When people bark | part 2

Sometimes people can bark. Among the many experiences I have had with such people—one stands shoulders above the rest.

I was working as supervisor at a coffeehouse in Kansas City when Rufus (whose name has obviously been changed) walks in and orders a frozen yogurt in a cup.

“Sure thing!” I replied as I walked over to the frozen yogurt machine, grabbed a cup and proceeded to swirl the yogurt into it twisted ever so stylishly. I then slid the plastic spoon into the treat and handed the cup of frozen perfection to Rufus.

His expression changed at that moment from great anticipation to obvious disgust. With scary fixed gaze locked on me alone, he meandered slowly to the trash and dropped the whole cup of yogurt in with a loud THUD.

I experienced in that moment what I like to call “hot nerves” running up and down my 6’1” frame as I felt somewhat offended and caught off guard. Something was obviously not quite right here.

So once again Rufus repeated the order he spouted just an eternal minute earlier. Didn’t I just do that? Is this guy psycho?

“I just made that for you… was there something wrong?” I managed to sputter out of my shocked expression.

With utter disdain, much like Seinfeld addressed Newman, he said, “You placed the spoon in the yogurt.”

“I did. Did you not want a spoon?”

“Not in my yogurt. That spoon touched the counter.”

“Actually, sir, I placed it on a napkin.”

“Same difference. I want a new one.”

Lightbulb—This man suffers from OCD! That changes everything!

As the hot nerves subsided, I carefully made the next frozen yogurt and handed the spoon wrapped cautiously in a tissue directly to Rufus. He was happy.

My understanding of the matter had dramatically altered my reaction as well as my attitude.

You see, from that moment on, instead of fearing the mean, demanding, quirky guy I chose to go out of my way to serve him the best I could without allowing his rough edges to bother me. I think after awhile he came to appreciate my attitude (despite his bark), for he would specifically ask others if I could be the one to serve him.

And when he thought I wasn’t looking, he began to quietly drop a few coins in the tip jar.

When people bark | Part 1

Whenever I walk by the fence that borders my drive and the neighbors yard, their little Chihuahua sneaks up on me and begins to bark like crazy—swirling in circles and trying to look all tough. For about a year the little rodent made me jump and get what I call “hot nerves” because he always seemed to come out of nowhere and startle me. He really knew how to tick me off.

However, about two months ago something strange happened. Pulling into the drive, I noticed the lil’ noisemaker crouched in the corner of the neighbors yard. Slowly I turned the car off and watched as he stalked closer and closer like a cougar ready to pounce on its’ prey. Cautiously I stepped out from the car and without notice he charged and began his notorious bark-swirls.

Oddly enough, that was the moment I realized that this dog actually likes me.

Sometimes in similar fashion people come at us all the wrong way. For whatever reason, they bark, swirl and continuously catch us off guard. They might try to intimidate us or cause us to react in a negative way. It’s almost as if they find enjoyment in this like the small dog that can make a grown man jump.

The dilemma for us arises when we interpret their “bark” as an attack and defensively react in a negative way. Reacting in a negative way or out of emotion is never a good thing. But how can we react positively if someone is constantly coming at us?

The answer lies in our perspective of the situation.

What we might not realize is that most of the time these people are just lonely and trying to seek attention in all the wrong ways. It’s almost as if causing a reaction from someone (even negative) brings some sort of significance to their life. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that this is right or acceptable behavior, but as the recipient of such behavior we must learn to deal with negatives in a positive way as to maintain our own good character.

In the case of lil’ Cujo, I chose to see the barking, swirling and intimidation as his way of playing a game with me. As he tries to scare me, I bring enjoyment to his day. This perspective changed our daily meeting in a dramatic way. No longer do I dread the noisy barks from this taco bell dog, but rather look forward to seeing him because I know deep down, in a twisted way, he loves our time together. If he catches me off guard and makes me jump—he wins. If I spot him sneaking up on me—I win. This perspective might not be based in reality, but it helps me to love the little monster. Sounds weird, I know, but it helps my attitude anyway.

The fact is our perspective matters and makes all the difference! As we challenge ourselves to look for something positive in negative situations or people, we will inevitably change how we react to their barks and swirls. By lightening up and reacting in a more positive way, we can reduce stress and enjoy the interactions with others that we previously dreaded the most.

Proverbs 25:21-22, “If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch; if he's thirsty, bring him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness, and God will look after you.” (The Message)

If someone barks at you today, maybe just smile and compliment them some way in return. I would love to hear your experiences and/or feedback on this. Part 2 of this post will deal with some specific examples of how I changed my perspective in real life situations. Stay tuned….

Let's Get It Started...

I am so pumped right now at what God is doing at Judah's House. Last Sunday night we kicked off a new series in Bible study. Being a young church plant, I can't think of any other book I would rather be studying with a group of visionaries than the book of Acts. Thought I would make lesson one available here if you want to wet your spiritual thirst!

Faith. Action. Boldness. Miracles. Martyrs. Sacrifice. Journeys. Salvations. Heroes.

I am so thankful for all the people that God has brought to our church plant that want to be a part of this... you guys rock! Thanks for having vision for where God wants to take us. It's gonna be a wild ride. "Let's Get It Started, Ha"

New Series: The Darkside of the Supernatural

Come and check it out! I dare you!
Details Here

Follow Me: Part 2 "The fish are coming with me!"

John 21:20-22, “Peter turned and saw that the follower Jesus loved was walking behind them. (This was the follower who had leaned against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who will turn against you?") When Peter saw him behind them, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to live until I come back, that is not your business. You follow me." (NCV)

As the scene unfolds, I sense that maybe John gave one of those, “Sorry dude, I’m the one that Jesus really loves,” looks with a smile of contentment and a shrug of the shoulders. It’s almost as if they are competing with one another.

Pastors have a way of trying to keep up with the spiritual Joneses at times. Church attendance, worship style, Christian bling, new methods, fads, fashions, etc… I for one am guilty of looking at other churches and thinking “if I had their resources, of course I would have those results.”

Whenever I feel this way, the Lord slaps me out of my visions of envy and reminds me that I am on a path to death. “That’s none of your business,” Jesus says, “Follow me.”

God calls us each to walk our own journey. “Peter, get your eyes off John and look at me!” If we are to follow Jesus passionately, we must take our eyes off everyone else. When we are looking at others, we become self-centered. Following Jesus should mean we become less concerned with “my blessing” and much more concerned with “how can I bless others.” We should be much more interested in helping people fulfill their destiny, than trying to get ahead of them.

Isn’t this what church and discipleship are all about? We are called to build people, not an institution. As we can concentrate on building people, Jesus builds the church because the church is really people. Judah’s House may not be like every other church in town (and there is a lot of them), but we know we are following Jesus as we reach out to people and help them find purpose in Christ.

“I’ll make you fishers of men,” Jesus said, “Come. Follow me.”

So in the infamous words of Jerry Maguire I declare, “The fish are coming with me.”

Follow Me: Part 1 "Wanna Die?"

John 21:17-19, “He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. 18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." 19(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me." (ESV)

Jesus basically tells Peter, who just for the record loves Jesus, that he was going to die a vicious death, but it would glorify God. Next words out of His mouth are “Follow me.”

Following Jesus is difficult. Anyone that tells you differently is lying or they are trying to sell you something. Now I am not talking about the way McChristians (consumer Christians) follow Jesus, but rather the ones that want to follow Jesus with everything, not just when it is convenient.

You see, Jesus never said easy things to attract people to follow Him. You hear things like “die daily” “pick up your cross” “sell all and follow me” “narrow is the road to righteousness, few find it” …

In no measure would I consider myself a “hell, fire and brimstone” prea-cha, but reality is that we sometimes luke out the message of the Gospel. Yes, God loves everyone and will accept the vilest person who honestly confesses and turns from their wicked ways by putting faith in Christ, but to say the Christian life with Christ is easy and just about living a life filled with blessings is a lie. Sorry.

It’s a hard call, but by far the most fulfilling. A person that follows in the way of Jesus will have a life filled with purpose. A life filled with meaning. You just can’t get that from one hour a week sitting passively in a service that doesn’t even convict you. It’s time to speak the truth. Jesus wants us to die… so we might really live.

It’s not a broad road.
It is a narrow path.
Few find it.

Keith Green rang true with the words to “To Obey is Better than Sacrifice”

To obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money, I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My words
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire, not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly to give back to you
According to what you have done

< You are Worth Dying For >

This week we opened up our new outreach campaign: www.youareworthdyingfor.com

Consider it the Good News of the Gospel.

As followers of Jesus, we don't want to be "salesmen/women" of our faith, but rather representatives of a loving God to this broken world.

As we hand out business card sized flyers to others that say [ you are worth dying for ] on the front and [ find out why ] with our logo and website on the back it helps change our perspective. No longer can we just hand out a flyer without thinking about what it means to be a servant to others. The card itself forces us to identify with Christ by loving others to the point of our own personal discomfort and understand more of what that means to really be the church Jesus had in mind.

It's not a marketing campaign or slogan. It's more of a manifesto for each person who truly wants to follow Christ in every part of their lives. It's a call to action. It's a Revolution of Love!

ADVISORY: Not for the lukewarm.