guy in the first video)...

And a wreck (actually, a pretty weak one - my best ones haven't been caught on video)...

Value the Church

Came across this quote today over at Luke Simmon's blog - it is from Kevin DeYoung's new book, the Hole in Our Holiness.  Too good not to pass on.

In more than a decade of pastoral ministry I’ve never met a Christian who was healthier, more mature, and more active in ministry by being apart from the church. But I have found the opposite to be invariably true. The weakest Christians are those least connected to the body. And the less involved you are, the more disconnected those following you will be. The man who attempts Christianity without the church shoots himself in the foot, shoots his children in the leg, and shoots his grandchildren in the heart.

Something to think about - God's says the church is his inheritance, his treasure (Ephesians 1:19).  How do you feel about it?