A Smoke of a Smoke: “I didn’t inhale.”

Here is a smoke for ya…

Just came across a poll given on moral issues that presents some interesting data.  I have two HUGE observations, but would be very interested in hearing what you all think of this.  You can check out the full article here.

There were three parts in particular that struck me.  They involved gossip, drinking and telling lies.  The point of the poll or original article was that Mosaics (younger generations) had a more difficult time drawing moral lines and boundaries than “evangelicals”.  First, they missed the entire GenX population…but I’m sorry, a poll that says only 1% of evangelicals lie hasn’t been around the evangelical church very much.  I grew up evangelical, and would consider myself evangelical, but I also know that there are a whole lot more than 1% of evangelicals that lie.  Or maybe they just don’t consider “bending the truth” the same as lying.  Or maybe a lie isn’t a lie unless you get caught.

Honestly, I think that the younger generations tell the truth more.  They don’t hide what they are doing, be it smoking, or drinking or whatever.  While those things may not be good, at least they aren’t in denial that they can obtain “righteousness” on their own.  Evangelicals as a whole have a real problem grasping the fact that there is NOTHING that they can do to earn their salvation.  It is ALL because of Christ.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose

Here are the three parts of the poll that interested me the most.  Judge for yourself.

• 12% of adults gossiped

>> 34% of Atheists
>> 26% of Mosaics (ages 18-25)
>> 17% of Liberals
>> 10% of Baby Boomers (ages 44-62)
>> 9% of Conservatives
>> 4% of Evangelicals

• 12% of adults got drunk

>> 33% of Atheists
>> 25% of Mosaics (ages 18-25)
>> 22% of Men
>> 17% of Liberals
>> 16% of Catholics
>> 9% of Baby Boomers (ages 44-62)
>> 7% of Conservatives
>> 7% of Protestants
>> 3% of Women
>> <0.5% of Evangelicals

• 11% of adults lied

>> 37% of Mosaics (ages 18-25)
>> 21% of Liberals
>> 18% of Non-Christian Religions
>> 8% of Conservatives
>> 6% of Baby Boomers (ages 44-62)
>> 1% of Evangelicals

Special Hat Tip to LifeChurch.tv — that not only sends out great articles but also created YouVersion, the best FREE Bible program on the web.  (In addition, they have a great version for the iphone too!)

A Prayer from Romans

Here is a prayer to refelct on during your Sunday…

Romans 12:1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. 4 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. 5 The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body,

May the body of Christ be in unison today as we proclaim Him who claimed us.  May the body of Christ be compassionate today as we receive the compassion He continues to pour out on us.  And may the body of Christ exalt Him today, that He might draw all people to himself.

Ephesians:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

May the fire of Christ burn in our hearts, and the smoke of our offering be a sweet smell of peace and reconciliation to the world.

Our First Date Night in the Southern Part of Heaven

Tonight Angie and I were able to have our first “date” since moving back to RTP thanks to my parents who made a surprise visit.  It was a pleasant surprise and a much needed evening.  Angie and I strolled along Franklin Street, passed through the Quad, ate at Spanky’s (their ribs are yummy), listened to some good (and bad) bands, watched some people shagging to really good beach music and spent some time reflecting in the cemetery.  [For those of you from the north, shagging is a dance in the Carolinas.]  When Carolina was founded (First State University), the cemetary was on the outskirts of campus.  Eventually the campus grew around it.

I can remember sitting in the middle of the cemetery and having my times with God.  I loved reading the quotes and passages on the 200 year old tombstones.  It was a reminder of how short this life really is.  It always reminded me of how I wanted my life to be a life of impact for Christ.  Tonight I was back reflecting once again…one wife and three kids later.

On the way to the cemetary we passed a monument to various wars our country has fought in.  One caught my eye in particular…

Chapel Hill is in my blood just as much as the sand and pebbles from the walks used to be in my shoes.

I thank God for my years at UNC.  I thank God for my parents who made it possible.  I thank God for an incredible wife like Angie.  I thank God for ChrisAnne, Zach and Avery.  And I thank God that He has shown favor on us and led us back to this great part of the world together to join Him in His work in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill.

Psalm 92: 1-2  What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God!  2 To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night!

Chapel Hill – Smoke Free Jan. 1, 2009 (You know I had to get smoke in there somewhere.)

Holy Smoke Batman! We can be civil.

You might be interested in listening to Brian McLaren (media annonted king of emergent) and Richard Land (a prominant figure in the Souther Baptist Convention have a very civil discourse on a whole host of topics.  The blog is set up so you can listen to the who discussion or just parts of it.

I was a amazed and encouraged that there could be civil discussion on opposite sides of the spectrum.  May the trend continue!  I’m sure Richard Land will be asked by his counter parts what he was smoking to even consider an interview, but he has gone WAY up in my book.  Thanks to BOTH men.

Here is the link.

Remember, it’s not good to smoke in bed.

Interesting Smoke Tonight

Short but sweet…like shwisher sweets.  (I’m not shure if I spelled that right.)

1.  I saw EIGHT deer in my neighbors yard.  BTW, deer don’t get stuck in headlights.  They run like crazy or just have some big beef with large silver mini-vans.

2.  I had a great time with some guys in the area who are interested in starting a church in Durham.  Great group of people.  We played Rock Band until around 11 tonight, and I must say that I’m a future drumming prodigal.  You know how you watch Oprah and she has all these young “prodigals” on that make you want to scream.  She’s all … “isn’t that great?  You are so amazing.”  I’m like, :b (me sticking my tongue out).  I think we are all prodigies at something…most of us never discover it.  I’m a Rock Band drum prodigy and just didn’t find out until now.  (Erik, if you read this you will know I am, we’ll, stretching it a bit.)  Guys from the group tonight, if you are reading this, you will know I’m stretching it a LOT. 

3.  I saw this picture on a tweet by Joe Thorn.  It is interesting how the conservative/reformed and social conerned are merging.  It is a good thing.  I think God is smiling on Christians who are following Christ into the world.

3.  I’m tired and I’m going to bed.  No great theological insight tonight.  Love God.  Follow Jesus.  Love your neighbor as yourself.

Out of smoke. 

A New Smoke – Worship Service or Worship Service?

A new smoke for ya…

I was helping out with a new ministry in Durham on Saturday and God really spoke to me.  Well, not a literal audible kind of speak, but you know what I mean.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love gathering in community on Sunday morning (or any other), but I wonder if we have put God in a box when it comes to what worshiping God is really about?

Worship is not simply an act, it is a state of being.  Worship is something that can be done individually or as a community.  (I think it should be done in the midst of the community.)  As a Christ Follower, I’m trying to learn this.  What does it mean to have a “worship service”.  Maybe the community of believers should have more worship service.  I often wonder if Jesus would walk in our worship services or be out among the people.  I wonder.

Mark 10:45 says, “The Son of Man did not come into the world to be served, but to SERVE and give his life a ransom for many.”

I was blog surfing and came across a new church in NW Cary called The Creek that echoed what I’m trying to get at here.  (They are starting on September 14th if you are in that area.  Check them out!)  Matt Rice says this about their church… “we want the opportunity to share Christ with them. We want to love them, serve them, and one day share with them about the death, burial and resurrection of JESUS.”

The only thing I’d add to that is that we also want to serve them WITH Christ.  He is present in us and with us.   And whether we know it or not, he is present in our city and community.  He is present and working the most unlikely, most uncomfortable and most unlovely places, and he wants us to join him.  He calls us to join him.  The Church as more than a building, a city as more than a place of activity and people are more than just a notch on our conversion belt.  Christ’s church is the hope of the world, and being the hope of the world should take that hope OUT as an act of worshiping Him.  Just some thoughts.  I love this quote…

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.

May the world cry because of our Christ-filled lives serving with Him as He makes all things new because we love and worship him so much.

Smoke that.

Test Smoke: Testing Twitterfeed

I’m testing something that will let followers of my Tweets from Twitter know when my blog has a new post.  It seems to be a promising tool to keep things looped together.  We’ll see.

The Theology of Barbcue

Just had lunch with a great guy in Durham who started a ministy called Reality Ministries. I met him through a mutual friend. He took me to a place I Durham that was…well…shall we say most tummy.

The theology in this post?

God made Eastern North Carolina barbecue and said, “It is good.”.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Ace of Base! I Saw the Sign!

Ace of Base!  I saw the sign! (Actually it is a literal one.) Not sure it opened up my mind, but I am finally able to sit down and lay out church/ministry plans for the next year and ran into this on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill l as I walked up to Caribou Coffee.  TJ’s sells tobacco!

It is actually an adult beverage store — package store for you Southerners — but since Tobacco is prominant, I’ll go ahead and use it.   I’ll start another blog, redemptivepackagestore.net some other time.   BTW, check out American Tobacco District in Durham.  It will give you a good idea of how God is redeeming these old manufacturing plants.

The package store phenomenon in the South reminds me of a hilarious story.  I was in a small group and we were sharing one of our funniest moments as an icebreaker.  A good friend named Anthony started telling his story of moving South and looking for a paper item used to place things you want to mail.  He drove around and saw “Package Store” and thought, “that must be where they sell packages around here.”  Once in the store, he quickly noticed all the beverages on the walls.  However, he still asked the cashier, “do you guys sell packages here??”  You can imagine the look he got.  But really, why in the world do we have to call them “package” stores or “ABC” stores?  I’m one for calling it what it is…a liquor store.  Seems like they’d get a lot more business from Northerners moving in by the massess.  Maintaining that “southern” respectability is important in these parts…so we just rename things to be what we think to be less offensive. 

Here is one more picture of my “sign” smoke proof.  Smoke means post for those who have just joined the blog and are reading #2.  Again, I’m in Chapel Hill at an outdoor table at Caribou.  Notice the FOUR people smoking at one table.  I wonder what cigarette smoke and espresso will do to you?

There is no time like now for a smoke.

I’m a nit picky perfectionist when it comes to design and blog stuff.  Redemptive Tobacco is no different.  I’ve been putting off writing the first post…well…because it is the first post.  It is the first impression of what this blog is going to be about.  People will make snap decisions and either come to the site or erase it from their mental desktop forever.  I know how that goes, I’ve got limited RAM and just don’t have space for everyone’s “link”.  However, I’ve decided procrastination no more!

For those who only read two paragraphs, this blog will contain posts on theology, church planting, emerging trends in culture and my learning as I walk with Jesus.  Comments will be welcome.

First, for those that are wondering, I don’t smoke.  I “occasionally” have smoked a cigar or pipe, but don’t touch cigarettes.  I’m an ordained minister for goodness sake!  By the way, the cigar made me sick (too strong), but I enjoyed the pipe.  It made me feel smarter than I really am…which is an oxymoron if you think about it.  I’m an idiot for smoking a pipe, but somehow a pipe makes you “look” intellectual.  Huh?

Oh, and I did try snuff ONCE.  I cheered at UNC-Chapel Hill and in New Orleans at the 1993 championship some of the squad dared me and a friend namedLymarie Portela to try snuff.  If I remember, a friend from the squad, Scott Williams , was one of the main culprets.  Interestingly enough, when my family moved to the suburban hades that is Atlanta’s outer limit, we moved around the corner from Scott.  Small world!  I cheered at Kentucky    as well, but that is story for another day!  You can watch the nifty stunt though!

I’m off topic, but the main reason for the name of the blog is… (pay attention to number two)

1. It’s cool. 
2. It is a great descriptor of God being able to redeem something He created that has become corrupted and used for purposes that are mostly destructive.  That is what God offers us in Christ and right now God is about the business of making all things new in Christ.  I want this blog to help others walk after Christ in that reality.

I’m going to keep the posts relatively short and I’d like them to be somewhat provocative. I think healthy discussion is a good thing.  Healthy is the operative word here.  If you have disagreements, great…just be humble and civil in your discourse.

I’ll also be posting about my faith journey, my addiction to smoking (just kidding), and my families call to be a catalyst for sharing that redemptive love in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.  RTP is Raleigh, Durham and (saving the best for last) Chapel Hill.  There are so many people moving in the area and most only have a caricature of what they “think” God and His church is about.  Most of this has come from observations of Christianities portrayal by the church, media and even those who claim to be Christ Followers.  I think God is about redeeming that as well.

So, in conclusion, please pray for us.  We know we we will be planting or being a catalyst for a new church/ministry called Brightleaf in the downtown Durham area over the next 1-3 years.  The timing is in God’s hands.  Angie, my love and my wife, will be working at Duke Hospital and getting her advanced degree through this whole process.

My big dream is to see a network of existing churches come together and strategically plant churches all around the area.  Churches that will represent what it means to know and follow Christ into our culture and join Him in seeing all things made new.

Oh, and BTW… a smoke is my little word for post.