Christopher Columbus is often credited with discovering North America.  The only problem was, it was already inhabited with Native Americans who had made the discovery long before he did.  In fact, he wasn’t even the first European to land in North America. Leif Ericson had done so about 500 years before him.

What Columbus did was stumble into a discovery of this discovered land, spread the story across Europe, and the rest is history.

Like Columbus, I made a discovery of something that was always there several years ago. Others had seen it before me but for some reason, I never saw it. When I did, I felt as if I found new land when really my eyes were opened to an already settled land.

What did I uncover?

The grand narrative of the Scriptures.

I had viewed the bible as information and at best, a collection of stories.  That’s true, but it’s so much more than that. It’s all about Jesus. In fact, it’s these words from John 5:39-40 that led me to look at the common thread throughout the bible, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

The Scriptures are a narrative of God’s epic story and it all points to Jesus as the hero of the Story and the plot is his passionate pursuit of his people. This is the heart of the gospel.

This has radically shifted my studying and teaching of the bible.  Seeing how particular passages fit into the meta-narrative found in the scriptures has opened my eyes to things I had never seen before.  I had been careful to quote verses in context but had neglected the context of the greater story that verses and passages are embedded in.  Not to mention the context of the story of my life.

This has helped me better connect the Old Testament with the New Testament.  It has opened my eyes to see Jesus in places I never expected in both the scriptures and in culture. It has shaped how I view the church in light of God’s great pursuit of his people.  It has also helped me to gain perspective of my story and how I fit into the greater story.

Since this shift, I’ve sought to write, teach, and preach by storying the scriptures.  I’m learning that stories work better at penetrating the heart and mind than mere information alone. Storying is our way of packaging information so that others can grab hold of its meaning.  When our quest for truth treks through the frontier of our imagination it produces compelling stories.

Within each of us is a longing for a story.  This is why we search and explore and why we tell others about our discoveries. History is full of amazing storyers and is how history has been passed along from generation to generation. This is why we consume books, films, and television.  This why we have conversations over food and drinks.  This is why we even ask others, “How are you doing?”  That’s nothing more than a launchpad for a story (or in most cases, an odd way of saying, “hello.”)

Whimsical writer and thinker G.K. Chesterton wrote, “I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a Story-teller.” I agree. Every tale has an author. Every story-casserole is baked in the oven of someone’s imagination. And God is the source of all stories.

His epic story is found in the Scriptures and the epic story he’s called us to live out is wrapped up in His.

This is my great re/discovery and it has awakened my soul, opened my eyes, and changed how I look at life.

I pray it will do the same for you.

Several years ago, I was wrestling with what to do with my life. I had this nagging sense that God was calling me to something, I just didn’t know what. It seemed so many around me knew exactly what to do with their lives. And here I was-full of passion yet lacking direction. I was at a crossroads.

It was frustrating.

On a summer weekend during that time, I went to the grocery store to pick up some items for dinner. As I was checking out, I looked near the entrance and spotted a familiar face standing there waiting for someone.

It was Brock Lesnar.

I knew of Brock. He and I are the same age and I had heard about this beast from Webster, SD from some high school wrestling buddies. He later went on to become the NCAA heavyweight champion in college and found fame and fortune as a pro wrestler in WWE.  In 2004, he left the WWE to pursue a dream of being in the NFL and tried out for the Minnesota Vikings. Despite his rare mix of strength and quickness, it didn’t work out, and he was cut.

I met Brock following all of this.

People unknowingly walked by him as they entered and exited the grocery store, but I knew who he was. After I paid for my items, I walked up to him and introduced myself. He was much kinder than I expected from the pro wrestling persona he had on TV. I asked what he was doing in Rapid City and he said he was going to hang out at his family’s cabin in the Black Hills, do some 4-wheeling, and try to figure out what’s next for his life.

It turns out he was at a crossroads too. He mentioned he had options to return to the WWE, possible go to Japan to wrestle, or maybe start training for mixed-martial arts. He just wasn’t sure which way to go. It was clear he had the same inner turmoil as me (albeit in different ways).

Brock then asked me about my life. I told him I was in a similar spot and that I understood what he was going through. We bantered back and forth about each others situations. It was refreshing talking to someone who got it. No one was asking for autographs or pictures, it was just two dudes talking.

Then, his wife walked over to Brock and he introduced her to me. Not wanting to be “that guy” who kept them from enjoying a peaceful time together, I decided to wrap up our chat and mentioned that he had too much talent to not be utilized and wished him well. He wished me well too and we both went on our way.

As I was driving home, I was taken back by our simple chat. I’m sure Brock doesn’t remember our exchange at all. He probably gets that sort of interaction all the time. But for me, it was a gift from God. It was like God was saying that I wasn’t the only one in the in-between. Even those “who’ve made it” experienced what I was experiencing. I was normal (okay, that’s debatable).

Since then, I’ve followed Brock’s career. He eventually entered the world of MMA and today, he is the UFC heavyweight champion after only a handful of fights. This past year, he was crippled by a serious intestinal disorder and it wasn’t clear he’d fight again. And by some accounts, it wasn’t clear how long he would live. But now, he’s alive and well and he did fight again. This past weekend, as I watched his dramatic victory against Shane Carwin at UFC 116, it was goosebumps city. There was the guy who wasn’t sure what to do next with his life now doing something remarkable with it.

Donald Miller says, “A story involves a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.” That’s certainly true of Brock Lesnar and it’s also true of you and I.

Perhaps you’re smack dab in the middle of the in-between. You’re frustrated. You feel like life is passing you by. You sense you’re meant for more.

If that’s you, you’re in good company, my friend. Anyone who’s ever done anything worthwhile has been where you are right now. Even Jesus had his wilderness experience, his in-between time, before he changed the story of everything.

My advice is to pray, go the direction that’s most loving, utilize your God-given talents, and look for opportunities along the way. And if you don’t see any, create them.

Don’t just see your life as it is, get a vision for what it could be, and go for it!

The world needs you – to do – what only you can do.

This happens when you – become the you – God created you to be.

Reading through the gospels, it occurred to me that Jesus wouldn’t be accepted by much of the Christian culture of today. Most churches wouldn’t hire him, conferences would overlook him, bloggers would take shots at him, evangelicals would be offended by him.  He would be criticized, rejected, or ignored by the establishment for being too much this or not enough that.

Surely we’ve evolved in the last two thousand years? But alas, it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Here are some things off the top of my head that would get Jesus in trouble today:

• His idea of leadership was to serve. (Matthew 20:20-28, John 13:1-17)
• He mocks and talks harshly to religious leaders in public. (Matthew 23)
• He was alone with a woman he was not married to. (John 4:1-42)
• He befriended and partied with hookers and drunks. (Luke 7:34)
• He was arrested. (Matthew 26:50)
• He wasn’t us vs. them.  (Matthew 5:13-16, John 17:15-18)
• His ministry didn’t launch large in a big city. (Mark 1:16-20, Luke 1:46)
• He let his feelings show. (John 11:35, Mark 14:32-36)
• His passion was more for the one who was lost than for many who were found. (Luke 15)
• He didn’t see politics as the primary way to create change. (John 18:28-40)
• He didn’t choose the best and brightest to be in his circle. (Luke 5:1-11)
• He was homeless. (Matthew 8:20)
• He cared about meeting the tangible needs of this world rather than escaping it. (Matthew 25:31-46)
• He elevated the status of women in society and ministry. (Luke 10:38-42)
• He wasn’t big on dressing up to look more sophisticated and impressive. (Mark 12:38)
• He was more shock jock than he was politically correct. (Matthew 21: 12-13, Mark 8:33, Luke 9:41)
• He didn’t have a five-year plan. (Matthew 6:34)
• His words weren’t always easy to understand. (Luke 18:34)
• He didn’t go to seminary. (Matthew 21:23-27)
• His measure for success was not popularity or attendance. (John 6:60-70, Matthew 25:23)
• He was controversial (Luke 6:1-11)

What do you think? Am I wrong? How do you think Jesus would be treated by the Christian community today? Could he be a pastor in your church? Is there anything to be learned by this?

“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”

That was the sound we were greeted to when we arrived at the movie theater where our church meets. During the course of our gathering, we had a bird flying through the lobby, a bird flying over the theater seats ready to drop bombs, and three baby birds drop from the ceiling onto the stage where I was preaching.

Crazy.

Somehow, these birds found a home and today, the birds revolted against the humans who dared intrude upon their space.  Fortunately, we had a seasoned pro in our midst. A first-timer in fact, who handled the baby birds and made sure they were properly removed. He immediately earned the nickname, “The Birdman.”

Again, crazy.

I’m pretty sure I was the only preacher in America who had baby birds falling around him on stage. The amazing part, after all of this craziness, three people began a relationship with Jesus during our gathering. How about that?

But that’s the way it goes in church planting, and in life.

Sometimes, it’s the crazy events that lead to something amazing.

From the J.R.R. Tolkien classic, The Return of the King:

“But Sam lay back, and started with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last has gasped: “Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?”

“A great shadow has departed,” said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count. It fell upon his ears like the echo of all the joys he had ever known. But he himself burst into tears. Then as sweet rain will pass down a wind of spring and the sun will shine out the clearer, his tears ceased, and his laughter welled up, and laughing he sprang from his bed.

“How do I feel?” he cried. “Well I don’t know how to say it. I feel, I feel” – he waved his arms in the air – “I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!”’

“Behold, I am making all things new.” – Jesus (Revelation 21:5)