This is full of practical advice (including good suggestions for tending to one’s marital relationship as well as investing in one’s child). Written from a Christians perspective this is a wonderful asset that I’m happy to add to our church’s library and hope to see lots of new dads checking it out!

Ranked in no particular order:

1. The privilege of being invited into some of the most private family moments – sitting with a family as they await the time for their loved one to leave this world and enter into life eternal, or holding the hand of a young woman as she delivers her still-born child only to have her ask me moments later to say a prayer of thanksgiving for her beautiful daughter who awaits her in Heaven.

2. The thoughtfulness of a great community through the various cards I’ve gotten over the years and the very personal “this small gift made me think of you because…” items that people have brought me shows that I have a community that knows, loves, and cares about me in ways I never could have imagined. Just this week I was blessed to be given a photo of a beautiful sunrise framed with a quote from scripture, “This is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” () because those are the words I quite often say in my worship greeting. That totally warmed my heart so see that picture!

3. The freedom to be creative! I spend hours thinking, dreaming, and praying about what God might be calling me to do as a leader through preaching, teaching, and serving. I’ve been part of worship in ways that I never dreamed of five years ago, and I know that I’m only just beginning a life-time of freedom exploring God’s creativity in order to share it with others and proclaim Good News to all who seek to find hope!

4. Intellectual stimulation. I’ll admit, sometimes my brain goes a little numb when I get bogged down in finance reports or our annual statistics, but the vast majority of the time I’m blessed by challenging questions posed to me by people working out their faith. Some people spend their life wrestling with concerns that have never even occurred to me, and I love when someone asks a question that sets me down a new path of research, pondering, and prayer!

5. Fun! Where else can I laugh through meetings, eat snacks with silly teenagers, have elementary students come up to tell me knock-knock jokes, have 60 costumed pre-schoolers trick-or-treat through my office, play pranks on my co-workers, or howl at certain church members who sing loud and high-pitched songs while decorating the Living Christmas Tree in our sanctuary? I’m convinced that our church has the most fun of any church in our conference.

It was Christmas Eve 1881.  I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn’t been enough money to buy me the rifle that I’d wanted for Christmas.  We did the chores early that night for some reason.  I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.  I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn’t in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn’t get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn’t figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn’t worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.  Soon Pa came back in.  It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. “Come on, Matt,” he said. “Bundle up good, it’s cold out tonight.” I was really upset then. Not only wasn’t I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see.  We’d already done all the chores, and I couldn’t think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.  But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one’s feet when he’d told  them to do something, so I got up and put my boots  back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.  Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.  Something was up, but I didn’t know what.

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled.  Whatever it was we were going to do wasn’t going to be a short, quick, little job.  I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.  Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.  I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me.  I wasn’t happy.  When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. “I think we’ll put on the high sideboards,” he said. “Here, help me.”  The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood – the wood I’d spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing?  Finally I said something.  “Pa,” I asked, “what are you doing?”  “You been by the Widow Jensen’s lately?” he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.  Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.  Sure, I’d been by, but so what?

Yeah,” I said, “Why?”

“I rode by just today,” Pa said. “Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They’re out of wood, Matt.” That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him.  We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.  Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.  When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.

“What’s in the little sack?” I asked.  Shoes, they’re out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a little candy.”

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen’s pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing.  We didn’t have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.  We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn’t have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?  Really,  why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn’t have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked.  The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, “Who is it?” “Lucas Miles, Ma’am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?” Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.  The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

“We brought you a few things, Ma’am,” Pa said and set down the sack of flour.  I put the meat on the table.  Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.  She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time.  There was a pair for her and one for each of the children – sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last.  I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks.  She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn’t come out.

“We brought a load of wood too, Ma’am,” Pa said.  He turned to me and said, “Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let’s get that fire up to size and heat this place up.”  I wasn’t the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood.  I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too.  In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn’t speak. My heart swelled within me and a joy that I’d never known b before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference.  I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone’s spirits soared.  The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn’t crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. “God bless you,” she said. “I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us.”

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again.  I’d never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.  I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others.  The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes. Tears were running down Widow Jensen’s face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.  They clung to him and didn’t want us to go.  I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine. At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, “The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We’ll be by to get you about eleven.  It’ll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn’t been little for quite a spell.” I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, “Thank you, Brother Miles.  I don’t have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will.”

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn’t even notice the cold.  When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, “Matt, I want you to know something.  Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn’t have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square.

Your ma and me were real excited,  thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do.  Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand.”

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again.  I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it.  Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.  Pa had given me a lot more.  He had given me the look on Widow Jensen’s face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.”

Hospitality is gift I might take for granted because I know so many people, like this woman, who make it a point to welcome others in their home, whether they know them or not! I did not take this night for granted though, because in planning the travel arrangements my traveling companion was told we would not be welcome overnight in another home because I was a stranger to those folks. I would be welcome for a meal, but not overnight. I can certainly understand some might reluctant to host strangers in their home, but this was the first time in my life that I was ever denied hospitality of an overnight stay when it was needed! So, even though this young woman hadn’t met me either she welcomed me into her home with open arms. And, made a delicious gluten-free breakfast the next morning as a wonderful surprise!

I think being turned away from that other home made me appreciate her hospitality even more than I would have normally. It also makes me realize how blessed I am that I’ve never been denied a place to stay before! Even when driving to Colorado a few years ago and staying with the friend of a friend, I’m blessed to know a lot of folks who actively practice radical hospitality in their home. Thanks be to God who encourages us to welcome the stranger, whether for a meal or a place to stay, and thanks to all those who make it a point to practice hospitality!

Growing up my mom’s mother always had extra kids around the house, some just for meals and others to live for a time, so my mom created an atmosphere in our home inspired by that principle of a welcoming attitude to all. Many times when my friends from college would depart after a visit my mother would insist that they promise to come back and visit my folks whether or not I would be there! Because they live so close to D.C. my parents have actually had some of my friends stay with them during a visit to the city.

I’ve always wanted to have the same type of open home as well. That’s why occasionally I get requests from folks passing through Warrenton who need a place to stay for the night and I welcome some of them into my home. Most recently Warrenton UMC hosted an international children’s choir for two nights. I had the great joy to have two of the kids, Dexter and Ronald, and one of the chaperones stay in my home.

Hosting people in your home can be work – the preparation (cleaning and making space for guests), making time to be available while they’re there, and then cleaning up after they’re gone. It was especially challenging for me to have kids in my home for two nights, because I’m certainly not used to that! All of that work it totally worth it though, because guests can fill your home with joy, stories, and friendship. It helps me love people better when I need to stop and think, “What will this person need while they’re here?” Having a variety of people stay in my home helps to stretch the boundaries of my heart and practice what I preach. It is amazing how much we benefit when we serve others!

I regularly listen to the podcast for Relevant Magazine, and their August 20 podcast featured Tony Campolo discussing authority vs. power. In 1983 he wrote a book called, “The Power Delusion” and in 2009 he published a book reflection how some of his thinking has changed related to power. His new book is called, “Choose Love Not Power: How to Right the World’s Wrongs from a Place of Weakness.”

In his interview about this new book Campolo makes a clear distinction between power and authority:

Power is the ability to coerce – if you do what I tell you to do because you have to then you have power. … (e.g. cops have power in their guns. They don’t need to use them but the threat of force is there and that can coerce. …

Authority is very different. When a person speaks with authority no power is exercise, instead compliance – obedience – comes because you want to give it.

My mother had great authority. When she spoke I obeyed – she had authority because she earned it through loving sacrifices over the years.

The Lordship of Jesus is dependent on authority.

He goes on to discuss the model of authority shown by Jesus and noted in . This passage tells us,

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,^[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges^[b];
he took the humble position of a slave^[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,^[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Campolo continues his line of thinking that authority must be earned through sacrifice and believes that Christians should earn authority in the public sphere because of their servant hearts.

I think Tony Campolo makes a good distinction between authority and power and that this idea is supported when we go back to Christ’s statement from : “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”

Might Christ have been given all authority in heaven and on earth because he divested himself of all power (i.e. coercion) and through loving sacrifice gained all authority? If that is true then that is a hugely significant statement to make as a preface to the statement, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” ().

Because because has all authority through loving sacrifice we are to go and make disciples. In generations past this has often meant coercing people into a new way of thinking and living (feeding the homeless only after attendance at a mandatory worship service, using power to convince Native Peoples to abandon indigenous believes for Christianity, etc.). How might the world be different if generations of Christians took the Great Commission as an understanding that we are to live with sacrificial love so that we can share this authority with Christ? How might the world be different if this generation today started living with the same sacrificial love of Christ and the authority that comes from heaven and earth as a result of this way of living and loving?

There are all sorts of economic or other reflections I might make on these purchases, but my mind always heads towards theology first. When Jesus gave the Great Commission to the disciples he told them to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” I wonder how many nations those first disciples knew about? How big was the world in their minds? The known world was much smaller to them than it is to us today. Travel was difficult. Yet, the journey of Paul and the other first disciples planted seeds that bore fruit for thousands of years in many nations.

With travel and communication so much easier today is it easier for modern disciples to feel like we’ve obeyed the Great Commission by taking a trip to another country for a week of mission work? What about supporting organizations at work in far parts of the world? When something is very difficult to do you must be very devoted to get it done – does the modern-day church suffer because it is so easy to be globally connected that we don’t focus on the Great Commission like those early disciples did?

St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

 

When Acuff took a job as part of Ramsey’s team I had no idea what to expect from either of them really. What sort of ad copy would come from Jon’s experience in advertising for awesome places like Chick-fil-a and help more people learn about financial peace? How can a money guy use a comedy guy?

I was pleasantly surprised to read this week that just 10 weeks into his new job Acuff has a great new book headed to the publishers: Gazelles, Baby Steps, and 37 other things Dave Ramsey taught me about debt.

The best part of this cover? The description: “written and lived by” Jon Acuff.

Jesus talked a lot about money because I think our checkbooks closely reflect our deepest values and choices in life. I’m looking forward to hearing about Jon’s experience on the Ramsey plan for financial peace – I imagine there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. I know I’ve had my frustrations but am amazed at the difference in my finances today than when I started in Ministry on July 1, 2007. All thanks to stumbling upon some Financial Peace materials in our church library!