The Pilgrimm's Fun Casual Joint

I hope you'll allow me a moment or two of confession.

I have a terrible sarcastic streak running through me (that's the first confession). It seems to be a not so alluring trait for a "person of the cloth" to possess, but, there it is.

Case in point. My wife and I were driving up to a wonderful pub and bistro the other night and we pass by this community church that had, printed on their sign, right there for God and everybody to see it, the following phrase: "A Pretty Good Church."

I get what they are trying to say. "We're a pretty good church! Come give us a try." "He likes it! Hey, Mikey!" (I'm sorry there it is again...it's a good thing I only admitted to being on the way to perfection rather than having arrived.)

But what I couldn't help think as we passed by this "pretty good church" was that we've come to settle for mediocrity. As long as we can put out a pretty good movie, or produce some pretty good food, or have a pretty good single or two on our new album-CD-whatever...then people will be satisfied. So by calling ourselves a "pretty good church" we don't set anyone's expectations too high.

Nope. Sorry. I don't want pretty good. I want damn good. We're a damn good church! That's the place I want to be.

I want to be in a place where people believe that the life of following Jesus is demanding. That we aren't just given a "get out of hell free card" but that we're invited to a lifetime of loving God, loving people and working the kinks out of the world. And we are willing charge into the fray because doing that makes us feel ALIVE!

I want to be in a place that isn't afraid of saying, "This thing we do, you know, following Jesus...it's like nothing you've ever done. You can't do it without him. You need to be ready to unlearn everything you think you know and sit at his feet every single day. Some days that will mean praying--and by praying I don't mean 'thank you God for our food' (although that's a good place to start); I mean active prayer in the trenches, 'God give me strength to serve and to the courage to do your will!'--and some days sitting at his feet will mean washing feet or feeding the hungry or sitting with the lonely or singing your heart out or meditating on The Message." But everyday you offer freely yourself to God and you know in your heart of hearts that it's only grace that saves you but your work your butt off like every person you see is Jesus himself.

I want to be in a place that says, "We're a damn good church full of damn good Christians serving a damn good God! And we do it every damn day!"

Or...

I want to be at a place like the restaurant just up the road from the "pretty good church" that calls itself "a fun, casual joint."

Yeah, that's my style right there, too. "A fun, casual joint." (Even though it was a Friday night, guess which parking lot was full?)

But then again, what do I know? I curse, I drink beer called "Arrogant Bastard," (that's a fun one to order, too, "I'd like an imperial pint of Arrogant Bastard, please." Did he just say Arrogant Bastard and please in the same sentence?) and I listen to Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead (both cranked up really, really loud.)

I'll tell you what I know. I know that God is love. And I know that no matter how hard I work day after day after day that the work I do doesn't save me, it's God's love that rescues me. And trust me...this sarcastic, imperfect, tie dyed, bone-shakin', AB swillin' fool needs a lot of rescuing. I also know that mediocrity doesn't cut it when it comes to following Jesus.

Musings from Natural Bridge Pt. 1

Normally I'm not thrilled about 7:00 a.m. Friends are frequently accusing me of being a "morning person" because I am at the local branch of the YMCA by 7:30 most days. But they don't understand that I am there early because I won't be there later. I'm not there early because I like mornings. I don't. I'm not bubbly at 7:30 a.m. I'm not bubbly period. But bubbly is without a doubt not the adjective I would use for myself at 7:30 a.m.

Today I woke up at 7:00 a.m. but I'm very much okay with that. My family is on vacation at Natural Bridge State Park in Eastern Kentucky. While I type this there is a squirrel walking the rail of my balcony, not six feet away from me. There is a creek burbling somewhere below. All of the trees have made this amazing mountain mist. I hear six or seven different bird songs. There is a cup of coffee (that I just finished) close by. Everything is good.

It is moments like this that help me understand how God could look at the whole of creation and call it "good." I don't always see that in my usual stomping grounds where there is perpetual construction and consistent reduction of green space in favor of new development. But here, conserved for a few days of Sabbath, I see the goodness. And I can even appreciate it at 7:00 a.m.