Board meeting

Had a "board meeting" this morning with two of my elders, Jeff and Darren. Wetsand was calling for 4-6 ft. surf so we all met at 7am anxiously anticipating some good surf. Evidently everyone else has the same access to the Wetsand website as we do and showed up to find 3-4 ft. surf, weird high tide conditions and not very surfable waves. As Darren and I exited the water we agreed that this was still a great way to start the day. Can't complain about the easy access we have to many fine surf breaks here in San Diego county. God is good and I am one blessed pastor to be able to surf with my elders.

What is a Christian?

In response my asking for feedback on my current sermon series,
"What is a Christian?" I got this email from a friend:

"You could do a whole sermon on what is NOT a Christian...heck, it could be a series...relativism, universalism, consumerism, judgmentalism, dogmatism...all the isms!"

Unfortunately he is right. Often today, Christians are known more for what they do in a negative view than a positive view.

Jesus camp

Recently I saw the movie "Jesus Camp." Whoa...now that's scary. I do recommend that Christians see this movie. It's an eye opener. I have to be honest, after watching the movie, if that's what Chrisitianity is about, I don't want any part of it. It's hard to watch because it exposes faults in all Christians lives, including my own. God help us if this is how the world views Christians.

When they get to the interview of Ted Haggart, now that's prophetic. His interview, (in light of his moral downfall) speaks volumes on it's own.

Sweet defeat

Oh, there is a football god. Way to go Colts for beating those pesky Patriots. I know Tom Brady is a good quaterback, their coach is great, blah, blah, blah. Hey, pass the torch. Enough Superbowl wins already. Of course I'm loving the Colts victory as some sort of payback for those stupid Patriots sneaking out of San Diego with an win and being too cocky about it. Now if the Colts can beat those pesky Bears, I will in some small way feel just a little, tiny bit better about the stinkin' first round playoff loss for the Chargers (shades of '04). I now have a reason to watch the Superbowl. I had temporarily given up on watching any more football for about 4 days after the Chargers lost.

Maybe next year

Looks like the Chargers have rehired Marty S. What that could do is send us through another great regular season record which could once again make absolutely no difference once we get to the playoffs. Granted much of the stupidity and reasons we lost to the Pats last Sunday had nothing to do with the coach. Unfortunately, his post-season record speaks for itself. I'm excited about the Chargers next year, we've got a lot of young guys returning. However, I'm already nervous about the post-season should that happen.

To try and keep it in perspective, I'll copy here what I wrote in my weekly email to the church.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Chargers fever was at an all-time high heading into Sunday’s game against the Patriots. I hate to admit it, but I was doubting the possibility of a Chargers victory early in the game. They were playing scared, dropping too many passes, missing scoring opportunities and unable to stop a more experienced Tom Brady. I got so nervous in the second half that I just sort of checked in with the game score as I shot baskets in my driveway. Like all Charger fans, I watched helplessly as the final 6 minutes ticked off the clock. Bracing myself for defeat, it still was a hard pill to swallow.

Where do we go from here? Lots of great places!! What an opportunity to realize what is really important in life. There is certainly nothing wrong with rooting for your favorite sports team, but in reality, sports are a trivial part of life. They can make for a good distraction if you are not careful. After the game, I found myself hugging my 14 month old, playing catch with the other boys and enjoying Kelley’s, “So who was playing today?”approach to the whole deal. These are the kind of times we are forced to step away and take stock of the real blessings in life. I am so thankful for a great family God has blessed me with. I am also thankful for our great church and the relationships we all have there. Yes, we can be bummed about the Chargers loss on Sunday, but when we look at the big picture there is so much more God wants us to focus on and be thankful for. So…let’s pray that the Colts whup on the Patriots next Sunday…don’t think God really cares actually…

Righteous children of men

I really only made one New Years resolution this year, to read more widely outside the Christian genre. I love to read and am determined to gain further insight into our Christian world as seen from a non-Christians perspective.

I guess you could say I am enjoying "Righteous, dispatches from the evangelical youth movement." by Lauren Sandler. She has travled the county spending time with many well known churches and Christian movements that are appealing to those primarily under 35. I have to admit, she's got some poignant observations, especially when she talks about a prosperity gospel mindset among hip hop minitries and churches. Hmm, can't seem to find a "prosperity gospel" mindset in the Bible that I read.

I was however, pleasently surprised by the movie "Children of men." You don't have to look too deep to observe many of the easily deciphered Biblicaly parallels. The character of Theo (Greek name for God) is a Christ-like figure set out to help ensure the survival and future of the human race. Kee is the young woman who is literally the key to the future of mankind. She is pregnant with the only new baby to come along in 18 years and somewhat of a Mary figure. The religious imagery is there for the taking throughout the movie. This movie in not unlike "The Matrix" in that you can pull all kinds of religious analogies from the movie, you just need to know what to look for.

These are the kinds of movies that make "Christian" movies look silly. I've found that most often it's the movies that aren't trying to be Christian that have some of the best Christian messages. You have to dig for those messages, but I believe there is a much greater chance at a wider audience getting that message then when a Christian film company tries to sell its Christian movie. I'll probably see the movie again and head into it with a treasure hunter mentality, looking for those hidden gems.

I'd love to hear further comment from any of you who have seen this movie. Meanwhile, we are all dealing with the pain of that ridiculous loss the the Patriots on Sunday. Please God, let the Colts thump them good this Sunday.

Saved by grace

I've been meaning to add a photo to this blog. This one is the Lauer family Christmas photo we sent out. Many of you have already seen it. And yes, we're Chargers fans. I'm thinking that if they can get past the Patriots this weekend, they could...go...all...the...way.

If you haven't noticed, we are diving into some deep theology with our study of Ephesians. Last week we tackled the huge topic of predestination. Seems like most of you are ok with it. I did define TULIP on the blog site if you are interested. This week we are talking about the importance of our understanding how we are saved and what our standing is before God. Grace and faith, two key words in the Christian life. What does it mean to be a Christian? Someone who recognized their need of God and readily accepts that grace through faith.

Hot topics

I'm getting excited about the possiblities with blogging. It was great to read comments and I hope more are coming. The first sermon in the series, "What is a Christian?" went well, (as confirmed by my elders who always shoot straight with me whether I want them to or not). I'm excited to preach on this topic for awhile and hopefully give our church (and anyone else who reads over the sermon notes) a healthy Biblical perspective on what it means to be a Christian today.

Speaking of which. I started reading a startling, alarming and not easy to read book, "Righteous, dispatches from the evangelical youth movement" by Lauren Sandler. Wow, she's got some heavy thoughts on the Christian movement within the youth culture. She "attacks" the Cornerstone music festive, Mars Hill church in Seattle, skater Christians, Relevent magazine and more. Some of her observations are accurate and need to be looked at from her perspective. Mostly, it seems that she is angry at Christians and somewhat scared of where this is all headed. I'll blog more as I read on in the book. I'd certainly welcome any comments on her book.

Predestination...

So the elders and I decide to start this sermon series, "What is a Christian?" Sounds innocent enough. I don't want to just start blabbing ideas off the top of my head, so we're going to base our answers on the Bible, always a good idea. I pick the book of Ephesians, an epistle written to a new church.

Chapter one, we dive right in and I will attempt to explain the delicate balance between free-will and predesination. On one hand, I'm a Calvinist/TULIP guy all the way. On the other hand I do know we make choices everyday and God has given us a mind to use.

I'd appreciate any of your ideas on this topic, how you've wrestled with it over the years and creative ways you have used to attempt to explain it all.

One thing I forgot to mention. We are starting a new sermon series called "What is a Christian?" I'd love to hear some feedback regarding this topic. Anything from personal stories, victories as well as hard times in your faith, scriptures you have found helpful etc. Let's start creating these sermons together!

I'm blogging now!

I know I'm behind with all the blogging, so here I go. I look forward to staying in touch with anyone who has interest. I hope this can be an ongoing conversation about life, ministry, church, family, theology, sermons etc. I want to give people a peek into my heart and mind as I process my walk with God. I hope to gain insight from many of you who read this as I not only prepare my sermons on Sunday, but go through life as well.
I look forward to hearing from you.