stepping into the light (with C.S. Lewis)

Jesus said, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.” (Luke 11:42)

Wednesday afternoon reading material

Over the past few weeks, discussions in my “The Men’s Room” small group have been anchored in the writings of C.S. Lewis. We also read scripture, share from our lives, and pray for one another; but the topics have all come from our C.S. Lewis “sampler,” Readings for Meditation and Reflection.

TRANSCENDENCE: One idea this week had to do with the difference between looking “at” and looking “along,” a perspective that can only be achieved by entering into an experience.

Lewis’s illustration was a beam of sunlight he had seen in a toolshed. Looking at the beam of light revealed little but the stark contrast between light and darkness (as well a a lot of dust!). However, when he stood in the light, looking along the light, Lewis could see all the way to the outside of the shed, to the leaves of the tree and beyond, and “ninety-odd million miles away, the sun.”

And so my men’s group talked about the way that “entering in” to a spiritual life with God can transcend the often poorly designed structure that is apparent from the outside. The external view often focuses on flawed human institutions, personalities, hypocrisies, legalism, religious obligations, conflicts, misunderstandings, and all the variations of interpretation when it comes to reading scriptures…

…Whereas, once we step into the light, once we set aside everything that distracts, once we come to the realization that, at the essence of faith, what we really want and need is to see Jesus, then we are no longer simply looking at the shaft of light but we have entered into the light, and the light has commenced to take up residence in the core of our nature.

BORN FROM ABOVE: When that happens, when God has been (and constantly is) so welcomed, then the imbalance that Jesus referenced (“you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God”) will begin to disappear.

However, if we fail to invite Jesus to live in us, and to transform us with his kind of life, then even the practice of justice will default to legalism and we will have missed the point.

THE POINT: And the point, of course, is that Jesus invites us to participate in the ongoing work of God. That’s what the word “salvation” really means. It means that we live into the fact of God’s love for us and the fact of God’s love for this world through us. We don’t stand outside anymore, admiring the light; we step into the light, invite the light into our deepest places, and then live as Children of the Light.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,righteousness and truth). – Ephesians 5:8-9

In love, and because of love – DEREK

Ode to Morning Joe (O Coffee How I Love Thee)

It’s been a while since I last wrote an ode to coffee. Considering how much time and attention I give other passions in my life, it seems only reasonable that I mention the Magic Joe every once in a while.

A couple of weeks ago, when I was in Nashville for a men’s conference, my small group responded to the question: “Share something that you don’t think you could live without.” Being the leader, and the conference speaker, I thought I’d model something on the “less deep” end of the spectrum, to let the guys know I wasn’t expecting them to bare their souls every time they opened their mouths.

“Coffee,” I said. “I’m honestly not sure that I could maintain my quality of life if I didn’t have access to coffee every morning.”

The guys in my group nodded politely, and a few eyebrows raised. Then they proceeded, man after man, to share profound spiritual insights about their spiritual walk, their families, and their community of faith. I felt like the man who shows up at dinner in shorts and a t-shirt and everyone else is sporting their Sunday best!

JOE BY ANY OTHER NAME: But I really wasn’t kidding about the coffee. Java. Joe. Mocha. Mud. Brain Juice. Cup-of-jolt. Sludge. High octane. Rocket fuel. Brewtus. C8H10N4O2. I really don’t think I could be a writer without it.

That last one (if you didn’t already know) is the chemical formula for caffeine. I just threw it in the list to sound – you know – all knowledgeable and erudite; I didn’t have any idea about the formula before I looked it up a minute ago. That’s what too much caffeine will do for you.

I love regional coffees, beans harvested in places where micro-climates produce unique flavors. Columbian is my standby, but favorites also include Costa Rican, Green Mountain, Kona, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Sumatran, and that ridiculously expensive coffee from Jamaica.

I also appreciate unique preparations. Here in Tampa the Cuban Café con leche is wonderful; you can’t beat espresso and cappuccino in Italy; French Café au lait  is another favorite. In fact, take me to any local cafe in any culture and I’ll likely swoon over the way they prepare coffee.

That said, I can’t stand it when people spoil an otherwise solid pot of Joe with “frou-frou” flavors like French Vanilla, Almond Cream, Creamy Caramel or some such aberration. Add all the flavor you want to your own mug, but please let the community pot be coffee and nothing else!

PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION: As for preparation, I have an espresso machine but I usually drip. Percolating is great, French Press is overrated, and instant is an affront to be avoided unless there’s an emergency. Typically, I add just a little cream, and I eliminated sugar over a year ago. I take my espresso neat.

Finally, and this is important, coffee must be presented in some kind of a ceramic mug. The other day I stopped at Panera and asked for “a real mug.” The barista sighed heavily, rolled her eyes, and eventually found a nice drinking cup (actually, she couldn’t have been a real barista or she wouldn’t have rolled her eyes at “real mug”). That was when she asked me, “Is this for here or to go?”

I think she needed a double shot of espresso!

the cure for Monday (promise for tomorrow)

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Looking into the new week

At the entry point to a busy and seriously over-scheduled week, I thought I’d let my grandson, David, offer some perspective. He’s not exactly “quotable” at this point in his life (he tends to laugh, clap his hands, or run away when I ask him direct questions), but he is communicating loud and clear when it comes to perspective.

The official title (from Naomi) to this first picture is, “David spying on the neighbors.” But I’m re-captioning the image as, “David looking into the new week.” He has climbed up on the heating vent to get a better look, he is constantly loaded with anticipation, and his enthusiasm for “what’s next,” and “what’s possible” simply cannot be contained.

“I’m swinging! When I’m done I may just move over to the hammock!”

NON-STOP!!! David’s default setting is “Go;” his forecast is constantly “Sunny with an occasional chance of brief, local, thunderstorms;” his curiosity is boundless; and his schedule is “Now!”

With all the details I have planned for this week, I could use a good shot of David to get things off to a humming start.

Fact is, none of us really know exactly what this day has in store, and what we’ll see in our rear-view mirror once we make it through to Friday. But we can choose how we approach each day, and how we engage each moment along the way.

My grandson may not be talking yet, but if he could I’m sure he’d say something along the lines of the Psalmist’s words in the following translation of the well-known “This is the day the Lord has made!” passage (Psalm 118:21-25).

Thank you (God) for responding to me;
you’ve truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
is now the capstone!
This is God’s work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
let’s celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

Our opportunity is to respond with enthusiasm, with passion, and with joy. Our opportunity is to live – every day – like we mean it! Because God most certainly meant it when God created us.

Peace and promise - DEREK

Homecoming of a Saint

photo from Jayne/Steve Parker

If you missed this afternoon’s “Celebration of Life” memorial service for our great friend Roy Crenshaw, then you missed an opportunity not only to pay tribute to an extraordinary human being, but to learn something vitally important about what it means to walk with God.

I’ve already written a detailed post about Roy’s life (Tribute to A Life Well-Lived), so this weekend I simply want to draw attention to his testimony.

Rebekah put it well when she said that Roy’s testimony was a story he lived on a day-to-day basis. Some people stand up and share a five-minute, classic, “How I got saved” testimony, but one of the most eloquent, compelling witnesses to Jesus I’ve ever seen was the way that Roy Crenshaw told the truth about the Gospel of Love, simply by being.

CAN I GET A WITNESS? Roy was a “Larger than Life” man who lived faith out loud. Roy constantly challenged the darkness by being the light, and he followed Jesus with such integrity that those privileged to know him could no more argue against the truth of the Gospel than they could argue against the fact of the sun having first been introduced to the moon.

image by Kelly Poirson

That’s my definition of a saint: a person who goes out and lives their faith while other people are arguing about it. So it was more than fitting that – after Rebekah offered the benediction – we ended with a lively rendition of “O when the saints come marching in.” Mark started on the piano, Don jumped in immediately with his trombone, I added a simple progression of chords on my guitar, and Dave danced all over the music with blues edged New Orleans trumpet that sounded like it came from the angel Gabriel himself.

As we finished the first verse, the extended Crenshaw family (plus Rebekah) all fished colorful umbrellas and parasols from beneath the pews, and commenced to promenade around the front of the church and down the center aisle for the recessional. We must have played at least six to eight repeats, and the arrangement grew more festive every time.

Pic by Julie Hellman

And when I say “promenade” I mean shimmy, and dance, and sway, and wobble a little bit, and ripple, and spin those umbrellas, and occasionally glide sideways, and circle, and do a bit of a jig, and hold out one leg, contemplating the foot for a moment before placing it on the ground again. It was a Coming Home of A Saint kind of a shimmy post-benediction move-up-the-aisle rendition of “O When the saints come marching in.”

And another fine saint went marching home.

megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes and healing corrupt files

his week I have been frustrated with my computer’s slow and inconsistent processing. Sometimes, and typically when my brain has already anticipated the next thing I need to write, my computer pauses to “spin in place” for anywhere from five seconds to five minutes.

So I downloaded a maintenance program called “MacKeeper 2012,” and performed a system scan to see what might be going on

It turns out (who knew!) that keeping over 15,000 14.2 megapixel photographs on a Mac mini can compromise processing speeds.

The program also told me that “108 issues are affecting your system performance and wasting 145.5 MB of disk space.”

Additionally, it seems that I have “13.4 GB of duplicate files.”

INTERVENTION: First – and because I’ve learned this before, the hard way – I backed up all my writing files to my new WD “two-terabyte” external hard drive.

Then I instructed my computer to “empty the trash.” Over 25,000 were deleted.

I may not fully understand concepts like megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte, but “25,000-plus items deleted” certainly got my attention. In fact it scarily got my attention. Now I hope my little Mac mini has enough information on board in order to reboot after I turn it off!

SYSTEM CLEANING: I can’t help but notice the correlation between my “108 issues” computer and my often “spinning in place” spiritual life. I don’t just have tens of thousands of duplicate files going nowhere fast in my head, I have tens of thousands of “corrupt” and useless files too. Sometimes it feels like I’m completely clogged up.

That’s one reason I try to program in a spiritual “system scan” at least a couple of times a week. The mystics call it “emptying ourselves;” Christianity understands it as inviting the Holy Spirit to clean house. Jesus did this by taking quiet time apart to be alone with God, and Charles Wesley wrote (in his hymn “And Can It Be”), that Jesus “emptied himself of all but love.”

The bottom line here is that we seem to routinely clutter our spirits with distractions, questionable material, unnecessary files, trivia, wasted time… and a thousand other corruptions that serve to compromise our connection with God’s grace, God’s clarity, and God’s invitation to live and experience the abundant life.

The only intervention that – in my experience – always serves to optimize my life is Jesus. God making me whole again and healing me from the insides out.

- DEREK

how redemption works for me

Happy Thursday, friends! This morning’s post will likely be short (no time today!), but will include a link to my weekly video-post, so don’t miss that two-minute opportunity. CLICK HERE.

Essentially, I’m following up on yesterday (“Hit the back of the ball“) and also continuing an ongoing conversation with a friend who constantly struggles with Christianity because faith in God through Jesus is so impossibly resistant to being held to account by logic, reason, argument, and what we have come to understand thus far about science.

QUESTION: Yesterday I wrote that “Jesus came to take care of the distance between (humankind and God), to ‘square us up’ as it were…”

So the question/comment came back like this:

How does “sacrificing yourself to yourself and getting yourself back 3 days later” serve to facilitate restoration of that relationship?

“Jesus is alive and well in heaven as I understand. He is not dead. Sacrifice by definition is to lose or give something up or give something to….”

AMATEUR THEOLOGIAN: My personal credentials as a theologian are simply the fact that I think about God, and about my/our relationship to God. I tend to see things less from a “legal” standpoint and more from an “unstoppable initiative of love” point of view.

Some people interpret atonement as a strictly legal transaction, where God’s “hands” are literally tied when it comes to the fate of the human race. A sacrifice is required by law, these folk argue, and the only sacrifice that could possibly satisfy God is the spilled blood of the perfect Son of God.

In my own, constantly evolving, theology I tend to see God as motivated by the idea of reconciliation and restoration: “I love my creation so much that I’m willing to actually become one of them, and teach them my ways, even though I know it’s going to end in betrayal, rejection, misunderstanding, torture, and brutal execution.”

So now I have the opportunity – because of Jesus, and through Jesus – to respond positively to God’s sacrificial initiative, to accept forgiveness, and to follow the Way of Jesus. I don’t believe that God is somehow “obligated” to accept me because the right blood was spilled. I believe that God has always loved me, and always wanted a restored relationship, but that it’s only because of Jesus that I have found my way home.

No, I haven’t cleared it all up; I may even have muddied the waters. But this is a little bit of what I believe, and what makes sense to me - DEREK 

Don’t miss today’s video-post! CLICK HERE

just try to hit the back of the ball (golf, faith, Bubba Watson)

Well, another Wednesday has come along with no video-post. And that’s a shame, because last week’s saw a significant up-tick in views. Most of you still ignore the invitation to view the brief message, but I honestly think it’s worth a look. Each video runs two-minutes and you can find them at my You-Tube channel, just click this link: www.youtube.com/user/DerekMaul.

GOLF! Mostly I’m late posting today because I played golf this morning on the course behind my house. It’s a good thing I enjoy being out there, and that I appreciate the company of good people, because the quality of golf being played today was sub-standard at best!

Golf is a funny sport. Analysts will dissect the mechanics of a swing and pinpoint probably 20 or more constituent parts. “Just make these forty-three small adjustments,” they’ll say, “and we believe you’ll be able to hit the ball better.”

Personally, I favor the approach touted by 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson when he was asked about technique, training, and fine-tuning his game: “It’s simple,” Watson said, “I just try to hit the back of the ball.”

That’s pretty-much it. I stand in front of the golf ball, square the face of the golf club behind the ball, take a quick look at my target, then draw the club back and try to return it to “Position-A” as rapidly as possible.

People who worry too much about the mechanics of golf run the risk of losing the simple joy of whacking something hard with a piece of metal and watching it fly through the air.

MAKING CONTACT: Sometimes I think that’s one of the main problems with the way many people approach faith. They get caught up in the mechanics and the details and frequently forget the essential point of putting themselves in the presence of God and then responding to the invitation to live in the truth of God’s great love.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Ultimately, it’s about making contact, because everything else involved in the equation is useful only inasmuch as it facilitates reconciliation. Faith is about mending the broken relationship between people and God; Jesus came to take care of the distance between us, to “square us up” as it were; the power comes when we learn to make that contact count.

Or, as Bubba Watson said, “Just try to hit the back of the ball.”

- DEREK

it’s not global warming, it’s “Global WEIRD-ing”

“O the depth of riches, and wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways!” (Romans 11:33)

I am nowhere close to making sense of the Bible, or fathoming the mystery of Creation; but in a way I’m glad about that, because following Jesus is the only possible response that constantly, consistently, reassuringly leads me in the direction of understanding, that faithfully illuminates my relationship to God, and that opens my mind at the same time as both opening and healing my heart.

his morning, when I left the house at 6:30 to walk Scout, it was 55-degrees and clear. This is South-Central Florida, and it’s the middle of May; I had to wear a light jacket; what a treat; unbelievable! But it’s been that kind of a year.

Ridiculously high temperatures in the early spring. Deliciously cool days before and after Easter. 90-degrees plus a couple of weeks ago. Now some cool mornings seemingly out of nowhere. Friends in other parts of the country have experienced similar situations; ditto for those living overseas.

If it’s part of a pattern, then the pattern can be described as no pattern at all.

Fact is, I don’t think the term “Global Warming” is any help; what we’ve got here is more evidence of “Global WEIRDing,” and it’s obvious that “what we don’t understand” has got “what we do understand” beat by a long shot. And what we don’t understand seems to be growing by the minute.

NOT A SCIENTIST: It’s important to note at this point that I’m not a scientist. But I’m not a politician either, and that hugely important qualification more than makes up for my non-scientist credentials. What I am is an observer; I tend to pay close attention to what’s going on and I’m more inclined to generate questions than answers.

This sometimes perplexes people who think it’s my job to tidy things up for them. “What do you mean you don’t have a pat answer for stuff that doesn’t make sense?”

Believe me, I’m a hugely reasonable guy, but I have no interest in reducing the universe, science, faith, God, or global weather to a manageable set of equations or a set of pithy explanations.

MYSTERY: On the other hand, I don’t believe that mystery is an excuse for non-action. Take the “global weirding” thing, for example. Just because it’s not easy to pin climate change on industrialization doesn’t mean that corporations (or individuals) should be off the hook for blatantly harmful practices.

What part of “Be nice to the Earth, it’s the only one we’ve got; if you break this one it’s not like we can go back to the store for a new one” do we not understand?

Likewise, the fact that so much of the story of God’s relationship to the Children of Israel leaves us scratching our heads, and the fact that the miracles associated with Jesus are pretty-much impossible to account for outside of faith, shouldn’t mean that we walk away from the relationship… or that we have to check our brains at the door… or dismiss the invitation of Jesus to live as committed followers of The Way.

I am nowhere close to making sense of the Bible, or fathoming the mystery of Creation; but in a way I’m glad about that, because following Jesus is the only possible response that constantly, consistently, reassuringly leads me in the direction of understanding, that faithfully illuminates my relationship to God, and that opens my mind at the same time as both opening and healing my heart.

- DEREK

some enchanted evening

Flowers for Rebekah from Andrew and Naomi

Here’s a truism I’ll never tire of repeating: A great Sunday is always the most effective preparation for Monday. Spending the day with my community of faith is hands down the best possible way to start the week.

Mother’s Day started out with beautiful flowers from Andrew and Naomi. Our children may be miles apart, in Connecticut and Italy, but they did a great job of collaborating and Rebekah was more than delighted.

By the time we added the arrangement I gave Rebekah and then the bouquet we bought for my mum, our house was completely brightened with fresh-cut flowers.

MUCIC & PRAISE: Sunday morning at church, during the prelude, I invited the Praise Band to join me in a free-form jam around “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” All I did was lay down a simple progression of chords, and then the brass-section got going like they were a parade coming down Bourbon Street in New Orleans! So I just stood there and let the music wash over me and, consequently, I was pretty much full to overflowing with the Spirit before church officially began.

Later, that sense of musical connection found another expression when Rebekah and I joined some of our friends for an outdoor concert at Tampa’s River Tower Park.

singing the National Anthem

We picnicked on the grass and then enjoyed an exhilarating Pops presentation by the amazingly excellent Florida Orchestra.

Again, the sound literally washed over us. Live music is great; live music in a fine concert hall is marvelous; live music in church is uplifting; but there’s something magical, something enchanted, something extra-special about a full orchestra in the open air playing a free concert for a couple of thousand enthusiastic fans.

Chuck, Rebekah, Peggy, David, Karin

The program comprised a wonderfully eclectic range of work. Opera from Carmen; stage from The Sound of Music; film score from Indiana Jones, and Pirates of the Caribbean; Moon River by Mancini, a brilliant selection from Stravinsky, and the crowning finale of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

ENCHANTED EVENING: It was, in every sense, an enchanted evening. By the second half of the concert the sun had gone down and a pleasant breeze carried the glorious music well beyond the park.

The idea of putting a world-class orchestra in a park, and letting absolutely anyone come and listen, without paying a penny, reminded me in a way of how we are called to present the Gospel of Love in a world that is largely indifferent to faith.

We are called to be – literally – an illumination. “It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

This is an invitation to shine, to let the light of the knowledge of the glory of God wash over this world as the music of a great orchestra washed over the city last night - DEREK

adventure, new life, and the promised land

ad·ven·ture [ad-ven-cher]:  noun, (verb ad·ven·tured, ad·ven·tur·ing).

1. An exciting or very unusual experience.
2. Participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

Here’s a sweet intro for my weekend post: today Rebekah and I received our invitation for the July 6th festivities in Midland, Michigan, a love-feast featuring our son, Andrew, and his betrothed, Alicia.

This weekend they’re together again in Kiev, Ukraine, where Alicia is finishing up four years teaching music in an international school. I’m looking forward to hearing about their Saturday visit to Chernobyl, the infamous site of the catastrophic 1986 nuclear meltdown disaster.

But there are so many adventures to tell we’ll likely never get caught up. Alicia signs every email “Alicia Pashby, Music Enthusiast and Travel Addict;” it’s one of the reasons – many – that we know she and Andrew are perfect for each other. We don’t have to hear about all the adventures; it’s enough to know they are out there, together, engaging the adventure that is the gift of life with the enthusiasm and passion we were all created to enjoy.

ADVENTURE: And it never gets old. In fact, going on 34 years into our marriage adventure, Rebekah and I are just as excited and full with anticipation as the day we cranked up our “I think I can; I think I can” Chevette and drove off to our first adventure together for my senior year at Stetson University.

Adventure? You bet. Here’s the definition again: “an exciting or very unusual experience; participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.” Being a preacher’s husband is and always has been all of the above, and then some.

Being a follower of Jesus comes loaded with the same quality of exhilaration. Every day is a new opportunity to live an enthusiastic demonstration of the New and Living Way. That’s one more reason we’re so thrilled that Andrew and Alicia are beginning to live this adventure together. Their natural enthusiasm for life coupled with their sincere commitment to follow Jesus adds up to a recipe for fullness and serendipity beyond anything most people ever imagine!

Mt. Nebo, looking into the Promised Land

PROMISED LAND: Last January Rebekah and I stood on Mount Nebo and looked into The Promised Land. It was the same view Moses had when God showed him everything… and then broke the news that Moses, personally, wasn’t going to get to go in.

There it was, The Promised Land, spread before us like an invitation. And here the future is – every day – spread before each one of us like an invitation.

I think about that moment sometimes, when I wonder what God has in store for today, for tomorrow, for next week and for next year. And I’m always (mostly) excited and ready to move into the Promised Land and to follow Jesus with passion and with joy.

Andrew and Alicia

That’s the exact image I have for Andrew and Alicia. Standing there on Mount Nebo together, hand in hand, looking out into the future, committed to the promises but wondering exactly what those promises are going to look like, as they go forward – in the strength of believing – to posses the land.

My God is faithful - DEREK