Leave It Behind > Brian Bailey

God put a smile upon my face

I already told you how much I love God's sense of humor. I wasn't being sarcastic. If you don't think God is hilarious, you've missed something. God is love and joy. Have you ever experienced love and joy without smiling and laughing? We've all seen people try, though, haven't we?

The first time I realized that if God was omni-everything else, He was probably omni-funny too, was in college. When I was growing up, one of my favorite shows was Family Ties. I wanted to be Alex P. Keaton - if he was being mocked, it was completely lost on me. Alex was my hero.

In one of the later episodes, Alex's friend Greg dies in car crash and Alex takes a long look at this life. He talks to a therapist about a lot of deep questions and eventually the subject turns to God. The show knew he had to believe in God, based on all the other stereotypes he embodied, but they just couldn't swallow true Christianity. Alex concedes that he does believe in God, but it's not a biblical God. Alex's God is a more malleable version.

"I think God is gentle and forgiving and not one special form, you know? One day He's a dolphin, the next day He's trading shares on Wall Street."

I never forgot the line about the dolphin. It always struck me as funny, partly because Alex was essentially making up his own God, like we all want to do, picking and choosing the parts we like and don't like. But mostly because it's such a dramatic episode and then there's a line about God being a dolphin right at the climax.

Flash forward a few years to college. I'm alone in my dorm room praying. It was very rare that I would just sit and pray, but for some reason on this night I had the lights out, the lava lamp going (oh, like you never had one), and Mozart playing. That night was the first time I ever felt like Jesus was in the room. He wasn't just part of me, He was hanging out. It was an unbelievable feeling.

So, I'm praying and just struggling to express all that He is to me. "You're my everything. You are the stars above and the earth below. You're the sun and the moon. You're my every breath." I tend to pray in an odd mixture of 18th century poetry and R.E.M. songs.

And then Jesus said, "I'm like a dolphin, swimming in the ocean."

I laughed so hard until I finally started to cry. You don't think the God of the universe cares about you? He loves me so much, so intimately, that He left His place at the right-hand of the Father to sit on the corner of my bed in a dorm room in Indiana for just one purpose: to deliver the greatest punch line I've ever heard. You had me at dolphin.

This weekend, I'm doing something I've never done before. I'm staying in a hotel by myself. The book is due in 2 weeks and my incredibly supportive family pushed me out the door and told me to go finish it already :)

Lori helped pick a hotel in the area and when I reserved the room online, I made note of the free breakfast, the indoor pool, and the complimentary copy of USA Today. I checked-in on Friday and as I was gathering my things and heading toward the elevator, I saw the stack of newspapers on the counter, but noticed one that didn't look like all the others.

A single complimentary copy of the Friday Wall Street Journal.

You don't think the God of the universe cares about you?

What are You Working For?

The Newsboys led worship at Fellowship a few weeks ago and it was a truly amazing experience. Having never seen them live, I had no idea what they bring to the table. I also had no idea that frontman Peter Fuller preaches as well as he sings.

At the conclusion of the new song I am Free, Peter gave a passionate call to true freedom. I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

Freedom is held in His hand
Reach out and touch it today
Freedom in your head
Freedom in your heart
Freedom in your emotions
Freedom in your marriage
Freedom in every area of your life
It's through the blood
It's through the Word
It's through the spiritual family
It's with a purpose
The price has been paid
The price has been paid

What are you working for?

The price has been paid

Everyday, I ask myself that question: What am I working for? No matter how many times I hear otherwise, it's so easy to think the burden is on us. That we have to earn our salvation. That we have to earn peace and freedom. That we have to earn God's grace and His blessings for this life. We think that if we just work hard enough, things will work out.

As Christians, we have an incredible opportunity to serve Christ with everything we have and to reach out with love to others in all that we do. But in the end, everything is in His hands.

The price has been paid
The price has been paid
What are you working for?
The price has been paid

Undivided

Earlier this month, I visited the doctor. At the end of the appointment, as I stood in line to pay, I started watching the payment desk. As each patient took his turn, I noticed a pattern. The woman at the desk reported the total, took the money or processed the credit card, scheduled the next appointment if needed, and instructed each person to "have a good day." In other words, a fairly typical experience, except for one unique element - she did all of this without ever making eye contact with the patient.

Each patient shuffled out of the office without enthusiasm. Two nights later, I watched a waitress struggle to take the orders of a large table while each person refused to address her directly.

Later, I spoke with a relative who was describing a recent phone conversation. She mentioned how difficult it is to talk when you can hear the other person typing in the background.

Is there anything we crave more than someone's undivided attention?

We have perfected the art of ignoring our fellow human beings. Those we don't ignore outright, we demean by our distraction. We act as if we are at the mercy of our tools and toys - that every cell phone call must be answered, every email read, every new post consumed and commented on, and every show or sporting event experienced in real-time.

I am uniquely qualified to write about this as a founding member of the Society for the Self-Absorbed (see my January post for proof). A few months ago, I actually turned in my Blackberry in exchange for a standard phone as a small step toward trying to focus on the person in front of me.

How many times has my wife started a conversation with me while I continued my reading or watching? How many times have I interrupted a conversation to answer a cell phone call? How many times have I failed to say hello to a stranger, or even make eye contact?

Counseling and therapy are more common and popular than ever before. I think it's the most glorious answer to this unmet need. "Let me get this straight. For the price of a co-pay, I can sit in a warm, relaxed environment while a caring, intelligent person gives me his or her undivided attention for 50-minutes? And this person is particularly skilled in being in passionately curious about others thoughts, opinions, and experiences?" I honestly don't know why this hasn't replaced lunch hours.

It reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's story of when he first learned about Halloween as a child. "You're telling me there's a night when adults give away candy for free? And I can have all I want and all I have to do is wear that?"

A simple way to tell how desperate others are for your attention is what they are willing to do for it. Did your spouse just offer to watch your favorite show with you? Did your child just offer to help you with whatever it is you're doing? Did a friend or co-worker invite you to lunch, and offer to pay?

How much would your child give for your undivided attention?

How much would your spouse give for your undivided attention?

How much would your friend give for your undivided attention?

How much did God give for our undivided attention?

A New Year

A new year is always an opportunity to look into the future and imagine new possibilities. On January 1st, everything seems possible, much like every baseball team has a chance to win it all in spring training.

I don't make what I consider resolutions, but I do enjoy setting fresh goals and choosing new areas of focus. Life is wonderful in that every year presents new challenges and so much room for improvement. This year promises to be even more significant than most as it is the year that I will turn 35, my son will turn 10, and I will celebrate 5 years as a Fellowship Church staff member. Here's my personal and professional list for 2005.

Allow Fellowship groups to connect through technology

There are hundreds of different groups at Fellowship that would like communicate online, from home-based small groups to teams of volunteers to staff projects. These are groups that are already formed and stay connected currently through email and face-to-face meetings. We have been looking at a number of different solutions to enable greater online interaction, but have yet to find a complete, elegant solution. If we wait much longer, they will find their own solutions.

Build blogs and RSS into FC

This almost goes without saying, but though weblogs have begun to spread within Fellowship, we are only at the very beginning of the process. In 2005, each of our sites needs to utilize RSS wherever possible. Also, blogs need to be launched both internally and externally to truly impact our organization for the better.

Integrate

I view the web ministry as responsible for three things: Content, Communication, and Commerce.

At the start of this year, we have four websites and with our two additional campuses, essentially six. Our current systems simply do not scale. If we want to post an article highlighting the Christmas Eve services, we have to do that four different times in four different ways. If we want to offer the Christmas Eve services DVD online, there are multiple e-commerce mazes to negotiate.

We must streamline this process, centralize the infrastructure and decentralize the management.

Stop mentioning Scoble incessantly

Inconceivable! I did it again :)

Focus more, multi-task less

I have arrived at the point where I feel a little lost if I'm only doing one thing, whether at work or at home. This is great for a certain kind of productivity, but definitely not for everything. In fact, I'm sure this is related to my thoughts on books below as it is nearly impossible to do anything else while you read a book.

The challenges at church are requiring more in-depth thinking and fewer surface-level decisions. I must carve out time to drop the many distractions and focus.

On the other side of my life, my family deserves my undivided attention. If I'm only going to be with Ben for 2.5 hours a day, the least I can do is turn off the gadgets and turn off my mind and be there, with him.

Read a book each month

The more I read weblogs, the harder it has become to read books. Whenever I have a few minutes, fresh posts are waiting for me on an almost unlimited number of topics. A 300-page book on a single idea or moment in history can seem a little disheartening in comparison. Nevertheless, I miss the depth of books and the mind-expanding possibilities that come from investing the time and effort.

Write a post each day

This has been my goal since I launched this site in April and so far I have been successful. For me, writing is something I need to be challenged to do or the site would quickly gather dust. Thankfully, as time has gone by, it has become more of a habit, but I still need the commitment. I have never regretted the time I have invested.

Learn grace in parenting

Children are not perfect. Repeat. Children are not perfect.

There is a very fine line between teaching and training your child and critiquing their every action and utterance. I would like to err more on the side of grace this year. Thank God (literally) our heavenly father is far more forgiving.

Happy New Year to all!

Can't Buy What I Want Because It's Free

Scoble came across the website of an Apple Store employee in Singapore who is unbelievably passionate about all things Apple:

"I tell potential switchers I really don’t give a damn if they close the sale with me there and then, or if they buy anything from me at all – as long as I know I’ve done my job in sharing the good news, it doesn’t matter if I get the sale: and usually, they come back to me because of that."

This line had quite an impact on me when I read it. First, how is it that a part-time Apple employee on the other side of the world has a better perspective on the Great Commission than I do? She speaks of going to school, spending 10 hour days on her feet, answering calls and emails late night, anything for her cause, her passion. Do I care as much about my good news as she does about hers?

Second, how often am I more interested in being an evangelist for my favorite products and causes than I am about the Gospel? We talk a lot at Fellowship about fishing stories (i.e. fishers of men), about how each of us should be regularly reaching out to others, inviting them to church, sharing our own life change with those around us. As long as I know I've done my job in sharing the good news, it doesn't matter if I get the sale.

Thankfully, I have many fishing stories, and there's nothing more gratifying than the knowledge that by taking that risk, and stepping out in faith, I've made a small difference in the lives of friends and family. I've shared the good news with so many people I know...

The good news about TiVO.
The good news about online DVD rentals.
The good news about Apple.
The good news about weblogs.
The good news about Hondas.
The good news about voting Republican.

My mother is a wonderful Christian and the most fervent Republican you will ever meet. At one point, shamelessly, I asked her, "You have the chance to impact lives for eternity. Why do you spend so much time and energy on who they're going to vote for?"

Who am I kidding? That question was meant for only one person: me.

The Magical Mystery of the Mega-Church

Russ Lipton has a weblog that is well worth reading: Coffeehouse at the End-Of-Days. I first became familiar with Russ over two years ago when he was generously writing documentation for Radio Userland because hardly any coherent help existed. His effort was a great benefit to me as I attempted to learn the software. Oddly enough, we have both since moved on and no longer use Radio for much, following over a year of stagnation in its development.

I rediscovered Russ a month ago and learned that he is much more than your typical techno-geek. He is a Christian intimately involved in a local congregation while also teaching in a private school. His weblog is a great mix of technology, politics, spirituality and family life. This weekend I planned to send him note to let him know how much I enjoy his writing and perspective. Oddly enough, he stumbled into my world before I could step into his.

This morning Russ posted a short note on Fellowship Church and Robert Scoble's June visit to our campus. Scoble's essay on those two hours has proved to have significant staying power; I still receive consistent traffic from his post and Boing Boing referred to it just last week.

I have been a Fellowship employee for over four years and in that time have spoken to many people both inside and outside the church world about mega-churches. There has also been a great deal written about the role that technology should play in the modern church. On the second question, let me be clear again that technology is simply a tool the church can use to reach people and inform people, make children's check-in quick and secure, make the church and its staff more effecient and present the music and message in the most powerful, professional way possible. Only through God's grace is Fellowship what it is today. As Russ points out, without His hand the technology, buildings, and large crowds are irrelevant. I hope that Russ has the opportunity to read through my take on Scoble's visit, as well other comments on the mega-church question.

Russ wonders whether God is a disposable after-thought in our church, a sense he gathered from Scoble's technology-focused piece. Of course, my answer is that God is at the center of everything we do. As I've said previously, our entire focus is on reaching the lost and changing lives. At every church I attended before Fellowship, there was almost no attention given to applying the truths of the Bible to our lives in the here and now. I don't expect my words to be persuasive in and of themselves. I don't know if you can know a church or its heart without spending time within its doors. I hope Russ has the chance to travel to Dallas and visit. I would love to show him around, or anyone else who is interested. As a temporary measure, feel free to watch one of our recent messages online. We are currently in the middle of a series on parenting called Who's Kidding Who?

Another option would be to visit during our annual Creative Church Conference (C3) in January; the site will be online next week at FellowshipConnection.com. Last year, over 2,000 pastors and church leaders from around the country visited to learn more about reaching our communities for Christ. Perhaps we could arrange for a gathering of people interested in the role Internet technology plays within the local church.

If you talk to our staff or visit our conference, you'll find one thing I believe all of us agree on; the message is unchanging, the methodology is not. Our dream is that every church is an original, living, breathing, and passionate community of believers with a drive to minister to their neighbors. When I see a small, traditional church, I pray that it is filled with enthusiastic believers who are committed to the mission of the local church. I do not assume by its size that it is less than that, and I don't believe someone should make that assumption about a large church, based on its size alone.

Every church is different and has its own unique place in the body of Christ. In our case, we find ourselves in the middle of a very large, young, growing population. If our church were not growing in that environment, if it were not attracting those who have questions or have never stepped inside a church before, we would question whether we were in step with our calling.

Convention Coverage PDF

I've had some requests (you'll just have to trust me on this one) to combine my convention posts into one document for easier reading and sharing. Since I remain determined to keep all of my writing, no matter the subject, on one site, it can be a little distracting to transition from lengthy political essay to Pearl Jam lyric to Apple news.

So here it is, in convenient PDF form! You Know Where I Stand: Thoughts on the 2004 Republican National Convention. Feel free to share with friends or family or major media outlets.

The Goal is Elevation

Last month I wrote about a Classic Seinfeld Moment that Never Happened. As a special bonus, I have one more Seinfeld-inspired bit to share. We are all familiar with Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up routines, which tend to focus on the absurdity of normal, everyday life, such as explaining Halloween to a child or airline pilots who update passengers regularly on their progress. My contribution is all about elevators.

On our recent trip to Colorado, we visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The building, or at least the most recent addition, was phenomenal...elegant and modern. We stepped into the even more impressive elevator (I've provided a handy visual aid).

Within this brand new, techno-cool elevator are the same one-character, black, plastic buttons that are found in every elevator of the past 20 years. Of all things to never change, why elevator buttons? What is so sacred within elevator design classes about minimalist floor labels? How many times do you step into an elevator to see such helpful buttons as M, L, G, B, P and, my favorites, L1 and L2? I keep imagining elevator designers with books on their shelves with titles like, The Case for Elevator White Space and Less is More: Why a Character is Worth a 1,000 Words.

Haven't we advanced as a nation to the point that we can create a new generation of elevators where you find Mezzanine, Lobby, Ground, Basement, and Parking buttons? And, in a perfect world, perhaps even, Open and Close!

Netflix Marketing

While on our vacation, we've enjoyed some family television time during the late evenings. Well, we did while in Denver; the YMCA near Rocky Mountain National Park is smart enough to not offer televisions in the rooms. Since there is no such thing as Hotel:TiVo (when will that become a trend?) I've actually watched a few commercials for the first time in months. Which leads me to Netflix.

There is no doubt the Netflix has been incredibly successful and continues to grow at a fast pace. We were early Netflix customers, as were many of our friends. Strangely enough, most of us no longer are, but I don't think that's a reflection on their service, though it may be a reflection on their increasing prices. Nevertheless, for a service that is so popular, it is very common to read criticisms of the company and particularly its marketing. After seeing my first Netflix commercial, I'd have to agree.

The spot features a married couple with a small child. The baby is just starting to take its first steps when a Netflix envelope drops through the mail slot on the door. The parents are so thrilled ("Isn't it beautiful!") with receiving a movie through the mail that they entirely ignore their child walking in the background.

What?

Who is this supposed to appeal to? I find it hard to believe a parent, particularly a mother, would be impressed by an ad that suggests that a product is so good, you'll ignore your child just to admire it. Obviously, the point is humorous, but why use the negative approach rather than the more appealing positive approach?

Here's my version. Same parents sitting on the floor with their child. Child begins to struggle to her feet and start walking. Father stands up and says, somewhat panicked, "What time is it?" Wife looks confused as she struggles to setup the video camera. "11:45. Why?"

"I have to take the movies back. They're due at noon."

Meanwhile, the baby continues to waddle forward. The wife pleads, "Honey, can't it wait? You don't want to miss this!"

"Late fees, dear! You don't want to have late fees, do you?" he shouts as he runs out the door. The mother and baby stare at the closed door, dumbfounded.

The screen goes black.

There must be another way.

Guess what? There is!

Netflix.com

A Classic Seinfeld Moment That Never Happened

Sometimes we all find our memories blending with books or movies or television shows that we've internalized over the years. In my case, I have an experience from over four years ago that I would greatly prefer had happened to Kramer instead of myself.

I have read many books by P.J. O'Rourke in the last ten years and have always been a big fan. About five years ago, though, I was more of a fervent follower. Not only did I find him absolutely hilarious, but I loved his blunt political argument and analysis.

What truly fascinated me, though, was the life he led. I could think of nothing greater than writing for a living, publishing a book every year or two and enjoying a consistent gig with Rolling Stone. Then, I learned that he was married to a lovely young lady and lived in what was then conservative nirvana, New Hampshire. Live free or die indeed!

So, when I found out that P.J. was in town for a book signing to promote his latest book, I decided then and there that I would attend. I would step out of the shadows and out myself as a proud P.J. fan and, like so many C-SPAN Book TV literary geeks before me, stand in line for multiple hours for the privilege of having the author scribble illegible text within a copy of his book. For one evening, I would stoop to the level of writer groupie.

Now, those who know me know that I have a consistent desire to be different, even just a little bit, from the prevailing group that I find myself within. Well, in this case, I wanted to make sure that P.J. knew that I wasn't just another Read your last book, man, it was awesome! fan-of-the-month groupie. No, I was practically family. I was full of insider knowledge, had read books of his that these posers had never heard of, and, really, was just a nod away from being his full-time researcher. So, when it was at last my turn, I stepped up to the desk, handed him my book, looked him straight in the eye and with a knowing grin, said,

So, do you and your wife still have the farm in New Hampshire?

And that's when he stopped signing. He stopped in the middle of his generic signature, looked up at me with a small amount of confusion and a significant amount of annoyance, and said with dry bitterness,

Well, the farm's still there, but the wife is gone.

As it turned out, I wasn't quite the in-the-know, plugged-in, P.J. O'Rourke Rocks! Fan Club President that I thought I was. Unfortunately for P.J., and myself at this particular moment, he and his wife had divorced months earlier.

He finished signing my book and I somehow had the temerity to ask him to sign one of his earlier works as well; again, mostly to prove where I stood in the pecking order. I haven't been to a book signing since, but each time one comes along, I try to imagine what the single most inappropriate question would be for that person, and then compare it to my moment of glory.

How does this relate to Seinfeld? After my book signing experience, I began to imagine an entire Seinfeld episode in which Elaine (during her career as a publisher) organizes a book signing for a reclusive author who is trying to reclaim past glory with a new novel. Kramer insists on attending and asks the single question everyone else was determined to avoid, infuriating the author, who immediately leaves the signing and promises to never speak in public again. Elaine's job is then in jeopardy as hundreds of people who had waited in lines for hours are forced to leave empty handed.

But that Seinfeld episode never actually happened. How unfortunate.