Our Responsibility? Live Love Out Loud!

- Picture: Tuscan hillside

You have heard people say, "Love your neighbors and hate your enemies." But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. - Matthew 5:43-45

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

I'm starting out with two scriptures this morning because it's apparent to me that God placed them in my consciousness with a purpose.

For me, there are several ways that scripture comes to mind:

• First is the simple fact that I read the Bible every morning - typically via the Upper Room daily devotional (linked via this image).
• The second way is via the ever increasing accumulation of Bible passages that have seeped into my subconscious mind over time - this is a continual process - then, sometimes, circumstance or related readings or the deliberate prompting of God's Spirit bring items from this repository to the surface.
• Another contributing factor is my concentration on God's word every Sunday. Messages from Rebekah and Tim from the pulpit, passages from my Sunday morning study group, insights with my friends on Sunday evening.
• My mid-week Men's Bible-study group always gives me a lot to chew on.
• Additionally, my privilege as a writer is to include Bible-references in much of my research and - like any good line of inquiry - one verse leads to other sources, leads to more reading, unwraps additional scripture, opens up more thinking etc. etc.

Quite often there are other factors at play, circumstances that set up my direction of study, or open my mind. This morning it was an ongoing conversation I've been having with several people about the public presentation of faith.

Typically, the loudest voices in any area (politics, religion, sports, art, literature...) tend to be from the people on the fringe. Either their extremity makes them bolder, or the media gives more attention because these folk are "colorful", or it's a mixture of both. Regardless, disproportionate attention is both required by and given to people who stake out positions that are harsh, bizarre, controversial and - largely - false.

Consequently - and this continues to "burn me up" - the growing non-Christian, un-churched and de-churched population is routinely exposed to false messages about Jesus - and often on a daily basis.

Bullhorns of the religiously oppressive:

The message that seems to be reaching "the ends of the Earth" - or at least the ends of North American culture - is not the real Gospel story. How can we respond to the mandate to make disciples when living as "Followers of The Way" is drowned out by the noise coming from the megaphones and bullhorns of the harsh, the judgmental and the religiously oppressive?

God's call for me - and this has been growing over the past few years - has been to "hold out the word of life" (Philippians 2) with more obvious passion; to live the Christ-Life out loud with more volume; to make sure that the truth about God's dramatically generous love is evident in everything that I do.

That's why these two Bible passages captured my attention this morning. The first stakes out Christ's position that the sun rises and the rain falls (and earthquakes rock and hurricanes strike and tsunamis roll....) without regard to faith or behavior or status as to "God's favor. Regardless, our opportunity (our responsibility) is to live love out loud and with powerful conviction.

Then the second passage reminded me that love need not be timid. In fact, the way we love can - and should - be a vehicle for God's power.

The Bible = good stuff. Read it every day. God's Word will change your life!

- DEREK

Enlarging my Borders in Ways "Prayer of Jabez" Fans Might Have Issues With!

"Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border!" - from the prayer of Jabez.

Sunday afternoon: Resting my brain a bit and posting a few snippets from the last couple of days.

Friday Rebekah and I drove over to Clearwater Beach to have lunch with Sally - one of my very close friends from growing up in Folkestone. She has spent a couple of weeks out at Indian Rocks every winter for the past 15 years - a connection we didn't realize until two years ago when we found each other again after more than thirty years!

Sally has travelled the world doing documentary film-making, then more recently with Help International, a Christian relief and development agency. More and more she has moved into interacting with people based on their spiritual needs and she has some amazing tales to tell!

God has used Sally in many miraculous ways, especially in places like Africa, India and Afghanistan - stories that would be difficult to believe if I didn't know her. The stories sound fantastic, but they have a ring of authenticity that is more compelling than unbelief ... or disbelief ... or the inability to believe.

Our conversation dovetailed nicely with the ongoing study my Sunday-school class is doing around the limitations Western thinking and ideology tend to place on creative thought and spiritual formation. We have placed God in a tidy - easy to manage - box, limited our engagement with the divine to stylized anthropomorphized images that feel comfortable, and thrown pretty-much everything else under the bus - or at least filed it away in our "does not fit with western cultural orthodoxy" box.

The truth turns out to be that the Bible is much more encompassing and generous that we typically allow. The challenge is going to be to learn how to read God's word in a way that continues to honor what we know while giving the Holy Spirit enough room to shake us up and lead us into deeper pathways.

The older I get (and that's a relentless progression) the more I understand that God's love is always more generous than I am. Judgement turns out to be a huge waste of spiritual and emotional energy. God's love is big enough for everyone; my task is simply to help point the way.

The best way that I can point people toward Jesus is to live the kind of life that honors such generous love and such selfless sacrifice.

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." - John 3:17

What Does God Want You to Do?

- The question of asking becomes subsumed into the imperative of being. If we live as people who are connected to/with God, then guidance becomes more a matter of living in the truth of that deep connection.

-He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

One frequently occurring "spiritual" conversation I have with people is along the lines of "What does God want me to do?" Typically, the questions are situation specific, oriented around a particular decision, and focused on ideas such as "Should I take this job?" or "Does God want me to move to this place?" "Should I try to sell my house?" or "I need God to fix this problem with my spouse... or my child... or (fill in the blank _____)...."

First, I think it's laudable that so many people want to do the right thing. Just having the mind-set of "following God's path" is a great place to be.

But, and this is - I believe - a critical distinction, I tend to think that God doesn't care two hoots where I live, what job I'm being paid for, or even if I live in a house... so long as I am loving, serving, following, praying, and impacting the world with the Christ-presence.

It's not that God doesn't care about the specifics of my life and yours. It's more that when our focus is limited to those elements we're selling ourselves (and the world) short.

Let me offer an example: It could well be that God's great, over-arching plan in 1996 was for me and Rebekah to move to Brandon, and to spend the next couple of decades exactly where we are, working through First Presbyterian Church and making a positive difference in this community...

... But, what if God's #1 plan had been for us to move to (for example) Atlanta? Or Texas? Or that church in Daytona Beach? What if we got it wrong when we came here, and God's ideal choice had been somewhere else?

I honestly don't think it matters. I think what matters is that we serve God where we are; that we live as Followers of the Way; that we seek the presence of God on a daily, a moment-by-moment, basis; that we bloom where we are planted; and that we make decisions based on the fact that we are committed to love and serve God and God's world as our first priority.

The best answer to our questions of guidance is - always - to move closer to God. I like the way Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 3. "But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."

The question of asking becomes subsumed into the imperative of being. If we live as people who are connected to/with God, then guidance becomes more a matter of living in the truth of that deep connection.

Live for Jesus; live into Jesus; be the presence of Christ in the world! We can do that here and now - and wherever we are and doing whatever job we have. Living into Jesus is so much more important than the more narrow questions we started out with.

- DEREK

33 Years Ago Today - Our First Date!

This - in italics - is the closing paragraph of today's post. But you have to read the entire page to see how I got there - DEREK

"Hi, we're Derek and Rebekah Maul; we are a work in progress! We're a living testimony to the interactive nature of love and commitment, and God's purposes, and the imperative to respond. We're enjoying a redeemed relationship. That means that we've struggled and worked hard and renovated (we still do/are/will), and we've come out with more commitment, more joy, and more love. We're passionate about our evolving love, and we're faithful to the promise of what a great relationship can be."

Thirty-three years ago today, Rebekah and I went out on our first date. I walked to her dorm and we headed over to that evening's basketball game with a group of other Stetson students.

She tells me the evening wasn't a bomb - but she wasn't that impressed either! And I say it just felt natural. No fireworks, bells, or whistles on that occasion (but we didn't have to wait long!), just the beginning of a deep and abiding friendship. Fact is, I knew from the outset that Rebekah was going to be my very best friend ever - and it turned out to be true in every sense - everything else is gravy....

So, of course, being the live-out-loud and celebrate-everything kind of people that we are (or at least try to be), Rebekah and I always remember Feb 4. We don't spend lots of money or lobby for a national holiday, but we do make sure the day receives proper recognition.

So this morning I had a vase full of fresh tulips ready to bring in to Rebekah along with her coffee, and I found just the right card, and I filled it with just the right words. Rebekah had a new coffee mug for me and a really cool card. It is enough to know that we remember with joy.

And there is so much that is cause for celebration.

Last night at my men's group (and, yes, this relevant to the above discussion!) we talked about how we tend to define ourselves in terms of what we do (or have done). "Hi, I'm a writer; I taught school for a couple of decades and I've published three books..." "Hi, I'm an engineer; I hold three patents and I built the bridge over..." "I'm a football player." "I built three subdivisions." "I won these awards for my work..."

But God - the Bible says many times over and in many ways - is more interested in the person inside than the outward appearance. God is less interested in what we've done than in who we are. Of course there's a very real sense in which who we are contributes to and shapes what we do - but what we accomplish is not the best way to define ourselves; the best way is to introduce ourselves by saying who we are.

So we practiced! One exercise involved introducing ourselves to one-another, pretending the others knew nothing about us, and then simply saying who it is that we are. No accomplishment references allowed. Believe me, for a group of North American males, that's no walk in the park! But eventually we got there. They said things such as:

• I'm a dad, sometimes I'm a good one
• I'm trustworthy - you always know where you stand with me
• I'm someone who tries really hard - sometimes that's a problem in my relationships
• I'm faithful to what I believe, and I'm passionate about what I do
• I know that without God I have nothing to boast about, I am a child of God...

There was some powerful conversation around the table when we started to talk about who we are rather than what we have done.

So today I'm wondering about the definition of our relationship? How would we introduce ourselves, Derek and Rebekah, after 33 years?

• "Hi, we're Derek and Rebekah Maul; we are a work in progress! We're a living testimony to the interactive nature of love and commitment, and God's purposes, and the imperative to respond. We're enjoying a redeemed relationship. That means that we've struggled and worked hard and renovated (we still do/are/will), and we've come out with more commitment, more joy, and more love. We're passionate about our evolving love, and we're faithful to the promise of what a great relationship can be."

My Delight is in the law of the Lord... but my head is about to explode!

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. - Psalm 1

There is so much going through my head this morning... Once in a while I like to take inventory of what's on my mind, because some kind of accounting typically helps get me moving or at least forces me to come up with a plan.

Feel free to either listen in... or just skip my blog for the day.

• Number One: I'm concerned about my cousin Linda and her family; I can't shake it from the front of my heart and soul and I don't want to. I'll be emailing her husband, Dave, right after I post this entry. Those of you who pray, please do (and ramp it up, why don't you!); those of you who don't, consider starting. Here's a link to my post about Linda before Christmas if you want the details - (click here, then scroll down to the red sports car to start reading)
• Next off I have four or five short articles to write for AllProDad.com. This is the "support for fathers" organization coach Tony Dungy has devoted so much of his efforts to. My task - this week - is to provide a lot of content for the big media blitz they have scheduled next month. Important work, to say the least.
• Along those lines - and this is funny because I'm typically far, far away from the "football metaphor" world as regards faith - I need to set aside two full hours to prep for tonight's small group meeting. I'm working through Tony Dungy's "Quiet Strength" with 14 guys... and I need to do this right.
• I'm also working on a new article for the Methodist News Service, featuring a church full with retirees that is moving into "Gen-X" environmental consciousness with a lot of conviction and inspirational vision for the future. The solar cells they're installing - for example - will save money immediately, but won't return the initial investment until many of the people involved have left this world.
• Finally - and this project simply must jump to the forefront by the beginning of next week - I'm working on the manuscript for my latest book. Ideally I'd like to give a month of concentrated "this and nothing else" to the project... but that's not going to happen!

I'm not overwhelmed - but I'm close. If my brain lights up like the picture, then I'll get very productive very quickly. But that's not a given. Creative work for a living is wonderful fun... but sometimes that switch just won't turn on!

More About the Message

This morning I'm speaking at a "United" Men's Breakfast in Zephyrhills. I've been there two of three times before and always have a good experience. Around 40 guys from several local churches gather at the Methodist fellowship hall, where they chow down, listen to a speaker, then pray together before heading into the rest of their day.

A similar ritual is repeated at my church, also Tuesday mornings - with the difference being that everyone prays in turn, just a few sentences before the next guy picks up the theme. At Zephyrhills prayer time is typically hijacked by two or three "long pray-ers." With some men the prayer content is more like a sermon, and I tend to wonder if the guy praying is possibly making sure that whatever errors I spouted during my message are effectively corrected before everyone goes home!

Regardless, I'm always glad to for my visit. Usually the gathering makes my 53 years feel very young - and they're all very gracious with pats on the back, "thank you's" and "I've been meaning to buy one of your books"!

I plan to start with a great story about a man I met on the plane last year, when I was flying out of Dallas on my way to Kansas to speak at a men's retreat.

"What are you reading," he asked, looking at the copy of "GET REAL" I was thumbing through in preparation for my talk that evening.

I told him it was my first book and explained why I was flying to Kansas.

"Ah, religion," he said. "My wife's interested in that kind of thing, you know."

So we talked, and I asked him what he was up to. It turns out he was on his way back from Miami, where he had delivered a $300,000 check to a humble family who were the beneficiaries of a trust they knew nothing about. He'd decided to fly down and surprise them with the money because it would be more fun that way.

I liked the way he was thinking!

So I asked him a couple of questions. "Did you enjoy giving them the $300,000?" and "Did they accept the money, or did they turn you away?"

"Those are ridiculous questions!" he exclaimed. "Of course they accepted the money - they were thrilled. And of course I enjoyed the experience. Why wouldn't I be excited to offer a gift like that?"

"Well," I said - "You had this 'take it or leave it' response to what I'm up to this weekend and it made me think about how I'm communicating. The truth is, Jesus-followers have something to share that's ultimately worth a lot more than a big bag of money. Yet the curious thing is... very few people who categorize themselves as "Christian" demonstrate enough enthusiasm about their life of faith to generate much interest in others..."

So we talked some more. It turns out he's a lawyer, and a former attorney-general of Kansas. He was well-known in his day, garnered national attention for boarding Amtrak trains to arrest people serving and drinking alcohol, and made headline news when he notified airlines that they could not serve liquor while flying over his state.

The guy had more stories than we had time. He was a character, and I really enjoyed our conversation.

But, once again, I was left wondering what kind of a message we Christians are really offering, when there's not much about the way we follow Jesus that seems compelling enough to offer to other people?

I'm not talking about full-Nelson witnessing... what I'm talking about is living Gospel lives. I'm talking about living as if we really are "Holding out the word of life."

If it really is worth more than $300,000 and a plane trip to Miami?

God Improvised - I joined in; we all did

Yesterday, at church God improvised and I joined in; we all did. That's what I'm talking about!

One of my great enjoyments in life is playing guitar. It's been an on-again off-again relationship over the years in terms of commitment, but always rewarding when I take the time to give it some serious attention.

My parents gave me my first - a simple nylon-stringed "folk" model - when I was a teen. All I wanted was to learn a few chords so I could play along with the singing at our youth "after-church" parties Sunday nights. I didn't even learn the names and labelled the four chords I knew #1, #2, #3 and #4 (I still have an old song book with the numbers in magic-marker, scrawled on top of the real music).

Then I'd hear something I wanted to learn, and my repertoire would expand by maybe one new configuration or one progression... or the instrument would sit in my closet for a few months, gathering dust... or I'd take weeks to get around to replacing a string... of my interest simply wandered away...

The biggest boost came at a Billy Graham event in London when I was around 18. One of the music leaders really captured my attention and, wandering through the auditorium after a mid afternoon class, I saw him putting his guitar away on the edge of the stage and he nodded a greeting.

"Hi," I said. (Actually, I'd grown up in England, so I probably said, "Hello.") "Hello, I love that move you make around the 'D' chord on a lot of your songs. How do you do that?"

"It's simple, actually," he replied. Then he pulled out his guitar - grabbed another one from a stand for me - and proceeded to give me a ten-minute tutorial."

His name was Graham Kendrick. You may have heard of him.

I touch on this theme for most of one chapter in "GET REAL: a spiritual journey for men", in fact what I'm continuing to learn about music is pretty much the outline for the entire book and the implications for my growth as a spiritual person are huge.

First, I won't/can't move forward as a guitar player unless I want to learn. Desire is fundamental to any kind of learning. The cliche goes, "You've got to have the want-to." Otherwise it's like my weekly visit to Miss Wheatly (bless her patient heart) for piano lessons - I showed up, I went through the motions, I never did my homework, she told my parents we were all wasting our time!

Next up is Discipline. I became a disciple of the guitar. The best story here is where I told my friend Don I wanted to learn the blues. Next week he showed up with a book. "Here's all you need to know," he said. I was devastated to discover it was mostly musical scales. "I don't want to memorize scales," I complained. "Where's the part where I can take off and get all bluesy?" Don smiled: "If you don't learn the scales you won't have anything to improvise from. If you don't learn the fundamentals you'll be pulling from a dry well."

Eventually, I fell in love with the guitar. This is the "Devotion" part, and by now you can tell I'm also talking about the life of faith. We'll talk about this - and my last point, "Daring", over the next couple of days.

So anyway, back to the present. Yesterday, at church, I felt in a groove. Everything flowed with a kind of a fluidity and around a sense of connection that pulled me, my fingers, my guitar, the worship, the message, my interactions with other people, what I was playing, what I was still learning, how God was speaking to me, how God was speaking through me - all together. It was a place where my wanting and my experience were the same thing.

Yesterday, at church God improvised and I joined in; we all did. That's what I'm talking about.

Peace - DEREK