Go With the Flow

The title pretty much describes the way I move through life. I love adventures, I hate to know the ending before I get there. In this way I am almost the complete opposite of my wife. It boggles my mind to see her get a new book and just start reading randomly through it... even the last page!

I have learned in the last few years that there are several different ways to go with the flow. I imagine "the flow" as white water rapids. I had the opportunity to go on a white water rapid ride in Colorado many years ago. It was enough of an adventure that it has stuck with me all this time. It was only a Class 3 rapid at the time (Class goes from 1 to 5), but that is still a significant amount of water moving down the river. Everyone who got into the boat was "going with the flow" no matter what. Our choices were to be passive participants just letting the river guide the boat wherever it might go, or to be active participants using the tools we had been given to guide the boat along the best course in the river.

I believe that my life is similar to that raft. I have been placed on the river in a certain time in a certain place, and life is going to move forward regardless of what I do. I can try to fight against it all (as some do in futility), or I can go with the flow. I can just sit back and let the water carry me where it will, which is a good way to get smashed up against the rocks. Or, I can use all of the tools God has given me and try to navigate a course in my boat on His river.

This is kind of how I see God working out "His plan for my life." There was a time when I thought God was directly concerned with my boat; as if my boat was the key to His plan. I don't really see it that way anymore. I believe God is in control of the river. It is going where He has planned, and nothing is going to stop it. I have a chance to join in and have a great ride... if I will listen to Him and let Him guide my boat. So, that is my life's journey; to be an active participant with God as I enjoy the great adventure of Life that He has created.

In Our Prayers

For those who don't know, one of our youth suffered a horrible loss this last week. Kayla you are in our prayers, and in our hearts. I am an only child, and so it is hard to imagine what losing a brother or sister would be like, but I know it is a grief that does not pass quickly. And, your church family will stand alongside your blood family during this time.

Sensitive Hearts

I don't have one. Truthfully my heart is more like a well-guarded castle than a flowering garden. This isn't even something I have worked on intentionally. I don't have any huge hurt in my past that I am trying to protect. I just tend to think about projects more than people. And, projects don't generally have feelings.

That is probably why God gave me a son who has a sensitive heart. I mean he is even left-handed. Can you get more flowery and artsy than that?! It has taken me a while to understand this, mostly because this sensitive kid is also very loud. He aggressively seeks his own way in the world, and when the world (namely his parents) does not conform, well bad things tend to happen. So, my kid has become one of those nice paradoxes that I love... a loud, intensely-tempered, yet very sensitive kid. I know that he is helping me look into my own heart, revealing things that God wants to work in me.

He is also helping me to remember that everything is not how it seems on the outside. Too often I give quick, shallow judgements of people based on very limited information. When people first meet my son they generally say, "Wow! That is the happiest kid I have ever seen" or "Whoa! What is up with the huge tantrum, don't you know how to parent?!" Ok, so nobody has actually said the last one, but I see them thinking it! And then I judge them based on that information ;). The fact is my kid is both of those things and way more, and unless you take the time to get to know him you will have an incomplete picture.

So, the next time I meet that incredibly rude person at Wal-Mart, perhaps I will take a moment to consider that this may not be the complete picture, and if I could see them completely as God can then I would see that they are a part of His creation and He has a plan for their life.

That's what she said

If you are thinking "The Office" right now... then good for you! But, this will likely go in a different direction then it does on that show.

I was thinking recently of the phenomenon that occurs when an "expert" says something. I don't read a ton of blogs, but I peruse some of the big ones every so often. And, I have found that many of them say the same things. Even more interesting is that normal people I meet who don't write blogs say the same things as the big important guys do. Sometimes, though, people just like to hear something from an expert, or an "unbiased" source (that just means not you :) in order to believe it.

I have been on both sides of this equation, as the "expert" and the "biased source". I have learned (at least) two things from my experience.

1. Truth is truth no matter who says it. If you can learn to listen for truth regardless of who is speaking, you will begin to discover more truth then you previously had. There are times when it pays to listen to people with proven track records (which is how you should define "expert"), but it also pays to listen to your co-worker who has watched your life for the last 5 years.

2. Truth is valuable even if I don't get credit for it. Don't you love those days when a new person enters into a conversation you have been having with a friend and says exactly what you have been saying for... years!, and the friend just "gets it" all of a sudden? I think we have all been there, and wanted to scream out, "That is exactly what I have been saying!" But, if I believe that Truth is more important than Me, then I am not so worried about who gets the credit for steering my friend in the right direction.

Jesus tells us that He is truth. The important thing is that He becomes known in this world. Whoever He chooses to reveal Himself through, and whoever gets the credit for making Him known... the most important thing is to keep Him as the most important thing.

Health is Hard

Health has been a big word in my life recently. Church health, ministry health, personal health, spiritual health, physical health, relational health. One thing that seems to remain constant through all of my discussions is that health is hard. There are some things that just come naturally in life. Health does not seem to be one of those things. Whether it is building a healthy company or building a healthy family, work is going to be involved. I am pretty sure this is linked to the natural selfishness that exists within most humans. My natural inclination is to do what comes easily. Sitting on the couch is easy, heading to the gym is hard. Doing what I want with my evening is easy, figuring out what my wife wants and doing that is hard. Having a fun conversation with someone is easy, holding them accountable for spiritual health is hard.

You get the idea. So, what motivates us to become healthy, and what helps us stick with it even though it is hard?

This will begin a new Friday Feedback section on my blog. Since I take Saturday/Sunday off this post will sit here a while. I will try to bring up a topic that allows feedback... and then turn you guys loose to feedback. I will make comments and such, assuming anyone actually joins the conversation :).

Two for one... Thursday?

Ok, to my defense Wednesday was one of those days that I started meetings about 9:30 a.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. I thought about getting on the computer when I got home, until my head hit my pillow, and then I stopped thinking about the computer.

But, the thing that was on my mind for yesterday was:

1. What we Measure becomes our Mission

We are having our annual budget talks right now, and so measurements are being decided for all of our different ministry areas. What I am discovering is that many times I don't actively measure the things that I say that I care about. I often measure the easy thing, or the flashy thing, not necessarily the crucial thing. Over time what happens is that I begin to focus more and more of my attention on those things that I measure, and they become my mission. Regardless of what I say I believe, my life will be focused on the things that receive my focus.

That statement seems pretty obvious, but many people and organizations do not live by it. Take church for example. Most church leaders would say that their mission is to reach people for Christ and see them grow up into fully-devoted followers. But, walk into almost any church in America and you will see that their most visible measures are: 1) Sunday attendance and 2) Giving. There are no measures that are focused on Spiritual Development and health, merely on attendance and giving. Certainly those are two factors of health, but are they the only two? Are they even the most important two?

I believe most churches measure attendance and giving for emotional reasons, not spiritual ones. We feel better when our numbers are "up" and we feel worse when our numbers are down. We worry about down numbers because then we don't know if we are going to meet our needs. We wonder about bills, we wonder about volunteer positions, etc.

This year we are working to increase the things we measure, and make sure that they directly relate to what we say is most important.

2. You cannot overcommunicate vision.

I learned this again last night watching my son eat his dinner. I had prepared a special treat of flaky biscuit with jelly covering. It had an obvious "top", and I cut it into finger-sized pieces. Any adult would have known that the proper way to eat it was to pick up one piece at a time (keeping the "top" side up!), and enjoy. Jared had other ideas. In the end they accomplished the same goal... eating the food, but they were much more messy! It just reminded me that because things seem obvious to me, they will not necessarily be obvious to others. And, it can get messy when a group of people set off to reach the same goal following different paths.

Two for One Tuesday!

It is not surprise to you, my loyal readers, that I missed yesterday's post! I want to pay my debt and leave you with two, yes TWO, posts today. I was going to make two actual posts, but that just did not make much sense, so instead I will give you two wonderful topics in ONE post. I know, truly amazing, and here we go!

1. The Messy Me:

We are having issues with Jared and potty training. When I say “we” I really mean “me”, because it seems like Jared does not have nearly the problem with poop in pants that I do. And, even though I know that my emotional response to his actions is detrimental… it is still hard not to get mad when he poops in his pants. I realize more and more, though, that my anger is often rooted in my own selfishness, not in his actions. His actions create work for me, work I do not enjoy. They require my time, my energy, my focus, my attention… they require me to stop thinking about me and think only about him… and not the fun him, the messy him. And, once again I see just how far separated from God I am. The love He displayed (and displays) for the Messy me was just amazing. I swear I have learned more about God through my kids than just about anything else in life. If you do not have the blessing of children of your own, spend some time around somebody else's. The chance to see yourself through God's eyes is just too important to miss!

2. Perry Noble prompted this:

About two years ago I began a book on "When Christianity is illegal in America". Since I am probably the only one interested in thinking about such a future... I just stored it away in a computer file. In that book I basically talked about the inevitable movement of the church out of the current Campus-driven model into a Home-based model. It is inevitable, regardless of what we do on Sundays. The short version is that either Christians will begin operating like pastors in their own communities and bring new life to our campuses, or our communities will turn against us and close our campuses... forcing us to become pastors in our communities.

I then wrote my little idea on what a "House" church would look like. Apparently the term is now "Missional Community" because people don't like the connotation of "House church" anymore. Whatever the tag you put on it, it will face some serious issues in America for at least a couple of reasons. I am writing about this because once again I got into this discussion just this last week with some pastors.

Issue #1 - Personal Freedom. We have too much of it for the house-model to work well. That is one reason it flourishes in places like China and the Middle East. It goes beyond just political freedom though, it is about mobility, lifestyle, mindset, and so many other things.

Issue #2 - Personal affluence. Financial need creates physical need. Physical need creates community. Sure it also creates conflict, but it creates community as well. This was true of the early church, it is true of the Chinese church and the African church and many others where the people have great physical need.

It is my personal opinion that our Freedom and Affluence in America mean that we need fewer relationships and that they can be more separated than in other cultures. I know people who have "friends" who don't even live in the same state, much less next door. We can keep up with these people easily, and since most of our relational needs are social, not economic, then it works.

That said, I still believe that a House-centered church is the way of the future. It is inevitable, because that is the way church works. It does not mean we will ever need to stop congregating at our Campuses, but church happens in community, not on campuses.

Batman: Dark Knight - Part 5

Good guys take more punches.

This seems to be a theme that many Superhero films address. There comes a point in a hero's life where he has to choose exactly what kind of hero he will be. What will it be that separates him from the villain? In this movie Batman makes the stand that he will not kill, at least not directly and not if there is anyway to avoid it. Because of that choice he often has to fight an enemy more than once, even if he wins some of those fights. (Strange how all the bad guys get away...)

So far we have a standard superhero story. Where this one differs is when Batman chooses to make the hard decisions that cost him personally. He chooses what is best for the people he is serving, not what is best for his personal reputation or his personal desires. One of the best lines of the movie is that Batman is the hero the city needs, not necessarily the one that they want.

I think those words fit very well into our own hero story. When Jesus walked this earth he was hero to many people. They thought he had come to deliver them from the tyranny of the Romans and restore Israel to a place of glory and honor. But, time after time he refused to tear down those in political power even verbally. And, in the end he surrendered himself to them to die. He was the hero that we needed, not the one that they wanted. He made the choice that no one else could make and took the punches no one else could take.

As we attempt to follow His example it should not surprise us that we often take punches in life that we could avoid. Choosing to trust people, to see the best in them, and to give even when nothing is given in return; that is a lifestyle set up to take some punches. The early disciples counted it an honor to share in suffering that was similar to Jesus'. I have to admit that their mindset is very different from my own on many days.

Thanks for reading. On Monday I will be on to another topic. And, since we only go to the theatre a couple times a year it will most likely not be a movie :).

Batman: Dark Knight - Part 4

[As I said yesterday... some spoiler today, if you are a movie purist :)]

No one is beyond hope, or beyond temptation.

I think this is one of those lessons that strangely gets harder to remember the longer one has been a Christian. After years of striving to live holy and putting a good effort into cleaning up our lives it is only natural to believe that we are just a touch above the average citizen. There really is no question that we are above the trouble makers and criminals.

One of the culminating scenes in The Dark Knight occurs when the Joker has stranded two sets of people on two ferries. Each ferry basically gets the choice of a) Blow up the other ferry before they blow you up, or b) Hope you don't get blown up before midnight... and then get blown up by the Joker. On each ferry there is a guardian holding the detonator that will (supposedly) blow up the other boat and save everyone on their own ferry. It was quite interesting to see how the writers played this story out, having a criminal step up and do something quite heroic while the "good" people voted... deciding to kill 450 other people. One caveat is that one boat was filled with criminals while the other was filled with normal citizens. Of course the boat with criminals also had police and military personnel, but apparently they did not factor in when the voting took place on the Citizen boat.

It was a moving moment when I saw it on the screen. It became even more poignant when I walked outside. You see, when we arrived at the movie theatre there was a small crowd of people that looked mostly like me... couples going to see a movie. When I left the theatre I was immediately surrounded by people who seemed to range from 12 - 17 and could only be characterized as thugs. I mean, what else do you call a 14 year old kid standing in your way as you are trying to exit a movie theatre? It was interesting to me how quickly I assumed that this mass of youth somehow wanted to harm me, or at least would take advantage if any opportunity arose. I wondered, "What if they were on a boat and I had the choice of blowing them up or trusting that they would die before blowing me up?" I think that any honest person would think, "We have to get them before they get us! You cannot trust those kids!"

I am not trying to argue for the rights of young people to congregate late at night and... loiter. But, I am trying to argue against my natural inclination to assume that I am the good person in the group and "they" (whoever they may be) are the bad persons. The truth is that given the right circumstances I can still be tempted by evil as much as any man, and it will do my heart and soul good to remember that when I have the chance to offer grace and forgiveness to my fellow man. There is one, often painful, side effect to this way of thinking... and that will be our final lesson revealed tomorrow.

Batman: Dark Knight - Part 3

[Obligatory Spoiler alert. If you care about every small detail being revealed when you see the movie and not before, then you may want to stop reading. Honestly, though... the big spoiler is coming tomorrow... so see the movie already!]

There are good people in this world; and we are not them.

I read a book by Donald Miller not too long ago called Blue Like Jazz. Honestly I did not like it at first, but I suppose it grew on me. One of the things that I often remember is his story about spending a month in the woods with pot-smoking hippies. Though he may not have agreed with all of their life choices or spiritual positions, they were the most loving, accepting, caring people he had met in his life... and he grew up going to church. It was a reminder that God created this world, and He is still present in many parts of it that we don't see or understand. Because of that we can expect to find good in this world even when we travel outside of our churches... and perhaps even because we have travelled outside our churches.

It is so easy to see the rest of the world as evil and me as good, but the fact is that without God I would have royally screwed up my life by now, and it is only by His grace that my current attempts are failing. One of the redeeming story lines throughout this latest Batman movie was that there are still good people in this world; people who will choose to do the hard thing, not just the popular thing; people who will sacrifice themselves for the good of their community. it amazes me that some of these people do not call themselves Christians. It saddens me that some people who call themselves Christian are not willing to make the same sacrifices. It convicts me when God reveals that same selfish restraint in my own heart.

Batman: Dark Knight - Part 2

We accept things that stick to the plan.

This is one of the quotes that stuck to me in the movie, and it became more interesting because the movie itself is proving the point. This movie is true to its title in that it portrays a dark world. People die. Bad things happen. But, they skate the line in such a way that people will go back and watch the movie again. Because of the huge Box Office numbers people are beginning to compare this movie to the Titanic. That is another movie that somehow told a tragic tale but wove in a story of hope and triumph. Batman does the same to a degree, but the biggest thing they do is to stick to the "rules" of what is acceptable for most people. For example, it is generally ok for people to die in a movie. Bad people can die and we don't mind. Even the occasional good person can die if it really helps bring a dramatic flair to the movie. But, if you have senseless death, or the death of children in particular... well you will see your movie drop in the Box Office because people just don't generally enjoy that, and they often won't watch it more than once.

So, at this point you might be thinking, "That is slightly interesting and completely irrelevant to my life." Let us bring it home. When I start thinking about the "plan" that I live with, it can be a bit unnerving. I live everyday with the fact that about 30,000 children will die due to causes that are completely curable. I know that people's homes get broken into, or burned down, or blown away in storms. But, it does not really become "real" to me until my house (or the house of someone I really care about) gets broken into, burned down, or blown away. This reveals my own self-centerdness, and the fact that I am willing to let other people's lives crumble and fall as long as my own world stays safe and secure.

God is very different. Scripture tells us that He lives in true safety and security, and yet He was willing to let His own world fall apart in order to come and heal my mess. He invited pain and loss into Himself in order to join me in the midst of my tragedy. And, He never stops giving of Himself until He has redeemed me and brought me back into the world He planned for me. I think that MY acceptable plan and GOD'S acceptable plan are likely very, very different.

Batman: Dark Knight - Part 1

Disappearing Pencils are creepy.

This will start a 5-part series on things we can learn from the new Batman movie. I will try my best not to add any spoilers, but for those of you who can read between the lines, well you might want to stop reading now if you don't like spoilers :).

This first lesson has to do with the Joker. I am sure by now you have heard all kinds of stories about Heath Ledger's performance here, and you can believe any of the ones that say it was outstanding. I have not seen many of his films, but it is clear this man had a certain gift that not everyone has. In this role he also gives us one of the best illustrations of our spiritual enemy that I have seen. I know we don't often talk about Satan, and in truth I don't think we need to speak of him all that often. But, it is good to be reminded of our enemy and how he operates every so often. One thing that we will see is that he loves to be your friend... right up until he kills you.

Even better he enjoys watching people as they kill each other; basically doing his work for him. It is pretty scary to think how easily we can be divided against each other... and by "we" I am talking about the human race. As Christians that should be how we should view the world. You have God on one side, Satan and all the non-God angels on the other, and Us in the middle. But, we do not often look at it that way. Even though Scripture itself tells us that we are not waging a war against flesh and blood, it is always just a bit easier to see other humans as our enemy. That scary-looking guy I pass on the street late at night is not a teammate; he is a possible rival, or even an enemy.

We have enough enemies in this life without creating new ones unnecessarily. Sure there are humans who have given themselves over to evil... and perhaps their destiny is sealed. But, let us remember who our real enemy is and who the world's redeemer is, and let us focus our energy on bringing as many of Us out of darkness and into light as we can.

Now with Subscriptions!

I heard your cries faithful readers! I also finally figured out how to add the RSS link to my blog. I still have not figured out how to USE an RSS link on other people's blogs. I have clicked the button many times, I even see a "RSS" list in my hotmail that is like 300 entries long. But, I don't get an email reminder or anything... they just sit in their own folder that I forget to check.

In any case, the two readers who asked for this can now rest assured that they will not miss a single post (or comment if you want!).

It is always nice to know that there are readers out there, but honestly I do most of this blogging more for myself than anyone else. Constant writing is a good way to keep my mind working, and it is also a good way to remember what God is doing in and around me on a consistent basis. This is really not so different from the journaling all of us have done off-and-on throughout life... it is just a journal that many people can read if they want to.

That said, please keep reading so that I do not feel like I am just talking to myself. And, if you ever have the strange desire to know what I think about a particular issue please feel free to comment on it or send me an email. As you can see the things that pass through my mind are wondrous and varied... so there are not many topics I consider "off limits". There are food combinations I consider off-limits... but that is a possible topic for another blog!

The Dark Days

I learned today that a close friend and his family will be going through some dark days. There is no way out, there is no immediate comfort, and this will be a life-changing time. In the midst of this I find myself facing another "both / and" realization. People always ask, "Did God do this?", or "Did this just happen?" If I confess that God made all that we see then at some point I have to say that Yes, God did this. And, if I believe that God created man with choice, and so not long after that creation sin and death entered the world, then I can say that Yes, this did just happen. But, even more than the darkness, what about my response to it?

Can I be fearful and faithful? Can I be angry and accepting? Can God's light be revealed through the darkness that consumes my thoughts? The words, "God is always in control; He always has a plan" do not hold much comfort when all the world is crashing down. And yet, they remain true. God is not loving because of my circumstances, God is loving regardless of them. And, God does not love me because of how I respond, God simply loves me. So, yes, I believe that I can demonstrate fear and faith, anger and acceptance, and even a trial so dark that it threatens to consume me can be used to shed God's light in my life and this world.

I will share more details in the coming months, but for now please pray for my friends, and for those in your own life who must face the darkness... that they would know they do not face it alone!

The Looooooong Middle

I am not a runner, and I won't claim to be one. But, I have run a 10k (6.2 miles). Once. Illegally, but that is a different story. Actually the whole thing is an interesting story, but I try not to be too interesting on this blog so I will save it for another day.

The point I was trying to get to is that there is this part in a run I think of as that loooooong middle part. It is exciting when you start the race and everyone is cheering and thinking about how awesome it is going to be. It is also exciting to see the finish line at the end of the race and realize that you are almost done. But, there is also this time in the middle where you are just running. One foot in front of the other, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. You have a goal, you know there is a destination. You may not be able to see it, but you know it is there and that if you stay faithful to keep putting one foot in front of the other that you will GET there. But, sometimes that long middle part can be tough to go through.

It is during these times that I find it very helpful to think about my history. During the times when I begin questioning the plans God has for my present I try to think about the way He has revealed His plans for me in the past. As I look backwards I am reminded of God's faithfulness, His goodness, and His ability to always get it right. That helps me to trust that He is still faithful, He is still good, and if I will only trust Him... He will get it right this time too.

One thing about the loooooong middle. If you are not there right now, you will be soon. You cannot be a part of an epic adventure without a long middle part. So, when you find yourself in one again, take time to look back and let it build your faith again as you keep running forward.

Thinking it Through - Part 2

I mentioned on Friday that my initial intention was to continue discussing Free Will vs. Sovereignty (predestination, whichever term you use). The classic stance is that you either have to believe that humans are free to choose or reject God, OR you have to believe that God chooses who will receive him before they even exist.

I have big problems with both of those stances when taken separately, and so I find myself more in the camp that believes both in human choice and in God choice. Let me start with my issue when you take Free Will to its final conclusion. In order for man to choose God there must be some volitional part of us that is capable, in and of itself, of doing good. What I must believe is that there is some part of me that desires God and, even more important, a part of me that is able to act on that desire. The problem arises in the multitude of Scripture that says there is no one who seeks God, no one who desires good, and Jesus himself said that no one will come to the Father unless he is first drawn by the Spirit.

So, it may seem clear then that it is God who chooses, and in that choosing sends His Spirit to woo us into relationship with Himself. There is no human choice, just a God choice, and He elects some to enter heaven. The problem here begins with the Scriptures that point out God's patience; that He longs for all to find salvation and none to enter into His wrath. Other problematic Scriptures include those that say how if we will confess Him as Lord and Believe on His name that we will be saved. But, my biggest problem is a touch more philosophical, and is grounded not in a particular passage but in the picture of God that I see painted by the entire Bible. I believe the Bible paints a picture of God as the loving Father and Creator of all. He knew everything that would happen before it did, and had a plan woven to account for all of these things before time existed. So, if I am going to take the position that God alone is responsible for who enters heaven and who does not I have to believe that He is a Creator who intentionally created things for the purpose of damning them. It would be like me choosing for one of my kids to receive my blessing and then torturing the other one for their entire life. One lives in the house and enjoys my love, the other I keep in the basement so no one can hear their screams.

It is hard even to contemplate such a thing... and I am an evil, heartless being compared to God. That makes it impossible for me to contemplate God as someone who would choose to create something merely for the purpose of torturing it for all eternity. And so, I am left with this understanding of Salvation (limited as it is due to my own limitations), in which God draws me to a point of decision, and then I choose to follow Him or to continue following myself. In the moment of my choosing He fills me with the faith I need to surrender my life to Him, and then I become His child and He begins a work on me that He will be faithful to complete.

Thinking it Through

There are many things that sound good at first, and look good on the surface; but once you spend a little time thinking about it and following the thought process to the end, you realize that this belief or system is not so good and nice as it seemed. Evolution is one example. Evolution clearly explains so many things that we see in nature (like differentiation between species). It is only natural that someone make the attempt to explain our entire existence in such a way. I mean if small amounts of time produce small changes, then perhaps large amounts of time will produce large changes. Even if you grant that (which I don't), if you follow the line of reasoning back far enough you get to a point where you have to explain how "It" got started. What made the Big Bang?

This is where some Christians come in and think that they can create a nice and neat solution that will be both Scientific and Biblical. We can say that God created the Big Bang and then used evolution as His creation tool. I don't see what this gains us besides a chance at some credibility within the current scientific community. But, even then we must be careful that we don't create more problems than we solve. One of the big problems is that Evolution generally relies upon successive generations. The assumption is that the weak die and the strong live. But, even if you read the book of Genesis as a story rather than a historical account, it is pretty clear that Death enters the scene in Chapter 3... not before. Even more important, the reason for death entering the scene is a major theme throughout the whole book. If God were to use Evolution as His creative tool, then He would have been responsible for introducing death. I suppose you could try to hold onto a belief in which the "original" evolutionary process did not include death, just a constant spectrum of ever-changing living creatures. But, then again you have to go back to the question of, "What does that really gain me?" It certainly won't garner much credibility within the scientific community, and it does not help you better understand the story of the Scripture either.

I actually intended this post to be more about Free Will and Sovereignty, but this Evolution example will hopefully set the stage for that discussion tomorrow. I believe God wants us to be thinkers, and that means moving past the surface. It also means being willing to rethink my own position when presented with evidence that contradicts it. For this particular debate it is helpful to remember that the scientific community contradicts itself about every 50 years or so... or even more often. The one thing we can be sure of is that we don't know it all. In fact, I think most serious scientists would tell you that we are continually realizing just how little we truly understand our world. So, when I am weighing evidence to form my beliefs, I rarely use scientific "truth" as one of the major weights.