DONALD MILLERS PRAYER - DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION - 2008

“Father God,
This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.
We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.
We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.
Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.
Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.
Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.
Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.
Hep us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.
Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.
We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.
Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.
A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.
Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.
Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.
Lastly, father, unify us.
Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.
And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.
God we know that you are good.
Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.
I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.
Let Him be our example.
Amen.”

This can happen when one wipes out face-first while on water-skis. It happened to me as I was dropping one ski to begin my slalom run. I lost my balance and the rest is history. The doc said it will likely heal on its own, but is sending me to a specialist just to be sure I don’t need a graft over the hole in order to help it heal…

I guess next time I’ll have to wear one of these things for protection:

By the way, I have absolutely no idea who this guy is. But you have to love the head-gear.

We returned Thursday night from D/FW after a great 4 day visit with my family. Heather and I decided last week that we would celebrate our 8th anniversary at some point during our trip, so on Wednesday night the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while we were out on the town.

We both love Chicago-style pizza and headed off for Uno’s in downtown Fort Worth. After a great dinner, we meandered toward the movie theater. I knew Heather wouldn’t be interested in seeing The Dark Night, and I really didn’t know what else might be of interest. She really wanted to see Mamma Mia! The Movie. I read on Scot McKnight’s blog his delightful review of the musical-turned-movie and decided to give it a chance.

Before we even walked up the stairs inside the theater to find our seats, I sensed that something wasn’t quite right. Something was in the air, and it wasn’t the smell of popcorn. It was estrogen…and lots of it. I began to wonder how many other males there were besides myself and quickly did a scan of the entire theater. Can you guess how many? Two.

I turned to Heather with the biggest grin on my face and said, “You’re gonna owe me big time for this one.” Despite her contention that she had seen many a “guy-flick” with me (which she has), I had a strong hunch that this experience would far outweigh the sum total of the others.

I was correct.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big-time ABBA fan, and I love musical-theater. But for a moment I thought I might as well have been watching Little Women.,..or Fried-Green Tomatoes…or Steel Magnolias. I had stepped into another world that I knew not of. Oh, I had heard of this world…but I’ve never really experienced it. I still can’t quite put into words this most unusual experience, but I think it really hit me when the entire theater began waving their arms to the music, eventually errupting in applause following the song “Dancing Queen.” In fact, at the conclusion of the movie, the entire middle section (we were off to the side) got out of their seats and began dancing everywhere.

This would be the point where I looked at Heather with complete laughter and said, “You owe me big time for this one!” I will say, however, this was certainly one of our more memorable anniversary celebrations.

Did I mention that I really enjoyed the movie?

I used to look forward to the Tour de France. But I think I’m done with that one. I’m tired of all the doping.

It was 45 days ago I returned from Malawi after spending a total of 17 days away from home. Though this was not my first trip to Africa, the lessons learned were many, including:

The difference lies in that congregations south of the equator are dealing with these challenges while strengthening their faith and “growing in numbers” (Acts 16:5).

Two weeks ago I crossed another activity off of my “bucket list” when I was invited by some dear friends to attend the NASCAR races at Talladega Super Speedway in Talladega, AL. I’ve been a closet NASCAR fan for some time now, and to see a race in person was nothing short of spectacular!

The great thing about Talladega is that it sets in the middle of nowhere and the best, er only way to experience this great weekend is to grab your tent/camper/RV and a few of your closest friends, then load up some cold drinks and good food and settle in for the weekend!

My traveling companions couldn’t have been better, and I am indeed grateful for their tremendous hospitality. We stayed in the infield just off of turn four. Our RV was fully-loaded and had all the amenities of home, including nice neighbors! We even had pit/garage passes, complete with access to the track and all of the drivers and their crews. On Sunday morning, I met singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin, who was on hand to lead worship at the worship service for drivers, crew, and race officials.

While this experience was beneficial in so many ways, I found myself asking, “What could the church learn from NASCAR?” Here’s what I’ve got:

1. Creativity: If I had a dollar bill for every school bus that had been converted into a fully-functional RV, I’d be a wealthy man. Some of these folks took very old and very out-dated buses and “redeemed” them in the very best sense. I wonder how the church might think creatively about their “old” spaces so that they are functional in the 21st Century.

2. Risk-taking: Every great NASCAR driver has to take risks now and again, especially as each race comes to a close. If you want to finish in the top five or even win a race, you have to take risks.

3. Diversity…We met people of every race, color, creed, socio-economic background, etc. I was reminded of how too often I swim in my own small pond and it was refreshing to be with so many different folks.

…but Unity: We were all there for the same two reasons. Of course we wanted to watch the race cars go fast, but I contend that people are just as compelled to go to the races because of the “community” faithful who are unified around a common purpose. I found myself saying, “I went to a great bit family reunion in the middle of Alabama, and a NASCAR race broke out!” The enthusiasm for racing, the personal knowledge of the driver, and the shared enjoyment of the entire experience was infectious. And here’s the great thing about it…there were 43 drivers and only one can win. This is different from a typical sporting contest where 50% go home happy and 50% go home disappointed. Here, if your driver wins, it makes an already-great day an even better day. I would say the same is true in any local church where there are 43+ views/perspectives/interpretations present, but the goal is never about “winning” and “losing,” it is about Christ and his Kingdom. Finally, this unity theme (the apostle Paul is pretty big on this you know) was prevalent in the way everyone loved to be with one another and shared with one another as they had need. Need some lighter-fluid? Wanna check out my custom RV? Need a roof from which to watch the race from the infield? No problem! Mi casa es Su casa. When you’re here, you’re family.

4. Communication and teamwork: This is essential. The drivers each have a “spotter” who helps them navigate the track and pass other cars without wrecking. In fact, the drivers can only see out the front of their cars, and just barely side-to-side. They rely on the spotter heavily. Would that we all had a “spotter” in our lives that we could trust to help us navigate the way and help us see what we do not see! This requires a great deal of humility, the admission that we can’t be the body of Christ without the other parts. The driver also has a crew chief…and he tells the crew chief what the car is doing on the track. Is it turning properly? Does the air-pressure in the tires provide optimum speed and handling? Does the track-bar need to be adjusted? It’s kind of like confession…we share with the Father our lives and the “brokenness” and trust that the Great Crew Chief knows how to tweak and make adjustments that will enable us to remain faithful.

One more thing…NASCAR is so different, so much better up close and in person than it is from a distance or by television. Following Jesus is much the same. The more you come to know him through the Word and through the body of Christ, the more you come to love Him and the life He gives.

If you haven’t seen the pics of our son demolishing his first birthday cake, well, it’ll make you smile.

Dan Kimball has a great take on the Mac/PC sub-culture wars:
Not ashamed of the PC

Trevin Wax interviews NT Wright on his new book Surprised by Hope

Central Washington offers the Ultimate Act of Sportsmanship. What a great story!

The Barna Group has released a new study on The Use of Technology in Churches

Eugene Cho, a blogging pastor on dating: old testament style or speed dating? (TY Scot)

Dr. Jim Miller’s sermon on tithing. “How to be Rich.” Well crafted, as always.

(TY ABSO)

Coming Soon: Why I love NASCAR!

One year ago today we received the call at 8:30am that our son Andrew was born! We packed our bags and drove 16 hours to the land of North Dakota. Our lives will never be the same, and I cannot begin to count the blessings that have come our way. Were I to count them, the would number the stars…

Happy First Birthday, Son. I love you.

It was a great day for our family in every way.

A consortium of Christian campus ministries at TU have come together to sponsor a week of 24/7 prayer. At the heart of campus, near the chapel, is a 10×10 tent that has been set up for this purpose. Inside is carpet, a few bean-bags and pillows, a guitar, a map of the world, art supplies, and a wooden cross. This is designed to be an interactive experience, as is all prayer I suspect.

This post is not intended to lift up this prayer effort to be lauded. What I hope it does, however, is to serve as a spring-board for others who wonder what it might be like to spend an hour in prayer. So, for those who think it is difficult to spend 5 minutes in prayer, let alone 60, rest assured that prayer can take on many forms.

I arrived at 7:04am (late…signed up to be here at 7am)

7:04am Took a look around the tent, read some of the prayers and writing on the walls
7:08am Put on my coat. It was a bit chilly!
7:09am Turned on my computer (itunes), set up a playlist of music, including Bebo Norman and Hillsongs
7:12am Listened
7:20am Read Psalm 139 a few times
7:30am Spent time praying for the TU faculty, staff, and students
7:45am Wrote out a few prayer requests and clipped them to the clothes-liine thingy running across the ceiling
7:50am Wrote this blog post
8:04am Left the prayer tent