Tag Archives: questions

Before I answer this weeks question, wanted to let you know that I am continuing my summer Questions series. (thanks to Ty for the reminder) Ask me anything and you just might find your answer one day on my blog.  Click the question mark below to ask away:

Q: How transparent are you to those closest to you in your life?

A: Hmmm…don’t know how transparent I wanna be with this one. It varies from person to person and situation to situation. I would say that generally I think I am one of these weird “pastor types” who are often more transparent/authentic on the stage than I am one on one. And I would also say that the closer a person is to me, sometimes in an attempt to protect them from harm (a wrong perception) I withhold information that I think might cause them hurt or make them worry about me.

I have seen growth in this area over the years…opening my heart more and more to trust people with all that is most deeply me.  As I type this I think of Mack from The Shack…what a great story of God’s desire to meet us in the dark places of our souls, for us to allow Him and others in so that we can live free. Definitely still on my own “Shack” journey, and continue to sense freedom is nearing dawn.

(to see previous questions in this series, simply click “questions” in the tag cloud on the right —> )

Q: Do you really have visibility into how much and where people are tithing to at Sunset?

A: Tithing is confidential thing at our church (and most churches) and I believe for good reason. Once it becomes known that someone is a “big giver” it becomes a challenge not to treat them with favoritism which the bible strongly forbids.  I’ve unfortunately seen favoritism rear its ugly head in my short time in ministry and have seen leaders alter their course to please a group of people based upon the amount of $$$ they bring in.  When I consider being a senior pastor one day the last thing I want to know about my flock is how much they are giving. As in every relationship, money can create alot of conflict. Now to the second part of your question, our budget is something that is voted on and approved by the members of our church. This information is available right down to how much money I am making (UPDATE: Since writing this post I learned that only the Senior Pastors salary is available, NOT mine).  When people give above and beyond a general tithe, we can see the money is there but rarely do we know where the gift has come from.  Personally I don’t like the idea of designated giving and prefer building enough trust in an organization that people allow their leaders to use the donations as they see fit.  When funds are tied to a specific department (designation) it can often limit moving funds to another area when it becomes necessary. For more thoughts on this topic I encourage you to check out Gods words on it below from the book of James.

Once again you are welcome to ask me a question to answer here on my blog. Just click on the contact tab above and ask away!

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor person in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the one wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the one who is poor, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:1-10TNIV

Q: What if the shortest verse in the bible is a typo, and its really: ‘Jesus slept’?

A: Interesting question to say the least and even though I am pretty sure the author is asking it as a joke (in light of some of his other questions that would be inappropriate to answer on my blog) I think it is still worth answering.  First and foremost as with understanding any single verse we find in the bible its important to read this one within its context.  The verse spoken of in this question is Luke 11:35; Jesus wept. Luke 11 talks about Jesus friend Lazarus dying after suffering from an unknown illness and Jesus not getting there in time to heal Him.  Now to understand the context of verse 35 here are the verses that preceed it;

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply movedu in spirit and troubled.“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Now could “Jesus slept” fit as the following verse? For sure…Jesus might have been tired from a long day and needed a break before traveling to see Lazarus.  However the following verses make that seem less likely;

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind many have kept this man from dying?”

If you could tell me how the Jews would think that Jesus falling asleep somehow shows love for Lazarus than please let me know…even if Jesus had narcolepsy it still wouldnt work.   Now that we got that covered let me just say that once I did an entire message on this very verse.  “Jesus wept” is a very important concept for us to understand because it shows well His humanity which is often downplayed by His Divinity.  Jesus was fully human. Aside from not sinning He was just as we are. When those tears fell from His eyes they came from a heart that really felt the loss that all of us would feel loosing a close friend.  God doesnt pretend to have emotions, to hurt like we do He really does. It’s a profound mystery to be sure but the Christian God is a suffering God who meets us in the darkness…the very darkest of moments and makes them Sacred.

Q: If God granted you his power to make one decision, so you could change anything in the history of the universe, what would be your decision and why?

A: I would stop the marriage of Scarlett Johansson so I still had a chance. Hahhaaa. No seriously the first thought that comes to mind is stopping the Holocaust. This is no-doubt influenced by recently watching 705minutes of Band Of Brothers with Tyler…but nonetheless, I’ve always hurt for the families of the 6 million Jews that were exterminated like termites during WW2.  I think as a young boy visiting the Holocaust Center and listening to a survivor who came to America after loosing literally every one of his family members and close friends. I remember being so struck by what loneliness he must have felt coming here with no family or friends.

Can you think of a greater act of evil in human history? Well not unless we count the 45million plus babies murdered in America since 1973.

Q: Do you think your life is balanced?  If yes, how did you achieve it?  If no, what do you think you can do differently to get there?  Finally, do you think life should be balanced?

A: Another great question that I have actually thought about in the past.  I would definitely NOT say my life is balanced…if you were to look at my calendar I have “workout” on four mornings at 7am this week and I am currently battling 0-2.  Honestly this question comes at me during one of my most unbalanced seasons of my life.  Not unlike most guys my age, my job takes centerstage in my life…consuming most of my time and mental energy.  I have the desire to get married and yet dont make the time or mental space to pursue someone. If I was “balanced” I think I would have time in my week to workout as well as pursue perspective mates.  How could I get there? My knee-jerk response is to quit my job…but then once I think about it I believe no matter where I worked I probably would be just as consumed by it.  The counselor in me says that I need to work on the root issues inside which create a stronger drive for work than relationships.  The pastor in me says that I need to pray more…asking the God who designed me to balance me out…changing my desires and giving me courage to step out and meet new people.  The demon inside me says to stop trying for balance and accept the chaos! As I type this I think balance relates alot with desire…what we desire the most seems to take up the majority of our life.  Now your last question is a HUGE philosophical one about pursuing balance altogether.  Makes me think of a post I read awhile back written by a youth ministry colleague on this very topic…I encourage you to check it out HERE and HERE

Alright now back to work…haha

Q: What is the REAL difference between slurpees and icees?

A: Having been drinking slurpees since I was probably around 5 years old, I can testify there’s alot of difference.  While both have very small pieces of ice and pop mixed together, I am convinced that slurpees have some patented secret ingredient that keeps the consistency much longer than icees do. I havent had a icee in a long time, but I cant remember having one that didnt turn into pile of ice halfway through it.  So as long as a 7-11 is nearby I would always recommend a slurpee over an icee.

You know what they say; summer is the season of the slurpee.

Q: Do you find your expectations in women, in terms of a Significant other, to be fair, or would you feel you have lower/higher expectations in what that person should be for you?

A: First let me just say that I think this is a GREAT question for it represents the very kind of question I was hoping to get…something someone really has wondered about me. I think I tend to have HIGHER expectations than I should when it comes to women. As I moved through adolescence when I should have been learning and exploring the mystery that is “woman”…learning how to interact with and be in healthy relationship with her, I was instead following the lead of my guy friends and was seeing how far I could “get.” On top of that I was introduced to a relationship poison called porn that further marred my perception of women. It wasn’t until college when I finally began to desire a healthy, appropriate relationship with the opposite gender. God began a long-road of restoring the years that the locusts had stolen (Joel 2:25)….a work that continues to this day. Since then I’ve come to see how much I am lacking when it comes to a lot of the “basics” in building relationships…things as simple and necessary as; how to strike up conversations with someone new, not passing judgment on a person’s flaws too quickly or fearing rejection. A lot of the time I feel paralyzed at 28 for working in a church as a youth pastor definitely makes it harder to meet someone. Most of my friends are married (aren’t most people in their late twenties?) or are under 18 and I don’t have a lot of free time because ministry is not a 9-5 job. That being said, I still desire marriage and need to continue working on learning those relationship basics I didn’t learn in adolescence.

Throughout this summer I would love to answer some questions from you my faithful blog reading audience.  Basically what I am hoping to do is create a more interactive feel to my site…allowing you to help steer some of my posts.  So what would you like me to blog about? Do you have a specific question for a youth pastor? Seminary student? Shy single guy? Crohn’s patient? Michigan transplant?

Why not send one my way via my contact page today? You can click the “Contact” link above anytime or just click the blue button above to ask your question.  Looking forward to the conversation this summer…