Made To Worship

This was a note that my wife Vicki wrote about our Summer Worship Series that we did just last Sunday night. Her thoughts were so good- I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy the guest blog!!

"Something incredible happened last night at my church. (Rochester church of Christ) People came to gather for the purpose of worshiping God. Okay, some people came for the potluck beforehand, but I believe the majority of the 250+ people that walked through the doors came to church to worship. I don't say this to be coy or playful, but to give thanks to God for allowing people to be open to what we were made for!

I can't even begin to explain the buzz of energy in that "sanctuary" before even a word was spoken from the stage. We knew it was coming...we knew we would be singing our hearts out to God and we were actually EXPECTING Him to show up! Why don't we always come to the church building expecting this?!? When we come expecting to meet our Lord, He never fails us!

I watched people I have never seen comfortable enough to raise their hands in worship before, surrendering their lack of comfort to Him. I saw God in the faces of my fellow brothers and sisters as they cried to God and allowed Him to meet whatever needs they were laying at His feet during our outpourings of love to Him. As you may or may not know, I am a very expressive worshiper. I LOVE to sing to my God...it is the way I best experience my relationship with Him. I often shed tears as I sing the beautifully written words describing our God and his love for us. However, last night... last night I couldn't stop the tears from running for 2 songs straight. I was ready for Him, I was waiting for Him, I was experiencing Him...but it was when I saw Him coming down and reaching into peoples lives right before me that I was blessed by Him and could not express my joy in any other way than to cry my way through 2 songs from the stage.

I am so blessed to be at a church where people actually come to worship. My sister-in-law, in from out of town, told me on Sunday as she cried watching our "family communion" take place that she was catching a glimpse of what Heaven would be like. I knew exactly what she meant. I too have cried watching people from all walks of life genuinely embracing each other as they follow Christ's command to love one another during our unconventional 3rd service communion time (which so many people unknowingly have frowned upon). Now I realize, unfortunately, it is not always this way. In fact, I count two other times at my particular church where I've experienced worship to this degree in the last couple of years. But God, in His timing, reveals to us just one more glimpse of what we were made to do - to worship Him. And it is at times like these that I cannot wait to be experiencing the worship in Heaven. I cannot begin to fathom the emotions that will tear through and overtake me.

It is at times like these that I surrender the most to my precious Savior and thank Him for allowing us to have the honor of being in His presence even if it is just for the hour. It is at times like these that I am overwhelmingly blessed to have a husband that leads me into the throne room of the Most High where I am indulged into a better relationship with not only my Lord, but my love as well. It is at times like these that I can do little else than to sit back, shed some tears, thank God, and just be...

be myself, completely vulnerable, completely devastated, completely given over to HIM.

May God give you experiences where you realize your potential for worship to Him. May He give you the desire, the need and the knowledge that we are most complete when we are practicing our worship of Him. And, then, with this knowledge you will not hold back, but you will, in every circumstance, become more and more - made to worship."

-Vicki Lindsey

Derek Webb's Savior on Capitol Hill

If you know me, you know I'm a HUGE Derek Webb fan. He's one of those Christian artists that sing songs that no one else dares to sing. He calls people to a higher standard and challenges Christ followers with the status quo. This video below is off of his newest CD, "The Ringing Bell". For those who are feeling jaded with politics and the whole political party system. Enjoy.

Surprised By Hope

There are a few books that I can say have shaped my faith in dynamic ways. The Bible takes top rung easily (it had better, right?), but there are those other authors who have really helped put flesh on Jesus for me. N. T. Wright's latest book, "Surprised By Hope" is one of these books.

Wright aims to rethink Heaven, the resurrection, and what that means for the mission of the church. He simply unpacks te question, "What is going to happen when you die?"

"Now why would you want to do that?" you may ask, "Something so basic and foundational as heaven doesn't need to be rethought or revisited, right? Chrsitians is on the same page when it come to the resurrection and what will happen after death, right?" Wright answers no. He argues that Christians are all over the map in these matters.

This hit me hard. What do I truly believe about all this? Shouldn't a minister really have a firm grasp on all this? Well, yes and no. It's just solid enough and elusive enough for many interpretations. I don't buy into premilleniallism and I believe that we'll all be called to sit on clouds and play the harp "'neath the shade of the evergreen tree" for eternity. So, if I were to sit with a blank piece of paper and write out, based on scripture, what happens when someone dies, it would be a fairly clean sheet of paper!

I'll try to break these thoughts up over a few blogs, since there is so much information to unpack. But one thing that has stuck with me from "Surprised By hope" is the nature of Jesus' resurrection.

Jesus bodily resurrection is a foreshadowing of our own bodily resurrection. He is the first man to show us what our resurrection will look like. After Jesus was raised, they didn't recognize him at first. But after spending time with him, they saw him for who he was. He bore a resemblance to himself before his death, but was somehow transformed. He didn't need to eat, but it is recorded that he did when he was with his disciples at least once. The key word here is TRANSFORMED.

When we die, our fleshly bodies will NOT waste away and our soul (our spiritual body), will get this new form. As if we were a glowing, golden, shapeless form awaiting the resurrection to get this new form again. That's nowhere in scripture! He will use our earthly bodies and transform them! So, at the resurrection, God will take our fleshly bodies, whether you were cremated, had your legs amputated from a wreck, had hernia surgery, etc. and transform THAT into a new creation.

It brings a whole redemptive message into it, doesn't it? God will take ALL things and redeem them! We will find "Life AFTER life after death" in the resurrection.

So, I ask you this question. What do you believe happens when you die?

Hernia surgery

First of all, I want to say thank you to all who have been keeping me in your prayers. Don't stop them yet! I still have days of recovery ahead of me- so please keep praying! For those wondering what I'm talking about, let me explain.

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago about a bulge I found below my waist. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable and looked like it didn't belong there. So, I scheduled an appointment and went on in. Upon inspection, we discovered two hernias, not just one! As soon as I lifted my shirt, the doctor said, "WHOA! You have another one right there in your belly button."

Great. what did THAT mean?

Well, it simply meant that I could get two for the price of one (and that I have some bad hernia DNA in my family somewhere). Instead of waiting 4-5 years to get it fixed, he could patch up both hernias in one sitting. So, we scheduled the surgery for 2 weeks later- July 9th (which was last Wednesday morning).

Now, my birthday was only a month ago and I think to myself. "Self, are you already falling apart on me? You get a kidney stone at Winterfest and now this!?! Did my warranty expire or something? What exactly is God trying to tell me here?"

So, the morning came. Vicki, Genna, and I got up early and drove over to the hospital where I was to be cut upon. I'll be honest and say that I was a little nervous about this. I am VOLUNTARILY going to have someone wheel me into a large white room and then ALLOW doctors to hack away at me all while I am sleeping? Hmmm . . . . . notsomuch.

A little before 9AM, they call my name and I go in to be "prepped". The definition of "prepped" at a surgical center means this: You take all your clothes and put on that scrubs-ish looking cover and a hairnet. Then, they shave wherever they need to cut on you (This was just a tad uncomfortable for me). Next, they hook up any IV's that you need and then they call the family in to say their "goodbyes" and "good lucks". I was actually doing ok through all of this until I saw Genna. When she saw me in that bed with the "hospital wear" on and the IV's out of my hand, she got this troubled look on her face. Then she looked right at me and said, "Daddy?" That face broke my heart. She kept saying, "Daddy? Daddy?" over and over as if to say, "What are you doing to my dad? I don't like this!"

Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't hold it in. I started crying right there.

"Daddy's going to go sleep so he can feel better." Vicki said.

"Seepin. Better. Daddy." Genna replied, still unsure of what was happening.

They wheeled me into that large white room I had imagined earlier. They put a mask over my face and said, "Breathe 3-4 good breaths for me".

I don't think I got through three.

I awoke a couple of hours later with two new future scars all bandaged up and ready to go. Genna and Vicki came in and we shared hugs all around. With pain meds in hand, they wheeled me to the car to go home.

For the next few days, I am supposed to take really easy and let my body tell me when I am ready for more movement. So, I have my laptop, a couple of good books, the Xbox 360, and the TV to keep me busy for the next week or so. I've been catching upon movies I haven't seen yet (the Golden Compass . . . a little disappointing seeing as there was so much hype about it) and blogs I haven't read in a while. So, drop me a line and say hello if you get some time. Chances are: I'll be around!

Again, please keep me in your prayers. We love you guys!

-chris

Weekend in Chicago

We have spent the July 4th weekend with some friends in Chicago. It has been a much needed and refreshing weekend! One if the highlights was going to see Wicked: the Musical. We took the train to downtown Chicago and then had some deep dish pizza at Giordano's. One word: WOW. Next, we walked a few blocks to the Ford Oriental Theater.

Now, there is a special place in my heart for the Wizard of Oz. I grew up on the L. Frank Baum books and know the story, the characters, the minor characters, and their back stories. So, I have been interested for a while in what Wicked did to the "canon" of Oz. And though it did play with some story lines, I liked it, I REALLY liked it.

The show itself: "A-MAZ-ING"! It was an incredible performance. The set design and costumes were absolutely stunning. And the music- the music was inspiring! "Defying Gravity" is truly an addictive song. Ok, so I'm using every cliche in the book. But there are often time no words to express what you have seen. You simply need to experience for yourself. You must go see this show!

Genna got to see fireworks for the first time. We were far enough away, so she wouldn't be scared of the sound. She LOVED them. She kept saying, "LOUD" as she looked up to see the brilliant colors scatter across the sky.

We also got to try some new restaurants over the weekend. Now, we don't like to simply "go out to eat" . . . . we like to "dine". You know what I mean? There is a difference between the two. We love the experience of opening a menu and seeing the fresh takes on traditional meals or that something we've never tried before. Im fairly adventurous- so I'll try anything once. So it's been a fun weekend to try new places. We went to the Weber Grill (we saw it on Food Network, so we HAD to go!), Claimjumper, Oberweis, and Sweet Tomatoes. All unique and interesting places!

And finally, I got to go Community Christian Church. This church has been very successful with the multi-site movement. In fact, this church has been the model for Rochester's venture with Christ Church: Macomb. So, I wanted to go and see it for myself. Overall, it was a good experience. The church is in a building they lovingly call the "Yellow Box". Greeters were friendly and genuine. The smells of coffee greeted me warmly as I walked into the lobby. One thing I noticed right off the bat is their slick graphic design work. A sign stated, "EXPERIENCE" above the entrance to the auditorium- making a bold, but pointed claim. The worship was rockin' (something I don't get to do in an a cappella worship often!) and the message was a solid teaching out of Proverbs (something we don't hear that often).

Now, I'm off to the pool with the Gladd's and the fam. Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend.

Dance Party!

OK, OK, It's been awhile since I've talked about some serious things (after reading Surprised By Hope, I have a lot to talk about!), but you'll have to wait a little longer. To tide you over until then, here's another video of Genna dancing we just made.

Enjoy.