John Fischer The Catch

Raw and real

Posted on September 18, 2013 by jwfisch

“I never questioned my faith in God; I questioned God’s plan,” Rick Warren last night on CNN.

In case you somehow missed it, Rick and Kay Warren were on camera last night in a very candid interview with Piers Morgan on CNN, their first public interview since the suicide death of their 27-year-old son, Matthew, who had struggled his whole life with mental illness.

It was the first time I can remember watching Christians on television who made me proud to be one. This wasn’t Pastor Rick getting a chance to preach on national television, this was Kay and Rick being … well … Kay and Rick. We were basically invited into their lives to feel their pain and in the process, we got their faith. We shared the strength and the weakness, the vulnerability and the courage, the inability to do anything but hope. This was not just a single event; this was a 27-year struggle.

We saw their oneness as a couple and how close they had become through this tragedy. They held hands; they wiped each other’s tears away.

My favorite part was when Kay talked about her boxes. She brought out her HOPE box and lovingly took out some of the verses inside that had sustained her through so much of their son’s life. And then she told us about her other box … the box in which she put all the questions she had no answers for. Two boxes … two conflicting realities at the same time. One box didn’t cancel the other. They were simply both there.

I’m writing about this not to single them out or put them on a pedestal, but to point out that they were just so darn real, and to show that this is the same way God will use you and me.

The point of 2 Corinthians 4:7 (the treasure in jars of clay) and the verses following is that Christ’s power is made more obvious through those human experiences that make us most vulnerable. You can fake being a Christian when things are going relatively well, but you can’t fake power in the midst of real adversity — strength in the midst of real grief.

We can all gain more courage from this to be who we are — to not try to be what a Christian is supposed to be, but to simply be real and know that the power of God will show up. The surprising lack of all the right Christian things to say in this interview was what allowed real faith and the real presence of God through the Holy Spirit to surface.

There’s no way you could walk away from that hour and not know what the gospel was, and even what is more important, without knowing what the gospel does for someone. It was just nothing but the real deal — raw emotion and real faith — and look what it took to get there.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dealing with tragedy | 12 Comments

Grace card: Don’t go home without it.

Posted on September 17, 2013 by jwfisch

Any relationship is going to require a Grace Card. That’s because we are destined to fail each other over and over again. We will fail because we are fallible, and we will fail without even trying, because our expectations are always too high for the other to meet.

One of Christ’s disciples once asked Him how many times he should forgive his brother, “Seven times?” he suggested. That probably seemed like a lot to him. “Try seventy times seven,” Jesus replied (Matthew 18:22 The Message).

Now I don’t think Jesus meant by this that we were to literally count up all the times we have forgiven someone and as soon as we get to 490, say “Okay, that’s it. I’m not forgiving you anymore!” I think what He meant was: if you’re going to put a number on it, make sure it’s too big to keep track of.

Or better yet, how about a credit card with an unlimited account? An account Jesus opened on the cross? An account we can draw on as much as we need, for ourselves, and for those who offend us, or sin against us, or disappoint us, or let us down? You’ve already got one if you’ve been to the cross. Why not activate it today?

This does not mean we are not accountable to one another. This does not mean we aren’t honest when we are hurt or we hurt someone. It means that when we do, it’s not a lesson in futility. We have a card to swipe that takes away our sin. Believe me we’ll need it. I keep mine out all the time. I don’t even bother putting it away.

Grace Card. Don’t leave home without it. (Don’t go home without it, either. That’s probably where we need it the most!)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged forgiveness | 5 Comments

Surprised by joy

Posted on September 16, 2013 by jwfisch

Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:5-6)

My older son loves to play the drums. He’s played in a number of bands and contributed in a major way to their success. He plays loud and fast, and the louder and faster it is, the better for him. In performances, there would not be a dry spot on his T-shirt when it was over. I say “success” meaning they recorded a CD and gained a small but avid following. It happened three times, that just when things were heating up, Christopher opted out. As the band got more and more serious and demanded more time and sacrifice of other things, Christopher lost interest. He was not after making a career out of drumming; he just did it for the joy of playing. In spite of the casual attitude, I marveled and how accomplished he became.

What I didn’t know was how good he was becoming in all styles of music. When he wasn’t playing in a band, he would get his drum “fix” playing on his electronic set with his earphones tuned to any kind of song he wanted. He learned by playing along with the best.

Since getting married, moving into a tiny apartment in Seal Beach and pursuing a career as a police officer, now with the Port of Los Angeles, his drums have been at rest; the electronic set is in our attic. But yesterday he got to play again, and Marti and I and Chandler got to experience it. He played in the worship band in a humble community church in town.

Elizabeth said that in the last few days he’s been drumming all over their apartment, on tables, chairs, the floor, the bed and the sofa, trying to get his chops back. (He hadn’t hit a drum since their wedding last April.) And yesterday, it all paid off.

Have you ever tried to sing and cry at the same time? You can’t do it. So for the first two songs I just stood there and took it in. Something welled up inside that prevented me from making a sound. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I wasn’t prepared for this. I was prepared to see my son drum; I wasn’t prepared to be led by him into worship. I wasn’t prepared to hear angels sing and heavenly choirs exalt.

A few things to get from this today:
1. Learn from the masters.
2. Do what you do for the joy of doing it.
3. Practice anywhere and everywhere you can.
4. Do everything to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Actually, he was always playing to the glory of God; it’s just that this time I saw it.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged worship | 7 Comments

Life is short

Posted on September 13, 2013 by jwfisch

Marti dared me to write about this — what she sees as a sort of non-evangelical list of axioms she hung on a plaque in the kitchen as her mantra on life — a celebration of normal human emotions that Christians have a tendency to shun. You would expect to see a Bible verse or a Max Lucado quote in a Christian home, but Marti decided to go for the secular

So I accepted the challenge, because the last thing I want to be is an evangelical who looks and acts like one. To be an evangelical for what I believe is one thing; to be an evangelical because I fit the stereotype — fill the bill — is another, and frankly, I’m not interested. So I’ll give it a go…

LIFE IS SHORT – Well we have no argument here. The biblical interpretation might lean toward getting yourself right with God, while the secular approach would say get the most out of it. Nevertheless, I would venture that Solomon would lift a glass for going for the gusto.

This one sets the stage for the rest; since life is short, this is how to get the most out of it:

BREAK THE RULES – Now this is definitely a non-evangelical sentiment. TOE THE LINE would be more along the lines of what you would expect. But put Jesus up against the Jewish law-enforcers of His day and you’ll find a law-breaker among you. Jesus would say that if you are using rules for anything other than love … you might as well break them. At least that’s what He did.

FORGIVE QUICKLY – Hopefully there’s no argument here. No place for holding grudges. If I can’t forgive it’s usually because I haven’t been forgiven — that is, I haven’t accepted my own forgiveness — and if that’s any part of evangelicalism, I’m out, now.

KISS SLOWLY – Sex is dirty. Get it over with. God doesn’t want anyone having fun, now, does He?

LOVE TRULY – It I could do this, we would be forever happy, and I think God would smile.

LAUGH UNCONTROLLABLY – Ever notice how we can have a sort of tight laughter? It just doesn’t go all the way down; stays in the throat somewhere. Belly laughs are for unbelievers or the intoxicated. Why? If God incorporates all of life then you can laugh from the bottom when you’re sane.

AND NEVER REGRET ANYTHING THAT MADE YOU SMILE – This is Marti’s favorite and the one that may sound most suspicious because it seems like you are getting pleasure out of something wrong. But this doesn’t have to be that. This can mean pulling something good out of your life, even your past. In fact, that’s what God is going to do. He’s going to burn all the bad away and leave the good, so that what makes you smile is the fact that His hand is in everything that happens to you, past, present, future.

There, I accepted the challenge. How did I do?

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:9)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged living | 17 Comments

Mustard seed faith

Posted on September 12, 2013 by jwfisch

Let’s try a little mountain-moving today.

In writing down my phone number quickly in a recent memo, I put down the first two digits of a phone number I haven’t used for years. Ever wonder where stuff like that comes from? Am I just acting my age?

Actually I think this could happen to anybody at any age because we carry so much information in our brains, and those who are scientists can correct me if I’m wrong, but I am under the impression that none of it goes away. It’s just harder to get to what we don’t use. But once in a while, some chemical/electrical spark — or maybe it’s just a brain fart — can jog the gray matter and connect us to a long distance memory.

They say we use a very small percentage of what is in our brains. That means it’s not what you know, but what you know about what you know that reaches your consciousness. In other words, we all know much more than we’re letting on; we just can’t access it all.

The same thing is true spiritually. At any given time, we are using such a little bit of our true spiritual potential. Jesus said that if we had faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, we could move mountains. That would mean that if I have mountains in my life that stand in my way, it’s not because I don’t have the faith to move them, it’s because I don’t use what I have.

How about it? Do you have a mountain move? I have a mountain range. There are mountains in our lives that hamper us and render us victims of circumstance. Are you just going to keep putting up with that thing or move it on out of here? It doesn’t take a ton of faith, just enough to get us believing that God can do it.

Move, move, move on it
Don’t be afraid of losing it
You won’t have it till you’re using it
Move on it; move on it
Move, move, move on it
Hear it and then be believing it
Use it and we’ll be receiving it
Move on it
Move on it

We can wait for all the information
There is always cause for hesitation
But while we’re searching for
Writing in the sky
Life will pass us by

We present ourselves for our inspection
Looking long into our own reflection
But then we turn around
And we walk away
Does the memory stay?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged faith, overcoming obstacles | 3 Comments

…and you think you’ve got problems?

Posted on September 11, 2013 by jwfisch

Someone sent me an article yesterday titled, “…And You Think You Have Problems?” I’m not sure why she sent it — it came with a note, “found this while going through some papers” — maybe it was because I wrote it so she thought it belonged to me. The “Why?” on her end doesn’t really matter, because the “Why?” on my end was glaring: I needed it.

It’s an article I wrote twenty years ago about John, the son of a friend of mine who was paralyzed from his waist down from an accident when he was a teenager. I recalled the anger and frustration of his first couple years coping with this huge alteration to his life, but this article was written ten years after the accident, and John, who was by then an administrator at small Christian college, had invited me to come sing and speak at a student banquet.

I can still remember how the kid that picked me up at the airport was not the same angry kid I had known ten years prior. This was a cocky young man in what I could only describe as a BMX wheelchair who was attacking life instead of being paralyzed by it. He attacked the first curb we came to by slamming right into it instead of taking the ramp up that was only a few feet over. He actually caught some air as his wheelchair bounced up and over the 6-inch curb. He wheeled around and smiled at me: “I love doing that!”

John’s whole life is a major challenge. Everything in it, from getting up in the morning to going down a night, has “You can’t do that” written all over it, and John has somehow found a way to thumb his nose at that objection.

“I have to go out of my way to prove I’m normal,” he said. “Going out of his way” proved to be a number of things I will probably never do in my life, including tennis from a wheelchair, rock climbing, bungie jumping and his next hurdle — skydiving.

“My 78-year-old grandmother went skydiving for the first time this year and she highly recommends it.” Whatever this is, it obviously runs in the family.

John’s most unforgettable comment, however, was when he told me that if someone came up to him on the street and offered him a ticket that would give him his legs back, he’s not quite sure he would take it.

“I’d really have to think about it. I might take it … but then again … I might not. I like my life. I like facing challenges. I like accepting what God has asked me to do.”

I got that far and knew why Ann had sent me this article. I needed it to speak back into my life twenty years later because I am facing some challenges right now that I am tempted to think are too much for me. I realize now that if I even toy with thinking my life is too difficult for me, I am choosing to not accept what God has asked me to do. Is that what I want to do? I don’t think so.

John would wheel right into this stuff.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged overcoming obstacles | 6 Comments

What else is life for?

Posted on September 10, 2013 by jwfisch

Chandler had a birthday yesterday and the present I got was when he decided he wanted to share with me a text he had gotten from the youth director at our local church after attending summer camp. In it he expressed what a stud Chandler was becoming and that he hoped he could spend some time with him in the future.

Hearing about this prompted Marti to say that youth directors should be paid twice what pastors get. She was referring to their importance in such a significant time of life when a person is forming their belief systems and choosing their friends. It was a youth director who led our two adult children to the Lord when they were in high school and baptized them in the Colorado River. We want to kiss this man whenever we see him.

Then I got to thinking, Why do only youth directors do this? When did it become okay for pastors to preach sermons and spiritually massage everybody once a week? Why aren’t pastors looking forward to spending time with members of their congregation and imparting truth through their lives, and when appropriate, baptizing them in the nearest body of water?

Then I got to thinking some more. Why do just pastors do this? Why don’t we all do this? Aren’t we all called to be disciples of Christ who go out and make other disciples of Christ? And how do we do that? By spending time with people and imparting truth through our lives.

That really, in essence, is what discipleship is. It’s not a 40-day curriculum or a 12-week seminar. It’s walking alongside people, opening your life and imparting everything you can think of that Christ has imparted to you. It’s not really that difficult.

It can all start with a text: “Wow. Look at the person you are becoming! I’m so looking forward to spending some time with you in the future.”

Come on, you guys (and I’m speaking to myself here as much as to you) what else is life for?

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged discipleship | 10 Comments

Don’t be a sitting corbina

Posted on September 9, 2013 by jwfisch

I identified Chandler’s fish (see Friday’s Catch). It’s called a California corbina and it is prevalent in the shallow surf. It’s a bottom feeder and hard to catch with a line and hook because it doesn’t really “strike,” it munches. However it is fairly easy to spear as the Wikipedia site describes: “Although, these fish are difficult to hook, even an amateur spear fisher can easily spear these fish as they are not very wary of human contact. Corbina are the perfect fish to learn how to aim and shoot your spear due to the fishes lack of fight/flight reaction.”

Too bad it wasn’t better eating; Chandler could have kept us well supplied.

It makes me think that if I am going to be a fish in the sea, I don’t want to model myself after the corbina. Better to be more alert and aware of my surroundings. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” which in a California corbina’s case could be any 14-year-old boy with a new spear.

The main thing here is for us to be aware of our surroundings and to constantly apply the truth of God’s word to what we experience. This means both inside and outside the church, because, just as in New Testament days there are false teachers everywhere. That’s why Paul commended the church in Berea because they continually checked the message Paul was bringing them with the scriptures they had, which would have been what we now call the Old Testament (Acts 17:11).

God gave us a mind meaning he meant for us to put it to use. In some Christian circles, people are being asked to turn off their minds and just accept what the leadership tells them, but if the leadership is truly discipling people. they should, like Paul, be telling them to confirm the truth in their own minds. More often than not, it’s not the leadership’s fault as much as it is the people who don’t want to have to think for themselves; they prefer to have someone else do their thinking for them. That turns you in to a sitting corbina.

Use your mind. Engage. Check things out further than just what’s on the surface. Read the word daily and keep it fresh in your mind. Not only will it protect you, it’s also more fun to be continually challenged. And if you see some kid pointing a pole at you, you might at least want to make yourself a moving target.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged spiritual warfare, thinking Christian | 10 Comments

Chandler’s Catch

Posted on September 6, 2013 by jwfisch

Chandler speared his first fish last night. He got a spear pole and goggles for his pre-birthday (the real thing is on Monday) and has been living this moment in his mind for weeks. So when he brought it home, something had to be done.

Marti was leading the charge on the excitement and pictures and such, but when it came to what to actually do with the thing, she retreated to the bathroom and texted family and friends:

“Ok. I am drawing the line,” she wrote. “My children brought home kittens and spare children. Chandler speared a fish, a 19-inch real fish with those dull eyes after something is no longer alive. Now Christopher’s friends smelled after a time, but never as much as this little critter. It is 10:25 p.m. and instead of being off to bed, Chandler and his 2 buddies (really sweet brothers) are waiting to filet — thanks to my ever ready and most patient husband — and cook over coals this non-flipping and probably radioactive creature of the sea. I know I am going to have nightmares from this evening. I just heard John say, “Oh no.” I think I will remain in the bath a little bit longer …”

So this is now the “ever ready and most patient husband” with the rest of the story. I have experience gutting, cleaning and preparing pan-sized trout from the lake on backpacking trips, but this is a foot and a half long spiny tough creature of the sea and I am trying to do the job with dull kitchen knives in the kitchen sink. There’s nothing in this house sharp enough to filet this fish so I ended up closing it up in foil with chopped onion and lots of lemon juice and cooking it over the coals outside.

The end result was something that tasted like fish when you first put it in your mouth but it finished with the texture of a rubber band. Needless to say, I was glad the local Jack in the Box is 24 hours. I ate more of it than anybody (Chandler and one of the brothers had a bite) trying to convince them that it was good. (It’s probably just in my head but my stomach is a little queazy this morning.)

I think we’ll do a little more research next time on what to actually spear out there that is worthy of being eaten, but there’s no way I could have gotten out of cooking and at least preparing to eat this fish. Next time, however, I think we’ll find out what it is. Maybe one of you can identify it from the picture.

As to my ever-present spiritual conclusion? I’ll leave that up to you this time.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged witnessing | 11 Comments

Conversation starter

Posted on September 5, 2013 by jwfisch

I have a friend who likes to experiment with new ways of beginning a conversation. He’s kind of forced into this because he works with homeless teenagers in the downtown district of Denver where it’s hard to start a conversation with “How are you?” when the unpleasant answer kind of screams in your face without anything being said.

There are ways in which we say hello to people that indicate if we intend on engaging them in conversation or just politely dismissing them. I think first we have to ask ourselves if we really care. If you really care about the answer, you are probably not going to ask someone “How are you?” Maybe it will be a version of the familiar phrase, like “How are you, really?” or maybe it will be something else. My friend has a question to suggest: “What has brought you life today?”

Now that will stop you in your tracks. What made you sit up and take notice of the fact that you are really alive? What made your heart beat faster? What got your attention? Something in the news? A God moment? A phone call from a loved one? A brush with death? What made you know you were alive today?

It’s a valid question that cuts through much of our mundane existence. If you can go through an entire day without coming up with anything that made you feel alive, it doesn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t anything; it just means you didn’t notice it. That’s why the question is a good one. It forces us to draw something of value out of our experience.

Yesterday, what brought me life was a conversation over lunch with a co-worker I am beginning to know. This is a person whose life and family have so far seemed so perfect, almost to the point of bringing up jealousy in me. Yesterday, I found out something about him that brought me life because it clearly wasn’t perfect. It was a huge struggle he’d lived with for fifteen years that I knew nothing about. Am I rejoicing that this person “came down” in my eyes? No. I am rejoicing that he became human, and because his struggle touches a similar one I have at a number of levels, and he is further along than I am in mine — far enough to have experienced some redemption — his story brought me life and hope.

Actually, “What has brought you life today?” is more of an end of the day question, and for those of you who are reading this first thing in the morning, a slight adjustment may need to be made. You might want to think about living today in such a way as to have an answer to that question later on. You might want to plan on making some things happen that you know would bring you life, like that phone call to someone you love, for instance. In other words: make life happen, don’t just let it pass by in front of you.

And then think about using this kind of opener on someone else. Just be sure you are awake and alert when you do, because chances are you will get a real answer that will demand engagement. As my friend says: “I want you to explore for yourself what brings others to life. I want you to open your canned conversation starters and find ways to step into others lives not around them.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged relationships | 1 Comment