What Child Is This?

Christmas day continues to approach as the mix of anticipation and excitement continue to build. Yet, Christmas is not always a time that is filled with excitement and happiness for everyone. For some, it is a time that revisits grief. For others, it is a season in which people have old wounds reopened, whether that is with family, friends, or past memories. In some cases, people can experience depression during the holidays, regardless of how many Christmas carols they might hear.

One song that you may be familiar with during Christmas time is “What Child is This?” It was originally written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. He began writing many of the hymns which bear his name at age 29, when he was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bed rest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Much of his best and most renowned work came from the worst season of his life.

Dix wrote these lines of inquiry,

“What child is this who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?”

Why would God enter into the world as a fragile child? It would seem that God is not afraid of modesty and vulnerability. He is not afraid to descend to the lowest and most humble estate to meet humanity where they are. This is something that Dix encountered himself. At the depths of his depression, he found that Jesus had no reservations about drawing near to him. There is no point so low that is beyond the reach of Christ.

Dix follows with this refrain,

“This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing”

The meek and lowly child in the manger is the God of the universe, the King of cosmos, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the One who upholds everything by the power of His word. Yet He accommodates Himself to our weakness by becoming a man. It is as if God stooped down to look us in the eye. He comes to us to communicate forgiveness of sins and the call to repentance in a way that we can fathom in our finitude.

The psalmist writes,

“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalm 40:2”

In order for God to pull us out of the muck and the mire, He goes in after us. This is the incarnation, God becoming man. That is what Christmas is all about. It is the declaration that there is hope for each person, wherever they might be.

To continue diving further into “What Child Is This?” check out the sermon from this week of Advent.

The Pilgrimer: Lincoln's New Place to Gather

There are some things all people share, and one of them is the desire to be a “local.”  We all want to have a place to gather, to be surrounded by the familiar, to be connected in some small way to those we rub shoulders with--to be known.  The Pilgrimer, started by Ben Harms and his wife Whitney, along with a handful of their good friends, is a kind of hybrid of a non-profit coffee shop, local market, art gallery, and in some ways, a public living room.  It’s not an easy establishment to categorize, but the Pilgrimer’s purpose is clear: to be a sharing space for creators and entrepreneurs, and a gathering space for everyone else--all for the good of the Lincoln community.  

Ben is an entrepreneur and creative designer at heart, with a great passion for people.  The idea for the Pilgrimer was largely inspired by the “collaborative space” movement that started gaining traction while the Harms’ were living in Seattle.  They returned to his hometown of Lincoln with a desire to create a shared space for creatives and entrepreneurial makers here--and to foster real conversation and love of neighbors at the same time.  

In October, they opened the Pilgrimer at 228 N. 12th Street, next to Dempsey’s Burger Pub (in the old Spaghetti Works building).  It did not take long for them to catch on with the close-knit artisan community in Lincoln.  Even prior to the official opening, as details were still falling into place, the team had the space, and decided to hold the first Maker’s Market.  Building on a few connections the team had to local makers, the Pilgrimer quickly drew several people wanting to share and sell their goods.  Over 500 people showed up for the Market--far beyond the team’s expectations.

Since then, the Pilgrimer has held Maker’s Markets on First Fridays.  The next Maker’s Market won’t be until spring, but local goods will continue to be featured at the store, rotating on a weekly basis, throughout the winter.  Ben and his team love to discover artisans who have great ideas and may just be making their products in their home with no consistent way to market them--and they especially love to share the stories of these makers.  

That’s actually a huge aspect of the Pilgrimer’s direction for the future--storytelling.  You can easily put a face to the product makers already, via their “Meet the Makers” Instagram posts, but the stories of these Lincoln artists will be coming to life in a very cool way, starting in January.  (Keep an eye on their website!  www.thepilgrimer.com)

The Pilgrimer also has what all downtown gathering places should have--places to sit and work, and access to a really good cup of coffee made with beans from local roasters.  Ben calls it the best cup of coffee in town--because they learned the art of brewing great coffee from the world-class brewing folks at Cultiva.  For $25 a month you can purchase a coffee membership--unlimited coffee or tea.  They also sell coffee for $2 per cup.

The Pilgrimer team has a rich array of other ideas about how to engage the community in creative ways that speak to the variety of needs in Lincoln, but with a small (very busy!) staff that relies on donations, they are limited to what they can do well right now.  Ben would love to see the Pilgrimer become volunteer-staffed so his team can focus on developing relationships with more makers and digging into new ideas.  

Lots of people are getting excited about what’s happening in the old Spaghetti Works building, and there’s a very simple reason why.  “It’s a beautiful opportunity to help support local people who are making Lincoln a better, more beautiful place and loving their neighbors well,” Ben says.  

Get Involved: Want to volunteer for a few hours on a weekday--brew coffee; sell the local goods; hang out with people?  Send an email to info@thepilgrimer.com  Open 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Shopping for Gifts? Locally hand-made products make great gifts year-round, and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the maker.  Check out www.thepilgrimer.com for a list of their featured artists, or head to 12th and P for a visit.  For the special person in your life who loves shopping local artisans, they offer PilgriBucks (in $5 increments).  And who wouldn’t want unlimited, expertly-brewed coffee for a month ($25)?

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

It’s the second week of Advent and there is a definite building crescendo of anticipation for Christmas day.  It seems as though the seasonal music tends to fuel the anticipation. It is hard to escape because anticipation is part of the human experience. Everyone is looking forward to something.

Last week we focused on the familiar Christmas song, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” This week, let’s look at “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” This hymn was written by Charles Wesley, and first published in 1744. Charles Wesley was an English leader in the Methodist movement, and the younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley. Charles lived from 1707 to 1788.

In the hymn, Wesley wrote phrases such as “dear desire of every nation” and “joy of every longing heart.” Wesley understood that within every person, there is a deep longing to cherish something highly. At Christmas time, I think this feeling becomes recognizably stronger and it brings us to a place where we begin to think about these longings meaningfully.

The world is full of different messages. Some will tell you to indulge these longings until you are the fulfillment of the higher meaning. Some will tell you that there is no higher meaning, that the longing is absurd. Some will tell you that your search is in vain and nothing more than an illusion will be achieved. How can this be? ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ promised that God will be with us. Emmanuel would bring Hope and satisfy our longings to be ransomed from all the “bad” in our lives, in the world. If there is no higher meaning in life, then everything that is in us saying there most certainly is...is a lie, an illusion. Who we are at the core is nothing more than an illusion.

But what if there is a higher meaning?

We long to know that our labors, toil, and suffering are not in vain. This is the call of Wesley’s hymn.

The longings are not only to know that life is not an aimless accident, but that on a practical and experiential level, there are daily anxieties that from which we wish to be free. Jesus came to give rest to the anxious, fortify the fearful, and set the captives free from bondage to sin.

In Jesus, we find rest from trying to validate ourselves. Wesley wrote: “Hope of all the earth thou art.” There is hope for all of the world because of who Jesus is. As we look to the God who is with us, we find God stepping into history as a man to make reconciliation between humanity and Himself, and we find hope for all people.

Advent is the season where we celebrate “God with us.” This is why we can all join together in singing “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” For a more in-depth study on “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” check out the second week in our Advent sermons series here.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The holidays are here which means you're going to hear Christmas music everywhere you go. Some of the songs are catchy, and others...well... I'll just say they aren't as catchy.  Christmas music is something that is easily recognizable; yet much of it is undefined or taken for granted. These songs have memorable melodies, but have you ever thought about where they came from? Or what the lyrics mean? There are messages untouched by time i some of these songs that still speaks to people.

Perhaps one of the oldest songs that remains popular to this day is 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.' This hymn dates all the way back to the 8th century A.D. where it was chanted as a prayer in monasteries by monks as Christmas approached. It was not actually sung as a hymn until 12th century A.D. when it was rearranged by an unknown Latin poet. Finally, in 1851, it was translated from Latin to English by Dr. J.M. Neale, which is how many of us would recognize it today.

But what does this hymn actually mean? Why has it prevailed so strongly throughout time? The word “Emmanuel" provides great substance as to what this hymn is about. “Emmanuel” simply means “God with us.” The meaning of Emmanuel is important to know to better understand the meaning behind the lyrics:

“O, come, O, come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.”

The Jewish people of Israel were anticipating the long­awaited promise made by God. The name “Israel” in its original language is a combination of “wrestle or struggle" and “God”, thus the name of Israel can mean “To struggle with God.” Perhaps to struggle in believing the promises of God, or to struggle in submitting to God, or struggling to entrust one’s fidelity to God. Everyone struggles. Whether the struggle is in marriage, in the workplace, with family, with fighting addictions, battling depression, or just making it through the day. The cry of this song is that God would come and be with His people in the midst of the struggle and that He would ransom them, set them free from sin and its consequences.

This is why Jesus is so central to all the promises of God. Jesus is "God with us." Jesus is God stepping into the mess that we have made of the world and, rather than being distant and careless, He is a God who is willing to stoop down to our level and have compassion on us. Instead of a God who is an obscure and abstract concept, Jesus comes to us as a God who is earthy, not ignorant of suffering and the pain of loss.

This hymn was originally written with the longing that God would be with us, and that we would know what God is like. In Christ, Emmanuel, both of those longings are met. 

For a more in-depth study of the meaning behind O Come, O Come Emmanuel, check out the first week of our Advent sermon series here.

Why Do We Love Lincoln?

...because Lincoln cares. About our businesses. About our people. And about what makes our community, ours.

Lincoln values building community and does so by inviting AND including the people of Lincoln in the efforts to make Lincoln better in the future.

You may have already seen this link floating around on social media, but if you have not already taken part, please take 5 minutes and share your vision for Lincoln: http://downtownlincoln.org/survey/

For more information on Downtown Lincoln, please visit their website.

What Is Advent?

It's almost time.

The massive 117-foot wide HuskerVision video screen goes black. The Cornhusker Marching Band finishes the "Pre-Game Spectacular" and assumes its position, forming an extension of the tunnel from which the Husker football team will soon emerge.

The west half of Memorial Stadium roars, "HUSKER!" Then the east, "POWER!"

The cheer goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. You can feel it building. The excitement. The restlessness. The anticipation.

Then, with a flash of white light, the HuskerVision screens come back to life. Sirius begins. It’s game time.

What is Advent?

Advent, which comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming,” isn’t a mere countdown to Christmas or a reminder that egg nog is back on shelves at the grocery store. For Christians, much like the Huskers’ Tunnel Walk is a tradition established to build anticipation prior to Husker football games, Advent is a season of celebration and anticipation of the coming, or advent, of Christ.

Each year the season of Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas day. This year, it kicks off on Sunday, November 30.

Anticipation Past and Present

This sense of anticipation during advent is two-fold. On the one hand, we identify with God’s people in the Old Testament who, for centuries, anticipated the coming of the Messiah. We remember God’s promise to His people to provide a Deliverer and celebrate Jesus and His birth, the first advent, as the fulfillment of this promise.

On the other hand, we eagerly anticipate the second advent of Christ. Though Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and Satan through His death and resurrection, there are reminders all around us that the world is not yet as it should be. Death, disease, brokenness, and sin are still present in our world and no one is immune to their effects. We live in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” and await Jesus’ promised second coming when sin and death will be removed from our presence and all things will be made new. Revelation, the final book of the Bible, gives us a beautiful glimpse of this promise:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:3-5

Join Us

So, I invite you to join us this Advent season as we celebrate the first advent of Christ and eagerly await His second. Can you feel it building? The excitement? The restlessness? The anticipation?

It’s almost time.

Support Local Everything!

My Agenda: Supporting local everything is really important to me. As a new transplant to Lincoln, I am interested in searching for good local spots. Not the stores you see in a strip mall, but the small businesses that may go unnoticed. These businesses usually have the most interesting story, and the owners are people who love what they do. I can often walk in and the owner is the one working the desk ready to share their passion with me.

Home & Closet

My first find was mentioned to me by another recent Lincoln transplant. We had a great time scouring the racks and checking out the one of a kind furniture pieces. Home & Closet is a small shop dedicated to quality vintage clothing and furniture. You can find it at 1356 South 33rd Street. They are open from 11-6 Monday thru Friday, 10-6 Saturday, and 12-5 on Sundays.

Home & Closet opened its doors in the spring of 2013. The space is packed with great vintage clothing and furniture finds. The vintage clothing covers mod 50s, 60s, and 70s styles for men and women. If you can’t find that perfect high waist plaid skirt, look no further.

On Sundays, Home & Closet gives a 15% discount on their furniture. The furniture is definitely the gem of this shop. The pieces are changing constantly and they range from Modern to Victorian and everything in between. 

For my first local find, I would recommend Home & Closet as a worthwhile spot to check out in Lincoln!

Why We Love Lincoln: Lincoln Civic Orchestra

When you go to an orchestra concert, you probably don’t expect to sing along to Disney’s Frozen, but dozens of concertgoers did just that this past Sunday.

The Lincoln Civic Orchestra performed a series of seasonally themed pieces entitled Four Seasons for its fall concert. LCO provides an opportunity for community musicians to make music together to share with the community and have a blast while doing it (icy or otherwise).

After starting off this Sunday's concert with An Outdoor Overture by American composer Aaron Copland, we took a journey through the seasons of the year beginning with spring. The concert ended with audience members singing at the encouragement of the conductor, Rob Salistean, before (and during) a medley of songs from Frozen.

For the spring season, we played Spring Song, op. 16 by Jean Sibelius, which explored the sadness of spring. Summer Dances by Brian Balmages written in 2000 provided an opportunity to experience a sizzling new composition from an American composer. Associate Director Brett Noser conducted In Autumn, op. 11 by Edvard Grieg, a stormy and romantic piece.

This was my first concert playing violin with LCO, and I will definitely be coming back for more. In addition to playing awesome music, LCO is a very fun and welcoming group. Sometimes it feels like I stumbled into a comedy club instead of orchestra rehearsal on Thursday nights!

What I love about LCO is the accessibility. The music selection is accessible, and the concerts themselves are accessible because they're free. I know that there were people who would never normally attend an orchestra concert there, and they came because their kids liked hearing Frozen and it was a free afternoon of entertainment and culture.

One of my favorite parts of LCO is the variety of people I've met. Because it is the resident orchestra at Nebraska Wesleyan University in northeast Lincoln, there are many Wesleyan students that form its ranks, but there are also students from other area schools and adults of all ages. This diversity provides a unique opportunity to meet people of Lincoln and helps unify the community.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact info@lincolncivicorchestra.org. If you're interested in hearing us play, join us on February 22nd, 2015 for a concert themed Solos and Dancing!

All photos from the Lincoln Civic Orchestra website.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Sometimes, when choosing a venue from which to take in a sporting event, it is important branch out from your comfort zone and try something that is unfamiliar. And sometimes it is important to do the exact opposite of that and keep your thinking firmly within the box.

With the latter sentiment in mind I decided to watch last month’s Nebraska-Northwestern game from the comfort of a sports bar that I have probably gone to two dozen times.

Buffalo Wild Wings, while a little on the corporate side, is a place where the service and product are dependable, the televisions are abundant, and the crowd is a sure thing.

“Sometimes, when choosing a venue from which to take in a sporting event, it is important branch out from your comfort zone and try something that is unfamiliar. And sometimes it is important to do the exact opposite of that and keep your thinking firmly within the box.”

I think most people are probably familiar with their sixteen varieties of chicken wings, the spiciest of which at one time came with a free t-shirt, and the many different kinds of beer they have on tap, so that won’t be my focus here.

The focus of this column, the thing that has kept me coming back to BWWs in regular intervals for the whole of my adult life, is the atmosphere of the place.

Watching a football game at Buffalo Wild Wings is one of the precious few things in life that is just as much fun as it looks on television, at least in my experience. While the establishment’s ability to send games into overtime by doing things like controlling the weather or using the sprinkler system to attack the kickers might be a touch exaggerated in the commercials, the energy and enthusiasm is more or less true to form.

My experience there three weeks ago was honestly pretty par for the course when it comes to watching a Husker game in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’m pretty sure I could watch a Nebraska game on a ten-inch hand-held in the middle of a rain storm and not have a problem getting people to watch the game with me.

My best experience at BWWs actually came last January during the NFL Playoffs.

I’m a San Francisco 49ers fan and, as most football fans will remember, the Niners played the Seattle Seahawks for last season’s NFC Championship. Far from being the only person there who even remotely cared about that game—which was my honest expectation—there was a healthy contingency of supporters for both sides who were more than just casual onlookers who decided to root for a team once they got there. Several people were wearing red and gold jerseys while others adorned the acid rain and highlighter that you wear if you support Voldemort…I mean the Seahawks.

“Watching a football game at Buffalo Wild Wings is one of the precious few things in life that is just as much fun as it looks on television, at least in my experience.”

My verdict is that if you are an NFL fan living in Lincoln—my most sincere condolences to you if you are, I know how lonely that can be—and you’re looking for a place to watch your favorite team, BWWs might be the place for you. It has a broad enough reach that there is usually a good turnout for prime time or playoff games even when the fan base is a little bit more marginalized.

This is to say that while there may not be enough 49ers fans in Lincoln to fill Memorial Stadium, there are certainly enough to fill Buffalo Wild Wings. Which is important, because losing to the Seahawks is something no one should have to do alone.

Down the Hatch Bar & Grill

It may never cease to amaze me how unifying a Nebraska football game is in this town. I grew up as a Nebraska fan living in Iowa which meant that watching the Big Red usually meant watching a game that no one outside of my immediate family had any interest in. I’ve been in Nebraska for coming up on five years now and the novelty still hasn’t quite worn off.

With that in mind, the Saturday before last presented me with my most recent opportunity to take a pilgrimage away from my cable-free apartment for the noble pursuit of watching a televised sporting event while eating something that is bad for me. My journey this time took me to the farthest reaches of the Lincoln area to a place called Down the Hatch Bar and Grill.

Down the Hatch very nearly cemented itself as having eternal sentimental value to me as it was very nearly the venue in which I watched the largest comeback in the history of Nebraska football. But alas, Alonzo Moore couldn’t hang on to the ball, Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw it to the wrong team, and the rest is history.

“The score of the Nebraska-Michigan State game notwithstanding, my final verdict is that Down the Hatch is a pretty solid place to watch a game should your travels ever take you to northwest Lincoln.”

The menu at Down the Hatch is pretty simple, which might be a turnoff to someone in the mood for a culinary adventure, but I am a man of simple tastes so I really didn’t mind. Generally, my perusal of the menu at a sports bar ends when I have ascertained the house name for a bacon cheeseburger. In any case, I was there to watch a game. And for that, the atmosphere was more than admirable.

Like many sports bars in Lincoln, Saturdays in the fall make Down the Hatch over into a rendezvous for Husker fans who want to trade the tranquility of a home living room for a place that erupts in loud cheering every time Nebraska gains three yards.

Located on Northwest 1st Street about two miles east of Highlands Golf Course, Down the Hatch offers smaller portions for lower prices than some of the other places I’ve been to, which makes it a great option if you’re looking for a place to watch a specific game, or just a place to have an inexpensive night out.

The score of the Nebraska-Michigan State game notwithstanding, my final verdict is that Down the Hatch is a pretty solid place to watch a game should your travels ever take you to northwest Lincoln.

JK's Pumpkin Patch

A Local Spot to Simply Enjoy Fall on the Farm

The owners of JK's Pumpkin Patch have always loved pumpkin patches.  In fact, that's how Josh and Amanda Kadavy first met—working at Grandpa John's Pumpkin Patch in Lincoln.  By the time it closed down, the Kadavy's had gotten married and had their first son, and they decided it was time to start their own pumpkin patch and carry on their beloved tradition.  In 2011, JK's opened its doors.  

JK's Pumpkin Patch sits on a working farm about five minutes north of Lincoln, just off N. 14th and Bluff Road, a gravel road lined with farmhouses and corn fields.  If you're picturing a sprawling fall carnival like Vala's or Roca Berry Farm, you're in for a surprise.  The handful of attractions at JK's are scattered along a gentle hill that slopes up to the pumpkin patch in the rear.  It's small and contained, but lots of open spaces keep it from feeling crowded.  Parents who visit JK's have said they love that they can let their kids roam the whole place freely without losing sight of them.  

That said, there are enough unique play areas to keep kids occupied and having fun for a few hours, and at a fraction of the price of most area pumpkin patches.  Admission is $7 per person, which includes a pumpkin of any size.  Among the attractions are a bouncy house and a big wooden pirate ship, but most everything else is inspired by real farm life.  The live animals that hang out in the petting area include a llama, sheep and goats (with big personality!), a small cow and probably the softest miniature horse you will ever touch.  Plump fluffy chickens roam freely among the trails, and a tractor with trailer stands by to drive folks out to the middle of the pumpkin patch.  For the adventurous, JK's also boasts a three-acre corn maze.

The Kadavys' pumpkin patch has a dual purpose--to both entertain and educate.  They intentionally cater to families with kids and school groups who want to come out and have a good time while learning hands-on about the farm operation.  The Kadavys were both raised on Lincoln-area farms, where they were active in showing cattle and gained experience growing row crops.  Like most farm kids, they learned early on about the fascinating but unpredictable task of producing food right from the ground.  As more and more kids are growing up without realizing where their food really comes from, places like JK's provide a much-needed connection to the physical place where their food is grown, and to the people who grow it.  Last year they were recognized for doing this by the Nebraska Tourism Commission, which honored them with the 2013 Outstanding Nature Tourism Entity award.  They are the only area pumpkin patch to have received this award.  

Overall, the atmosphere at JK's reflects the heart of the family behind it.  The love the Kadavys have for their land and for their animals is obvious as you wander around JK's Pumpkin Patch, and they cultivate that love year-round.  When they're not busy running the pumpkin patch, Josh and Amanda spend their time working with animals they've rescued, building their health and trust back up.  They also enjoy working in the garden and building new things around the farmyard.  

JK's is one more thing that helps make Lincoln a great place to live.  In a city where farm country is just a few minutes' drive away, it's not hard for people to get out and enjoy the crisp fall air at a place where everything, down to the hand-crafted wooden signs, shows that the Kadavys love what they do--and that they love getting to share it with the rest of us!

From September 19 through November 1, JK's is open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.- 7 p.m., or by appointment throughout the week for groups.  They are also available for birthday parties and even offer campfire rental. Details here.

The Story Behind The Art

Need a Place to Watch the Game?

If you’re like me, then there are two things that will continue to be true about you for the rest of the foreseeable future: you love the Huskers, and you don’t have cable television. There are few things more unifying in Lincoln than Husker football. It is a tired cliché, but is perhaps still worth mentioning, that a sold out Memorial Stadium is the third largest city in Nebraska, and that a little more than five percent of the population of this state occupies it's confines on game day. 

Nebraska football really is a spectacle worth taking in, and while the voices of Greg Sharpe and Matt Davison paint an admirable picture via the airwaves of the Pinnacle Sports Network, there are times when a person just needs to see what’s going on. 

There are a number of quality establishments to which fans can go if they want the next best thing to actually being there. My time in Lincoln has given me the opportunity to vouch for fine sports-watching experiences from:

• Buffalo Wild Wings
  
• Red Fox
  
• Brewsky's
  
• The Watering Hole
  

​But, today I am going to be focusing on a place called Randy’s Grill and Chill.

Located just behind the Burger King on 48th and Holdrege, Randy’s is comfortably out of the way for anyone looking to avoid the downtown scene. Don’t get me wrong, watching games downtown is great, but Lincoln’s peripheral neighborhoods have merit that is all their own. Not the least of which is the ability to find a good parking spot as well as avoiding, once the game is over, the unenviable experience of sharing five city blocks with 91,000 of your closest friends. 

Randy’s has drink specials every night of the week in addition to Keno, pool, and a poker table. It’s more than just a place to watch a Husker game, and with six televisions in the dining area, there really isn’t bad seat in the house. 

My latest excursion there was last Monday night to take in some baseball and rouse my football appetite with some NFL preseason action. The place had some nice energy without being overly crowded—not to mention $2 Busch Light draws—which makes it great if you’re just looking to get out of the house on a weeknight. But when does it really comes to life? On Saturday afternoons in the fall. 

“It’s more than just a place to watch a Husker game, and with six televisions in the dining area, there really isn’t bad seat in the house. ”

My experience there last season—which was only for an 11 a.m. kickoff against Illinois, so hardly a high-tension game—showed a tremendous amount of promise. The dining area was nearly full of scarlet-clad onlookers who were perfectly comfortable hooting and hollering with the same enthusiasm as if they were watching the game in their own living room. 

The quality of both service and food is about what you’d expect from a place where the staff knows what it’s doing. And, like any self-respecting sports bar, Randy’s serves a pretty decent bacon and eggs cheeseburger which will only set you back $8.50. 

My verdict is that Randy’s passes with flying colors as a place to take in a Husker game, or just go grab a beer during the week. The dining room is spacious, the chairs are a normal height (I have a thing about bar stools, but I digress), and if you’re wearing a Nebraska shirt, you’re family. And if the sport of watching sports ever becomes more complicated than that, well that’s the day I retire.

Photo Credit: Eric Langhorst

Sweet Tooth? Eat C and L Dairy Sweet.

One of my favorite things to do in Lincoln during the summer is eat ice cream. There are a lot of great places to get ice cream such as the UNL Dairy Store on east campus or just take your pick of several Culver's scattered throughout the city. A new place called Breezy Island Ice in the Railyard has delicious shaved ice; you can even get ice cream at the bottom of the bowl!

But for me, C and L Dairy Sweet takes the cake (or maybe I should say cone). A cherry malt always hits the spot after outdoor activities in Pioneers Park down the road or after eating at Lee’s Chicken across the street. I often see youth sports teams and their families enjoying a tasty treat after playing an evening game.

When I visited C and L today it wasn’t too busy, but on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the parking lot always overflows. There’s a good reason for that. Those are the only two days you can get the special lemon ice cream they make. My family tries to keep an extra quart in the freezer for special occasions, such as birthdays or Saturdays.

This classic old-fashioned outdoor ice cream and grill joint has been at the corner of Coddington and W Van Dorn for over 30 years! Our city has changed and grown around it, but C and L Dairy Sweet has remained one of the tastiest landmarks in the southwest corner of Lincoln.

Photo Credit: Robyn Lee

A People That Listens

The church is not a building, it's a people.  As a people, the church must be a people who listen.

First and foremost, the church is a people who listen to God through His Word and His Spirit.  Additionally, however, the church must be a people who listen to the culture around them.

Why Listening to the Culture is Important

We must listen to the culture (i.e. our city, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, media, and so on) in order that we can be good missionaries to our culture.  This will consist of listening to the culture to...

• …Identify idols in the culture
• …Understand who the culture consists of
• …Ascertain what those of the culture are interested in
• …Find points of connection to share the gospel
• …Know parts of the local culture well enough to integrate them into our presentation of the gospel.

We cannot be afraid of the culture, we've got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.

The Example of Paul

“We cannot be afraid of the culture, we’ve got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.”

Biblically, we see this exemplified by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17 when he enters into Athens.  When Paul got to Athens, he engaged the Athenian culture.  He doesn't hide himself from the culture or flat out reject the culture he runs headlong into it.  He does so as one with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a closed fist—never to be shaken, altered, changed, or watered-down.  But he also takes that gospel into the culture, getting to know the culture so that he can bring the unchangeable gospel to bear on that culture.

Do Not Be Afraid

As Christians—as the church—we cannot be afraid of the culture.  We are not to run from the culture to try and protect the gospel, we're to run to the culture with the gospel.  And as we do that, we are to listen to the culture so that we know the culture well enough to integrate what we know of the culture into our presentation of the gospel.

Why We Love Lincoln: Stransky Park Concerts

One of my favorite things about summer is the variety of live music that happens outdoors, especially when it’s free.  And Lincoln has a great tradition of free music--Jazz in June, Hear Lincoln, lunch hour at the Foundation Gardens, to name just a few.  One of the favorites takes place in our backyard--the Stransky Park concert series, sponsored by the folks at KZUM.  

Every Thursday at 7 p.m., through August 14, performers will take the stage under the gazebo at Stransky Park (17th and Harrison) to entertain crowds of all ages.  The bands range in style from bluegrass to jazz to rock/ska, and the music is family-friendly.

The series has been going for about 10 years now, and KZUM has brought back some crowd favorite bands and created a faithful following in the process.  Sandy Creek Bluegrass, an established local group that brings traditional tunes to life, packs a big crowd every year.  Unfortunately their show was rained out this year, but look for them to be back in the future.  This week, Lincoln-based folk band Jack Hotel will take the stage (July 24), followed by Chicago-style blues from the local Honeyboy Turner Band next week (July 31).

There’s a great feel of close-knit community at the Stransky Park series.  Since it’s a small space enclosed by a peaceful neighborhood around, it’s off the beaten path and takes some intentionality to get there.  Once there though, the laid back feel of the place encourages you to get situated and enjoy the breeze, the sound of playing kids and happy people, and the feeling of enjoying all of this with people you probably don’t know.  Yet.  

The park isn’t huge, so the number of people that stream in the gates for the shows fill up the grassy lawn pretty quick. There is lots to keep kids occupied, and when they’re not dancing in front of the band, I’ve seen them roaming around the park, playing on the playground equipment and climbing the rock waterfall at the back.  

Parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood, so take care to not block driveways and be prepared to walk a pace or two.  Don’t forget to bring a chair or blanket to sit on!  And if you accidentally come hungry, they do have bbq sandwiches and chips for sale for $5.  

The concert series is free thanks to a group of local sponsors, but the bands play for peanuts--tips, to be exact.  You’ll see the “love the band” buckets in front of the stage, so feel free to fill them up and keep the good bands coming back!

For up-to-date information and the full summer schedule, visit their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/stranskyconcerts

Photo Credit: Christina Case, taken at the Cornerstone Dub show June 19, 2014

Recap: Peach Park Carnival

In case you were not able to join us last Sunday, here's a quick recap of the fun that was missed. The Near South Neighborhood all joined up together in Peach Park for some family-friendly afternoon entertainment. It came complete with a bounce house, face painting, and not one, but two dunk tanks! Check out the photos and be sure to join us next year!

Also, be sure to be looking for some flyers about more neighborhood events for the first part of August. I hear there will be a splattering of block parties rippling through the Near South.

Photo Credit: Valerie Jensen

The Beauty Behind Lincoln’s Body Art

A dear friend and wonderful tattoo artist from Boston, Massachusetts described the people of Lincoln to me in a beautiful, but very strange way. Dave described us as “attractive people,” not just by our looks but, our energy and our passion for the things we love. So he decided to move to Lincoln to share in our passion for what we love…and to share his passion of tattooing with us.

Tattoos have become so popular in today’s society and that includes Lincoln. I want to show the beauty in not only the tattoos, but the beauty in their stories from the people of Lincoln. Who does them? Who gets them? And what do they mean? My blog posts will vary from artists, to people, to tattoo shops of Lincoln.

“Dave described us [Lincoln] as “attractive people,” not just by our looks but, our energy and our passion for the things we love.”

I decided to start with myself to share a little bit about me and show you my passion for tattoos. I have such a love for art and my tattoos are a way to share my love for art and for Christ. Yes, I get the question if it hurts, and yes they do, but there is something about being so connected with what you love, when you are getting tattooed and after. 

Shop talk: For me I have been to many different shops in Lincoln, I have only been to one other and that was in Beatrice. But for the most part I stay with my Lincoln artists! I didn’t quite find “my place” until about last year. Just like a doctors office you want to find a place you feel comfortable and feel at home. Iron Brush is that place for me. I do have an artist I go to regularly, Joel Andersen, but really I feel comfortable with all of the artists there and would recommend any of them! Its just a lovely place and is very clean (big priority for a place with needles).

Lincoln has so many places to learn about but I can’t wait to learn about the art and the people behind it!

A People That Celebrates

Who, of the people you know, throws the best parties? Are those people Christians?  They should be.

The Most to Celebrate

Christians, out of all the people in the world, have the absolute most to celebrate. We have been redeemed by God, reconciled to the Father, made new, our sins have been forgiven, and we've been put in right standing with God.  We've been adopted by the heavenly Father who has promised to never leave or forsake us, the power of God lives in us, we've been promised eternal life, and we're heirs of the King!

What could possibly be more worthy of celebration than all of that?!

The Least Celebrative

And yet often times when I hear Chrisitians interact (and I'm guilty of this myself too), it seems as if none of the above is true.  We're so prone to focus on our struggles over and above our blessings - over and above all that Christ has done for us.

“Who, of the people you know, throws the best parties? Are those people Christians? They should be.”

It's not that discussing our sin struggles and experiencing suffering should be hidden away (they most certainly should not be); however, celebrating who God is and what He's done and who He's made us to be should have at least equal (I'd argue for more) airtime than our struggles.

When we get this flipped, we inherently communicate false truths about our God to the world around us as we slip into a quasi-redeemed fatalism that says: life is hard, I suck, sin is strong, things probably won't change, it is what it is but "thanks be to Jesus."

That doesn't sounds like "good news"... because it's not.

What Are We Celebrating?

When I first was planting 2 Pillars Church, I had a church planting coach who would call me once a month to equip, encourage, and help me in the planting process.  His name was Bob.  Each month as I prepared for that call, I had a list of struggles, questions, junk I needed to vent, lists of things that weren't going well, not to mention my own sins that I needed to confess and repent from.

“Christians, out of all the people in the world, have the absolute most to celebrate.”

Bob, knowing this was the case, would always start every single one of those coaching calls with the question: "What are we celebrating?"  

That sounds simple, I know.  It sounds cheesy, I know.  But, it was one of the most powerful things that God used to continue to point me back to His goodness, His blessings, and what He was doing, despite all the junk that I saw down in the muck and mire.

What Are You Celebrating?

You might not feel super celebratory today, but if you believe and belong to Jesus you have so much to celebrate.  What are you celebrating today?

How often do you focus on the things worth celebrating in your life?  

Photo Credit: Jessica Brinkmeyer

The Aim of the Church

Understanding that the church is not a building, but a people is essential to understanding the aim (or goal) of the church.

If we think the church is a building that we go to rather than a people who we are, it is very easy to begin to see the aim of the church as simply to get more people to go to church.  The problem is that if that works, all we've done is get a bunch of people into a building.  While that is not bad, it's certainly not complete.

On the other hand, when we begin to see that the church is a people who we are rather than a building that we go to, then we can begin to see that the aim of the church is to get the church to be the church so that those who are not the church can become the church and then go and do likewise.

The Church is the redeemed people of God.  The aim of the Church (in dependance and reliance upon the Holy Spirit) is to see more people become the redeemed people of God so that God receives more and more glory, honor, and worship.

For more on this idea, check out this resource.

Photo Credit: United Nations Photos