It’s always been a little disturbing to me how most churches decorate their children’s area: Noah and the ark and the animals, Daniel with his hand gently resting on the head of a lion, and of course, the Great Fish of Jonah. I’d love to know who first had the idea to use these stories as themes of nurseries and children’s ministry areas.

I’m thinking we ought to paint an ark in the kid’s room to remind them that the whole world drowned because of their sin except for one family. Whadda ya’ think?

Truth is, Jonah is a deep, problematic, and convicting book, particularly for our time. There are so many themes than run through the story – the depth of sin, the awesomeness of God’s grace, the hardness of a hurt heart, true repentance, entitlement of the chosen. It’s all there in unfiltered, raw detail.

It’s problematic because some of the same issues Jonah dealt with are ones we still deal with today. Nationalism, the scandal of God’s grace, racism, and being obedient in a predominantly disobedient world. Jonah leaves us with no easy answers. In fact, some have argued that it is the most frustrating story every told – one with no ending.

We have a lot to talk about during our upcoming series, The Book of Daniel! I’m amped to tell you that we’ll be going through this book with Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. We kick off the series with a roundtable at both churches this Sunday! We’ve got some combined Connect Groups happening as well. It’s going to be an AWESOME series.

So let me challenge you to have some PIE this summer when it comes to Jonah.

Pray
Pray for Antioch and Western Hills. Pray for our Connect Groups and speakers. Pray for God to not just open your eyes and mind to the book of Jonah, but your heart to actually live differently because of the book.

Invite
Invite someone to church, someone to your Connect Group. Someone to go through the study with you this summer.

Engage
If you’re not in a Connect Group, this is a great time to get involved in one. Go visit Antioch one Sunday morning during the series. Be a part of the discussion and journey in this book.

The Book of Jonah is going to be a challenging study this summer. So grab some PIE and join us.

See ya’ Sunday.

Over 70% of the psalms in the Scriptures are a particular type of psalm called a lament. The western church does not utilize the lament all that often in worship. Why?  The intensity of emotion that it captures.  A lament reveals the rawest of emotions in language that most would never think to hear or say in church or towards God.

I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. Psalm 6:6

For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Psalm 44:22

My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? Psalm 22:1

Laments can be accusatory towards God.  They reveal the deepest of sorrow, anger, and anguish.  They were also a vital part of both private and public worship for the Hebrews. This heart-rendering, raw, emotive communication was core to their understanding of relating to God.

If you think about it, it makes sense.  Who normally gets the rawest of emotions from us?  Who normally gets the brunt of our frustration and anger?  Whether they deserve it or not, those closest to us often get the full, unfiltered version of our feelings.

That’s exactly what we see with the laments.  David.  Job.  Moses.  Abraham.  Elijah.  All wrote and prayed laments to God.  They are raw and real.  There’s no holding back.

Here’s what is also there: The Defiant Act of Praise.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Psalm 13:5

I will sing the LORD’s praise… Psalm 13:6

In every one of the laments, there is a moment where The Defiant Act of Praise rings out. What is this about? It’s about presence.

The Hebrews believed that God inhabited the praises of His people.  To invite God into their hurt, they always followed their raw confession with raw praise.  By doing this, they knew He was there.

I don’t think I can explain this mystery fully.  There is something deeply profound and cathartic in pouring out your soul to God.  All of it.  The anger, the questions, the frustration, the hurt, the confusion, the anxiety, the sadness.  It doesn’t seem to bother God to be the brunt of all of this.  Then, by also defiantly choosing to praise Him in the middle of that mess, it’s almost as if that is the invitation for Him to enter into it.  And He does.

I’ve experienced this.  I’ve seen others experience this.  It’s completely unexplainable but observable.  There in the middle of the rawest of emotions, even anger towards God, He arrives.

In my misery.
In my pain.
In my lament.

What remains a holy mystery to me is how that in itself is enough.  So many times, the circumstance isn’t changed.  The hurting doesn’t stop.  But something changes, something that I can’t exactly put my finger on.  Maybe it’s me.  Maybe it’s not.

Either way, there is an awareness of Him that makes it a Holy Moment, and that seems to be the ‘just enough’ I need.

And tomorrow, I will stand.  With my lament.  And with my defiant act of praise.

And He will be there.

We will finish up our series on Leviticus on Easter Sunday.

That’s a sentence I would have never in a gazillion years thought I’d ever write. In fact, if I had seen it from another church, I’d spend at least a good half hour making fun of it. “Invite your friends to church as we teach on Leviticus…”

“Bold strategy, Cotton….”

But hold on a second. Maybe there’s something else here. Alongside some of the crazy laws and instructions of Leviticus, there is also a richness and depth that it provides to understanding the Cross of Jesus. The world knows the Cross is important, and Easter is central for Christianity. It just doesn’t always understand why.

Furthermore, I think there is a longing inside people to understand and at least honor the ancient and the mysterious. There is a desire to make sense of the present and for so many people that starts by looking at the past. Even those things that don’t quite make sense, there is a longing to preserve them in hopes that maybe one day they will make sense.

I think that explains some of the reaction over the last 48 hours to the burning of the cathedral at Notre Dame. There are businesses and billionaires who have no connection to the Catholic Church donating close to $700 million to the rebuilding of Notre Dame. Yes, it’s an iconic structure to Paris, France, and the Catholic Church, but it also represents something deeper and mystic for the rest of the world.

A world will struggle to find meaning in this tragedy in Paris, much like historically people have struggled to find meaning in any kind of suffering. Easter gives us that meaning. I’d go so far to say it’s impossible to find any redemptive meaning in suffering without the Cross and resurrection of Jesus.

A Catholic cardinal in New York was asked to quantify the tragedy of Notre Dame on a major news outlet yesterday. He paused for a moment and said, “This is Holy Week. Our faith is all about the resurrection of Jesus getting the last word, not death. While it is a tragedy that the great cathedral is burned, our faith doesn’t focus on tragedy. We focus on Jesus, the Resurrected One.”

That’s what we do on Easter. Focus on Jesus, the Resurrected One allowing him to give meaning and redemption to our struggles. Offering again and again the greatest exchange in the world. He gives us His life in exchange for ours.

See ya’ Sunday.

I have a confession to make. I used to be very jealous of other people on Easter.

They all showed up to church with their family, dressed up in pastel colors (okay, that part I was not jealous of), and then they all got to leave together to meet at someone’s house with tables set up in every single living space in the home. The meal would be the largest meal of the year, with ham, deviled eggs, potato salad, those little pears with mayonnaise in them, potato casserole, and green beans. The post-lunch activity would be hiding Easter Eggs for both the big kids and the little kids. The entire wonderful afternoon concluded with naps on the couch or in the easy chair with golf on the television.

For us on Easter, our family was scattered around the globe. We spent most of the day up at the church, and I hate mayonnaise. (Don’t get me started on mayonnaise either…)

A few years ago, Amy and I decided to start a new tradition: to be a family for other people. We started inviting people over for Easter who didn’t have their immediate family around. I love this idea, and we’ve had a lot of fun with it. When the kids were younger, we’d even include them in the Easter Egg hunt.

Let me ask you something, do you think you could do that this year?

Every week, we challenge each other at the end of the service to go “be the church.” It’s a reminder to us all that Church is not a place where we meet, but it is who we are as a people. When we live out the reality of Jesus in our homes, schools, and workplaces, what we are really doing is “churching.” THIS is being the church. So allow me to put a more practical spin on this as Easter approaches.

Who could you invite to do Easter with you this year?

Who could you invite to church then to share a meal afterward? Is it someone you’ve been having spiritual conversations with at work? Is it a neighbor that over time, you’ve joked back and forth about church and life? Is it a friend that you know is walking through a hard time and would love just a day to be encouraged and to experience the presence of Jesus?

Who has God already put in your world that you could extend an invitation to for a day that might change everything for them? The chance to hear the Gospel in a fun, safe place then unpack it over some good food?

This is being the church. Engaging people where they are, extending grace and an invitation to something more. It may be a huge challenge for you. It might be an inconvenience. But it also might just be the best day you’ve ever had. It might just be the day that changes everything for your friend.

And isn’t that exactly what Easter is? The one day that changed everything?

Take the challenge. Start a new tradition this Easter. See what God does.

Sunday we wrapped up Daniel by looking at the visions and dreams section of the book. Admittedly, it’s one of the more bizarre sections of scripture. There’s no way around that. Apocalyptic literature is difficult to deal with.

I’m not prone to dive head first into figuring out every symbol and number, but I also think it’s not wise to just throw up your hands and say, ‘It will all just pan out in end!” either. Sunday, I outlined 4 general truths about the visions and dreams in Daniel.

There will be constant turmoil in the world.
Earthly powers and kingdoms will struggle and fight about earthly power and prestige. One will follow the other, and the idea of world peace or a place on earth for real peace with humanity at the center of it is never going to happen.

The godly will be persecuted.
The faithful should expect things to get worse in terms of how the culture lives and how they treat Christ-followers. Jesus says the same in the Sermon on the Mount. It’s just further proof that there is no earthly system or philosophy of government that fully represents God. No political party or governing body has God’s heart and interest at its core. It has self-preservation at its core. All of them.

It’s not all bad news though…

God is still working.
God is still sovereign.
In every vision in Scripture, God reminds us that even though it looks like things are spinning out of control, He has a plan. He is working. He has not given up on humanity.

God sent the Israelites into the desert. God sent Judah to exile. Jesus sent his followers into hard places. What God has consistently shown in the Scriptures is that He is singularly focused on bringing the Kingdom to a reality by transforming individual hearts, not with grand displays of power and might.

He is more concerned about forming character, not our comfort or happiness. He’s focused on a grander story. And make no mistake, He is the one writing the story.

I wish I had added a 5th truth to my message about apocalyptic literature in Scripture. There’s another truth that is echoed again and again. We find this in Daniel and in Revelation.

It’s the Son who takes center stage.
With all the craziness that is described in both Daniel and Revelation, with all the power plays and beasts, with all the mayhem – it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed and insecure. It’s understandable why some people have become doomsday preppers. I get it.

But the one thing that God doesn’t waver on in the telling of His story is that one way or another, Jesus will get the last word. He will. He will get it not by power or intimidation. He will get it, because he is the only holy and righteous being whose motives can’t be questioned. His power comes from His righteousness.

So humanity will have one of two options on that day of the Lord. Either bow at Jesus’ feet in adoration OR bow at His feet due to the inability to stand. The former is worship. And for many, it will be the full meal of what a lifetime of tastes have hinted at. The latter will be a statement of defeat. They will see the utter futility of their life apart from Jesus.

What Daniel shows us is that a life following God is a life well lived. Regardless of the exile we may find ourselves in.

This past weekend, 7 men from Antioch Baptist Church joined the 24 from Western Hills for the ManUp Conference. I haven’t laughed so hard or been that tired in a long time. I can’t tell all the stories here, but I’ll make you a deal. You hit me up for a coffee, and I promise you some juicy stories on Pastor TD, Raymond, Marlon, or André. (I’m looking at you, Antioch family!)

Here are my observations from the weekend…

I am encouraged by our leadership. KNCSB hosted the weekend, and Parker Dane, our Discipleship Pastor, is on the conference leadership team. For them to bring in an African-American speaker for the main sessions is a huge step in the right direction.

They designed a weekend for men that is not just sitting around tables talking about our feelings. We got to learn how to survive in the wilderness, share our faith in hostile contexts, and smoke chickens and various other meats. Yes, each hands-on experience had spiritual applications, but it’s so important to have hands-on experiences.

One Jesus-following man can have an enormous impact. This is cross-cultural as evidenced by the time Western Hills and Antioch had around tables with each other. Listening to these men get real about their faith and struggles of following Jesus was the absolute best part of the weekend. Moments of incredible tenderness and vulnerability worked to inspire and challenge each other.

One guy talking about how working 3rd shift was so hard in terms of creating time alone with Jesus provoked another man who also worked 3rd shift to get real about that same struggle. Together they started trying to figure out how in the world they both could overcome this. Here’s the CRAZY part. One of these guys is a blue-collar African-American; the other is a different kind of blue-collar: a white policeman. There is no universe in which that new friendship starts except in the Church. That’s not the only story that happened here.

We had a few young teenagers on hand, and to see them flock alongside other godly men… speechless. A boy needs a dad AND another godly man’s voice in his life. He needs both. When he gets both, the difference is staggering. Watching these teens drink in what men other than their fathers are saying about Jesus is making a difference you can see with your eyes. Mentorship and Discipleship IS THE KEY!

There’s a long road in front of us. While I’m really excited about this relationship with Antioch and where it may be heading, the harsh reality of the situation is this: of the 356 men that attended ManUp, there were perhaps 12 that weren’t white. Seven of those men were from Antioch.

I’ve been asked why racism has become such a focus for me lately. The question was asked innocently with no hint of anger or frustration. Having said that, the fact that the question was even asked reveals a deeper issue, doesn’t it?

Think of it a different way. If I were a black, middle-aged male with 3 kids, when has racism NOT been a reality for me?

I have listened to the stories of countless brothers and sisters in Christ who have dealt with racism all their lives in various forms. From the annoying (being followed in a mall by security) to the outright offensive (wrongfully accused and arrested in a coffee shop). While it may be too much to ask from our world for something better, I don’t think it’s too much to ask from the Bride of Christ.

The apostle Paul tackled this issue in every single one of his letters. No, he did not use the term racism. He used the word UNITY. Paul constantly taught and addressed the issues that pulled at the unity of the local church. In one instance, it was specifically the issue of racism: The Corinth Church.

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Paul, 1 Corinthians 1

Don’t miss the blatant slap that Paul is giving the Corinth church. He is calling them out for dividing themselves based on their culture and preferences: Apollos, Greek gentile; Cephas (Peter), the Jew. Not an accident. Human nature that is left unchecked and untransformed will seek the easiest, lowest ground to hold.

Christ calls us to something better, something higher. And that is the bigger point to be made here. If you honestly think the American church experience is exactly as Christ desires it: monochromatic and inward focused (generally speaking), then I really think you’ve missed the entire story of the New Testament.

When the world sees the church, the world should see something different. Something more beautiful, more bold, more loving than anything else on earth. The world should see a place where every tribe is unified in their love for Jesus and His love leaking out of us towards humanity. It should see a group of people who stand for the ones who can’t and protect the ones who are vulnerable. They should see something different than any other organization on the planet.

And right now… it’s hard to see something different in the church when it comes to the issue of racism. And that needs to change.

Hard to know where to start this devotional. If you’ve spent any time with Daniel 5, particularly after Cullen’s description of Belshazzar, you walk away from it going, “How is it that after centuries and centuries of leadership development and study, people like that still manage to find themselves in positions of power?”

Belshazzar reads like the bad king in Gladiator or Braveheart: completely delusional, selfish, insincere, entitled, and arrogant. The only reason Belshazzar is important is because of his failure and incompetence. Let me quickly tick off the other fantastic qualities of Belshazzar…

– He takes the Temple objects of devotion and worship and treats them with utter contempt and disrespect.
– He is throwing a party while an enemy army is surrounding his city.
– He is throwing a party while his dad goes missing.
– He is presented with the one guy who might be able to help him, but he immediately insults him.
– He offers a position in the kingdom that NOBODY wants, because it means the person could be closer to him.
– He’s so unaware of the situation that he doesn’t realize Daniel wants nothing to do with him.

Have you ever had to deal with a Belshazzar? Maybe to a lesser extent, we’ve all encountered someone with a few of these traits. Maybe even a lot of these traits. A boss… a coworker… a teammate… a classmate that was aloof or arrogant or clueless.

I worked with a guy once who constantly found himself in the middle of conflict. He seemed to have a nose for finding the most minute issue to argue about. Context didn’t seem to matter – work, church, small group, family – he just wanted to have the last word on every single thing. A few valiant efforts were made to help him, but alas… he seemed to enjoy the constant conflict until of course there was no one around to argue with anymore.

What I think is fascinating about the Belshazzar story are the two different responses to him.

Option 1: Silent Compromise
There is a room full of nobles, wise men, sorcerers, magicians, and kingdom officials that just watch Belshazzar act like an idiot and say nothing. They don’t even try to help him be a better person. Was it because they feared the repercussions? Did they feel like it was a lost cause? Were they opportunists and wanted to see how far they could ride the money train?

Scriptures are silent on this but I’m struck by how we have the same temptation in front of us today. Just ride it out, because we don’t want to deal with the fallout, don’t want to deal with the consequences, aren’t sure of the effectiveness of it all… The list could go on, but does it really matter? If God has put us in positions to make a difference, is there any excuse that will hold up in front of God for just being silent?

Option 2: Humble Wisdom
Then there is Daniel. He’s called into the room and is immediately insulted. “Aren’t you the Judean that’s been in exile?” To which Daniel responds, “I’m the Judean who was Nebuchadnezzar’s best advisor. Let me tell you his story since it seems that you have a short memory.”

Daniel speaks bluntly and can’t be compromised. “Keep your gifts and positions.” Daniel doesn’t oversell the truth. He just flatly says, there does exist the one true God, whom you have insulted, and you are about to experience how real He is. Daniel doesn’t get distracted by the pomp and circumstance. He doesn’t get sucked into the celebrity of it all. He’s not impressed at all. But he’s not arrogant either. He knows his insights and knowledge have one source: God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7

Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong.
Proverbs 3:7

Want a good start to gaining wisdom? Be humble. Do the right thing. That’s the starting point for godly wisdom.

Yes, it may fly in the face of conventional wisdom that seems to preach to do whatever you can to get ahead and make a name for yourself. But there are plenty of stories that show the train wrecks of that kind of living. It never ends well. It didn’t end well for Belshazzar, and it doesn’t end well for so many others as well.

How did it go at Antioch?

I’ve been asked this a million times, and I’m still not sure how to answer the question. Presumably, I was the first white man to preach at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, which given Topeka is the home of Brown vs. Board of Education, is a little hard to believe. But then again, maybe not.

My whole family felt welcomed. Actually, more than that. We felt loved on. Can’t tell you how many people were not satisfied with just a handshake and pulled us in for the full hug experience. Not a friendly hug, but the grandmother-hasn’t-seen-you-in-years kind of hug. Many of these hugs were finished off with a kiss on the cheek or a pat on the face. It wasn’t forced. It was sincere and loving. They WANTED us there.

The worship scene was jumpin’. Worship isn’t really worship unless there is engagement of the mind, heart, and soul. If this music doesn’t jump start you to do that – you don’t have a pulse. They did a special music piece (and I’m not a fan of special music) with their choir, called Genesis. Here’s a link to another church doing it.

The only downside was, I had to follow that. As I got up to preach, a Western Hiller who was in the audience was feeling the vibe of the church loudly said, “Yeah… follow that, brother!”

I think I did alright, because near the end of the message, one of the elder men in the church stood up while I was preaching, turned to those around him and said, “That white boy can preach.” That provoked quite a few “Amen,” “Go on,” and “That’s right.”

Couple of thoughts on this whole journey so far…

Inside of Antioch and Western Hills is a heartbeat to be a blessing to our city. Both churches have this ethos that doesn’t want to do church just to do church. They both want more. They both are asking the question, “How can we make much of Jesus and serve our city in His name?” That drive alone unites hearts.

Yes, there are cultural differences, but I think they can be celebrated and embraced rather than used as dividing walls that keep us apart. Is there room for different styles, language, and traditions inside this relationship? Absolutely, and they will make us both better.

TD and I aren’t following a plan, we are following a person. We’re trying to follow the Spirit through this, which means a lot of listening and asking questions. It means being okay with not knowing exactly what is coming next. It means creating space for all of our folks to start building relationships with each other, much like the one TD and I have.

Finally, I’m so humbled by the outpouring of support from both Western Hills and Antioch leaders. There is a hunger for not just reconciliation but for partnership. Partnership that makes an impact on our city in a redemptive way. THAT is what excites me about the next steps in this journey.