Rick Nier...Woo!

With the New Year upon us, it means that we are in the season of ranking things. From shows that will rank the top plays in sports to newspapers that will rank the top people for the year. Then the bloggers will rank everything else under the sun, even their own blogs. I saw a show the other night ranking the best commercials for 2010. (I taped it so I could fast forward through the commercials.) Since I fancy myself to be in the top 10 of pastors currently at our church, I thought I might offer some thoughts on this trend of ranking everything in life. I was thinking back through the books I have read this year. I started keeping track using an online tool where people can connect and discuss books together. (You can connect with me here .) One of the books I read was called Angels by David Jeremiah. Since they are special messengers from God and have wings, I think I always assumed angels to be cooler than man. It’s mainly the wings since man is also a messenger of God. I’m not

One does not have to ever look at a calendar to know that a new year is upon us. You only have to watch for the Top 10 lists. Each year we are inundated with lists ranking people, music, shows, planets, species, colors and anything else you can imagine. I even found the following online. Top 10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time Top 10 Facts About Top 10 Facts The Top 10 Weirdest USB Drives Ever I'm really excited about that last one. I was concerned that I might never know which USB drive ranked #1 on the weirdness scale. Despite our need to rank and rate everything, I do think this time of year comes with a benefit. The fact is that another year has gone by. We won't get 2010 back no matter how much we may want another shot. The turning of the calendar forces us to look forward. I've entered new years with moderate success. Sometimes I make no list at all. Other years I have made a list that would rival any government document. This year I believe I will

It was 6 months into what my wife would call her golden age of doing dishes. It was the first time in her life that she had ever owned a dishwasher. If anyone can wear certain parts of domestication like a Girl Scout patch, it was this. 'Watch as I do the dishes at the push of a button,' she'd sing. Sometimes she'd simply stare at the machine while it did the work, then look at me condescendingly and ask me why I wasn't working as hard as the machine. She wasn't alone in enjoying this piece of technology. I wasn't exactly reminiscing the days when the only help I got with the dishes was in midget form. But that was when my daughter shocked me. She said that she didn't like the dishwasher and she missed doing the dishes with me. (Seriously, what are they teaching kids these days?) Missed doing the dishes? Missed it? I'm wondering which part she missed. Was it the scolding I would give her when she would become wetter than the dishes she was rinsing? W

When I was a student in middle school, my second biggest fear was that I would finish a big assignment, only to learn I had missed something. (My biggest fear was that I'd wake up and find myself running naked through the hallway just as all the classes were released.) Imagine putting in weeks worth of work, staying up late, kissing any social life I never had good-bye and working countless hours, only to find out you had missed an important part of the assignment. Certainly you've felt that sinking feeling in your stomach that indicates hope has just left the building and he did not take his key with him. Now imagine that fear applied to your entire life. Have you ever wondered if you had heard all the Bible stories and were still missing...something? If you have ever feared the reaction of an over-zealous teacher who had nothing better to do with her weekend than read your essays, imagine getting to the end of your life and hearing from God that you had missed the most import

Joshua is probably best known as the guy who followed Moses. And how do you follow something like the Exodus? By opening a can and owning the Promised Land. People hear Joshua and they think Jericho. I have to admit, it's good stuff. But there was way more to Josh's life than shouting his way to victory. 40 years before he rocked all over Jericho, he was being outvoted and sent back into the desert. Much like B.A. Baraccus and the rest of the A-Team, he was forced to wander for a crime he did not commit. I hadn't really thought before about how up and down his life was. He was on the verge of entering the Promised Land and then was pulled back to a nomadic lifestyle. I often have a flare for the dramatic. When I dream, I like to dream big. But there are people who make me wonder if perhaps I dream too small. Maybe I don't have enough faith in God. What if I continually make Him to be small, or place Him in a box, or...or....choose your very own overused sentiment? Yeah,

Have you ever felt like life was treating you poorly? Maybe you've been in class when the teacher decides to punish the whole class for the wrong doing of one student. My kids have cried foul this year as teachers would not release a class to recess until everybody was quiet. (Where are these kids who talk more than my own?) Life can get that way. It beats you up and then goes on its merry way. The righteous suffer while the unrighteous seem to continue on without a care. That's nothing new. People have been crying 'no fair' for a long time. (Check out Job 35:9-16). If someone could understand, then I believe it was Paul. This guy had been on both ends of this situation. When he was doing wrong, he seemed to succeed. Now that he was giving his life for Jesus, bad things seemed to follow him like stink follows a county fair. Paul was arrested because a bunch of people were beating him up. (Acts 21:31-36) How does that seem fair? Did the Romans feel Paul had it coming

Let me give you a typical conversation at the Nier household. Jennifer will be cooking supper and I will be calling the children to wash up, an activity that resembles herding kittens. I will go to our 4-year-old and say that it is time for supper. She will respond, 'I don't want anything icky.' The amount of trust that our children give us is mind-numbing. But since I know which foods get defined as icky and which foods get eaten, I measure my response. I will explain to her that she should trust that her parents will only give her good food to eat, but she has seen too much broccoli to believe that. She has her own version of truth and will not allow my perception to warp her reality. Such is the case with Jesus and some Jews that we're told 'had believed him' (John 8:31). The conversation starts out innocently, with Jesus offering them freedom. Jesus breaks it down for them, even telling them why they are ready to kill Him. 'You have no room for my word&#

I could endanger myself writing such blasphemous words here in Indiana, but I think the Indianapolis Colts may not make the playoffs. To redeem myself in the eyes of Manning-fans the state over, I'll add that if they make the playoffs, I would not doubt their ability to win. But this is a far cry from how Colts fans have talked for the past decade. The words have always been 'when the Colts make the playoffs.' But not this year. This year is if , not when . That's an important distinction, I think. It is one we as Christians would be wise to consider when reading the Bible. There are many times that we find an expectation written down that we treat as a choice. The Sermon on the Mount comes to mind as I think of Jesus' words of instruction concerning 'when' we pray, fast and give. That's an expectation from God Himself that we would be praying, fasting and giving. I came across another verse that is written less as a command but would be good of us to co

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:17 I don't know about you, but for me, that sounds like a call to action. This is so much more than your parents asking you to make your bed or your boss asking you to take out the trash. This is an opportunity to open our eyes to a world of need that exists beyond our finely crafted bubbles. Have you ever been in a dark room when someone suddenly turns on a light? That may be the uncomfortable feeling you get here when you see what has been hiding in the dark. You may find yourself rubbing your eyes and needing to take a second look at what you see. But once you have seen, will what you see impact your heart? Compassion takes courage. Courage to do the right thing for the right reason. So what do you have the courage to do? Hopefully it's more than killing the spiders when the women in your life call for help. Being a hero is much more than putting on spandex and flying around the

I was recently given Chasing Francis by Ian Cron to review. When reading that it was about St Francis of Assisi, I figured it might be interesting. And I was not disappointed. This is novel meets history. And I enjoyed both aspects greatly. Here was the description; In his debut work, Cron shares a Franciscan vision for the postmodern church. The book is a story about a disillusioned pastor whose faith is restored by the teachings of St. Francis during a pilgrimage to Italy. “St. Francis is the consummate saint for the times we live in,” claims Cron, who came to know about St. Francis’s life at the height of a spiritual crisis. “He was the first environmentalist whose theology of creation is still unparalleled, a Christian activist who radically identified with the poor and oppressed. He led the first transcontinental peace delegation to make peace with Muslims during the Crusades. He worshiped with all the abandon of a Pentecostal, saw the world through the eyes of a mystic, prayed l

I'm not sure Jesus has been marketed the right way. He could have been an escape artist or in a Jackie Chan movie, perhaps as an extra for Jackie doing his own moves, no doubt learned from a childhood filled with games of Twister. I suppose that wouldn't work for two reasons; 1. Jackie does his own stunts and, 2. Jesus was not Asian. It's too bad, though, because the gospel writers record several instances of Jesus performing escapes. They don't give a lot of detail as to how He actually escaped, but I have some theories. Here are the top 3. 1. Spin Moves Luke 4:30 "[Jesus] walked right through the crowd and went on his way." I know that Luke said Jesus simply walked, but I picture Luke writing simply, not wanting to talk up Jesus' moves. I picture spin moves. If it were a modern day setting, a private jet or a car chase might work better. In the future, having Scotty beam Jesus up might work as well. But, given the technological disadvantages that Jesus d

My kids love speaking Spanish. They only know 6 or 7 words, but for some reason it brings them great joy to speak Spanish. When Luke, my 7-year old, was first learning it, he insisted I have conversations with him in Spanish. Here’s how it would go; Luke: Hola! Me: Hola! Como esta? Luke: Y tu? When translated, it looks like this. Luke: Hi! Me: Hi. How are you? Luke: And you? I never said my kids were very good at speaking Spanish. When I pointed out where he went wrong, this only caused him to laugh uncontrollably and do it repeatedly. My children are quite stellar at repeating things, especially when those things are my bad habits. I got to thinking about this because we are on the verge of repeating another round of holidays; Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year. And while I am not a bah-hum-bug, I don't exactly go running up and down the streets like Jimmy Stewart shouting 'Season's Greetings' to anyone and everyone. Just ask my wife how I react when sh

No bread? No problem. I recently revisited the story of Jesus playing the role of Bread Boss and feeding thousands. It's really quite an amazing story as you consider not only the miracle but the marketing. This is a whole lotta people seeing Jesus work His wonders. But there are questions that surround this story. I get that Jesus has compassion and wanted to do a nice thing. But how is that so many people went to remote area with no plan for lunch. My wife and I barely cross the street with our kids without plans and supplies for keeping them busy, fed and hydrated. The fact that so many came so unprepared is a bit surprising. Now on to the miracle itself. I think many people think the bread just kept coming out of the basket. But not me. I imagine there was some sort of juggling of the dough in the air and every time Jesus passed another loaf to a disciple, another ball of dough appeared in the air. I believe Jesus was a showman and may have even tossed a few loaves behind His b

It’s November. And November is synonymous with inducing a coma caused by the tryptophan in turkey (the food, not the country). Or, as we in America call it, Thanksgiving. Ahh, that beautiful holiday when we gather together with family, eat too much, sleep through a Detroit Lions game and then go home. You know about the ride home, right? That is when you share with your spouse how her family bothers you. I have to confess I feel a tad guilty being snarky about Thanksgiving. After all, it is a legit American holiday. Thankfulness is something that is encouraged in the Bible. It’s even the topic of our theme at our church this month (and 90% of other churches as well). Shouldn’t I just write out my list of things I’m thankful for and then move on to writing some devotional for next month’s church newsletter, something along the lines of a great gift of shoes I once gave my mom? Everybody knows that when you're writing about Christmas, you have to include lyrics to at least one inspir

Mondays are notorious for being bad days. Not for me, mind you. Having a flexible schedule, I take Mondays off. Mondays are in my top 10 for favorite days of the week. I sit at home and catch up on ignored tasks from the previous 6 days. Sometimes I scroll through Facebook and laugh at everyone who is dealing with Monday head on. I think people who talk about a 3-day weekend have it wrong. They always argue that we should work Monday through Thursday and then take Friday through Sunday off. That doesn't make any sense. People don't complain about Fridays. Let the world take Mondays off and watch as the world crisis just handle themselves. Yesterday I was at home (because it was Monday) and my 4-year old suddenly asked (around 10:30) if she was going anywhere. When I told her no, she asked if she was sick. Apparently she's already learned that we have to have a reason to get a day off from the normal crazy schedule. And how is it that crazy schedules have become normal? It s

Recently I took my family to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. They have fish and other animals from around the world. Perhaps none were more curious looking than the paddle fish from Malawi, Africa. We also saw dolphins, sea turtles and beluga whales. The beluga whale, as far as I can figure, is the Quasimodo of sea life. Their 'tricks' consisted of swimming between trainers and eating lots of fish. (Great job, Mr. Beluga, you can swim!) It was a good day, but the most interesting thing to me was how the trainers and the caretakers kept referring to the animal's story. Perhaps I am a neanderthal, but I've never considered the story of animals. But they shared with us about turtles who had escaped boating accidents. And of course, they shared how the beluga whales were trained to swim from here to there. Amazing. Now train them to swim back. But it's not just animals that have stories. You have a story. I have a story. (One of my stories involves dinner after being at the

I know it's been out for a while, but I like the Snickers commercial with Betty White. You can watch it here . ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry.’ Have you ever been really hungry? I think food is a funny thing. We have to eat. I know some people say that since you have to eat, it may as well taste good. On the other hand, rice and beans seem to keep people alive just as well as steak and lobster. I’m no vegan, but I just think we make a big deal about what we eat. Perhaps the Snickers people are right. Maybe you aren’t you when you’re hungry. John 4 opens with the familiar story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. I want to skip to the end when Jesus’ disciples come back with food. We’re told that they had stopped because Jesus was tired from the journey. Now the disciples have food and Jesus does not seem interested. "My food is to do the will of God" John 4:34. Food is what energizes us. It is what gives us the ability to go on. Jesus tells us that His food

I'll admit it. I like to exercise. Plugging in the iPod or watching ESPN to distract myself from what I'm doing and I enjoy it. But I don't love it. I'm not rocking some unitard like Billy Blanks on Tae-Bo or yelling 'You can do it!' a la Tony Little. (That's right, Billy and Tony in the same sentence...gyms around the world just exploded.) I can do it, but I'm not fanatical. There are plenty of mornings when the pillow wins against the gym. While I'm not over the top, I do take my exercise seriously, as you can tell by this picture I've included. People do not believe this is a picture. I have new glasses now, but that's still me. Thus, most people do not realize how large I really am. More often when people see me, the tie I wear has a slimming affect. But I digress. There's another form of exercise that is often hard to see and yet remains vitally important in my life. Here's how the Apostle Paul said it to Timothy; Don't let a

Separating ourselves as an individual from the group is something we have become too good at. It's something we learn as kids and perfect by the time we want to pass the blame. Today, in a conversation that included sharks, babies, Heaven and unicorns, my four-year-old asks, 'Dad, what time are we picking up the kids?' Well, grab your Barbie purse and your ring of plastic keys, little girl, so we can go get them now. I have also been in conversations with my oldest, now 9 going on 27, when she tells me, quite frankly, that sometimes children bother her. Oh, is that a fact? I guess I forgot that her childhood ended 5 minutes ago. It becomes less amusing when experienced by adults who have this ironic ability to separate ourselves from the larger group we are clearly a part of. Nowhere does this happen more often than the church. And while I would love to have a long list to prove my point, I have but one. And while one may be the loneliest number that you ever saw, it is als

It's occurred to me after over 200 blog posts that I may have failed to properly introduce myself. Since this is a slow blog week for me (and I have not scheduled any other posts for today) I'll do that now. Although... I'm not really sure why. At the time of writing this, I have exactly 3 followers on my actual blog. I may have paid one of them and begged another. I can't even convince my wife to follow me to help boost my numbers. I'm not sure if she thinks I care too much or if she's still learning how to do more than email on the internet. Oh well. Allow me to explain the title. If you had as demented a childhood as I did, you may have been exposed to professional wrestling in the 1980's. One of these fine actors was 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair. (Yes, I'm embarassed that I recall his nickname.) Whenever he said his name, he would shout 'woo'. Lest you think I have aspirations of becoming a professional wrestler, I will tell you that te

Sometimes the fascinating details come inbetween the major stories about Jesus. If you have read the Gospel of John much, you may remember John 3 as the chapter that contains Jesus' convo with Nicodemus. John chapter 4 tells the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. These are both great stories that contain wealths of truth. But inbetween... We're told that Jesus went with His disciples to spend time with them. Oh, they also baptized. Where they baptized is significant. Jesus and His crew were in the same place as some guy who sort of became known for baptizing. John, the gospel writer, even notes that there was plenty of water. John 3:22-24 It's almost a side note, but do you see what happened here? Jesus, the Son of God, came and was baptizing. First of all, how cool would it be to be baptized by Jesus. ('I baptize you in the name of the Father, of me, and of the Holy Spirit.') We're told in John 4:1-3 that it was actually the disciples of Jesus

There are certain books which are fun to read. They are light and merely for entertainment. This is not one of those books. Make no mistake, this book should be read. I'm talking about The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. The subtitle pretty much sums it up. 'Living as an ordinary radical.' Everybody is looking for something extreme and radical to stand for. Perhaps living as Jesus called us to is that extreme. Shane Claiborne has written a call to the Church to rise up and be what God created her to be. As he shares story after story, showing us the reality of his dream, one starts to believe it can be done. He tells of how, in a setting where his group of college friends were helping the homeless, a church group brought microwave popcorn to them. They barely had electricity and the church showed her lack of knowledge of real need. Then another group, the mafia, brought bicycles for all the children. "I guess God can use the mafia, but I would lke God to u

Do you remember that dread you would feel when you walked into a classroom, only to hear the teacher say those fateful words, 'Time for a pop quiz.' It was in times like those that I asked God the hard questions in prayer, 'Why, God, do bad things happen to good-looking people? Why?' This dread was matched only by the big test that loomed. You know, the one you knew you had no chance of passing unless you checked out of life and studied for 4 months. The only other possible hope you had was if the teacher decided to grade on a curve and all the nerds were sick...or if something were slipped into their lunch. Well, that dread has returned to my home. My boy, a high achieving first-grader, is already seeing his future shrivel before his eyes as he thinks about his test today. Luke (with tears in his eyes): Dad, I have a test tomorrow. Dad: So, how hard can your work be? Luke: The teacher said she's going to put stuff in there that she hasn't taught us. Dad: She sa

I doubt most people have ever thought of Nehemiah as a tough guy. I know I haven't. To be honest, most people don't think about Nehemiah. He's the guy from the Bible. He organized the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. I think most people, if they think of him, imagine some small-ish guy leading a less-prideful Israel. A lot of this may be due to the children's song about Knee-High-Miah. That's unfair. I'll give you a few reasons why I think Nehemiah was like his generation's Mark Driscoll, but without grabbing headlines. 1. He's a leader. Think less Ross Perot and more Arnold Schwarzenegger. This guy was leading reform and knew how to get it done. When he talked, people listened. 2. He helped rebuild a wall. He's a construction worker. Ever walked past a construction site and seen that 98-pound kid you knew from middle school? If it's the same kid, he's not 98 pounds. Or if he is, you just walked past a Lego construction site, which is