First Sunday of Advent

Good morning everyone this Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. What is Advent, well I'm glad you asked. I found this definition online to try and explain it better than I ever could, so I thought I would share it with you:

"The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Jesus in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live in this time and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s First Advent, and anticipates a future coming or Second Advent, it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

This is a very complete and theological definition of "What is Advent". I really like this definition because it really touches every aspect of Advent, the past, the present and even the future. The only thing that it doesn't cover is "What is Advent" as it relates to me personally. And for that you will not be able to find a definition anywhere online because Advent will have a significantly different meaning to each person. What I want to do with this post is to let you know "What Advent means to me" and hopefully inspire you to take a closer look at what Advent means to you and your loved ones.

Advent to me is a time of preparation, a reality check on where I am in my spiritual journey and where I want to go in the coming year. I take time to reflect on what I have done over the last year, how far I have come compared to previous years, where I am currently and where I want to go in the next weeks, months and years. I have been celebrating Advent since I was a kid, I remember Sunday nights with my parents sitting around the Advent wreath lighting the candle(s) and sharing what happened during the week. It was a time for reflection and teaching that we shared as a family. When I stepped away from my faith as a teenager and young adult I found there was always something missing during the Christmas season, something not quite right. It wasn't until about 6 years ago when I started up the tradition at home with my own kids that I finally realized what had been missing. I bought an Advent wreath and as a family we started celebrating Advent as a family. Even in our busy lives we take time to stop and share what is going on in our lives, how God is leading us and how we are preparing for the season. My girls are 7 this year and they are starting to look forward to our Sunday night celebrations. As a family this is a great time.

Advent is also a time to refocus, to remember and to honor God, so every year I (just me because I would never impose anything on anyone) combine the celebration of Advent with the act of fasting. Now don't get all excited I'm going to go all freaky and judgemental on you. Fasting is denying something physical (whether it be food or beverage, an activity or something you value) to glorify God and go deeper with Him in the spirit. I use this time to do some "house cleaning" if you will and get rid of all the baggage and clutter in my life, by going the full 4 weeks without whatever I have chosen to fast. It's not dangerous I'm not going on a hunger strike here. Every year I choose something harder to deny and this year is no different. By fasting I remove something and replace it with God, I become fully dependant on Him to get me through it, I focus on Him instead of the item chosen to fast. This year will be my hardest ever I am choosing to fast soft drinks, junk food (including donuts, Timbits, prepackaged deserts, chips and chocolate bars) and snacking after 8pm! This is going to be very tough for me but in the end I will come out on top.

So as we get closer to the first Sunday of Advent I would encourage you to look in to doing something, whether it's spending time with your family praying and sharing, changing a habit or starting a Bible reading plan I would encourage you to do something. Take this time to prepare yourself for the holiday season and by the time you get to Christmas it won't be a let down it will truly be a celebration.

Talk at you soon

Marty

One or the Other or Both

I know it's been a while since I posted and I'm sorry but I tried something this summer, an expirement if you will, and based on the results this experiment would show me where I would go with the blog. I made the decision sometime in April or May that it would have to be either, or but it can't be both! I would either make an effort to do some face to face contact which would mean no electronic social media help (blogs, facebook twitter etc...) OR really focus on social media and cut back on my face to face contact. The decision was made, face to face was the way to go after all it was more personal, more hands on and from what I thought a better way to go. Problem was that, it was more work, more time away from family and friends but mostly it was less efficient. I couldn't reach 1/10 of the people I would have reached using the social media. I could only be in 1 place at a time. It was awesome spending time with that person but then I had others wondering what was going or why I didn't get a hold of them or hung out with them. Something else I noticed is how much I missed out by not being part of that social media, I missed class reunions, birthday parties and nights out with old friends that I haven't seen in years. Where was this happening you ask, well, invites posted on my wall, tweets sent to me directly and emails forwarded to an address that I don't check very often. But as much as I missed out I can't stop meeting people and make the same mistake by going all electronic social media. I can't live in a virtual world connecting and making friends with people I don't even know. I can't spend my days with my face in my laptop tweeting every little thing I do or could have done and let the world pass me by. So what can I do?
I think the word I'm looking for is balance! It doesn't have to be EITHER, OR it can and needs to be BOTH! I need to find a happy medium but how? That's the real question how do we get that healthy middle? How can I stay connected with people and yet still make time for family and friends. Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try different things with this blog, my Facebook account and my twitter and hopefully I'll be able to find a happy middle. Starting this Friday and going all weekend I'm doing a technology and social media black out and I'm going to write out (that's right you saw correctly write out) an action plan to try and find a way to use both face to face time and social media. Can it be done, yes it can, how well that's the real question. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have better direction, clear focus and a renewed heart.

Thanks for you patience and look forward to hearing from you.

Marty

Study and Teach vs. Teach to Study

Sometimes it's just better to let someone else say it in his own words. I got this post this morning and for some reason it really got me thinking. I love how it is written and the lesson behind it. Please take the time to read it and let it sink in and if you are interested here is the link to his blog:

http://evotional.com/

Study and Teach vs. Teach to Study from The Batterson Blog - Thoughts on Life and Leadership by Mark Batterson

I think my preaching paradigm is shifting. I've always believed that as a preacher I'm called to study the word and teach the word, but that is changing as our congregation reads through the Bible together. My job is NOT to just study and teach the Bible. My job is to teach our congregation to study the Bible. That is a subtle yet huge difference. The prior approach leads to spiritual codependency. The latter leads to spiritual maturity.

Our journey through the Bible is called From Garden to City. And the genesis was really my rediscovery of the Bible. I read through a one-year Bible in 2009 and it changed my life. I fell in love with the word all over again. And that is our prayer for National Community Church. We want our people to love the word, delight in the word, study the word, and hunger for the word.

The longer I preach the more I realize that people don't need to hear what I have to say but they do need a word from the Lord. Sometimes that happens in a sermon via the anointing. Somewhere between words leaving my lips and hitting the ear drums of listeners, the Holy Spirit will do what the Holy Spirit does. But we also want our people to have a first-hand experience with God via His Word. I try to remind our congregation all the time: don't take my word for it, take God's Word for it. I'd rather have people hear one word from the Lord than a thousand of my sermons.

My point? Let's not just study and teach. Let's teach to study.

Image Part 2

A couple of weeks I shared my thoughts about image issues that I face as a biker. Today I want to share some thoughts on image when it comes to being a Christian. Yesterday I had the privilege to pick up and hang around a great Pastor, President of Masters College and Seminary, awesome speaker, incredible spiritual leader and all around great guy. He came to speak at Bikers Church, and what an amazing experience it was to have him there. Rob called me earlier this week and asked if I could go with him to pick our guest speaker and maybe we can grab a bite to eat before the service. I said sure it would be cool to meet someone who's been a spiritual leader for over 30 years and get to share his knowledge and experience. Everything was fine, I was really looking forward to meeting him, spend time with him, I even had some questions ready to ask him. But then I started to think, anyone who knows me, knows I shouldn't try to think, who am I going to be tonight? Am I going to be intimidating biker guy, my wannabe super christian or am I going to be me? Tough question one that I debated all day yesterday. For some stuff it was easy for others I'm still not sure. Here's my list I hope you can relate.

Clothes: Easy - biker - jeans t-shirt but hey no stains so noticeable improvement.
Vehicle: Again easy - biker - Pathfinder a lot cooler than the Kia minivan.
Attitude: I gotta be me - joking but not annoying I hope.
Driving skills: Super Christian didn't want him praying the whole way to church.

Those were pretty easy and not too much thought given these next ones are the hard ones. I'm even second guessing my own choices:

Music: Biker me wants Chez or Virgin Radio, Regular me wants Bob FM (love the 80's hair bands) and the super Christian me thinks maybe worship music CHRI in Ottawa. I really struggled with this one all day and as I see him and Rob coming towards the car I changed the station about 12 times, AAAAAAHHHH they’re getting closer make a decision, make it now what do you choose come on hurry up!!!! The door opens and finally I break I turned the radio off! Woohoo Marty 1 - Over thinking 0!

Conversation: Biker me wants to intimidate by sharing my testimony and life choices, Regular me just wants to crack jokes and keep the conversation superficial but Super Christian me wants to get into a deep theological discussion on the history of the PAOC, their values and statement of faith, the early church, oh and maybe throw in a couple of Jesus statements when the opportunity arises. Decision was made for me he asked me; about me (my favorite subject).

Eating: Biker me wants a 12oz rib steak!!! Regular me wants a burger and fries and Super Christian me wants a salad because that's what everybody else was eating! I have to admit the SC won this time I had a Greek salad and was hungry 15 minutes later.

Once I got home and thought about this I realized that we, or should I say, I spend way to much time and effort trying to figure out who I am. There is a bit of me in all those "characters" in my life and maybe that's who I am part biker, part kid and part super Christian. The trick is to know when to use the correct part for the correct situation.

Talk at you later

Marty

Is Knowledge Power?

Sometimes it's just better to let someone else say it in his own words. I got this from Donald Miller's blog and I didn't want to ruin it by using my own words. I hope you enjoy and appreciate his post as much as I did. I would also encourage you to view his blog here http://donmilleris.com.

Years ago, when I worked at a small publishing company outside Portland, I’d get together every couple days with a former seminary professor named Ross Tunnell. Ross had left seminary work and was doing graphic design, but was widely considered to be one of the smarter Old Testament teachers in Portland. I made a deal with Ross, saying that if I bought lunch, he’d teach me the old testament. And Ross took me up on that offer. We probably met more than fifty times over two years. It was a terrific arrangement.

Ross passed away only a few months ago and I’ve been thinking about those lunches, of all that I learned. But last night I remembered the greatest lesson Ross ever taught me. I was thinking about this lesson because while surfing around on the internet, I saw a minister somewhere speaking very arrogantly about how he had some bit of theology figured out and somebody else didn’t. I think maybe it was a moment of weakness for said minister, but nevertheless it helped me remember something Ross once said.

We were driving back from a conference in Salem and I was going off about some bit of scripture, explaining it to Ross as though he’d never come to the same revelation. I must have talked for about ten minutes, perhaps condescendingly (a way of speaking that prevents true dialogue, and also prevents anybody from disagreeing with you, at least in public) and Ross just sat there and listened. I don’t even recall what scripture I was talking about, but when I was done, and when I looked over at Ross to give an affirmation to my unparalleled intellect, he sat quiet. Finally, I asked what he thought. And Ross just stared straight ahead and said “I think knowledge puffs up.”

I was embarrassed, to say the least. There have been a thousand times since, though, that I wish Ross was standing next to me when I’ve made equally as embarrassing tirades.

Of our fifty or more meetings, that’s the lesson I remember best: Knowledge puffs up.

And I think this is the thing that ruins many a seminary student. Knowledge. It’s not that knowledge is bad, it isn’t, it’s good, very good according to Solomon. It’s just that knowledge is incredibly powerful and dangerous. It has to be handled with care, like a radioactive material. It can easily explode and kill many, pushing people away from the church (unless of course they agree with you.)

A good test for me is to come back to the fruits of the spirit. Is my knowledge producing these characteristics: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control?

If we acquire knowledge before we are emotionally healthy, that is if we are insecure, we are going to use it to boost our own ego and compare ourselves to others. The desire for knowledge will be like a need for a drug, then, pacifying a wounded spirit through comparative associations. Entire theological camps have been built and bolstered by this needy, angry, gluttonous desire for knowledge. But if we have confidence, if we are secure, knowledge humbles us. We realize that we did not invent truth, we simply stumbled upon it like food on a long journey. Knowledge will then produce the fruits of the spirit.

Seeking knowledge, then, is like tending a vineyard. It’s just farming. But you aren’t the one who produced the fruit, God is. You’re just a farmer, just a guy who makes and distributes wine. It’s blue-collar work.

Ross was one of the most humble men I’ve ever met. And he was also one of the most intelligent. Those two combinations are sadly rare. These days I’m wishing I knew what he knew, in more ways than one. Goodbye old friend. And thanks for the lesson.

Is Image Everything?

This is a question that I have wrestled with for years. Being in the biker community I see it A LOT!!!! Image is everything, and I know I'm generalising, for most bikers. The kind of bike you ride, the type of clothes you wear, the type of music you listen to, the type of movies you watch etc... You can't imagine over the years how many times I've heard "You're not a real biker if...", I've read blog posts that claim to be a real biker you must do this or do that but in the end who is right and who is wrong. Who should I listen to or should I make my own decisions when it comes to being me.

Christian circles are no different when it comes to image. Churches has unwritten rules when it comes to dress codes, types of worship music, ways to pray, where to sit and who to sit with. I always thought that church was a place where you could be open and honest with people without reservation you can just let it all out and be yourself. But apparently I was wrong Image comes into play even at church.

Over the next couple of days I will share with you my image issues that I've been battling with and I truly hope you will be able to comment and give me suggestions.

Until tomorrow talk at you later.

Marty

Feeling Much Better

Hey everyone I hope you are feeling better then I was last week.  Just getting over an inner-ear infection and without getting into any details trust me it was really painful and annoying.  It felt like a mix of constant tooth ache with dizziness and a little bit of nausea added in just for kicks!  I was off work for almost the whole week just not able to do anything.  It finally started getting better during the weekend and every day this week is getting better and better.  The reason I wanted to post this is for accountability.  I've been trying to get back to the gym since some time in December and there always seems to be something stopping me.  Sometimes it's lazyness, sometimes it's an actual good reason but most of the time it's excuses, too busy, too tired, too out of shape, too much work, too little work the list goes on and on and on.  But now I figure that if I put it out there I will be accountable to you the readers of my blog, all 3 of you!!!!  I need to get back into shape, now that Christmas is over, the gyms are starting to empty out after the New Year's resolutions have all been broken and people realize it's too late to lose the weight before going on holidays down South this is the perfect time to start back up.

  As an accoutability tool I have decided want to keep you up to date with what will be happening as I get back to working out.  I will post my results and keep track of my progress online.  Please feel free to comment on anything posted and if you want to start at the same time as I am and if you want to post your results I would love to hear from you.  So I hope you will join me as I begin the long hard road to getting back in shape and maybe someday we will look back on this and laugh or cry at the results.

Talk at you later

Marty