J.Taussig

Over Spring Break 2009, 14 of Westbrooke Church’s finest descended upon the armpit of Arlington, Texas. Their mission was to be poured out like a drink offering to further Christ’s Kingdom. It wasn’t comfortable, it wasn’t clean, it wasn’t easy, safe or relaxing, but it was absolutely beautiful. Jesus painted a spectacular masterpiece here with their lives.

God also used their visit to give us a beautiful sonogram of a couple of almost born dreams that have been in the oven for a few years now- the dream to do full time discipleship and the dream to do it in the context of a full time community. What we experienced while living with the team, while they lived among the people God sent them to love, was a powerful confirmation of the path we’re on. It was also a validating and exciting foretaste of what’s ahead for us on a level that I can’t come up with words to describe.
Thank you for laboring with us in prayer ∞. 

Interesting how this lesson from a few years ago found me on a sermon binge over the past week and a half.  Nothing wrong with a good sermon, in fact, God has used many sermons to speak to my heart, but there is absolutely something wrong with being too lazy to connect with my Creator and to eat and digest His Word for myself. I get into trouble when a routine of being spoon fed someone else’s regurgitated thoughts about Jesus replaces being with Jesus.
So lesson 107 was originally recorded by my 8 year old maturity level. Needless to say it caught me off guard today when I realized what a graphically accurate picture it painted of my spiritual life. When I ditch my diet of Him and His Word, and start depending on other people I don’t even know to prepare and serve me my spiritual meals, I’m headed for a heap of trouble.
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
-Isaiah 55:1-3

A couple lighter lessons from the wilderness portion of my 40 day date with God.

I finally got to see inside the apartment we’re hoping to move into. It’s was worse than I thought. In fact, at first I was pretty repulsed and began to struggle all over again with the thought of moving my family there.

As I started taking pictures of the trashed apartment, my heart broke.  What I first saw as a mess to run from, I now saw as the broken hearts and shattered lives that we’ve been called to run to.   Conviction and tears followed…

Instead of a door off of it’s hinges, I saw a 14 year old girl that lets guys have their way with her in hopes of finding love.

Instead of the boarded up windows, I saw a bitter lady (she threatened to sic her pit bull on me when I knocked on her door) with a piece of plywood over her hard heart that keeps out the light that would bring healing.

Instead of the fecal matter on the kitchen floor, I saw a little boy that the other kids are repulsed by because of how he smells and his personality.

Instead of the hole in the wall that exposed the bathroom plumbing, I saw a mother of 7 thrown into jail, her crimes exposed to the world and to her kids.

Instead of the black mold, I saw the drugs, alcohol and hopelessness that are slowly choking the life out of a young teenage guy.

Instead of the worn out linoleum floor I saw a trampled down grandmother being walked all over by her selfish family.

Instead of walls covered in illegible graffiti, I saw a 50 year old janitor that can’t read.

Instead of the smashed window, I saw the face of the sweet little girl whose face was recently smashed by her abusive alcoholic father.

In the broken down wreck of an apartment, I also saw many seasons of my own life. I saw all the junk in my heart carelessly strewn about. I saw the many messes I’ve made while living life for myself, most of it hidden from the world behind a big plank of plywood. I saw the habitual sins, the addictions, the complete disregard for God and His will for my life.

In the midst of the

I was watching some of these old videos from 2006 when I went on my 40 day date with God, and was struck at how many of the lessons I was learning then are the same ones I’m still trying to learn today.
Anyway, enjoy…

Still learning both lessons…

An obstacle to the Gospel at Park Lane that has seemed to loom larger than drugs, alcohol, gangs, poverty or prostitution is a perversion of the Gospel. It has deeply infiltrated this culture and goes something like this, “Repeat this prayer and you’re saved. Saved from financial struggle, saved from hardships and saved from sorrow. Jesus will deliver prosperity to your doorstep and protect you from problems.
I asked a group of teenage guys at Bible study when we first got here, “How many of you have prayed the prayer to receive Jesus?” Every single guy raised his hand. I then asked, “So, how many of you think that when you die, you’ll spend forever with Jesus?” Only one guy raised his hand. The same guy that earlier in the discussion admitted without shame that his purpose in life was to get high.
If the true Gospel was like a free Rolex watch, and this false gospel was like a free fake Rolex, then there are some people here, like the high guy, that have been convinced that the fake Rolex they’ve been given is real, even if it doesn’t work. Most though know they’ve been sold a fake Rolex because it doesn’t work and is turning their wrist green. The problem that makes me burn inside is that so many of these people end up becoming super confused or even worse super skeptical and cynical of all Rolex’s, real or fake. “­­­Jesus never fixed my circumstances like the pastor promised so there must be something wrong with Jesus.”
One of the biggest obstacles to the Gospel seems to be this gospelesque wolf masquerading around in a sheep outfit. It’s not just a different breed of sheep, it’s actually destroying sheep. It’s like giving a jar of salmonella tainted peanut butter to a starving person. Most people would reject a jar full of salmonella knowing that it would kill them, but when the salmonella is packed in peanut butter and they’re hungry, and it’s a “Christian” giving it to them it’s almost irresistible.
In spite of

If you understood the heart of mercy behind the movement to preserve life you would see that is your question that causes the "cognitive dissonance" it's not exposing it.

If someone is for the merciful preservation of life, the LOGICAL conclusion would be that they would be for the logical preservation of life. Not for the harming or destroying of it.

I guess I'd try to come up with juvenile "gotcha" question too if my crusade in life was the killing innocent babies.

A couple of weeks ago Caleb and I were working together at the mission when we spot this trampoline in the warehouse. It isn’t hard because there is a beam of light coming straight from Heaven illuminating it. It’s brand new, still in the giant box. It’s like we’re having the same dream, but it’s real. As we gaze upon it, the responsible side of me steps in and starts rattling off all the safety risks and reasons why this would not be a good decision.

This prompts me to tell Caleb that we’ll have to ask Tillie, because she’s wise and responsible and stuff. So I call her. She doesn’t even hesitate, “Sounds like a lot of fun, you’d better go get it.” I ask her if she’s sure, but can’t hear her response because Caleb has somehow already telepathically figured out we’re getting a trampoline and is now screaming, loudly.

Wanting to honor Tillie’s direct order, we run down to the warehouse, grab the trampoline, and in a matter of hours we’re jumping. I’m taking my first break when I hear the screams. Hannah and I go running out and find Caleb and Titus are both wailing in stereo. Turns out Caleb accidentally drop-kicked Titus when he was trying to jump over him.

So after figuring out what happened, I tell Caleb,“Comfort your brother, he’s hurting.”

Caleb says, “But daad, I already said sorry.”

I tell him again, “Son, that’s great that you said sorry, but right now I am asking you to go over to your brother and love him.”

He repeats himself, “But daaad, I already said sorry.”

I try again, “Caleb, this isn’t complicated, I want you to go and comfort your brother.”

Again, he says to me through tears, “Daaaaad, I already did comfort him by saying sorry…”

So I sent him to his room.

As the dust from hurricane Tramp-drama settled I tried to process what just happened. Was I missing something here? I wasn’t pushing him to do something that would be bad for him. I’m thinking, everybody wins