Ordinary, that's what I am

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Hi, my name is Craig and I'm ordinary.   

Ordinary, plain, vanilla, average, usual, common place, mediocre, yep that's me.  We live in a world in which we are constantly bombarded with the message that we are extraordinary and that we can (and should) do extraordinary things.   The problem I have with that... it's a lot of pressure!   Even worse, it sends a message that unless you are the best, most high achieving, prettiest, smartest, richest, ... well just est, there is something wrong with you.  Either you aren't really special (gasp!) or you aren't living up to your potential.  (Can you feel the shame!)

Now for the hard truth... you are ordinary too.  The fact is we are all pretty ordinary.  I mean every once in a great while a Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs or Abraham Lincoln will come along but frankly for the most part we are all cogs in a giant machine of life.  The high probability is we will all live and die without winning the Nobel Prize, becoming an international celebrity or being elected to high office.  Let's say it together, Hi I'm (say your name) and I'm ordinary. 

I suppose if your goal in life is to be an est (richest, smartest, etc) then you are pretty depressed about now.  Let me give you some hope.  Jesus highly values, Loves and uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  I mean really, if there was ever a group of people who deserved to have low self esteem it had to be the disciples.  They are a group of folks drawn from the lowest places and were pretty much, losers.  Not a single "est" among them.  Just your ordinary, never will amount to much folks who one day decided that what other people thought of them was not nearly as important as what Jesus thought.  Then a very strange thing happened, right in the middle of their incredibly ordinary lives, they came together and became the most extraordinary group of people who ever walked the face of the earth.   

Are you Ordinary, struggle with self worth?  Join us this Sunday as we discover the power and great worth of being Ordinary.  

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The Privileges of Freedom and Sacred Trust

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The 4th of July should really be bigger.  I love fireworks but that's not the bigger I'm talking about.  When I say bigger I mean more important.  What we are celebrating really is extraordinary in the history of the world.  We who live in the United States have historic freedom and sometimes I'm not sure we really appreciated it.  

For most of history criticizing the King/Emperor/Ruler could get you killed.  Even today in many countries sharing your faith is a capitol offense if it's not the king's faith.  We, on the other hand, we can both criticizing our government and share our faith.  We really do live in an wonderful time and place.  

In many ways the most extraordinary part of living in this place is that it was given to us as a gift.  We enjoy these privileges because we were born in American.  Our forefathers laid down their lives so that their children and grandchildren could be free.  We have enormous privilege because of their sacrifice and we received this great nation as a sacred trust from those who went before.  Like I said I really think this holiday is more important than shooting off fireworks.

So here is my thought.  Maybe this 4th of July we can take a couple of moments to ponder the condition of the sacred trust we received from our parents and grandparents.  Is this the kind of nation we want our children and grandchildren to inherit from us?  Maybe more importantly, what am I doing to make my country a better place?  

In First Timothy 2 the Apostle Paul told Timothy to pray for the government that we might live peaceful and quiet lives.   So today I pray for our great nation.  I pray for peace in the midst of great conflict and I pray that we all might live quiet lives.  Most of all I pray that the God who blessed us with great freedom as a nation will give us courage to exercise that freedom in ways that bring honor to Him and expand His Kingdom which is eternal.  

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Holy Party! Why it matters.

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I am privileged to pastor one of the great churches in Marysville.  We have a saying in our faith community, Holy Party! 

Those two words have changed my life.  Somehow they capture both the way I think about the  God and my rejection of dull, overbearing religion.  

The truth is God's message is the best Good News the world has ever heard.  I think if we could truly grasped how powerful is the message of Jesus we would all be dancing in the streets.  We should shout everyday New Life!  Freedom!  Second Chances!  Love beyond understanding!  I mean really, Jesus' message is the greatest thing ever.   How did we make that dull and even angry?

I guess that is my second point.  I grew up in a pretty legalistic and severe church.  I am blessed that my parents were not legalistic themselves and the pastor that most influenced me growing up, Rev. Don Castle, was not legalistic, but boy was my church and my denomination.  Some how all of life seemed to be wrapped up in tiptoeing around God so as not to wake up the angry giant.  God seemed constantly disappointed with my ADHD failures always pouring on the guilt and shame.  Any deviation from perfect was sin and that would damn you to hell.  Your only hope was to get down to the alter and confess it with weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then I went to school to study theology... 

Boy did that change me!  Those crazy college profs taught me to read the Bible not as a "how to keep God off your back" essay but as the story of God's Love poured out on His Children.  Turns out God wasn't against me, he was on my side!  I've been Holy Parting ever since!    Come join the party at Marysville Naz. and discover how much God love's you and what he has done to prove it.    www.MarysvilleNaz.org