Shawn Stutz

I have recently updated my influences page!

Check it out here. I think you’d enjoy some of these highlighted mediums as well.

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Maybe cartoon 1 is a response to cartoon 2? What do you think?

Post a comment with your thoughts. I’d love to hear them.

More funnies here and here.

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Yesterday I heard the story of a South American village with an unusual problem which in turn led to very unusual solutions. The village itself was located at the top of a high mountain. Villagers would often traverse down the steep trails to the regions below. However, during the rainy season the trail would become slick and dangerous. Many travelers on the narrow paths would fall and hurt themselves during the journey.

But, never fear! It’s the “western church to the rescue!” right? Well, not so much. An ambitious short-term mission team determined (all by themselves) that what the town really needed was an ambulance. This was so that when Jack, the villager, would fall down and break his ‘crown’ the ambulance would be there soon after. Sounds like a huge ball of wisdom and prevention to me! {please insert ironic sarcasm with optional eyebrow lift here}

So Super Short-Term Team raised the money, bought the band-aid wagon, and delivered it pronto. It wasn’t long before the rainy season was upon the village, and sure enough people still fell. Without delay the paramedics would transport the poor saps to the local hospital. It wasn’t long before the rainy season was gone and the ambulance was parked away. Before long the tires ran flat, the battery went dull, and the engine wouldn’t crank; the great medical machine was motionless.

Once again money was raised, repairs were made, and Super Short-Term Team felt satisfied in their missional efforts. But another year rolled by and even greater wear and tear was placed on the broken-limb limo. With regret, the sponsoring team decided they could no longer support this effort. In disarray, the villagers approached a local denominational leader about the problem. His solution: “Build a clinic at the bottom of the hill! That’ll remove the messy transportation stuff all together,” said denomination man.

And you guessed it, it worked for a while. But the injuries were rare and the clinic’s overhead was too great to sustain its ministry effort. Before long the doors to the facility were closed. The villagers were left (again) with same problem– oh, and don’t forget their new disenchantment towards Denomination Man and the Super Short-Term Team.

It was at this point that a wise old man of the village spoke up. In simple fashion he outlined a basic handrail system that scaled the mountain trail. Not only did the handrail by-pass the newfound woes of prior solutions, it prevented future injuries as well. In addition, the resources for the wooden rails were indigenous to the land. Any needed repairs were easily accomplished by people of the village. This is such a great story with tons of insights.

First of all, I find it interesting that the best answer to the dilemma was actually presented by a local laborer. I also find it intriguing that both the denomination and the short-term team chose solutions that created greater problems for the natives of the region. Instead of simplicity, they selected complexity. Instead of development and prevention, they chose instant relief. Instead of basic available resources, they chose a flashy machine and an institution.

Machines take energy to run. Institutions suck resources. Machines demand attention. Institutions create perpetual policies and beloved bureaucracy.

The whole scenario got me thinking. How often do we turn the church into a flashy machine or a dreaded institution? How often do we choose the latest siren-lit trend of the day or duplicate the practices of other successful organizations? And how often do we impose our own personal ideas on others before conversation and compassion ever enter the picture?

I want to be a guy who leads a ministry that chooses to help build handrails, not purchase ambulances. Thoughts?

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For those of you that believe that Panda Bears are all cute and cuddly, you might be mistaken. These creatures are both endangered and dangerous (maybe that’s why they’re called bears?). Anyway, a 15-year boy from Japan decided to hop the 5-foot retaining wall of the enclosure and… fight a panda!

Rumor has it that the boy said he’d be fine because he knew karate. I guess that went out the window when Gu Gu, the black-belted bamboo eater, bit the kid’s leg so viciously “that his bones were showing!” Are you kidding? Ugh!

I think the moral of the story is never attack a bear– even a panda! You know what I say– “Panda Express anyone?” Read the full article here.

Check out this other panda attack.

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Below is a great blog posts by Dan Kimball about the importance of theology in our culture.  Check it out. I know that you’ll enjoy it!

“Don’t Close Your Mind — Be a Theologian”

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The following is an excerpt from an old journal that I stumbled on the other day. This was recorded 12 days after arriving in California…

Montana, the Big Sky Country. This is the treasured state of wide open spaces, blue skies, and great movie settings. For me, there is something extremely inviting about Montana– especially when life gets hectic. It must be bliss to be in a vast meadow without any chance of getting a cell phone signal. The thought of nothing but a calm breeze on my face makes me long for the serene freedom of Montana.

I’ve never been to this northern state, but the brochures definitely speak my language. I believe it’s the rest captured in this photo that really draws me. To be standing in a green meadow with a crystal lake before me and snow capped mountains in the distance screams freedom {from schedule especially}. I often think that a few moments in a day like that would have me saying – “Aah, so this it how it feels to be free.” I think we all have Montana moments. Maybe one day soon I’ll visit or at least I’ll look at the online brochures and day dream. But the other day, my Montana freedom moment came in a totally new way.

(more…)

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Sitcoms; the mighty comedian of the TV airways. They make us laugh, cry (maybe), and most definitely feed our TV addictions. We are quickly hooked by characters and their humorous exploits. Why? I would argue that the human heart loves a good story and a good laugh no matter now pointedly true or profoundly impossible it might seem.

The one ‘must’ of the sitcom years was that 30-minute ‘issue resolution’ guarantee. No matter how deep the hole was dug, all was well by the time the credits rolled. For one reason or another, a similar mentality has crept into the Christian life. Sitcoms have aided our subconscious belief that the ‘issues’ of life can be wrapped up in 30 minutes (minus a few commercials), that our relationship struggles will find happy resolution, and that a cued up laugh track might sound at any second. And yet, life just doesn’t resolve into a warm major chord all the time. In fact, there are often dissonant interchanges which are far from harmonious.

We might even have the temptation to bring the sitcom life into our small group. If you’ve joined in a community group to just study the Bible with ‘put together’ people you might be in the wrong place. Small groups come with issues, struggles, and many unanswered questions or mysteries. It’s a place to be real. It’s a place to be broken. But it also provides a safe place to find holistic redemption through the person of Jesus Christ. And contrary to sitcom beliefs, the incubator of true spiritual transformation is usually longer than 30 minutes minus commercials.

It might even take a lifetime… (cue laugh track and heavenly sounding music here!)

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This past weekend Rick mentioned how batteries are meant to be used or they’ll corrode. His reference to the battery was an illustration for how we, as believers, are to not let our ‘service’ in the kingdom go to waste.

But as I sat there I began to think how weird batteries are. Seriously, it’s as if they are little cylinders of captured energy. How do you capture energy? Yes, I understand how batteries work, but it’s it a bit odd that you can have a container of ‘power’ and ‘juice’ in it.

I was reminded of how the Holy Spirit is within us. He is the energy that empowers us to carry out the Christ-life. And His power never dwindles like that of the common battery.

I know that I fail often, worry too much, and struggle to not be a sin-slave. But this I do know: we are container for the divine Spirit of God Himself… now that’s electric.

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This guy has some good comics sometimes. But ones like this hit a little to close to home. I have been the stick guy in both of those pictures– without a doubt.

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Yesterday a friend and I met with Andrea of the Congregation Beth Shalom. I have had several of these Starbucks and Genesis meetings now and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable. As we were discussing a the story of Jacob and how the grace of God is displayed abundantly in his life (and God’s choice to fulfill His promises through him), my mind wandered in ‘ponder’ mode.

I began to think about how well we as a people of God truly embrace God’s grace through biblical insights. Of course we see God’s gracious hand in creation, provision, salvation, and forgiveness. But what about through illumination? We are receiving the grace of God when we glean truth from the holy scriptures. And if that is true (and it is…) then our application of specific insights will become our grateful response to His abundant grace.

So the challenge becomes, what will we do with the harvest? Will we bake bread and allow the yeast of the kingdom to rise within us? Will we fill the silo of our heart with grains of truth and comfort that famines of this world have used up? Or worse, will we never harvest what God so diligently planted?

And greater still, a farmer cannot live on what he harvests alone. We are so far removed from the agrarian culture that this truth often escapes us. I shop for everything in one spot and did nothing to produce any of it. I just pay, bag, and go. However, a planter of grain would sell portions of his return to purchase meat, vegetables, and fruit from another farmer. The exchanging of harvest made it possible for all within a village to eat of the same plate so to speak.

I wonder if the same is true with community in the church. When I harvest an insight of scripture, it’s important that I integrate it with my daily walk. And yet, maybe it’s just as important for me to share my insights with those in small groups (pockets of the whole church community) so that we can all eat of the same plate.

I’d love to hear what God’s allowed you to harvest lately… (comment below).

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