Who ‘Dat Is?

I arrived at church last night wearing a costume.

After landing in DC and connecting to “Sara-cruise” (as the flight attendant kept pronouncing it), we made great time from the airport and I was able to catch the last few minutes of New Life’s annual Harvest Party. Always an epic event.

My children hadn’t seen me in 6 days, and they hadn’t been informed of my surprise arrival. So I tracked each one down as they were all in different parts of the building engaged in various candy-gathering activities. And each time they looked at me, first with blank stares for about 3 seconds, shock for 2 seconds, hugs and kisses for 4 seconds, and then right back to their activities.

What was I wearing?

Street clothes and a hat.

Seeing anyone after an absence makes even the most mundane costume extravagant. At least for 5 seconds. ch:

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It’s About the People

People last forever.

Their eternal value, and location, were and still are of upmost importance to Jesus. Thus His irrefutable actions to ensure their redemption, if they so desire it.

With each passing year, this emphasis on the pricelessly incomparable worth of people promotes itself in my understanding.

It’s never about the places we travel, but the people we travel to.

It’s never about the weather we’re in, but the people in the weather.

Nor is it about the economies, languages, styles, or foods. While all noteworthy in their own way, such novelties are mere shadows of the more important form.

People.

The weight and sadness I feel of saying goodbye to people I’ve known less then 72 hours is, at times, overwhelming. And beautiful. I understand more of Jesus’ groaning, Paul’s longing, and John’s heartache.

As I snapped this picture of Alexis, one of my exuberant little YWAM students, sending a letter on to Jenny via my backpack, I was reminded again of the reason I left my family for a few days this week.

Where Alexis spends eternity matters, as do those she’s being equipped to serve with the rest if her life.

Because people are the only thing you can bring with you.

Thank you YWAM Charlotte. I love you all. ch:

The Blur Effect

Wasn’t it just July?

Probably one the most frequent conversations my wife and I have stems around the elusive, missing months.

Where did ________ go?

It’s gotten so bad that we don’t even have to say it anymore. We’ll both just feel it, look at each other, and say something like, “Yeah, I know.”

But then, when did time ever feel slow?

My knee jerk reaction was when I was in 5th grade. Long summer days. Playing outside from 7am to dusk with my buddies. Summer took half the year. Now it takes half a week.

But as I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room the other day, I realized there was a time ten years ago where I was bored in such a place. There wasn’t a flatscreen TV on the wall. I didn’t have an iPhone glued to my hip. Nor did I have a MacBook Pro or iPad slipped in my backpack. Just a stack of crusty, over-read magazines on a coffee table drenched with the bubonic plague.

The point is, I’ve realized it’s impossible to be bored today.

There is always something to see, read, look up, or connect to. Wi-fi, cellular, broadband. Always something to keep us distracted.

Think about it. When was the last time you were actually bored?

While every one of us in the modern age could do with a little less internet access and TV time, nostalgia could very easily jump in and say, “We must have simpler times again. Death to smartphones!”

But that’s a pretty easy copout.

The greater, more astute determination is what are you busying yourself with? Distractions of the right sort can actually keep us from pursuing the wrong course.

I want to be distracted from self-centeredness by serving my family. I want to be distracted from the mundane by living out the Gospel in front of unsaved people. I want to be so preoccupied with the creative advancement of the Kingdom that I don’t have time to fret over the failing kingdoms of man.

Working hard, staying focused, and being the consummate student are all things I was raised to do. It’s amazing how often I encounter people who are allergic to “hard work without a break.” As if their mandatory smoke break or magical vacation solve everything. Which they don’t.

It’s how you play your life that counts, not how you pause it.

So if the scenery seems blurry to you, don’t worry about the speed: the course is far more important. And the passengers.

I’m running fast with my wife and children. We’re proclaiming the Gospel with every ounce of energy we have. Every creative idea. Every mile traveled.

The key to living “at speed” is being a better savorer then a backward looker. Because while you may be traveling at a great rate of speed outside, inside the vehicle you’re at a relative “0.”

The moments we have are fleeting. Cherish them. But keep moving forward, as there are many more to come.

Let’s change the question “Where did the week go?” to “How did you live it?” ch:

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The Family Lotto

I am the luckiest man in the world. Luckiest, if you have a weak grip on reality and trust fate. Blessed, if you understand that God honors choices made in pursuit of Him, regardless of shortcomings.

But before writing on the subject of family – a fitting theme – I want to wish my father, Peter Kirk, a very happy 64th birthday. He taught me virtue, faithfulness, stewardship, and what it means to be masculine in creativity. But more, he showed me through years, not just words, what it meant to love Jesus and family selflessly.

Happy birthday, Daddy. ch:
___________________

WARNING: If you don’t believe in God, or even Providence, then this piece will irritate you.

Even deists will be irritated. If God is distant and uninterested in human affairs, do yourself a favor and stop reading.

Bye bye.

Everyone else – believers in God and divine appointments – how does your family rate in importance?

Now, family can be a touchy subject, so rating them can be difficult.

We all have “the crazies.” You know who I mean. Aunt Mary who smells of mothballs and cheese; Grandpa Sal who swears loudly at punk kids with long hair; and Uncle Frank who flirts with the bride at every wedding he attends.

But even the crazies are important to God. Important enough for Him to trust you with their bloodline, and their legacy – great or small.

So how would you rate your family’s importance in your day-to-day life?

Low? Medium? High?

No matter what your classification, let me help take it to the next level.

If God is truly intentional and deliberate, then of all the 7 billion people on the planet – or roughly 3 billion families – the one you were assigned to is pretty exclusive. Statistically speaking.

So important that 7 billion other people didn’t get your family.

But think even broader. You won the lottery with the most enormous odds of all, because you were born in this era, not in the hundreds previous. Which means your family was handpicked for you by God over thousands of years, not just from billions people.

It would seem He knows what he’s doing, and thinks you’re pretty special to handle the circumstances you were born into. Good. Bad. Or ugly.

When your parents bewilder you, your siblings frustrate you, your kids dumbfound you, and your in-laws freak you right out, remember: you won the family one-in-a-billion lotto.

Literally.

Digesting that statistic may just be the key to letting your parents awe you, your siblings encourage you, your kids bless you, and your in-laws support you.

But there’s almost no hope for smelling like mothballs and cheese. ch:

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[Photo by Joanne Nesbitt]

When Succession Becomes Legacy

On the heels of yesterday’s post about Apple’s attention to detail, came the historic business news that Steve Jobs had resigned as Apple’s CEO in a letter to his Board.

Certainly, Jobs’ hand on the helm did more for Apple than most companies could ever dream of. But I was very curious to read his entire letter, as my father always quoted King Solomon in saying, “It is more important how you leave a place than how you enter it.”

In his letter Jobs is as concise and efficient as expected, soft-spoken and honoring. But there was one section in particular that caught my eye:

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

And then it hit me: what’s my succession plan?

The fact is, we’re all going to be fazed out. Terminated. Pink-slipped. Whether in our job or in life, someone – or something – is going to replace us.

The question must be asked then, are we planning for it? Or when it happens, will it catch everyone off guard, including–

(You may not even be able to finish your own sentence).

Good leaders plan for their end, and position replacements accordingly. That’s just good leadership. Because you care about the people and the entities you’re leaving behind. Or else you wouldn’t have risen to that place of stewardship to begin with. (Notice I don’t place Gaddafi in either the leadership or stewardship departments).

Within the first year of our marriage I took out a life insurance policy. Whether I was replaced by another loving husband or not, as a leader I wanted the provisional need felt in my absence to be taken care of. That’s good leadership.

As a Youth Pastor, I know it’s not my call to fill that role forever, so I’m actively preparing the guy that will replace me as I move into my next season of local church leadership.

And as a Christian on the earth, one advancing the Kingdom for God’s glory, I’m training up my children in the ways they should go, believing they will do more, win more, believe more, travel more, love more, live more, and see more for Jesus than I ever could.

In light of those ideas, preparing a succession plan becomes a joy. Because I’m leaving a legacy, not a position.

Is yours in place? ch:

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Ren Faire or Bust

I love family days. And with the amount of demands we have on our family by virtue of our public roles of service, shelving well-meaning requests of our time becomes more and more of a fight every year.

But today we got one.

Knights, turkey legs, pee breaks, wenches, tomato throwing, pee breaks, face painting, sea dragon swings, pee breaks, and taking siestas in the cool of the shade. Only to take another trip to the bathroom.

Lots of memories, laughs, and photographs. But this quick one self-taken of us beside the jousting arena is somehow my favorite.

Love on your family today; they’re the only one you get. ch:

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Glorious Saturday

Saturday started with a great bromance convo with Mike Kim in his music room, covering ministry, friendship, and the future as we know it. Then we headed to Starbucks to catch up with Pastor Eric “The Coco Dragon” Peoples, where more talking on life ensued.

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At high noon the band headed for Minado in Natick, Mass where we gorged ourselves on raw fish and various other asian-cuisine-substances. Needless to say, since I was the one to introduce Denis to sushi years ago, I felt it necessary for him to experience the all-you-can-eat context; he was in his glory!

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We also met up with some of our fabulous fam, Joel & Hilary Furrow from Boston. Incredible people!

After another Starbucks run, we drove the hour back to our host church and reset the stage at CLG for today’s 3 morning services. Strings were changed, drums tuned, and yet more coffee was purchased for us, this time by rock guitarist Quinton B. (Wow, I’m going to need detox).

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Then I ate probably some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Cooked in a 15′-deep coal oven, PePe’s is apparently quite famous, and I can see why. Manager Louis cut our 4th pie for us:

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Afterward, the guys gathered back home in the music room to review 4 new tunes Nate and Mike composed earlier this week, while the girls chatted in the living room and looked through photo albums.

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It was foody-coffeey-friendy-musicy kind of day. ch:

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The Hopper Kids Debut

Jennifer and I believe in family.

We believe in it because God made it.

And it’s supposed to be fun.

So here’s our small contribution to promoting one of life’s best inventions.

We give you our new YouTube series: The Hopper Kids.

ch:

Happy Thanksgiving…

Good morning everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re reading this, you really should get back to being with your family (as I’m about to do). But wait! Leave a comment and let me know what you’re up to! I’m about to take a shower and then…[drum roll]…proceeded with the highly anticipated event (at least in my mind) of conducting my first fried turkey cookout! Will post pics later if I’m still alive. Family from all over the state (and both sides of our clans) are (and have) arrived for this momentous occasion (well, for Thanksgiving, but for the fired turkey, too!).

Blessings! I’m so thankful for you all, and for the Lord of the Harvest…

…may many souls be brought into the Kingdom in the coming months.

CH

November Update: Week 1

Lots to update you on–from authors to politics, church life to tour dates–so let’s dive in…

First off, I failed to mention the ever illustrious Bryan Davis on last week’s Post-FFT Blog Tour. The man is a prolific writer, amazing father, and passionate man of God. And not without his own mysteries: Like how a devote, conservative, homeschooling dad can write about dragons? (Say what?) You should ask him! Bryan’s incredible heart for young people (as displayed through his numerous hours spent online in his forum each week) and passion for the Gospel make him the most outspoken Christian Fantasy Apologist that I know! If you’re not familiar with his work, please visit his website and tell him I sent you.

Part of the delay was due to the fact that my home church, New Life Christian Church, is moving into our new building this week! This is a momentous occasion for us (to say the least!) as we’re vacating our 1836 limestone chapel for a renovated movie theater in the rapidly developing area of Watertown. The transformation has been nothing short of a miracle in itself, and the community of Believers that has pulled it off is simply astounding. I spent all last week painting the logo on a massive wall directly across from the waterfall (you heard me…waterfall), and my team is preparing to install the first phase of the audio and video systems tomorrow morning. Please keep us in prayer as we kick off this Sunday in our new home!

This week on the Post-FFT Blog Tour, we’re all featuring Mr. L.B. Graham. I had the privilege of meeting L.B. for the first time when we arrived in Abbotsford, BC at the start of the tour. Each one of the tour members is so unique, I was quite amazed at how so many different people from so many various backgrounds could survive ten days tunafished into a 15 passenger van! But L.B., apart from his brilliant mind, set us all at ease. As easy going as they come, I knew right away he was passionate about some of the same things I am. Like food (“It’s a Jack In The Box!”) and music (“Rockin’ the suburbs, baby!”). Of course he is well known as an author, too, but it’s nice to know that your writing hero’s are also people with many diverse tastes in music and food! To learn more about his Binding of The Blade series, please visit his site and, again, tell him I sent you.

Next on the agenda, I just want to give a shout out to all those who we’ll be worshiping with us this weekend at Saturate @ Elim in Lima, NY. We’ll be leading some worship alongside Isaiah 6, Adam McCain, Jude Fouquier, and Jeff Clark. As soon as that conference is done, we’ll be headed to Rochester and pick up with the November DIBOR Conference that will already be underway. So please keep us in prayer as it will be a long weekend, but hopefully very fruitful.

Lastly, I felt I should say something about tomorrow’s election given the fact that it’s an important subject and I’ve tried to make my blog something that addresses important subjects. And as I was thinking about all the things I could say, two things came to mind.

The first is that the President of the United States does not hold the country in the palm of his or her hand, although that’s the impression the media gives us (at last one thing that’s truly bipartisan!); nor is this the “most important election of our generation,” even though that’s been said during every election for the past 36 years (as reminded to us by my pastor in yesterday’s service); nor is this president going to fulfill any more “promises for change” than all the presidencies before (also as stated by all presidential candidates for the past 36 years). There is only one who holds the nations in the palm of his hand…and last I checked, he’s laughing (Psalm 2:4).

The point I would like you, my reader, to remember is that if there are any major catalysts for change in this country, it is not the politicians, although they certainly have had their day. It is not the media, even though they’ve picked up what we’ve dropped in most cases. It’s the Church. Whether she realizes it or not is irrelevant. The fact is we have been given the power and authority to be ambassadors for a different Kingdom, and it’s your birthright if you’re a Believer (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are seated with Christ in heavenly places and therefore have the distinct ability of having a different perspective on all matters of the earth, one that is uniquely divine (Ephesians 2:6). And one of the most holy things you can do as a Christian is to actually live among the world and influence them (1 Peter 2:9-12). If you think only “certain people” have power, it may be in part because you haven’t been exercising your own, realizing that you, dear brother and sister in Christ, have been called to influence the world around you just as Jesus did. In paraphrasing one of my favorite authors, Watchman Nee once wrote that we are not to be affected by our environment, but are called to affect our environment.

There is a call in the Spirit saying, “Church, rise up!” Will you respond?

Secondly, I’d like to submit something on the political level–this, my thesis for why I vote the way I do. It seems to me that there are three main cultures that comprise the human existence in our current day, at least for me up here in beautiful northern NY. Those are: Family, Church, Community. While I traverse the world as much as anyone of my contemporaries, I want to be as simple and realistic as I can, so I’m leaving “State, Country, World” out of this (sorry U.N.). But understand that I believe Communities are called to affect those last three cultures.

A Biblical study will show without question that I first have a commitment to the institution of marriage and those that are my kin, parental as well as children. Family is the building block of humanity. And remember, its God’s invention, not mine. He liked the covenant he fashioned between himself, Adam and Eve, and those after them. Next, I have a Biblical mandate to be an active part of the Body of Christ, not forsaking meeting together, nor teaching the tenants of the faith as well as the demonstration of the power of the Gospel which is life to those who are perishing. Lastly, I have a Biblical mandate to see to the well being of those in Community around me, to their needs and welfare. This Community also serves my personal command to work diligently and be fruitful. Since both Family and Church serve this end, the three are interlaced at their very core, such that interfering with one affects all the rest.

When examining those running for public office–those who represent me–the basis of my vote stems from my analysis of who is seeking to keep these three foundations of culture in the greatest health with the least amount of intrusion. Let me explain.

.: FAMILY :.

If someone is attacking the very essence of the covenant of marriage by trying to redefine it, I see them as a threat to the foundation of God’s idea, and thus undermining my first cultural commitment to Family. Likewise, if they are trying to justify taking the lives of unborn children, that too is a direct assault on the core right to life that God decided was a good idea. If the argument here is a lack of compassion, so be it; forgive me for not being compassionate enough to help all the “victims of abuse” to see their babies to life and health. That one I take on the chin. But do not endorse legislation that permits murder under the guise of compassion.

.: CHURCH :.

These same attacks on the Family also take their toll on the Church, my next cultural commitment. Here, they bring into question the very moral fiber of the belief system and seek to undermine what is being taught, as well as the teachers themselves, and the manual the teachings come from: The Bible. Of course this doesn’t even touch the fact that such “advances” placate enmity with God himself. But the assault on the Church goes further, in many cases picking up where she failed. Where she was to be caring for the needs of the Community, the government stepped in. In what I can only believe was a demonic plan, the Church abdicated her responsibility of the welfare of her Communities to politicians. That, my friends, is something I long to take back…I burn for it.

.: COMMUNITY :.

The Communities that form the furthest cultural ring around us are, among other things, meant to be sources of support and revenue, continual streams that feed the Families and the Churches to keep doing what they do. But when the businesses in those communities are taxed beyond their means, all in the name of “helping,” they begin to collapse. As a business owner myself, I could not be more intimately aware of this. And the fact that a far-off-and-distant ruling body somehow knows how my money should be spent not only belittles my stature as a human being by assuming that they know better, but removes my ability to invest myself into the lives of employees and Families alike. They, do it for me? The incentive to continue doing business is removed as well as the blessing I receive from giving.

So who do I vote for? I look for the people that stand behind God’s definition of Family, seeing such entities as the foundation of our nation; leaders that empower and inspire the Church to not only care for its Communities but reinforce the morals that she represents; and politicians that believe Communities and the businesses within them have strength to carry the burden’s of her people without their help.

For more good, thought provoking commentary on voting from a Christian world view, please read Wayne’s piece here.

Vote tomorrow!

CH