Lyrics

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Verse 1:
Here I am
Here I stand
Lord, my life is in your hands
Lord, I’m longing to see
Your desires revealed in me
I give myself away

Verse 2:
Take my heart
Take my life
As a living sacrifice
All my dreams all my plans
Lord I place them in your hands

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Bridge(7X):
My life is not my own
To you I belong
I give myself, I give myself to you

Photo By B. Clark ©2010

Luke 14:25-33 – The Cost of Discipleship

Yesterday I had this passage reintroduced to me in a way that has challenged me to the core.  The backdrop of this message is Jesus speaking to the crowds about what it really costs to follow him.  He gives several examples of people who wisely count the cost of an effort (a builder building a tower or a king going to war) to be sure that they can see it through to completion.

In the season of life I’m in right now, I’ve often questioned if many of the things that I hope for are worth the effort under my current circumstances.  I love my church, family, and friends but I’ve been overwhelmed with what it takes to support and participate in these relationships for various reasons that I won’t dig too deeply into right now.  The point is that I’d grown weary – and didn’t know if I had the strength to go on to completion.

Then the reminder comes: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” –John 6:44 and the verse from Luke shines in a new light.  The preacher shared with us that some scholars have interpreted that passage to also say that God has counted the cost of making us disciples of Christ and determined that we had what it takes to see that calling to completion – not by our own efforts, but by faith through grace.  For me, what was beginning to seem like an option that was too costly to pursue suddenly becomes the only option worth living for.  While it doesn’t make the effort easier, I realize that someone greater than me is believing in me and cheering me on.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. - Hebrews 12:1-3

Lord, thank you for believing in me… for standing by and cheering me on… and for giving me a community of believers who are pursuing your high calling as well.  — Amen

Photo: Jon Klinepeter - by S. Bailey © 2010

On Sunday, August 15, 2010 – my church,  Willow Chicago welcomed our new Campus Pastor, Jon Klinepeter and his family.  Below are bits of the message he shared with our congregation on Sunday.

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The Kingdom of God is not just a future certainty but a present reality.

When we align ourselves with the love of Jesus – we are aligning ourselves with the Kingdom of God.

Every time there was a societal or religious margin that told someone they didn’t belong, Jesus went beyond it. Jesus’ love knew no margin based on background, ethnicity, sin choices… Jesus never met anyone who was beyond his love. There wasn’t a margin that Jesus wouldn’t crash through to show his love for someone.

Love breaks the rules and is somewhat unapologetic about it. It says to religious and social rules “I don’t care!” Choosing the Kingdom of God makes us appear foolish, child-like, dangerous, and unwise. How naïve and crazy Jesus must have looked and felt on the cross.

I want other churches to think we are crazy… because I don’t care what other churches think of us.

If the lost in this city think that we are amazing at loving -then we are living out what God has for us.  If the poor and broken in this city know that our love is not just theoretical in prayer, but is tangible in action, then we are arriving at what God has for us. If the gay community in this city feels first our Love, then we are arriving at the kind of community that God has for us.

To the outcasts, the single moms, the people who are told they don’t matter, the people who live in neighborhoods where they are told that the color of their skin defines what they will ever be, we’re not going to just reach a hand. We will step beyond the margins and embrace them in our Kingdom of Love.

We break all the rules… especially the religious ones. We will infuse the sacrificial love of Jesus into our city.
–Jon Klinepeter

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I’m excited about the possibilities of how God will continue to use Willow Chicago.  I’ve only had a few brief conversations with him, but already I see he has a great heart for compassion and reconciliation that is bold and authentic.   If you would like to check out the audio of the full message it can be downloaded or streamed here: The Kingdom of God

I’d love to hear your perspective – as I’m sure there are factors that I’m missing in this debate.

Check out this video walk through of the distance from ground zero : Matt Sledge: Just How Far Is the “Ground Zero Mosque” From Ground Zero?.

Can you share with me your thoughts on this issue?

I’m spending Thursday and Friday getting the recharge of my year in the Global Leadership Summit.  The  summit isbeamed live via satalite to over 400 locations Across North America.  This conference is for every kind of leader “church” and “secular”

Take a look at some of the conversations going on now:

Hey Friends and Family,

I just wanted to share a blog post that beautifully sums up the “I’m Sorry” campaign I participated in at the Gay Pride parade in Chicago this past Sunday with The Marin Foundation.  The echoing reactions have been powerful and people across the country have been inspired to take action toward reconciliation with the Gay community.

From Nathan’s Blog Post:

…
“What I saw and experienced at Pride 2010 was the beginning of reconciliation. It was in the shocked faces of gay men and women who did not ever think Christians would apologize to them.”

It’s actions like this that I think are essential to restoring broken relationships with the disenfranchised.  I don’t think one has to argue or debate the religious beliefs about homosexuality to say from one individual or group to another “I’m sorry for what I / we have done to hurt you”. If living out life as Christ would live in our current circumstances is our goal, then I think this speaks to the reality of what that might look like.

Even to those that say that this is a “nice try” or “just a start” I think that our actions as a group as well as individually will show in the long run how authentic our actions are.  The reality is that no single event that any of us could do is going to undo all the wrong and balance society into perfect harmony.  However, we can use the best of what we have to move in that direction.

Please share your thoughts and questions and be sure to check out Nathan’s blog here.

(Photo Credit: Michelle at maladjustedmedia.com)

Would Darren “Do The Church Dance”? Anyone who knows me well would probably quickly say “YES” because I’m known to dance – and on occasion break a sweat doing so.  But the continued enjoyment of dancing hasn’t come without much consideration in my Christian life.  In fact, when I first had my born-again experience in 1998, I quickly stopped dancing all-together because I associated it with being “worldly” and leading to “sinful behavior”.  That was my conviction then, but it was probably fueled more by zeal and shallow thinking.  It’s probably didn’t help much that the church I was part of at the time didn’t condone any dance other than that modified two-step or an equivalent of bucking around wildly. (Full disclosure… I could “cut a step” with the rest of ‘em!)

However, as I grew and studied the word, I came to realize that dance (and music) aren’t strictly the devil’s territory.  I eventually found a renewed desire to express myself through dance – and to do so in praise to God.   I also learned that much of what we disdain in church has more to do with our cultural objections (and fears) than with transcendent biblical truth.

I posted the “Do The Church Dance” video on my Facebook page and (as to be expected) was met with mixed reactions.  I’m also following the comments on pages of several friends who posted it.  Mostly there are LOL’s about the video, but by the comments a few people have taken offense.  I’m curious to get others perspective on why this is offensive to them.  Many seem to consider this ‘inappropriate’ for church – and while I wouldn’t lead a congregation in a round of it, I don’t think it’s ‘wrong’ or making fun of the church.  (They do a STRING of dances you can see in many African-American churches on any given Sunday!)

On one of the comment threads, I shared this in considering the opinion that church should be reverent/reserved.

Listening to the lyrics (while not life changing) he talked about living his life differently than the way his contemporaries are living. I think he also is encouraging people to dance and express themselves in the dance style that is familiar to them – while incorporating some ‘moves’ from the previous generations.

I think the modern “hip-hop” styling and dancing may be challenging to many – especially for people from traditionally reverent worship communities. But this is true in the same way that the introduction of the Hammond B-3 organ was considered the devil’s instrument and inappropriate for the church (the “B” stood for BAR – like where people go to Drink).

I think people generally are cautious about cultural things that relate back to areas that were sinful for them in the past and for good reason.  We can’t just go about life without giving consideration to what influences us.  But in considering history, I think this will pan out in similar ways to the contributions of Thomas Dorsey (great video link!) and Mahalia Jackson, or more recently songs like “Oh Happy Day” – in their time, they were considered worldly and inappropriate – but today they are “traditional” and “old school” church!

What are your thoughts?  Would you defend or support releases like “Do The Church Dance”?

Check out the above link to AfroSpear – a blog where I found powerful yet simple video that inspired this post.

I’m becoming more and more interested in the dynamics of story. Not just in literary form but also in music, drama, video, and cultural traditions.  Our worldviews are built on the stories we’ve heard and accepted.  History exists as a collection of stories.  We long to live the kind of life that makes a great story someday after we’re gone.

What also must be considered is the fact that stories are often told from a single perspective.  We often gain new understanding when we hear a story from another perspective – even if the story has been told to us for ages.

I just wanted to share an article I stumbled upon at Salon.com.  I’ve heard Tim Wise speak on the subject as well as a dear friend who is a College professor expound on these topics.  It’s a good non-sensational read.  Check it out and feel free to share your thoughts here.

I’m familiar with the history of a group of scientists coining ‘race’ and making ‘whiteness’ the next thing under God in their hierarchy of creation.  I wasn’t familiar with the origin of ‘Caucasian’ and how this so frequently has been about aesthetic beauty.

I just read this article from the Center for Democracy & Technology and thought it was very useful and reasonable in the scenarios it presents.  The article looks at the growing nature of location aware information and services and the real and needed privacy controls around these services.  This was a refreshing read after wading through the information spun by groups like PleaseRobMe.com – which was rewriting actual location aware posts from Foursquare to basically say “I’ve left and gone to ______ location, please rob my home now.”

Everyday it seems we become more aware of concerns about identity-theft, personal information accidentally being exposed, and the ever-present Big Brother seeing too much into our lives.  The reality is that today we are exposed to more information in a single day than people of the past were exposed to in their entire lifetimes.  The challenge is being wise about how this information is collected, stored, and used.

Take a look at the article and be mindful of supporting legislation and other forms of policy that support privacy ideals like these.

I’m very late on hearing this, but I certainly enjoyed it.  It seems EVERYONE was able to do a more heartfelt and compassionate musical tribute to Hati than the “We Are The World 25″ remake. Kirk Franklin is a great songwriter – especially for songs like this.  Enjoyed the vocal performances of everyone in this as well.

Check out the above link for a quick and interesting article about the Number Robin Dunbar is credited with defining. Basically, he asserts that people can only maintain about 150 meaningful relationships and beyond that the connection deteriorates.

I’d observed this same principal when I noticed how small churches that are very focused on their pastor ‘max out’ at around 200 members.  I said that in a scenario like that, there are only so many people who are able to genuinely connect to the pastor or leader. When his limit is reached, it cuts off new people to the ‘appeal’ of that community.  Those who come in after that number has been reached, never feel connected and simply drift away to another church or community.

I think it’s important that we are mindful of these kinds of numbers when we think about our own leadership and relationships.

I was booked by the United Congress of Religious and Community Organizations to do a day trip to Springfield, Illinois and photograph the convergence of several community organizations at the state capitol pushing for human rights bills that are now in the house.  It was also neat because the cover of the policy guide they produced featured my photography.

I was also able to buy a new lens this week, the Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8.  I’ve only been shooting with it for a week now, but I must say I really enjoy having something other than my 50mm f/1.8 available for low-light shooting.  I’m still editing photos from the Springfield trip, but I’ll post a few shots from that trip soon.  I also got a smaller, sling-style camera bag – this should make it easier for me to carry my camera for events or just for random photowalks – now if I could only fit my netbook into the bag I’d be unstoppable! lol.

I also spent a good deal of time over the last few weeks making arrangements for an Arts Ministry Volunteer Celebration at my church. It’s the first annual event for the newly forming umbrella of the Arts Ministry.  One of the first things that attracted me to my church was the arts – I was inspired to no end from day one! I often tell people that I came home and re-branded my business after my first visit to the church!  Anyway, the Celebration was a hit! Over 100 people came, ate what seemed like an endless supply of Pizza,  and got to know interesting facts about one another through an ice breaker my mom helped create for the event. We had more planned (like a video, presentations, etc…) but as with many things with life, not everything worked out the way we planned.  I was happy that I was able to slow-down and enjoy the moment not continually running around trying to pull things together.  It just worked I’m thankful for that!

This weekend also served as the Launch of our B-1 campaign.  B-1 is the rallying cry of our Arts Ministry.  Jesus prays in John 17:11(b) says “… so that they may all BE ONE as we are one”.  It’s our prayer and endeavor to take this to heart in how we grow in our intentional efforts to include more people and empower them to serve with their arts gifts.  I almost had a misty eyed moment as I saw more than 50 people standing on stage this Sunday wearing the tee-shirts I designed to promote this campaign.  I don’t know, it’s just something that started off as a small and fun idea and now has grown into something with limitless possibilities and outcomes.  I’m just excited.

Check out the above article for some great points about unhealthy ways we approach spirituality.  I’m currently reading The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero and it’s digging up some very key points in how we do church and relate to each other.

I know – it’s been a very long time since I’ve stopped by to share anything. Life has been filled with unexpected transitions and changes. Business has been up, down, and back up again. Church – oh my, that’ll be a series of posts. Overall there’s a lot to share here and I’m going to bring it soon. I’m also going to change the look of the site with a new design.

Hopefully all this will be visible in the coming month.

Thanks for stopping by! See ya soon!

–Darren