The Office & The Olympics

Ok ... I admit it. I LOVE "THE OFFICE". Its just so witty and entertaining. Although, I must admit, the first two or three times I watched it, it took a bit to draw me in. The storylines are not complex and are so easy to relate to.

During the Olympics, NBC ran a couple commercials that I loved promo-ing the new season of the Office. I'm stoked and I wanted to share.

My Friend Josh Walters

In the last week, our church lost a good friend.  Josh Walters, our student pastor, stepped away from ministry for a while to fight for his family.  It was one of the most remarkable decisions I've ever personally witnessed.  He walked through it with so much wisdom and strength, when everything in me would have been so frail and broken.  

Many of you don't know that Josh was a friend of mine before I came to our church.  Truth be told, he is why I came to our church.  Josh and I met after months of prodding by my friend Ed, who also goes to our church.  Ed worked with my wife and knew I was Student Pastor.  Both Josh and I didn't want to call each other or get together.  I remember Josh saying "I thought it would be just a couple guys sitting around talking about Sunday School curriculum."  That first day was crazy how we really connected on a deep level.  I would have asked him out if he were girl and I were single. 

Over the last three years I have simply cherished my friendship with him.  Not only do we see the same world, but we also see the same Jesus, which makes our relationship that much more easier.  Josh honestly makes me a better person and minister.  There is no other way to put it, really.  He is one of the handful of GREAT friends I have, and I'm thankful every time I spend time with him.  

I know I'm not losing his friendship, as a matter of fact it might just be a bit easier to be friends now.  But, I'm losing seeing him everyday.  I'm losing leading him in worship and seeing him surrender his voice, his body, and his heart to Jesus.  I'm losing sitting next to him in staff meetings and instant messaging funny things back and forth on our laptops.  I'm going to miss a lot about Josh.

I have one consolation, though.  All of those things that I'm going to miss, I'm going to miss them for a reason ... because I had the opportunity to experience them.  I've gotten to have a great friend who totally loved me and opened himself to becoming my friend.  

At the end of the Shawshank Redemption, the main character Andy escapes from a prison he didn't belong inside.  His friend, Red, is reflecting upon the loss of his friend Andy when he says "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend." 

I love Josh and will miss my friend greatly.  So fight on Josh; fight on.

Fear.

When I was little kid, night time was scary time.  I don't know if I ever claimed to see monsters.  I don't know if the boogey man ever visited my room.  What I do know is that I dealt with some of the most serious life issues man has to deal with: the imminence of death, the uncertainty of relationships, and the fragility of our health and lives.  

I think it would be odd to be a parent and get woke up in the middle of the night by a six-year-old who then spends the rest of the night trying to figure out death with you.  

Those things that are uncertain evoke responses within our hearts.  Physiologists say that these instincts are built into us and are informed from a very young age.  I think that our responses to uncertainty are decision that flows out of the posture of our heart. 

As I've grown older, I began to see that fear comes where faith doesn't ... that where faith is fear cannot reside.  In the end, uncertainty is an opportunity to trust Jesus even more.  

We are all going to face those moments filled with uncertainty.  Some of those moments will put the most precious and secure things in our lives in jeopardy, but in the end, we're all better for placing Jesus in the middle of it and letting him lift us up.  

After all, it is His elevator.

The Umbrella.

A good friend of our pastor is fond of saying "You have to get under what God has put over you, so that you can get over what God has put under you."  

I've been reminded about that a few times this week.  Culturally, rebellion is idolized.  Those who blaze their own paths and shake off the standards of the guard are heros.  Even Jesus is often seen as a rouge prophet who rebelled against the religious establishment of his day.  Jesus, however, is the head of the church, and lived a life constantly in submission to the will of the Father.

Its significant to know that many people struggle with submitting to authority in our world today.

Submission isn't an issue of trusting a leader.  

Its really an issue of trusting Jesus.

I want to live under that umbrella of Jesus.  I want to submit to him and let him shield me through his wisdom and guidance.  I want to live under the umbrella of the leadership in our church, and be blessed by their insight and shepherding.  

I want to be faithful in these things.  We all know there are things to overcome in life, and its a lot more difficult to climb when it's raining. 

Health Update

Yesterday I was at the doctor's office for a follow-up on my blood work.  They took some blood to test my liver functioning again, since it had been four weeks since the first test.  

The doctor called me this morning to let me know that the test results came back normal.  

These test results mean that I do not have anything wrong with me.  I am healthy, and health is a gift that we must be stewards of.  I am learning this now, and I thank Jesus that I have that opportunity.