I Am Second

For the past two years, I have worn an "I Am Second" bracelet. I have had more opportunities to talk about Jesus because of this dumb rubber ring around my wrist. 

If you haven't checked out the site, drop by and watch a few of the videos. They are filmed/edited well.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Awakened

Gospel Amnesia sucked!

I am reminded today of one of the many things God used to wake me up from my slumber. Some of his reminders were gentle. There were many I probably missed along the way. All the sermons, the books, the conversations that I was too busy to really listen to at the time. This wasn't one of those reminders. This one was hard, but it did the trick.

It wasn't an overnight awakening. It was really more of a gradual thaw. A little at a time, the gospel penetrated my hardened behavior-based faith. Slowly I remembered just what made the good-news good.  

Like Narnia, the long cold winter gradually came to an end. I'm still not thawed. I live in the crisp days of spring and I am enjoying the freshness of gospel-centered living, but I'm still finding areas deep in my soul that have not been penetrated by the gospel. Although less often, I still find ways to shift my hope off of God and onto myself. I still look for my security and acceptance in things other than Jesus, but thankfully it is less and less.

So, I am thankful for a day like today, when I can pause and think back on God's quiet reminders with a heavy heart, but with a thankful heart. (RIP E.D.)

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Feeding the Hungry

One of my blogging friends (let's just call her "Cheryl") wrote a post last year that caught my attention and left a year long mark on my life. Cheryl is one of a few bloggers I look forward to reading. She tends to have good insight into life and ministers faithfully to women through her blog and on many occasions I have been the indirect recipient of her wise counsel to my wife.

In this specific post, Cheryl relayed an encounter she had with a homeless fellow. She and her daughter had been doing errands and she wrote how they were able to provide this man with a quick meal from a stack of McDonald's gift cards they kept in their car. I liked reading how they went out of their way to chase this guy down and loved the idea of keeping gift cards in the car to hand out.

Then, the more I thought about what she wrote, the more I was challenged by my own reactions to folks I had seen around town looking for help.

At the time I read her post, our family had recently made a change in churches. We had been attending a small church located in a secluded residential neighborhood. Strangers rarely showed up and when they did, they stood out among the clean-pressed families who attended. From there, we ended up at a very public church located on a busy downtown street. At this new church, we regularly have strangers showing up. From homeless individuals who are just walking the downtown streets to thirsty vagrants looking for a warm cup of coffee, this church is easy to find and often welcomes the less fortunate.

I realized that I had become numb to folks asking for help. I had become very good at saying no and moving on my merry way without batting an eye. I was neither moved with pity, nor was I bothered by them. I had become numb to vagrants, beggars with cardboard signs, and homeless families migrating through my city.

At the same time, I justified this response by supporting ministries that served the homeless and on occasion I even got my feet wet by serving food at our local homeless shelter. To make matters worse, like one of Chery's critics, I questioned the safety of interacting with vagrants. 

It seems I was looking for a safe, controlled environment or an official ministry to support. Yet, when I read this post, I was struck by the fact that she and her daughter saw and met a need.

That motivated me. I happened to have a hundred dollar bill sitting in my wallet, so I jumped in the car and drove to our local McDonalds and bought ten $10 gift cards and split them between my car and my wallet.

It was my goal to be prepared for the next person that asked for help/food/money. Like Cheryl and her daughter, I wanted to be ready to meet the need in the moment.

It was actually humorous at first, I found myself looking for opportunities to get rid of the cards. I quickly realized that the harder I looked for someone in need, the harder it seemed they were to find.

This adventure began as I was getting into my car after church. A young man yelled at me from across the street, asking if I could spare a few bucks for food. To be truthful, in the moment, my initial response was fear followed by a desire to just ignore him and drive away. But as I reached for the door, I rememberd the cards and decided to do more than ignore him. I also decided to do more than just hand out a card. I took the opportunity to do what I thought God was calling me to do.

His name was Chris and he was 22 years old. I would describe him as a ModRocker, dressed in dark black clothing and a dark black trench coat. I think he was just as shocked as I was when I jogged toward him across the street. I asked what he needed. He just wanted money and when I asked why, he told me he was hungry. I decided to press him a little more. At first his answers were short, but as I leaned against the wall and showed no intention on leaving soon, he began to answer the questions with more depth. By the end, I found out his mom had committed suicide when he was 14. He didn't know his father, so his life quickly spiraled into alcohol and drugs.  He had been homeless for six years, moving from place to place.

As the conversation continued, I was able to talk with him briefly about the gospel. It was at least eight blocks to the closest McDonalds, but he was very happy to know that there was a meal waiting for him when he got there.

And that started it.

For the whole year, I began looking for opportunities to not just hand out cards, but meet the people in need. Most of the time I was alone, but often I had one or two kids with me and they sat in the car while I spent the time talking to someone new. It wasn't easy. It wasn't comfortable. I worked through the whole stack and found I needed to replenish it.

It wasn't without incident. I met a few crazy people that didn't want anything to do with me (or a conversation), they just wanted the free food. But for the most part, it was a bunch of real people, with real needs and real stories. The food card was good, but most of them (like me) seemed to enjoy the conversation just as much.

I met Ed (and his dog Joshua) on the front steps of the church. I gave him some coffee and invited him in to worship. He had been homesless for more than 5 years and was just plain hungry. He didn't know what to do with Joshua, so we ended up sitting together and drinking coffee and sharing our stories.

I also met Carl and his wife in front of the grocery store. Somehow God provided twenty minutes in the middle of my day for me to sit and talk with the two of them as they continued to pan handle from cars driving by. (I'd like to think that I helped their situation, but most cars passed by as we sat together). Carl had a normal job in construction until the economy soured. Their living situation disappeared and eventually so did their transportation. Now they just survive. They walk around town, trying to get enough money to eat.

My favorite experience was in the garage of my VW mechanic. This dishevled looking guy stumbed in asking if there were any simple jobs that needed to be done. My mechanic, who is approached regularly, quickly said no, but I quickly launched into a few questions. Why? What do you need? In a few quick moments, I discovered a guy that was lonely, hungry and in need of some help. I ran out to the car and grabbed a gift card.  When I returned, I asked him for his name. Russell. I asked him if I could pray for him, and he agreed. I would like to think my desire to serve this guy helped to meet his need and helped to be an example for my friend that watched our interaction.

What began as a blog post, became an exercise in obedience and eventually an opportunity to engage my neighbors with intention and purpose. Thanks Cheryl!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

I Resolve...2012

I'm not working so much on measurable resolutions this year, mostly because I've been a huge failure every year at maintaining my New Year's resolutions much past the month of January.  

I have found that I'm not a very good rule keeper, but I do well when I focus on general changes in life. We can call them themes or like a good pirate, maybe I will just call them guidelines.

As I kick-off this year, one of the major themes for 2012 will be "Jesus + Nothing = Everything" which is based on a new book of the same title by Tullian Tchividjian (Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church). It has already started, but I know that "J+N=E" will work itself into my conversations, blog posts and social networking.

It is a catchy phrase and a simple articulation of the gospel, but it serves as a daily exercise in mathematics for me to see if I am trying to change the equation.  On his blog today, Tchividjian communicates the principle like this: "The gospel is not a command to hang onto Jesus. Rather, it’s a promise that no matter how weak and unsuccessful your faith and efforts may be, God is always holding on to you."

This year, it is my hope that I remember more and more what the "nothing" means in this equation.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

The Return of the Mango...not quite yet!

We are back in the swing of things here in Mangoland. This is the 2nd week of school and we are still getting our bearings and taking an extended blog break as we iron out schedules and school work.  There are plenty of things brewing, just need to put the fingers to the keyboard (or iPad)!

In the meantime, entertain yourself with this classic post from 2006 featuring my oldest daughter. I smiled again when I remembered this story!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Down at the Beach...be back soon!

I'm here and working on a few posts, but wanted to let you know that all of the residents of Mangoland are going on vacation. A week at the beach is just what the doctor ordered. Time to put our toes in the water and our "donkey" in the sand!*

Stay tuned for updates about theMangoMobile, the surf report, the new school year, and the same old stupid commentary you have become accustomed to at theMangoTimes.

By the way, as of tonight we are 92 visitors away from 150,000 on theMangoTimes.com. Will you be the lucky 150K?

Quietly making noise, 
Fletch 

*modified lyrics created by Christian

Dear Mr. Antinomian

Last month on the Gospel Coalition blog, Tullian Tchividjian posted a great letter written by Elyse Fitzpatrick. In her faux letter, she humorously addresses the serious discussion of focusing too much on grace and too much on the gospel. The Resurgence re-posted a link to the blog today as well.

As one who often talks about the freedom that Christ brings in a gospel-centered life, I feel like I'm constantly in the middle of a conversation about the balance between living in grace and living in response to that grace. This letter sheds light on this very conversaiton.

It reminds me of a conversation I remember having when I was corrected for saying, "It's all about Jesus." I was told, "...when people think that it's all about Jesus that will forget their responsiblity in sanctification." In other words: too much grace will lead to a life of licentiousness. Fitzpatrick finally unmasks this person and addresses what it must be like to live a life centerd on the gospel.

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did. I hope you think more about grace and more about the gospel because of it.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Identity Theft

I have been reading, "Because He Loves Me" by Elyse Fitzpatrick. If you have been hanging around theMT for the past few months, you know how excited we can get about the gospel. This author nails it!  The whole book is a great review on where we get our identity and our acceptance by God through Christ.

I plan on sharing other excerpts in the coming weeks, but loved this one. She was talking about identity theft and turned it around into a great illustration of the gospel:

"The surprising reality, however, is that Christians are, by definition, people who have someone else’s identity. They’re called “Christians” because they’ve taken the identity of someone else: Christ. Not only have you been given an identity that you weren’t born with or that you didn’t earn the right to use, but you’re invited to empty the checking account and use all the benefits this identity brings!

This is so much better than identity theft—it’s an identity gift!"

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Live from Capitola!

Happy Father's Day from theMangoTimes!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Letters to the Editor: "Purpose or Burden"

This post is in response to a previous post/podcast on gospel amnesia. One of the readers left a comment with the following question:

I feel pressured to be "productive for God." For me this means being "good," homeschooling, having lots of godly kids, being a witness in the community, being in tune with the Holy Spirit's additional directions, etc. I feel like I need a full resume for God--not so that he will love me but so that I will be useful to Him.

My grandparents were missionaries to India, grandfather headed up seminaries, wrote books, etc., and were extremely productive for the Kingdom. That seems good, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed at what I "should" accomplish.

Is that Godly purpose or is it an ungodly burden? Any thoughts?

Every once in a while, a question will surface in the comments on this blog. This one was particularly good and touched on a gospel theme that I've been thinking through for the past month or so. These are only my thoughts. A discussion would be better, because then it would be two-sided and we could bounce these thoughts back and forth, so bare with me as I respond in a totally one-sided discussion.

Answering the question posed, my initial response to this reader is that they are creating an ungodly burden because of the phrases "productive for God" and "so that I will be useful to Him." Again, it just sounds to me like created burdens. However, I can also understand wanting to be used by God as a servant and that this question is not asking about working FOR our salvation.  This question falls into the category of wanting to know the will of God.  Similar to: "Am I living out the will of God? or even "Am I adequately working OUT my salvation?"

I try to read everything posted on TheResurgence.com and this question reminds me of a blog post I read a short time ago by one of the regular blog contributors:

"So, by all means work! But the hard work is not what you think it is–your personal improvement and moral progress. The hard work is washing your hands of you and resting in Christ’s finished work for you–which will inevitably produce personal improvement and moral progress. Progress in obedience happens when our hearts realize that God’s love for us does not depend on our progress in obedience. (Martin) Luther’s got a point: “It is not imitation that makes sons; it is sonship that makes imitators.” 

 The real question, then, is: What are you going to do now that you don’t have to do anything? What will your life look like lived under the banner which reads “It is finished?” What you’ll discover is that once the gospel frees you from having to do anything for Jesus, you’ll want to do everything for Jesus so that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do” you’ll do it all to the glory of God."

I think this quote captures the spirit of how the original question was asked.  We are not discussing works-based salvation, but the work or productiveness we desire in our sanctification. Regardless, I still think the Gospel responds clearly to this question, because in the Gospel we find rest, we find security, we find value, we find acceptance and we find our identity in Jesus Christ and His finished work.

Furthermore, I think that was what we were trying to communicate in our original message on Gospel Amnesia. Personally, as we tried to live out our sanctification, we got tied up in what we had to do and forgot what had been done for us.  In a very real sense, we needed a reminder of our identiy. Look at how the author Elyse Fitzpatrick describes our identity: "beloved children of God—adopted by the Father, espoused to the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit." It is not a message of work, achievement or productiveness, but a reminder that "we already have an A" and now we need to just live like it!

Quietly making noise,

Fletch

Acts29 Bootcamp

Heading to San Jose this weekend for the Acts29 Bootcamp. If you are going, I'd love to hook up with you.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

You Already Have an "A", part 2

"In other words, grace mobilizes performance; performance does not mobilize grace."
Pastor Tullian Tchividjian

I blogged on this before (You Already Have an A!, Part One) and I included an audio clip, but The Resurgence Blog posted the text this morning, so I thought I would link there again for those that prefer to read instead of listen:

The Resurgence Blog - Pastor Tullian Tchividjian

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Classic Repost: "Pencil Top Jesus"

Another night of blog maintenance led me to this reminder of how silly the market for religious doo-dads has become. This post is from Spring 2008 and it was my discussion on the Prince of Peace Pencil Topper!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Mighty Joe Update

"Mighty Joe"

Earlier this month, Mighty Joe turned three. It has been a while, so I thought it would be a good idea to provide a quick update on the life of our favorite superhero. 

Longtime readers of theMT will remember that Joe had a rough start. At seven weeks old, he was hospitalized for a bad exposure to an enterovirus. Those three weeks in the hospital put him into kidney failure and affected his heart, lungs and damaged portions of his brain. After surviving the first night, we were told that brain damage had occured and we should expect a life of seizures, potential blindness and a host of other issues. Three weeks later, Joe soared out of the ICU. Follow-up appointments with neurology, opthalmology and his GP have indicated that Joe will most likely have none of hte expected difficulties. We don't see seizures, he has fantastic vision and he behaves like most three year olds have in our home. 

Can you say full recovery? That is why Joe has earned superhero status in our home. 

In fact the only only only thing that has concerned us has been a slowness to speak clearly, so in the past few months he has begun some speech therapy. He learns new words and sounds everyday, but he's still struggling to form all of that into clear sounding words. The daily quote around the house is "...but it's not too bad for a kid with holes in his brain." We anticipate nothing less than clear speech with some minor help

Truly, we love our Mighty Joe! He is a joyful little guy and full of energy. He is all boy and loves to play at top speed.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Troast in Review

On Monday, May 9th we hosted another great concert with Jon Troast. As mentioned, we changed venues and took Jon out of our living room and down to the church. He performed live (and amplified) at Redeemer Church in downtown Modesto. It was a great concert full of old favorites, new songs from his recent release and even brand new un-recorded music that he sampled for the audience.

As always, Jon took requests from the audience, provided the stories behind the songs and entertained us with his wit and humor of life on the road as a traveling musician. We counted about 75 (See Official Concert Pic Here) in attendance at the concert. I'd guess that about half of them were brand new to his music and the other half knew his music and sang along with him.

The afterparty involved a bunch of guests back at the house hanging out around a campfire on the back porch. Every visit is fun with Jon. Since he stays with us, we always have fun catching up with him and his life in Nashville. The littlest Fletcher's love having Jon around the house and I think Kenj just enjoys having an adult that she can talk with. It's always a bummer to see him leave and we look forward to his next tour through California!

Bonus...

As Jon took requests from the audience, someone asked him to sing "The Andy Song." It's a personal favorite for obvious reasons. One of the Mangokids caught it on video and made a quick movie. Enjoy!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Another quick note to the young men at my table

Hey guys, it has been awhile since I last wrote a post in theMangoTimes to you about our discussions around the table. As you get older, we have less time around the table, so we need to use this virtual table here on theMangoTimes.

Earlier this spring I finished my second read through of the book Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. I loved it! This book is one of my top ten reads and I think it would be a wise choice for you guys to give it a good read. In the meantime, I want to share a portion with you. Both times I read this book, I found myself stuck in one section where it sounds like Driscoll is writing about discussions that have taken place in our house over the past year. In three short paragraphs, I think he nailed what we've been discussing. See if you agree. 

In this first section, Driscoll is speaking about something he calls "reformission" which involves being a missionary to your culture. I love this portion that I have highlighted above, because I think it speaks to behavior you have seen in me over the past few years. He does such a great job communicating the tension we've experienced in our family. I can't tell you how many times I have heard someone warn me that the exercise of my freedom can be a slippery slope into sin for either myself or someone around me. Here's the deal: Be wise, but don't let fear keep you from being Christ to a dying world. 

Slam dunk and so true! It will never be rules that prevent sin, but it seems we sure hear a lot of talk about how to live. Living in the conservative homeschool community we saw this exact thing. Most of the time, the hushed discussions were wrapped in concern and warnings. Encouragement to avoid certain movies or certain types of music or boy/girl relationships. It's the same old argument: "it's all about how you live and choices you make," but it just doesn't work. Think of how many kids we know who lived one way in front of their parents and a completely different life behind the scenes. Like Driscoll said, the potential for pride is enormous! Remember: it is our love for Jesus and His love for us that will enable us to engage folks within our culture without abusing our freedom and falling in love with the things of the world.

Enough said. Stick close to Jesus. Live free. Be reformissionaries. I love you guys!

Quietly making noise,
Dad 

Twice a year?

Face it. Some folks only make it to church twice a year, once for Christmas and once for Easter (and the occasional weddings/funerals). Maybe you are one of them. Others attend church every week, but they have lost Jesus along the way. Maybe you are one of those who have forgotten that the same power that conquered the grave, lives in you. Either way, I want to personally invite you to worship with us this Sunday morning.

We will be in downtown Modesto at Graceada park. You don't need to worry about breakfast, because we are serving pancakes at 9am (and all the moms cheered!) and then worship at 10am.

On a personal note, Kendra and I will be sharing our story about our recovery from "gospel amnesia." What is that you say? We will talk about how we were lulled to sleep with "behavior-focused" Christianity and how we excepted a subtle exchange of religion for the gospel! You will get to hear a personal story of what happened in our own lives to remind us that doctrine is not what saves people and that it wasn't theology that conquered the grave. Ah shucks...I'm giving too much of our story away! Come join us and hear the full adventure.

Easter 2011 from Redeemer Modesto on Vimeo.

Quietly making noise,

Fletch

Must See Video!

I have eight kids and I understand that time is precious. I don't like to waste time online, so if you are going to spend time anytime on theMangoTimes today, believe me this is worth the four minutes you will invest.

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch 

Happy Birthday and The Butt Call

This post is in honor of my best friend Eric's birthday.

I'm not going to say this happens every week, but at least two times each month I get a phone call from Eric. Actually, let me correct that. I get a call from Eric's butt. I can only assume this is because Eric keeps his cell phone in his pocket and I am at the top of his contact list (Andy).

You know when a friend calls and you read their name as the incoming call and you get realy excited? (See picture to the left and you will understand). That happens every time Eric calls me. I never ignore his calls, because I generally like to talk to the guy and learn more sage wisdom, great advice, and words of hope from my "older" friend.

Well, that is not exactly what I get from my bud.

Normally, when Eric calls me, I get to hear the jingling of change and keys. Interspersed with the jingle is the shuffle of his pants swishing as he walks and if I am very lucky I get to hear a muffled radio program in the background. These calls typically last for more than three or four minutes and if I miss them, I get a full voicemail that I can listen to time and again.

My favorite all time conversation took place when he called me one night about 10PM. It sounded like he was being held captive in a trunk. I started screaming that I was here to help him and then I heard a woman's voice answer me. It was his wife, Lisa. In case you are confused, they were not being held captive in a trunk. Once again, Eric "butt-called" me while he was standing on a ladder changing a light bulb. Lisa was at pocket heighth and could hear me through his pants (wow, that's an odd phrase huh?). Lisa and I continued to talk to one another with Eric on the ladder; me screaming and Lisa talking into Eric's pocket. There is the picture. You fill in the details.

In honor of his birthday, I wanted to "butt-call" him back. I tried several times, but he is way down on my contact list and my mother-in-law Adele (top of my contacts) did not find my repeated efforts humorous at all.

Happy Birthday EK! Love you bud!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

"You Already Have an A!"

Over the years, I have spoken often about the gospel and I am always excited when I hear someone communicate the good news in a new way. Same gospel, different delivery. In line with that, I have been really enjoying The Resurgence for quite a while and love their focus on recovering the gospel and recommunicating that the gospel is not just a message of salvation for the unbeliever, but a continual message of freedom for the believer.

Several weeks ago, The Resurgence posted an audio and video recording of Tullian Tchividjian from the "Our Fathers and Our Future" conference called "Evangelical, Missional, and Christ-Centered. The entire message is worth the hour it will take for you to look or listen to it.  Seriously, it is rich with reminders of where we as Christians find our life. Here's a clip from the very end of Tchividjian's talk that recommunicates what the gospel message says. 

Enjoy:

Quietly making noise,
Fletch