brian jennings

God told Jonah to go preach in Ninevah. Jonah ran the other way. You probably know the story of the fish, but do you know the real reason why Jonah ran in the first place? Was it because he did not like to preach, or because he was afraid of what they might do to him? 

In the 4th chapter, he tells God that the reason he ran was because he knew that God was gracious, compassionate, and willing to give second chances.

Translation - he was afraid that God would not destroy the city.

It was his hatred of the people that sent him running. It was that same hatred that caused him to pout when God extended grace to the Ninevites, as they turned towards God and away from their violent and evil ways. 

How much would you have to hate someone to feel this way? How far from God's heart would you have to be?

This morning, I'm wondering if there is a person, a city, a country, a people, or a segment of society whom I have even a trace of this type of hatred for. If there is, I need to allow God to do some major work in my heart. What about you?

"There it is. That's the one," she said, pointing to a small nightclub on a rocky, Central American road. "That's where they traffic children. They abduct them from their village, drug them, beat them, and then rent them out there." My heart quickened, and I had a dream.

With the Bourne Identity's theme song playing, I was walking away (in slow motion) from the nightclub. The children had been rescued, the building was in flames, and I wasn't sure, nor did I care, if the traffickers had made it out alive. 

But it was just a dream - a dream that led me to ask, "Should we fight for justice, or should we wait for it to come when God returns?"

How we answer that theological question impacts our attitudes and actions. And It impacts our world.

I think that the best Biblical answer to the question is, "Yes."

God teaches us through Scripture that we are to seek justice. The book of Amos is a giant rebuke and severe warning/promise to those who are unjust (especially those who take advantage of the poor, and who cheat in the courts). Micah 6:8 is one of the great verses in the Bible, "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." 

There is a lot of injustice in this world. God desires us to not sit back with eyes closed, unconcerned, or complacent. Justice requires action. I don't think that God's will is for me to blow up buildings. But I do have opportunities to create safe havens for the oppressed, to encourage governments to do what is right, and to support those who are making positive changes. I can honor Jesus' teachings on love by pursuing justice in these ways. To do nothing about injustices is to sin against God and show disdain for His creation. 

But the Bible also tells us that God will bring ultimate justice and we are to be waiting on Him (see Isaiah 30:18; 51:5).  This is needed instruction, because the danger in fighting for justice is that we begin to think that the fight is about us. We can become hateful. We can declare enemies, when Jesus tells us to love all. And we can become consumed with an outcome, rather than finding peace that God will one day make things right. We can lose our path. We can lose our faith. We can do more harm than good. 

Hosea 12:6 says, "Maintain love and justice; and wait for your God always." 

So, yes, we are commanded to seek justice, to speak for the oppressed, and to work for change. 

And, yes, we are to wait for God to bring about ultimate justice.  It's his job to judge the world. It's his job to make all things right. And it's our job to take contentment, peace and hope in that.  

If you want to get to know someone, rake some leaves and clean some gutters with them. This sure seems to work for me. This past Sunday, my relationship with 6 people went from "I know most of their names and a few things about them" to "friends." 

The truth is that there is nothing magical about the leaves. But there are deep connections made when we share in a common purpose, work hard together, care for someone, and pray for someone. 

The same thing happened to those on Sunday who cared for those in nursing homes. 

The same thing happened to those who served with our VBS team. 

I told our staff that Sunday's "Day Of Serving" is the absolute best thing we do all year to help new people to build connections to our church family. It's beautiful to see that happening. 

Oh, and by the way, an insanely high percentage of people who have are new to HP (or have just visited a few times) participated. They were drawn to the idea. They were excited to serve. And they made great connections with others. 

So if you want to bring people together, find ways for them to join hands and serve together. 

There are tons of good ways that your church or group could serve your community. We dedicate a day to care for our community - especially those who may be elderly, physically limited, or lonely. We do lots of praying, planning & vision-casting, but here are the nuts and bolts:

1. Organize a team to lead it and a system to make it happen. 
2. Send postcards to the target neighborhood, letting them know that if they need help with a yard project (leaves, gutters, shrubs etc.,) to contact us. We let them know when we'll be serving the neighborhood, and that it will need to fit within those hours. 
3. People call or e-mail us. We find out what they need. 
4. Have our people sign-up on a large white board. We number it out so that there are 6 per team. 
5. Match teams with projects (teams may have 2-3 projects). 
6. Come Sunday at 9:00 for an informal, but challenging time of worship. At 10:00, the other church joins us, we gather our teams, give instructions, and send them out. We also have a team who stays here and does VBS prep (great project for those with physical limitations or with a special place in their hearts for VBS), and we send a few teams to nursing homes. We wrap up at 1:00, lots of teams eat together, and then we call it a day. 
7. We invite everyone who served, and everyone whom was served to come to a Celebration dinner on Wednesday. We'll share stories, eat, and give thanks.  
8. The main costs are the postcards and renting extra dumpsters; everything else is donated. 

If you would like to learn more, send an e-mail to info@hp4christ.org. We'd be glad to help. 

Can you imagine the horror of a young boy being traded for a pair of sandals? What if his physical, emotional and spiritual health were traded away for scraps? For enough money to buy 1 meal or some shoes?

God describes the wicked in Amos 2 as people who "Sell the needy for a pair of sandals, trample on the heads of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed...where father and son use the same girl." 

It's grotesque. But it will happen all over the world today. 

Yesterday, I spoke about Blackbox International with a group of pharmacy students, thanks to the invite of my friend, Nancy. We spoke about the trafficking perpetrators for a while. We are thankful for people who are seeking to bring them to justice. And we are relieved that, ultimately, this is a job that God will finish. 

In the meantime, it's every Christian's responsiblity to do all that we can to reflect the things of God to our planet - things like truth, justice, compassion, hope, love and peace. And as we do, we will see healing for the oppressed, hope for the downtrodden, and joy renewed.  

How can you be part of God's work on this planet today? Don't miss His plans for you today. 

The other day I heard a radio commercial for a weight loss pill that said, "This system doesn't require any excercise or change in lifestyle."

Does this company also offer a pill that will make me rich without having to work or change my spending habits? 

What about a pill that will help me get a masters degree without being smart or studying? 

Or is there one that makes sluch guys into awesome dads, without having to make any behavior changes?

So, when I heard the radio ad, I was picturing a fat guy on his couch who now takes this magic, diet pill between devouring tubs of chicken. Will that work? 

We are suckers for the easy way out - physically, emotionally, academically and spiritually. But life just doesn't work that way, does it?

There are no miracle pills for spiritual growth. There can be monumental moments, and we are glad for those, but they come in the midst of a process. Spiritual growth takes work. It takes time. It takes humility. 

I Timothy 4:7 says, "Train yourself to be Godly."

So, let's face reality: God loves us. Pursuing him is so worth it. And it's a journey that we are on, so let's not try to take shortcuts. 

A sign of maturity is the humility and willingness to respect an admonishment from a leader who is lovingly and tactfully speaking corrective truth. I'm not talking about a critic who is yapping at you because you did not fall in line with their preferences. I'm talking about someone whose life reflects the attitude of Jesus. I'm talking about someone who was pained to have to speak about this with you. 

I highly respect the people in my life who have been willing to kindly admonish me. Sometimes, I've handled it quite well. Other times, my impulse was to be defensive, or to assume that they did not mean the best for me. But these reactions are not acceptable.

I Thessalonians 5:12 says that we should respect leaders who admonish us. 

Proverbs tells us that if we correct a fool, he will hate us, but if we correct a wise man, he will love us. 

Let's not walk downt the path of the foolish here. Let's not shout, "Stop judging me." Let's not be defensive. Let's listen. Let's learn. Let's grow. And let's be thankful for those who care so much about us that they risk no longer being liked, and they walk into the uncomfortable. 

I've been part of several leadership hand-offs, and am in the process of one right now. For our 2:20 Center Leadership Team, I served as the quarterback (called huddles, encouraged, and tried to keep a big picture view) for the past 18 months. I'll still be volunteering there, but I won't be on the leadership team anymore. We are trying to make this successful. Below is what we have done:

1. No Surprises: We said that my leadership involvement would be temporary at the very first meeting, and we've reminded the team of that throughout the process. Letting people know the plan well in advance is both courteous and healthy. Last night, when I told the volunteers that we had officially begun this process, there were no gasps, offended people or spontaneous parties. They all knew that it was coming. 
2. Reaffirm The Team & Vision: Our plan for me to step out of leadership could feel hurtful, if teammates did not know why it was part of the plan. I've explained several times that my temporary role in leadership could be very beneficial to HP & the 2:20 at first, but could become a detriment to both if it became long term. HP needs me to invest energy in other leadership areas, and the 2:20 needs people who can give their complete attention to its ministry. 2:20 has a beautiful vision, and we don't want to jeopardize its effectiveness. 
3. Team Lead: We are big fans of team leadership. I have not made one, big, important 2:20 decision on my own. All of those have been made within the context of the team, and that will continue. Because we already have a leadership team in place, we have several very capable leaders who are NOT stepping down. Instead, one of them is stepping into my quarterback role, and he is already very in tune with the ministry. 
4. Talk, Train & Pray: I met with this person last week. We talked candidly about whether this would be a good role. I was fully at peace with this person. They were at peace about the decision too.  
5. Be Patient: The worst thing that we could do is to hand off the reigns prematurely. This person's move in leadership is not rushed at all. 
6. Communicate: We'll communicate this to other folks, who need to know.
7. Defer: I have communicated to the leadership team that I plan on helping them see through two or three tasks that I can most easily finish, with their help. These will be completed over the next 10 days or so. After that, I told them, I am more than happy to help them if they have a question, need some input, or can't find a file that I lost, BUT I'm going to wait for them to ask. I'm not going to be hovering over them. Also, when other people ask me questions about 2:20 that should be answered by someone on the leadership team, I'm not going to answer them, even if I know the answer. I'll just point them towards the appropriate leader. I will continue to volunteer, but I'm going to work really hard stay within that role. 

Would you add anything to this list of what we should do?

He could hear the electricity in the air. Something was up. There was a buzz of excitement. When you are blind, you pick up on those sounds from far away.  

Jesus was approaching.

He had heard the stories, so he cried out in desperation, "Jesus, have mercy on me." 

"Shhh!" the crowd ordered. "Don't bother him." 

But there are times when you only have one shot...  this opportunity comes once in a lifetime and he wasn't going to miss it. Luke 18:39 says, "But he shouted all the more." 

Maybe he'd be ignored. Maybe he would be shoved down. Maybe he would be cursed. Or maybe God would stop in his tracks and heal his eyes, his social curse, his life. 

God did. 

There are times to listen to others. 

But there are times that others may try to quiet your cries to Jesus. Ignore them. Keep pleading. 

There are times when the potential for the miraculous outweighs any possible reason to be silent.

For Blackbox, we may hear that the trafficking problems are too big, the systems too corrupt, the risks too great, and the work too overwhelming. But we have committed to crying at the top of our lungs, "God, have mercy on these boys!"

Thank you for praying and partnering with us. 

For the past few months, I've been thinking that as a church leader, and sometimes just as a person, I need to think more like a church planter. What I mean is that, if I were a church planter...

1. I would pray like someone who was overwhelmed. 
2. I would realize how much I need to pour into other leaders. 
3. I would spend lots of energy developing teams. 
4. I would intentionally rub shoulders with people far from God. 
5. I would wildly celebrate anytime a person took a step in their spiritual walk. 
6. I would not be afraid to take prudent risks. 
7. I would stay outward-focused. 

I read a good blog post yesterday morning about a study that tried to track when people are most creative. The bottom line is that we are often most creative when we would not expect it. I thought about this, and then last night happened!

First, some background: I usually have sermon ideas and rough drafts done weeks in advance. But I've been sunk in quicksand when working on my Easter sermon. The Easter sermon document contained one passage and a one-sentence note. That's it. 

Last I went to pick up a prescription for my mother-in-law (who shows more kindness to my family than I could repay). After standing in line at Wal-Mart, I realized that I was at the WRONG Wal-Mart. Ah poo! So I drove across town and decided to just zip through the drive-thru. But after 15 minutes, I had not zipped even one car closer to the window. During those 15 minutes, I thought about my Easter sermon for some reason. I have no idea why. I was just waiting and listening to a basketball game. I tugged my over-sized phone out of my pocket,  looked up the passage and read it several times. It's a great passage that began to really come alive to me. At that point, I decided to park and go inside (there were still 5 cars in front of me with no signs of movement). 

I walked inside to recognize my bad Idea. I had the same reaction to the line that you get when you walk into McDonalds, only to realize that a bus just dropped off 30 students who are standing in the line of the only open register.* There were 10 people in line inside. The guy behind me sounded like he was going to die at any point. He was coughing, moaning, and kept sitting down. Now that I think about it, I should have let him go first, but it never crossed my mind (that's a blog for another day). The people two-back struck up a conversation about the guy's shirt and started flirting incessantly. But I pulled my phone out again. This time, I started typing notes. By the time I made it to the front of the line, I had sketched out a sermon outline, along with a multimedia idea.** 

Trust me, I won't be going back there next time I need a burst of creativity. But I'm delighted by my wait there last night. I'm thinking that the blog that I'd read earlier was right on cue - creativity happens when you might least expect it. 

Have you recently had a burst of creativity when you least expected it?

*The only thing worse than standing behind 30 teenagers in McDonalds, with none of them being prepared to order when it's finally their turn, is to recognize that when it's my turn (20 minutes after walking in) I am also unprepared to order. I end up panicking and ordering the first thing that I see. Or I just say, "I'll take a number 4," as I quickly try to to locate it on their board.  

**As an added note to you competitive types (like me), the car that was in front of me in the drive-thru was pulling away from the window, just as I walked to the counter. It was a wash. 

Last night I was overwhelmed by the documentary “Love Costs Everything.” The film tells the stories of Christians who are facing intense persecution for their faith, and adds excellent research and perspective. Three hours after the movie had ended, I sat on my bed to wrestle some thoughts out of my mind and onto some paper. Here are a few of them: 

• The filmmaking was spectacular. The story is so strong that I would have been engaged if that’s all this film was. But it’s not. The animation (especially the timeline at the beginning) added compelling clarity. And the artistry and excellence behind the camera-work, music and production rocketed it to the category of “gripping.” Seriously, it squeezed my heart and still has not let go. Not once did I think, "That's a bit cheesy or poorly done." A good movie experience sucks you in for about 90 minutes. A great movie experience sucks you in for a length of time that stretches well beyond the closing credits. Christ In Youth invested heavily to complete this film project. I’m so glad that they did, and I’m so glad that their standard for excellence is so high.

• The film captures authentic Christianity. You know how Christianity is usually portrayed in the media – horribly. What’s even worse is when Christianity is not portrayed well by the very ones who should be setting the example. People’s view of Christianity could be radically re-aligned by watching this film.

• I’m a Christian, so seeing these stories gave me a lot to think about. “Am I willing to die for my faith? Would I risk death to help someone else find life? I don’t want to be a spiritual wimp!” The film is challenging, but also inspiring. The love and peace of Jesus was affirmed over and over again. 

Christ In Youth hopes to be able to release the film to select theaters in late Spring. I beg you to watch it. To find out more about the film, go here.

I have a few more reflections that need to be better formulated in my mind. I hope to share those soon. 

There have been times in my life where I've figuratively "Had a cow," but I've never been accused of actually acting like a cow. An ancient king wasn't so fortunate. 

My family has been reading through the book of Daniel, and there are some great stories in that book. But the one that we may like the most is found in chapter 4. King Nebuchadnezzar had already been humbled once (see the fiery furnace story), but it did not stop him from becoming arrogant again. Even after he had been specifically warned with a dream, he spoke of his glory and majesty. And the text says that while the words were still on his lips, God rebuked him. His authority was taken away and he became a crazy man. He lived in a field and ate grass like a cow.

Even for a political figure, that's a pretty hard fall. 

His punishment ended, after 7 years, when he raised his eyes towards heaven, acknowledging God's authority. His authority was restored. 

But I caught something here that I'd missed before. It took him 7 years to become humble. That means that he spent the other years being a cocky cow. How, you may ask, can someone be arrogant when they are stripped of all respect, and when they act like a cow? It's a fair question, but the answer isn't that hard. Just look around. I may not be eating grass (even though a few weird friends tried to get me to drink a grass smoothie once), but any hint of arrogance in my life is just as ridiculous. God is God. I am me. The gap between our wisdom, power and greatness cannot be measured.

Jesus is the greates example of humility that this world has ever seen. He even humbled himself to the cross (see Philippians 2). 

So today, let's all remember that we have as much right to be arrogant as a crazed, cow-man. 

P.S. Click on The Night Of The Cow, if you want to see a really funny skit. Note, you may want to preview it before letting your kids see it.

What do you believe about hell? More importantly, what do you believe the Bible teaches?

The answer to that question has enormous ramifications. They can't be overstated.

I just finished reading Francis Chan's newest book, "Erasing Hell."  I'd highly recommend this book for several reasons:

1. Lots has been written and said lately about hell. It's responsible to study what the Bible says about this issue, and this book will help. 
2. Rob Bell wrote a controversial book that threw this issue into the spotlight. Chan doesn't attack him as the enemy. I appreciate that. He's honest in saying that Bell never fully discloses his position. I've had to remind several people of that - people who were up in arms about Bell's book. At the same time, Chan does address a number of the statements that Bell makes. I appreciate that too. Bell makes some claims that seem well-researched at first glance. Some of them are not. Chan addresses these thoroughly and graciously. 
3. Chan's view of God is very high. What I mean is this - He accepts that we are in no position to pretend that our ways are higher than God's. I have no right to say, "God, that is not loving," because God is himself love. Without him, I'd have no grasp of love at all. So I should never pretend that I have a better grasp of love or justice than him. Chan doesn't use this as a cop-out to thinking deeply and struggling along the way, but it's a key component to this whole issue. 
4. I don't know Francis Chan, but I'm drawn to authors and speakers who reflect humility. I've been criticized a time or two for not speaking "boldly" enough. But after a discussion, it turns out that the issue wasn't boldness, it was me trying to not say something clearly that Scripture doesn't speak clearly. There are tons of things in the Bible that leave wiggle room (how old is the earth? how should a church serve communion?...), and I believe that the best we can do is to research it well, lay out the differing thoughts, and potentially tell people where we land and why. It's honest. It's vulnerable. It's not sneaky. I appreciate that Chan does this. 

Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream. Only Daniel could tell him what it was and what it meant. Nebuchadnezzar had a powerful kingdom, but one day it would crumble. And one day, the kingdom that replaced his would crumble too. The next kingdom would not last either. But then...

"The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed... It will endure forever" (Daniel 2:44).

One kingdom will last forever. The rest will crumble. So my prayer is that you and I would...

Find our core identity with the Kingdom of God.

Serve, first & foremost, the Kingdom of God.

Give of our best resources to the Kingdom of God.

Be overwhelmingly concerned with the Kingdom of God. 

And remember that all other kingdoms will crumble.

So, while we may live in and work towards the good of other kingdoms (and the people living in them), we recognize that none of their successes or failures can take away the hope, joy, peace, truth and love that we find in God's Kingdom. That is very good news!