Trick? or Treat?

My kids are always trying to sneak up on me and scare me. It's really quite funny, because they usually don't. First off the word "boo" isn't inherently scary...plus when they say it...I kinda know its their voice. I mean, who decided "boo" was scary? And why? I know its supposed to be what ghost say...but really, is that the best a ghost could come up with? Really? Boo, actually sounds like a fun word...a playful word... a silly word. That's why it doesn't scare me. It's no more scary than someone sneaking up behind me and saying "cheese!". OOOOhhh, I just have to laugh. Now in the Fall, we seem to like the playful and scary. Its all a part of the Halloween spirit I suppose. Goofy creatures that make silly sounds like "boo". And we sometimes jump in fear...other times we laugh in shock. Its all meant to be innocent fun, but often lost in the Halloween "fun" is the undercurrent of truth in this occasion. This night of the dead has roots back to the ancient Druid celebration of Samhain. Samhain marked the end of the season of life & light and the beginning of the season of darkness and death. The Druids had their year divided into these two primary seasons. Now it makes sense naturally...in the Fall, all the leaves drop from the trees and we are about to enter a season where nothing grows...Winter. Everything in nature goes into a hibernation of sorts until the season of life begins in the Spring! But to the Druids it was much more. It was also deeply spiritual. On this night of Samhain, the dead and evil spirits had free rein over the earth to create mischief. Now I'm not taking about stealing pumpkins kind of mischief...we're talking serious mischief...like curses, pillaging, and killing in retaliation. The Druid priests often would go home to home, farm to farm, and collect "treats" on behalf of the dead & evil spirits...if you failed to comply with their wishes then a "trick" was coming your way. These "treats" weren't just cute little candy treats...but food, children, maybe one of your livestock, whatever they asked for...the "trick" was the penalty if you did not comply. The "trick" may be burning down your barns, killing your horse, or kidnapping one of your family members. This was serious stuff...and we often don't realize it. In fact, the Irish legend of the Jack o' Lantern, tells of a man who sold his soul to the devil, and when he died he was not allowed into heaven. When he went to hell, Satan refused his entry, but gave him a small cinder from the fires of hell. Jack put this cinder in a turnip he had hollowed out, to give him a little light & warmth, to guide him for all eternity. A reject of both heaven & hell. How sad is that story. Yet we celebrate Jack 'o Lanterns, without knowing the cryptic background to such a tradition. Much of what we do at Halloween is like that. Unlike most other holiday occasions, Halloween is not centered in a Christian celebration. Its roots are dark, occultic, and pagan in its spirit. In fact, today, in the pacific northwest, its widely known that occult and witchcraft activity heightens at Halloween. Its considered a high feast, often accompanied with sacrifices and rituals, that are very real and serious in the spirit realm. As followers we should not be ignorant...nor fearful. Jesus is already victorious over any spiritual force, whether real or imagined. But as followers of Jesus we should also live with clear thinking regarding things of this sort. We should not be naive. Especially for our children, we should model whats spiritually healthy. At ECHO, we suggest you steer away from the dark imagery, the death, the evil and those traditions associated with such things. Does that mean we can't dress up and have fun? No, not at all...dress up (if you wish), have fun with family & friends, gather your candy, laugh and enjoy the good. But be aware and wise regarding the dark...the evil... the things that glorify death & deprivation. Those things are not godly and should not be "enjoyed"...they should be "diminished" as much as possible. "For God hasn't given you a spirit of fear...but of power... love...and a sound mind (or clear thinking)". Embrace the innocent fun...and steer away from that which too closely associated with the dark side of this time of year. As followers of Jesus, we at ECHO, would hope we would always point people towards the light... the good...the righteous...and help people steer away from the dark...the evil...and death. May you live everyday...even Halloween...in a spirit of truth...love...and hope!

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Shadows

Shadows

Life is full of light and shadow

O the joy and O the sorrow

O the sorrow

And yet will He bring

Dark to light

And yet will He bring

Day from night

When shadows fall on us

We will not fear

We will remember

When darkness falls on us

We will not fear

We will remember

When all seems lost

When we're thrown and we're tossed

We remember the cost

We rest in Him

Shadow of the cross

by David Crowder

be God's!

Brian O

Leader Pastor dude, ECHO

External Drive vs Internal Drive

I once visited Austin, Minnesota to visit a friend, and lo and behold I discovered the Spam Factory was there! What an interesting surprise. I knew of Spam...yes, even tasted it...but to now be in the shadows of the actual factory that produces the product...now that was something. What I discovered, was much like the old Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile...Spam had its own vehicle...a box truck...shaped appropriately like a can of Spam. How cool is that? Interesting the promotional ideas companies come up with. Some brilliant. Some not so much. The Spam truck was cool...as was the factory. I remember being at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2006 and seeing a Harley looking t-shirt that read "Austin, Minnesota, where all good hogs go to die", Spam Factory 2006. That was brilliant...I wanted one. They were only available at the Spam Factory. They were all sold out. Bummer! In spite of the brilliance of Spam's Sturgis t-shirt, and the Spam Mobile...it still doesn't change the biggest question. "What exactly is 'in' Spam?" In spite of the brilliance of the external marketing that peaked my interest...eventually I had to deal with... "what in the heck is this stuff?" and "Would I dare buy it and eat it?" It reminds me of how we often live in church circles and perhaps how we tend live as humans in general. We know that what's "inside" is of the most importance...yet we often gravitate to the "external". In church, the environment for people to experience God and to experience love from others in a godly way, is clearly the mandate scripturally. Yet we spend more time and energy and resources on "how things look". Most churches are mostly focused on where they are located...is it a high traffic area...is it in the "right" part of town...does it look impressive...etc? Most churches worry more about how long the service is...the style of music...the performance of said music...the length of sermon time...the lighting...the videos...the techie stuff to look cool...even stuff like coffee...artwork...dress codes etc...? The assumption is "if" we position ourselves properly and look good enough and perform well enough...people will pour in the doors. Huh? We are so driven by this external focus, we often miss whats most important, the internal. Do we spend as much time, energy and resources on cooperating with God's Spirit to have a spiritual environment where people can genuinely gather and experience God in community? Do we spend as much time, energy and resources on considering how we may be able to create an environment where people can actually connect relationally in an authentic way...so that the love of God may actually flow from one person to another? How often do we focus on and consider these "core" internal things that should drive our churches? I believe if people experienced an authentic encounter with God...and were surrounded by godly loving people that really would journey with them through life...I believe you could not keep people away from that church! Even if it was in an old dusty warehouse somewhere...people would be looking for that place! People would be enthusiastically bringing there friends and work associates and neighbors! Not bringing them because they hope they will be impressed by the "show" or the "building"...but because they knew the environment had so much God stuff going on that there was a good chance their friend may experience God and His love through His people gathering. Funny, we as individuals, tend to gravitate to the same thing. It seems we like to focus on the "external" aspects of who we are (or seem to be)...way more than we focus on the "internal" aspects of who "we really are". Its a human tendency I suppose. Its this thing in us to gravitate towards "performance" over "being". Its easier to look good, dress right, drive the right car and develop "status" ...than it is to be kind, forgiving, generous, sacrificial in serving others needs over your own and other godly qualities. The bible says that it is the "Spirit of God working in us" that produces these godly qualities...not what we do by self will. Yet we gravitate to what "we can do"...perform to impress or attract. As churches we do the same thing. Its easier to have an impressive building or put on a good "Sunday show" than it is to cooperate with God's Spirit in loving others in an authentic way. Its easier to have a tight hour and a half performance with God stuff sprinkled in...than it is to experience God's Spirit touching lives in a deeply personal way. Its easier to serve coffee, have a greeter open the door with a smile, and shake hands after the second song...than it is to actually share your life with another and journey with them through the messiness of life, as you build authentic relationship together. Why do we gravitate to the "external" so easily? Why do I do it too? Is it to avoid dealing with the "internal"? Is it because we feel like we can control the external? Is it because we fear surrendering the "internal" into God's control? Maybe we'd rather depend on us more than God? We hate trying to perform and be good enough...yet we tend to go that direction...as individuals...and as churches. At ECHO we realize how easy it is to "do church"...actually, to "do the mechanics of church"...yet often miss the core, essential, internal things that God desires His church...His people...to be. We gather to explore...and experience God together. We gather to share life...to really share life with each other. This requires patience, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, acceptance, and love. All things people crave. All things God desires His people to share. These are the internal things that drive people deeper into relationships with God...and with His people. Without it we may as well being selling Spam...cool factory building...cool truck... nothing of substance on the inside. Once people discover that...they won't be back for more. At ECHO, we hope to be a people of substance...godly substance...not settling for performance based church. But allowing God's Spirit to build within us something that truly is life transforming for us...and those we come in contact with! Trusting and cooperating with God's Spirit to do within us and through us...what we could not do on our own. Join with us on this journey...its a harder road...but well worth it...for everyone concerned :)

.

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Just For Fun

Recently I was reading some interesting rock history on a variety of bands that have come from Ireland. Being Irish, with 2 parents born and raised in Ireland...I am proud and amazed at how many great music artists have come from this island nation. What's most interesting is Ireland's historical embrace of artists, poets, and writers...along with a deep spiritual root that goes back to the late 470's when St. Patrick arrived on the scene. St. Patty was brilliant at weaving biblical themes into the arts and spiritual traditions of the not-yet-believing Irish. He was so successful at it, he is credited with 'Christianizing' the nation. That impact has emanated around the world...much of it through Irish art, poetry, music and writers. Ireland's deep Christian roots and embrace of the arts in all forms has led to some amazing musical artists, many of which have a uniquely spiritual foundation in their musical offerings. Not all of them do, of course. Some themes are your typical love songs, party songs, songs of various emotions, common to the human condition...that part isn't unusual. But the spiritual themes of hope, love, peace and healing... especially in the context of God as its source...that is uniquely prevalent. That's kinda cool. At ECHO we too embrace the arts, of all kinds, knowing that they can be great expressions of the soul and can deeply touch people in very relevant ways. Note some of these famous (and perhaps not so famous, at least in the USA) Irish bands. Think on some of their songs, their themes, the spirit in their music... How many times has God spoken to you through a 4 minute song?

Top Irish Bands
-U2
-Snow Patrol
-Van Morrison (his band was originally called "Them")
-The Cranberries
-Sinead O'Connor
-Thin Lizzy
-The Boomtown Rats (led by Bob Geldof of Live Aid fame)
-The Pogues
-The Undertones (led by Feargal Sharky)
-Rory Gallagher (a legend in slide-blues-rock guitar)
-Enya

To name a few!

Who is or was your favorite?

Who had the most impact on you?

What songs "spoke to you"?

May the ECHO of the songs that touched us, be a reminder of how our lives can ECHO God's love as well. Pass it on...

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