Schmidgalls

Jewish Roots of Christian Faith part 1

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:17:00 +0000

(I shot this on my first trip to Israel back in '07)
In preparation for a trip to Israel and Palestine that I'm leading in a few short months, I've been devouring any book I can get my hands on that discusses the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. It's unfortunate that modern Christianity has too often laid claim to a vast heritage from the past about which it has remained largely ignorant.

Stuart Rosenberg reminds the Christian community that before one can be "fully Christian," one must also "know what it means to be a Jew." Scripture was written by 37 authors in the ancient near-east over a span of 1500 years. It was written in a particular time and particular place. But let's be honest, from a western point-of-view, much of scripture is chock-full of confusing Hebrew idioms, characters with eight consonances in their name, and customs that feel, well, 1500 years away.

We have to remember though that "personal study" of scripture is a recent discipline for the masses. In 1534, it was Luther who translated the Word into German. It was always meant to be studied in the context of community. The expansion of access (though becoming more readily available) has contributed to our oft misinformed understanding of the nature and character of God.

It is understandable why we have been more exposed to and influenced by the philosophical culture of the ancient Greeks, especially Platonic thought. A colossal cultural curtain has separated the West from the East. Yet, Jesus was Jewish. In fact all the writers of scripture with the rare exception were Jewish. But most know very little of our foundational Jewish heritage.

Thought I'd take some time in the coming months to share some fresh insights I've received from personal study and reflection.

live a better story

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:44:00 +0000

Most of us spend years actually boring, uneventful stories, and then expect our lives to feel meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either.

Spent the day filming some testimonies of spiritual transformation that would blow you away! Stories that would make amazing movies. Here's a great definition of a story: a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. There is a passage in scripture that I return to often. It's the first recorded words of Jesus in the book of John: "What do you want?" It's an encounter with two eventual disciples. The second recorded phrase? "Come and see."

I love how John sets the tone of his gospel by going directly to the fundamentals of living a good story: knowing what you want and embarking on a great journey to attain it. The beautiful part is that we were actually designed to live through something rather than to attain something, and the things we were meant to live through was designed to change us. It's more about the process than about the result.

In The Big Kahuna, Danny Devito's character, a middle-aged salesman caught in a moment of reflection on his seemingly meaningless life says, "All my life, I've felt like I was put here on earth for some kind of mission. But I've never been able to figure out what that is."

Central to the Christian worldview is that Christ teaches us the way to live life, and live it to the full. There is a Hebrew phrase, Takun Olam which means "the repair and restore of the world." There is this ancient belief that God is looking for partners. He's looking to repair this broken world. He's looking for co-creator partners to help put the world back together.

I can't think of a great mission in life, or a better story to be a part of.

snowbowl

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:50:00 +0000

Every year we have a football game on the National Mall. Last year was sunny and in the 60s. This year, well, we played tackle football in 18 inches of snow. As I walked towards the field we were going to play on, I wondered whether this was an awesome idea, or really stupid.

No guts, no glory, or something like that. About 15 minutes in I caught a pass and was running for the touchdown when I did a spin move right into the back of one of our opponents rock-solid cranium. I was kind of shocked it happened at first....then the blood started to pour out of my nose.

I've never broken a nose before. Can't say that I'm enjoying the mending process. Repositioned part of it today and I'll go in for the final adjustment tomorrow because there is too much swelling.

It's starting to snow again. They say another 10-20 inches. I spent about an hour in line at the grocery store this afternoon. Roads are horrible. Guess we'll be snowed in again tomorrow. Can't complain about spending the day with my wife:)

How's your weather?

snowmygosh

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:45:00 +0000

A lot of snowisms have been tossed around this weekend: snowmaggedon, snowpocolypse, snowmygosh. Whatever you call it, I'm having a blast with this! Love creating memories.

I'm looking forward to having Church tomorrow more than I ever have. We take for granted the gift of freely gathering to worship together the one true God. In the midst of this beauty, what better place to be than with a an awesome Church community. When it takes some serious effort to make it (I'm planning on trekking a mile through 18 inches of snow, digging out the Church van and rescuing our stranded worship team), the experience is that much more meaningful.

I'm sitting here sipping my whisk......coke, overlooking the DC city-scape (I can see the Washington Monument from our place) and having some worship of my own. Someone once told me that they feel sorry for atheists because when they look at a beautiful sunset or a city-street with the greatest accumulation of snow in DC history, they have nobody to thank.

I've got such a grateful heart right now!

Logic of Mission

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:34:00 +0000

A portion of my portfolio but more importantly my passion is continuing to discover what it means to remain on mission. I was reading out of Corinthians the other day.

“But what we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indwelt, energized, and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom."

Central to the Christian worldview is this: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that’s about to roll over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that’s shortly going to be thrown in the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that’s about to be dug up for a building site. You are – strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself – accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world. Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one’s fellow human beings and for that matter one’s fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, every deed that spreads the gospel, buds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world – all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make.

That is the logic of the mission of God.

Let me know if there is anything more meaningful and inspiring than that mission.

LR

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:52:00 +0000

Our media protege teamed up with Amanada Giobbi, one of our MC's at NCC's Leadership Retreat a few weekends ago. Our Lead Pastor Mark Batterson was a good sport. Check it out:

NCC Leadership Retreat 2010 - PM Interview from Andy Pisciotti on Vimeo.

A18 Watoto House Short Film

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:09:00 +0000

Ginny and Amy went on a trip with NCC back in '07 to help build a house for 8 children and a mother through Watoto. Love Watoto's mission statement: "Rescue a child. Raise a Leader. Rebuild a nation." Because of war and disease, Uganda is in the midst of raising a fatherless generation. Watoto builds villages that places 8 orphans and a widow into a brand new home. The village contains a school and medical facility as well.

This past August, I led a team back to Uganda to build a classroom in the same village. I had a chance to see firsthand what is taking place. 26 letters in the english alphabet cannot define the perimeters of what was felt.

This is a short video of Ginny and Amy returning to the home they helped build back in '07.

Great quote: "I still don't know the extent of what God is going to do with it. But I got a glimpse. And that glimpse was huge!"

new digs

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Ever since I can remember it's been a dream to live in a loft. We searched hghi and low in DC, but the city itself was never an industrial dwelling so warehouse spaces are hard to come by. Sadly, many schools have been converted to lofts, but they're audaciously expensive.

Gave up on the idea for DC.

So we went to sign our lease for another when I ran into an NCCer who'd lived in a loft called 52 0 street Art Studios. Made a quick call and was informed by the owner that a space had just opened up and would be gone within a few days. Hesitated for about 20 seconds.

We moved in about a month ago. The owner calls it a "blank canvas." Anything goes, so one of the first things we did was knock down a massive wall. The brick wall behind turned out amazing.

Super excited. Here's a panoramic shot.

counting me worthy

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:50:00 +0000

I listen often to the preaching of a pastor named Matt Chandler. Powerful communicator. On Thanksgiving Day, he had a seizure. That evening he found out he had a brain tumor and had to undergo emergency surgery. Here is his powerful thought before going into this life-threatening procedure.

Video from Matt

A1:8 Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:11:00 +0000

So proud to have helped pull our A1:8 Missions Magazine together. It's beautiful. 40 pages, full bleed, matte-finished magazine. Last year we did a Christmas Catalog for people to purchase products for organizations and missionaries overseas that we support. Those included goats, school supplies, housing for widows, bricks for a classroom, etc. Raised $57k this past year through the catalog.

With the huge help of Kate and her company Bittersweet Creative, we took it to another level with a magazine. So proud of it because it really captures of heart of NCC and it's passion for being on mission. We've got articles written from staff members and other NCCers who have seen invisible lines of connection through the simple act of sharing the love of Christ to others around them.

You can go to the marketplace to view the different items our congregation is investing in.

Who

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:22:00 +0000

I'll tell you a story. It's only the memory of a question and about where the question first hit me. I was in college. It was a friday evening in the middle of December, most of the students had travelled home. I was sitting there having a drink and a smoke and it dawned on me that there was an ultimate question: What is the meaning of life? For a moment, I actually considered the possibility that i was the first one ever to have asked it.

My friends had reached identical conclusions for themselves. The same question apparently teased everyone. It could take many forms: What am I doing here? What am I supposed to be doing here? Why am I able to ask this question? Why am I unable to answer it?

The Kabbalists say that the ultimate question is simply "who?" I've asked these questions over and over since then. I suppose that one of the main reasons I'm a Pastor is because Pastor's have permission to be with people during the most transformative moments of their lives and are even expected to help them make those moments coherent and meaningful. I'm not sure I have a responsibility to have the right answers, but have increasingly learned it's about asking the questions that allow another to hear the echoes of the larger questions right there in the midst of the ordinary.

five star

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Over 300 verses in scripture talk about the poor.

Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? (James 2:5)

Our InService team puts on a 5 star fine dining experience for our DC homeless community. The team took it to a whole new level this year and packed the place out. Such an honor to serve our fellow brothers and sisters, many of whom, to no fault of their own, have found themselves in difficult situations with no place to turn.

Serving the poor is not a suggestion in scripture. It's a mandate.

catalyst competition

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Cool to toss some bags on The Mall with the Catalyst crew. NCC defeated Catalyst 8-4.

Catalyst One Day

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Travelled to Baltimore for the Catalyst One Day conference.

Some reflections::
The first session was less about fresh content and more about reaffirming the current season I’m in: embracing conflict in order to bring about change. The entire point of our lives (beyond bringing Him glory) is transformation or continued growth in knowing Him. Of course this manifests itself in different ways for different people. Nonetheless, the principle of “character transformation” is always at the core of His story, which is the Church’s story, and of course is our story as well.

-LOVED this thought: “Managers get rid of chaos, leaders thrive on it.” Anything that reduces friction is a problem. That seems so counterintuitive, but an area I’d love to grow in my own personal life.

-“Your congregation will reflect your values.” That hit me hard. The lack in your flock is the lack in your own life. It’s like being able to look into a mirror. This is both encouraging and depressing at the same time. Above all, challenging.

-Here we go with conflict again: “The difference between where you are and where you want to be is the pain you don’t want to endure.” I continue to pray for courage and a strength to overcome fear to endure any pain I avoid, both personally, in my marriage and in ministry.

-"The way I was doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in me." Yeah, I’m planning on letting this quote fester in my prayer times this week.

-Really loved the “Creating an artificial ministry deadline – there is ALWAYS MORE than you can do.” Feel like I do create articifical deadlines to a degree, but apparently not enough because I’m ALWAYS fighting the notion that I need to do more. When the need is all around, it’s difficult to find the balance between restfulness and restlessness.

Money is not our problem

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:36:00 +0000

Whenever I hear someone in the Church tell me "they can't afford to give abroad", it gives me a clue they're unaware of the big picture.

America is the wealthiest community of Christians in the history of Christendom. The total income of American churchgoers is $5.2 trillion. American Christians, who make up about 5% of the Church worldwide, control about half of global Christian wealth (Stearns, 96).

Only 5% of American households tithe. “Born again” Christians in America is at 9%. Evangelical Christians are at 24%.
The average giving of American church members in 2005 was 2.58% of their income. Giving during the Great Depression was at 3.3%, 27% more than we gave in 2005. Only 2% of that goes to overseas missions of any kind, whether evangelistic or to assist the poor. The other 98% stays right here, within our churches and communities.

The bottom line is that the commitment that American Christians, the wealthiest Christians in all history, are making to the world is just about 2% of 2% - actually about five ten-thousandths of our income. That amounts to about six pennies per person per day that we give through our churches to the rest of the world.

Sobering, I know.

facile hair configurations and our philosophical reality

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:48:00 +0000

"We weren't designed to live through something rather than attain something." -Donald Miller

A study was conducted on human beings as they physically mature. The author used their own body for the experiment, carefully weighing each limb, inspecting their hands under a microscope and photographing himself with varying facile hair configurations. The study was trying to understand whether our physical bodies said something about our philosophical reality.

Here's the discovery:
Our lives, in story-form, are in a kind of three-act structure, all for the purpose of journey. The first act is birth and a world of self-discovery. The second act is plodding through a long middle in which they are compelled to search for a mate, reproduce and also create stability out of natural instability. The final act seems to be designed for reflection.

"I wondered out loud if the point wasn't the search but the transformation the search creates." The human body is designed to change. It isn't possible to be in complete stasis. The hebrew word used in Genesis 1 was "dasha", which means to produce. We're co-creators, created by a creator, who create. The land, the vegetation was created so it could create for itself. In other words, this story, this world that God created was designed to go somewhere. Another way to put it is tomorrow will be different than today. And we're placed in the middle of it.

Here were his additional findings:
"There is a slide of myself at the beginning of the year and of the new lines on my face that had deepened since. Our interaction with each other, with the outside world, and with intangible elements such as time make us different people every season. People get stuck, thinking they are one kind of person. But they aren't."

We were designed by a Creator to live THROUGH something rather than ATTAIN something, and the thing we were meant to live THROUGH was designed to change us.

For me, this is deeply inspiring.

7 years

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:58:00 +0000

In Chicago for a few days for a conference.

Had a thought. There is one place I've spent my time more than anywhere else in the world. I did the calculation while resting in the bedroom I grew up in last night. Seven years. I've spent seven solid years in this tiny, oddly-shaped room.

After the past 10 years of "strategically wandering" as I like to call my twenties, the craving of certain geographical anchor points has heightened. This room is full of fond memories, lucid dreams, childish laughter, hopeful anticipation, sleepless nights and a lot of praying. It's like one large security blanket. I can't imagine the feeling of safety and comfort gets more tangible than this.

I've had a wishful affection for the past on this trip. My associations are full of optimism and warmth.

I'm feeling a lot of deja vu right now.

matrimony

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:15:00 +0000

Officiated my first wedding this past weekend. Felt so honored. When I was asked, I said, "are you sure?"

After photographing a bunch of weddings, being a groom, a groomsman, and a best man; I'm a fan of weddings:)

It was a poetic that Kate and I were able to celebrate our anniversary on the same weekend as celebrating it with a couple giving their vows for the first time. These are the types of things that remind me how humbling it is to be in a position of pastoring.

Captured this on my phone just before they signed their contract.

Shenandoah

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Valley at the peak of autumn is now in my top ten scenic highways in the US. Yes, I have a top ten list Joe Baron. I didn't know there were so many hues of orange, and shades of red or yellow. I must have said, "wow" over 100 times.

We would stop off every few miles and overlook a sea of trees which better resembled an impressionist painting than a photograph. The towns below were reminiscent of a story that begin with "once upon a time"; quant, so fairy-taleesque. There was no need to use our imaginations, we had plenty to work with in plane sight.

Spent 48 hours in a small town called Winchester, Virginia. Different pace of life. The great thing I'd imagine about small towns is that you know everyone and everyone knows you. The bad thing about small towns is that you know everyone and everyone knows you:)

I had a burst of childhood memories as we drove along the windy country roads at the height of autumn. The roadside antiques, meticulously carved pumpkins, the incense of burning leaves. It's in my nostrils even now as I write on my couch. The one that came to mind immediately was "the sweet gum trail." That's a bittersweet memory. I loved walking along the magical Lac-le-aqua-na trail that my father told my siblings and I as young children were trees that sprouted bubble gum. Apparently it took very little convincing considering the wrigley's silver wrapper was still neatly packaged around the branches of the trees. The emergence of my skepticism as an adolescent could no longer accept the bubleicious gum falling from trees; my santa claus moment was inevitable I suppose. I think my brother, an elite member of Project Idea (for the best and brightest children.....I was never invited to the prestigious club) began uncovering discrepancies in my father's storytelling as well. The loss of innocence and the lies of a father.

I must confess that I can't wait to entertain my children with such fantasies.

I love Fall.

Anniversary pics

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Kate and I haven't taken any photographs together professionally since our wedding. Thought for our 4th we could do that. Our photographer Joe Portnoy did a great job. See more HERE

Arlington Cemetary

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

We're filming some Alpha Videos marketed for the deaf community. Really excited about the prospects of this being used nation-wide.

The senior chaplain over at Arlington National Cemetery attends our church and I've had the pleasure of getting to know him. Huge props to him for giving us the royal treatment. Got press access to the entire cemetery. We went to the most remote, serene and reverent place.

post article

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Just spoke with a columnist from the Washington Post.

Here's the link to the article

CLICK HERE!

article

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:19:00 +0000

Great article on the front page of the Washington Times about our Church and the closing of the Theater. Here's the online link:

CLICK HERE

collision

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:06:00 +0000

We didn't build a church. We built a coffeehouse. Jesus didn't hang out at Synagogues as much as he hung out at Wells. Wells were natural gathering places for people. Coffeehouses are postmodern wells.

The church should be in the marketplace where faith and culture can collide. Where community and church can intersect.

We're temporarily meeting at our Coffeehouse only a block away from Union Station. Last week was hectic, but am really proud of our team: 10 ministry leaders and well over 80 volunteers stepped up and helped make the transition as smooth as possible.

The biggest problem was going to be space. We've got 3 services at Union, each averaging between 170 and 220 people. The coffeehouse performance spaces allows for 150. So we needed some overflow and the only option was using the regular hour coffeehouse space.

We weren't sure how it would go over for regular customers that have nothing to do with our Church. A high percentage of customers don't even know we're a church.

I shot up during our second service to see the live feeds on our flat screens and it was pretty amazing; a packed coffeehouse full of customers enjoying a cup of coffee and a sermon on television. Most were listening.

Great saying somebody coined: "in order to reach people nobody else is reaching, you've got to do things nobody else is doing."

messy spaces

noreply@blogger.com (dcschmiddy) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Final moments at Union Station.

For 13 years, we were meeting at this location as a church. For the past year, I've participated with this body.

It's a unique space. We've got our very own metro system. It's 2 blocks from the Capitol. We've got our very own food court. Over 50 homeless attend our services. Sometimes we hear snoring in the services. I've encountered mice, and cockroaches as they scurry along the sticky cement in the theatre where we sing songs of worship. Used condoms have been found, known felons have sat in our pews, purses have been stolen, and members of congress have been sighted. A few weeks ago I shook hands with the head of Obama's faith-based initiatives. It's a thriving metropolis, a great representation of people that are made in His image. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made.

It's messy. It's dirty. It's beautiful. It's the church. Churches need to be spaces that celebrate the messiness of humanity. It needs to be a safe place to hear a dangerous message.

So, yes, I'm sad to move out.

The people are the church. We aren't going anywhere.

Excited to experience what's next.