60-Second Stretch

For the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we spend time as a family talking about how we integrate our faith into the Christmas traditions (sort of an Advent approach) that we call the Colors of Christmas. It's always interesting and really helps us stay centered on what's important to us as a family and as disciples of Christ. So by the time Christmas Day rolls around, it is truly the most relaxing day of the year for our family.

We start the day by sleeping in (yes, even when the kiddos were little).We have a big breakfast (this morning it was Phyllis' famous French Toast, sausage, fresh fruit ... and grits, per my request). We watch the Disney Christmas parade (great performances today by Toby Mac, Colbie Caillat, and Yolanda Adams). Then we open gifts one at a time. Our Christmas morning never ends until around 3pm. Very relaxing.

It is probably not obvious, but I was laid off from a corporate gig in October 2011. Financially, this has been a very tough year as I've struggled to replace even half the income I had last year. We've had to make some massive adjustments, but we still have all our needs met, which is certainly more than we might deserve, and more than many around the world are experiencing today. We don't take that lightly. And in the midst of this adjustment, friends and family from all over took it upon themselves to help us out this Christmas. We didn't ask for help. We didn't even broadcast any "need." Much of that help even came "secretly." All told, the overwhelming majority (probably 90+%) of the presents under our tree this year came from the generosity of those around us. Without that generosity, our relaxing Christmas morning would have been much shorter (though no less relaxing or enjoyable). It's humbling in a way which words cannot possibly convey. And it has really helped me continue to reflect on this "holiday season."

There is truly something "magical" about this holiday that makes it stand out on the calendar. Think about it. Why do you celebrate Christmas? What is it about this holiday that makes it so special? Maybe you can identify with my personal A-HA! moment ... Christmas sparks a reversal in all of us. We all love to get gifts. But Christmas makes us want to give. Commercialism can't cause that. Consumerism is the opposite of altruism. And Christmas, unlike any other day of the year, awakens in each of us a desire to bless someone else, whether a friend, a family member, or a stranger. Our family happened to be on the receiving end of that Spirit this year, and it has made me realize just how powerful that reversal can be. Christmas is truly about giving.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Son of God gave up His home in heaven to come live among men, born of a virgin in a little town called Bethlehem. That, I believe, is the Spirit of Christmas that has managed to permeate every culture and context, even if not always recognized. May the Spirit of giving, initiated by God the Father and carried out perfectly in His Son, Jesus Christ, fill your heart for 2013 and beyond, and may we all learn to be just a little more giving in the coming days, weeks and years. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

“Cheer up, Church / You're worse off than you think. / Cheer up, Church / You're standing at the brink. / Don't despair / Do not fear / Grace is near” (Charlie Peacock, Cheer Up Church from Kingdom Come, 1999).

“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. . . . But the person who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:9–14).

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way” (Matthew 5:10–12).

“My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials” (James 1:2).

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body” (2 Corinthians 4:8–11).

None of us knows what the next 4 days will look like, much less the next four years or decades. But we do know this: Trials, in whatever form they may take, are good for the Body of Christ. We love to say that God is on the throne and that our hope is in Him, but when we have “our man” in office and business is booming, we don’t have any real need to back up that proclamation with purposeful action. Maybe another decade of declining morals and decaying culture is just what the Body of Christ in America needs to wake us out of our slumber. Maybe bigger, more intrusive government will force us to finally draw a line in the sand and give up this love affair with building mini-kingdoms modeled more after Wall Street than the Word of God.

Logged into Facebook a few minutes ago and was asked to take a quick survey. At the end, the survey asked for additional feedback. Here's what I wrote:

I am constantly frustrated by Facebook's filtering of my newsfeed (Edgerank). I am only friends with people whom I want to hear from. No algorithm will ever be smart enough to truly understand human relationships and human motivation. PLEASE, let ME decide whether or not I find my friends' posts useful and STOP filtering my newsfeed. I realize I may be an exception to the rule, but at least make it possible for those like me to truly see ALL if we want to see all. That's the ONE element of my FB experience that needs real improvement. Otherwise, thanks for a great product...

What do you think? Do you have the same frustration with Facebook? If so, would you be willing to make te same "complaint" if asked? Who knows, if enough of us ask for it, maybe FB will roll out a tweak that finally allows users more control over our newsfeeds.

Please share this post with all your friends. Thanks!

In a sluggish economy, a lot of folks are cutting back on charitable giving (and discretionary spending). Even the US Government is cutting back on how and where it spends its dollars, with small nonprofits feeling it the worst. Most congregations can’t afford to help, either. According to William Tenny, “the average [congregation] in the United States will spend as much as 64% of its budget on staff salaries. Additionally, it will spend as much as 30% of its offerings on maintaining its buildings.” Other researchers have suggested that a local congregation will be forced to spend 82% to 96% of its financial resources on maintaining the organization itself.

But as we often do, people have risen to the occasion to create solutions. One idea that has caught steam over the past four years is called “giving circles.”

Giving circles bring people together to pool resources and then collectively decide how and to which organizations or causes to distribute those resources—maximizing the financial, intellectual and emotional bang for every philanthropic buck. In the words of Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, a passionate Stanford GSB Philanthropy Lecturer, it’s “Giving 2.0.”

Through social/democratic means, giving circles help individual givers to become proactive rather than reactive and to give strategically. And the collaborative nature ensures that members of the giving circle are constantly learning and improving their group’s giving decisions. Because of this, donors can do more with less, enhance their giving and create measurable impact. Best of all, giving circles require almost no overhead to operate and givers get to decide exactly where every dollar goes.

A perfect example is the Association of House Churches in Austin, TX. By pooling their resources and efforts over a 13-year period, this relatively small group of believers has “been able to deploy approximately $1,000,000 … toward benevolence and missions.”

In the spirit of cheerful and sacrificial giving, Emmaus CCF has created a giving circle on Causes.org. Specific "Causes" and "Actions" will be added as we go along. For now, participants in the Emmaus community are encouraged to be part of this ongoing investment in the Kingdom of God and the needs around us by simply clicking the "Join" button. Using the Causes.org platform, we will pool our resources to make a financial impact in Cleveland and beyond.

“First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1–4,NET, emphasis added).

If you are familiar with battle details of the American Revolution, then you have no doubt heard about the “Battle of Long Island” fought on August 27, 1776. General George Washington, then Commander-in-Chief, and the Continental Army attempted to defend the strategic port city of New York against the combined land and sea forces of General William Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces. It was considered a true military blunder by Washington. And it almost cost the Continental Army a great price.

The “historic details” of what happened are intriguing for both history and military enthusiasts. I’ll spare you the full recap in order to jump right to my point. Essentially, the Continental Army was surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and outgunned. Then this:

“Howe, in a move considered controversial to this day, ordered all of his troops to halt the attack … Howe's failure to press the attack, and the reasons for it, have been disputed” (Battle of Long Island: The Old Stone House).

The other day I spent some time chatting with a U.S. Secret Service agent. He told me that once during a transport of the Australian Ambassador he was told of an interesting story by the Ambassador himself. Seems that as General Howe was pressing in on the Continental Army, a New York resident saw the British troops approaching and went out to offer them tea. Yes, you read right. She offered them tea. According to the Ambassador, even in the heat of battle and the pursuit of an “enemy force,” the British cannot refuse tea. The troops were ordered to stop and tea time was on. As the story was told, this little tea time stop is what helped the outmaneuvered Continental Army to survive and eventually escape.

“The British were stunned to find that Washington and the army had escaped” (Battle of Long Island: Conclusion of the campaign).

I have no idea whether this account is true, but you must admit, it is a fantastic tale and one that should be included in some movie. At the very least, Rush Limbaugh could use it to help sell his new line of iced teas, Two If By Tea®.

I wish it had not taken me seven years to stumble across this little memoir written about Billy Fitzgerald (a.k.a., Coach Fitz). Nevertheless, I did at least stumble across it. Better late than never applies as well as it ever has.


I won't bother to repeat all the basic details already covered by other reviewers except to say, Yes, it's short (I'm estimating 8,000 words), but it really packs a punch. As a father of four (3 boys, 1 girl), the themes really resonated with me. This quote seems to sum it up much better than I would be able to do:

"Fitz gave another one of his sermons. They were always a little different but they never strayed far from a general theme: What It Means To Be A Man. What it meant to be a man was that you struggled against your natural instinct to run away from adversity" (p.77).

There's an even better quote on pages 82-83, but I'll let you read it yourself.

Here's why that quote from page 77 resonates with me personally. For the past 15 years or so, I've pondered the idea that self-discipline is listed last by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 perhaps because it is the "holy grail" of a truly fruitful life. More than anything, I want my children to grow up esteeming self-discipline as equally honorable and desirable compared to virtues such as love and peace. I recognize that one can be incredibly disciplined in all the wrong ways (hence the other 8 fruits), but the older I get, the more I recognize the elusiveness and value of that fruit called self-control. Even as I type this I am wearing a cheap rubber bracelet that simply says "Lose Your Quit." I can't help but think that the world might be a much better place if we would all learn this simple lesson. Too bad there isn't a Coach Fitz in each of our lives. I suppose this tiny booklet will have to suffice.