Which Type of Christian are You?

a Capella . . . Instrumental.

Traditional . . . Contemporary.

Evangelical . . . Emerging.

Premillinial . . . Postmillinial.

There are so many different kinds of churches today you need a printed program to keep it all straight. While I can’t help you understand every distinctive, I have found one method for discerning which generation of church-goer you are. . . and it’s probably hanging on your hallway wall right now.

Are you an Olan-Christian or a Post-Olan-Christian?

You’re a good-old-fashioned Olan-Christian if you have an Olan Mills portrait hanging in your hallway or tucked away in a photo album. Take a look at this website and see if it brings back any nightmares memories for you.

The Shack

Awhile back, within a single week, three different people recommended the same book to me. I figured that if three different people recommended the same book to me in the same week I should read it. And, WOW, am I glad I did!

If you haven’t read The Shack you are missing out on a GREAT book. It’s a simple story of a man (Mack) who becomes bitter when his young daughter is killed by a serial killer. One day a note from God arrives in his mailbox. The note is an invitation from the Trinity to meet them at the very shack where his daughter was murdered.

One side note. . . the book almost seems to have been written by two authors. The first part is awkward and poorly written. I almost gave up reading it a few times. Eventually, however, the grammar and sentence structure improved and the book become immensely more readable.

The rest of the book is a series of conversations that range from the nature of evil to the nature of God’s love. The writing is such that you can speed read the book but I urge you to take your time. Savor the conversations and experiences at the shack. Reflect on the dialogue. You will find your own questions about God being raised and answered in an enlightening way.

You won’t agree with everything that is said, but you will be inspired. Many of your theological assumptions (some that you didn’t even know you had) will be challenged. More than anything else, you will come away with a profound sense of God’s love.

Random People Thoughts

People are funny (myself included). Here are a few of the people I encountered during the last two weeks.

The other day I overheard four janitors talking about the space-time continuum. Apparently, they had first-hand information about secret government test programs where scientist were on the verge of breaking the light-speed barrier. They reasoned that once this is accomplished it will be a simple matter to traverse the stars. Of course, according to these janitorial experts, people will need to get used to having their bodies disfigured during such journeys (an obvious side effect of travel at such speeds). They shouldn’t worry, however, because once travelers return to regular space-time their bodies will return to normal. Unfortunately, as proved by the theory of relativity, travelers will experience time differently than non-travelers. This will cause emotional struggles as the world they return to will undoubtedly be different than the one they left.

I didn’t know they taught such things in janitor school. Go figure.

I met a man in passing today who must be very sad. As he walked by me we made eye contact. To be polite I asked, “How are you doing?” His reply has stuck with me all day: “Oh… I suppose things could be worse, but I’m not sure how.”

I wish I could sit down and talk with him about what makes him so sad.

Today, I was gossiped about by someone I respect. Yesterday, I gossiped about someone who respects me.

Someone saw me reading, “The Shack”. They asked about the book. I told them about what I had read so far. . . a guy’s daughter gets kidnapped and murdered, he lives with the pain for years before getting an invitation in the mail from God to meet him at the shack where his daughter was killed. Once there, he meets God. . . who happens to remind me of Aunt Jemima.

From the look on her face, I gathered the woman was sorry she asked about the book.

My father-in-law, my daughter, and I went to a museum. My father-in-law spent part of the tour correcting our tour-guide.

Poor tour-guide.

Knowing the Future

Today, I read a blog post by Seth Godin about the uncertainty of the future. He listed some things that a few years ago you would have never seen coming in 2008. Who would have guessed that in December 2008. . .

1. You’d know the name of Alaska’s governor?
2. A black man whose father is from Africa would be elected president by a landslide?
3. An earthquake in Myanmar will kill more than 100,000 people and their government will do nothing.
4. The economy will be in the middle of a once in a century meltdown.
5. Starbucks will sputter, but the quality and availability of dark chocolate will get better and better.

Godin’s point is that since we can’t know what the future holds, we need to be prepared for anything.

But I got to thinking, we DO KNOW THE FUTURE and that is what we need to prepare for!  We may not know the details but we do know what will happen. As long as this world exists, there will be wars, famines, floods, and economic disasters. Babies will be born and loved ones will pass away. Fortunes will be made and lost. Nations will fall and nations will rise.

And one day it will all come to an end.

When that end comes, all that will remain is God and his love for you and me.

I Smell Manure

My sweet bride and I got to spend the weekend in Lubbock, TX. We were there so I could preach the wedding of two dear friends. In between final arrangements, rehearsals, talking with old friends for hours, and the wedding itself, Mimi and I got to spend lots of time running around Lubbock.

Eight years ago we lived in Lovington, New Mexico. Lovington is a little town on the east side of New Mexico, about 90 minutes from Lubbock. When people from Lovington want to go to “the city”, they go to Lubbock. I made countless trips to Lubbock from Lovington to visit people in hospitals. I took several classes at Lubbock Christian University. Both our children were born in Lubbock. Lubbock holds some great memories for us.

We spent most of this particular weekend roaming the streets. We reminisced about restaurants where we had eaten, hotels where we stayed the nights before our daughters were born, stores we had shopped at, and churches we had attended. The weather was crisp, the sky was clear, the people were friendly, and the weekend was perfect.

Lubbock is a clean, modern town. The streets are in great shape, there is construction everywhere. Modern strip centers are going up in an orderly fashion. We didn’t notice a single piece of graffiti. It’s obvious, the city is going places. The weather was crisp, the sky was clear, the people were friendly, and the weekend was perfect.

Honestly, both of us became a bit melancholy as we thought about Corpus Christi and its dirty beaches, sticky weather, backwards thinking city leaders, etc., etc., etc. We soon started wondering aloud what it would be like to move to Lubbock. Mimi even said, “When we get back to the hotel I’m going to look up the schools in the area and see what we can find out.”

I was with right with her. . . for awhile. I was with her until Sunday morning as we walked out of our hotel room to go to church. That’s when it hit me. I was hit head on with the smell of manure.

No matter how you cut it, Lubbock is a panhandle, West Texas, prairie town. Suddenly, I remembered a few other details about Lubbock. Like the spring-time sand storms. They get so bad that the paint on your car can literally be sand-blasted off. I drove  through more than one storm where I couldn’t see the lines in the road. They’re like driving through blizzards. I also remembered the terrible allergy problems I used to have. It gets hot there in the summer (yes, it’s a dry heat; but, it’s still hot) and terribly cold in the winter.

When all these memories came rushing into my mind, I told Mimi, “I smell manure! Now I remember why I don’t like Lubbock. There’s no way I want to move here.”

Of course, my dear wife took a long, deep whif of the manure filled air and said, “I’d move here tomorrow!”

Lord, help me.

Another Thing About Lost

I’m just sitting here watching the first episode of season 2 of Lost and I noticed another similarity between the show and the church.

Tragedy is once again facing the survivors. Jack, the leader, has a plan for everyone to stay together in the safety of their cave. He gives an impassioned speech that convinces everyone — except one person.

There’s always at least one.

A leader develops a strategy, points the way, builds concensus, . . . and then somone criticizes, refuses to follow, and even sabotages the work. It’s one of the most discouraging parts of being a leader in God’s kingdom.

I think it would be easier if the rebel was evil, but he or she rarely is. Most of thie time they are like the rest of us; a mixed bag of motives. Also, they usually carry influence with a segment of the group.

A major part of leadership is knowing when to stand against the rebel–and possibly alienating the group that follows him or her–and knowing when to join forces with the rebel and incorporating the group into your cause.

And a major part of being on the island (or in the church) is learning to be a good follower.

It’s amazing how many books, podcasts, videos, and seminars are out there telling people how to be good leaders. Maybe what the church needs is more training on being a good follower.

7 Ways Lost is Like the Church

I can’t help it. I’m addicted.

Thanks to Hulu.com I can watch the TV series Lost for the first time–and I can’t get enough of it.

It’s amazing how much the show is like church life.

1. A group of people doing life together.
2. Sometimes they get along, sometime they don’t; but they’re stuck together no matter what.
3. Each person is loaded with baggage from the past.
4. Each person is healed a little when he or she unpacks their bags (confesses).
5. Each person brings a unique skill-set that when he or she uses it the entire group is blessed.
6. Mysterious forces stand against them.
7. A great line from the show: “On this island, we all get a new life.”

Sad, Very Sad

I’m a bit of a geek so I’ve watched with interest the rise of Apple and the fall of Microsoft. Everything from the iPod, the iPhone, the iMac and more have been huge successes for Apple while Microsoft has struggled to release a lame operatating system, clunky media players, and buggy software.

Of course, Microsoft is tremendously more successful than Apple by almost every standard except perception. They sell more software, are in more countries, and have more cash on hand than Apple. But Apple has still won the image battle.

Recently, Microsoft decided to take Apple head-on to change people’s perceptions. They are releasing commercials designed to change our perceptions of them. Unfortunately, if they can’t do any better than this first attempt then the war is already over.

I wonder if the same thing doesn’t happen with the church sometimes. Are we more concerned with how the world perceives us than we are with being the best Christ follower we can be? Are we more interested in being accepted by the world or being viewed by the world as being successful than we are with living the life God designed us to live?

Won’t the image thing work itself out on its own if we’ve first got a good product?

Don’t we look more foolish by trying to be like the world than if we just tried to be like Jesus?

It’s Been Awhile

It’s been awhile since I’ve done much writing/blogging/journaling/thinking-out loud-on-the-computer.

I guess I’ve just been in one of those quiet-keep-to-myself moods lately (18 or so months).

I’m not sure I’m really out of that mood just yet, but it occured to me that it’s time for me to take the advice of the 12-Step community: sometimes you just have to fake it til you make it.

So, welcome.

Welcome to “Dan Morris Online”. For whatever it’s worth to whomever (whoever???) has nothing better to do than read my ramblings; this blog will serve as an open window into my soul. I’ve got to warn you though, it’s kinda dark in here at times. But hopefully, together, we can let in a little light.

I make no promises about how often I’ll post or what I’ll post. But I do promise to be as honest and open as I can.

(Isn’t it funny that a guy who works at a church can’t always be honest and open?!).