by Greg

The Icing on the Cake

Last night I was discussing Sunday morning worship services with some friends who lead such an event and said something in a way I am not sure I had prior to that. I think the general thinking had been there, but the thoughts came out more coherently than I expected.

We were talking about the desire for people to really worship – which is a rather nebulous concept, I suppose – at least, in some visible, tangible way for each person there to connect with God in a meaningful way. Be it an experience, a thought, perhaps even an emotion… some authentic expression of their hearts to God, and/or something received from him.

As we discussed possible changes to the setting which might allow people the freedom, or a better opportunity for that to happen, I just realized… we’ve been here before.

Lots of churches in lots of places have tried changing the configuration of the stage, of the chairs (even going from pews to chairs), the lighting on stage, the lighting in the room – all with the goal of facilitating more participatory worship. But mostly, to no avail.

The problem is the mindset. We come expecting to be served something. We come for the good teaching, perhaps the good music. Whatever it is we’re coming for, the general mindset (even if it’s not intended) is that something will be given to you at that place, during that hour. The goal these guys had in mind was that everyone would come together and bring something. To engage. Participate. But until that is the mindset going in, it’s probably not going to happen.

I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago now who also leads such events. He was feeling the same thing. When he is leading people in singing songs of worship to God, he does not see the engagement of their hearts through their faces. That’s not always the best gauge, but he’s probably right. There’s not always the full heart connection that he’s looking for in that setting. We talked about all the reasons it could be, but I thought (and told him) probably the main one is that he’s looking for something in that one hour that is not necessarily true the the rest of the week – the other 167 hours.

If we want engaged, participatory, worship/celebration – we need to assemble worshippers.

We know what worship is. It’s not the music. It’s not the service we attend. It’s not any number of positions, incantations, genuflections, or meditations. All of those can be worship, but Romans 12 says to, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” A life lived everyday with God, in close relationship with him (see my previous post below) is the main goal, and from whence worship originates.

For so many years we’ve tried to get people to live everyday life with God through the one hour service at the end of the week, when really, that should be the culmination of a week lived with God – then that hour would be great. We’ve been doing it backwards.

I’m not sure exactly how we get to the point that the large group gathering is filled with believers who are living in, learning from, and just enjoying close relationship with Father every day of their lives. The only way is, I suppose, to, “make disciples of all nations,” as Jesus told his first group of followers to do.

Right now we “feed” people. We prepare tasty meals of truth applied nicely to life-lesson sandwiches. We sprinkle in some good music, maybe some other relevant media to spice it up a bit. And then, we send them home, until the next service. When they come back for more. Perhaps instead of feeding, what might work better would be to focus on helping people learn to be disciples. To learn to “feed” directly on the Source – the Bread of Life, the Living Water. He is who we follow, not anyone who might teach us about him, or help us “worship” him. It’s all about him.

I still don’t think there is any structure we can create, and programs we can organize that will accomplish this. I still believe we are made to relate. And in relating – as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, rather than any spiritual hierarchy – we can pass along what we have learned (and are learning) as we consistently follow God’s will, and live in close relationship with him.

I believe that as we do that, as we help people become disciples of Jesus – for real – then the church will thrive, and any large gatherings of the church will be joyous celebrations of the Life that is in us. Every day. Not just among us one hour of the week. That is just the icing on the cake!

The good news is, God is with us. Everywhere, every day.

by Greg

God With Us

You have probably seen the words, “God With Us,” around Christmas time. Perhaps along with the word, “Emmanuel.” In my mind, it conjures up images of the baby Jesus, lying in a feed box. They are Chrismas words. In fact, it’s the theme and title (sort of) of our Christmas album.

As I’ve been reading through Genesis, I’ve noticed that from the very beginning, those words have always been true.

It’s apparently not just a New Testament idea. God did not suddenly change his mind about us, deciding it would be OK to hang out with us, once he fixed everything on the cross. Certainly that moment in history was important in restoring our relationship with God (see Romans 5), but as I’ve seen again from even the very moment we chose to separate from God, he was with us.

In Genesis 2, the account of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and the serpent and the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil… yeah, that story… God was with us. He walked with them in the garden. Even when they were hiding in shame, he was there – and made them coverings.

Even when he posted angels with flaming swords at the entrance of the garden (where the Tree of Life was) God did not remain there, he was present with Adam and Eve and their kids. The next chapters are the unfolding story of how people began to multiply. There were many more people, and God was with them. We see even the story of Cain and Abel, sons of Adam & Eve… God was there to receive their offerings, it seems like he was there in person. The relationship continued, even though it was now different. There was no record of Adam or Eve bringing “offerings” to God before that.

(Interestingly, there’s no record of God asking for those yet, either…)

God even talks to Cain after he killed Abel. He gives him a mark, so that others won’t kill him. As the story unfolds, God is there – right there – throughout. Even though it’s getting worse and worse. Shouldn’t the sin scare him away?

As the story continues, it doesn’t scare him… but it does “break his heart.” It gets so bad that he resolved to get rid of everything. Start over. He chooses to save one person, because his is “righteous”. The qualifications for “righteous” were interesting to me.

He [Noah] consistently followed God’s will, and enjoyed a close relationship with him.
Genesis 6:9

We talk about having a “relationship” with Jesus today, but I don’t remember seeing that as the major qualification of “righteousness” in the Old Testament. Wasn’t it about sacrifices and offerings and repentance and all that? (Actually, Hebrews says that all of those who were “righteous” from the OT were made righteous by their faith…. hmm…)

So God found someone who “had a close relationship” with him, and proclaimed him as the only righteous person on earth. I like, also, that he “consistently” rather than “always” followed God’s will. It was about a relationship, rather than 100% obedience to a code of laws.

The biggest thing I get from the first 10 chapters of Genesis is that God is with us. From the beginning when all was perfect, through the time that we separated ourselves from him, to after that, through the cleansing of the giant Flood, and afterward… God is there. He’s not afraid to be near “sinful” people. The whole story of human history I think is one of God wanting to be in a close relationship – like with Noah – with us. That’s the point. Everything he does, everything he did from the beginning points to that.

More to come…

by Greg

The End

Well, it was a great, great season, and a great run through the NCAA tournament for my Spartans, but last night, it came to a screeching halt. Not only did they lose the game, and not only did they lose it by 17 points, they were simply a shell of who they had been all season, and through the previous 5 games in the tournament. They had more than 20 turnovers, they were dominated on the boards (they led the entire nation in rebounding margin in the 2008-2009 season) and their shooting percentage was just horrible.

Still, they kept getting to within about 15 points for the last 10 minutes of the game or so. They were playing some pretty good defense, and started to catch up in the rebound column… but it was too late, and, well… you have to hit some shots! Sheesh! 🙂

It was a great season, though. Definitely fun to see my team get so far, do so well.

The Sabres on the other hand…

They played last night, too. Actually, they played Saturday night as well. Lost both times. Pretty badly. On Saturday, to their credit, they made a valiant attempt at redeeming an awful game. They got the score to 3-2 after being down 3-0 to start the third period. Dominated the third, but lost. And it was a key loss. Had they won it, they would have tied the team directly above them, and been very much “in the hunt” for the last playoff spot.

But they did not.

So, last night, they needed to win, well, pretty much the remaining four games in the season. Tough task against one of the best teams from the Western Conference, Detroit, but it’s what they had to do. It was 0-0 through half of the game, until they allowed a power play goal… then it just crashed and burned. They ended up losing 4-1.

They still have a slight chance at making the playoffs. They would need the three teams ahead of them to lose most or all of their games, while they win all three of theirs… right. Not going to happen.

The difference between the two endings is, even though MSU was not “on their game” they still kept their heads in the game, and were sticking around to the end. The Sabres… I guess you could say they are trying, and they are “sticking around” to the end, but it also seems pretty obvious that they don’t belong. I’d look for major player turnover in the offseason for the Sabres, while the Spartans will return largely the same team of guys… meaning it should be a good season next year, too!

So, my teams are done… time to start getting ready for Buffalo Bills football!!! 🙂

by Greg

Different View of Education

Last night—after much scheming and manipulating of time and space—we were able to attend a curriculum event for a home school group of which we are members. The event offered parents a chance to share curriculum they use, why they use it, and learn from other parents as each shared what worked—and doesn’t work—for them. Jen is more into the curriculum side of things, to be sure, and was looking forward to being there. She enjoyed it thoroughly. (I occupied the kids for the duration of the meeting in various other nearby locations, waiting to get to talk with everyone after the event was over.)

Once I and my five children in tow were allowed to mingle, I had an interesting conversation with a friend who got me thinking again about what education really means to us. About what we feel is important that we instill in, pass along to our children.

We were chatting a bit about how much home schooling seems to be focused around the Mom in the family. Most of the events are planned, executed, and attended by the moms. The dads are a very secondary—albeit supportive, encouraging—part of the whole home schooling process. Much of it is just logistics. Many of the home schooling families we know consist of the Dad working a full-time job outside of the home, while the Mom works very little (or none at all) outside the home, making her the one who “teaches” the kids.

Our philosophy is slightly different. It may just be semantics, or a mindset, but we really try to “home school” as a family. Not just Jen. Not just me. But really, more as a way of life. As the Campbells.

Once on that topic, my friend asked, “So how do you do that? How do you get involved in the school part?” He really wants to, but again, logistically, just can not. Having tried many different approaches, he has resigned himself to the fact that most of the teaching has to be done by his wife, who is home with the kids.

So, since he asked, it caused me to think about what I really mean when I say that we home school as a family. I mean, I work full-time (and more) though, thankfully, it’s mainly from my home office. But I can’t be involved in the “table time” as Jen calls it. I smile at the stuff that is learned and produced there, enjoying the stories told by our kids who love such academic exercises. But what I explained—and understood better in my head as I did—was that the key is what we think of education.

Many parents who choose to home school feel varying levels of frustration because they are trying to do school at home. I’d say a lot of people assume that’s what home school is. The same subjects, courses, lessons taught by the institutional public school would also be taught—even required to be taught—to children who are “home schooled”. This is not entirely true. While it is true that we must report to the local school district what we are teaching our children (by the way, a “requirement” of which I am not all that fond) there is a good degree of latitude allowed to us in the interpretation of what meets those requirements. And, Jen is very good at assigning various things she teaches at table time, or we learn at other times, to those “requirements”.

But the best part is—and what I told my home schooling Dad friend—that stuff… the “required” learning by the state… that’s really the bonus stuff. Sure, our kids need to learn the basics. Reading, writing, arithmetic. That’s a good deal of what Jen does in “table time”. But the real education of our kids is so much more.

We want our kids to know God. We want them to know Him, not just about him. We want them to know how life works, how to treat other people. How to consider others, treating them as you’d like to be treated. How to learn discipline, and self control. Big stuff like that.

We also want them to know little stuff like how to take care of the stuff God gives you. How to cook, clean, build, repair. How to grow, prune, trim, weed. How to run a business. How to pay bills. How to not take more than God has given you (credit cards, anyone??)

Why do we think that learning ever starts and stops? We don’t take summer breaks. Or winter, or spring. We don’t take weekend breaks. Because from the moment we wake up in the morning, to the time we go to sleep…

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

That’s a good verse that many home schooling families use, but I think it applies to our view of educating our kids, too. (Though I wouldn’t say it’s complete. That covers the big stuff, as I said earlier.) But it really is an all the time, everywhere thing. And in that way, I—as much as Jen—am an active part of the education of our children. (And even of our family. Just as our children are always learning, aren’t we all? I know I am.)

Jen even actually puts stuff on doorframes. For real. 🙂

So, it’s not perfect. We don’t have all the answers, but perhaps you’re reading this because you home school, or want to, and you don’t feel qualified. Or you don’t feel like you know where to start. I think if you are a parent—and especially a parent who loves their kids, and are trying to help them “grow up right”—then you have most everything you need. All the other stuff is pretty easy to find these days. Not only do you likely have a library nearby, if you’re reading this, you also have access to the World Wide Web. (Not a bad source of information…)

Academic learning is great, and has a place. But it is not education. I still feel that is the bonus. Get the other stuff right, and then the academic stuff is icing on the cake. Build character and integrity into your kids, and even just the confidence of knowing they are loved and accepted, and the rest of the stuff will come as it needs to. And, ultimately, we don’t want our kids to just learn facts and details they can parrot back to us, we want them to learn how to learn. That will serve them much better.

I could go on about personalities and preferences (every kid is different, and we really try to follow what each of our kids is interested in, help them explore those things more) but … this post is already longer than I intended.

These words are meant as encouragement, not to condemn a different viewpoint or methodology. If you have a format (or a curriculum!) that works for you, keep at it. One of the greatest things about home schooling is that it really gives you the freedom to educate your kids as you see fit. So go for it!

For us, the Campbells, we are enjoying the journey of life, and loving training our kids in the way they should go.

by Greg

The Story of Creation

I have been wanting to intentionally, methodically read through the Old Testament again recently, and somehow chose today to start that process. I almost started in a book other than Genesis, but decided, how can you not start there?

I’m glad I did.

I noticed a few things in what I read that I wanted to write out here.

First, I noticed that there was an order to things. There was definitely a process to the story. From formless and void to separating the waters. From separating water from water (which is pretty interesting) to separating water from land. Then the lights: sun, moon & stars. Then plants, animals – also in a sequence – and then finally, people. There was an order.

Why did he do that? Why didn’t he just—POOF—make everything? How did he choose the order? Did one thing build on the other? Was each step part of his original blue print? Is God such an artist that he was even just “making it up” as he goes? Could he have been that spontaneous? Was he simply enjoying the process?

Who can know? Not I. But the fact that he built one thing upon another stuck out to me. Maybe not the way I would have done it. (But, thankfully, I’m not God.)

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

This was another cool thing I noticed. Not only did he make stuff, he made it so that the stuff could make stuff. Amazing. We can’t really imagine infusing life into anything, especially from nothing… but he infused so much life, and such a pattern, that the life he created could also re-create. Plants, fish, birds, animals, even people. He built in the ability to reproduce “of the same kind.” That really should be amazing, I think. Perhaps we’re so used to it—it’s just how it is—but, really… it is astounding.

Jesus did say, “I am the Life.”

Mostly, I noticed that God is incredible, and I hope to see him more in the pages of the Old Testament again, through the slightly dimmer vision of those who knew him before he was fully revealed in Jesus. We’re pretty lucky in that regard. Jesus – the full representation of God – made himself known, and after defeating sin, and death, and shame by dying on the cross, he got back up and lives with us today. Here. Now.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
Hebrews 1:1-3

by Greg

Scary Dream!

IE 8 for Mac?This morning, just before I woke up… I was still in a bit of a dream state. Everything seemed normal. I was talking with someone, and they wanted to show me something on their computer. It was a Mac, of course. (Just like in the movies, my dreams have a disproportionate amount of Macs to computers running Windows…)

But then…

The owner of the nice Mac clicked on a strange menu near the top right of the screen that just said “Internet” – and when they did… they selected “Browse Internet” (or something like that) from the menu and…

(Insert scary music…)

INTERNET EXPLORER 8 … FOR THE MAC CAME UP!!!

I think I actually woke up startled. Then was very happy this was just a dream. IE 8, not only running natively on a Mac, not only designed for a Mac, but… integrated into the OS?!?!? Yikes.

Must have eaten something pretty bad before bed last night…

by Greg

Made Me Smile…

Kirstie's Signature
On a lighter note, on my way home to my family yesterday afternoon (from my work that morning) I spotted a piece of paper with some drawings our five-year-old had made sometime earlier that week. I smiled at their amorphous cuteness. Fun to see what her mind and tiny hands had created.

But then I spotted her signature. Somehow, my heart welled with emotion and my smile got even bigger. (It is again as I type this.) There was something about the little dot over the “i”, and the backwards letters. The determination and pride with which they were applied to her creation, yet the beautiful, innocent simplicity in them. It was just perfect and made me so love that I get to be her Daddy. 🙂

Made me wonder if that’s how our Daddy feels when he sees our creations? Does he love to see the creations of his creations? They aren’t always spectacular, but they are unique and a piece of who we are. Doesn’t have to be art… can be anything we do or say perhaps. But is bears our signature.

And I just bet it does make him smile.

by Greg

Perhaps You Could Help?

Was talking with some friends of ours yesterday about the very recent death of their son-in-law. He was only 33 years old, and has a wife and two boys (12 and 13) who are now without their dad, who was also the one who brought in nearly all of the household income. I also found out they did not have life insurance, so their family is trying to help, but a fund has also been set up for them, and I thought I would pass that along here, in case you might be able to help them out.

To help, send donations here:

Michael and Tyler Stringer
Scholarship Fund
Five Star Bank
2425 Rochester Road
Canandaigua, NY 14424

More information available from Channel 10’s website here.

by Greg

US Government Now Running the Auto Industry? Ludicrous!

Folks, you know that I don’t often comment politically here, but this is just so completely insane that I would like to go on record here, officially, at GregsHead.net and say that we are so far from what the founders of this country intended our government to be that within a very short time (perhaps only a couple years?) our country will no longer exist as it has for over 200 years.

It’s certainly been a gradual decline over the past decades (decline into government controlling, rather than representing the people) but it’s been kicked into high gear by the election of the “rock star” president (and initially, the party wars that landed a majority of his party in the congress to help push through his very centralized, big-government policies) who is implementing plans to put us another trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) in debt. Ugh.

But I seriously can’t even believe this. (The article)

The US government is making top-level business decisions for General Motors, a private business?????? WHAT?? Why is a “task force” assembled by our federal government dictating what a private business should do?? Why? Because the dummies at the private business decided it would be a good idea to become indebted to the federal government. Makes me even more proud of Ford for standing up and saying, “No thanks.” (Commented on that here previously.)

Wow. Just… wow.

I’m inclined to be concerned for our kids, grandkids, and beyond, but recently I have been reminded of these words from the Message translation of Matthew 6:34:

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Definitely words to keep close to the front of your mind these days.

[LINK] Obama outlines plan for GM/Chrysler (Wall Street Journal)