Who Needs a Doctor?

Some people are really good about going to the doctor regularly for checkups but most of us only go when something is wrong, when we are sick or injured. Jesus makes this same observation in yet another confrontation with the Pharisees in Matthew 9 when he says, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

Jesus is hanging out with sinners and tax collectors and the Pharisees are not too happy about it. But think about it, who needs Jesus? Obviously we all do, but those that haven't given their lives to Him yet need to be introduced to Him. How can we introduce people to Jesus without spending time with them, without going where they are? Yet so often churches are more like a country club with exclusive membership and we make people who don't fit in with our standards and our appearance feel like outsiders.

Jesus didn't just hang out at the synagogue and hope that people would find Him, He went and ate with the worst of the worst. I am not saying that we should go hang out at strip clubs so we can reach the people that are there. In fact, I am not really sure what I am saying, I certainly don't have all of the answers. What I do know is that as Christ followers we are called to go out and make disciples of all nations. What does that look like? What are the implications of Matthew 9:9-13? Let me know what you think?

35 Things

I'm turning 35 in a couple of days so I thought I would come up with 35 things I have learned in my 35 years of life.

1. There is a God and I am not Him
2. Before you drink from a water fountain, make sure there is not a bee on it that will ride the water stream into your mouth and sting you
3. When running a race in a confined area, be sure to note how far away the brick wall is when you turn to look back to see how badly you are beating everyone else
4. When your mom tells you to stop running around in a store you should listen to her, otherwise you may just come around a clothing rack the same time your brother comes around the same clothing rack (from the opposite side) and collides with you
5. My dad can make a hook shot from anywhere on the court
6. Trying to do a one-handed hand stand with a skateboard in your other hand can lead to the need for dental work
7. When you are 16, driving a mini-van with "Merwins" on the license plate is not cool
8. When you are 17, driving a mini-van with "Merwins" on the license plate still isn't cool
9. Having smart and responsible friends is really helpful when your homework is due in a few minutes
10. When your wife is pregnant and needs to back up in order to turn around, you shouldn't make a "beep beep" sound like a truck that is backing up
11. Children are a blessing
12. Children are also God's way of teaching patience and anger management
13. No matter how many times you yell at your favorite team while watching them on TV, they can't hear you
14. No matter how many times you yell at the officials while watching a game on TV, they can't hear you
15. Atmospheric Sciences 101 is NOT an easy A at the University of Washington
16. "i" before "e" except after "c" or when pronounced "ei" as in neighbor and weigh
17. When you are a kid, you want to be a grown up, when you are a grown up you realize that it wasn't so bad being a kid
18. Most people will not need to know how to graph a sine curve
19. The fact that someone smells or is dirty doesn't make them less human than someone who smells nice and is clean
20. When preaching to an audience that is at least 60% female, don't put down your wife in a sermon illustration
21. The important thing about learning is not what you know but what you do with what you know
22. I don't deserve the wife that God has blessed me with
23. Having the attitude of "you can't fail if you don't try it in the first place" ensures that you won't fail at much, but also ensures that you won't succeed at much (it is also kind of boring)
24. Striving for the latest and the greatest stuff means you will never have what you want
25. The 1991 Huskies were better than the 1991 Miami Hurricanes (that's really more of an opinion)
26. Sin has consequences
27. It is far better to be humble than to be humbled
28. Right and wrong isn't based on what we can get away with or who will find out
29. Often times we learn the most from the things that are the hardest
30. You appreciate something more when you work for it rather than have it given to you
31. My kids are amazing and I had very little, if anything, to do with it
32. My wife is a beautiful, supportive, forgiving, funny, loving, caring, amazing woman that I am completely in love with (even though I don't do a very good job of showing her that I think all of these things)
33. I am a sinner saved by grace, GOD's grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
34. I am not who I want to be
35. God is making me into who I am supposed to be

Well, there you have it, 35 things that I have learned in the last 35 years (in case you are wondering I have learned more than just these 35 things). Hopefully, I will learn even more valuable things in the next 35 years.

Hiking as a Source of Leadership Lessons?

Last week I had the opportunity to go hiking with my family. While we don't hike very often, it is something that all 5 of us enjoy and since it was a nice day, we took off for the hills. I expected some peacefulness being out in nature, some non-peacefulness having 3 kids bickering, nice views/scenery and a little exercise. What I didn't expect, however, was the opportunity to teach my kids about leadership. This unexpected opportunity came about (and continued to present itself) because my two oldest kids were both interested in "leading" the hike and proceeded to try to pass each other back and forth for this privileged position.

As these struggles for perceived power ensued, I found myself throwing out some truths about leadership which were only meant to stop the power struggle and not necessarily to teach about leadership. Statements like;

• "You're not a leader if nobody is following you"


• "Being in the front doesn't mean you are a leader"


• "If you have to announce that you are a leader, you probably aren't"

I am pretty sure these thoughts on leadership were lost on my kids, but it did cause me to think about leadership. After all, as a pastor, as a boss, as a husband and as a father, I am supposed to lead. But what does that look like? We all can identify bad leadership or rather non-leadership but what about good leadership? I would love to give all of the right answers but instead I will have to ponder that question with you.