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For many people, the early stages of seeing through the illusion of religious performance, makes them feel as if they got lost. Suddenly they look around and it appears the whole landscape has changed. Places that used to help them now seem to hinder them. The old wells they used to drink from now taste dry and dusty. It’s easy to feel as if you’ve done something wrong, or got lost somehow. But as this recent email exchange will show, this isn’t the sign something is wrong, but just the effects of starting out on a different trail. Yes, that can be disorienting for a period of time. I’ve said this often, no one I’ve ever met who went down this trail didn’t find it well worth whatever price they paid to find it.

I feel as lost as lost can be. Not in the sense of “saved” but in the sense of where do I go from here, what does forward look like? That sort of lost. Nobody calls anymore…they’ve “given up on me.” You see I refuse their “fellowship.” But all they offer me is the same stuff…get in a group and serve the “body.” But the body they are referring to is the machine that ate up my soul, the machine that refuses to question anything it sets out to do. The machine that consumes it’s own like some crazed animal that devours its young.

Is this machine, the one Jesus created when He spoke of His “church”? Nobody in the machine gives the one thing that is precious, time. If I’m truly wrong ,my actions (or lack thereof) then why can’t they spend a couple of days (if necessary) to explain my error?

The answer to that last question is that I have come to believe that they cannot engage in the conversation because they know , they will also have to repent and they will be where I am, a VERY HARD PLACE. It’s just easier to to say, “look at him, he won’t GO to church he is in error…” The definition of “church” is a narrow one…only they fit in it. However I don’t think this is the “narrow way” Jesus spoke of…

Anyway here I am… lost

I actually love where you are. I don’t see you lost at all. You’ve awakened to a greater reality than they can see from where they are? You may feel lost but you’re not. You’re just living out of a different framework that finds the old guideposts to be unworkable. I think of it is people being disorientated. The reality I see doesn’t fit into the relationships I have. That’s a tough moment in this journey, no doubt, but if you truly are awakening to a different reality than they can see, that is the result. You’ve known “fellowship” with religious people. Having rejected the religious overlays that you now know kept you from a deepening relationship with God, you are a threat to people who find their comfort in their religious performance.

How could you not be? And be thankful they don’t have the resource of time to give you, because you probably wouldn’t find it of much help. The one thing I love about religious performance is that it keeps those trapped in it so busy and exhausted that they don’t have much time or energy to infect others with it.

You will find the grace to live in God’s revelation to you and NOT need the validation of those who serve in more religious ways. But it will take time. For now they seem only to make you question your own insights. What you discover going forward is a whole new set of relationships that live in God relationally and then you’ll discover a depth of fellowship you have to date only hungered for. I guess I’m saying don’t look for the old relationships to move with you on this journey as long as they find security in their religious activity. You’ll find a way to love them eventually, but look for the relationships God is bringing to your life now. Just love the next person God puts before you and see where that goes. And keep doing it every day. And soon you’ll find your life full of friends, maybe not all will be fellow-travelers, but they people God loves and with whom you can find friendship.

Weekly I’m asked by scores of people to recommend their blog, book, or podcast on my web page. I rarely do that because the shear number of them would make them all eventually meaningless. I trust God to alert me to those things I need to read and I share the ones I think God wants me to pass on.

One brother recently really touched my heart with his passion for a new website, but it seemed he could only see self-promotion as the way to gain an audience. I sensed he was a bit open for me to be really honest with him and to give him another option. I’ve heard back from him since I’ve written this and I have to see I was truly impressed with how graciously he grasped what I was saying and chose to let Jesus make his life available as he desires, rather than struggling in his own human passion to build an audience through self promotion.

Here’s what I wrote him. I thought others who are trying to find an online audience might find it helpful as well:

I’m glad you’re moving forward with some things that are on your heart. If I could, however, let me caution you about the process here. And I do this because I care about you and how you’re moving forward. And it isn’t so much wrong as it’s just the world’s way of doing things—-build an audience by getting people you know to do you a favor while also praying for great success. How do you measure that? By growing “audience share” or website hits?

I love your passion, but I think God would want it more directed at helping people live loved than them helping your website become known. What I love about the Internet is that people see through this pretty quickly and allows organic growth to happen effectively. When people are asked to “like” someone’s post, or pass it on to their friends, it has a strange feel to it. The truth is people will pass it on if they are touched by it. You don’t have to ask them. When people find you engaging, they will read and pass on the things God has put on your heart to share.

Kingdom growth is organic. It isn’t the result of people doing favors for someone they care about. Rather, it’s people trusting that God will take their voice as far as the want it to go. When I first began blogging and writing, it took me a long time to find my “voice.” Was I really communicating the things I wanted to say? Were people touched by it enough to read it or quote it to others? That’s along process and I know of no way to shortcut it. If too many people come to your blog or podcast too soon, they may form an opinion about it that would be totally different two years from now, but by then they are not coming back to read it.

I guess I’m suggesting another way to go here. Write or say what you think God gives you. See how people connect with it. Over the process you’ll find a “voice” that will resonate with people, because you are actually helping them find life in Jesus. When you find that voice people will pass along the website because of their passion for it, not because you asked them to do you a favor. Does that make sense? I know it is disappointing to those who think they have great stuff to say and no one to read it. I’ve been there. I understand that. But promotion shortcuts a better process of God working deeply in the heart as you find how his voice speaks through you.

I actually get hundreds of requests a month to “like” things, or to help promote someone’s book or website. If I did all that was asked at me, no one would have any regard for what I actually want to recommend. When I read things that touch my life and I think valuable for those who frequent my blog, I put them in. But I can’t do it as a personal favor even to people I care about without diluting the value of doing so. I hope you can appreciate that and not read this as being unsupportive of God’s work in your life, but supporting a truer work that I pray will allow you to freely share what God has put on your heart.

There’s a huge difference between self-promotion in hopes of gaining an audience, and making yourself available to the Father to encourage others on their journey. One may make you a sensation for a moment, but only for a very small minority, the other will transform you over a lifetime and your focus will be on loving the next person in front of you, instead of using them to advance your ministry.

I just got word that Editora Sextant has just released my fourth Authentic Relationships: The Lost Art of One Anothering in Portuguese for people in Brazil. It is called, Amar o próximo. This book I wrote with my brother, Clay, for Baker Books. Since Sextant isn’t a Christian publisher, it is amazing that they have done four books now that I had a hand in: The Shack, He Loves Me: Learning to Live in the Father’s Affection, So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, and now Authentic Relationships.

From the cover design it looks like people might mistake it for a book on dating or romance, but it is not. It is designed to help believers take their growing friendship with Jesus and apply it to building deep friendships with other people in his family. We don’t have copies here, so you will either need to buy them through the publisher. English versions of course are sold through Lifestream.

I’ve truly been blessed by all the email I’ve received about The Jesus Lens since we started posting it a few months ago. I don’t do a lot of direct lecturing these days and this was a unique series with a lot of content. My hope in doing it was that people would be able to see that the Scriptures give us one consistent view of God if it is read as a story of the reality of God coming clearer as the story unfolds.

I was really blessed by this email I got last week from Europe. They had just finished listening to the audio version of The Jesus Lens available from the Lifestream Podcast.

What a service you have done for God’s people!

I’ve listened to all of The Jesus Lens. How I thank God for the lady who asked the very last question, prompting you to answer that what’s important to God’s heart is the direction you’re heading, not necessarily how close you are at the moment. I just broke out weeping for joy. I literally bawled for awhile as I drove. Such a relief! I still was struggling with some “brokenness” as you call it, that made me feel estranged or at least distant.

My heart shouted, “Yes, that’s it!” I had no “proof-text” at the moment to back up your perspective, but now, I have remembered Scripture that clearly supports that way of seeing it. But I was relieved by what my heart told me before the scriptural foundation came.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Today is the third day straight that I’ve had some wonderful time in Luke. (i was reading the gospels when I started listening to the Super Disc and haven’t gotten very far, because Scripture just wasn’t that attractive to me.) You succeeded in whetting my appetite for God’s written words. All of those hours and hours of careful preparation on your part were worth it, Friend.

And this is just the beginning! I can’t imagine what an impact this is going to have on God’s people around the globe! You are working on the book, aren’t you?

Actually, we are working on a book as well, but that will take some time. We are on target to have the DVDs finished by October 10. The price for this 3 DVD collection is $34.95, but for those who would like to order early you may do so now from Lifestream a pre-publication price of $30.00. This is for a limited time and we will ship the DVDs to you just as soon as we get them in stock. If you want to add other books or audio to this order, please be advised that they will all ship together when the DVDs arrive. If you want them earlier, please place as a separate order.

Here is a larger picture of the cover for those interested:

Trailview Media • 3 DVD set • $34.95 • Available only at Lifestream

I got two emails this morning that were incredibly encouraging as to how God works in people as they continue to learn to live loved. The journey can be ragged at time, especially in the early days. But as Father teaches us to live loved, it’s amazing what he can put behind us and the fresh pastures of life he leads us into. Enjoy these stories and know that God wants to shape his life in you, too.

The first is from a former pastor and his wife that went through a very difficult season that is not as uncommon as some might think:

My husband and I experienced the proverbial “boot” from the church he pastored three years ago. The issue interestingly, was that he taught everything from a foundation of grace. A handful of “reformed types” who saw that as dangerous, found a way to accuse him of something …. etc, etc … you know the story. Overnight, our whole family’s reputation was destroyed, and we were excommunicated.

A week after our lives were suddenly turned upside down, a friend brought over your book, So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore and we also discovered your podcast and listen to it regularly.

I know you’ve heard these stories a thousand times. The point I want to make is that you and Brad have “accompanied” us on this amazing journey. You clearly articulate so many things that we believe and teach and live … yet haven’t always had a clear way to express. A few weeks back you spoke about your experience with your former church. You called it a dying. We looked at each other and smiled. That is exactly what we have called our experience. A painful but wonderful death to having a good reputation, a “fruitful” ministry, being liked by many, the ability to provide for our family, being understood and believed in, and so on. We have remained in our little town, where we are seen as unrepentant people who have done something horrible (but nobody really understands what it is), so we are to be excluded from “fellowship.”

Jesus has abundantly provided for us materially. But best of all, He is never satisfied with death. He has brought so much new life in the place of those things that have died… and that needed to die. These past three years have been one of the most significant gifts that Jesus has given us. As deeply painful as it has been, His nearness, tender care, and love have been deeper still. We are so very grateful.

The second is from someone who had been an active volunteer in a larger congregation and found God inviting them to a bit of a different journey:

e have been in a good place for a long time. We experience Father’s love and freedom and we are delightfully learning how to love the people he puts in front of us each day. That expands out to the neighbors we never knew because we were too busy running off to our big church where we were grossly overworked.

That freedom to love has also expanded out to the people we work with. People we used to see only as people that happen to work for the same company we see now as walking the same journey, just at different places in the journey. We enjoy meeting new people and discovering the treasure that is hidden of who they are and the unique way Father has gifted them, it is fun to dig in and get to know them and understand how they perceive their life’s journey so far and where they think it is going. We are just quietly living in freedom and loving it.

In the confines of religious obligation, freedom looks incredibly scary. But from those who walk away from its bondage and lies, I continue to hear of a full and free life ahead in spacious places. We were never meant to find our security in the structures or expectations of men, but in the gracious love of an incredible Father.

I’ve been trying to write an update from Australia for the last week, but just have not had time. Every day has been packed with people and the opportunity to explore their hunger and passions. And now I’m overwhelmed to even try. This has been an incredible adventure in all the conversations I’ve had with people who are hungering to live loved and share that life with others in relational ways.

There’s no way to sum that up today. I started in Toowoomba at the invitation of the pastors in the city, getting to talk with them one morning, and then with a room full of people over the weekend. It was a large conversation, but I think God was able to unveil himself through it. I even had time to share at Teen Challenge with some of the young men just sorting out their lives. Unveiling a loving Father was something so foreign to them but so freeing as well. Then in the Gold Coast and Adelaide we continued conversations with people who had read or heard things I’ve been part of. A recurring theme has been helping people who have been overwhelmed by depression by trying to live out the dictates of legalism and religion and how God sets people free from that. The personal conversations on this trip have been even more incredible than the group dialogs. I love that.

Now in Sydney that time has continued to unfold. Friday night and Saturday we had another large group conversation and watched God just invite people into his life and freedom. Relaxing into God’s reality, seemed to be a recurring theme. We try so hard to attain what God simply wants to give. Learning to respond to God’s giving instead of striving so hard to get him to give us what we want is the only way to live. But it takes some time to learn that.

Then last night I sat with a small group of people over dinner who have recently come out of a highly-structured and tightly wound mega-church in the area. As they shared about all the ways their need for approval had been manipulated by the leaders of this congregation, and how many “ministers” from America had come here with their pompous demands for their personal care and how the people here were trained to satisfy their every whim was at quite sickening. But as the stories unfolded it got increasingly hilarious. And instead of the conversations leading to greater pain, the laughter seemed to heal and affirm what God had revealed to them as the celebrated the freedom God brought them. We laughed late into the night and had to finally tear ourselves away so people could go home.

What a conversation! What joy I have in finding new found friends here in Sydney. It has not been easy to move on from any of the places I have stayed here, but I go to a different part of Sydney today to see what God is doing in a more traditional congregation and then I get to spend a day with a long-time friend from down under, before boarding the big bird for home.

This has truly been an amazing trip from the first people I’ve met, until now. I am simply overwhelmed with joy at the people I get to meet and share in the work Father is doing in their lives.

‘Roos in the wild near Adelaide

Bondi Beach in Sydney

The life of God continues to be shared through the people I met with in Kenya. A recent report from Michael about the love of God growing among them and that they are increasingly shifting from large-group lectures, to small-group conversations to help people truly learn to live loved and not just hear sermons about it. I’m really blessed with this change.

Here’s some of what Michael wrote me this week:

“Pokea salamu katika jina la yesu kristo” I have quoted this in Swahili which means; receive much greeting in the name of Jesus Christ. I was out for the living loved training conference, in the conference I saw the holy spirit doing marvelous in the heart of people. Traditional power and doctrine of men is being broken, I have never seen this before, but the Holy Spirit it is in the work. I believe God is having good plan in Africa. The vehicle is now in the good condition and the driver had brought it back to the centre.

May the lord bless you for being much concern. I believe we would reach many parts of Africa.

Another surprise that God is speaking in the hearts of people here towards the children orphans in the centre, one lady and her family has given milking cow freely to help the children. Other people also they have given the two sheep and one goat. (See picture below) Actually God is changing the heart of our people, despite of difficulties that they are passing through, they can do something. This breaks my heart for what God is doing.

This the picture along with the brothers to receive the cow, sheep and the goat. Another thing, I would like to remind you, that the money you supported us, it covered July unto August, so the food is urgently needed at the end of the next week. It is our prayer that God will provide for September and October, we have tried to minimize the budget although the price of food is rising. The teachers have done good work for the children. They have been working even during the night so that the children may completely catch up.

Donations to help feed the children

We appreciate so much those of you who have already helped us here. If any of you would like to give to one of these needs, or simply find out more about our ongoing touch with these dear brothers and sisters in Kenya, you can read this earlier blog or see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and concern for these dear people.

It’s always a bittersweet experience to let go of a book to the printer that has been in your heart for so long. In one sense, you want to keep editing and fussing with it to make it perfect, and on the other you have to remember it is but a snapshot in time and at some point you have to let it go to be shared with the world. This week we sent our latest book to print. Because of the special nature of this book it will be a couple of months before we have the printed copies on hand.

Over a year and a half ago I met an award-winning artist, Murry Whiteman, who had compiled two books of paintings drawn from the Gospels. I was moved by many of them and wanted to know if the books were for sale so i could buy them for a ton of people I know for Christmas. (Some of those pictures you can see at left.) He said they weren’t available yet and wanted my counsel on self-publishing them. And then he asked if I would be open to writing words to go with his art. I hesitated, unsure that I had the time or ability to write words worthy of his art, but told him I would consider it and asked if he would be open to Brad helping as well. He was.

And thus Brad and I began the task of bringing words to this art and trying to capture the reality of Jesus living in time and space as a human and experiencing all of life as we do. We finally completed that process over the weekend and soon this book will be available. It is 128 pages of art and prose that seek to illuminate Jesus and how he was truly a man like no other.

Last week on vacation I read a bit of it to my seven-year-old granddaughter as I showed her the paintings on my computer. Keep in mind that this is not a children’s book. We wrote it for adults, but I hoped there would be enough here to engage Aimee in that story as well. Not only was she transfixed by the art and listened intently to each story, but so did her three-year-old sister. After each one Aimee had so many questions about Jesus, whose child he was, and why he came to this earth. Each night she was excited to read more and wouldn’t let me stop on any night with just one. “Read this one,” she’d say pointing to the next one.

I am incredibly excited about this book finally being completed. Couples will enjoy reading the brief vignettes as a devotional together and others might use it in their own personal study and reflection.I think it will capture people’s hearts and be a discussion-starter as it sits on a home coffee table, or adorns the waiting room of an office. When we had a copy of the proposed cover sitting at a table in a restaurant as Brad, Murry, and I went over the book no one seemed able to walk by the table without zeroing in on the cover and pausing to read it.

We’ll have information soon about ordering a copy of the book. I just wanted you to know it will be available soon and I think it will make a well-appreciated gift for those on your Christmas list. It is called, A MAN LIKE NO OTHER: THE ILLUSTRATED LIFE OF JESUS. It will be published by Windblown Media and will be available through our offices at Lifestream as well as many other outlets.

Windblown Media • Hardback • Full Color • 8.5 x 11 • 128 Pages • $24.99 • Available in October

If you read this page frequently you’ll know how incredibly powerful it has been for me to grow to embrace the Almighty God of the universe as my Abba Father. These words continue to work their way into my heart with ever-greater reality:

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15).

Of all the discoveries in my life over the past 15 years, none has meant more and none has been more powerful in reshaping my life. I am blessed to find God as a tender Father through the twist and turns of my journey in this age. Instead of being frustrated at him when he doesn’t give me what I want or trying to find the right prayer or bargain for God to give me what I think is best, I am finding the joy of simply learning to trust him as a tender Father.

I resonate with John’s words:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.” I John 4:13

I can imagine John in his twilight years reflecting on his entire spiritual journey in that simple phrase. I hope when I am older I am able to say with the same sense of resolve. As for now, I am simply learning this reality each day. There are some places in my life where I live truly loved, and their are other spaces in my heart that struggle to believe it’s true. At the end of my days, I’d want to say them with such finality as he did here. To trust God as my Abba, puts him in every situation with me and even in the difficult ones he doesn’t fix the way I want, I know he is never against me. Even when in sternness he disciplines me to live more freely in him, or asks of me more than I think I have to give, it is my Abba behind it all and that makes it easier to submit to his ways.

A big part of God’s instruction to me in this arena has been in my emotions and love for my own children, and now for my growing brood of grandchildren. i can’t believe how much I loved them, right from birth. I love the relationship I have with each of them and how much they enjoy being with their grandpa. I know the tenderness I want them to feel in me, and the fierceness that would protect them at all costs. A year or so ago, my daughter took the above picture of me when I was so deep in a conversation with Aimee that I wasn’t even aware that her mom was taking pictures. When I saw it the first time, my heart leapt. It has become the picture that illustrates “Abba” for me–a child quietly at rest in the arms of someone she completely trusts.

Last week as Sara and I were returning home from a vacation in the nearby Sierras, we stopped to have lunch with some long-time friends. As we walked into their dining room she directed my attention to the wall on which hung her watercolor adaptation of that picture. It took my breath way. They said it was a gift and we returned home to hang it on our wall.

Here it is:

Every time I look at not only do I get to celebrate that special bond that Aimee and I share, but even more special is the reminder that the God who made heaven and earth delights in being my Abba. There is no safer place to be, even at my worst, than on his lap, wrapped in his incredible love. There every difficult thing in my life fades in the absolute wonder of who he is and the relationship he wants to keep carving out with me.

And that is as true for every one of you reading these words.

I am back from a semi-vacation. Unfortunately I had to work on some of the DVD videos for The Jesus Lens, but I did get some rest and play in as well. The most important thing I could update you on is the need in Kenya. I heard from my friend Michael this week. They were able to repair the transmission on the car with the generous donations some of you have sent. Thank you so much on their behalf, mine, and I suspect even the Father’s!

But he sent me another email that strikes to the core of my heart:

What is happening here for hunger we have never experienced before. For more and more people, the same thing is happening. Many families are running for finding refuge just to get one meal. Your prayers are very important we don’t know what to do but just to lift in the mighty hands of God. May the Lord bless you as we pray for one another.

The drought in the horn of Africa has already driven a needy nation into a starving one. Food prices have risen astronomically because it is so scarce. My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters there and we’ll be sending them an additional gift to help alleviate the suffering. If you’d like to join me in sending something to help, you may do so through Lifestream, or any of the other charities looking to bring relief to that corner of the world.

We appreciate so much those of you who have already helped us here. If any of you would like to give to the people in Kenya, or simply want to find find out more about our ongoing touch with these dear brothers and sisters in Kenya, you can read this earlier blog or see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and concern for these dear people.