Reality? What a Concept!

Interesting, isn't it? Reality that is.
Or at least our search for it. Humanity's search for meaning. There is only one reality...anything else is an illusion...hence the dilemma! Is it to the extreme "right?"
Or to the extreme "left?" Is it a place of legalistic constraint without purpose...without meaning? Or is it a free form illusion of unhindered self-expression? Somehow, someway, both have failed us miserably. The puritanical restrictions of the past often seem senseless. Oh sure, some do have value...indeed even wisdom...but most seem senseless. But the extremes to which their "do's" and especially their "don't's" take us are often too much to handle...let alone take seriously! Yet the idea that the ultimate freedom has no boundaries at all...well that too has proven itself disastrous. What has the era's of 60's and 70's freedom proven? Our current era has reaped the consequences. Our media is full of alcohol and drug rehab commercials. The sexual revolution has led to a sexual paranoia, as diseases, AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and abortions abound. Our culture is plagued with welfare babies, single parents galore, emotionally and physically scarred men and women, sexually confused people, plus millions burdened with disease. Broken homes, divorce, children without a parent (or parents) and our societies obvious breaking apart at it's seams, leave us still searching. Is this as good as it gets? Perhaps "freedom" is not what we thought? Can humanity exist without boundaries or guidelines or parameters? Have we neglected something in our hedonistic search for fulfillment? Surely, we cannot go back to the senseless superstitions of the past? Perhaps though, there is reality within some of these boundaries? Perhaps real freedom exists somewhere within them? Perhaps, reality says, "Life without parameters leads to self-destruction!" Perhaps, the illusion is finally fading as reality sets in... it's called the "truth!" If there is "truth" then it has a "source". That truth then is the Source of all wisdom. Anything else is just a lie...a facade...a deception. That deception leads to error, which inevitably leads towards destruction. Has the scientific, technological, and spiritual "advancements" of our day really done much to improve the human condition? Does the "cake" of our life, simply have more decorations...does it really taste any better...does it really satisfy any better? Are we the victims of this cruel hoax...or perhaps, we've learned the hard way? At ECHO we want to be a safe place for anyone to explore the reality of life...to come along side people as they search for the Truth...the Source of all Truth & Wisdom. This journey is not a quick one...but a patient one...and different for each of us. But the Truth...is a constant, and found in only one Source...that we can discover together!

Be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor, ECHO

Addicted to Love

I recently had coffee with someone who said, "I know you Christians aren't perfect...I just wish you didn't act like you were!". I could tell he meant it, from a wounded heart. He's one of the many who are trying to follow Jesus...trying to connect with a church...but as soon as his life got messy, he was unacceptable...at least that's how he was made to feel. After a short time he was trying to figure out all this Jesus... church... God... Christian... messy life stuff... out on his own. How lonely he felt. How sad that Jesus followers missed an opportunity to be a vessel of God's love to another human. Would Jesus have given this man more dignity than that? Would Jesus have found the time? Would Jesus be willing to walk through the messiness of life with him? With me? With you? If we take Jesus teachings and example seriously, the answer is obvious. "We are to love one another, as we love ourselves." Our identity should be "love". Even the Beatles got it..."All We Need Is Love". Robert Palmer sang we're "Addicted To Love". In the U2 classic song "One", it speaks of that craving of the human heart to experience "one love...one heart". It's one of the most basic human desires and needs. God made us this way, and it's good. God even says He is love. In a sense the very thing we crave, is perfect love, found only in God and through people surrendered to His love. In the bible, in the book of Acts, chapter 2 it says that everyone could see how much the followers of Jesus loved each other. Since God by definition "is love" according to the bible, then this "love" thing should be one of our highest priorities. At ECHO we truly believe those words...not as suggestions...not as mere words...but as "essential truths" we are to live out in real and tangible ways. Love by nature is "relational", you need someone else to express love to, or to receive love from. Our love relationship with God is relational by design, as is our relational design to live in "love" with our fellow human beings. A look at how God describes His love is seen in 1Corinthians chapter 13, verses 4 through 13...it describes love as being: patient, kind, it does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres...love never fails! If God is love, then perhaps you may want to read that scripture as "God is", and then you'll get a great glimpse of who He is, and who He desires us to be. Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 and 23 speak of the "fruit" of God's Spirit in us...the result of His Spirit growing in us, and through us; "the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". Notice how many of these qualities of love are best expressed in relationship with other people. Yes, part of God's design is that we become more like Him as we love others in cooperation with the guidance and direction of His Spirit. Not only is that the love our world needs...and craves...it's a love that we all easily can be addicted to...in a good way! At ECHO we want to be a people "addicted to God's love" and "addicted to expressing His love to others" because we know those in our sphere of relationship, well enough to know, "Love Is All They Need".

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Reasonable to Reason Together for a Reason

My favorite bumper sticker I ever saw was on the back of a Harley, I laughed so hard as I read it, "Jesus I love You, but your people scare the hell out of me!" Wow, I've felt that way, I laughed. Then I felt saddened..."heck maybe I've been one of those guys, I sure hope not"...it hit me that too often those that may be drawn to Jesus are pushed away...often by the very people who claim to be following Jesus! UGGGH, what's up with that? Now that speaks to two things: that followers of Jesus still screw up and say and do stupid stuff (something most not-yet-believers readily accept and attest to...and just wish we'd admit it more often) and the second thing is that "our agenda's" often get taught to people, as if they were God's agenda, thus dis-crediting God or at the very least causing confusion about Him. It seems, we don't always take what God says serious. It's as if our "opinion" about what God says takes precedent. Or we can even be guilty of having "our opinion" and tacking a scripture onto it, as if to imply it's from God. This is a scary use of God's word, yet all too frequent. Unfortunately, far too many that are checking out this Jesus thing, run into this inconsistency, and it turns them off...it scares them! It causes them to distrust those who deliver the message. The solution the bible says is for each of us "to check everything against the Word of God". The apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament said it about his own teachings...and to "hold onto what is true...and throw away that which isn't." No matter what any book, pastor, teacher, article, or sermon may say...if it doesn't line up with what is consistently taught in the bible...then toss it, it's not from God. God gave us scripture to not only reveal Himself to us, but as a "safety net" to filter what people say "is from God". A "truth detector", so to speak. My wife and I were recently in Austin, Texas at a gathering of pastors we have been invited to be a part of...20 to 25 of us from all over the country, and from various denominations. Everyone is there with a heart to support each other as we try to live out the simplicity of the Great Commandment in our churches: "love God...love others". One session was about "biblically illiterate preaching" and someone spoke of a well known pastor in Texas, who did a sermon called "D.E.A.", a message about Diet...Exercise...Accountability. A physical fitness message. Now he knows this pastor well, and he knows this guy is personally really into fitness etc... Now a personal value of fitness may be helpful, but it's hard to make a scriptural principle out of it. Yet he tried... in the end of the message he tacked on a bible passage, "don't you know your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit" from I Corinthians 6:19. He made it sound as if God commanded everyone to diet, exercise and have accountability for it. Unfortunately, this type of teaching often leads to confusion or a lack of credibility. This passage is not referring to your physical fitness...it's speaking of the spiritual fitness of your body. It speaks of how a life style of ungodly living is displeasing to the Holy Spirit who desires to live and empower each of us. But its not addressing what you eat, how you look, your work out routines etc... It's speaking of sinful lifestyles. Unfortunately a message like that may leave everyone who looks like "Ken & Barbie" feeling like God is pleased with them, and those that don't look that way like they have failed God somehow...apparently being negligent in taking care of God's Temple. When truthfully the bible states clearly the opposite, "man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart". A truth reinforced throughout the bible. But people, in this case, left holding onto a value "thinking" it was God's...when in fact it was a human value of their pastor. That's the type of distortion that can cause a misleading of people and diluting the trust level of people as we teach them scripture. Unfortunately, other pastors and teachers have copied this pastors message, spreading it to their people, without checking to see "if it's scriptural". So poor biblical teaching spreads, and more and more people live biblically illiterate lives, not knowing if what they have been taught is scriptural or not. As Jesus followers we must "rightly use the Word of truth", as we speak, live, encourage and especially preach and teach. The bible says it is "reasonable" for us to discuss and even not always agree, as long as we "reason together" from the scripture, as we seek the truth on any matter. Not just a pet scripture or two. Not just a bible verse to tag onto "our opinion" in order to justify it. But if our "reason" is to search out the truth, on any subject, then let us learn to "reason together"...not based on our human opinions, emotions or preferences, but on God's word. This is "reasonable" isn't it? Even people I know who are not yet ready to trust the bible as "God's word", are at least reassured that my life journey's opinions are grounded in what the bible says. They may not agree, but they respect the focused search for truth. At least they know where I'm coming from, and to them that's "reasonable". At ECHO we desire to be a group of Jesus followers who learn to rightly use God's word as we reason together, and in love, point those exploring Jesus, towards the very scripture that reveals Him. In that we can model our firm confidence in the foundations of God's word...in our search for God's truth...and to most that's "reasonable". Join us as we love each other enough to "reason together" and discover all God has for us, bit by bit, day by day...with anyone who wants to explore with us!

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

One Way or Another

My kid's love American Idol. Now whether you think its the "greatest thing since sliced bread", or the "hokey-est show you've ever seen"... is not the point of this discussion. To us, it's a great opportunity to watch a show with our kids, and have some fun along the way. Well my kids were so excited about "Idol Gives Back", a 2 hour special that raises money for under privileged kids here in America, and in other countries. $76 million was raised last year, to help AIDS orphanages in Africa, after school programs here in many cities, help families still displaced by Katrina, mosquito nets for families in Africa to help prevent malaria, clean water projects in third world countries, medical assistance both here and abroad etc... Now whether you see it as a major publicity stunt by the American Idol people, the celebs & companies that participate...or a genuine attempt to give back to those less fortunate...there is something heart warming in it all. As I watched, and saw how many needs there were, and how easily people stepped up to volunteer and serve, as well as give money to these many causes...the thought came to mind..."something about serving & giving" resonates in the human spirit. I believe it is how God has wired us. We have been made in His image, the bible says, so it's a part of who He is and who we are designed to be. We know deep down that its the right thing to do. "To those much has been given...much is required" is how the bible says it. I realize that not everyone contributing, volunteering, organizing, performing and staging this fund raising event are necessarily motivated by a desire to "express God's love to people"...but deep down they know this is how it should be, this is the right thing to do. The show closed with Mariah Carey singing a gospel song and then the big finish. All this season's contestants came out and sang "Shout to the Lord". A song of worship, right out of scripture. It's a song that speaks of a bible passage that says "the mountains will bow down and the seas will roar" in praise to God. It reminds me of when Jesus spoke of "the rocks of the earth will sing out", if people wouldn't choose to worship God. Wouldn't it be sadly embarrassing to stand before God outdone by a "rock". The thought came to mind..."as the western church becomes more & more self indulgent...often forgetting the ways we are to use the resources God has given us (as the blog entry "Stop the Madness" discusses)... becoming less and less about assisting people in our churches and within our communities...God will find someone else to do it...if we don't choose to!" Isn't it embarrassing that the western church is being outdone by American Idol? Isn't it sad that people are more than willing to agree that "serving & giving" are good...yet we as churches often don't live it out. The closing song was a reminder to us all...if we don't "choose" to do what Jesus taught us...God will get it done one way or another. At ECHO we recognize that some churches and Jesus followers take these needs seriously, and are doing their best (i.e. Rick Warren, Bono, World Vision, Compassion etc...)...but wouldn't it be a huge impact here in Eugene/Springfield if more churches and Jesus followers "chose" to serve & give to the many, many needs of our community. Do you realize that "if" every church in our area served our community with 2 to 3 thousand dollars of meeting needs...that about a quarter million dollars of expressing God's love would permeate Eugene/Springfield...per month! Do you think some may see that as a better representation of who Jesus asked us to be? We cannot speak for other churches but we at ECHO "choose" to invest in our communities needs over our own "wants". We see this as an essential part of living out the love of God, and in that we experience the love of God personally, as we share it with others! Jesus warned us not to see a need, and turn people away with a pat on the back & a prayer...when you could have helped. In fact Jesus said, "if you did it for the least of these...you did it for Me".

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

The Madness Continues...

Well March Madness just finished...with lots of exciting games...a surprising run by a little known college known as Davidson...and lots of last minute shockers! In the end of the Tournament, Kansas comes back from 9 points down with a little over a minute to play, hitting a 3 pointer with 2 seconds left to tie the game, and send it to overtime. In overtime Kansas confidence swelled to victory, as Memphis left wondering what could have been...if only? I love basketball...especially college basketball...and the pros too! The college end of season tournament, known as March Madness, is always fun to watch, and often reveals who the next players will be that make it to the NBA. Under pressure, the best rise to the top. To be considered one of the best 450 or so players in the world is quite an accomplishment and makes them worth the millions of dollars they make. It seems like crazy money to you & me, but clearly teams are willing to pay it to get the best players they can as they chase after the prize of an NBA Championship...to be called the best in the world! The March Madness Tournament decides whose the best in the United States in the college ranks...but the NBA Championship declares whose the best team in the world! As the NBA season also winds down to its last few games, I saw an interesting article. It was referring to the economics of the NBA, and examined each teams player payroll, to discover who got the most bang for their buck. From the extravagant payrolls of the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat...to the frugal payrolls of the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Hornets...the results speak for themselves. "In this league you don't necessarily get what you pay for..." the article touted. The 5 most efficient payrolls were calculated based on total player payroll divided by the number of wins, which gave you the "Dollars per win". Based on this formula the teams were evaluated.

These are the 5 Most Efficient Teams:

5. Boston Celtics, $1.15 million per win

t4. Orlando Magic, $1.14 million per win

t4. Detroit Pistons, $1.14 million per win

2. Utah Jazz, $1.12 million per win

1. New Orleans Hornets, $1.11 million per win

These are the 4 Most Wasteful Teams:

4. Minnesota Timberwolves, $3.05 million per win

3. Seattle Supersonics, $3.18 million per win

2. New York Knicks, $4.33 million per win

1. Miami Heat, $5.39 million per win

As I read this article and one similar a few months back, it got me thinking. I wonder what we'd discover if we did the same type of examination for "churches"? How "efficient" are we in using the dollars God entrusts to us to build His Kingdom? How "wasteful" are we? Do we even stop to consider these questions? The bible is clear that God uses the faithful giving of His people to build His Kingdom. Throughout history, obviously money was a key resource, and necessary. The bible also says that all we have is God's and that we are entrusted with the responsibility to use it wisely. The bible also says that God does not dwell in buildings, but in the hearts of those that trust in Him. So why do so many churches have so many dollars tied up in their buildings? It's like we have a "Field of Dreams" mentality..."if we build it, they will come". The bigger and more plush the better. We're trying to gain attention and status through our church buildings. The better they look, the more people will come...or so we think? Studies show that "church people" are attracted to the cool, slick buildings...so they just hop on over to the newest one in town. But the "not-yet-believer"? Well they don't trust the church (yet), and they think we're only after their money anyway. How could you blame them when they see the "wastefulness" of how we spend money on ourselves. We stretch our church budgets to the max to keep fixing up our image, our status, our monuments unto ourselves...while through it all we are actually pushing those we are trying to reach further and further away! Then we need to dump more and more money into our programs to justify all the money we just spent on the building, and a vicious cycle begins. Unfortunately, way too many churches are trapped in it, and their budgets are stretched to the max, with constant financial strain on them as organizations and on their people who ultimately have to support the wasteful use of their faithful giving. Its a cycle that never ends. It's like those window cleaners on skyscrapers...they keep cleaning windows, every day, over and over...and when their done with one side of the building, then its another side to be done. The job never ends. In fact, many of the largest skyscrapers have full time window cleaners...because the job is never completed. It's a never ending cycle, they constantly are trying to keep up the appearances of these buildings. That's the same never ending cycle so many churches are trapped in...and because of it, the "job" doesn't get done. The job...the task at hand...according to Jesus...is to build His Kingdom...not buildings. The Kingdom is built by reaching people...and the buildings we build keep them at a distance, even less likely to be reached. Now God will honor the humble act of worshipful giving by individuals who give to their church regardless of how it is used. But the same God also holds each church responsible for how it uses the resources it is given. The bible is big on this topic, and Jesus taught on it frequently. Are they "efficient"? Are they "wasteful"? We have over 100 churches in our area...and many are trying to "keep up with the Joneses", so to speak. When one church builds a new, fancy building...then the others have to keep up...or lose their people. It doesn't matter if you are a big church, medium church, or small church, it's a matter of survival...the tendency is real and happening right now. But none of it grows the Kingdom of God...it just grows the competition among churches for the same people. This is madness...and it keeps going on and on. I have 3 pastor friends, in different states, on the edge of making building decisions for their churches. One church is looking at a 5 million dollar project, another a 10 million dollar project, and yet another an almost 20 million dollar project. Let's take a look at the $10 million church. His church is packing out 2 services at 500 people each service. His church Board wants him to do "as you are supposed to", and build a 1,000 seat auditorium. The cost estimate $10 million. Now whether its mortgaged or raised money, the question is the same...is spending $10 million to "grow your church" by 500 to 1,000 people a wise use of $10 million? Especially considering most of those "new" people are from other churches in town? Let's be very optimistic and say 10% of 1,000 new people are "new believers"...then the $10 million dollar investment yielded 100 new people to the Kingdom of God. Does that seem efficient? Is that a wise use of the resources God has given you for maximum impact? My friend is soul searching this right now...other churches do it...church growth books & consultants encourage it...yet he never stopped to think of the "efficiency" of doing it. I shared some of this with him, and he realizes that a better investment may be to find 20 top notch church starters, and perhaps give them $500,000 budgets each to start new churches throughout his area. Those 20 churches, funded that generously, will reach way more people than he could by expanding his own church. He's re-thinking his priorities. This is just an example of well meaning pastors and churches simply imitating what others have done...and the same mistake happens over and over...instead of weighing the impact of that investment, for God's sake & His desire to transform lives. In the meantime, these same churches have a hard time meeting the needs of their own people in need...and barely have a few bucks for real, genuine needs that come from hurting people within our community. If any thing is spent on the communities needs, it comes from extra offerings taken from the people...because the church budget is shot, trying to pay for the building, utilities, programs and keep people on staff paid. Any extra money that comes in goes to new signs, marketing, remodeling, decorative sprucing up? Did we miss something? The bible says throughout the New Testament that the church is to use its finances primarily for 3 things. Meeting the needs of believers (both in your church and away, i.e. missionaries etc...)...meeting the needs of those that are dedicated to teaching the bible full time (pastors)...and meeting the needs of the community you live within. Now Jesus said the "poor you'll always have with you", but He also repeated that we are to take care of "the fatherless and widows". The "fatherless and widows (or women who've lost their husbands)" were some of the neediest people of the New Testament era. But today's churches have (incorrectly) learned to budget for buildings, programs and staff...missing 2 of the 3 things the bible asks them to invest very deliberately into! Not a token offering here and there. Not a special Christmas or Thanksgiving extra offering. At ECHO we aim for a re-alignment of priorities to what Jesus asks of us, even at the expense of elaborate buildings and programs. Imagine if churches had the flexibility of using 10% of their budget to meet the needs of the people within their church and the community outside their walls? Even 20%? What if they generously gave even more than that? Thousands of dollars per church per month, would express the love of God to people who are in genuine need. It would transform Eugene/Springfield. Would people see more of Jesus in that? Would that be more attractive to the "not-yet-believer"? You bet it would. At ECHO we are committed to stopping the "madness". We choose to be intentionally different, for the sake of the "not-yet-believers" of the Eugene/Springfield region. If we remain "homeless" for the sake of reaching people with the love of God...then so be it. We'd rather fill a warehouse, and share the love of God in real, tangible ways...than try to impress people by building a monument unto ourselves. Being like Jesus is the call of the church and every Jesus follower. Finding ways to help people's needs, with the love of God as our motivation, is our dream. We choose to invest in people over programs...invest in our communities needs over buildings...by taking Jesus words seriously, instead of taking our "wants & agenda's" seriously. This is a dream ECHO chooses to pursue intentionally! Will you join us...?

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Go Outside...

Go outside...
And praise the God who
mapped the stars out in the sky.
Gather ‘round with those who love
and sing...He is our King.

No one should be left out...
No one should be left out...
No one should be left out...
No one should be left out...
If you have air to breathe,
Hear your call to sing...

I love this song by Robbie Seay. If you don't have it downloaded on your iPod yet...you should! Soak it in as you take in the wonder all around you. It evokes that sense of awe we feel when we take time to linger a bit and enjoy God's creation. A sense rises up...a wonderful sense of I'm so small...and He's so beyond my imagination. Yet a humbling sense that God created it all for you & me. Something that we here in the Northwest are uniquely blessed to experience all the time. Man it's everywhere...lush green landscapes, forests, lakes and rushing rivers. Eugene is a such a cool area where all these things are right around us every day...and drive 15 minutes and your rolling through awesome fields of farm land and pastures of grazing animals. Go 45 minutes east and you're seeing waterfalls and snowy peaks throughout the Cascade mountains. Go 45 minutes west through the Coastal Range and you'll see the incredible Oregon coast where the forest meets the beach and rolling sand dunes. It truly is so inspiring to take some time and "go outside"...and admire God's handy work...a Master Artists' work no doubt! The bible speaks of creation itself testifying to God's awesomeness, wonder and awe! We are so blessed to have it so close to us every day. So take some time to "go outside" and praise the God who mapped it all out...for you! I also love how the song speaks of "the call" that goes out to everyone...that no one should be left out. God's heart is that all of us are His...we're all included. It encourages me to "go outside" in other ways...perhaps out of my comfort zones...beyond my convenience... beyond my preferences...to include others. To reach out to everyone, so that they may be drawn towards the One who loves them so much...a God that's crazy about them! That means I need to get "outside" church..."outside" my home perhaps...maybe even "outside" my neighborhood...but what a privilege it is to "love others" as I am loved by God. It's a challenge, but something ECHO is deeply committed to...to go "outside"...so that no one is left out...so that all have an opportunity to explore and experience their journey of faith. Our privilege is to be a group of Jesus followers that is willing to "go outside", and "love others" in the hope we may point them towards a God that wants to draw them close. And together we can "go outside" and join the song of praise to the God that paints us a new canvas every day! At ECHO our commitment is...as long as we "have air to breathe"..."no one should be left out!"

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO