David Kenney

Wow, so it’s been 26 days of unemployment and we have not come that far. All that I have learned is don’t get fired from a non-profit because you won’t collect any $ from unemployment. My wife and I might scrape by once the reserve runs dry, maybe we won’t. My other options are get a evening or night job. Which means my wife and I won’t see each other, but at least we will make ends meet.

These past 26 days I have submitted applications at only a few places. There are lot of available pastor jobs, but that’s all they are…jobs. I don’t want a job, I want a calling, I want a church.

I had my interview with our denomination for placement and submitted my resume to a second denomination, Growing Healthy Churches . A lot of this feels like the waiting game – which is odd since my last nooma to watch was number 24, Whirlwind.

Whirlwind is Rob’s summary on the book of Job.

“A lot of us have gone through times in our lives that are difficult. Some have been small and hard to understand and some have been big and overwhelming. During these times we want answers, don’t we? We want to know why.”

But that’s the thing… I am not questioning ‘why’ right now in my life. It seems I have all the answers to ‘why’ but perhaps a question even more mysterious is… what now?

What’s next?

What do I do?

Where do I go?

Rob then proceeds to quote the entire 38th and 39th chapter of Job as God’s response [yes, for memory]. God’s answer to Job is who are you? What do you know of life? Or the future? Or time? Or creation? And in my worry about tomorrow I wonder if God would respond any differently to me that he did to Job?

Sure the future is unsure. I don’t know if I will find a calling soon, or if it will take years. I don’t know if what God has next for me is what I “think” or something entirely new.

At some point in life we all experience these places along the way.  And I could ask God to remove this time from me, but chances are he is the one who put me here in the first place, so my job is to shut up and trust.

“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.” says Job.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Twenty Three

“Why is it that often when we get what we want, we still feel empty? We work so hard to succeed, but our lives just end up becoming more about us. Can success turn on us?” ~ Rob Bell

Good Questions. Corner is a brief study on the passages in the bible that make preparations for the orphan and the widow. It’s funny that this has come up, because in the same day I watched an episode of Penn and Teller’s cable show where they denounce the morality of the bible citing Exodus 21.7

People use this passage as a means to say, “see God doesn’t care if you sell your children into slavery.” God is pro-slaves. But the passage in question isn’t directed to the parent who sells the daughter into slavery, the passage is directed to the person who accepts the daughter as a slave. The command is a command from Hebrews to Hebrews. These are not Hebrew slaves serving another country or a dominate oppressor. This is, “if you can’t pay your bills and you are forced to hire out your daughter to the person you owe money to….” And then the chapter Exodus 21 is a directive to the people who accept indentured servants as payment.

And what are the directives? After 7 years of service they get to go free – no debt should last longer than that. [some of you can't say the same thing about your credit card companies] This is a way to protect the worker.

What else? If the slave doesn’t work to your satisfaction you may not sell them off to forefingers, and last if setting her free would mean she would become homeless or an outcast, you are obligated to house and feed her until she is married or can be provided for.

These passages are to protect those who can not protect themselves. These are not passages to condone slavery or selling your children.

Corner is about seeing the other people in the world, especially the people that have no voice.

Bono once said, “God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.”

Save a corner of the world for someone else. In your consumption and consumerism begin to see the person behind you in line.

“The Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s need, but not enough to satisfy everyone’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Twenty Two

I liked Tomato, because Rob begins by talking about salsa, things that grow, being connected with the earth, the circle of life, it was very Lion King. I am not sure I understood the man with the umbrella and the red shoes, perhaps he was the symbol of the person I project, or the bad self that pulls me away from being the person I should, someone wiser than I [like my wife] will have to explain it to me.

“We learn from a young age that life is about winning and impressing. We pick up that our worth and value come from how good, how smart, and how skilled we are. So, we twist things in our favor, making us look like we have it all together.” ~ Rob Bell

A lesson for both those who live by the teachings of Christ and those who do not. Recently I watched the movie, Lord Save Us From Your Followers [more on that later] and it seemed to me that the  BIG issue with Christians today is convincing others how “right” we are. We think if we can just prove or show or convince how right we are – then people will be convinced and follow Jesus.

That same movie begins with a quote,

“No one ever converted to Christianity because they lost the argument” ~ Phillip Yancey

“Every day we have the choice to prop up these false ideas about ourselves or to let go of them. Jesus invites these parts of us to die, the parts of us that tell us our worth comes from the things we say and do. Maybe it’s only when we let these things die, that we truly begin to live.” ~ Rob Bell

The whole message of the gospel is to come and die. When we first see Jesus walking along the seashore and by the sea of Galilee, we see a Jesus calling disciples. “Follow me” he says. The initial call is familiar, friendly and available.  But towards the end of his ministry, Jesus reveals to his disciples the destination.

Where are you following Christ….to?

Because it should be the cross. If your message and your gospel isn’t a message to come and die, then your message is missing a crucial aspect. How do you move people to come and follow….all the way to the cross?

Death to self means death to being right.

Death to self means death to having all the answers.

Death to self means, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:19-20

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Twenty One

I had never actually watched “She” until today. But surprisingly I had recently preached a lesson on this touchy subject and of all people, a woman disagreed with me. She said, “nope – not my God.” As if to say, ‘her God’ had to be a man. Her God had to be male…or what? He wasn’t God?

I said, ‘what about creation? don’t you know that you were made in God’s image? Part of the image of God has to be female.’ But she wasn’t biting. There are even those who preach that it is actually the holy spirit who takes on the feminine aspects of God. I won’t say ‘gender’ or ‘role’ because I think God transcends those titles.

But why do we overlook the feminine characteristics of God?

Rob quoted a passage from Job 38:29, God says, “From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?”

Can your God give birth? Does your God have a womb?

I would hope that as a woman – you would WANT God to share aspects that you could identify with. Where does motherhood come from? Where does the desire to create life come from? Where does female intuition come from? Where do emotions and love and tenderness and softness and family and all the traits I see in my wife, my mother and my sisters come from? They come from the creator – who made the woman in his own image.

And when you leave the female out of the equation… I believe you lessen God’s presence and his voice.

I have been visiting a lot of church websites lately. When I see job postings, one of the first thing I do is check out their website. And the first page I go to is the staff page. And you know what I see? Typically as I scroll down I see.

A man

A man

A man

A man

A woman, and she is the children’s “director”

It’s rare that I see a woman youth pastor, or a woman assistant pastor, or a woman teaching pastor or heaven forbid a woman female pastor! [you go Presbyterians!!!]

What are we doing? God made BOTH male and female in his image and I believe if only one side of the conversation or the voice or the relationship is represented, then there is a part of God that has been silenced.

Wouldn’t that be sin?

How do I feel about women in ministry? Why is that even a question?

Maybe if we were more aware of the feminine imagery for God we would have a better understanding of who God is and what God is like.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Twenty

Shells is all about pursuing boldly the things that matter. Rob asks, “what have you said no to in life? Or, what have you been saying yes to?” Are we so busy in life that we end up missing out on what we are supposed to be doing? There are so many good things to do. So many good causes to join. But while we’re busy doing all these good things, are we missing out on something great?

Maybe saying no would be easier if we knew what it meant to say yes.

This comes as a great devotion for a work-a-holic like me. I can easily get pulled in 100 different directions. That’s why I am hoping for a simple church. [don't laugh it could happen] No, a simple church would be one that isn’t distracted by every ministry under the sun, or a church that didn’t try to be all things to all people, a church that knew it’s mission and knew it’s target and then boldly pursued it for all it was worth.

Nobody can answer these questions for you. Nobody can tell you what to say ‘yes’ to or tell you what is important in life, those questions have  to be answered by you. But after some deep reflection – consider this – what are you doing to make those things happen? I think we all get easily distracted with the new fall line up, with work, obligations, sending out thank you cards, video games and mowing the lawn – that our lives become lists.

Is your life a list? Do you measure your value by how much you have gotten done, or by how busy you are?

We find what is important to us by what we allow in, by what we say yes to in our lives.

We must become masters at saying NO, so that we can say YES to what truly has worth.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Nineteen

Today’s nooma was open, it’s the car accident/hospital one. In this video Rob discusses the theology of prayer and in so doing recaps a situation he has mentioned several times in his writings, why does God answer some prayers and not others? Or why does God seem to “show up” sometimes as if to imply he was somewhere else? This video is very applicable in our lives because when are we not in prayer for something?

Whenever I ask for prayer, most students just stare back. I usually comment, “does that mean your lives are perfect?” They usually laugh and a few hands go up. We are all in prayer.

But don’t fall into the trappings of thinking you don’t pray “enough.” I’ve been there to. I don’t think there is a quantity to how much we should pray, let’s not beat ourselves up if the Pastor doesn’t call us one of his “prayer warriors.” [I don't even like that phrase] I think you will find that when we are open and honest with God – with sincere hearts and sincere faith the quality of our prayers will be more dynamic.

God is doing something in the world and I want to be a part of it.

Be open to the discussion

Be in prayer

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Eighteen

Well it seems like we are in the home stretch – perhaps this is a good time to tell you that this past week I got volume 24 – so there will be an extra bonus edition of 23 days of breathing…so good show there.

Today’s nooma was name. I use this video when I teach my spiritual gifts class because it stresses the importance of being you, knowing you and being the person God designed you to be. In the video Rob talks about Jacob wrestling God [Jesus] by the Jabok. In the story God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, but only after Jacob has been away from his family for several years – hopefully coming to grips with his own identity.

I needed this daily meditation. I spend a lot of …wait let me start over.

I waste a lot of time in ministry reflecting how my church can be like Northpointe, or my preaching could be like Francis Chan or if I could just write like Brian Mclaren, or if I knew my bible like Scott McKnight, or If I knew the church like Phyllis Tickle.

If I could only be more like Rob Bell.

“Are we so concerned with what others think that we miss out on who God created us to be?”

Recently I have been doing a lot of soul searching preparing for a calling and the interview process…I mean, “Who am I?” I have done a spiritual gifts class, read Strength Finders so I know all of those testable “strengths” and “talents.”

But my INFJ certainly doesn’t reveal any divine destiny or master plan. THAT is not who God shaped me to be. The awesome thing at this point in my life is…. I don’t know.

I’m 41 and my life is just now coming into focus.

..and best of all, I am ready.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Seventeen

Today’s nooma was Today. Rob spoke about how awkward it must have been for Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus after his resurrection and having Jesus say, “do not hold on to me.” Rob’s interpretation of this event was that Jesus was saying [in so many words] “things aren’t going to be the same as they used to be.”

It’s like people who constantly relive their “glory days.” Rob’s point was the true days of “glory” are today and tomorrow. God didn’t design us to live in our past. And this video spoke to me in a few ways – one – I have never been one of those people who did live in the past, I think because for me, my life has always gotten better and I don’t think even at 41, my life has “peaked.” Even now without a job, I still feel that my life is going somewhere exciting. My life has always gotten better, my relationship with my wife [and God] has always grown more mature. So I have never been one to look back and wish about what might have been.

Second – I think where this hit home the most for me was since my life HAS always gotten better than TODAY really is the day that the lord has made. [you know?] Even at this point of my life where I have so many questions about tomorrow, I think God still wants me to live in the today.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Sixteen

The video store was actually the beginning chapter of me starting my quest. My wife has named it, “David cleans the world.” She jokes that if I were the last man alive on earth, my sole job would be to clean the planet. At the very end of Store the man we “think” is going to loose it to anger – ends up putting a shopping cart away.

My parents raised me with the motto, “leave it better than you found it” so I have applied that practice to shopping carts. Either when I arrive or leave – I take as many shopping carts that are in my area back to the place where they should go. I figure, if you got the time to get a shopping cart, then you have the time to put them away. Most people leave them in the space next to their car, even though that “space” is an open parking space and by doing so, you have now blocked any future person from parking there. [as seen in the video]

This USED to be a thing that made me angry. Now, I have turned it into a mission. I have taken something that I am passionate about [people being considerate of others] and channeled that passion into a mission.

Rob says something very profound about anger here: “Anger is when our will is blocked.” And I think that sums it up well. The thing that pushes your buttons can either own you – and allow you to tense up and get angry when it happens, or you can channel that passion into a mission.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Fifteen

You are the gospel. That is the message of the video entitled, “you.” We always think about the gospel being the New Testament or maybe just Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But the literal “good news” was to be proclaimed and shown.

Luke 10:8

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.  Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Who would the “sick” be? The weak and the ill, Jesus says ‘Go to those who are hurting the most.’

But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

Go to a town where you are welcome – demonstrate God’s power (in this case heal) and then announce. In the video, Rob said that we’re part of a movement  that is putting the world back together… do you have that sense that feeling?

Is your understanding of the central claims of the Christian faith that it’s all about serving and not controlling or ruling?

Do you think people perceive Christians as people who serve or people who forcefully rule?

The gospel is not proving you are right and others are wrong.

The gospel is not judgment.

The gospel is supposed to be good news to the lost, the hurt, the broken, the ill, the dying, the defeated, the wayward, the unemployed….the gospel is you.

Why did God send Moses to Pharaoh? Why didn’t God just appear as an apparition or a voice? God sent Moses because God needed hands and feet, he needed a messenger, he needed a person to deliver…the news.

And what was the news?

“Let my people go.”

It was a message of freedom and deliverance.

It was a message of hope.

Ask yourself, how much of a message of hope are you? How much is your living “gospel” a message of restoration and freedom?

Jesus says to us, “demonstrate my love and announce my love.” And we do that with our lips, our hands and our feet.

You are the gospel of Christ.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Fourteen

This is the first nooma video where Rob speaks to what “nooma” actually is.  Nooma is the Greek word for “breath” and is also the same word used for the word “spirit.” In talking about the creation story, Rob correlates that when humanity took it’s first breath, this was simultaneous of us also being filled with the spirit of God.

God’s name is virtually unpronounceable; made up of vowels that almost begin to sound like breathing when spoken.

What is the name of God? Is it actually the sound of breathing?

I would even go a step further. At the end of the gospels, the scriptures record that Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “receive the holy spirit.” Now, why do we translate it this way? Again, it is the same word. Doesn’t it make MORE sense that he breathed on his students and said, “recieve the holy breath” signifying a NEW creation?

The creation of his church?

The point is this: you and I are spiritual beings, created in the image of God and filled with the very spirit of God. You, me, we are all “spiritual” and there is no separating that from any other aspect [albeit secular] of our life.  This is why God asks that we keep ourselves clean and pure and set apart – it is not because these things and attitudes are “good for us” but because we are made in God’s image and when we act in defiance of that image, or we bring shame to that creation, we sin.

But our focus should never be where we fall short, if anything we need to concentrate more on our breathing – on our God connection. When we worry and become anxious, the first thing we should stop and do, is breathe.

When giving birth, those in attendance want the mother to breathe

When a doctor checks your vitals, they want you to breathe deeply

When you exercise, it is important to breathe correctly.

If someone is unconscious, the first thing you check is their breathing….

Breath is connected to life and to living – just as God is connected to life and to living.

“What’s that? You’re not a spiritual person?”

“Are you alive?”

“too late…”

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Thirteen

In “Rich” Rob talks about the blessing that we in America have received from God – and he asks how then are we a blessing to others? How can we be people who are more generous?

Currently, the United States gives 4/10 of 1% to world poverty

And I’m sure we all know about the starving children in Africa, the wars and the poor all over the world… but what about here in America? We have poor right next door…

1 out of every 6 children in America are poor.

[That’s 13 million children here in the U.S.]

36 million people live below the poverty line

[That’s a traditional family of 4 living on 18K a year].

36 million people – that’s more people than live in any one state.

4 million families have members who skip daily meals.

And 45 million people in America have no health insurance.

[8.4 million of those are children]

And 14 million families have critical household needs like diapers, rent and the weekly threat of becoming homeless.

We need to do more than service poverty in America, or to throw money at it. We need to “solve” it. I think “the third way” would be to eliminate poverty forever. Both sides need to come together and invent new ways of taking care of this nation’s poor.

If we are going to fix poverty both locally and globally, it’s going to happen through a country driven by good rather than by greed.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Twelve

“Matthew” is the story of  Matthew Winfield Diederich, class of 1991, Matthew was a photographer at Image Domain and also worked as a film Gaffer. He also played guitar and other instruments in a band called Millbrook. Matthew was survived by his brother Peter, and his parents Laura Purkey and Paul Diederich.

On November 17th, 2004 Matthew was hit by an elderly driver while exiting his truck in front of his residence in Arcadia. He suffered major head trauma in addition to several broken bones and lacerations, and was rushed to a Hospital in Pasadena. One of his nurses was a classmate who had worked very hard to help Matthew. But, despite all the work and prayers, Matthew passed the next day. He was 27. His organs were donated, and a school in Ethiopia was built in his name.

In this video, Rob addresses the reality of pain and suffering through the loss of someone. He advises that this event be something that we experience and not push through too quickly. Watching this video I thought how it would be approproate to “bundle” this DVD with Rob’s book “Drops Like Stars.” These two items would make great gifts for people you know who are experiencing grief or suffering.

Ultimately know that we worship a God who suffers with us. God is not some displaced figure on a cloud who is unaware or unconcerned with our trials. Jesus stepped into the lives of those around him and the bible records that he “wept” when those around him were crying.

Take the moments it requires to lament.

Though painful those times are important to our lives and to the healing of our hearts.

You can send donations in Memory of Matthew by visiting: http://www.firstgiving.com/rememberingmatthew

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Eleven

Today’s nooma video was “Rhythm” and watching it, I kept having thoughts about my brother. He is a drummer and an avid music aficionado.  He can listen and understand music better than anyone I know. And Rob was talking about being in sync [it's easier to spell than rhythm] with God so that we recognize and feel and move with God in our lives.

When we each talk about God, we add our own theology to the conversation.

My brother has been wrestling with his own theology for quite some time.  Often he will say something totally profound and I will just raise my eyebrows and shake my head and think, “Wow! It’s amazing how even searching Christians can come up with such deep and profound insight.”

And other times he will go down these trails and alleys and show me his journey and I will wonder where he is off to.

I am writing a sermon on backsliding right now and I am struggling with what we understand it to be. Is it people who have pulled away from God and who do not believe anymore, or is it people who are just out of step, off the path, no longer in rhythm anymore?

You know what I am saying?

Is it sinners?

Or people who reject God completely?

One blogger defined Rhythm like this: The main premise was that we all hear a song, the one God and creation sings but at times it’s difficult for us to be tuned in properly.  When we are in tune with God, and in harmony with all the rest of creation, it feels so right…

And I would agree and I think THAT is why some people say that God helped them find things on sale, or helped them find a parking space. Not because I believe God is DOING those things, but because when we are in step with God, suddenly everything looks like God is there.

God is Here.

And when we are in rhythm with that – when we are in sync with God, then suddenly it all sounds beautiful. And that isn’t to say there won’t be difficulty or that we won’t experience pain, but that’s the great thing about being in an orchestra. When I “sin” and miss my note – the entire orchestra is there to cover my mistake and help bring me back. The conductor leads and I follow.

I want my brother to find his rhythm with God. I think God has a wonderful place for him and certainly God needs drummers.

So just because I am unemployed right now, certainly doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. One of my goals is to spend a lot of time in meditation and prayer, in the word and just discerning some next steps for me and my family. One of those meditations is going to be 23 days of breathing.

“So…you’re going to sit around the house and breathe all day? Real productive, David.”

No, no…. I actually own the first 23 Nooma videos by Rob Bell and I  decided to watch one a day for 23 days and then use that as my inspiration for my daily 200 words here. And since ‘nooma’ means ’spirit’ or ‘breath’ I am calling it 23 days of breathing.

Day Ten

Today’s video was “Lump.” This is the story of the little white ball and the little white lie. It was Rob’s quick attempt to let his viewers know that there is nothing that anyone can do to make God love them less- and this is truly a perfect video to come after bullhorn. On the one hand you have the people who condemn lost people – and on the other side you have the lost people [symbolized by Rob's eldest son] who hide as a lump under the covers in fear of reprisal.

Judgement

Withdrawl

Acusations

Retreat

It’s a natural response.  Coming home from work, Rob pondered in the car about how he would approach his son.  Clearly his son had done something wrong and clearly his son felt bad [felt guilty] about it. But what Rob didn’t do was continue the guilt process or speak into his son about how bad or wrong he was.

Rob approached his son first with love. And that was my point yesterday when I was talking about bullhorn.

If we don’t evengelize out of a center of love, then why are we doing it?

If our churches don’t first seek to love their communities or their members, is it any wonder why they don’t grow?

Why would we do anything and slap God’s name on it, if it didn’t begin and end with love?

The point of lump isn’t “don’t lie.” The point of lump is “OK, so you have lied, or done something at some time in your life where now you feel distant from God. The good news is that he still loves you and there is nothing you could do to make him love you less.”

Ironically I am writing a sermon on backsliding this week. I don’t know why but I have never really liked that word and it is part of our christian vocabulary, but what is the truth in it? Is backsliding a period in our lives, or does it happen a little bit every day?

Are we really sliding backwards, away from God? And when we are moving forward, is it God we are moving towards or is it something else? Eternal life? Perfection? Personal satisfaction?

Or are we just sliding away from our own expectations? I think we as Christians can become the lump even when we haven’t necessarily sinned, but we just feel we haven’t kept up on the long list of what we think it means to be a christian.

Pray

Go to church

Read your bible

Have a quiet time

Meditate

Journal

Those are a lot of plates to spin while also…

raising a family

going to work

managing your finances

taking care of your body

relaxing

sleeping

eating

Is it backsliding if I just can’t squeeze it all in? Is God mad if I only read my bible 3x a week, or 2x a week or 2x a month? “I’m sorry I have pulled away from you, Lord”

Is that really what is going on here? Because you can’t keep up the exhaustive list, because the burden of following Christ also becomes a chore, does that mean we have done something wrong?…

…or is what is “wrong” the fact that we have made following Jesus a chore?

Remember, there is nothing you can do to make God love you less.

Does God want us to read our bible every day, or does he want our heart?

I can’t keep up my long list of personal expectations either. Stuff slips through the cracks every day, I got the same 24 hours to work with just like you. So rejoice knowing God loves you, regardless of what you accomplish [or don't accomplish].

We don’t earn God’s love.

And he doesn’t remove his love when we are bad…or forgetful…or busy.