One of my staff roles is to facilitate creative planning meetings for worship services.  We discuss upcoming sermon series and think beyond the outline on how we can best illustrate and communicate whatever the teacher is trying to communicate that day.  Yesterday focused on our words and the power of those words for life or death.  (See Proverbs 18:21 & Ephesians 4:29)

Weeks ago, our creative team met and decided to illustrate words of life and death.  We decided to collect harmful and encouraging words spoken to our church members.  The response was great and the stories shared were heartbreaking and inspiring.  Mission accomplished with the responses.  One guy thought it would be “cool” to have Buddy, our teaching minister, take the words of death out of a casket and read them as an illustration.  And this is where my creative genius came in.  I contributed this…“And yeah, we can have a crib for the words of life.”  I know, you come to a blog called, “THE Creative Bridge” and that’s the measure of creativity you get.  Sad.  Ok, so maybe there are times I muster a better contribution, but for yesterday that was it.

So, now that I have set the stage, I want to invite you in to my morning commute.

I was driving to meet my friend Paul this morning.  We have this workout routine we are trying to maintain so we can stop being fat.  So far so good.  So, as I drove in the early morning to meet Paul, my eyes burned a bit from the bright sun.  The colors surrounding the glow were fresh.  I have never seen those shades, even in the 64 count of Crayola crayons.  (You know, the really big box with the crayon sharpener on the back?  Yeah, that one.)  At that moment I began laughing.  Not a chuckle.  But a hearty laugh at the absurdity of it all.  I think I’m creative by suggesting the use of a crib for a sermon.  God creates unseen colors.  How ridiculous.

The truth of God’s Word says that I am holy.  I am righteous.  I am chosen.  I am an heir.  I also know for a fact that I am being transformed in such a way that God’s glory is increasing inside of me, so that there’s less Jon and more Jesus to be seen.  That’s really good.  And I even have testimonies from other people that confirm it.  The words, “You’re not as big of a jerk as you used to be” really are encouraging because God is at work in me.

But as I drove down the road, laughing at the absurdity of my “creativity” in light of God’s, I looked at my legs.  First of all, let me say that my legs are so white, they reflect sunlight.  That must be why I can never tan.  But second, I was reminded every good thing about me, the righteousness, holiness, spiritual gifts, creativity, Kingdom dreams, heart for others…all of that good stuff is stuck.  It goes no further than my flesh.  As much good as God does in me and through me it will never, in a moment, go beyond the place where I can be seen and heard.  Sure, influence, example, legacy…yadda, yadda, yadda.  But the truth remains, whatever good is in me, is limited and bound by flesh.

As I was driving with all of those good things stuck inside of me, God’s righteouness, holiness, power, love, justice and more, all summed up in His glory, are present in other states, time zones and languages.  While I’m “good” in my car, God is good in Iraq, Haiti and China.  While I’m good in English, God’s goodness and glory span into Czech, Cantonese and Farsi.  While I am “good” in 2010, His goodness was the beginning and will be the end and has been and will go everywhere in between.  While I am “good” in my flesh, God’s goodness, through His glory covers this earth, goes to each planet, and reaches to each galaxy, and fills the universe.

And I thought I was creative because of a crib.

Two passages are great for reflection right now.

Psalm 139:6-7
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.   7 Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?

and

Job 11:7-9
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?  Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?  8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?  They are deeper than the depths of the grave—what can you know?  9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

I can celebrate all day long what God has done in me and how much He loves me.  But at the end of the day, I was the focus.  Even in all of the good, that’s still pretty small.  But I have a greater challenge for us.  Why don’t we center more on the idea of…God?  Why don’t we make a greater effort to make a big deal out of Him?  We will never get bored.  We will never run out of material.  We will never, ever, come to a conclusion.

And while we can talk about His love for us, His blessings, and His transforming power, think about this.  The more we make of God, the bigger all of those things become.  Maybe in speaking of what God has done “for me” all of the time, we’ve unknowingly made His benefits smaller than reality.  The more we make of God the bigger His love, righteousness, holiness, power, and blessings become.  Not because we make God “greater”, but because we allow Him to be Himself, which is far “greater” than ourselves.

What about God amazes you?  And when you answer that, try not to use an example of what He’s done for you.  Leave comments on this one.   I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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I’m always a little behind.  And the fact that I’m ADD and take forever to read books doesn’t help.  But Saturday I finally finished Donald Miller’s latest book “A Million Miles In a Thousand Years.”

It would be easy to say, “the book is incredible” and stop.  But if I write one kind word, or many descriptive words, neither do justice.  It’s simply a book that you have to read and experience for yourself.

The impetus for the book came when Miller was approached by filmmakers following his best-seller “Blue Like Jazz” to turn a book into a story, then into a film.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, that’s where raw, but familiar honesty begins to guide the book.  It seems like it was easier for Miller, and maybe for many of us, to write a collection of essays about life, rather than write a story of the glory, majesty and mystery found in our own lives.

These filmmakers, combined with the exploration and study of what makes a good story led Miller to step out in multiple risks, in his own life, to create a story not just a book.  Isn’t it ironic that an author of Miller’s caliber  has the ability to put life on paper, but struggled to live it?

I ashamedly related well with some of Miller’s confessions like, living in daydreams and spending too much time on the couch, rather than engaging people.  I also connected with his station in life of being a single guy in his mid-thirties that has issues when it comes to intimacy and also insecurity.  And the part about the clown riding the Unicorn was great too.  Ok, I made that up.  But for a book about story, that would have been a good story.  Unicorns always make good stories.

Miller takes us on a journey that was life-changing for him physically, emotionally and spiritually.  From hiking, cycling and canoeing, to dating and reconciliation you find yourself pulled into experiences and emotions that you know are in movies, but not so sure you could find in real life.  Miller also introduces us to a guy named Bob that has truly lived a life of color and significance.  I cannot tell you how badly I want to meet Bob after reading this book.  The crazy thing is, I’m more likely to meet Bob because of who Bob is, rather than my own doing.

The core of Miller’s stories and message teach us that a good story is found when a character wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.  And though this statement was not a titled section of the book, it is truly a common thread in each chapter;  good stories contain memorable scenes.

I tried sharing a thought with a couple of friends a few weeks back about why this book was great with the idea of creating your own story.  The response I got was, “God is writing my story.”  After finishing the book and reflecting on that comment, I can only agree.  I do believe God is writing our story.  However, just because God guides us, doesn’t mean the story is complete.  We have choices on each page that involve risks and lead to change in our character.  The fact of the matter is this.  I think I’ve developed a new life prayer from reading this book.  I want to humbly ask God to write more.  I want to submit my life to him and turn page after page and ask God to write his heart and desires all over each of my days.  I do think God is writing stories in each of our lives.  But I also think that in the context of that story, we as characters, have a decision to make that can impact how rich that story will be.

I have a friend who is getting engaged this week.  I truly believe that God brought him together with this young lady and that the core of their story is written by God.  But my friend has put so much effort into the plan of his proposal and making it a memorable scene that years from now, their story will be richer and fuller because my friend chose to move in a big way as a response to God’s move in his life.

I think of all that God is doing in my life right now and it is wonderful.  But what if I choose to risk my heart in a few more places?  What if I loved a little more?  What if I gave a little more?  That risk would never write a better story than the one God is writing.  But I think God invites me to risk in those areas so that the story is better because he changes me through each risk to be more like him.

I’ve been a fan of Miller’s writing for years.  I’ve heard him speak a few times as well.  There’s no doubt this is one guy I would love to have coffee with, because he writes with soul and sarcasm.  He also writes with self-depricating humor and that’s my best material.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  Let me know what you think.

jon

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I think most people would be surprised to learn that Valentine’s Day is actually one of my favorite holidays.  In fact, I consider it to be the third most spiritual holiday, after Christmas and Easter.  Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day has perverted into a commercial, rather than being a day rich in spiritual meaning.

Our current idea of V-Day is romance and making sure you have a date, fiance or spouse.  Anything less means that you will be mourning SAD-Day, or Singles Awareness Day on February 14th, rather than celebrating the day that Hallmark has decided is meant to represent love.  Really?

Romance on this kind of V-Day means a marathon of chick flicks  where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Adam Sandler and Drew Berrymore wind up together…again.  Don’t get me wrong, (probably to your surprise, again) I love a good chick flick.  But V-Day is the day where, even in Alabama, Italian restaurants are packed, and barbecue joints have a slow night.  I guess, somehow, Tuscany Chicken is more romantic than a rack of ribs with sauce.

Several years ago, when I was a minister to college students, I decided to think outside of the box and do some teaching on this February love day.  I still love what I found.  You can check here and here for a summary of that research so you will know I’m not pulling an April Fool’s on Valentine’s Day.  But know this is history and you can find it other places well.

According to Catholic tradition, three saints were named Valentine or Valentinus.  All three were martyred for their commitment to the radical named Jesus and their Christian faith.  One of these guys was brave enough to defy the laws of Claudius II and perform Christian marraiges.  In fact, Claudius thought that single men made the best soldiers and forbid them to marry, only to have Valentine perform secret weddings so that romantic love would flourish, rather than be stifled by the harsh wishes of a crazed emperor.   And it is also said that this Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and sent her a letter confessing his love before his execution, signing it, “Your Valentine” which is the origin of that phrase still used today.

As I read the history about this group of saints, I see the obvious. These guys named Valentine were men who loved God, and loved people.

Luke 10 gives us a familiar parable that we call, “The Good Samaritan.”  But the preface to Jesus’ parable was a conversation between Messiah and an expert in the Law of Moses.  It was a conversation about the requirements for eternal life where the answer was loving God and loving your neighbor.  Jesus agreed and said this was the summation of the law and most important thing this lawyer could do.  But wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?” which was the question that led to the answer of the famous parable.

Understand the significance of this.  This expert in the law, that we know was trying to trap and test Jesus, was ultimately asking the question, “Who deserves to be loved?”  In our Western mindset that seems innocent enough, but when the answer to the question was the example of the unselfish love of a Samaritan, not only was the point delivered, it cut to the heart.

So…who deserves to be loved?  Our bubbles get much smaller when we ask this question honestly?  We want to be loving people, that is until someone gets in line with 11 items at the express lane, or cuts us off in traffic, or votes differently, looks differently, speaks a different language or worships a different god than we do.  But Jesus never called us to justify their behavior.  He called us to love them.  Unconditionally.  Wholeheartedly.  Kind of the way He loves us.

This little February date that we have somehow made about chocolate and greeting cards seems hollow.  In light of a saint who was willing to risk his life in love for God and in love with others being in love, maybe we should rethink this holiday.  What if we changed the name?  What if we called February 14th, “Greatest Commands Day?”  Rather than chocolate, cards, Italian restaurants and candy hearts; what if we, as the people of God, chose to celebrate the love we have for God and live out the love we have for others.

Sometimes, I have a hard time loving people.  There I said it.   Now it’s your turn.  But God did not call me to do this on my own.  Romans 5 tells me that God pours out His own love into my heart and your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.  So my choice is to love God.   His love poured out for me and into me will give me the true love for others that I need, even when they don’t use their turn signal.

I love this holiday.  February 14th is a reminder of and a chance to live out the gospel.

How can you live out the beautiful life of Valentine, by loving God and loving others this week?  What does your love look like?

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I am having a hard time with myself.  I wrestled for months with maintaining a regular blog and finally decided that it was a discipline that I needed.  So when I decided to launch a new blog it was only fitting that I go the extra mile and spend money on a Wordpress template and a domain name.  That kind of investment would yield returns in a desire to write, right?  YES!  But I have not been diligent in writing.

Why?

Typically, we fail at a resolution or a goal and write it off as a lack of discipline.  There is no deeper reason.  We resolve to the idea that failure was because we did not have the drive or discipline to maintain routine.  Maybe that is the truth, but let’s not take that easy way out.

I think it is something deeper.  I’m afraid.  I’m afraid to write, because I have a blog called “The Creative Bridge.”  I have a Twitter username a little more modest, without the “the” in front of it as though I am THE expert on creativity.  But nonetheless, simply by choosing a domain name, I have unknowingly and unwillingly positioned myself to be creative at the drop of a hat.  No writer’s block.  No hesitation.  All creative.  All the time.

So on the days when I am consumed with my to do list for work, creativity does not flow.  It doesn’t even drip.  And how am I supposed to face readers without something to put “in their hands” or on their computer screen?  I am a people pleaser so the thought of being mildly disappointing to only one reader paralyzes me.

Luckily I am not alone.  I can talk about my “fear” of disappointing a handful of people that drop by my blog.  I can confess that I only want to things with excellence and that anything less than my best is not acceptable.   And some of you may read and feel pity for me or worry that I am too hard on myself.  Some of you may agree and laugh at my quick surrender.  But my suspicion is that we are all in the same boat.  Wanting something in our lives, but not wanting the resistance that accompanies.

I know I am a procrastinator.  I know there are areas of my life where I don’t work as hard as I can.  But the casual dismissals that we cozily categorize as a lack of discipline may be the new crutch.  Or better yet, the new cover-up to something going on that is deeper.

Maybe resistance is more deeply embedded in us as doubt, fear, or regret towards a goal.  Unfortunately, doubt, fear, and regret are less valid as excuses than a lack of discipline.  God has commanded us, and provided for us the remedies for those vices.  How can we doubt, fear or regret when God has empowered us?

What is your resistance?  What keeps you from pursuing wholeheartedly, or maybe even pursuing at all, the things your goals and dreams?

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Who are your closest friends?

¹⁰ If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:10  (NIV)

Solomon’s words seem like common sense, until you find yourself in that place wondering who will pick you up.  Then you realize these words are more than wisdom from simplicity.  They represent one of the most essential needs in life.  Relationships.

The last couple of posts have had a core in relationships and community.  Tonight I reflect personally about my friend Johnny.

A couple of years ago, my world fell apart.  Johnny was the first person I called.  Earlier this year he began to have some some struggles and I was at the top of his call list.

We are separated by miles, and like most men, we are slackers when it comes to regular phone calls.  But even if a month or two has passed, we pick right up where we left off.  Tonight was one of those times.

Tonight was special because I finally got real and honest.  I said some things out loud to my friend Johnny, that I have never said to anyone else before.  It was raw.  It was real.  It was from self-realization.  It was a confession.  Not of sin.  Not of temptation.  But of feelings.  About my life.  About me, personally.  In two sentences I spoke years worth of feelings that I have never shared with anyone.

Now, if you are a woman reading this, you may have a “duh” mentality.  Some of you who know me personally know that at times, I can be fairly open and honest.  I don’t mind sharing my opinion or ways I’ve screwed up.  But telling someone how I “feel?”  That’s huge.

Honestly, I have about three guys in my life that I have that connection with.  It has taken me years.  I’m a slow-cooker when it comes to deep relationships.  But I am grateful for 4:10 friends that I can lean on.  Tonight was not even about falling.  It was just about sharing.

Who is your 4:10 friend?  Who is that person that in your darkest night or brightest morning they are your first phone call?  Who is the person that you can finally be yourself with and speak from your soul?

Now, a personal update.  This week has been very interesting.  I have some big news, personally, but will have to wait a few days before I can go public.  Check back mid-week as I hope to share some life-changing news with you all.

Have you subscribed yet?

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You know the place where you love to go and be yourself.

Tonight I practiced my regular routine.  I went to a Starbucks to work.  I have two Starbucks locations that I frequent about three nights a week.  One night I’m with a men’s group from church.  The other nights I am typically there with a book, laptop and the regular crowd.  Each location has it’s own following and their faces are familiar and calming.  I know at one stop I’ll see the IT guy on his laptop and the other stop I’ll see “Shoe” listening to his friend play guitar.   Or his other friend that once dressed as the Easter Bunny, for no good reason.

I think most of us, in the last decade, can relate to “Central Perk” on the sitcom Friends.  It was a meeting place where life was lived in community.  Also, if you have seen the musical or movie “Rent,” the longing for real community is a common quest throughout.

What is the connection?

From my observation, friendship and community are two very different ways of living and loving.  Friendship is not merely a temporary or surface level approach to relationships, so don’t misunderstand.  Friendships can be golden and life-changing.  Friendships provide connection and sharing.  They are built on respect, trust, and mutual appreciation.

But what is community?

Community is more than just a group of friends.  Community takes place at a deeper level.  The uniqueness of community is that often times the mutual and common place of friendship is not even required.  Community can involve unity, but can also exist in great diversity.  A place where opposites not only attract, but impact.  A place of relationship built more on sharing and providing for one another.

Community provides security.  Community allows for authenticity.  Community shares.

Community sounds like friendship, and surely friendship is built into community.  But a safer place emerges when friendship morphs into community.  A stronger bond is built, and a broader language is spoken.  It is reaching a place where someone can come closer than ever to truly being themselves.

So why do we long for community?  How would you define community?  In your life, what does community look like and how is it lived out?

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Found this over at Churchcrunch.com.  For those of you who don’t know me, 2 things are very important to know.  I’m very single.  I’m very addicted to my iPhone.  So when I saw this, I realized it was probably a picture of things to come…if I ever get married.

Hilarious video.

Have a great Wednesday.

p.s. Have you subscribed to this blog yet?  Do it.

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Why do you love people?

There is no doubt that romance, attraction, common interests, and shared journeys lead us to love friends, family, and lovers.  But when the allure fades away, what do you do?

Passion is a matter of the heart.  Passion pulls us.  Passion draw us, whether to a person, a place, or a dream.   But again, why?

There will always be person or a place that we bump into that requires a little more effort.  It may be that when the allure fades, there is something more to loving that friend or lover.  What is it?

Passion pulls the heart.  But the mind is the agent of push.  The mind is the source of discipline.  The mind is the place of decision.

I am not advocating heart over head or vice versa.  I just want to drop this concept so we can discuss it and consider the implications for…tomorrow.

What does it mean that our hearts pull us?  What does it mean that our minds push us?  Why are both essential in our relationships and our effectiveness?

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There’s nothing like trying to get a new blog off the ground.  I have to admit that I am not as web savvy as I wish, especially with so many options  involved.  I have been delaying the launch of the content of this site, because I cannot make decisions about design and features.

One of the main objectives of TheCreativeBridge.com is to brainstorm and build community.   So it hit me tonight, “If you really want to get readers to think differently about this blog…let them design it.”

So it is now time to launch.  But rather than the unveiling of a perfect blog design that is ready to go, I present to you a blog in progress.  I want your input on the look, the links, the information that needs to go on each page, the best Wordpress plug-ins.  You name it.

What will make this blog user friendly?

What will make this blog “feel so pretty?”

For now, leave your thoughts in the comments section.  As this develops, the Feedback page will open up.  If we really are going to build community, then this is a great starting point to exchange ideas.  Don’t you think?

What makes a great blog?

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