The Leak

Last night we had a few people over at the house….the kids were downstairs playing and one of the adults went down to check on a “problem.” Within a short time I heard, “I think you have a leak….”
 
Knowing the age of the kids, it didn’t really occur to me that the adult was talking about my house and not one of the children. Sure enough, within a few minutes, the story was clarified and I went downstairs to look at the problem.
 
To begin, I am probably not the best person to make an assessment and I am certainly not the best person to come up with a solution. I have learned over time that it is much better to call a professional than to attempt to fix household problems on my own. 
 
As I got downstairs, I took a few steps and water began to raise around my toes…..this is not a good sign. I immediately looked up to see if it was coming from the ceiling….it wasn’t. Since the basement is on a slab of concrete and we have not had any problem with flooding and it hasn’t really been raining anyway, I was befuddled (new word) by the situation.
 
After consulting with the others and looking at the fact that the wet carpet was in the hallway next to the furnace room we began to focus our attention on the furnace…I know you’re thinking, no wonder he doesn’t fix his household problems, he is looking at the furnace as the source for his wet carpet.
 
Here’s the deal! It turns out that the “hose that drains the condensed water from the central air” was blocked up and the water was spilling into the back of the room, going under the wall and making the carpet WET. Within a few minutes, I fixed the problem. I cut the hose and it is now draining into a bucket. This will work as long as I remember to empty the bucket; otherwise we will have the same problem….although, next time I will immediately know the source of the wet carpet.
 
This Sunday, we continue the summertime series on the marks of a good church. The topic for the day is “A Gospel According to the Scriptures.” 
 
Everyone has problems….and nearly everyone has attempted to solve their own problems. Unfortunately when it comes to the IMPORTANT problems of life we have a tendency to solve the problems on our own. The result is often very similar to my results….a temporary solution that fails when subjected to the reality of life. The Gospel of Jesus provides a sturdy foundation that will withstand every situation of life.

Busy Days

Friday’s are always busy days. It seems like every week I attempt to keep it open as an overflow day and it most often seems to become the busiest of the week. 
 
Today, I landed at the office around 1:30pm and plopped all my stuff down on the desk. I plugged in my computer, and phone….and breathed a huge sigh before setting down to put some finishing touches on the sermon for Sunday, tie up a few loose ends and send out this e-mail. 
 
There was an old cup on my desk that had been sitting for a few days so I threw it out and thought nothing more…….until……I noticed a discoloration in the plastic desk cover underneath the cup and soon realized the problem.
 
The paper cup had red soda in the bottom that had eaten through the cup and spilled out on to the desk….and on to at least five other surrounding objects.
 
For instance, I picked up a pen to jot a quick note and it stuck to my fingers….
I have a piece of paper with proofs for printing and it has red goo on it…..
A pen cap…..the desk protector…..the desk…..my fingers…..my packet of Emergen-C…..
 
The sky is falling because a little red soda soaked through a cup and spread out on the desk…….even as I type I can feel a sticky residue on my left index finger…..so that means all the keys have it…..it is becoming an epidemic…..frustration level is rising!
 
Pardon my silly illustration in advance……if the red soda represents our culture and we simply put it in a box (i.e. cup) it will eventually wear through and make a mess. In retrospect, I should have changed cups or consumed the soda and I would not have had the problem. 
 
I may be the only one who sees it this way, but the church has attempted to keep culture at bay by putting it in a box and forgetting about it. However, no matter what we do, culture will seep into every area of our lives and we will find ourselves as members of a subculture with many of the same values as the culture around us. 
 
This Sunday we are going to take a close look at the story of Daniel. Instead of joining a subculture, he lived counter culture and influenced change in a world empire. He was sent to a new country, with foreign practices and pagan religions. He was given a different name, secular education, he had a position in government and a lavish lifestyle. He rejected only the lavish lifestyle. He lived counter culturally….
 
I hope you will be able to be a part of the service on Sunday, it is a message that has dominated my thoughts this past week. If for some reason you are unable to come, you will be able to find it on the website at www.newlifekc.org under the “Resources” heading.

The Accident

This week I did something that was downright dumb…..I wiped out on my rollerblades. Since I have been getting a little bored with running, I decided it would be fun to try rollerblading. Now it has been years since I strapped on the old “wheels.” In addition, our neighborhood has several hills that make for more speed than I need.
 
I was cruising down a hill and decided that I could take the corner, so without much thinking (obviously) I swung wide and took my turn. 
 
And then it happened…….
 
My left “blade” began to slip and time stopped. My mind raced to three conclusions:
 

  1. This was a dumb idea
  2. This is going to hurt
  3. Wow, this is going to hurt

 
There was a lady at the stop sign that watched the entire event unfold. She rolled down her window and asked, “are you ok?” 
 
I had no idea…..I mean, I could still breathe and talk and I was starting to stand back up. “Yeah, I think I’ll be ok.”
 
Then she said the most amazing (for lack of a better adjective) thing, “You should have worn elbow pads.”
 
Now this is a classic case of “I told you so” or “beat the guy when he’s down” or “make me feel like an even bigger idiot than a 32 year old man, going faster, landing harder and feeling worse that anyone near my age should.” 
 
It was about that time that I realized the extent of my “roadrash.” This week I have had a constant reminder of the value of my skin and the sensitivity of the nerves running throughout my skin. When a part of my body is hurting, it affects my entire range of motion. I am not trying to sound like a baby, but I can feel the pain while just sitting still (thank you in advance for your sympathy J). Although it has been painful, I have had to keep the wound clean, use ointment and apply bandages in hopes that it will heal quickly.
 
This is one reason why the “body” metaphor used in the Bible is so fitting. We may have our bumps and bruises along the way, however we can be confident that God has the power to heal us and form us into His image. In Ephesians 4:15-16 it says, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
 
I hope you will be able to join in on the service this Sunday. We will be meeting at our new location at 1828 Walnut, celebrating the Lord’s Table and partaking in worship through songs and a sermon from Dave Thompson.
 
I hope you have a great Independence Day!