by Andy Wood on November 9, 2009
A famous chicken franchise, run by a deceased military officer in a white suit, has a very specific, sequenced way of taking your order. Go to any store (at least any of the ones I frequent), and it doesn’t matter what you order or how you place it, you will be corralled into the proper procedure.
She: Welcome to KFC!
Me: I’ll have a three piece, original, with mashed potatoes and green beans.
She: Is that for here or to go?
Me: For here.
She: Okay. What would you like?
Me: Uh… Three piece, original, with mashed potatoes and green beans.
She: Okay. Original or extra crispy?
Me: (Bottom lip almost bleeding) Original
She: Aaand, what two sides would you like with that?
Me: Oh, just surprise me.
At times I’ve thought it must just be somebody’s unique personality quirk. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on September 30, 2009
Took a look at the funnies the other day. To be honest, I read them for the laughter. But I noticed something else in the process. Call me sensitive, or call me curious, but I was intrigued at the ways dads are presented. If it’s true that art imitates life, we may have some big problems. With fathers. With God. With ourselves.
Who is Father? According to the comics, he is Dagwood, the family calamity. He lives to sleep, or to eat, or to deal with the occasional salesman. He’s loveable, but always a little bit late, and about one brick shy of a load.
Who is Father? [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 18, 2009
A famous writer once described a beach scene where two children, a boy and a girl, were building an elaborate sand castle near the water’s edge. It had gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they nearly finished the project, a huge wave tumbled in and knocked the whole thing down. Instead of bursting into tears because of losing their hard work, the girl and boy ran up the shore from the water, laughing and holding hands, and started work on another castle.
It seems so instinctive to children. Take the most wonder-filled moments the day has to offer – a castle made of sand, or a dandelion just waiting to be carried by the wind – and look for someone to share it with in love. But time and age have a way of turning our hearts if we let them. Castle-building becomes the higher priority, and dandelions become annoying weeds.
Here is the author’s takeaway:
All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand… Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.
Like anybody else who’s been around a while, I have my share of regrets. One of them has been the tendency to walk away from relationships when it was time to “move up the beach and build the next castle.” Fortunately, I’ve been blessed to have some people in my life who wouldn’t take “Good-bye” as the last word, and that’s a good thing. Had it been left up to me, that relationship would have faded away. I’m working on changing that.
In the previous post, I mentioned that even in an isolated prison, the Apostle Paul found a way to stay close to the people he loved. In particular, he was a master at using words. All throughout his life and ministry, this man knew just what to say or write to draw people to him, and to Christ.
Maybe we can learn some things from Paul’s example. Once you know who’s in your heart (or who you’d like to have there), here are some ways to keep them close: [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 14, 2009
“I have you in my heart.”
Sounds charming, doesn’t it? The stuff of Hallmark cards and chick flicks, BFFs and boyfriends.
What if I were to tell you that the person who said this wrote it from a prison cell? That he (yes, he) was a time-hardened traveler who never could take “no” for an answer? That he once was a religious terrorist and murderer? A 63-or-so-year-old man who had argued his way in and out of trouble so many times, many of his closest associates had hit the road?
And yet from prison he wrote to a group of VIPs – friends who had been sources of great joy to him. And this is what he said: [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 5, 2009
April-something 2002. It was one of the most surreal, prophetic dreams I’ve ever had. I dreamed I was in prison. Not sure what the crime was; I just remember being in a cell there. The only thing remarkable about that was that instead of the typical concrete and steel, this cell had a nice waxed tile floor and bright lights.
For some reason, they let me out on a weekend pass, but eventually I had to go back. I remember dreading the return, and trying to avoid it. But I did wind up back in my tile‑floored cell. There in the cell, alone, my thoughts turned to Watchman Nee, the Chinese pastor/teacher who was imprisoned by the communist regime for his faith. All those years he spent in prison. How did he do it? How could he experience God’s presence there in the prison?
It was then I actually saw him. In my dream I saw Watchman Nee, prostrate on the floor of his prison cell. As I watched, he was transformed before my eyes into a puppy – a black Labrador Retriever puppy. Then he changed into a silver chalice. Taller, thinner. Rising up. From that he changed into a giraffe. He had risen above his prison cell and was feeding in the tops of the trees.
Four Images of Transformation
Just like that, the dream was over. I was left with four crystal-clear images – a prostrate man, a black lab puppy, a silver chalice, and a giraffe. A transformation from prison to freedom, though the outward circumstances never changed. A deliberately-staged process, flowing from the floor to the heavens. What did it mean? [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 4, 2009
Dear Foggy Little Brain,
As you start your day, I want to remind you of some very important truth to shape your thinking…
- You are no longer under condemnation (Romans 8:1).
- You are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
- Your flesh has been dealt with (Romans 8:3).
- The Holy Spirit will enable you to fulfill the requirements of God’s Law (Romans 8:4).
- The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6).
- Those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:8).
- You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9).
- Your body may be dying, your spirit is alive because of His righteousness (Romans 8:10).
- The Holy Spirit will also give life to your mortal body (Romans 8:11).
- You have no obligation to the flesh (Romans 8:12).
- You must put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13).
- You are a child of God (Romans 8:14 16).
- You are no longer a slave to the world, the devil, and the flesh (Romans 8:15).
- You have received the spirit of adoption, so that you can go into God’s presence and say, “Daddy!” (Romans 8:15).
- You are an heir of God, and a joint heir of Christ (Romans 8:17).
- The present suffering you may be experiencing is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to you (Romans 8:18).
- Your body will be redeemed one day (Romans 8:23).
- You don’t pray alone. The Holy Spirit will is helping you (Romans 8:26).
- The Holy Spirit is interceding to the Father for you (Romans 8:27).
- God causes all things work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
- You are predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29).
- You have been called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:30).
- God is for you – who can be against you (Romans 8:31)?
- No one can bring a charge against you, because you are God’s elect (Romans 8:33).
- In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
- Nothing – nothing – can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:35 39).
As you go about your day, remember the banner under which you live, and the grace on which you stand. I’ve read to the end of the Book… You win!
by Andy Wood on July 24, 2009
“I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” -1 Corinthians 9:22-23, The Message
I’ve devoted a lot of time to a life powered by wishful thinking. With that came a lot of declaring about what I was going to do, and by when. Those lists I referred to in the last post even contain a pretty crazy collection of audacious plans. Just one problem. Some of them are lifetime pursuits, and I still haven’t started the chase.
Setting goals or writing down wish lists is a bit like writing a check. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on January 16, 2009
Help Wanted: Branches
Master of the Universe, a firm dedicated to establishing change agencies throughout the world and providing eternal dwelling places for an undisclosed number of people, is seeking branches on which to conduct its fruit-bearing strategy. Generous benefit package. Unlimited positions available to trusting and trustworthy candidates. No previous experience necessary. Will train the right candidate(s). (Please note: No advancement possible. This is an entry- and exit-level position. The other two positions – Vine and Gardener – have been permanently filled.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stop doing God’s job. Not only is it unnecessary, it’s ridiculous. And believe me, when you try to solve God-sized problems with man-sized vision and wisdom, you will be ridiculed.
So, following up from the last post, how DO we approach situations, opportunities, challenges, and problems that are larger than we are?
You approach them like a branch would. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on October 9, 2008
Varsity Drive-In, Atlanta
If you’re ever in Atlanta (we’re here right now for the Catalyst conference) and want to check out the local cuisine, at least once you need to experience the Varsity Drive In. I’m not talking about its suburban cousins in the outlying communities, but the original, located on the edge of the Georgia Tech campus in downtown Atlanta. Founded in 1928, the Varsity is the largest drive-in restaurant in the world. It covers two city blocks, and serves 8,000 hamburgers, over two miles of hot dogs, and a ton (literally) of onion rings every day. It also serves more Coca-cola than any other single outlet in the world.
The Varsity is an eating experience that begins when you walk in the door. It’s like a step back in time. The order counter is massive, and behind it is the most fun and amazing collection of fast-food servers in the industry. More than 20 Varsity employees have worked there over 20 years. (Try to find that at a McDonald’s!) If you want a tiny sense of what it’s like, click here and just listen.
From the minute you get near the counter, you’ll hear that famous Varsity chorus. It sounds like chaos, but it’s actually its own delightful symphony, set to the rhythm of hurried city life. And resounding through the melee is, “What’ll you have, what’ll you have?”
Like any landmark, the Varsity has had its share of famous patrons. But what makes it so special [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on October 8, 2008
Sometimes people do profound, powerful, healing things because they see the light. Sometimes they do it because they feel the heat.
Imagine for a minute that you’re part of a crew of thousands, sent by no less than the king of a global power, to do the most important assignment of your life. Your job is to rebuild the temple of God.
For seventy years your people have languished. All your life, you’ve heard the stories.
The land.
The promise.
The covenants.
The city. Oh, the city!
And there on a mount called Moriah, you’ve heard about the most splendid, most glorious instrument of the worship of God. Envisioned by the Sweet Psalmist of Israel, and built by his son, the wisest of kings ever to occupy the planet, this masterpiece was destroyed.
Your fathers came clean with you. They owned up: they’d screwed up miserably. And there was nobody to blame but themselves.
But today’s a new day, [click to continue…]
