Co-authoring with Donald Miller

Finally releasing my collaboration with Donald Miller:

http://topsellingauthors.com/world/top_stories/1383/2415/tyson_liske/share

rejoicing & mourning

life is simple...

albeit extremely complex - yet simple.

I'm not saying it's easy, but it is simple (there is a difference)...more simple than I had once thought.

- we rejoice/ we mourn

Admittedly, sometimes our natural inclination is to:

- be secretly jealous when something good happens to someone else: "how come nothing good ever happens to me?"

- be secretly happy when something bad happens to someone else: "well, I'm glad that didn't happen to me."

How selfish, no? How love-lacking it is to respond in those ways...

We walk through this life, seemingly stumbling at times, groping our way in the dark. Things happen - good things, wonderfully joyous things; and bad things, horribly mournful things. These things have happened to you. These things will continue to happen to you.

Just to let you in on a little something: these things have happened and will continue to happen to the people you co-habitate this earth with. You know this...

When these things happen to those around you (and they will), what will you choose? Secret jealousy and/or happiness.

Or will you choose the higher/ harder road?

Rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn.

Life may be more simple than you thought. Rejoice and mourn and forget about yourself for a moment.

...and as you do, you may even find yourself loving. I pray you do.

champion something

ok, this is nothing new...just something that's been on my mind lately.

everyone's got an opinion. subjective, fleeting, morphing, inconsistent, but an opinion nonetheless. and many feel the need to share these subjective, fleeting, morphing, inconsistent little 'gems' with the rest of us (oh, don't worry, I am identifying that in myself even as I am writing this - so back off, haha)

now, opinions are not inherently wrong or useless. actually, they are usually inevitable - if you think about something, you will form an opinion, as uneducated as it may be.

tweaking this a bit...think about your opinions - you know, those deep-seated 'feelings' about those things you enjoy/ appreciate/ and celebrate or loathe/ disagree with/ and attack. you talk about them over coffee. you write about them on your facebook or twitter.

politics...

religion...

sexuality...

morality...

art...

truth...


here's the question: what are you for?

which are the things that encapsulate your life? what do you identify with? what are your defining details? when people see you, what do they see?

- are they the things that you are for? or the things that you are against?

I know plenty of people, who could talk all day about what they are against. Their identity seems wrapped up in the 'anti-something'. Do you know these people? Lists and lists of things that they are not. "I hate this, I hate that..." And, there was a time that many "Christians" defined themselves by what they were not. "I don't do this, I don't do that, I'm not like him, I'm not like her."

How negative. How backward. How lacking.

What are you for? What do you celebrate? What do you define yourself by?

How different life would be if we identified ourselves by what we are for, rather than what we are against. Now, I know that it is exponentially easier to complain and pick on things that I'm not for, but it's a much higher calling to champion those things that I am for.

so, what are you for?

approach cautiously

Firstly, you must know something if you are to continue reading. I make no attempts in this blog to be deep or eloquent (I'm sure you've figured that out by now.) I'm simply asking questions honestly. Thanks for reading...





As I'm finishing up The Blue Parakeet (yes, it's taken me a little while,) I have many questions floating around in my soupy brain. Scot McKnight's take on 'how' we read the Bible has been challenging to say the least. I would really like to not be the only one to have read this book, so if you have read it, please let me know (I have many questions for you.)



McKnight offers 3 approaches to reading the Bible:

1)reading to retrieve - returning to the times of the Bible in order to retrieve biblical ideas and practices for today

2)reading through tradition - giving tradition the finally authority on interpretation

3) reading with tradition - acknowledging tradition respectfully



"So, how can we read the Bible that is both a "return and retrieval" reading as well as being respectful of the Great Tradition? I suggest we learn to read the Bible with the Great Tradition. We dare not ignore what God has said to the church through the ages (as we return and retrieval folks often do), nor dare we fossilize past interpretations into traditionalism. Instead, we need to go back to the Bible so we can move forward through the church and speak God's Word in our days in our ways. We need to go back without getting stuck (the return problem), and we need to move forward without fossilizing our ideas (traditionalism). We want to walk between these two approaches. It's not easy, but I content that the best of the evangelical approaches to the Bible and the best way of living the Bible today is to walk between these approaches. It is a third way."

(page 34)



Now my questions...



- how do you read the Bible?



- maybe my first question should be: do you read the Bible? we'll start there...not as a guilt trip, but as an honest question. Do you actually read the Bible? Or is it more a little snippet here, a little snippet there...or so rarely and randomly that you can't really remember the last time you sat down to just read it? maybe you just let the Pastors read it for you...



- and when/if you do, how do you read it? straight up/ no context? lightly/ with little contemplation (dare I say prayer)? attempting to live out every single word (have fun with that - dude, AJ Jacobs tried)? or so bunged up with tradition that it skews the Word?



- now, before you think of ways to make me painfully aware of your disagreement - take a moment, step back from the computer monitor and think to yourself: what is the most God-honouring approach to reading his Word? know that I'm doing the same....



thoughts?

twitter

http://twitter.com/tysonliske

Jesus'-Wife Beaters

I had the opportunity to take in Catalyst West Conference in Irvine, California. So many things to share from there, but something that's been on my mind that Perry Noble brought up: people who say they love Jesus, but hate the church.

I call these people Jesus'-Wife Beaters. Now, stick with me...there are plenty of people that I know who say they love Jesus, but have this deep-seeded angst with the (His) church. They love to sit and critque. They complain. They vent. They disrespect. They dishonor.

I have a beautiful wife, Brett (yes, she's a girl.) There's no way I deserve to be with her, but obviously I have her fooled. Fortunately my son looks more like her than me! I love Brett exponentially more than any other person.

Now, let's say you're hanging out with me, we're drinking some americanos, shooting the breeze and you feel the need to start trashing Brett - what you dislike about her, what bugs you about her, that you think she's ugly...well, I'm not just going to sit there and let you critique, vent about, disrespect, and dishonor my wife. I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOU IN THE THROAT! (at least that's what I'd want to do)

You catching this?

The Church is Jesus' wife, his bride...you dig? So when you sit back all smug, arms-crossed and start trashing Jesus' wife - how do you think he feels about this? Does he think: "boy, I'm so glad you felt the need to share these things with me - but how do you really feel?" hmmmm.

If you say you love Jesus, it follows that you should love the things he loves...one of those being his wife, his Church.

Now, I know there are faults in the Church, things that have gotten skewed. But that does not diminish the fact that I am called to love it - dang, I am it; we are it. It's a heart thing.

I know how easy it is to find these faults, some of them are glaringly apparent. But, what are you doing to improve them? What are you doing to be the Church we are called to be? You think you're so smart because you have pointed out all the major flaws in the church? Wow, congratulations! You deserve a prize, or at least a punch in the throat (figuratively of course.)

I believe there can be constructive criticism - but that has to be done in love. And if you're not willing to own up to your role in these flaws and be willing to have a role in the solution - SHUT UP! If you don't humble yourself in this - that's not love, don't delude yourself. Any moron can complain, that means nothing. But, who's willing to stand up and take ownership?

Does it grieve you how the Church has gone off-course in some areas? I believe it grieves Jesus too. Is this grief because you know how much more we could be? Or is it out of pride?

I'm sick of hearing it if you don't want to have anything to do with fixing it in love. So, let's together take an honest look at the Church and bring it back to Jesus.

...or you can continue to beat Jesus' Wife...

the Blue Parakeet

Just started into this book, the Blue Parakeet, by Scot McKnight. he's asking some great questions...I had the opportunity to hear him speak this past weekend - quite intriguing. I'll report back when I'm through it, but would enjoy the chance to dialogue with someone else about this book, Scot McKnight, or why we pick and choose what we follow in the Bible.

ps - can someone explain to me how I'm supposed to use twitter? I have it, I twitter - but I'm still not entirely sure I know what it's for. Is it just to hear witty tweets from Bono?

attention so-called Christians

so, you call yourself a Christian? why?

because you go to church? congrats!

because you pray before you eat, or before a test, or when you get a flat-tire? wow

because you own a Bible? so does every hotel room

because you have a fish-decal on your car or some 'witty' sticker? you still drive like a moron

because you don't swear? just under your breath or with words like frick or crap

because you don't have sex before marriage? not that you'd admit anyways, but...

because you judge those who aren't like you? but you wouldn't call it judging - you would call it lovingly concerned

because...we could go on, couldn't we?

or...is it because you:

feed the hungry?

give drink to the thirsty?

welcome strangers?

clothe the naked?

care for the sick?

visit the prisoners?

- let's do this is Jesus' name.

catalyst

I'm heading to California with a good friend of mine, Brad Moffatt and I can't wait. We're checking out the Catalyst West Conference

yawnishly contemplative

I need a rest...anyone else?
enough of this busyness, running about, accomplishing nothing - I need a rest.
let's slow down - agree?
I'm not saying, "ooh, I'm so busy, poor poor me"
I'm saying, "slow it down, take it in"

who's with me? hands up, way up