Advent Conspiracy

This year as a community of believers we are setting out to restore the scandal of Christmas by replacing consumption with compassion. We discussed this last Sunday how the 'song of compassion has been drowned out by the chaos of consumption.' Sad, but true. Christmas is now all about Presents, instead of The Presence. So again, we have set out this year to steal back the meaning and the scandal of Christmas.

Here is the challenge: Buy one less gift this year, set that money aside, and give it to our special offering we are taking on Christmas Eve. Every penny of that offering is going to partner with Living Water International to dig a clean, water well in the country of India. Tens of thousands of men, women and children die every year simply because they have no clean drinking water. We are going to do our part to change that this year by building this well. It is estimated that it would take nearly 10 Billion dollars to provide clean, safe drinking water for every person living on the face of planet Earth, and yet every year in America alone we spend some 450 Billion dollars on Christmas presents that we will be bored with by summer. It is time to re-prioritize our resources don't you think?

I dream of the day when thousands of miles away, in a remote village in the country of India, there will be a group of people gathered around the village. In the midst of conversation someone will ask, 'Who dug this well? Who gave us this water?' Maybe, just maybe someone will say, 'Jesus dug this well. Jesus gave us this water'...and it will be because one small church, in one remote town in Florida decided they could survive with a few less PRESENTS, so they could share the PRESENCE OF GOD.

Will you be a part of the conspiracy?

Day of Repentance

One preacher said, 'We scream grace, but whisper repentance.' Unfortunately that is an accurate diagnosis of the church today. Grace is an easy message to share; repentance not so much. As a result repentance doesn't get much press in the church, especially from the platform. We are doing a series of messages through the 7 letters to the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3. I couldn't help but recognize this week that in 5 of the 7 letters Jesus mentions the need for the church to repent of their ways. Repentance apparently is held in high esteem by Jesus.

This week we had a 10 minute time of repentance during our worship service. Though it was a bit of an uncomfortable experience, it was one of the most powerful experiences I have been a part of as a preaching minister. Surely Jesus was pleased to see 500 people repent of their ways. My prayer is that every individual who repented this weekend will follow it up with intentional life change.

As we seek to transform our world with the story of Jesus may repentance never again be forgotten.

Highway Robbery

Last Thursday my wife Alex and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in a bit of surprising way...we went to the 'This Is It' Michael Jackson movie. I told you it is a surprising. Before you shake your head at me for not coming up with something more romantic than watching Michael Jackson moonwalk across a stage for our anniversary, please know, it was at my wife's request. Anyway, when we arrived at the theater she went to get us seats, I went to the concession stand. I stepped up and ordered a Medium Coke and a Medium Popcorn. Without smiling the teenage cashier said, 'That will be $12.00 please.' I said, 'Oh you must not have heard me. I ONLY ordered a Medium Coke and a Medium Popcorn.' With a roll of the eyes she said, 'I know what you ordered, $12.00 please.' $12? I will say the Medium Coke was so large I needed both hands to carry it, and the Medium Popcorn was so ginormous that a small child could have hidden inside the sack, but $12? As I walked away from the counter I was thinking....Highway Robbery. I am pretty sure the Cashier was thinking...Sucker.

It was a good night though.

Even at 50 Michael still had his moves.

After 4 years Alex is as beautiful as the day I met her.

And, I must say, it was the best $6 Coke I have ever had.

A Table for Four Please

Monday, October 12th, at 5:18 pm, my wife Alex and I welcomed our new son Cruz Alexander Snyder into the world. It is an indescribable experience when you lay your eyes on your child for the first time, even more so when they are placed in your arms. As I stare into Cruz's sleepy eyes my mind races with so many questions about him. What career will he have? A CEO, a Doctor, a Minister, maybe even a musician. Where will he live? Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Haiti, an unknown tribe in Africa...? Who will he marry? Will he marry? Will he prefer pizza like daddy, or veggies like mommy? (alright I think I know the answer to that one, but don't tell Alex.) Will he love early mornings or late nights? What will make him laugh? What will make him cry? What will make him smile? So many questions like these and many more. I am interested in learning the answers to all of these questions, but really there is only one question that matters to us.

Whom will he serve?

He can choose to live in Miami or Madagascar and we will be content. He can become a truck driver, marine biologist, or Chef and we will be thrilled. He can become a millionaire or make minimum wage and as long as he is happy we will be happy.

As parents our one desire for both of our sons, Cy and Cruz, is that they will choose to serve the Lord God Almighty with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength.

As long as Cruz and Cy are loving and serving Jesus, the rest is just details.

~Daddy

For those of you who do not know, my bride Alex is pregnant. Very. Like 10 months pregnant. In the midst of all the discomfort that pregnancy can bring, or so I am told (I have felt fine), she has had such a great spirit of joy and has maintained a sense of humor. We have noticed that when people see a pregnant woman it is almost as if they cannot resist asking a question, making a statement or both...and everyone says the same things over, and over, and over again. Some of them are very polite and encouraging, others, well not so much. With that said last week Alex came up with a list of 20 things you DON'T say to a pregnant woman! Hopefully these give you a good laugh they did us!

20. You are so BIG! Enormous, HUGE, any adjectives that fit- Don't use them!
19. Yep that's a boy for sure I can tell how you are carrying him.
18. Oh yep- it is a girl- I carried my daughter the same way.
17. You will NEVER make it to your due date!
16. You still haven't had that thing! (especially not 3 months before the due date)
15. When is your due date? They must have miscalculated!
14. When is your due date? Oh yea- my birthday is on the 12th, and my neighbor's is the 13th, and my bank teller's is the 18th, and my ......etc.
13. Do you mind if I touch your belly? (complete stranger)
12. I can't believe you are having your children so close together! How will you ever do it?
11. I have never seen a belly so big before! (thanks Annie, hopefully I'll win the blue ribbon at the state fair)
10. Was it planned! (there are no mistakes in the miracle of birth!)
9. Are you gonna eat ALL that?
8. Enjoy your sleep now, you'll never get any when the baby comes.
7. You look so uncomfortable.
6. Are you still tired?
5. Are you STILL eating?
4. Are you gonna get 'fixed' after this one?
3. You look like your gonna pop!
2. Any unsolicited story about the worst labor experience ever. (I've already been there, done that and don't plan on a repeat)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Don't ever, ever, ever
1. Ask if there's more than one! This is the most common, and the worst of them all! Are you sure there aren't two in there- you know it happens, There's no way that's just one- well I guess he could be a 14 pounder!

The day after she completed this list a few more comments were made that just could not be left off of the DO NOT list...

1. We could just knock your legs out from under you, and you would be like a rollie pollie that just can't get up.
2. Is it hard for you to balance? I mean how do you even walk with out falling forward?
3. Does it hurt? (to which I said a simple YES!)
4. If you get any rounder... (I was waiting for the next phrase, then what!) The threat never came!
5. And quite possibly the best- Are you scared? (NO! do you know how many women have gone before me? Including myself?)

Yes people really did make these statements. By the way when people ask, 'Is it twins?' which we are asked at least 20 times a day, with all seriousness we say, 'No, it is triplets.' We get the most sympathetic looks...sometimes we tell them we are kidding, sometimes we get the last laugh as they walk away shaking their head in disbelief.

Gettin better all the time...

Today I had the privilege of preaching the funeral service for Alex's grandfather, Howard Priddy.  He was and is a great man of God.  Over the last several years he experienced physical suffering as his body was attacked by Parkinson's.  Though his mind stayed sharp, his body was losing the battle.  Even though he was trapped in a deteriorating body, his joy never diminished.  Even in these final months when someone asked him how he was doing he would always say, 'Getting better all the time.'  From a worldly perspective that would just seem like a foolish thing to say.  After all he couldn't walk on his own, his hearing had faded, his vision was blurry, and he began losing the ability to swallow...getting better all the time?  Yes.  The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 'Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For these are light and momentary troubles compared to the eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  Therefore we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.'  

Now Howard is in Jesus' presence in heaven.  I often find myself wondering what it will be like.  I know that John says there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, but really, I wonder what it must be like.  At the risk of sounding a bit on the mystical side, though Howard is no longer living physically, I wish I could ask him one question.  I would be tempted to ask him, 'What is it like?', but instead I would simply ask, 'Howard, how you doing?'

I suppose I know what he would say...

Getting better all the time.

IT

Every now and then I will point you in the direction of some teaching you just have to hear. This is one of those times. One of the Christian leaders I respect the most is Jon Weece, Senior Minister of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky. He is blazing a trail for churches who are serious about 'being the church' instead of 'doing church.' He, along with his congregation, are ruthlessly, recklessly, unconditionally loving the city of Lexington in the name of Jesus.

Recently they have been doing a series of messages entitled 'IT' When you get some time listen to the teaching at southlandchristian.org

IT will mess up your life!

GASP! (Let me set the record straight)

As many of you know, my beautiful bride Alex is scheduled to deliver our 2nd baby boy on or around October 11th.  Though he is still in the womb we already refer to him as our son.

Well, as I have learned many times already as a communicator everything you say is up for interpretation.  Two weeks ago in my message I said, 'I am the father of two boys...'  I didn't notice it at the time, but after the service several people came to me and said did you hear the gasp of surprise in the audience when you mentioned your 'two sons?'  They were inquiring about how he was doing, and when he had been born.  I was totally confused.  Finally the light bulb turned on and I realized the confusion  I had unintentionally and unknowingly created...

So let me set the record straight.  Our 2nd son, Cruz Alexander, is still living inside his mothers womb.  You will be the first to know when he is actually born.  By the way my official prediction is...October 5th.

Furious Love

...so that phrase probably seems a bit confusing.  Furious love?  Those two words don't seem like they belong next to each other, in fact that may even seem to be contradictory.  Do a little word association....when you read 'furious' what is the first thought that comes to your mind?  It is likely that you associate 'furious' with anger, or rage, or hate, or animosity...so 'furious love' just doesn't seem to make sense.  Furious can be defined in a variety of ways, yes most of those have a negative connotation, but it also can simply mean 'unrestrained.'  With that definition in mind 'furious' may be the best adjective to describe the love of God.  The love of God is wild, irresponsible, irrational, limitless, white-hot, intense, reckless and unconditional.  It is a furious love.

Brennan Manning (I highly recommend his books to anyone who would like God to mess up their life in a good way) said it this way, '

'The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea.  When it imposes itself on mind and heart with the stark reality of ontological truth, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, and who you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you, and what makes your heart happy.'

Furious.

Love.

Changes Everything.

Fire and Brimstone...well just Fire Truck actually!

Last Sunday morning, 8:58 am, two minutes before first service was set to begin I was standing back stage with the worship team praying when the fire alarm went off. Isn't it interesting that when a fire alarm goes off the first response is, 'Who has the keys to turn it off?' Fortunately it was not a real fire. A fan in the duct work had burnt up or yada, yada, yada. Not really sure what happened, but it was an interesting sight to see 200 men, women and children standing outside the church building as the fire truck pulled up. After a short walk through the fire personnel gave the 'A-okay' to enter the building. We had to cut two or three songs on the fly (of course I wasn't going to make cuts in the sermon), but it was a powerful time of worship.

You just never know what might happen on a Sunday morning. Someday I may tell you about the day I was preaching in a small country church in Kansas when a bird flew right through the front door and made a beeline for my forehead. Well I guess I just told you.

Fan vs. Follower

Tomorrow I begin a series of messages entitled 'Not a Fan.'  It is an often overlooked question, but one that must be asked by any person claiming the name Christian...are you a fan of Jesus or a follower of Jesus?  To some this question seems to be nothing more than an issue of semantics, but it is so much more.  Fan is simply defined as 'an enthusiastic admirer.'  A fan goes to the games, wears the gear, quotes the stats...but being a fan does not require sacrifice, service or surrender.  Fans of Jesus want to get close enough to receive the benefits, but not close enough that would require any kind of sacrifice.  Sadly, when you study personal morality statistics and lifestyles patterns it seems that church buildings every Sunday morning are full of 'Jesus fans.'  Many polls would indicate that when it comes to personal morality there is no distinguishable difference between those who claim Christ as Lord and Savior and those who do not.  A George Barna study found that only 3% of proclaimed Christians live with a Biblical world view.  For many of us it seems that it is time to get out of the stands and get on to the field.  

My hope for New Day Christian Church is that when God looks down on us he does not see an auditorium full of fans, but he sees a group of people covered in a thin layer of dust because we have been following Jesus so closely.