Jesusgreek

How to Handle a Fool in Church

2012-01-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

I love James McDonlad. That guy is full of so much wisdom and insight it amazes me. In a recent article that a friend sent me he discusses how to handle fools in your church. If you've been a pastor for any length of time you know every church has their fair share. Here is the article. I hope it's as helpful for you as it was for me.

How to Handle a Fool by James McDonald

There are seasons of incredible joy in ministry, and thereare inevitably seasons where conflict rears its ugly head and needs to be dealtwith.

I have come to believe that failure in the season ofconflict—failure to deal with it, failure to learn from it, failure to movebeyond it—prevents entrance into a new season of joy. For that reason alone, Ihave tried to handle conflict in the best possible way.

Two verses tucked away in Proverbs 26 have been very helpfulto me, and I have been reminded about them again just recently. On the pagethey look like a contradiction, but in real life they work together like handand glove, if you let them. Here’s the first one to master:

Proverbs26:5 “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his owneyes.”

Answer the fool—he thinks he’s so smart, has it all figuredout in his brashness and needs to be set straight. Do your job, don’t fear thefallout. Tell him directly and with kindness what his folly is and why his insolenceor block-headed pride or denial are destroying him. Step up to the plate andtake one for the team.

There is nothing worse than a fool on the loose, and theycan devastate any organization or ministry. Do your job, stop the fool in histracks and set the fool straight. OK? Just do it!

The problem is, fools do not like to be set straight. Whichleads to the all-important balance of the proverb in closest proximity.

Proverbs26:4 “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like himyourself.”

Fools are fools for a reason, and it’s not because they aredeaf or blind; it’s because they are dull of hearing. Just one verse earlier weare told, “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for theback of fools.” And knowing that we cannot bring the rod to bear upon a fool inour churches, we try to ‘bring the rod’ with many words.

This has been one of my greatest errors in ministry.Becoming a fool to try to get a message to a fool about their foolishness. Haveyou ever heard yourself doing the same? Have you seen yourself stooping to thelevel of foolish arguments? Have you felt yourself allowing the intrusion ofpride? Have you heard your own tone rising to meet the challenge of a fool?Beware your noblest attempts to get a fool what he wants least of all, truth!

Sometimes we care too much and end up playing the fool whiletrying to help a fool. I know that I have tended to overestimate my ability tochange the behavior of others. One thing we have learned through much pain andmany failed attempts to fix a fool: “When you want it for someone more thanthey want it for themselves, it’s not going anywhere good.”

Putting these two verses together, I have returned often tothis principle: “Tell them once with clarity and brevity. Anything more thanthat draws us into the web of folly.”

I have known this for a long time, but an emergency meetingSaturday night, a surprise conversation in the hall between services, an emailthat should not have been sent, no matter how well intentioned—all dealing withdifferent issues in the church, all together reminding me of a lesson I returnto again and again.

Say it once, clearly and lovingly. Anyone seeking wisdomwill get the message and benefit. Fools will argue, debate and blame-shift—andif you don’t get off that train in a hurry, you will become a fool trying tohelp a fool and that doesn’t help anyone.

Proverbs26:4-5. Put them together in a season of ministry conflict and you can lookforward to another season of joy, just ahead.

My Disc Golf Adventure

2012-01-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

How did I not know about this? I mean sure I had heard of Disc Golf, it'seven been thrown out on occasion as a possible fun activity from a couple of myfriends. But outside of throwing around a cheap give-away Frisbee in the backyard I had never played a real game of Disc Golf until yesterday. My buddy Vargasplays 2-3 times a week and at church this past Sunday invited me to join him ata local course (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=694)

My ignorance of the sport was obvious early on as I had no idea there wereactually drivers, fairway disc and even putters. Vargas went on to explainthere were different weights and even disc that would curve to specificdirections. Evidently there is a disc for every type of possible throw youcould have in Disc Golf. There are even special bags (much like “club” golf)that hold your disc.

After a few warm-up throws to get use to the disc, we began our 18 holeadventure. On the 2nd hole I got a disc stuck in a tree. After some treeshaking and the help of a very long stick we were able to retrieve it. Ifinished the front 9 at 12 over. Vargas said that was good for a first timerbut I think he was just being nice. I finally had my fist par on hole 10 but itwas all down hill after that. On hole 16 I tossed another disc into a problem area. Exceptthis time instead of being up in a tree we were in someone's fenced back yardthat contained two dogs, one of which was not happy to see us. As Vargasdistracted the dogs I jumped the fence and got the disc back.

I ended the back nine at 13 over for a total score of 25 over par. (Everyhole was a par 3) Even though I hated my final score I will admit I have been bitten bythe Disc Golf bug. I came home and immediately started looking at starter setsonline. One of the cool things about Disc Golf is after the initial cost for the discand bag, most courses free. So it's safe to say I'll be back on the course as soon as possible. Disc, bag, and all.

2012 Oscar Predictions

2012-01-24T10:34:00.002-05:00

The 2012 Academy Awards were announced today so I figured why not get a jump on everyone and pick my list of winners. I did win our Oscar pick-em party last year! (Winners in bold)

Best Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Director

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Hugo, John Logan
The Ides of March, George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Bridget O' Connor and Peter Straughan

Best Original Screenplay

The Artist, Michael Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
A Separation, Asghar Farhadi

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

How to Leave a Church

2012-01-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

In the 16 years that I have been in full time local church ministry as a lead pastor, associate pastor, youth or children's pastor, I have seen a lot of people come and a lot of people go. Honestly in some exits I have rejoiced their leaving and prayed for the next church/pastor they will land at. In others it broke my heart to see them go. Of the ones I found most saddening and heartbreaking, they were always people I had let in to my very private circle of trust and considered very close friends. Their exits were for numerous reasons such as relocation, fall out from a disagreement with a fellow church member, or simply from a leading from God as an end to a season of their life. In all but one instance (a recent relocation) the leaving has left our relationship fractured and even non existent. Some of those relationships have since been restored but none are the way they once were.

I've really struggled at why that is. Maybe because in some way there is a feeling of rejection, like they're "breaking-up" with me for a new sexier version of my church or me. I can't see why they'd leave and they can't see why they'd stay. Whatever the long term ramifications are of leaving a church, I have discovered there are ways to leave that will lessen the trauma to everyone involved. Leaving a church is always difficult and there is no perfect way to do it, but there are some ways that are better and some ways that are worse.

Three words should guide your actions when leaving a church:

Leave quickly.
Leave quietly.
Leave graciously.

Quickly means when you leave, you leave. Drawing out your exit rarely makes things better. It doesn’t help to “sort of” leave a church. When the time comes to leave, make your exit and go your way.

Quietly means you don’t try to explain yourself to others. In my opinon, you don’t owe a long explanation to every person in the church. If you have certain responsibilities in the church, you should let the leaders know so they can make proper plans. And quietly means you don’t write letters or emails to the congregation or make a big announcement and you don’t try to explain yourself over and over again. That’s usually a big mistake. Sometimes people who leave a church try to control what other people say after they are gone. Forget about it. You can’t control what anyone says. Some people may be deeply hurt by your leaving. It may mean the end of some friendships. Certainly things will change. You can’t say, “I want to leave this church but I want all my relationships to stay the same.” I think you’ll find that some people relate to you primarily as a part of the church, and they won’t be able to have the same relationship with you when you are gone. You have to be willing to let that happen and not try to control things. Leaving means letting go.

Graciously means you refuse to speak bad of those who remain in the church. Look forward, not backward. Focus on your new church, not your old one. Think carefully before you speak about your former congregation. Don’t say anything that could be remotely construed as criticism. Even casual comments could stir up needless controversy.

In the end, Christ is Lord both of your former church and your new church. He loves both with an everlasting love. Those churches were both there before you came along and both will be there after you are off the scene. The church of Jesus is so much larger than anything we can imagine—and God’s work is far bigger than our limited vision.

When the time comes to leave, leave. Don’t hesitate and don’t be like Lot’s wife who looked back. You may not turn into a pillar of salt but looking back will do no good either. So leave with a good heart, trusting that the same Lord is Lord over both churches. He will care for both congregations and you. You can be sure of that.

Is Attending Multilple Churches OK?

2012-01-22T13:29:00.001-05:00

I had a conversation with a friend recently about this very question. In 16 years of full time ministry I had never been asked or faced that question. The question arose because the family wanted to go to one church for worship and another for children's ministry events. I've done some research and this is what I have discovered (which falls in line with what my inital thoughts and gut feeling was). It basically boils down to do you see the "Body of Christ" as collection of people, picking a choosing where they want to give and take from, like a buffet bar? Or do you see the "Body of Christ" as a collection of churches, each seperate in function but collectively working together for the Kingdom of God?

Do you know anyone that attends two churches? Someone who goes to one church to get one thing and another church to get something else. Maybe, it's the teaching at one and the community at another. Maybe, there's obligation to attend one and but enjoy the other. Maybe, one has a great youth program and the other has a fun worship service. Maybe you're the one attending two churches.

The New Testament does not directly address the subject of attending two or more different churches. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians begins, “To the church of God in Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2), indicating one church, whereas the book of Galatians begins with “to the churches in Galatia” (Galatians 1:2), indicating more than one in the area. In any case, either people did not attend more than one gathering, or the issue did not warrant Paul’s attention. Today, however, with multiple local churches in cities—and even in small towns—the question of whether to attend more than one church on a regular basis does arise.

First, it is important to understand the purpose of church attendance and/or membership. When Christians unite with a local body of believers, they are following the model for the local church as seen in Acts 2:41-42: “Those who accepted his [Peter’s] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” These early Christians met in the temple courts and in their own homes to continue in praise and worship (Acts 2:46-47). In addition, believers came together to minister to one another the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who distributes those gifts to His people in order for us to edify—build up—one another in the faith (Ephesians 4:7-13).

The question becomes whether we can effectively pray, fellowship, sit under teaching, and use our spiritual gifts with two or more groups of Christians at the same time. Because the Bible is silent on the issue, we cannot be dogmatic about it. But what we can do is address the issue of motivation—what prompts Christians to feel led to spread their church attendance around to multiple churches and what are the effects and implications of doing so.

Sadly, too often people “church hop” to more than one local body with the intention of picking and choosing something from each one because they feel they cannot find one church that “meets their needs” or gives them everything they think they should be getting from a church. They may attend one church for the music, another for the preaching, and a third for the social gatherings. The problem with this line of thinking is that Christians are to align themselves with a group of believers in order to give, not to get. We are to be actively serving and ministering to one another with the spiritual gift we have received from the Spirit, and when we spend minimal time in each group, we cannot do that effectively. In addition, we give the impression that we are not committed to the believers or the leadership in any one church, and that is a poor witness to others.

While there may be legitimate reasons for someone to attend two or more churches, and nothing in the Bible forbids it, it is hard to see how such a practice could fully benefit either the believer or the local churches he or she attends. The question might be raised, "What would it hurt?" but in reality that's the wrong question. The correct question is, "What would it help?" I see two fundamental problems with this that makes it a very unhealthy thing to do.

First, part of being a Christian is living in community with others and serving them. When someone attends two churches to get something different out of each church they aren't looking to serve others but be served. It's kinda like getting food at a restaurant. There are two favorite dishes at two different restaurants. So, sometimes it's one restaurant and other times it's the other one. But, restaurants aren't the same as Christian communities. Restaurants are about being served. Christian living is about serving others. This basic fundamental mentality of being served the favorite church dishes is the first problem.

Having great teaching, a loving and active community, an enjoyable worship, and all of these other good things is good to have in a church community. But, going out and looking for these in another church brings up the second big issue. God challenges us to serve each other and build up the church. When we go look at a different church to get some of what we don't get at the one we aren't serving others in that first church and we aren't building up the church. We are avoiding these very things God has called us to do.

Instead of going to another church to get that fellowship. Instead of going to another to have that enjoyable worship. Instead of going to another church to get all of these other things we should build them up in the church we are at. Otherwise, we aren't looking to live in a Christian community. We are just looking to get served.

If you are stuggling with this concept of what it means to belong to one local body of believers then I reccomend the following books: "Stop dating the church" by Joshua Harris http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Dating-Church-Family-Lifechange/dp/1590523652 and "Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found" by Kevin Harney http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Church-Loving-Youve-Found/dp/0310246792

Isaiah 58 His Message My Life

2012-01-11T10:28:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 58 (from The Message)

Your Prayers Won't Get Off the Ground

1-3 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They're busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?'
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
'Why do we fast and you don't look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?'

3-5"Well, here's why:
"The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?

6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.

13-14"If you watch your step on the Sabbath
and don't use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
God's holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,'
making money, running here and there—
Then you'll be free to enjoy God!
Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob."
Yes! God says so!

7 pitfalls of being an introverted pastor

2012-01-07T09:55:00.005-05:00

As a fellow introverted pastor, I found this article by Ron Edmondson hit the nail on the head with how I feel...

I am an introvert. With all my public appearances on Sunday mornings, this surprises many people. But in my private life and with those closest to me, there is no questioning that fact. If anything, the larger our church has grown, the more introverted I have become. I wish I were otherwise, but this is how I am wired.

Here are 7 pitfalls of being an introverted pastor:

1. People often think I’m arrogant, aloof, or unfriendly. Now, I may be a lot of negative things, but those are not really the main three. I sometimes have to go back and apologize once I hear someone thinks I avoided them. This happens especially with extremely extroverted people.

2. I sometimes hesitate to make the connections I should and miss opportunities to build my network.

3. I’m worn out after a long day of talking and need time alone to rejuvenate, which can impact my family time if I’m not careful. It also leads to people at the end of the day telling me I look tired…guess what? I am!

4. Crowded rooms, which I love in terms of reaching people for Christ, are actually intimidating to me as a person.

5. I’m not as quick-witted when in crowds, and when I try to be, I sometimes appear awkward on first impressions.

6. I realize the need to talk with people…it’s what I do, but wrestling through the introverted tendencies actually adds even more stress to my life.

7. If I’m not careful, and thankfully I’m fairly disciplined here, I will close out people from really knowing me, which subjects me to all kinds of temptations, anxiety and even depression.

Enneagram

2011-12-31T13:45:00.000-05:00

On a recent Donald Miller's blog he discuses the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a personality assessment tool, but it differs from others assessments because it doesn’t seek to tell who a person is, but rather, how a person hides who they are. There are nine personalities on the Enneagram.

I've always been fascinated by these types of test ever since I took my first one, the Myers-Briggs (which according to I'm an ISTJ), over 15 years ago. The results are always very enlightening and usually dead on. Here is the results from my Enneagram test that Donald discusses:

Type One: The Reformer (Which as you can see in the above diagram also reaffirms my ISTJ assessment from Myers-Briggs)

The principled, idealistic type. Ones are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly,and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience. At their Best: wise, discerning,realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.

8 Reasons Why Some Churches Never Grow

2011-12-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

By Perry Noble

1. The Vision Is Not Clear

If people don’t know where a church is supposed to be going, then it will attempt to go everywhere and eventually wind up nowhere. (Interesting experiment–ask people this coming Sunday at your church, “What is our vision” and see if people give you the same answers or different ones.)

2. The Focus Is on Trying to Please Everyone
There is NO church on the planet that will make everyone happy every single week—and according to the Scriptures, that isn’t really supposed to be our obsession. Too many times, we become so concerned with offending people that we actually offend Jesus.

3. Passionless Leadership
When a leader does what he/she does for a paycheck and not because it's their passion…it’s over. I’ve said it before…I want difference-makers, not paycheck-takers. Also, it is hard to be passionate about a place when a person's average stay at a church is two years or less.

4. Manufacturing Energy
If a program is dead in a church…then it needs a funeral, and the people need to move on. Investing time, energy, and money into something that is dead will not revive it. Celebrate the fact that “that” program had its day…and then move on. AND quit trying to fire people up over events that you would not attend if you were not on staff.

5. Lack of Prayer
Many times, we work so hard putting our ideas together that we actually think there is no need for the supernatural power of God to be involved. Prayer should not be the good luck charm that we stick at the beginning or the end of what we do…but rather it should be our constant desperation to see God do the undeniable among us. Intense desperation often brings undeniable revelation!

6. Unwillingness to Take Risks
When our focus becomes to play it safe rather than to do whatever it takes to reach people far from God…it’s over. NOWHERE in the Scriptures did God ever ask anyone to do anything that didn’t involve an “oh crap” moment. We’ve GOT to be willing to embrace the uncertain if we want to see the unbelievable.

7. Disobedience to the Scriptures
Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 19:10…I could go on and on…but we MUST understand that Jesus didn’t come to Earth, live here for 33 years, give HIS life for us, and then return back to heaven to intercede for us so that we could get in really little circles and talk about ourselves and condemn those who are not as good as us. We are called to REACH PEOPLE FOR GOD—PERIOD!

8. Selfish Attitudes
Matthew 20:28 says it all…and if we are going to be more like Jesus, we’ve GOT to serve others rather than expecting the church to be our servant all of the time. When a person (or group of people) refuses to embrace that a call to follow Jesus is a call to serve…then we’ve lost sight of who He is, and eventually, we will make being a Christian all about Jesus following/serving us rather than us taking up our cross and following Him!

Rock of Ages Review

2011-12-27T12:48:00.000-05:00

Last night Beth and I along with several friends attended the opening night of "Rock of Ages " in Charlotte. Beth and I have been to several Broadway shows and this was possibly the best we have ever seen. This show is absolutely amazing. From the moment the back-up band starts before the show opens until the minute the band stops playing after the final curtain, this show is non-stop fun and excitement. The music brings back memories of the 1980's when mullets were in and dreams really could come true. All of the acting is incredible and the voices and dancing will blow you away. Not for children due to language and some risque scenes, but I cannot encourage adults enough to make time for this wonderful show. If you grew up on 80's music then this is a must see show.

If you have no idea what "Rock of Ages" is, then here is a quick synopsis...

Rock of Ages is a rock/jukebox musical, with a book by Chris D'Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of the decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Asia, among other well-known rock bands. The show is noted for being more lighthearted and comedic than other shows on Broadway. During performance, the performers frequently break the "fourth wall", directly addressing the audience and seemingly forgetting (or perhaps reminding the audience) that they are actors in a musical.

Musical numbers

Act I

"Just Like Paradise/Nothin' but a Good Time" - Lonny & Entire Company
"Sister Christian" - Sherrie, Drew, Mother, Father & Company
"Too Much Time on My Hands/We Built This City" - Drew, Dennis, Lonny, Stacee Jaxx, Regina, Franz, Hertz & Company
"I Wanna Rock" - Drew & Company
"We're Not Gonna Take It" - Regina & Ensemble
"More Than Words/Heaven/To Be with You" - Sherrie, Drew & Company
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" - Drew, Sherrie
"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Sherrie, Stacee Jaxx & Ensemble
"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Drew, Sherrie, Stacee Jaxx & Ensemble
"Cum On Feel the Noize/We're Not Gonna Take It (Reprise)" - Drew, Stacee Jaxx & Company
"Harden My Heart/Shadows of the Night" - Sherrie, Justice, Lonny & Company
"Here I Go Again" - Entire Company

Act II

"The Final Countdown" - Regina, Dennis, Lonny, Franz, Hertz & Ensemble
"Any Way You Want It/I Wanna Rock (Reprise)" - Drew, Sherrie, Justice, Record Company Men & Ensemble
"High Enough" - Sherrie, Drew & Company
"I Hate Myself for Loving You/Heat of the Moment" - Sherrie, Drew, Stacee Jaxx & Company
"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" - Regina, Franz, Hertz & Ensemble
"Can't Fight This Feeling" - Dennis, Lonny & Company
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Sherrie, Drew, Lonny, Dennis, Justice, Stacee Jaxx, Franz, Hertz & Ensemble
"Keep on Loving You" - Hertz +
"Oh Sherrie" - Drew, Sherrie & Ensemble
"The Search Is Over" - Drew, Sherrie & Company
"Renegade" - Stacee Jaxx and Company +
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Entire Company

Who's life is it anyway?

2011-12-23T09:52:00.002-05:00

The following is from a recent blog by Keith Giles. Great thoughts!

“Have you asked Jesus into your life?”

Most of us who consider ourselves Christians would probably refer to the day we asked Jesus into our lives as the beginning of our journey with Christ. However, if you look throughout the New Testament you won’t find anyone ever doing such a thing.
The Gospel most of us heard was that we need to pray a prayer so that when we die we can go to Heaven. That’s also not part of the actual Gospel that Jesus or the Disciples preached.

Instead what we find is Jesus inviting us to come into His life. He says that our lives need to be surrendered, given up, let go so that we can embrace His life.

In fact, every time Jesus refers to our life he does so to emphasize how we should lay it down or die to ourselves. He never asks us to let him into our empty, broken, screwed up lives. He just asks us to realize that it’s not worth holding on to so we can see that real, true life is found only in Him.

Just look at what Jesus says about the difference between our life and His Life:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” - Matthew 16:25

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

“I am the bread of life.” – John 6:48

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” – John 6:51

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:31

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” – John 5:39-40

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” – John 5:21

And the Apostle John says this about Jesus: “In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men.” – John 1:4
So, according to Jesus, what we should do is to abandon our life – our whole life – and come into the real, true, eternal life that He offers us right here and now.

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” – John 7:37

Have you asked Jesus to let you into His life? There’s a huge difference between Jesus tagging along with you while you live your life and letting go of your life to fully embrace the astounding, incredible life of Jesus, the Messiah.
Remember: God is not your co-pilot. He’s either the pilot or you’re on the wrong plane.

Why do so many 20 Somethings Misunderstand "Seperation of Church and State"?

2011-12-22T17:06:00.003-05:00

My church, Main Street Baptist, (www.msbc.cc) will be hosting a 12-week series on the "Constitution". This class is being led by one of our church members, Bill Flynn. As the class was filling up (it's now at capacity) Bill posed the following question to me, "How do we get more 20-35 year olds to join the class?" The following is the actual facebook coversation that took place. I really feel what Bill says at the end of our converation was incredibly insightful and very challenging.

Michael,

Thanks for your help getting the word out on our USConstitution series starting Jan. 10. We could really use more 20-35 year oldsin the class. Any ideas how to get them to join us ?
Bill

Bill,

That's a great question. The problem I see with the lack of20 somethings being more involved in things like your class is the belief thatyou must separate church and state. They believe the church has no businessoffering (or even hosting) any class that comes close to political. Also thereis a perception that if a church does offer something that appears remotelypolitical then all they are trying to do is brainwash you into their right-wingultra conservative mind set or recruit you for the tea party.

You can offer an honest to goodness non partisan class that explains the truthabout our constitution and because the media (and current administration) hasconvinced almost everyone under the age of 30 that there is a hidden agenda, many won't even think of attending.

To be honest I'm not sure how to fix that problem. All you and I can do rightnow is keep promoting it and getting the word out. It almost has to be donegrassroots where one or two 20 somethings start spreading the word to there friends.I'll keep thinking of way to bring some younger folks in. Thanks for the class!
Mike

Michael,

Thinking some: If separation of church and state is anintegral source of potential repulsion, would it be helpful for me to frame thequestion, "ever wonder what the Constitution says on this key issue and bywhat authority it is spoken ?" Or, more daringly, "Whatresponsibility does the Body of Christ have to the state, and the state to theBody of Christ ?"

Too, I wonder if the deeper issue for us is not separation of church and state,but rather the unwitting self-elimination of the church from the landscape ofcivic relevance via pop culture bias.

As you know, the Constitution is a government framing document for limitedgovernance ordained of God, implemented by man, with the consent of thegoverned. All holders of major office, regardless of partisan affiliation, aresworn to uphold under oath. Thanks again, Michael for your insights.

Bill

Michael,

Been thinking more about the reluctance of younger membersto embrace anything remotely political as a part of their Christianity or placeof worship.

This question cuts to the core of the issue: Do your rights, expressed by theConstitution, flow from God or government ?
If the answer is government, then the young adults’ apprehension we seearguably makes good sense.

If, however, rights flow from God, to be justly administered by government,then Christians of all ages must run, not walk, toward involvement andunderstanding of civics and our form of government.

History and proper understanding lead to the singular conclusion that ourrights are indeed from God. Limited government is ordained to function with theconsent of the governed. For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ tocompartmentalize this into the “politics” pile places us all, especially theirand future generations, at great risk of continued erosions of liberty. Theliberty to worship and speak freely are among those which will undoubtedly comeunder further assault.

The notion of church and state separation is wildly, and I believedeliberately, misused to curtail the necessary inclusion of Christian influencein our American form of government. I kinda want to encourage believers, selfincluded here, to “man (and woman) up !”

Younger Christians removing themselves may be the comfortable default position,but it is not a part of our Christian or American heritage.

Merry Christmas Michael. Please continue to pray for God to guide me and ourConstitution series at MSBC.

Bill

My Top T.V. Shows of 2011

2011-12-12T08:41:00.001-05:00

As always, I'm not saying these are the "best", they're just my top ten favorites of 2011.

1) The Walking Dead
2) American Horror Story
3) Parks and Recreation
4) The Middle
5) Dexter
6) Modern Family
7) Raising Hope
8) Breaking Bad
9) The Office
10) 30 Rock / Chuck

My Top Films of 2011

2011-12-10T11:56:00.001-05:00

As always, I'm not saying these are the "best", they're just my top ten favorites of 2011.

1) Hugo
2) Rise of the Planet of the Apes
3) X-Men First Class
4) Bridesmaides
5) Cars 2
6) Thor
7) Captain America
8) The Hangover 2
9) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
10) Super 8

My Thoughts on the "Occupy Protesters"

2011-12-09T09:13:00.001-05:00

This letter was purportedly dropped from an office building in Chicago by the Board of Trade down upon the crowd of Occupy Wall Street protesters. There is no author attribution, so for now, this re-publication remains anonymous. Whomever wrote it, it is indeed a work of genius.
Here it is, as written in the photo above -

We are Wall Street. It’s our job to make money. Whether it’s a commodity, stock, bond, or some hypothetical piece of fake paper, it doesn’t matter. We would trade baseball cards if it were profitable.

I didn’t hear America complaining when the market was roaring to 14,000 and everyone’s 401k doubled every 3 years. Just like gambling, its (sic) not a problem until you lose. I’ve never heard of anyone going to Gamblers Anonymous because they won too much in Vegas.

Well, now the market crapped out, & even though it has come back somewhat, the government and the average Joes are still looking for a scapegoat. God knows there has to be one for everything. Well, here we are.

Go ahead and continue to take us down, but you’re only going to hurt yourselves. What’s going to happen when we can’t find jobs on the Street anymore? Guess what: We’re going to take yours.

We get up at 5am & work till 10pm or later. We’re used to not getting up to pee when we have a position. We don’t take an hour or more for a lunch break. We don’t demand a union. We don’t retire at 50 with a pension. We eat what we kill, and when the only thing left to eat is on your dinner plates, we’ll eat that.

For years teachers and other unionized labor have had us fooled. We were too busy working to notice. Do you really think that we are incapable of teaching 3rd graders and doing ladscapint? We’re going to take your cushy jobs with tenure and 4 months off a year and whine just like you that we are so-o-o-o underpaid for building the youth of America. Say goodbye to your overtime and double time and a half. I’ll be hitting grounders to the high school baseball team for $5k extra a summer, thank you very much.

So now that we’re going to be making $85k a year without upside, Joe Mainstreet is going to have his revenge, right? Wrong! Guess what: we’re going to stop buying the new 80k car, we aren’t going to leave the 35 percent tip at our business dinners anymore. No more free rides on our backs. We’re going to landscape our own back yards, wash our cars with a garden hose in our driveways. Our money was your money. You spent it. When our money dries up, so does yours.

The difference is, you lived off of it, we rejoiced in it. The Obama administration and the Democratic National Committee might get their way and knock us off the top of the pyramid, but it’s really going to hurt like h**l for them when our fat a**es land directly on the middle class of America and knock them to the bottom.

We aren’t dinosaurs. We are smarter and more vicious than that, and we are going to survive. The question is, now that Obama & his administration are making Joe Mainstreet our food supply…will he? And will they?

A few thoughts I'd love to add...
- I have NO sympathy for any of these protesters. I have had a job every day of my life since I was legally allowed to do so (15 1/2) I've worked great jobs and crappy jobs. I understood something a long time ago, you get what you work for.
- "But they have college degrees and can't find a job". No, they have worthless college degrees (English, History, Communications, Graphic Design, etc) and refuse to work for any place not in their "job market".
- "They can't live off minimum wage." OK, get 2 jobs then. I have a friend right now that has 5 jobs. And none of them are in the scope of what his college degree is. He works so he can support his family no matter what.
- It's the holiday season, every one of these free loading campers...err "protesters" could have found a job this season. I'm still going in stores with large "help wanted" signs up.

Sorry for this rant but I've really had enough of the press and even people I know treat these protesters like they're heroes.

My Championship Moment

2011-09-28T08:38:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it wasn't The Masters or anything but yesterday was my greatest accomplishishment on the golf course. I was playing in the annual Merriwood Christian Camp golf marathon as I have for the past few years. This year Mike Willard and I teamed up with my friend Danny and one of his friends Zach for the captain's choice part of the golf marathon. I had absolutely no aspirations of coming close to winning since my track record in all things considered "athletic competition" is less then stellar. But as we played and the birdies, eagles, and even double eagles kept piling up, it became clear that we may have a chance of winning. When it was all said and done we sat at a score of 44 (27 under par). Now I must disclose we had the help of a golf package that included mulligams, throws, red tee shots, and string, but so did everyone else. When the scores were announced we were declared champs by two stokes. Except for my Piedmont Wiffle Ball Championship way back in '97, this is my only other championship in my 37 years on this earth. One one hand it's kind of pathetic that after all the sports I've played that I've only won 2 championships but the lack of winning make the championships that much more sweet and satisfying.

My "Crazy Love" Small Group Discussion Questions

2011-06-02T12:40:00.004-05:00

I've had the opportunity to lead several small groups based of the Francis Chan book "Crazy Love". The discussion questions that come with the DVD study leaves a lot to be desired. So through my own personal questions and questions from other "Crazy Love" resources online I've been able to develope a more indepth study of the book. Below are the questions I have used for all 10 chapters of the book study. Feel free to use them as you'd like.

Chapter 1: Stop Praying
Stop and think about the last prayer you voiced. How did you begin? Our Father? Dear Lord? Jesus? What word or phrase did you use to start the prayer? Now, take a minute and consider the prayer you prayed before that prayer. How did you begin? Same word or phrase? Different? Sorta different or radically different? If you begin all your prayers in much the same way, ask yourself why.

Read these words from G. K. Chesterton:
A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough.… It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again,” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again,” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. (Orthodoxy)

To temper question 1, remember that you could vary your introductory prayer phrase each time you voice a prayer and still not tap into that eternal appetite of infancy or freshness that Francis Chan talks about in Crazy Love. What word will you choose to start your next prayer?

Francis Chan suggests that “it’s exhilarating to be part of a group of believers who are willing to think biblically rather than conventionally.” (p. 20)

1. When you have gathered with a group of believers, have you experienced the exhilaration of thinking biblically about every day topics? Does the idea of developing biblical thinking interest you? Why or why not?
2. If you were completely honest, would you say you are more bored or exhilarated with your life as a Christian? What does Chan say the crux of the problem is if you are bored? (p. 22)
Chan suggests that we are people who are very susceptible to something he calls “spiritual amnesia”.
3. What are we likely to forget and why? What is Chan’s suggested remedy for this situation?
4. What help did you find in the discussion of God’s defining attributes?
5. If we became more familiar with God’s character, how would that help our spiritual amnesia and our day to day conversations with other believers?
Challenge for the Week
Pick one day this week and ask God to show you an aspect of who He is. You can look at question two for some of God’s attributes. For example, ask Him to show you how He is creator. And then throughout the day, keep your eyes and ears open to how He has created things, big and small. Write down the attribute you chose and what God showed you.

Chapter 2: You Might Not Finish This Chapter
1) What causes you the most worry and stress in your life? Read pg. 40 def. of worry and stress. Do you agree or disagree with Francis?
2) about how many outside factors govern the activities of your life that are completely out of your control. How do you usually react to those things (especially if they are people)? What is your reaction to having so little control (even though we tend to think we have SO MUCH control) over your own life?
3) When Francis talks about just being alone with God, how do you respond to those words? Can you relate? Do you walk with God, intimately and regularly? Or are your experiences with God usually mediated by something or someone (books, sermons, pastor’s voice, fellowship, etc.)?
4) Talk about some people in your life that died abruptly. What were some of their achievements and what do you think may have been some of their regrets?
5) Medieval philosophers kept a skull on their desks as a constant reminder of the nearness of death. That’s kinda dark, huh? Without going to that extreme, what’s something you could keep on your key chain or saved on your iPod or stored in your cell phone to keep yourself aware that our life is truly a vapor?
6) Name one person in your life who lives as if each day is his or her last. What is this person’s effect on people around him or her? Does living that way make him or her seem, well, different? Why?
7) If today were the day you died, what would you regret and why? What can you change about your life today to avoid those regrets?

Chapter 3: Crazy Love
1) How do you feel when you hear Paul’s words to “pray without ceasing”? Confident? Guilty? Confused? Ashamed? Try and pinpoint an emotion. Or, maybe you don’t feel anything. If so, what’s causing you to feel numb?
2) If you could pick one word to describe your relationship with your earthly father, what would it be?
3) Now how about your heavenly Father? Pick one word to describe your relationship with Him.
4) Does your “one word” reflect a reality you’re pleased with or one you’re disappointed in? If you’re pleased, then great. But if not, what one word would describe the way you’d like it to be?
5) Consider using that one word as a prayer for a while, repeating it throughout the day when God’s Spirit prompts you. It could be a significant first step to praying without ceasing.
7) Has the background that you came out of helped or hindered your relationship with God as it stands today? How and why?
8) How do you feel about the last section, namely the question asked: "Why would a loving God force me to love Him?" and the response Francis gives?
9) If we truly believed God was the greatest experience we could ever have on Earth, how would our lives be different? Why aren’t they and what can you do this week to change that?

Chapter 4: Profile of the Lukewarm
1) Tell about a time when you put something in your mouth that was so unpleasant that you had to spit it out.
2) During the video, Francis talked about Matt, a missionary from Iraq who said, “what we call sanctification…the believers in Iraq call a pre-requisite.” By receiving baptism, they were declaring that they were willing to lose everything to follow Jesus…and many of them did. What do you think about that?

“It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.” Pg. 65

3) The quote above puts the spotlight of lukewarmness squarely on the shoulders of the church in America. What do you see in America and in the church today that substantiates or lends supports this statement?
4. Read Matthew Page 66 in Crazy Love and Read Matt. 13:44 along with the two paragraphs that follow
a. What’s the point of this little parable?
b. What is this saying about how we should respond to Jesus and God’s love?
c. Is this your response?
Each description of “Lukewarm People” in the book Crazy Love is part of the picture of half-hearted, compromised living. This is not a list that is meant for us to judge others or create a legalism list for joining the church or becoming a Christian. Instead, it is meant for us to examine our own hearts and test our faith.
Here is the list of what lukewarm people can look like that Chan describes in Chapter 4.
• Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them.
• Give to charity and church so long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.
• Choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict.
• Don’t want to be saved from their sin, only the penalty of it.
• Moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, but do not act.
• Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, friends.
• Gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world.
• Say they love Jesus, He is part of their lives. Only a part.
• Love God, but not with ALL their heart, soul, and strength
• Love others, but do not seek to love others as much as love selves.
• Will serve God and others, but with limits.
• Think about life on earth a lot more then eternity in heaven.
• Thankful for their luxuries/comforts, rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to poor.
• Do whatever is necessary to keep selves from feeling too guilty.
• Concerned with playing it safe, are slaves to god of control.
• Feel secure because they do and have done all the “right” things.
• Do not live by faith, their lives are structured so don’t have to.
• Drink and swear less than average, really aren’t very different than average unbeliever.
4) Which two of the above descriptions hit you the hardest? Ask yourself, “Why am I acting like that?” Does anyone want to share why some of these areas are a struggle for you?

Homework:
Pick one lukewarm characteristic to focus on this week. Spend some time getting to the heart of this lukewarm characteristic.
a. Identify the main sin of this lukewarm characteristic.
b. Find verses that combat this lukewarm characteristic. You can look in a study Bible, concordance or by asking another believer.
c. Pray, asking God to help you battle this sin.
d. Think of one or two tangible things you can do this week to help you fight against this lukewarm characteristic. Be creative in your application.

Chapter 5: Serving leftovers to a holy God
1. Given our discussion in Chapter 4, what do you think it means to be “lukewarm?”
2. Pg. 82 - Read Revelation 3:15-18 aloud . Francis Chan says that those who live like the lukewarm in the last chapter won’t be in heaven. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
3. Pg. 85 – Is it possible to be a Christian without being a “disciple”? Why or why not?
4. Pg. 85, 86 – What is the difference between “failed attempts at loving Jesus” vs. being lukewarm?
5. Pg. 87 – How does this relate to our money and material things? Why do you think the Bible talk so much about material things and money?
6. Pg. 89 – Leftovers: “The bones I threw at God had more meat on them than the bones others threw, so I figured I was doing fine.” How does that compare with Malachi 1:8 (read aloud)? Now read Malachi 1:10. What would God rather have you do than give him your “leftovers?”
7. Pg. 91 - How does God measures our lives? Why is that more important than “success?”
8. Pg. 92 - Try the “replace with your name” exercise. (1 Cor. 13: 2-3)
9. Pg. 93 - What is meant by James 2:17 (“Faith, by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”)
10. Pg. 94 – What’s your reaction to someone who essentially says, “Yeah, I’m lukewarm at times, but right now I’m not really at a place to give more to God”?

Challenge for the Week:
Writer Annie Dillard says, “How we spend our day is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Pick a day from last week. Beginning with the moment you awoke, go back through the day and write down everything you can remember regarding how you “spent” the day. We don’t save time: we just spend it. Don’t embellish or fudge the truth; just write down your day. Is that “day” reflective of how you’re spending your life? Don’t answer too quickly.

Now pick a day that is coming up and try and live that day giving your best first to God. Here are some examples:
‐ Giving the beginning of your day to be with the Lord in His Word (yes, even before opening the sports section of the newspaper or the latest magazine).
‐ Giving God the first few minutes of each new hour to quickly pray with Him (Set a timer).
‐ Think about how you can encourage someone during the day.
‐ Spend your commute listening to worship music.
‐ Tell someone about what God is teaching you.
‐ Eat with a grateful heart to God.
‐ Pray for your child before they go to bed.
‐ Use your sanctified imagination to live for God!
Before going to bed ask the Lord, “Did I fulfill what you asked of me today?” You can also reflect if you saw God work in your life.

Chapter 6: When You’re in Love
QUESTION 1: Balance in our relationship with God is important so that we don’t ‘humanize’ God to the point that we infer the failures of humans on God. How often do you think of God as more of a concept rather than a real person? Which is more of a struggle for you: intimacy with God or reverence for God?
QUESTION 2: We all have ‘baggage’ that we tote around with us and toss into our various relationships. What kind of baggage do you bring to your relationship with God?
QUESTION 3: Does your relationship with God resemble a ‘love’ relationship? Why or why not?
QUESTION 4: Pg. 100-101 - Have you ever met someone who is utterly and desperately in love with God and Jesus? How can you tell they’re so in love? What are they like?
QUESTION 5: Pg. 101 - Why do you think God created us? What is our ultimate purpose (in your own words)? How did you come to this conclusion?
QUESTION 6: Pg. 103 – What happens when we “try harder” not to be lukewarm?
QUESTION 7: Pg. 108 – When we see our relationship with God as a chore or a sacrifice how does that effect what we give Him? What can you give God?
QUESTION 8: Pg. 100-111 – Take a minute silently as a group. Read someone I can be real with aloud. Meditate on what you hear.

Chapter 7: Your Best Life … Later
Francis Chan says the following in the opening paragraphs of Chapter 7.

"By now you've probably realized that you have a distinct choice to make: just let life happen, which is tantamount to serving God your leftovers, or actively run toward Christ."

"Do you recognize the foolishness of seeking fulfillment outside of Him? Do you understand that it's impossible to please God in any way other than wholehearted surrender? Do you grasp the beauty and deep joy of walking in genuine intimacy with God, our holy Father and Friend? Do you want to see God more than you desire security?"

"Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers".

Question 1: Do you spend more of your life investing in your eternal home or your earthly home? How? Why? Is it out of balance?
Question 2: "Christians today like to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in situations where we are safe 'even if there is no God.' But if we truly desire to please God, we cannot live that way. We have to do things that cost us during our life on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity." What are some ways we/you play it safe?
Question 4: Define the word “faith” from a Christian perspective. How is God’s definition different from the world’s definition of “faith?”
Question 5: God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him completely--so much so that we do not hesitate to put ourselves in situations (with His guidance and blessing, of course) where we will be in trouble if He does not come through. What are you doing right now, at this season in your life that requires that radical kind of faith in God?
Question 6: Do I really think of each person I come in contact with as if they were Christ? How would my life change if I did?

Challenge for the week:
What of your “Silly Things” can you give away to someone who is in need? Give it away. No excuses. Give something away that you own.

Chapter 8 Profile of the Obsessed
1. Discuss why we can or can’t live like they did in the days of the early church?
2. Pg. 130 – Why is it not enough to just be “nice” or even “kind” as a Christian in the midst of a lost world? Read Luke 6:32-36 aloud. Why is this essential to being a true follower of Christ?
3. “Love your enemies and do good to them…” (Luke 6) Does this make you uncomfortable to think about doing? Why? Have you ever had a personal experience of putting this into practice? What happened?
4. Pg. 131—Read Jesus words in Luke 14:12-14. Have you ever done anything like that? Describe what happened.
5. As a country we are obsessed by safety. Do you find yourself to praying more for safety (for yourself, loved ones, etc) or for God to do “whatever it takes”?
6. What are some other things you’re “obsessed” with? (this can be silly or serious)
7. There are 14 “profiles of the obsessed”. Read each aloud. Which one do you feel you are most like and which do you feel is the hardest for you? Why?
8. What can you do this week to live a more “obsessed” life?

Chapter 9: Who Really Lives That Way?
1) Who do you look up to? Who are your Christian heroes, living or dead? Pick two and share with our group.
2) What makes a Christian a “hero” as opposed to a “not-so-hero”?
3) What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What do you want to be known for?
4) p. 150-163 - Which of these stories most grabbed you? Which stuck you at first as just sort of “crazy”?
5) When you look at some of these stories, what sort of excuses or fears most readily pop up in your mind?

Q) “I hope these life stories have done more than encourage you; I hope they have eliminated every excuse for not living a radical, love-motivated life. I hope they have challenged the multitudes who ‘feel called to the rich’ and ignore the poor. If biblical examples seem unattainable, hopefully these average, everyday people give you hope that you, too, can live a life worth writing about.”

Homework
1) How can you be a “hero” or be faithfully bold this week?
2) Heroes need encouragement too. If any kind of spotlight might embarrass them, consider an anonymous gift. This week try to find a way to say thank you to one of your faith heroes.

Chapter 10: The Crux of the Matter
1. “God is a creator, not a duplicator…” Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 aloud. What unique gifts, calling, or ways of serving do you think God may be calling you to do?
2. “If I stop pursuing Christ, I am letting our relationship deteriorate. We never grow closer to God when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.” What daily disciplines to you do to pursue Christ?
3. “The world needs Christians who don’t tolerate the complacency of their own lives.” How would you define “complacency” in a Christian? What is the danger of not dealing with our spiritual complacency?
4. Read Romans 14:10-12 - All of us will have to give an account of our lives on this earth. God is literally going to say, “What did you do with what I gave you?” How should knowing this affect your life goals, your use of resources, your time and your talents?
5. Has your life made a positive impact upon your church family or has it had a negative one, or even a neutral one? What are ways you can begin or in other cases continue to be a positive impact upon the your church family?
6. “Most of us use - I’m waiting for God to reveal His calling on my life - as a means of avoiding action. Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of your television yesterday? Or to go on your last vacation? Or exercise this morning? Probably not, but you still did it. The point isn’t that vacations or exercise are wrong, but that we are quick to rationalize our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God.‟
a. In what ways have you ever been slow to commit to serving God?
b. If you could do whatever was in your heart to do for God and His people, what would it be?
7. What do you have to do before your life is over?

Challenge for the Week
Fast from something this week. This may mean that you fast for one meal, you fast from shopping online, you fast from watching television, you fast from working out, or whatever would be a sacrifice for you. Use that time to spend with the Lord in prayer asking Him what He wants you to do as a result of this study. Is there a change in your lifestyle, a change in your spending habits, a change in your view of sin, a change in your heart attitudes, or a change in how you see and love God?

My Post-Christian Church-goers

2011-05-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

Recently I had a conversation with a parent of some elementary students in my church. The parent was complaining of how their children don't fit in at our church. In the midst of our conversation I could pick up on some obvious blame being cast out. It was some how my fault, the children's director's fault, Sunday school teacher's fault, and church's fault that their children didn't enjpy coming to church the way the parent did when they were a child and attended church.

To be honest I walked away beating myself up over their children falling through the cracks and trying to figure out what more I could have done to prevented it. I immediately started to dream of ways to get their children more connected and involved. Then it hit me. It really wasn't my job to impress kids enough to make them want to come to my church. It's really up to the parents.

Which got me thinking, "Why are parents so opposed to simply making their kids come to church?" and "What can the parents do to make that connecting easier for their child?"

Let's start with the second question first. A child will always want to be involved in the things they see their parents involved in. Case in point #1: I started playing soccer again a few years ago after a 17 year lay-off. Up to that point my kids never had any desire to play soccer. But after coming out a few times and seeing dad run up and down the soccer field all of a sudden both my kids wanted to play. So they did. All it took was seeing their dad doing it to spark an onterest in them. Case in point #2: I'm a pastor so it feels like I'm always at church. And most of the time my kids are there with me. It's the only life they have ever known. They love going to church and to them it's as natural as going to their house and sleeping in their own beds. This past weekend Jacob had a soccer game (he loves playing soccer) but we also had a children's event at church during the same time. I had already made up my mind that Jacob would attend the children's event but wanted to give him a choice to see which he would pick. Without hesitation Jacob chose the children's event. Which made me feel great as a dad since it meant I didn't have to enforce my will on him since his will was mine. (I wonder if this is how God feels?) As much as Jacob loves soccer he loves being at church more. Why? Because it has been part of his life longer and the roots there are deeper.

Now back to the parent with the kids who have no interest in attending church. I'm not sure but I would be willing to bet as a family they miss 30% of the Sundays in a year (basically they are there 36 out of 52 Sundays in a year). Other weekends are filled with vacations, sporting events, or other activities. Wednesday night is our flagship children's ministry event. Over 40 kids a week show up for "KidsTown". I looked through the "KidsTown" rolls and found these particular children have never attended "KidsTown" in it's 2 1/2 year existence. If you don't make Sunday church a priority and the children in question have never attended the main children's ministry weekly event, let alone any other special monthly children's ministry event outside of Sunday school, how can those kids ever get "connected"? When a child doesn't see their parents making church and spending time with a community of believers a priority, why should they?

Now on to question number 2: Yes! Yes! Yes! It's OK for a parent to make their kid come to church. As parents we make our kids do all kinds of things they don't want to. We make them wear seat belts, eat broccoli, do homework, clean their rooms, and wash their hands after playing outdoors. We do all of this because we know as parents it's what's best for them. Why then are we so adverse to making our kids go to church? The most quoted, and lamest, excuse I hear parents give is they don't want their kids to grow up hating church. Really? Do you worry about them hating seat belts, broccoli, homework, clean rooms, and washing hands too? No. By giving a young, immature, doesn't now any better kid a choice of attending church or not you're not only eliminating the possibility that they will hate church but also the possibility that they will love it.

I'm currently reading "Next Christians" by Gabe Lyons. I will end this blog with a quote from his chapter entitled "The New Normal".

"Life is no longer localized to a neighborhood. Now life happens in many places. A person may choose one neighborhood for his residence and commute to a completely different part of town for his work. That same person may choose a gym on one side of town but prefer a coffee shop on the other. Family activities, meanwhile, introduce entirely new layers of places to show up on weeknights and weekends. In the process, the church-being the least of these demands-becomes relegated to the margins of life and activity"

My Friend Lanes

2011-05-24T16:03:00.002-05:00

The Pastor and His Wife Get to Pick Their Own Friends | Part 1

by Mark Driscoll

As church planters, Grace and I learned the hard way what a friendship is and is not. Somehow, I got the silly notion that everyone who picked me to be their friend was, in fact, my friend.

Subsequently, I ate lots of meals with people I did not enjoy, had people on my family vacations that drove me so nutty I could not wait to get back to work, and spent countless hours answering the phone, replying to emails, and responding to the demands of pushy, rude, selfish people who smiled while saying words like “buddy” and “friend.” What they meant by “friend” was something more akin to “bullied victim.”

The truth is, as a pastor, you and your wife have many kinds of relationships. What has been helpful for me is considering the kinds of relationships I have like lanes on a highway. I am then better able to clearly determine and articulate who is in which lane without allowing everyone to drive in my friend lane.

Also, I get to decide who drives in which lane. I consider the amount of time, energy, and effort I can pour into each person and relationship on a scale from 0 to +10. I am a finite being. My time and emotional energy are limited and I need to be a good steward of them despite what critics, religious types, and guilt manipulators may say. Here is how I see it:

Relationship Lanes

0 Enemies

+1 Old Acquaintances | Not in regular, meaningful contact

– Past relationships such as classmates, teammates, coworkers, neighbors, etc.

+2 Distant Relatives | Little regular contact other than when obligated

– Family event (funeral, wedding, reunion, holidays)

+3 Neighbors | Not in community; see often but not close

– Not in one another’s homes and only surface chats

+4 Connections | Same social circles bring together

– Kids in same school, on same team, or in same activity

– Work out at same gym, etc.

+5 Coworkers

+6 Activity Group | Doing something organized with others

– Sports team, community organization, club cause, hobby

+7 Close Family | See and speak to frequently

– The family you enjoy and pursue

+8 Fellowship | “Church Family”

– Bible study group, ministry partners

+9 Close Friends | Friends you frequently see and speak to

– People you enjoy and pursue, mutually

+10 Spouse

The doctrine of the Trinity (that there is one God in three persons) reveals that God has community and companionship within himself. Or, to say it another way, God is a friend and has friends. Furthermore, God wants us to have friends. This explains why, although sin had not yet entered the world, the first thing God said was not good was to be alone (Gen. 2:18). The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about friendships. Before looking at those verses, though, there is much that needs to be said about this important subject.

Read Part 2 here.

His Story: The Beginning of the End for the David Crowder Band

2011-05-21T14:48:00.001-05:00

** pic of Jacob and David when we met him at a concert

The following is an email I just got from the David Crowder Band. A piece of me died when I read it but I'm so excited I have tickets to see them in Charlotte this fall.
We have several things to let you know about,

First of all, we can’t begin to express how excited we are getting about The 7 Tour this fall. If you haven’t heard yet, we’re doing a national tour with some of our favorite artists ever. Gungor, John Mark McMillan, and Chris August are joining us, and we cannot wait to be in the same room with these folks night after night. We’re pretty sure you’ll want to be at every single one of these get-togethers. “Unreasonable!” you say? Well, not to us. That’s why we’ll be there every single night. Seriously, we, the band, are all getting on a bus and following the whole thing around for like 3 months. It’s going to be awesome.

Now, another reason we are sure this will be one of the most meaningful tours we’ve ever been on is because it will be our last as a band. This is why we so cleverly named it The 7 Tour. We’ve always hidden this little number here and there in our music and artwork, sometimes it would appear in the sum of the numerals 3 and 4, and other times it would be sitting there outright, but it’s always been with us. As you know, the number 7 has often been used to represent completion, and that feels exactly where we are as a band.

The David Crowder*Band was formed in the year two thousand; it was the dawn of a millennium, Y2K was upon us, and out of this chaos was born the DC*B. That sounds way more epic than we intend it, but it is fact. We signed a three-album deal with our friends at sixstepsrecords who are part of the EMI/CMG family. We didn’t want to be presumptuous, presuming there would be more than those first three albums, but we hoped. And so we began discussions about building a 6 album set, the second three, if we were ever to have the great privilege of recording them, would be loosely associated with the first three, you know, sort of like how in the creation story day one is related to day four, as in, first there is light, then on the fourth day the sun and moon and stars appear. We do these things because we are quite nerdy and also because we hope to inject meaning wherever and whenever we are able. We also like structure, and this seemed a pretty nifty structure to work within, since, well, it is one of the greatest stories ever.

And sure enough, we have had the happy fortune to record five full-length albums and are hard at work on the 6th right now.

The problem, or the beauty, is that we’ve never been able to see past album 6. In the meantime, a lot of life has happened. It is now 2011 (this is for anyone who may not have been paying attention) and in eleven years there have been many twists and turns. Each of us has gotten married. New humans have arrived as a result of these marriages, 5 to be exact. We have also lost some really good friends to death along the way and have gotten to celebrate together that death is not the end of things. It’s really crazy to think that we have lived over a decade of life together. And, in the middle of all this life, we have gotten to make music that was a reflection of what was happening among us. We have attempted, to the best of our ability, to insert all of these twists and turns into our music, hoping that our responses to God in the midst of these moments would be an aid to others.

At the first of this year we began discussing what was next. For a long while, we have had a good idea what we were going to do for album number 6; we were going to record a Mass. Ambitious, maybe, but we had been working out the details of how it would connect to A Collision, you know the one with the boy and the atom on the cover. Mass happens to be a term used in physics, and this was exciting to us. But we also began conversations about what was to follow this sixth album. Some of us discussed maybe going back to school. Some of us talked about how great it might feel to be home with family more. Some mentioned maybe writing for a living, or at least getting to give more attention to it. Some talked about more music to be made and who they might enjoy making it with and how great it would be to have more diverse options open to them and the excitement they felt when thinking about those options (as in, if this was to be the period at the end of a sentence, they couldn’t wait to read the next paragraph!) And, out of these discussions, the decision was reached that this sixth album would be our last. None of us is sure what’s next, but we’re not afraid. We’re, in fact, really, really excited! And we’re sure that music will play a role in the future for most, if not all, of us, since, well, we wouldn’t know how to not have it a part of our lives. To what extent that will be, none of us is sure. We are hopeful and expecting, and praying that what is ahead of us deepens our need and experience of redemption and multiplies our ability and effectiveness in expressing the story of God in light of the call he has on each of our lives.

We are forever grateful for the support we have had from our church community, both local and extended. Really. It has been beautiful, all of it. And we will most definitely keep you informed as things progress and life’s new twists and turns start to make themselves more apparent.

In the meantime, as you can imagine, this album we’re working on is pretty special to us. Fittingly enough, it seems our little Mass has turned itself into a Requiem. We’d love your prayers as we endeavor to put a period at the end of this sentence. And obviously it was not overstated when we said The 7 Tour will be a thing you may not want to miss. We would love for you to join us for one last evening together, singing these songs that God has allowed us to carry.

With Love and Gratitude,
The DC*B

My Butterfly Effect

2011-05-11T06:51:00.000-05:00

On Monday by buddy Sam called to ask me to watch a short film called "The Butterfly Circus". He wouldn't tell me anything about it except that I had to watch it and he'd call me later in the week to discuss it. So on Monday night I had 20 min to kill so I took a look. It was the best 20 min I had spent all day and will probably spend all week. It's one of the most beautiful films I've seen in recent memory and absolutely deserves all the awards and praise it's receiving.

You can check out the full 20 minute short film on the official web site: www.thebutterflycircus.com

Afterward I'd encourage everyone to check out the following site www.lifewithoutlimbs.org for more info on the leading actor.

My Thoughts On The Death of Osama bin Laden

2011-05-04T07:35:00.006-05:00

“Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.” – Proverbs 24:17

Pride. Celebration. Joy. These sentiments outwardly resonated with American citizens on Sunday, May 1, 2011 – a day that, for the rest of our lives, will be known as the day when United States military officials killed Al-Qadea leader Osama bin Laden. As a nation sat and watched hordes of students and adults running toward the White House I could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable. Had I not known that they were marching toward the White House, I could have easily mistaken their destination for a fraternity house.

Certainly it is more than understandable that Americans celebrate this justifiable act of revenge. Few, if any, would disagree that the U.S. military was perfectly within its right to pursue and execute bin Laden, who not only committed some of the most heinous terrorist attacks in the past half-century, but also remained a threat to world peace and security. Yet, our immediate willingness to turn the death of this man into a nationwide pep rally reveals and subsequent blogs and twitter post from some of our nations most visible Christian leaders revels one of the most frightening aspects of modern Christianity in America : the complete neglect, or perhaps the grave misinterpretation, of Christian morality.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus instructs us, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

We've spent the past decade chasing down a man everyone with any sense would agree wasn't worth the dirt he slept on. Was he evil? Yes. Murderer? Yes. Anti God? Absolutely. But as the years past he became more of a symbol of terrorism then just a broken and corrupt human being who used his life to do deplorable acts. It's as if we fooled ourselves into believing that with his death there would be world peace. All nations would begin to get along. And American soldiers would no longer have to give their lives in the on-going battle for freedom and democracy.

Well OBL is dead and there is still no peace, no world wide community of love and understanding, and our men and women in the armed forces are still risking and losing their lives.

Yes, bin Laden’s death is a victory for freedom and democracy against the evil forces of terrorism, oppression and fear. However, with the hordes of Americans around the country acting like their team just won the Super Bowl, we must ask ourselves, is this spirit of celebration appropriate? I don't believe it is.

As I've listened to the commentary since President Obama’s historic announcement, I felt a sense of uncomfortableness in how this "ding dong the witch is dead" mentality stretched not only to minds of college students, but also our nation’s leaders. One high ranking military official declared that he felt a sense of solace knowing that ground troops, rather than a long-range missile, killed Osama bin Laden. He felt solace because bin Laden himself must have realized that his death was imminent. As sad as this statement was, I can bet that a majority of people would agree with it.

If you are a follower if Christ, then it is our duty as Christians to embody a more reflective outlook, one that seeks justice without demanding vengeance. The execution of Osama bin Laden did serve justice, in Mr. Obama’s words. Yet sometimes it seems justice is better contemplated than celebrated.

Is our world that much safer now then it was before this past weekend? Will the real enemy (Satan) not just insert another person, whom he'll deceive, into the next leader and face of terrorist every where?

Sunday night, each and every American should have felt a sense of gratitude toward our military forces, our President and his administration, and our God. This thankfulness, however, should not have translated into the celebrations that covered our streets and college campuses alike.

In his astute reaction to the news of bin Laden’s death, one prominent minister said, “As someone who worked at Ground Zero in the days and weeks following 9/11 I rejoiced to hear that Osama bin Laden’s long reign of terror…had finally come to an end. As a Christian, though, I cannot rejoice at the death of a human being, no matter how monstrous he was.”

Indeed, as Christians, we are called not only to pray for bin Laden, but also to forgive him. Although our immediate reactions to Sunday night’s news certainly ignored Christian morality and biblical mandates, those of us who label ourselves as Christians should recognize this misstep and alter our subsequent thoughts and actions accordingly.

My Reflections on Mexico City (Part Four) Who I am

2011-04-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm going to go ahead and confess that I've never really felt comfortable in the role of "Pastor". I love The Church. I love Jesus. I love seeing God's people at work mimicking the example Jesus set for us. But this whole pastoring thing has been a hard pill to swallow.
If all there was to pastoring was what I just mentioned then sign me up for life. But it's not. At least it's not what I have always been told a pastor is suppose to do. From the day I felt "the call" to go into full time paid church ministry I have had person after person, from congregation members to fellow pastors, from close friends to speakers at pastor conferences, telling me what a pastor is suppose to look like, act like, talk like, and do. Every book I've ever read on pastoring pretty much confirmed what everyone was telling me. But the truth is I've never felt like I fit any of the descriptions they were describing, or should I say expecting.

I think just wanted to serve in a church so badly that I suffered through the things I hated (hospital visits, random counseling appointments at all hours of the day and night, the 24/7 on call, and living in a glass house just to name a few) so I could make it to the things I really enjoy (leading, preaching, teaching, discipleship). As much as I hated most of the responisbilities that came with being a pastor in America, I learned to live with having to deal with the stuff that kills me just so I could get to the stuff that made me feel alive.

There are certain expectations I've placed on myself due to the mentoring of other pastors, books I've read, and college classes I've taken. None of which that I've never felt really fit me. I've always felt like I just didn't quite fit the perceived role of a pastor. Not in a round peg in a square hole kind of way but more of a round peg that's just a bit too big or too small for the round hole.

I've been told to be a "good" pastor I need to pray more, be more evangelistic, be more conservative, be more moderate, be more liberal, preach more salvation messages, preach more life applicable sermons, give more alter calls, think outside the box, focus on what's inside the box, be more concerned for who's not in my church, be more focused on who is there and less on who's not, care about numbers, don't look at the numbers, visit more, give people their space, and just be thankful I get to "work" for the church because there are a lot of people out there that would love to have my job.

How do I ever measure up?

On top of that, the guilt I have lived with for the past 15 years I've been in full time paid church ministry has been at times to much to bear.(It even drove me to see a shrink a few years back) I am a perfectionist by design. So I place a lot of undue expectations on myself and in turn beat myself up when I don't believe I'm able to measure up to what God expects out of me. I feel guilty when I think I could be praying more, or when I don't actively "share Jesus without fear", or when I would rather kill one of my church members then see them saved.

I also beat myself up when I fail to live up to the expectations of being who others say I should to be. It's not enough that I'm always second guessing myself but I get to serve in a profession where I have 300 bosses each and ever week telling me how I should perform my job. And you can also throw in the occasional know-it-all jerk that has never met me or hardly knows me criticizing me through their computer. As you can see I'm a mess.

At least I was a mess. That all changed the night of March 31st in Mexico City.

After an amazing debriefing session, which several in our group points to as a highlight of the week for them, I went to bed completely drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I expected it wouldn't take me long to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow but God had other ideas.

As I laid there reliving the week that was and trying to figure out how I was going to be able to go back home and settle in to the old routine again, I found myself wishing ever week could be like that one. I've been on over 20 mission trips and everyone is the same in the respect that it's on those trips I feel most alive. I feel like like I'm in my element. I feel like this is what God designed me to do.

But I don't have a passion for being on the mission field full time. I have a passion for The Church.

So why doesn't pastoring make me feel alive?

That's the one thought that kept me lying awake till all hours of the morning. Then finally I stopped my whining and complaining about how things were going to be when I got back and shut up long enough for God and I to have the following conversation:

Me: I don't enjoy pastoring. Why do I have to keep doing it?
God: Why do you hate it so much?
Me: Have you not been listening for the past 15 years? I just don't fit the role. It's not me. I can't do it any more. I can't keep faking it.
God: What are you faking?
Me: Everything! I have no more patience for lazy apathetic church-gowers who call themselves Christians. I hate committees. I hate what we've done to the church. I hate the competition. I hate the expectations. I hate the church as a country club mentality and I'm the director. I'm tired of complaints. I'm sick of dead worship services. I'm fed up with feeling like my job on this earth is to cater to people who couldn't give a crap about You.
God: Who said you had to?
Me: You.
God: Did I? Or have you been trying your hardest for the past 15 years to be the pastor everyone else expects you to be? When did you ever stop and ask Me who you were suppose to be? When was the last time, if ever, you sought My approval over that of your minister buddies and church members?
Me: So who am? What do You want me to be?
God: I need you to be My Motivator and My Mobilizer.
Me: What does that even mean?
God: This week has been amazing for you, not because of the work you did but because of the work the others did. And more importantly the work I did in them. You motivated a group of Christians to get off there behinds, leave the comforts of their homes and lives back in NC, and mobilize them to come to a foreign country, eat crappy food, get sick, risk their lives, and in the end they all will say it was the best week of their lives. That's what you were designed to do. That is the kind of pastor I need you to be. I have plenty other men and women who can go on hospital visits, deal with committees, eat at covered dish dinner, organize church bake sales, and give much better alter calls then you. I need you to motivate and mobilize.
Me: (silence - then drift off to sleep)

I woke up the next day a new man. At least an old man with a new perspective, a new calling, and new vision. For the first time in my life my peg fit in the hole..perfectly. I knew what I was designed to be and who I was designed to be that for.

Now the next big question was, "What does that look like?"

** My next (and last) MXC blog reflection will share that vision.

His Story

2011-04-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

The Latest From Donald Miller...

If you attended The Storyline Conference last year, you’ll remember Lori Ventola, our essay-contest winner who thought she’d only won a trip to Portland to attend the conference but who ended up getting a bigger surprise. Lori wrote an essay about wanting to start a tutoring program helping homeless families get their children caught up and back in school. She’d done this sort of work before, but the organization she worked with had shut down.

We read through her essay and asked her to create a business plan, detailing all her needs to get the program started. We flew her out, and she was excited, hoping to learn something from the conference. At the end of the conference, though, we passed out her business plan to all the attendees and gave them each a white index card, asking them to write their name and phone number along with their profession and any other expertise Lori might be able to call them about to move forward. We also gave Lori a small check that allowed her to leave her job and start living a different story. And she’s done very well. In under a year working in Denver, she’s partnering with friends in Los Angeles to create a program through Union Rescue Mission. No kidding, she’s already creating franchises.

Lori says those index cards helped a lot more than the money, which just goes to show you what a community of people with various talents and skills can do when they combine resources.

So I’m wondering what kind of story you are wanting to live? Are you ready to take the leap? Do you need some help? While I can’t pass out index cards for you, you could probably duplicate a little Storyline magic right there amongst your friends. Here are some tips for getting started telling a better story:

1. Have a clear vision of what you want to do. For Lori, it was simple, she wanted to tutor kids who were falling through the cracks, kids the system was leaving behind. She wanted to get them caught up. With the help of lawyers, educators, designers, organizational professionals and more, she is on her way.

2. Make sure that vision is really coming from your passions. Don’t pursue something because it’s the right thing to do, otherwise you will fail. Pursue your vision because it’s you and it lights you up. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. Last year I was approached with an awesome opportunity that fit right in with the books I’ve written, I found myself less than excited. On paper, everything was perfect. And I’d have made a lot of money doing the work. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it would fail. My heart wasn’t in it. My mind was asking other questions and I wanted to pursue other opportunities. So sit with your vision for a while and ask yourself if you could live with whatever you create for a few years and if you’d truly be happy if it came about.

3. Take huge risks. Lori quit her job. No kidding. We didn’t even give her that much money, but it was enough for her to commit full time to the work and raise the rest as she went along. It’s been scary for sure. Great stories are often frightening. But she took the leap and she’s changing people’s lives.

4. Pass out index cards to everybody you know. I don’t mean literally (although that’s not a bad idea) but I do mean everybody. Include everybody in your plan and ask them to help you out. Amongst your friends, you are only a few relationships removed from real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, doctors and so on and so on. Put together your team, show them your plan, and ask people for help.

Lori is taking Plumfield Learning Systems to Los Angeles, and is looking for some more help. I’m going to ask for some help for her, because she’s my friend. What she needs is some dough to cover expenses for the trip out, about $5k. You can donate at Plumfield’s site through her ChipIn campaign. She also needs as many airline tickets as she can get from Denver to LA and back. She’ll likely be visiting the program as often as she can.

Visit Lori today and help her along in the amazing story she’s telling the world. And while your at it, feel free to tell a great story yourself! Can’t wait to hear about it!

His Story: A Do Something Church

2011-04-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

A 'Do Something' Church

By Miles McPherson

I think we would all agree that the conflict between our culture and the Christian church is growing hostile each day. But interestingly enough, it appears that non-believers don't have such a hatred for Jesus as they do His people.

So we began to think, what would happen if the church got back to doing the most basic of basic things that Jesus did?

Consequently, we have developed the Do Something Church® model.

A Do Something Church® is a church body that is committed to doing what Jesus did while in His body with the intent of establishing Pervasive Hope. Granted, Jesus did a lot of things while in His body and all churches are doing something similar to what He did. But a Do Something Church® goes beyond basic discipleship and focuses on four specific actions of Jesus that I think can revolutionize your church.

First, let me define Pervasive Hope. This means that for every way someone can be lost, we want to provide a practical way for them to be found in the very place they have ended up. I can tell you, this is hardly ever a sermon.

Let's get started:

1. COUNT: The Bible uses a number to measure something, on average, twice in every chapter and Jesus is no different. He measures the length of time He will be dead when He talks about being in the belly of the earth for three days. He also measures love when He explains that a man with 100 sheep left the 99 to search for one.

But in Luke 17:17-19, ten lepers come to Jesus for healing and only one returns to thank Him. Jesus knew how many lepers came to Him so the question we all need to know is how many lepers are in our communities. In other words, how many homeless people, prostitutes, kids in foster care and elderly in convalescent homes are there in the geographic area God has identified your church to reach? How many symptom centers are there in our communities?

Symptom centers are places in which these people can be found, such as convalescent homes, homeless shelters and strip clubs.

2. WALK: Jesus did not simply sit in the synagogue and wait for people to come to Him. He went to them. After you have counted and measured the symptom centers, you need to go to them. The presence of Spirit-filled believers has a spiritual impact on the spiritual climate of the symptom center. Whenever Jesus walked up to a demon possessed person, before He could say a word, the demon called to Him by name and begged for mercy. The demon knew who He was on a spiritual level.

The Rock Church has over 100 ministries that focus exclusively on our community, ministering to individuals in jails, strip clubs, skid row, convalescent home, foster homes, etc.

3. ASK: In Mark 10:49-51, blind Bart cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus asked a very simple question. He said, "What can I do for you?" Once you count to identify the problems and walk to be with the hurting in your community, the key is not to tell them what they need or start sharing the four spiritual laws. There is a much simpler and more powerful thing to do. Just ask how you can help.

4. LOVE: Respond to the answer to your offer to help with love. This simply means to respond in a God-honoring way and without fail, God will open doors of ministry that you cannot imagine.

In 2010, the Rock Church gave 228,000 hours of community service to the city of San Diego that saved the city over $4 million. We have been able to bless the city in ways we didn't even imagine.

Being a Do Something Church® isn't complex; it simply requires decision and action. Make the choice today to demonstrate God's love in practical ways that address the real needs of your community.

Miles McPherson is the Senior Pastor of the Rock Church and Academy in San Diego, California and the founder of Do Something World.

My Reflections on Mexico City (Part three) My One Thing

2011-04-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

(From the movie "City Slickers")
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don't mean s*&%.
Mitch: But, what is the "one thing?"
Curly: [smiles] That's what you have to find out.

I walked into church and was greeted by someone passing our bulletins. I found a seat with a good few of the stage but not to close since I didn't know anyone there. At 11am the service started promptly. A worship band sang three songs complete with video screens and stage lighting. The announcements were made, offering collected, and the pastor began his 45 minute sermon. After that we passed around little plastic shot glasses with juice, took a broken cracker and shared in communion. We closed with another song from the worship band and everyone hurried out to begin the rest of there day.

Sound familiar? It is pretty much the carbon copy of every other church in our country each and every weekend. The only difference was this wasn't a church in the U.S.. It was the one we attended while in Mexico City.

Different country, different language, different culture, same church. And that's not a good thing.

If God can makes every human that has ever lived unique. If he can design us to never have another one of us ever on this planet again, why can't churches be just as unique and special?

One of the things I've thought a lot about since that church experience in MXC was the lack of uniqueness of the churches I've seen and have experienced in my lifetime. It's like we all believe there is only one way, one style, one method to having a church. Most churches believe there are 5 main purposes to a church: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Evangelism (all of which were promoted and pushed in the best seller, "The purpose driven church" by Rick Warren)

I'm not here to debate as to rather or not those 5 "purposes" are the foundation for every church but I do want to consider the following question, "If they are, then does that mean every church has to go about accomplishing those 5 things the same way?"

At first glance the average Christian and church-goer would say no. Of course churches can go about accomplishing those 5 purposes differently. But if we really believed that, then why does just about every church in America look just like the rest? Churches are being planted every Sunday on the idea that they're in some way different and unique but in reality there are just minor cosmetic differences.

Why can't each church figure out what makes them unique and special? The problem is we (as in the American church) have bought into the lie that every church has to be as good at every single thing the church down the street is good at or we're in someway inferior or a failure. We've created a system where churches compete like super markets and department stores. We do everythinging we can to offer customers the most choices, best value, and at the lowest cost.

All in the name of Jesus.

What if we had churches bold enough to say this is the "one thing" we're good at and it's all we're going to focus on? If someone walked through the doors of that church and wanted something different, you don't adapt the church to meet their needs/wants, you point them to a church that specialized in what they are looking for.

A friend of mine shared this analogy with me as we were discussing this very topic: You know why people like Golden Corral? Because it has something for their whole family. Now no one will ever claim GC has the best steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, pizza, or dessert. It all has pretty much the same bland taste. But everyone will agree that you can find something to eat at any GC. Now there's a hole restaurant joint in Winston-Salem that serves really good hot dogs. In fact it's been voted the 4th best hot dog in the U.S.. They realize that they can't offer everything to everybody, but what they can offer is a really good hot dog. So they do. They specialize in "one thing". The one thing that makes them unique.

What if churches were more like that hot dog joint? You want a great children's ministry, try this church. You want a church focused on foreign missions, try over there. You want a church who's goal is reaching the lost then go here.

I know it sounds like heresy to say every church shouldn't have a great children's ministry, missions, or outreach program but it you have a bunch of stuff to offer and all of it is pretty bland then what's the point?

Give me a church that knows what it's designed for. Give me a church that understands what makes it unique. Give me a church that is strong enough to know it may not do a lot well but the "one thing" it does it does with excellence.

Why not figure out that, "one thing and stick with that, the rest don't mean s*&%."

Her Story

2011-04-14T07:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a shocking concept - a Christian that actually wants to DO something for others versus just sitting around and discussing what should be done to which people group and how to go about doing it. I'm all for great ideas and the planning necessary to make that dream come true but 99% of people who call themselves Christians never get past the great idea part. Well here's one person that blowing right past the idea stage and is now in the middle of making the dream happen.

You can read all about Kaylyn Van Camps story here http://www.dunlaplove.blogspot.com/ so I won't take the time to repeat it. But if this doesn't inspire you to get off your butt and do something then just go back inside that bubble you live in, turn on American Idol, and spend the rest of your week upset over the atrocity of your favorite singer getting booted off.

As for the rest of us let's quit talking about it and follow Kaylyn's lead in doing something now for the Kingdom of God.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matthew 13:44

My Reflections on Mexico City (Part Two) Crock pots and Microwaves

2011-04-13T13:27:00.000-05:00

When it comes to home cooked meals in the Gianopulos' household, here's the deal for those who don't know my family - I'm the cook in the house. I've cooked every meal Beth and I have had since the day we were married almost 13 years ago. In the course of those 13 years I have figured out which cooking methods I love (grilling out) and those I avoid (any dish with a prep time of over 10 min). One method I love the results of but hate the time involved is the crock pot. I mean really, what could be easier then dumping a bunch ingredients into a pot and letting it cook all day so come dinner time it's ready. Who doesn't love the smell of walking into your house with the aroma of said ingredients filling your home? But as much as I love the results of the crock pot I hate the process, or more specifically I hate the waiting.

Then there's my friend the microwave. Pop in a dish, push a few buttons, then presto it's meal time. Sure there are some drawbacks, no aroma, food may or may not be the same temperature all the way through, and sometimes it just doesn't taste that good. But it's fast and it still gets the job done.

I thought a lot about crock pots and microwaves while in Mexico. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I saw neither the whole time I was there. It had more to do with how I'm wired and how that relates to the church I'm at and the churches I've been at. (and maybe the church I'm designed to be at)

We've (as in the Christian community) been taught over and over that relationships take time. Like a crock pot. If we pour in the ingredients (people) and allow enough time (years not hours) at just the right temperature (look, talk, and think the same, oh and play nice together) then eventually your meal (small group, bible study, Sunday school class) will be done.

If you should happen to a part of or have been a part of a small group/bible study/Sunday school class where the planets and stars all align then the results are great: Deep, intimate friendships where life is shared and all is perfect even when life isn't.

But...

Here's the big secret no church leader, small group leader, church curriculum author, or church material publisher wants you to know: Relationship crock pots rarely work out that way.

In the long haul, life always gets in the way. People move, kids are born, jobs change, schedules changes, someones feelings get hurt, couples divorce, or any other possible life changing circumstance that can alter your crock pot/small group. Sure there are those rare groups of folks that can stick together and make every other small group in their church green with envy at how well things are going for them. But those groups are the exception, not the rule.

For the past 15 years of ministry I have tried every small group crock pot method under the sun. I have read countless books on the subject and attended way to many seminars and conferences to count that swear the ONLY way the church grows and the ONLY way people can be reached and discipled is through small groups. And in 15 years I have never seen a small group connect, grow, and disciple people the way they are being advertised.

Now don't get me wrong, they haven't all been flops. Several of the groups in my churches met for a long time and sustained a pretty consistent core of folks who created life-long friendships that continued long after the group disbanded. And if the purpose of small groups is that, to bring together a group of believers to share life together, then mission accomplished. But I think God wants a lot more from us then just finding people we can relate to and spend a bunch of time discussing life's biggest mysteries with them.

I think God's cool with crock pots. In certain area's of life crock pots are needed and even necessary.

I just don't think God intends for life to be a crock pot all the time. Sometimes God needs microwaves.

I'm a microwave. At least I'm wired to be a microwave. Unfortunately I've spent the past 15 years trying to be a crock pot in a crock pot church world and I can't do that anymore.

The revelation that I'm a microwave and that Jesus is a big fan of microwaves hit me during that week in Mexico City. I led a group of 14 from our church. Some of the 14 were friends before the trip. Some were acquaintances, and some were complete strangers even though they attend the same church together ever week and have done so for a few years now. This group was the most diverse group I have ever taken on an adult mission trip. From age (20-62) to spiritual upbringing (Catholic, Methodist, Wesleyan, Baptist, and even a former witch) to mission trip experience ( first timers to people who have been on over 20 mission trips).

What happened to that diverse group of people during that week was supernatural. They may have left as friends, acquaintances, and strangers but that came home as brothers and sisters. God did more in way of closeness and intimacy in one week for those folks then if they had sat next to each other in the same small group or Sunday school class for 10 years. The reason why? They were put in a position where all they had to lean on was God and each other. They saw each other at their most intimate and vulnerable. The went to bed together, woke up together, ate together, sweated together, cried together, and truly experienced life together. No living room or classroom on the planet can come close to duplicating that.

That week was a microwave for relationships.

When Jesus was gathering up his disciples, He didn't get them all together and say, "Ok, I'm glad you're all here. Now before we begin our ministry together lets go around the room and introduce ourselves. Hey I have an ice breaker question for ya? Now let's discuss how we all feel about following me. Peter what did you think when I said "follow me". John what do you think being a fisher of men looks like exactly? Great group this week guys. Let's all meet back here by the dock next week and we'll share how we saw God during the week"

Even as I'm typing this it seems more and more stupid that we actually expect God to do great things in our lives in setting like that.

We're pathetic.

"Oh well you can't microwave relationships. Building relationships takes time, years even."

Really? Tell that to Maria, or Ricardo, or Angel, or any of the other kids we met while at the orphanage in MXC. I built deeper, longer lasting relationships with those kids in one week then I have with the children back here in our children's ministry that I've seen once a week, every week, for 2 to 3 years. Why? Because God's into microwaves.

So where does that leave me? I know a lot of die hard small group and Sunday schoolers that will defend their crock pot relationship cooking method til the day they die. And that's fine for them. But for me I want more. I want more for myself then just talking about what a life that really follows Christ should look like. I want to live it. I want more than sitting around with a bunch of like minded believers pondering what God's will may or may not be for us. I want to be part of a group of people that get out of the boat, walk on the water, sink, climb back in the boat, then try to figure out what the heck just happened instead of just staying in the boat drowning in "what ifs".

When it comes to following Jesus and living the life God intended for us we have two choices:

1) Take our time, crock pot it, ponder every possible choice we could ever make in life while never making any, and at the end of our lives have a bunch of small group/bible study/Sunday school hours logged and no real ministry to show for it.

or..

2) We climb out of the crock pot and into the microwave. We serve first then ask questions later. We follow Jesus (last time I checked follow was a action word) and actually attempt to do what He ask us to do and in the process allow Him to teach us what we need to be taught.

God needs more microwaves and less crock pots.

His Story

2011-04-13T07:35:00.000-05:00

The following blog was written by Donald Miller and best explanation I have ever heard as to what we should be doing as Christians I terms of discipleship versus what we actually do.

Should the Church be Led by Teachers and Scholars?

The church in America is led by scholars. Essentially, the church is a robust school system created around a framework of lectures and discussions and study. We assume this is the way its supposed to be because this is all we have ever known. I think the scholars have done a good job, but they’ve also recreated the church in their own image. Churches are essentially schools. They look like schools with lecture halls, classrooms, cafeterias and each new church program is basically a teaching program.

The first disciples were not teachers, they were fishermen, tax collectors and at least one was a Zealot. We don’t know the occupation of the others, but Jesus did not charge educators with the great commission, he chose laborers. And those laborers took the gospel and created Christian communities that worked, that did things and met in homes
and were active. They made speeches, for sure, but so do businessmen and politicians and leaders in any number of other professions. Educators make speeches and do little else, except study for their next lecture. I wonder what the first disciples would think if they could see our system of schools, our million lectures, our billion sub lectures, our curriculums and our lesson plans. I think they’d be impressed, to be honest, but I also think they’d recognize a downside.

Church divisions are almost exclusively academic divisions. The reason I don’t understand my Lutheran neighbor is because a couple academics got into a fight hundreds of years ago.
And the rest of the church followed them because, well, they were our leaders. So now we are divided under divisions caused by arguments a laboring leadership might never have noticed of cared about.

Practitioners care about what works, what gets things done. They have to agree because there are projects on the line. Educators don’t have to agree at all. They can fight and debate and write papers against each other because, well, the product they are churning out is just thought, not action.

So why are we led by teachers? After all, the church and the school system are the only institutions in our culture led purely by academics. Well, the reason is the printing press.The government once controlled the church, but that ended when the printing press was invented and people could read the Bible for themselves. And the scholars were the only people who could read, so they got the job of church leadership by default. So church leadership went from fishermen, to government workers, to scholars. I wonder who’s next? I’ve got money on music executives, if only because they’re all looking for work.

Because we’ve been led by scholars for so long, we have slightly distorted ideas about Christian discipleship. If you want to grow in Christ, you should study more. Christian growth, then, is an academic path. And like educators, we only advance to become higher level educators. The point of learning is always teaching which produces further learning and then more teaching. The only difference between the church and another educational institution is that nobody ever graduates from the church. We just keep going to school.

But if normal people like you lead the church, won’t the church be read by heretics? Yes, and it already is.

In the great commission, Jesus graduated his first group of students. He pushed them into the world and said, you don’t know everything, but you know enough. You’ll have a guide and that guide will be with you always. Go and teach the world to obey my commands. Because they were fishermen and tax gatherers, they went and did it. Did Jesus teach them for three years? Yes, he taught them by doing, in action, with people, by touching stuff, not by taking over a school and recruiting educators. I wonder what they would have done if they had been professional scholars? My guess is they would have talked the command into a tailspin, dissected it into a million pieces, then divided themselves into different intellectual camps, and built a bunch of schools to teach their various interpretations.

So maybe if you’re a doctor or a plumber or a carpenter, you should lead the church. Maybe the church needs some of you who don’t write and speak and teach for a living to step up and put some action to our faith. I wonder what your churches would look like? Maybe you could meet in homes, appoint some elders, pray for each other, read the Bible to each other, and then just serve your communities and each other in love. Maybe you wouldn’t need a classroom at all. Go ahead, lead. You’re qualified. You’ll have a guide. You’ve graduated.

* Whenever I write a post like this I encounter dualism, people who think I’m saying if Jesus didn’t choose educators than Bible College is wrong. We really have to stop thinking in either/or. There is no path, there is only a guide. There are a million right ways to be the church.

* Let me ask you this: Aren’t you a little tired of scholars and psudo-scholars fighting about
doctrine? Is it worth it that you are divided against other denominations because scholars picked up their ball and stomped off the playground? If you are tired, then be the church. I’m not kidding, you don’t know everything but you know enough. Be the church and be united. Let the academics go to an island and fight about the things that matter to them, and we will be united based on the things that matter to us.

My Reflections on Mexico City (Part One)

2011-04-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

Last week I led a mission team to Mexico City for what has become an annual trip to the center of the Latin American culture. Each year we go the trip we plan is never the trip we experience. It's as if God dangles a holy carrot in front of us, enticing us to return, then once we're their He turns our worlds upside down through experiences we never could have imagined. Through those experiences He is able to reach us at our most vulnerable moments and speak to us is the deepest parts of our souls. These trips are always life altering, but for me this one was life changing. What I experienced was the completion of an eight year revelation of who God has designed me to be as a pastor and the vision of the church I am suppose to lead.

But before I can get into what exactly that revelation is, I need to set the stage with what exactly we were doing while in MXC.

Our missionary contact Angie and her fiance Pepe

On Sunday afternoon we served at a women's shelter owned and run my the Mexican government. Over 800 women who have been abandoned live there. The ages range from 18 year olds (with kids) to women over the age of 90. A lot of the women we saw were handicapped or disabled in some way. Prior to being in the shelter most of the women lived on the streets. We will never be able to describe the overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness we felt as we entered the shelter.
Once we were inside the shelter we found an empty cafeteria and invited the ladies in. We set up tables with the clothes we collected at church before we left. We fixed hundreds of bags of snacks and pours hundreds of cups of soda to pass out. Some friends form Angie's church came and we held a worship service with the ladies. Angie's friends (Joe and Miguel) sang songs, Pepe preached, and our very own Judy Murphy shared her testimony which Angie translated for the ladies. After word Pepe asked who needed someone to come pray with them and well over 100 raised their hands. Our group spread out and prayed with every woman that wanted it. We estimate that around 300 of the 800 were at our service. We ran out of room inside so they gathered outside the windows to hear and see what was going on. To say the experience broke our hearts would be an understatement. I was very proud of our group because we were all stretched and pushed way out of our comfort zones.

During the rest of the week our group split into two: A VBS team that stayed at the orphanage and a construction team that worked doing remodeling at Angie's new women's shelter. Our VBS team divided the kids into four groups that rotated through four
stations: Bible story, Music, Crafts, and Games.

We had an unexpected mission opportunity arise as we were invited to visit a local children's hospital with some of the kids for the SAO. While there we passed out goody bags to all the kids.

Our construction team had to travel 2 1/2 hours (just 15 miles away) to another part of the city called the Merced. The Merced is known as the "Brothel of Latin America". It's also extremely dangerous for Americans so we had to travel in a cargo van with no windows, seats, or a/c. Let's just say 2 1/2 hours one way in a van like that is not the best way to travel. Once we were there we painted and built interior walls in what will be a beauty salon (so Angie can teach the women a new trade to get them off the streets) The shelter will also house a counseling office and a health clinic.

All in all the trip is beyond words. We know God used us while in Mexico. He always does. But what the Holy Spirit has been doing in some of us since we returned has been staggering. Things are happening so rapidly that I can barley keep up. But more on that in a future blog.

His Story

2011-04-08T12:04:00.002-05:00

My Stone

2011-04-02T18:49:00.002-05:00

The following legend (not a Biblical story) is from Elizabeth Elliot's http://www.gatewaytojoy.org/ website in a section of "missionary musings".

Jesus was walking one day with His disciples and asked each one to pick up a stone to carry for Him. They all picked up a stone. Peter, rather a small one; John, a bigger one. Jesus led them to the top of a mountain and then He commanded the stones to be made bread. The disciples were by this time hungry, and so they were given permission to eat the bread in their hands. Of course, Peter didn’t have very much. John shared with him some of the bread that had been made from the stone he had carried.

On another occasion, the same Jesus took the same disciples for a walk and again asked them to pick up a stone to carry for Him. This time you can imagine that Peter picked up a bigger stone. But Jesus did not take them this time to the top of the mountain. He took them to the river. As they stood on the bank looking with questions in their minds to Him, He said, "Throw the stones into the river," which they did at once in obedience to His command. Then they looked at Him, expectantly waiting for the miracle that would happen this time.

Nothing happened. They waited. They watched. Nothing happened. Jesus, with great compassion, looked on these disciples whom He loved and He said, "For whom did you carry the stone?"
For whom do you carry the stone today? For yourself? For success? For notoriety? For the accomplishment of some great dream that you have held always in your heart? Or is it for Jesus?

My Current Favorite Worship Song

2011-03-25T16:17:00.001-05:00

Kristian Stanfill's new CD is amazing. It's a must own for anyone that loves "Passion" style worship tunes.

My Sermon Recap: "Love's Greatest Hits" Week Six

2011-03-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

"Love is a battlefield"
James 4:1-2

- When Beth and I got married we were not very good at anything...but fighting. As a lawyer to be she thought she knew it all and as a pastor I knew I did.
- Where there is love there will be fighting. Where there are people there will be fighting
- Spouses, parents/ children, friends, siblings, coworkers, even church members
- Today comes from years of experience. Beth and I rarely fight anymore. I say it's because we've learned how Beth says after 13 years of marriage and 3 kids we're to tired.

How not to fight
- Criticism - complaining starts with "I" and focuses on actions, criticism starts "You" and attacks a persons personality
- Contempt - criticism with the goal of hurting
- Defensiveness - becomes habit and reflex
- Stonewalling - conveys disapproval, icy distance, smugness

How to fight
- Choose your battles carefully - you don't have to fight about everything. Not everything has to be a battle
- Don't run from strife - couples claim they don't fight, really just bottling it up, resentment, bitterness, hatred
- Define the issues clearly- fight on a regular basis about everything, why? Battles become habitual when the source of the conflict is not identified. When it is it usually takes care of itself
- No put-downs - sticks and stones, the people you're closest with know your weakness and often use it to gain advantage, hurl insults at the people closest to us more then any other.
- Know when to let go - the world doesn't revolve around you. You don't have to "win" every fight". It's really not even about winning or losing, it's about getting what you want. But what does God want?

What if the other person doesn't fight fair?

Rom. 12:17-18 - Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

My Sermon Recap: Love's Greatest Hits Week Five

2011-03-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

"You Can’t Hurry Love"

• First we sat in 60 seconds of silence

• Point out what we just experienced. How did it feel?

• Thoughts of, “What’s going on, what’s happening, why isn’t something happening, who’s in charge, did someone mess up? When is this going to end, this is awkward, this is weird”

• What happens when our 60 seconds of silence turns to 6 months? 6 months without a job, trying to sell a home, trying to have a child, waiting for test results.

• Or maybe the wait if for God to do something in someone else’s life? How many of us have prayed for a family member or friend to give their life to God? Or for someone we love to “wise up” and stop making foolish decisions? Sometimes those times of waiting are even harder.

• It’s incredibly difficult. We feel like our life is on pause.

• It bothers us to wait in silly ways too: restaurant – 15 min is longer, does the pager work? See other people sitting down. Or a Dr. office with bad tv and old magazines. Nothing to do but wait. We get mad because we have to wait longer than we expected.

• Waiting affects us all. Everyone here is either just coming out of a long wait, you are waiting, or you will be waiting.

• When we are in those moments of waiting it seems like everything else is happening for everyone else but us. It feels like an eternity

• We pray harder, work harder, and do whatever else we can to hurry God along in our wait.

• Let’s look at Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 12)

• God tells him to pack up and head out. No idea where he’s going or really what God has in mind. We just know he did it. (Heb. 11:8-9)

• As they traveled they had to wonder “Are we there yet?” They didn’t even know where “there” was. Doubt had to have been heavy on their hearts.

• God finally revels His plans: 1) give you land 2) make a great nation

• Problem: Sarah and Abraham are old

• Sarah decides to hurry God’s plan (Gen 16)

• This happened 10 years after they had settled. We get upset when God doesn’t come through in 10 min.

• The longer we’re in this waiting period the more tempted we are to speed things up. It’s in those times that we move ahead with choices that were not part of God’s plan. All because we were tired of waiting.

• We get to a point in life where we tell God, “It’s not that I don’t believe you or trust you but I’ve come up with a really good plan here.

• We wouldn't go see our dentist needing a root canal and take his/her tools and try to do the procedure ourselves becasue we don't feel like waiting our turn.

• That’s crazy but that’s what we do with God

• What happens is we get to point where the thing we are hoping for becomes the thing we are hoping in.

• We cross that line. God says we should put our hope in Him. Not in our circumstances or plans but to wait.

• Sarah and Abraham chose to hope IN a son.

• A mess was made that we’re still feeling the ramifications of today

• God stayed true to His plan. He gave them a son. On His terms. In His time.

• If you’re waiting this morning maybe you need to hear that God has not forgotten you. He’s not left you out to wander around for the rest of your life. He has a plan and he is in control. He just asks us to wait.

My Favorite Mug Shot Ever

2011-03-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police say a man was getting a haircut at an apartment in Stamford, Conn., when he grabbed scissors and slashed another man in the back.
David Davis was arrested soon afterward when officers with a police dog found him in a nearby apartment. A police mug shot shows Davis with thick hair sticking up from only one side of his head.
Stamford police Sgt. Cory Caserta says Davis was arraigned Wednesday on an assault charge. The 21-year-old man from New Haven was being held on $5,000 bond.
Authorities say the victim approached Davis during his haircut Tuesday in what he called "an aggressive manner." Davis told investigators he picked up the scissors in self-defense.

The 21-year-old victim was taken to Stamford Hospital to receive treatment for the back wound.

My Sermon Recap "Love's Greatest Hits" Week Three

2011-03-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

“You give Love a bad name”

Several years ago Charles Barkley made a TV commercial, famous quote: “I am not a role model” meaning don’t look at me, I’ll mess up, look at real heroes – teachers, firemen, police, astronauts
Like it or not though Charles was a role model.

The same way whether we like it or not if we call ourselves followers of God then we’re in a way role models. By being a Christian we subject ourselves to be analyzed and over analyzed by every non believer (and believer) on the planet. Everything we do, say, wear, etc is under constant scrutiny
And because we live under such a powerful microscope, our faults are noticed, and we often live down to our reputation. We really give love a bad name.

This is why I could not think of any better song choice then that for this week’s message. But long before Bon Jovi made it a #1 song way back in 1986, and man had already made that phrase famous: Jonah
The story of Jonah is one of the 2 or 3 most famous bible stories ever. People all over the world who have never picked up a bible or walked through the doors of a church know of this story. But it’s probably one of the least preached. Sure it’s taught like crazy in children lessons and Sunday school, but I know for me this may be the first time I have ever taught from this story on a Sunday morning.
Review the story of Jonah
Four Principles we can learn that may help prevent us from “giving love a bad name” in the future
1) We can run away from God but we can’t outrun God

** I shared a story of a time when my sister ran away (note: she only got has far as the end of our street)
She was never out of mom’s reach and we’re never out of God’s
Someday there is a day of reckoning.

2) Rebellion doesn’t just lead to personal pain but pain to others that are connected to us.
Jonah’s rebellion not only affected him but also the crew. The crew lost a tremendous amount of money because they had to hurl their cargo overboard. Now their lives are in danger. Why? All because Jonah was running from God.
Whether you realize it or not you put other people in spiritual danger when you yourself rebel from God.
Whether or not you realize it you bring your junk into other people’s lives when you are running from God. I have enough junk of my own to be carrying around. I don’t really need anyone else’s.
Tony Evans quote: “If you are going to be a fool, be a fool by yourself, don’t go messing up everyone else’s situation because of your foolishness.

Rebellion leads to pain not only to yourself but to others.
3) What you wanted and what you were pursuing are never worth more then what you gave up.
You gave up a close and intimate relationship with God.
You gave up harmony and peace in your life. You have distanced yourself.
Now there is a moment of clarity when you look at what you have finally achieved, you grasp, and realize that it is just a worthless idol.
You traded a worthless idol for the experience of having that intimate relationship with a loving Father.
In your despair, pain, grief, where do you turn to? Do you cry out to that false idol for help? I don’t think so.

Like Jonah, who is running away, we think we have everything under control, but we don’t. We all learn the hard way, it's not until we are broken, it's not until we are busted, when all of that becomes clear to us. There's this moment of awe. Clarity. What am I doing? What are my core values? I have only one life to live, and I need to make it count for something.

4) God came to Jonah a second time

Thankfully, we serve the God of a second chance. Just like Jonah, many spiritual leaders received a second chance to do what God called him to do.

* Adam sinned in the garden and God covered him.
* Moses murdered a man and God called him.
* Elijah quit and complained then God re-commissioned him.
* Peter denied the Lord and then God used him at Pentecost.
* John Mark deserted the mission team at Pamphylia yet God moved upon him to write the second Gospel.

The sooner you learn the lessons that God wants you to learn, the easier you life will be. God is not going to let up until you finally put into practice in what He’s trying to teach you.

God is the God of the second chance.

Philip Yancey wrote a book called What's So Amazing About Grace? In a chapter called "The Lovesick Father," he retells this story...

A young girl grows up on a soybean farm outside Decatur, Illinois.

Her parents do not much care for the music she listens to or the clothes she wears or her nose ring. She does not much care for their values or their church. They have another argument. She locks herself in her room. When her dad knocks on the door, she screams, "I hate you!" She decides to run away. She decides to run away to the most rebellious, permissive, non-family value state in the Union. Want to guess which one that is? California.

She decides to run to the most rebellious, permissive, non-family value city in that state. Want to guess which one? San Francisco.

When she gets there, she is much lonelier than she had anticipated, but she soon meets a man who drives the nicest car she has ever seen. He gives her a ride. He buys her lunch. He shows her the city. He gives her some pills that make her feel better than she has ever felt, and she wanted to feel good really bad.

She realizes how much life and fun her parents have been robbing her of. This good life goes on for a month, two months, a year. The man with the big car (she calls him "Boss") teaches her a few things about what men like. It's a side of life that she never knew in Decatur, Illinois. The parties and the penthouses and the gifts and the glamour are like being in another world for her.

After a year, the first signs of illness appear. It amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, he turns her out on the street. No money; no clothes; no car; no parties. She is alone. She uses what she knows on the streets to get whatever money she can, but she looks gaunt and thin. The men she is with now are no longer wealthy and generous, and sometimes they're dangerous and cruel. All her money goes to support her habit. She eats whatever she can find. She sleeps on a metal grate or a park bench.

One night as she lies awake listening for footsteps, all of a sudden everything around her looks different. She no longer feels like a woman of the world. She is a little girl, lost, cold, and frightened. Her pockets are empty. Her clothes are rags. Her stomach is hungry. She needs a fix. Her eyes are filled with tears. Then her mind flashes on a single image, her home in Decatur, Illinois, when summer comes, and the fields are so green you can hardly take all that life in. "Oh God, why did I leave? My dog at home eats better than I do now."

She is sobbing, and she knows that more than ever she has wanted anything in her life, she wants to go home.
Three straight calls. Three straight connections with the answering machine. Twice she hangs up without leaving a message. The third time she says, "Dad, mom, it's me. I was wondering about coming home. I'm going to be on a bus. It will pass through sometime around midnight on Tuesday. If you're not there, I'll just keep on going to New York. Just wanted you to know."

The whole time on the bus, she can't turn off the questions.

She wonders if they even got the message. She wishes she'd given them more warning. She wonders if they've given her up for dead. She keeps thinking about what she is going to say to her father. She keeps rehearsing this little speech in her mind. "Dad, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know it was my fault, not yours. Can you forgive me?" She hasn't apologized for anything for years.

The bus pulls into the station, and the driver says, "Fifteen minutes, folks. That's all the time we have." Fifteen minutes to decide her life. She looks in her little compact mirror, tries to brush her hair and get the lipstick marks off her teeth.
She sees the needle marks in her arms and wonders if her parents will notice if they're there. She walks into that bus terminal at one o'clock in the morning in Decatur, Illinois.

She has imagined a thousand different scenes in her mind, but not one of them prepared her for what she sees because there inside those concrete walls around those plastic chairs, in that bus terminal in Decatur, Illinois, stands a group of 40 people, brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and one dog. They're all wearing goofy party hats and blowing kazoos and cheering for her as if she were a hero coming home from a war. There is a giant hand-painted sign saying, "Welcome home" taped all the way across the back wall. Standing in front of that crowd with a tear-stained face and a trembling smile is the father whom she told she hated the last time she saw him.

She can't bring herself to look him in the face as she starts her little speech.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. It's my fault." He puts his hands on her face, and he raises her eyes up to him. He begins to laugh and cry so hard his whole body shakes. "I know," he says. What he used to say to her when she would cry when she was a tiny little baby, "I know, I know, I know. No need for another word. You'll miss the party. We have to have a party."
Maybe there is someone here that is running from God, that needs to come home.
Maybe there is a secret slice in your life that you are running from God.
Maybe there are areas of your life that are giving love/God a bad name.
Today, I’m going to ask you to do a difficult thing. I want you to make a statement that you are going to stop running and stop ruining.

In the past I have…
* Run from God at the expense of having a clear conscious with my heavenly Father.
* I have run from God at the expense of having inner peace and harmony.
* I have run from God at the expense of broken relationships.
* I have run from God at the expense of having a pure heart.
I am not going to waste another season of my life pursuing worthless idols.
I don't want to wait until I am in despair before I start following God.
I don’t want to give love/God a bad name anymore!

My Sermon Recap: "Love's Greatest Hits" Week Two

2011-02-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

“You can’t buy me love”

All people are religious, which means they think they can justify themselves in one of three ways:

1) Loosely religious people assume they are living a good enough life so that no spiritual devotion or extra effort is required on their behalf for God to be pleased with them when they stand before him at the end of this life.

2) Secular religious people work very hard at some social cause because they think that they are good people and need to overcome the evil of bad people who are ruining the world.

3) Devoutly religious people work very hard at keeping the rules of a particular religion in an effort to justify themselves as good and obedient people in the sight of God.”

Religion, in any of these forms, is utterly bankrupt and totally dependent upon our behavior.

Jesus explained this to the rich young ruler in His day.

“As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

“You know the commandments, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’”

And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” (Mark 10:17-22)

Jesus told him to keep the commandments and the rich young ruler said he had kept the commandments since he was a child. Evidently he was good at the do’s and don’ts. He was religious.

But then he asks a question (Matthew) that reveals that something was still missing in his life: “What do I still lack?”

On paper, it seems like this guy has it all. He wasn’t just rich. Scripture says he had great wealth. And he was young. But I think this story is a great reminder that no matter how wealthy you are, no amount of money can offset relational or emotional or spiritual poverty. Money doesn’t solve relational vacuums. Money doesn’t buy you happiness or love. And money doesn’t earn you peace of mind.

The rich young ruler was a good man. He knew the law, and he strived to obey it, just as any devoutly religious person would. When Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him because he knew this man lacked what all people lack: one thing.

The rich young ruler was wealthy and he was willing to do whatever was required of him to secure eternal life, except one thing, and it was that one thing that separated him from God.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

I believe one of the reasons the ruler went away saddened and grieving was because he knew by Jesus request that he only could never do enough. He had done so much already and still he fell short.

Just like the young ruler, we may be willing to do anything for God, but for all of us there is one thing we won’t do. There is always something that is too much, too far out of our comfort zone, too sacrificial for us.

We all lack one thing, and it is that one thing that condemns us. The thing we lack is the thing that separates us from God. It is the thing that will always separate us from God.

The one thing we lack is a whole and healed relationship with God. And surrendering that relationship to God is the only way to have it restored.

One of the most over-used evangelisum stater questions ever is , "Do you have a relationship with Jesus/God?". Let me go on record as saying I HATE that question. It couldn't be more unbiblcal if it tried. Everyone HAS a relationship with God. It's just that most people have a broken relationship with Him. But we are all born into a relationship with God because we have been made in His image.

Being religious never, ever restores our broken relationship with God. Only Jesus who was fully God and fully man is able to restore our relationship with God.

After the encounter with the ruler, Jesus’ disciples said to him “Then who can be saved?!” Jesus replied, “with people, it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God”. (Mark 10: 26-27)
Religion, in any form, doesn’t save.

Only Jesus does.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Our relationship with God is not based on doing “enough” or being religious about it. It’s about total submission and surrender.

May God show you the one thing you lack, and help us to understand that nothing else we do will ever compensate for it.

Lord, help us to understand that we are powerless to save ourselves and without hope, that we stand condemned. You, in Your mercy have taken our punishment upon Yourself.

My Sermon Recap "Love's Greatest Hits" week one

2011-02-14T20:22:00.001-05:00

Beginning this week we have started a brand new message series entitled, "Love's Greatest Hits". Each week we'll be looking at a different challenge of love by using a popular love song as our launching point. This past week our MSBC band rocked the monster love ballad, "I want to know what love is" by Foreigner to kick off the sermon. In case you have forgotten the song, check it out here before moving on to my sermon notes.

“I want to know what love is”

It’s Feb. 13th so we’re told by advertisers everywhere that love is in the air. Big red hearts are everywhere we turn and we’re told over and over that everyone must have someone to love on the 14th or else….
But if you're human then you know the desire to love and the need to be loved doesn’t begin and end on Valentines day. All of us, no matter of age, sex, religious beliefs, background, education - everyone has deep seeded desire to be loved.

Ex. We are born with the need for love - Hard scientific evidence shows that love, attention, and affection in the first years of life have a direct and measurable impact on a child's physical, mental, and emotional growth. Love and touch actually cause your child's brain to grow.

That continues through elementary, middle, and high school, collge, etc. Everywhere we turn are books about love, movies about love, advertisements about love, and music about love. We eat, sleep, drink, and breathe love.

Over the next several weeks we going to dig way deep into what the bible says about love. And we’re going to use our desire for love and our enjoyment of music as our launching pad each week.
115 #1 song with love in the title. Why so many love songs?

Nothing is more complex and essential then relationships and connecting with each other. And nothing is desired more then to love and be loved. Could it be that love defines our life?

I can’t think of a better song to kick off our newest sermon series then foreigner’s #1 hit song from 1984 that simply states, “I want know what love is”. What resonates so deeply within us about this song and the reason it was a #1 hit was it asked the two biggest questions we could have about love: What is it and what does it look like?

So what is love? Everyone seems to have very different definitions of it. In one conversation we say we love pizza, our kids, and God. With our use of the word love all over the place, shouldn’t we have a concrete starting block. That’s why for our foundation for love we’re going to turn to what God defined loved as. So what does the Bible say love is?

1 John 4:7-8
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

1) In 3 words the bible tells us what love is: God is Love

God’s character is Love. We desire and need love because we were made in His image.
We desire the things that make God God

But John goes a step further and makes it clear that if you don’t know God, meaning if you aren’t born of God, or follow Him, then it’s impossible for you really know love This makes a lot of sense if you step back and look at it. We as humans have this incredible desire for love and to be loved. Without that relationship with God in place what do we turn to to fill that desire? Relationships, sex, stuff, jobs, popularity, fortune, acceptability. When our desire for love is quenched by God, all those other things become a lot less satisfying

2) John goes on to describe not just what love is but where it comes from.

1 John 4:9-10
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Basically you can’t out love God. He loved us so much he was willing to demonstrate this by giving us Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sins so we could continue our love relationship with Him for all eternity

3) John then not only tells us what love is and where it comes from but then tells us how it should look

1 John 4:11-12
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

This is where it gets tricky. What one person calls an act of love another might call annoying
Paul lays out 15 key examples of love and each is based on the way God has demonstrated His love to us.

1 Cor. 13:4
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Now take the word "love" out and replace it with God...
is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not self seeking, does not dishonor, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth, it always protects, trust, hopes, perseveres, never fails. Each of those examples of love were lived out in the life of Christ.

Now replace love with your name. How does your love measure up?

John knew this so when he states that we should love one another since God loved us he’s simply saying live your life of love following the examples Jesus set.

That leaves no room for individual interpretation. Kind is kind, hope is hope, trust is trust, envy is envy. It’s all universal.

But reaching this kind of love is impossible apart from God

You want to know what love is? It’s God. You want Him to show you? He did in the life of Jesus.

My Sermon Recap 1.30.11

2011-02-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Jesus and the Disciples on the Emmaus Road
Luke 24:13-35

• What has happened leading up to the story: Jesus death and resurrection.
• Walk through Luke 24:13-24
• 16 - Jesus was the original undercover boss
• 19-24 The men simply explain what they feel happened to Jesus and how they fell about it. They're open and honest.
• Feelings include: hopelessness, lack of patience, discouragement, doubt, overwhelmed, and is God really in control.
• Vs. 25-26: Jesus connects the dots, reminder of promises found in scripture
• Was what happened to Jesus a mystery? Should it have taken anyone by surprise? NO. Not if they had remembered the scriptures.
• I wonder how many times we are at a loss as to what God is up to when the answer(s) could be looking us right in the face if we’d only open our Bibles.
• How many times do we doubt, get discouraged, beat ourselves up, get depressed, frustrated, and lose patients with God when most or all of that could have been avoided if we had only remembered His words/promises.
• Ex. We’re great at remembering lines from songs, movies, books, pomes, etc. We can quote over and over our favorites lines. We can even get to a point where those lines effect how we think and how we act.
• Ex. Trekies, comic books, sports teams
• But when memorizing scripture is brought up our response is, “Oh no I can’t do that.” We treat it like we’re being asked to learn a foreign language.

But what if we could recall scripture when we…

Need hope - Lam. 3:22-25
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Need patience - James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Need Strength - Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Feel tempted - 1 Cor. 10:12-13
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Feel Guilty - Rom. 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Discouraged– Phil. 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Have doubts - Psalm 18:30-31
As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

Coping with conflict - Rom. 12:17-18
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Forgiving others - Col. 3:12-13
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Finding rest - Matt. 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Dealing with the past - Col. 2:13-14
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Feeling overwhelmed - Psalm 69:16-18
Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.

Feeling insecure - Matt. 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Assurance that God will meet your needs - Phil. 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

God is in control - Jer. 32:27
“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

My Day at the Charlotte Leadership Conference pt 2 with Dr. Cloud

2011-01-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

We operate under the assumption that every one is like you. The problem is not everyone is. All people fall into one of three types of behaviors...
1) Wise
- may not be smartest
- when the truth shows up they adjust themselves to the truth
- accept feedback
- accepts responsibility
- thankful for feedback
- adjust behavior accordingly
- what do we do with the wise: invest, pour into, coach, mentor

2) Fools
- maybe the smartest & that's the problem
- when the truth shows up they will not accept it and will try to adjust the truth
- always making excuses for problems
- hate feedback
- same conversations just different content
- must deal with them with limits and consequences

3) Evil
- Can only deal with evil with: lawyers, Guns, and money = protection
- wolves
- divisive and like it when things aren't good
- must protect from evil/wolves

My Day at the Charlotte Leadership Conference: Dr Henry Cloud pt 1 - Necessary Endings

2011-01-29T07:48:00.001-05:00

On Friday I attended the Charlotte Leadership Experience conference featuring Dr. Henry Cloud, Steven Furtick, and Joel Manvee. Below are the notes from the first session with Dr. Cloud. The topic was "Necessary Endings".

Dr. Henry Cloud
"Necessary Endings"
The Middle space is where you show up and pull off leadership
This is where our issues can get in the way
The problem isn't a lack of ideas, it's getting me and my team to do it
Everything has a Season or life cycle
"Today may be the biggest enemy of my tomorrow"
Read Ecclesiastes 3
Ending doesn't feel normal

Pruning - 3 reasons plants and companies (ie churches) need pruning
1) produces more buds then the soil/plant can feed/contain
- to many ministries?
- what needs to end?
- are there ministries that need to end because we can't sustain them?
- even profitable things can/ should in
- 80% vs 20% theory: stop 80% of what you're doing and focus on he remaining 20%
- what's the lifeblood of the church?
- what profitable things are sucking resources from what is needed
2) sick and not getting well
- what ideas or people (as in staff) are just not working out
- must be addressed
- not do any favors
3) dead and taking up space
- what do we need to bury

*must proactively prune
Jack Welch from GE: if it's not 1 or 2 then we'll fix it, sell it, or close it
Always keep evaluating
People are waiting for you to lead

* Just because it hurts doesn't mean it harms
Ex. Dentist - going to the dentist hurts but it doesn't harm
Endings hurt but don't harm

Our life experiences shape and control our middle space.
Internal protest is where leadership must step up.
Have I developed false loyalties?
Can't be loyal when structures no longer fit.

How do you know what must end?
Do I have a hope or wish that something will turn around?
** Hope has an objective reason to believe
** A wish is a desire
"The best predictor of the future is the past unless something changes. If nothing changes then it's a wish."

Hope- must have a new energy source and a new template.
Who is bring new energy?
What's the new plan,direction,skills?
Hope sends time.

Sometimes its not broke but you have to fix it anyway
"Complacency is the biggest mind numer to leadership"
You can be winning and be losing

We all have natural defaults based on life experiences -avoid

My sermon Recap 1.23.11

2011-01-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday we took a look at John 11. Mary and Martha were grieving over the loss of their brother and Jesus grieved over the loss of His friend. We examined what our response to death is and what Jesus' response is not only to death but also to us as we grieve. I showed the following Rob Bell Nooma video to set up the message and then took the next 15-20 minutes just to share from my heart about my thoughts on death and grieving in the context of John 11. So no sermon notes this week. It was an "ad lib" week for me. On a side note the band performed two amazing cover songs. "He's my son" by Mark Schultz and 'The valley Song' by Jars of Clay. I suggest you "YouTube" both along with watching the following Nooma film, "Matthew".

Matthew 012 - Nooma - Rob Bell - Legendado from there. on Vimeo.

My Laser Skating Tubing Weekend

2011-01-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

When I first became a full time youth pastor way back in the Fall of '97, I had a guy that volunteered for me at the time named Charles who always brought his then 8 year old son along on just about every youth outing we went on. I never really cared because a) Charles was such an amazing youth volunteer and b) Ryan was never any trouble. I always figured Charles brought Ryan along because he couldn't find a baby sitter. This past weekend I discovered why Charles always made it a point to bring Ryan.
Saturday night our youth went out for an adventurous game of Laser Tag at Lazer-X in Archdale. Originally I hadn't planned on going. But then someone asked if I AND Jacob were going to come. Take Jacob on a youth trip? I had brought him along on a few things before but that was when I had to be there and there was no other choice. But now I could bring him along because I WANTED to. So at 6pm, Jacob and I loaded up with the rest of the youth to head of for a few hours of shooting red beams at each other. To say that Jacob loved every minute of it would be an understatement. But the truth is I had as much fun as he did. Not because I finished first in kills 2 out of the 3 games we played (if laser tag was real I'd be Rambo) but because of the thrill Jacob and I had playing with each other.
Sunday continued our weekend extreme sporting triathlon as the children's ministry headed over to the Ice House in Greensboro for an afternoon of Ice Skating. This time I took Maria along too (Beth had to stay home do to her bum foot and sick baby). When we first stepped onto the ice all I could think of was, "This is going to be a long day" as both Jacob and Maria couldn't skate three feet without falling. After one time around the rink my back was killing me from trying to hold them up (and myself). Those two most have fallen over 100 times each. Some were really hard hits on the ice. But every time they bounced right back up with smiles on their faces determined to keep going. I had to pull them off the ice to get them to stop and rest. By the end Jacob was skating, I'll use that term loosely, without any help from me or the wall. Maria was able to skate with me holding just one of her hands. They both loved it and were begging to go back as soon as possible.
Monday capped off our weekend of extreme sports as Jacob and I once again joined the youth for another outing. This time it was to Sugar Mountain for tubing. I'll go on record and say that cold weather, snow, and I do not get along. I was probably the only person in the Triad this past Christmas praying for a green, sunny, and warm Christmas instead of all the white stuff we got. So the idea of driving two hours to tube down a hill for two hours wasn't that appealing. But after the Laser Tag and Ice Skating I knew I'd regret it if we didn't go. And go we did. It was by far the fastest and most fun 2 hours I've ever spent in the snow. Jacob was a little too small to go down by himself, so with him in his tube and me in mine we must have conquered that hill 40-50 times.

On the way home as I watched Jacob interacted with the youth laughing and playing. I couldn't help but think of Charles and Ryan. Charles didn't "have" to bring Ryan along all those times. He wanted to. Those were times Charles knew he and Ryan might never have again. Times when a father and son could play together, laugh together, and have fun together. Ryan got to be a little older than he really was around the big kids, (I experienced that yesterday when Jacob refused to order a happy meal and instead wanted a regular value meal) and Charles got some valuable time with his little boy. I'm going to cherish this past weekend Jacob and I got to spend together. We may never have a weekend so packed with Laser Tag, Ice Skating, and Tubing again but I know we'll have a lot more adventures before he's too old or to cool to hang out with his dad.

My Sunday Sermon Reacp 1.16.11

2011-01-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

· When you go to God with a prayer request (problem, concern, issue, need, etc), how easy is it for you to let him have it?

· Do you find yourself often “helping” God answer the prayers you just shared with Him?
· St. Francis of Assisi: “Pray like it all depends on God, work like it all depends on you”
· The problem most Christians have is we work AND pray like it all depends on us.
· I have always had a problem with that. I’m a control freak.
· Poem my mom gave me a long time ago:
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
“How could you be so slow”
“My child,” He said, “What could I do?
You never did let go.”
- written by Lauretta Burns

· Today we’re going to look at a situation where a need arose, and through a simple request, the act of letting go, and trusting Jesus, an amazing miracle occurred.

Jesus at the Wedding - John 2:1-11
1) Mary goes to the right place with her need.
· She goes straight to Jesus with her need.
· She doesn’t waste time and energy trying to fix the problem herself.
2) Gets to the root of the need.
· “They have no wine” is as simple as it could have gotten
· Gave Jesus her full request. She held nothing back.

3) “Do whatever he tells you” v.3
· Are we willing to do whatever is asked even when we don’t see how our “work” could possibly be used as a solution to the problem or need?
4) She did nothing more.
· Once she told Jesus of the need, she knew she did not have to do anything more about it.
· She knew she did not have to help Him by “suggesting” what he should do or anything else.
· She knew Him and knew the need was left in the proper hands.
· She knew she did not have to influence Him or persuade Him to give these friends a helping hand.
· No one is more willing to help as he is!
5) She trusted Jesus to do the rest.
· She had never before seen Jesus turn water to wine
· Did she even see this as a difficult request? No. Why?
· She knew Him well.
· She may not have ever seen a miracle before but she knew His heart and compassion and knew he would care enough to help.
· She knew He was never at a loss as to what to do.
· She left it with Him
Ok, so why don’t we handle our prayer needs as Mary did?
· We don’t really have a problem letting God know of what we want
· We also don’t have a problem letting God know how we would like for Him to accomplish our request.
· Our problem is very simple: we don’t let it go.
· The secret to prayer that Mary understood was simply that we should not interfere with our prayers. Leave it entirely to God, namely the when and the how concerning the fulfillment of our prayer.
· It’s a basic matter of trust. Do you really trust Jesus with your needs and the needs of others?
· If we can trust our doctors/surgeons, mechanics, educators, and anyone else we deem a professional, why then why is it so hard to trust our perfect Lord and Savior?
· What’s keeping you from letting go today?

My Stuggles with Prayer (Part 1)

2011-01-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks I've been experiencing a revival of sorts as it pertains to my prayer life. What had been cold and stale for some time has all of a sudden starting to awake like a bud in the beginning stages of springtime. With my "prayer awakening", I'm working through some feelings, thoughts, struggles, or whatever else you want to call them as it deals with prayer. Below are just some things I'm processing. Not really looking for answers right now, just talking, or blogging, out loud.

"True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. People describe intercession by saying, "It is putting yourself in someone else’s place." That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective." — Oswald Chambers

I like the above quote but what does that say about our prayer list? Should we pray for things on a list or should we be praying for God to change our heart, mind, and perspective so we can better meet the needs of those on our prayer list?

And what about praying persistently? I've always been taught to pray persistently like the widow (Luke 18:1-8) but from what I've read lately (and will preach this Sunday) it appears more and more that our prayers should be given to Jesus and left for Him to deal with. That He doesn't need our constant nagging about what we want or feel like we need. It's when we constantly keep coming back with the same request over and over that we end up taking it back and never allow Him to fully answer it.

Yes. No. Wait. I was also taught that every prayer we could ever pray will be answered in one of those three ways. But isn't that over simplifying things? Would you enjoy a friendship where every conversation ended with yes, no, or wait? Isn't waiting part of every answer from God? What if there really aren't any no and yes answers at all? Should our goal be to give it to God and wait to see how He'll answer it? Not with a yes/no but a when/how?

My Sunday Sermon Recap 1.9.11

2011-01-10T09:14:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought that it would be a lot easier to talk to God if he was physically right in front of you? No wondering if he heard you or what His answer may be.

That seems to be a huge advantage the people who came in contact with Jesus had over us. They could go straight to the source with their problems or issues and we’re left tossing up holy wishes hoping God may hear one of them.

But what if the same conversations Jesus had with people were the same conversations He would have and wants to have with us?

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be looking at actual conversations people had with the Lord in the gospels and turning them into prayer parables or “prayables” that can help us in our own prayer conversations with God
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman - John 4:1-30

This one of my favorite encounters with Jesus in the bible cause it’s a place I believe all of us will find ourselves at some point. That’s the place of not feeling good enough or worthy enough to talk with a perfect Savior or God. But there are two key elements to this story I want us to realize this morning:

1. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman where she is.
(4:4) “Jesus had to go through Samaria…”???
- He didn’t have to go that way (there were other routes)
- Most Jews would not have gone that way (they would have avoided Samaria)
(4:6) “Jesus sat down by the well…”
- Jesus didn’t wait for her to come to Jerusalem or come to church
- He knew where he could find her and it didn’t matter to Him where it was
(4:7-9) “Will you give me a drink?”
- Jesus spoke to her first
- Jesus surprisingly associated with her
- Treated her with respect
- Did not follow customary prejudices
- Broke through social barriers
- Willing to break through the biggest barrier of all: sin (vs. Holy God)
- Asked her for help (saw her as valuable)
(4:29) “He told me everything I ever did”
- The Lord knows all about me and still cares for me
- The Lord knows all about me and still talks with me
- I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not with the Lord
- I can talk with the Lord about anything / everything in my life!
2. Jesus consistently moves the conversation to deeper levels
- From physical thirst (4:7) to spiritual thirst (4:10,13-14)
- From superficial worship (4:20-21) to the heart of worship (4:23-24)
- From a gloomy past (4:16-18) to a joyful future (4:28-29, 39-42)

My Modern Family Quotes

2011-01-06T14:40:00.003-05:00

From Season 2 Ep. 11

Phil: I called the florist and order one dozen Mylar balloons. Good luck staying mad, honey!

Luke: I think we should drag him out of his car and punch him in the stomach until he barfs.

Cam [to Barry]: You are living in a little girl's toy and you have to move out!

Phil: Oh yeah, everybody loves Michael Jordan, but nobody thinks of Scottie Pippin. The only reason I remember him is because he's named after my favorite musical.

Jay [to Gloria]: There's no reason you should stay upright, but it just works.

Jay [on Gloria and Manny's lack of bike-riding skills]: Two thirds of my house can't do what a billion Chinese do.

Jay: Stephen Hawking could ride that bike.

Phil: Luke, I am your father. That's what I said to you when you were coming out of your mom's lady parts.

Phil: She has to run everyday or she goes crazy, she's like a Border Collie.
Claire: Did you just compare me to a dog?!?
Phil: The smartest in the world!

Cam: There's a stranger in our hot tub.
Mitchell: Who is it?
Cam: You do know what stranger means, don't you?

My Top Ten Films & TV Shows of 2010

2011-01-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Films

True Grit
Kick-Ass
Despicable Me
Toy Story 3
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Restrepo
Inception
The A-Team
Iron Man 2
Shutter Island

Top 10 TV Shows

LOST
Dexter
30 Rock
Modern Family
The Middle
Breaking Bad
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
Raising Hope
Curb Your Enthusiasm

My Impala

2011-01-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

A few thoughts from this past Sunday's message...
The African Impala
- has ability to jump 13feet high from a standing position
- can also jump a span of 30 feet
- fast too – max speed 60 miles per hour
- not contained by tall fence or huge ditch
- contained by a 3ft wall
- adult impalas are hesitant to jump if they cannot see where they are going to land
- the inability to see the end of the jump keeps it from doing what it was designed to do.
- Can you imagine all that God given potential just sitting there going to waste. They live their lives in a safe, comfortable environment where they wake up each morning, eat, sleep, eat some more, go through the routines then start over again the next day.
- Is that the life God had in mind when He created them?
We have churches, and a church, full of Impalas this morning

We have people filling our pews and seats that wake up each day, go through the same old routines that are full of some amazing God given potential. Life changing, history making, potential and we sit here behind our 3ft walls afraid to jump because we don’t think we can and we don’t know what’s on the other side.

What walls are keeping you from jumping and keeping you from accomplishing what you were designed to do? Wall of past mistakes? Wall of rules? Wall of fear? Wall of addictions? Wall of regrets?

Just think of about all that God-potential just sitting behind a 3ft fence.

Today to many of us sit behind our walls because we either don’t know the voice that's calling us to jump, we don't hear God’s calling us to jump, or we don’t trust Him.

So how do we get to know, hear, trust His voice?

We have to LEARN His voice.

Every wall that’s holding you back can be jumped if we just learn to know, hear, and trust the One who is calling us to jump.

So how does a person go about "learning" the voice of God? It's as simple as talking and listen to Him. In other words: Prayer.

"But I don't know how to pray" is the excuse I often hear when I bring up the subject. But That's just an excuse.

The truth is what’s scary about prayer isn’t that we don’t know how to pray, it’s the fact that we don’t feel worthy to pray.

Why would a perfect God that is the creator of all want to hear from me? We don’t feel “good enough” to pray so we just choose not to.

Today I’m letting you know that you’re not good enough, but God is. No matter how hard we try we will never be able to meet God where he is at. We'll never be good enough. This isn't news to God. That's why He met us (through Jesus) and continues to meet us (through the Holy Spirit) where we are at.
** At this point in the service I introduced a new way to take communion. This is not something I'd advise doing every time communion is taken but for this occasion it fit perfectly. I set out four different "cups". each representing a different place each person may be at in their lives right now. A place where they need God to meet them at. I tore off a piece of bread, handed it to each person and they decided which "cup" to dip in and take communion with. Below are the four cups along with what they represent and the prayer for each cup.

Communion

Glass - I'm trying to be real and transparent but I feel so fragile. Pray for strength
Dented Can - I feel so worn out. I need rest. Pray for rest and recharging.
Mug - I feel really good right now. I'm very strong in my faith and in my relationship with God. Praise
Styro Foam - I'm constantly being asked to handle all kinds of situations. I'm not sure how much longer I can last. Pray for endurance

My Brand New Day

2011-01-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while. As in in over a year kind of while. I know in my last post I said I was hanging it up for good. And the truth is that was my intention. I use to love blogging. It was more for my benefit then anyone else. It was a place for me to drop some random thoughts about life in the Jesusgreek world. The problem was I found my self full of things to say but no desire to say them. So I quit. No one cared of course. Not that they should of. But most of all I didn't care. As the past year went along I found myself missing this. Just sitting down for a few minutes ever couple of days or so to chronicle some seemingly pointless and not so pointless moments of my life. So after 370+ days of silence, I've decided to give this one more go.

A lot has happened since my last blog. I have a new kid, a son named Joshua who will be a year old later this month. Had some ups and downs at church, read some good books, some bad books, seen some great movies, and some really terrible ones. I've traveled, made new friends, lost some old ones. Performed lots of weddings and a few funerals. My kids are growing up way to fast and Beth and I are trying our best to enjoy every minute of the life God has given us.

I have a feeling that the end of 2011 will look a lot different then the beginning. It has felt for a while like God was setting things up for some major changes in the Gianopulos' household. I have no idea what that even means or what it may look like but there is a change in the air. A brand new day is approaching. Life is good and I'm at peace with whatever God has in store for us.

As for the immediate future, my night will consist of heading over to a new friend's home (new as in since my last blog) for a little UFC 125 action. Tomorrow I'll crank out my top entertainment picks for 2010 and recap what I hope is a stellar day at MSBC.

My Goodbye

2009-12-15T12:14:00.005-05:00

After 400+ blog post stretched over 3+ years, I have decided to close down jesusgreek.com. It's not that I don't have any more rants or musings about life I wish to share, I just don't have the desire. Thanks for reading and for all the encouraging and not so encouraging discussion that has been shared here.

Thanks again and goodbye!

Mike

How Teachable Are You

2009-11-17T15:56:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about "teachableness" (I just made that word up) I've been thinking so much about it in fact that it was the main point in my monthly article this week in the Kernersville news and will be the topic of my sermon this Sunday. The following a sneak preview of both:

How Teachable Are You?

Last week I had a local business call me for a reference for one of my church members who was applying for a position with the company. After introducing themselves the first thing they asked about the applicant wasn't were they a nice person, easy to work with, or reliable. What they asked was this, "Is this person teachable?" To me there wasn't a better first question to ask. Serving in a church in a full time capacity for almost 14 years, I've come to appreciate someone's "teachableness" more than just about any other trait.

I have discovered that having a teachable spirit is something that most people lack, and I will be the first to admit and put me into the list of "most people." A good way to find out if you have a problem in this area is to ask yourself the following question, "How do I respond to correction?"

Proverbs 15:12 “A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.”
Proverbs 15:32 “He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.”

People that hate taking advice are the kind of people Proverbs 15 is speaking about. They get bent out of shape when they are corrected or when they believe that they are being attacked. Pride tells them that they aren’t good enough and that is why they are being corrected. This ultimately leads to insecurity.

Criteria for insecure people
- They never feel secure about their identity, and are constantly comparing themselves to others
- When someone corrects them they get defensive
- They wont take advice from people not like themselves
- They are the kind of people are constantly trying to prove something
- They may tend to lie to make themselves look good in front of others
- They are ashamed to let others know who they really are
- When they are corrected, they typically feel rejected

Looking at the list, there is no question that I meet some of the criteria. This is something I am not ashamed to admit. I know I’m not perfect, but I’ve also learned that if I’m am going to be the husband, father, son, friend, and Christian God desires for me to be that I can’t stop learning. I have to remain teachable. I can’t allow myself to ever get to a point where I say, “God is done with me. Who I am is who I am and there is no changing that.”

So what does a person with a teachable spirit look like? They are always secure in who they are. Here are three things I’ve found in common with every person I’ve ever considered to be teachable:

Criteria for secure people
- They can be corrected without feeling rejected.
- They are willing to learn even when it's difficult and not what they want to hear
- They listen to constructive advice

We need to stay teachable, and put off our pride no matter what. We need to be critical thinkers; we need to stop blowing off and blowing up with everyone that disagrees with us. I will say it again, I have some work in this area. And so do you. Remember that secure people are teachable and insecure are not. Are you secure enough to be teachable?

My Ikea Experience

2009-11-03T13:39:00.002-05:00

Two weekends ago Beth, the kids, and I took our very first trip to the furniture monstrosity of a superstore known as "Ikea". We had been warned by friends about how overwhelming the place is. But really, how imposing can 365,000 sq ft of furniture showrooms be?

We arrive at Ikea around 10:15am. We were on assignment to locate Beth some furniture she wanted for our home. All she wanted was a couple of bookcases and a cabinet. This shouldn't be to stressful or to time consuming, right? Once inside we immediately found our way to Ikea's daycare/play area for kids. There you can drop your kids off for up to an hour while you shop in peace. The place is well staffed and looked like a lot of fun. To bad Jacob didn't think so. HE how a melt down when we tried to get him to go play. Maria was all for it but Jacob wasn't having any of it. I tried reasoning with him, threatening him, bribing him but nothing worked. He was going to stick with mom and dad this day.

After checking Maria in, we made our way up to the the second floor where everyone begins their Ikea adventure. The set up is basically this: there are sections for kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, closets, dinning rooms, dungeons , and whatever other rooms you may have in your home. And when I say they have EVERYTHING you could ever want for any room in your house I am not exaggerating. Once you decide on a piece of furniture, you write it down on a handy order form and save it until the end of your journey. There you will either pick up the boxes yourself for the items that need assembly or the Ikea staff will get the larger items for you.

Oh, did I mention that on the rain Saturday in Charlotte, every person in a three county radius was there? I have never in my life been in a store with more people then this. It was Black Friday at Target times 100.

The following is a sample conversation from our shopping, just multiplied as many times as needed to fill in the two hour time frame we spent there:

Beth: I like this one, write it down.
Mike: Yes dear.
Mike: Jacob, stop climbing on that.
Beth: No, I like this one better, write it down.
Mike: Yes dear.
Mike: Jacob don't touch that.
(Repeat as needed for first hour)

Beth: No, I like this one better, write it down.
Mike: Yes dear.
Mike: Jacob AND Maria don't touch, climb, throw, or break that.
(Repeat as needed for second hour)

By noon we had finished our Ikea shopping adventure and made our way to the warehouse / checkout area. Beth knew exactly what bookcases she wanted and cabinet. Since we had driven the Explorer down I knew there was no way we could buy any of the items that day and I would be making a return trip within the next week. But then on our way out our trip took a very unexpected, and later tragic, turn. The following are not one but many mistakes made by yours truly that could have led to the death of many people.

Mistake # 1: Ikea has a section of as-is furniture. This furniture may have been displayed, returned, or whatever. The bottom line was it is all 50% off the original price. So we walk in expecting to see a bunch of beat up junk but what we find are two of the exact bookcases Beth wanted for half the price. We knew there was no way they'd be there when I came back later in the week so we made an impulsive decision to buy the bookcases then. You know the old saying, "Your eyes are bigger then your stomach."? Well my eyes got bigger then my car. I somehow convinced myself that these two six-foot tall by twenty-eight inch bookcases would fit in my Explorer with all four of us. But wait it gets better.

Mistake # 2: As I went to go find a flatbed cart to put these two bookcases on, I walked past the other two bookcases we had planned on buying and thought to myself, "These aren't even put together yet. I bet I can get the two that are and these two all in my car, Then when I come back all I'll have to get will be the large cabinet. So I get a second cart, one to put the as-is bookcases on and one for the news that needed assembly. Once I get back to Beth and the kids it's obvious the kids have had enough of Ikea and Beth has had enough of the kids. So we hurriedly get in line to check out. It's at that moment that I realize that I forgot the glass doors for the "needs assembly" bookcases.

Mistake #3: I head back with Jacob in tow to get the four glass doors that will fit our "needs assembly" bookcases. Since each door packaged weighed 20+ lbs, I had to make two trips back to the warehouse with a tired cranky son in tow.

Mistake #4: Once we finished checking out I went to get the car to but our bookcases and glass doors in. I backed up the car to the loading dock, popped the back hatch, and realized very quickly there was no way on Earth this was going to fit. Beth's bright idea was to return the "needs assembly" stuff and get it later. I informed her that hell would freeze over before I walked back into that store again. I was going to get everything in our car even if it killed me, or someone else. I was able to move Maria's seat to the middle and lay part of the seat down. The two as-is bookcases fit perfectly with wise and was a few inches to long. So Beth pushed her seat up as far as it would go so we could close the back hatch. He seat was so far forward he belly touched the dash. I then decided to strap the remaining six boxes (2 bookcases and 4 glass doors) to the roof on the Explorer. I luckily had three bungee cords with me. I set the bookcases on the bottom and stacked the doors on top. After making sure all was secure, we headed home.

Mistake #5: As we started home, I drove well under the speed limit for fear of the boxes sliding off. I even pulled over a few miles down the road to make sure they were still secure. And they were. Hurricane Katrina couldn't blow those boxes off my car. As we drove down I-85 at a steady 55mph pace, a sense of confidence over took me. Beth was on the phone with her mom telling her of the wonderful purchases we just made, the kids were happy to finally be heading home, and I was feeling like a man refused to let a few stupid boxes beat him. It was a good time.

At that moment We both heard a loud BANG and looked back to see cars swerving from behind us as a cloud white wood and glass exploded on the highway. Beth started screaming to her mom on the phone that we just killed somebody. I quickly pulled to the side and made sure there was no wreaks behind us. We then both jumped out of the car to inspect the damage. As we made our way around the back of the car to our surprise were all six boxes. I felt them and they were as tight as they had always been. We had no idea what we saw or heard. I just kind of chuckled and said we must have run over something and not realized it. As I made my way back around to the drivers door I looked up and noticed one of the boxes seemed a lot shorter then the rest. As I climbed up on the door frame I realized what had happened. The wind had gotten underneath the top glass door box and lifted it up with such force that it broke the door in half at the bungee cord ripping the box, glass, and wood frame off the roof and into the following traffic. How no one died or at the very least had a wreak was an act of God.

We happened to be at an exit for a rest stop so we pulled off. I through the remaining glass door into the trash there, took the remaining doors off the roof and somehow managed to get them in the car, then we very quietly headed home. I pulled over every 10-15 minutes to make sure the remaining boxes were ok. It took us three hours to get home when it normally takes 90 minutes.

The rest of the story is the book cases are now up. The as-is ones are in the bonus room and the others are in the living room. I'm heading back to Ikea next week to pick up the cabinet...and new glass door. This time I'm taking my truck.

Review Time: Crowder, Redman, Saw VI and more

2009-11-02T13:33:00.002-05:00

Music Reviews

David Crowder Band "Church Music"
This album has a very different feel from the David Crowder I'm use to. Granted, every CD has actually changed quite a bit, which I think shows a lot of the bands creative ability, but this one so far has been hard for me to fall in love with. Very electronic almost techno feel then a more pure rock/worship style that I prefer in my Crowder music. I think many people, especially musicians, can appreciate this cd and will love it. If "Remedy" which was my favorite Crowder cd, is more your style then you make want to prepare yourself before making this purchase. 3 out of 5 stars

Matt Redman "We Shall Not be Shaken"
Matt Redman needs no introduction as he as written possibly the majority of worship songs sung in most contemporary churches over the past 10 years. His newest cd, "We Will Not Be Shaken" is full of his congregation-ready, God-exalting songs. At this point, most people have made up their mind about his music. You either enjoy this style of worship or you don't. Some adore the modern hymns Redman produces; some find it shallow and musically uninteresting. Redman is unlikely to win over very many in the second category with this album, but he delivers what we expect: a Christ-centered album, full of praise to God, and U2-flavored music that can be sung corporately and doesn't distract from the biblically-based lyrics. I for one love Matt and have enjoyed just about everything he has ever produced. "We shall not be shaken" is full of songs that churches and individuals will be singing for years to come. 4 out of 5 stars

Fee "Hope Rising"
Fee's second project "Hope Rising" comes after much acclaim from their freshman album "We Shine" which garnered a No. 1 radio smash hit in "All Because of Jesus, and four GMA Dove Award nominations including a nod in the "New Artist of the Year" category.

There is a great mix of upbeat and reflective songs, all of which are perfect for any worship setting, whether personal or with a body of believers. After such a great first album, I wasn't sure if Fee could match the intensity and catchiness of "We Shine", and yet they've actually taken it up a notch with "Hope Rising" in my opinion.

I can't get enough of this album and every song is worshipful, totally catchy and instantly sing-able. For me, the standout songs are "Rise And Sing", "Greatly To Be Praised", "Glory To God Forever", and "Promised Land". I would easily say this is my favorite cd on 2009. 5 out of 5 stars

Movie Reviews

"Paranormal Activity"
Maybe the most over hyped movie this decade. I know I drank the kool-aid and couldn't wait to see it. That being said it was very good. Don't go in expecting it to be in your face horror because it isn't. It's basically "The Blair Witch Project" set in a house versus in the woods. The movie has a huge build-up that will set the stage for one of the most intense final scenes you ever see. If you're scared of things like demons and wiji boards then you will be creeped out. Overall the movie was enjoyable, but definitely not terrifying like everyone is acting like it is. See it for yourself, but don't let the hype fool you into thinking it's something it's not. "TBWP" was a bit better. 3 stars out of 5

"Saw VI"
I'll admit it, I've been a "Saw" fan since that amazing final scene at the end of the original "Saw". The writing and story not only in the original but all the way through the franchise is what has kept me coming back for more. After SAW III, the following films got kinda weak, but SAW VI was a massive improvement in comparison to IV and V. SAW VI provides an intensity level with a mind bending twist similar to the first three films, and some really cool visuals. Although extremely graphic, not really an effective horror movie. It's like a long episode of CSI mixed in with a grisly version of Family Double Dare. Again there is a twist at the end and maybe closre on one of the best horror story arcs ever scene on the big screen. 3 out of 5 stars.

"Run Fatboy Run"
"Run, Fatboy, Run" is a quirky, British film filled with humor, dry or otherwise, and lots of heart, kind of a lighthearted 'Rocky' you might say. It's one of those girl found, girl lost, girl regained story lines that have you initially rooting against the poor smuck (Simon Pegg) who eventually wins you over and has you rooting for him at the end.

The story is neither original nor complicated. At their wedding, Simon Pegg's character gets cold feet and takes off without explanation, leaving his pregnant girlfriend behind. 5 years down the line he, now a fat, pathetic looser without the money to pay the rent, realizes that he actually left the love of his life behind that day. She has found a rich, handsome, athletic American played very well by Hank Azaria, and has no need for her former fiance. So to win her back, Pegg must compete against his American competitor in a marathon race. Chaos and hilarity ensues. Simon Pegg plays the loveable loser perfectly and adds to it his incredible sense of physical comedy. His American rival is in turn played expertly by Mr. Azaria, who somehow manages to portray a character that at the same time is absolutely charming, wonderful, and thoroughly unlikeable. I'll say, that while "Run Fat Boy Run" is not in any way original or spellbinding, it does provide some solid laughs and is never boring. Definitely recommendable. 4 out of 5 stars

Jesus Needs New PR (part 4)

2009-10-26T10:02:00.002-05:00

"Maybe you should ask your daughter to help you figure out Internet Explorer." -Jesus

"Okay, so you juggle AND wear a bow tie. Well, I'll clap, but I'm not sure I can help you, son." -Jesus

Giving credit where credit is due - Jesus is always with you

2009-10-23T08:03:00.002-05:00

I have long been a critic of the part of Christian society that does more to hurt the image of Jesus and who He is then helps it. Case in point: these ridiculous pictures of Jesus being with everyday folks in everyday situations. First of all Jesus looks more like drug crazed member of the Manson family then any image of Christ I have ever imagined. Then there this notion that Jesus is with you as you drive, work on your computer, or kiss your mom.

That is why I have fallen in love with this new web site sent to me from my good friend Kristie:
http://jesusneedsnewpr.blogspot.com/

It's simply ask the question, "Does Jesus need new PR?" And the answer is an overwhelming YES!!

Jesus Needs new PR (part 3)

2009-10-23T07:58:00.004-05:00

"Just a second or two more, Billy. Okay, stop." -Jesus

"Your shoulder hurts? How does that feel? Nice, huh." -Jesus

Jesus needs new PR (part 2)

2009-10-22T09:35:00.001-05:00

"So I hear you killed somebody yesterday." -Jesus

Jesus is with you always OR Jesus needs new PR (part 1)

2009-10-21T09:22:00.004-05:00

"Open wide, Henry. I could numb the pain if I wanted to, but I think I'll let the doctor do that instead. Darn that Eve, huh?" -Jesus

Catalyst 2009: Chuck Swindoll

2009-10-21T08:02:00.003-05:00

Chuck Swindoll
www.insight.org

Top Ten Things Learned During 50 years of Leadership
1) It's lonely to lead
2) It's dangerous to succeed
3) It's hardest at home
4) It's essential to be real
5) It's painful to obey
6) Brokenness and failure are necessary
7) My attitude is more important then my actions
8) Integrity eclipses image
9) God's way is ALWAYS better then my way
10) Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility

Five Statements To Live By In Leadership
1) Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone.
2) Whenever you do it, focus on quality over quantity.
3) Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you best.
4) Whoever may respond, keep a level head.
5) However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace.

Catalyst 2009: Dave Ramsey

2009-10-20T08:11:00.003-05:00

Dave Ramsey
http://www.daveramsey.com/

The Momentum Theorem

- When you have momentum, you look better than you are. Whne you don't have momentum, you are better than you look.
- Momentum is created. It does not randomly occur.
- Fi over T multiplyed by G equals M
- Focused Intensity over Time multiplied by God equals Unstoppable Momentum!

FOCUS
- Focus is lost for two reasons: Fear and Greed
- James 1:8
- Rick Warren calls focus being Intentional
- Stephen Covey calls focus being Proactive

INTENSITY
- Pour intensity into things that really Matter.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10
- Intensity causes things to move.

OVER TIME
- "If I persist long enough, I will win" - Og Mandino
- 1 Cor. 9:24
- The Tortoise wins the race every time!

MULTIPLIED BY GOD
- You and I are finite. God is Infinite
- He is in Charge, and He carries you in the plam of Hid hand.
- Luke 18:27
- Get Plugged in to Him as a power source, and your momentum will become unstoppable!

Catalyst 2009: Priscilla Shirer

2009-10-19T10:29:00.003-05:00

Priscilla Shirer
www.goingbeyond.com

Joshua 3:1

Four Attribute / Characteristics of Joshua as a Leader

1) He rose early. Acted immediately in obedience to God
2) He acted fearlessly. The Jordan river was violent, far from the calm river we imagine.
3) He acknowledged the presence of God. Go only when God says so.
4) He anticipated God's miracles and activities. Refused to pray "safe" prayers. Wanted God to blow the top off his box.

Catalyst 2009: Malcolm Gladwell

2009-10-16T10:02:00.003-05:00

Malcolm Gladwell
www.gladwell.com

During his time at Catalyst, Malcolm Gladwell brilliantky described the story of the Civil War battle of Chancellorsville.

In 1863 during the Civil War in Virginia, the Union army was in incredibly poor shape. And Lincoln in Washington was becoming increasingly worried. Fighting Joe Hooker came and happened to know more about Confederate General Lee than anyone. Hooker devised a brilliant battle plan by distributing his army in thirds and surrounding Lee’s army. Lee was significantly outnumbered 2 to 1. Hooker said that even God Almighty couldn’t prevent them from victory. What happened next was the Battle of Chancellorsville. Hooker expected Lee to retreat, became trapped by his confidence, and did not plan for anything else. In fact, the Union army lowered their guard; Lee attacked, and Hooker’s army ran away only to suffer one of the worst defeats of the war.

Here are some thoughts / quotes from Gladwell:

"More information doesn't mean better decisions"
"Incompetence irritates me, but overconfidence scares me. Incompetent people rarely have the opportunities to make mistakes that greatly affect things. But overconfident leaders and experts have the dangerous ability to create disaster."
"When we are trapped by overconfidence we close ourselves off to a changing world"
"In times of crisis we don’t need bold and daring decision making from our leaders we need bold humility!"
"Overconfident people and leaders stop listening to others."
"Humility is simply the willingness to listen to others."

Catalyst 2009: Andy Stanley (session one)

2009-10-15T10:06:00.002-05:00

Andy Stanley
Lead Pastor, North Point Comunity Church
http://www.northpoint.org/

Key Thought: Every Leader leaves a mark. What kind will I leave?
Key Passage: Joshua 5:13-15

"It’s really not about who’s for you or against you – it’s really about who you are for."

Simply put, are you and I willing to submit our skills, abilities, opportunities, my person to God and His bigger story? God was in effect saying to Joshua, “I have not come to be a part YOUR story. I want YOU to become a part of MY story!”

When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord ’s army.” Joshua 5:13-14

The commander of the Lord’s army answered, “Neither”. Why? Because it’s not about who’s your friend or who’s your foe. It’s about who you are for. Are you for God and His plan? Is He Lord over your life? Are you wanting His mark to be made through you or are you just wanting to make your piddly little mark?

“God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him” - Charles Stanley

"You need to settle once and for all why you do what you do and who your doing it for…Living to make my mark is to small a thing to give my life to…so, let’s give our lives to leaving His mark!" - Andy Stanley

Highs and Lows from Catalyst 2009

2009-10-15T08:28:00.003-05:00

I attended my first Catalyst Conference ( http://www.catalystspace.com/ ) last week in Duluth, Ga. It's hosted by a group from Andy Stanley's North Point Church in Alpharetta, Ga. Everything I had ever heard about Catalyst was how great is was so my expectations were extremely high. I'm glad to say that my Catalyst experience did not disappoint!

Highs (to many to list so here are just a few)

Speakers: Just check out this lineup, it's a virtual who's who of leadership - Andy Stanley, Malcolm Gladwell, Rob Bell, Tony Dungy, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Priscilla Shirer, Dave Ramsey, Chuck Swindoll, and Louie Giglio!! My top three talks/speakers would have been Shirer, Swindoll, and Chandler, although all could have easily been the best at any other conference.

Music: Steve Fee, although not as popular yet, is just as good at worship leading as Crowder, Redman, Tomlin, and Hall. The biggest complement he could have gotten was when my partner in ministry and senior pastor leaned over after the first song and said, "Who is this guy? He's really good!"

Surprise / Unannounced Guest: Most conferences have to play all there cards just to get folks to show up. Not Catalyst. They had enough faith people would come just on past experience and word of mouth that they didn't have to tell all their secrets. So in just about each session, there were 10 in all, they revealed a surprise guest such has Mac Powell from Third Day who after sharing his recent adoption story lead the crowd of 13,000 in the singing of "Mighty to Save", to best selling author Mitch Albom. My favorite spoken word poet Amena Brown was also there at a few of the sessions. If you have never heard her you need to google or youtube her ASAP. She is amazing!

SWAG (Stuff We All Get)
Both levels of Gwinnett Arena were packed with vendors trying to get every pastor there to buy into there product. The best part was all the cool free stuff they gave away just to get you to stop by there booth. I loaded up on tee shirts, cd's, books, and more!

Amazing God Sightings
There were two instances or God sightings that are hard to put into words and if I try I'll just cheapen the experience. But when the worship leader from the Brooklyn shared the story of his wife and then the young man from Kenya who was surprisingly brought into the presence of his long Compassion International donor, you could barely stand from the heaviness of God.

Lows (not to many)

- There were two speakers I did not care for and for the sake of not tearing down other believers I will leave it at that.
- The crowd. It was cool to have 13,000 people/pastors/leaders joining together for worship and learning but that's about all that was good about the crowd. Mike and I were then only ones without an iphone or Blackberry. I know this because the other 12,998 had then out and were playing with them 24/7. It drove me crazy. If I had heard one more of them talk about twitter I would have snatched their phone and smashed it. I've made it no secret how I feel about twittering and these guys just validated every critical concern I had. On top of that all the 50+ year old men dressed like 20 year olds and all the 20 year olds dressed like Rob Bell, glasses and all.
- Length of days. The conference was only two days long but it felt like a week. Thursday ran from 7am-9:30pm and Friday lasted from 8am-5:30pm. I think it would be a bit easier on the attendees, or at least me, if they stretched it out over 3 days. Since it started so early on Thursday, most folks were already down there on Wednesday anyway.

What I learned
I plan on posting some of my notes here over the next few days. The ones that will make the most sense without needing a lot of explanation will get posted.

Fall TV Reviews

2009-10-02T10:17:00.003-05:00

So far I've been disappointed in not only the new tv shows for the fall season but also with premieres of the few I do watch. Dexter was the best returning show by far. The Office and Parks & Rec have been average. And when will 30 Rock be back??

As far as new shows, here's my quick thoughts:
Hank: Stars Kelsey Grammer has a rich guy gone broke. Reminds me of a bad 80's sitcom. We didn't make it past the first commercial break. Do not watch.
Glee: Has potential but way to quirky to make it. We decided not to get involved since it will probably not last. Most unique shows like this get canned pretty quickly (see Pushing Daisies and The Unusuals)
Cougar Town: Courtney Cox tries way to hard to be believable as a 40 year old "cougar". Plus it's not funny at all. Turned it off 15 min into first episode.
Flash Forward: No matter what anyone says, this show is no LOST. The story is intriguing enough to keep me hooked but it reminds me of the long canceled ABC show "The Nine" more then anything else. Acting and dialogue could be better too. The story will keep this show going a while.
Community: I made it through a show and a half and didn't laugh once. Same old tired used jokes we've been seeing on tv for 40 years. Nothing original at all about this show. Chevy Chase is wasting his talent here.
Modern Family: Billed as the next "Arrested Development", it's far from that. But it is funny in an awkward kind of way. Worth checking out if you haven't see it.
The Middle: The BEST new show of the Fall!! Stars Patricia Heaton (Raymond) and Neil Flynn (janitor from Scrubs) Extremely funny and original! Go is ABC.com and catch the premiere if you missed it. Must See!!

Is Kimbo Slice the next Rocky?

2009-10-01T08:32:00.003-05:00

I'll come out and say it, I'm a HUGE Kimbo Slice fan. Not so much because of the youtube clips that made him a worldwide sensation but more for the fact that there just seemed to be something likable about the guy. I think I was the only person on earth that was glad to see him on UFC's The Ultimate Fighter season 10. Most felt he was undeserving including UFC president Dana White.

But what has happened in the past 3 weeks has been a total Kimbo turn-around by all who doubted him. Not because he turned out to be a great cage fighter but because he has come across as a really nice guy who is caring, compassionate, teachable, and actually human. Behind the crazy beard, bald head, and gold teach there is a down to earth family man who only wants to provide for his family. He has made everyone on the show and the 6 million people watching believers. the guy has become a real life Rocky.

When he lost last night I felt sorry and a bit heartbroken for him, just as I did when I watched the first Rocky film. Remember he didn't win either. But he became more popular after defeat. Just like Kimbo has. Dan Wetzel of yahoo sports has written a great article this morning detailing the amazing rise of Kimbo Slice. Here it is:

Even loss can’t stop Kimbo hype machine

No one ever said the Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t know how to market itself, its sport and its fighters.

There may be no greater proof than the job it’s done with Kimbo Slice, the famed YouTube street fighter who crashed and burned under the weight of ridiculous hype that his last promotion and CBS television put on him. One year ago this week, it took 14 seconds to prove he wasn’t really the comparable figure to Tiger Woods that the network laughably claimed.
Kimbo lost again Wednesday on Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show. In a match taped in June, he was smothered by Roy Nelson, a round mound of fighting experience who twice exploited Slice’s inexperience, laid him out in a crucifix position and dropped dozens of light but unanswered punches.

Referee Herb Dean, who allowed Kimbo to be saved by the bell at the end of the first round, called it early in the second.

Kimbo got beat, although not beat up. And within a minute of his loss, Dana White, the UFC president, was on the program dropping unsubtle hints that Slice would soon enough return to active competition on the show. He’ll likely replace fellow competitor Marcus Jones, who in scenes from next week appears to come down ill.

The return of a promising fighter that had lost isn’t unusual. In past seasons of the show, fighters have left due to injury, behavioral trouble and simple homesickness.

What’s most amazing isn’t that Kimbo will return. It’s that the show – either through the magic of reality television or by brilliantly showing what was legitimately real – has turned Kimbo into a likeable, humble and easy-to-root-for guy.

Dana White had changed the expectations game.

Suddenly Kimbo was being hailed for putting up a decent fight against Nelson, a former International Fight League heavyweight champion with far more experience.

White and coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans all hailed his effort.
In truth, Kimbo landed just a couple significant punches, one knee and used solid takedown defense to stop Nelson another time. Other than that, it wasn’t much of a performance. Nelson got him down twice and then just swallowed Kimbo up.

At no point did Nelson look to be in trouble, although the few times Slice’s fists connected, it couldn’t have felt all that good.

“Can I get a Double Whopper with cheese?” Nelson shouted to White after the victory.
Yet for losing, Kimbo was the big winner.

And it all has to do with expectations. If he had lost this way a year ago at the final card for his old promotion, EliteXC, he would have been mercilessly ripped by fans. (That night, he lost even more decisively, a near-instant TKO at the hands of man who weighed 30 pounds less.) If anyone had made an excuse that his opponent was too good, they would have been heckled.
White would’ve been the first one doing the mocking.

Back then, though, Kimbo was being hailed as a mixed martial arts legend, when even he now admits he had virtually no skills. There is no comparison to winning backyard fights for a couple hundred bucks and taking on trained professionals inside a cage.

Now, close enough is good enough because the UFC is smartly selling Slice as a boots-straps up-and-comer, someone willing to admit he has a ton to learn, a family man (six kids) who just took the opportunity given to him.

It’s the same fighter, just better promoters.

White isn’t above hyperbole. He also knows that honesty sells. In this case, he isn’t selling an inaccurate image – he’s showing a real human. The guy who used to beat people up at barbeques now seems like a guy you wouldn’t mind having over to your house for one.

Slice has helped deliver record ratings for the 10th season of the show. White himself was predicting six million people would watch Wednesday’s fight – and with the promise of Kimbo returning next week, the ratings won’t drop far.

White has said Kimbo will stay with the company – whether he wins this season or not. Slice will fight in December, presumably at either the undercard of the TUF 10 finale on Dec. 5 or at UFC 107, a pay-per-view event in Memphis.

It stands to reason that many fans will be rooting for him, more now than ever.

He’s become a person on this show, not held up as some scouring force of terror. The beard and gold teeth are still there, but TUF has shown him training relentlessly, begging for additional coaching and getting along with fellow contestants who initially mocked and cursed his presence.
More than anything, special attention has been paid to showing (if you can believe it) Kimbo’s emotional vulnerability, particularly considering the built-up-and-torn-down-year he just went through.

“He’s just a good person,” said Jones, who played seven years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “The things put in front of him would probably crush the mental state of any other man.”
Slice was seen praying, talking about how he realized “the enemy is the inner me” and making a series of hysterical malapropisms (upon realizing he’s been losing weight, he noted, “I haven’t developed a good eating résumé.”)

The guy is Yogi Berra with knockout power.

Or does he really have knockout power? We’ll see. He didn’t show it against Nelson, and the pressure will be on to display more in his next fight, be it on TUF or in December. As with all contestants, Kimbo will stick around and train until filming is done, a time where he can improve dramatically.

He is currently working with American Top Team in South Florida, home to a number of top fighters. They have a reputation as a no-nonsense operation that gets fighters in top shape. It is home to MMA stars such as WEC champion Mike Brown and UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves.

He’s supposedly serious about it – even if various movie roles keep pulling him away for a couple days here and there. It’s worth noting, though, that when Slice was in EliteXC, we heard he was training hard under legendary former UFC champion Bas Rutten, only to later find out it wasn’t nearly so intense.

Time will tell whether at 35 he can develop into a viable fighter. Better won’t work forever. Still, his performance thus far on TUF has given him a second, and perhaps third, opportunity with the UFC. It’s rebranded him from street thug into modern day Rocky.

It’s found a way to make a loss where he mounted minimal offense into a victory that’s reviving his career.

All hail the marketing power of the UFC. No one ever said Dana White wasn’t good at his job.

David Crowder, How He Loves, and Sloppy Wet Kisses

2009-09-30T10:30:00.002-05:00

If your like me you have probably noticed the David Crowder version of "How He Loves" is slightly different then the John Mark Mcmillan original. The biggest difference being "Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy wet kiss" being changed to "Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss". I've been wondering why the change. So I went to the source and found this on John Mark's blog:

http://johnmarkmcmillan.blogspot.com

I honestly kind of hate that I even have to write this blog.

I have realized that the song “How He Loves” has become very personal to many people, and it honestly doesn’t really belong to me, or Kim Walker, or David Crowder. It belongs to them. I would like to say I’m sorry if I let you down by allowing the words to be changed in David’s version. My version and Kim’s will always be the same. David contacted me and very sincerely asked if it would be cool to change a couple words in his version, because he knew that there are literally thousands of people who would never hear the song the way it was. After a couple weeks of thought I decided to go ahead with it. Mostly because I knew it was only a matter of time before someone recorded a version with a different line, and honestly, I was glad for David to be the one to do it.

I have tons of respect for David. He’s super sweet, humble, talented, and a very intelligent guy. I’m certainly flattered that people would be so passionate about my original version of the song, but I feel bad that David’s taken so much flack over this whole deal. Especially since he went out of his way to include me in the whole process. Not to mention, he has given me WAY more credit than most songwriters ever receive from a performer who covers their song. David has told the story of the song and given me full credit on countless radio interviews and press releases. This is actually pretty unheard of. In case you don't know, most songs on the radio are covers. When's last time you heard an artist reference the writer of a song?

All this to say, I don’t have a problem with David changing the line because he knows the people he is serving, and that line would have isolated the song from those people.

What I do have a problem with though, is that the condition of greater Christianity would be as such that he would even have to change it. I think the fact that a line like “Sloppy wet kiss” could be controversial is ridiculous. Are we in kindergarten? Has any one out there not had or at least expected to some day, engage in a sloppy wet kiss? Have Christians decided to stop procreating and let Islamic extremists populate the whole earth?

Some folks are genuinely sad because a song so personal to them seems to have been messed with, and others seem to be glad that you can now sing this song in church with your grandparents. I understand both of those sentiments, and don’t have an issue with either. Still many of the people, on both ends, who seem to be making a big deal out of it, have both seemed to misunderstand the lyric. It seems that people either hate it or love it because they think I’m some how talking about kissing God. Please folks, I never ever, ever, ever, thought of this line as though it was talking about kissing God. Please read the words.

“HEAVEN meets EARTH like a sloppy wet kiss”

The idea behind the lyric is that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth converge in a way that is both beautiful and awkwardly messy. Think about the birth of a child, or even the death of Jesus himself. These miracles are both incredibly beautiful and incredibly sloppy ("gory" may be more realistic, but “Heaven meets earth like a gory mess” didn’t seem to have the same ring). Why does the church have such a problem with things being sloppy? Do we really think we’re fooling anyone on Sunday morning, especially God? Are we going to offend him? I mean, he’s seen us naked in the shower all week and knows our worst thoughts, and still thinks we’re awesome. What if we took all the energy we spent faking and used that energy to enjoy the Lord instead? That could be revolutionary!

Final thoughts:

I applaud David for changing the line to serve his people, and at the same time I boo the machinery that would cause him to have to do so.

Monday Morning Sports Rant

2009-09-21T09:39:00.002-05:00

The Panthers still stink. Sure Jake played better but he still threw a goal line interception that could have tied the game late. And where is the defense? They gave up 28 points and it could have been worse had the Falcons not fumbled in the red zone. By the way, Peppers has 1 sack and 7 tackles in his first 2 games. His paycheck for the first two games: $2,000,000.00.

Shut up Elon and go back to playing high school teams. All last week Elon fans ran their mouths about how would come into Winston and blow Wake Forest out. Well it didn't quite turn out that way did it. After the 35-7 thumping the Fighting Christians errr Phoenix took they better turn down any ACC offer to play. Unless it's UVA or Maryland.

Can Florida really feel good about their win over Tennessee this week? Lane talked the talked then a much less talented UT team rolled into the swamp and just about upset the the Gators. I know there is no such thing as a good loss but the Vols have to feel really good about their future. Also, if a former NFL def. coordinator can hold Tebow in check with minimum talent, how does he expect to make it against much bigger, faster, and skilled defenders next year in the professional tackle football league?

I realized last week that there is not a single ESPN announcer/reporter I like. I hate listening to Mike Golic, Colin Cowherd, Stuart Scott, Chris Berman, and every other bozo on the 4-letter. I challenge someone to find one quality employee from that company.

I can not wait until NCSU and UNC start to play some real competition. UNC get their first reality church this week when they visit Ga. Tech and State has to visit Wake in a couple of weeks and I only hope they get past Pitt so we can hand them their first of many losses in the ACC this season. After that we'll see if coach Tom O'Brien is still as delusional as he was last season when he claimed NCSU was the best North Carolina School.

Fantasy Sports Update
MLB: I've made the championship game in my "Field of Dreams 4" league. This is the league I made the playoffs in by .5%
NFL: After a rough 1-3 start last week I went 3-1 this time around including a 246 point explosion in "Bring out your dead". Thank you Andre and Chris Johnson!
Survival: Took my first hit as San Fran beat my pick, the Seahawks.
Pro Football Pick'em: I'm sitting in 4th place (out of 50) after 2 weeks.
College Football Pick'em: I'm up to 84%

Decisions Decisions

2009-09-18T12:43:00.003-05:00

I just picked up the new Francis Chan book and the new Donald Miller book

Which one should I read first?????

Let the Panther Bashing Continue

2009-09-18T10:35:00.002-05:00

After Marty Hurney's canned reponses to all of Packer's questions on Primetime with the Packman yesterday, I'd thought is was justified to pass along this little nugget I saw posted on a Carolina Panthers fan (I use that term loosely) board today...

Top 12 Reasons Why the Panthers Should Clean House

12. Your 7th round CB is better than your 2nd rounder
11. Your best FA acquisition in the off-season was a long snapper
10. Your customers can text security when someone stands up and cheers.
9. Your seats are empty after half time.
8. You can't find a kicker for both field goals and kickoffs.
7. Your team has not made a halftime adjustment since 2004.
6. Your QB's uniform is filthy after 1 series.
5. A draw play on 3rd and 15 is actually your best option.
4. You just franchised a guy that publicly said he wants out of there.
3. You have 2 of the best offensive weapons in the NFL, but can't move the football.
2. You just threw big money at a QB with 10 turnovers in his last 2 games.
1. You sign AJ Feeley after week 1.

What Child Is This (& other stuff)

2009-09-17T07:55:00.002-05:00

From kindergarten through my senior year I completed a homework assignment probably less then a dozen times. If I didn't get my work done at school then it just didn't get done. Hence my stellar 2.3 GPA when I graduated. Now we fast forward to my child prodigy son who after 3 weeks of kindergarten has already been moved up to 1st grade level work. He came home with his first "homework" assignment on Monday (he has all week to complete it) and proceeded to finish it all in one sitting and then BEGGED for more. I had to force him to go get ready for bed. When he woke up the next morning he ate, dressed, and brushed very surprisingly quickly. Then after announcing he was ready for school asked if he could do MORE homework until we left. He is without a doubt his mothers child.

The Office season six kicks off tonight. As does the up and coming Parks and Rec. Now if 30 Rock would just start up my then Thursday nights would be complete.

TUF 10 started last night with one of the biggest trash-talking shows and bloodiest bouts ever in the now 10 seasons of TUF. I love Rampage Jackson and Kimbo Slice so it was perfect that Rampage choose Kimbo with his first pick. I have a feeling the powers that be will keep Kimbo on the show as long as possible to keep ratings up.

I usually hate British comedy. Ok I always hate British comedy. I would go as far as saying all British comedy sucks, including Monty Python. The jokes are bland and the shows all seem poorly produced. But....my buddy John recommended a show that is now on nextflix watch instantly called "The IT Crowd" and now I have to eat my words. It is one of the funniest shows I've seen anywhere. I would even go as far as saying it's just a shade under my top-tier shows such as Seinfeld, 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, Arrested Development and Curd Your Enthusiasm. Beth was even laughing out loud at and episode we watched last night.

As far as new shows go, I watched the first episode of much hyped "Glee". It was quirky and had it's moments but nothing to make me want to watch it again. I'm looking forward to "Community", "Modern Family", "Flash Forward" and "V".

As of yesterday there's a new edition to the family. My sister gave birth to her 3rd son, a very healthy Mack Samual Warnke.

Monday Morning Sports Rant

2009-09-14T07:45:00.004-05:00

**I'm starting a new feature here on Jesusgreek. It's my Monday Morning Sports Rant.

KSA
I decided to play another season in the Kernersville Soccer Association adult league. This time we play all our games on Sunday nights. This season they divided the teams up not by age but by rec & competitive. So we felt pretty good going into our first game last night in the rec league thinking that the teams we'd be playing against would be on par with us. WRONG. We got destroyed 12-3. The "rec" team we played was better then any team we played during the summer. They were young, fast, and very good at soccer. To which brings me to my rant: If you know your have a team that good, why sand bag and play lesser teams just to win? Is your ego that large and your esteem that low that you refuse to play teams with equal talent. You'd rather sacrifice competitiveness for crushing a weaker opponent?

College Football
I got to see our 2009 Demon Deacons in person on Saturday and they weren't any better live then on TV. They stink. The defense can't tackle to save their lives. If Stanford had stayed aggressive (it was 17-3 at the half) they would have killed us. But instead they went soft, Wake made enough plays, and the better team lost. Wake's score with 2 seconds left to win was the only thing that saved this bad weekend of college football. Sure there were some amazing games (USC/OSU, Tenn/UCLA, ND/Mich) but in every case but the Wake game, the team I was rooting for lost. OSU out played USC for 59 minutes. But that's why you play 60. ND had Mich. beat until Charlie Weiss decided to throw the ball with 2 minutes left instead of running out the clock. And in Tennessee, a team I use to hate, the more talented team won. Don't worry coach Kiffin, your time will come. I love that guy and in turn he has made me want to see Tennessee succeed. Win UT wins, that means more Lane Kiffin. And that's not so bad.

NFL
The Panthers suck. You could just see it in the way they walked through the preseason. John Fox has lost the ear of his team. His "it is what it is" arrogant demeanor is a tired old act that needs to move on. Marty Hurney is the worst GM in the NFL. How you sign Jake Delhome to a new contract in the off season after the worst game of his career with $20 million of it guaranteed then pay Peppers $17 million for one season when he will just walk after this year? Those two poor financial decisions will set this franchise back 5 years. I predicted a 6-10 season and I'm starting to think that was way to generous.

MLB
Who cares? This has been the most uneventful baseball season in recent memory. Maybe I'm just tired of the HGH cloud over all the games top stars or maybe it's the fact the Braves once again faded down the stretch but if season ended to day and the powers that be just drew a name out of a hat to declare this years World Series champ it wouldn't bother me in the least.

NBA
So God told Allen Iverson to go to Memphis? Did God also tell him to get that neck tattoo? And what was the deal with "His Airness" speech at the HOF induction ceremony? Greatest basketball player ever? Probably. Biggest jerk in NBA history? He's probably that too.

Golf
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Tiger Woods is better at golf then any other athlete has ever been at his/her sport.

U.S Open
Who cares? This years tournament will be remembered more for Serina Williams showing the world what a spoiled thug she is then for great tennis. Tennis, like soccer and boxing, will never be relevant in the U.S. again.

Fantasy Sports
I use to rule fantasy sports. If I didn't finish first or second every year, no matter the sport, then it was a bad year. But I've been in this funk for the past year or so where I can't do anything right in the fantasy sports universe. The Mike G. kiss-of-death use to only pop up when big games where on the line, now it's poisoned every team and player I pull for.
MLB Fantasy
1 team out of three left in the playoffs
NFL Fantasy
1-3 After week one
College Pick-em
60% after two weeks
Survival NFL
Still Alive after week one
NFL Pick'em
Ranked 9 out of 50 after week one

Making up for lost time (Reviews, Rants, Ramblings, and More)

2009-09-12T07:27:00.002-05:00

After a month of silence the Jesusgreek speaks....

Book Reviews

"Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell (5 Stars)
When I told my friend Joel that Malcom Gladwell would be speaking at the Catalyst conference I was going to next month, he insisted I read his newest book, "Outliers". Very simply, "Outliers" poses the question: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendants of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.

"The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University" by Kevin Roose (5 Stars)
Brown University student Roose didn’t think of himself as being particularly religious, yet he conceived the novel idea of enrolling at Liberty University, the school Jerry Falwell built, thereby transferring from a school “a notch or two above Sodom and Gomorrah” to the evangelical equivalent of Notre Dame or Brigham Young. His reasons were logical, though curious. To him, a semester at Liberty was like studying abroad. “Here, right in my time zone, was a culture more foreign to me than any European capital.” He tells his story entertainingly, as a matter of trying to blend in and not draw too much attention to himself. One hardened habit he had to break was cursing; he even bought a Christian self-help book to tame his tongue. Throughout his time at Liberty, he stayed level-headed, nuanced, keenly observant. He meant to find some gray in the black-and-white world of evangelicalism, and he learned a few things. His stint at Liberty hardly changed the world but did alter his way at looking at it. That’s a start.
Video Game Reviews

Batman: Arkham Asylum (9.5/10)
I read a review of the game before I bought so I expected it to be good. After playing it for several hours I have found that it is better than expected. The style, the gameplay, the exploration aspect and the plain old fun, its all there.
To start off you actually have to use your brain a little in this game. You can't just walk to your next objective you have to find your way there. You also can't just run into a room full of thugs with machine fists blazing, they will shoot you and you will die. You actually have to pick them off one at a time. Its a nice change because its not so challenging that it frustrates you but makes the game more fun as you find the ceiling vent to escape through or to the back of a thug to take down. I never had a game where the combat and movement flows so nicely. Movement is similar to the grand theft auto games but you really can go just about anywhere you can see on the island. Its a good amount of game time, it takes a lot of hours to get through it and a lot more to find everything hidden to complete the game 100%. So if you are looking for great graphics and and strategy combat this is the game to get.

Rock Band: The Beatles (9/10)
How do you take the greatest rock band in history and create a video game based on their illustrious career? Like this. Rock Band: The Beatles is everything any Beatles fan could hope for. Great song selection, terrific story mode, challenging songs and instruments, and the best graphics yet on any Rock Band game. One cool feature I have yet to tap into yet is the ability to have a bass, guitar, drums AND three vocals at once. Singing along on solo is hard enough, I can't imagine what it will be like to attempt to harmonize with two other singers. My only knock on this near perfect game is it's just not enough songs. Who knew that you could blow through the 46 songs in just a few hours. There is a promise by Rock Band that the entire Abby Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band albums will be out on DLC this fall.

Movie / Televison Reviews

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I'm trying to forget this movie (1.5 Stars)
The Heartbreak Kid - Something about Mary joins Meet the Parents...just not as funny (2 Stars)
The Rocker - Rainn Wilson stars as a washed up 80"s rocker who joins his nephew's high school rock band. A surprisingly good movie. (3.5 Stars)
Cabin Fever - The only reason we watched this movie was because it was filmed in Danbury & Stokes county where my wife grew up. Danbury would be wise to distance themselves from this film as much as possible. (0 Stars)
Six Feet Under - Our newest TV addiction is this long canceled show from HBO. Needing a Michale C. Hall fix in between seasons and Dexter we decided to give this show a chance. I'm glad we did. It's brilliantly written and the acting is top notch (4 Stars)

Rants

** Note: This is basically a gripe session for me and it may or may not make sense to anyone else.

- Hardwood floors are great to have but a pain in the butt to keep looking good.

- Time Warner Cable must be run by a) the Devil b) Osoma Bin Laden or c) pre-schoolers.

- The Panthers are going to be terrible this year. They'll be lucky if they're 6-10.

- Why do my kids a two bedrooms and a play room full of toys, books, games, and more but yet they still say want more?

- Dear jerk in Subaru Outback and soccer mom in blue min-van, how hard is it to follow pick-up directions when picking up your kids from school each day?

- Wake looked worse last week then they have in the past 3 years. Hopefully today will be a bit different.

- Why can't I learn to let go and just not care? Why do I take everything so personally?

- I'm beginning to think we'll never get to park in our garage.

- How hard is it to simply be respectful? Why do people feel they deserve respect from others but they don't have to give any back?

- Am I the only person that thinks Twitter is the most narcissistic fad ever. I don't care if you're standing in line to get coffee or if your stuck in traffic. And if you frequently use facebook's status update then you are heading down the same sad narcissistic path as your twittering friends.

Ramblings

- We are now members of the mini van society. Beth went kicking and screaming but in the end our new/used Chevy Uplander will be much more family friendly then the Honda Accord

- Speaking of the Honda. I posted it for sale on Craigslist last Thursday and sold it within 24 hours. That's the fastest I have ever sold a car.

- We've been in the new house for 2 months now and it's finally starting to feel like home. For a while it felt like we were just staying at a really nice hotel.

- An old friend returned home last week, no not Kel but that was cool to. I'm talking about my '85 Chevy S-10. I owned it when Beth and i first got married and drove it for several years before selling it to my father-in-law. Last week he said he was going to sale it so I bought it back. I figured Jacob would need something to drive in 10 years.

- Jacob started kindergarten at the Downtown Elementary School a few weeks ago. So far so good. He loves his class and his teacher. In fact his teacher has already told us that Jacob is so far ahead that she has him working on 1st grade level math and writing. It's good to know he takes after his dad with his brains.

- We put Maria in a kindergarten readiness class this year that allows her to go 5 days a week from 8-2. She loves it! The school offers weekly electives such as dance and swimming which Maria thinks is coolest things ever.

- We had an amazing vacation at Holden Beach recently. If there is a more family-friendly, peaceful beach in NC I want to know where. The weather was perfect, the crowds were low, and for the first time in a long time, we didn't do a thing all week except hop back and forth between the ocean and the pool. It's what vacations should be - relaxing.

- ACC football predictions: Divison winners: Clemson & Georgia Tech - ACC Champ: GT

- NFL Predictions: NFC & AFC Champs: Green Bay & New England - Super Bowl Champ: NE

More

In case you haven't heard, my new book is coming out this month. You can order it here:
TOP STORY - Michael Gianopulos Co-Authors New Donald Miller Book, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years"

Just another day at McDonald's

2009-08-06T15:47:00.003-05:00

I heard about this on Rock 92 this morning. I didn't believe but it turns out it's true. You can't make this stuff up...

The Perfect Date Night?

2009-08-04T11:39:00.002-05:00

Saturday Beth and I found ourselves surprisingly without children so we wanted to take full advantage of a rare opportunity.

Dinner
We had a coupon (yes we're frugal like that) for an Italian place in Winston called "Paul's Fine Italian Dining" www.paulsfineitaliandining.com We had no idea what to expect since we had both never heard of the place. So being the adventurous couple we are we gave it a try. We were not disappointed. It was amazing! Some of the best Italian food I have ever eaten. Everything there is homemade from the bread, to the pasta, to the salads that Paul grows in his own garden. We'll be back and we highly recommend this place to anyone.

Dessert
A new dessert shop opened just down the block from the church and they had their grand opening on Saturday. So on our way home we stopped by to support our new neighbors. It's called the "The Chocolate Chip" and they serve homemade cookies, cobbler, cakes, pies, and more. The atmosphere was very cool and the slice of Oreo cake I had was perfect. I have a feeling I'll be making many trips down the sidewalk in the coming weeks.

Movie
After numerous recommendations to watch "Gran Torino" that stars Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski, a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them form the gangs that are destroying their neighborhood. The movie was a terrific ending to a great night. It's 4 Stars and a must see.

Dexter Season 4 Trailer

2009-08-04T11:36:00.002-05:00

The best show in TV just behind LOST is back in just over a month. This is a great teaser for the upcoming season. Be warned, the preview is PG-13ish with a few "killer" scenes.

Hail To The King

2009-07-26T15:11:00.003-05:00

On the day that one of the greatest baseball players of all-time was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I want to dedicate this post to him: Mr. Rickey Henderson

1) Rickey… on referring to himself in the third person:

“Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”

2) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

3) In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

4) This one might be my second favorite. This wasn’t too long ago, I think it was the year he ended up playing with the Red Sox. Anyway, he called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

5) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”

6) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

7) Moments after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd – with Brock mere feet next to him – “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.”

8) Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite – which forced him to miss three games — in mid-August.

9) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

10) Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

11) On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

12) San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.

Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

13) I didn’t believe this one at first. However, I emailed a few contacts within the Sox organization and they claim it actually happened. This is priceless, it really is.

The morning after the Sox finished off the sweep against St. Louis last October, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

14) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived — again it was less than a mile – the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.

Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

15) A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, “Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”

16) OK, I know everyone has been waiting for it. Alas, according to both parties involved, it’s not true. I wish it were. Heck, both Rickey Henderson and John Olerud have said they wish it were true. But it just didn’t happen.

The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.”

Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

17) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

18) During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”

19) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman – then a low-level nobody with the organization – called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, “I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”

20) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

21) This is my all-time favorite. Rickey was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer was approaching Rickey’s car, the window went down a few inches and a folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Rickey and his money head home without a ticket.

22) When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

23) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to Billy Beane’s. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

24) To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.

25) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift. Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.” Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly car is on the field?”

What does it mean to "Honor your Mother and Father"?

2009-07-23T07:16:00.003-05:00

I have had a couple of conversations lately with friends who are struggling with the commandment of "Honoring your mother and father", especially in light of the fact that one or both of their parents are not Christians. So what do you do in those circumstances and how far does honoring go if someone is not honorable? Here is an old article I read a few years ago that simply sums it up as good as I have ever read it:

How Do You Honor Your Father and Mother When They are Not Saved?
Answer:

The fifth of the ten commandments that Moses received from God at Mount Sinai says,

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12, NIV)

The question we should ask is, what does honoring your father and your mother really mean? The Greek word for "to honor" in this verse means to prize, to fix a valuation upon, to revere, to value. So to honor your father and mother means to hold them in high regard and respect as the ones who you brought you into this world and raised you. They may not have done a very good job, but God calls us to respect our parents nonetheless.

What does honoring your father and your mother not mean? It doesn’t mean you necessarily agree with everything they believe and do – you can respectfully disagree and still be honoring your parents. If your parents told you to rob a bank, you would respectfully refuse because you know that stealing is wrong. Take a more realistic example of your newfound faith in Christ. If your parents mocked your faith or accused you of being brainwashed or of joining a cult, you would respectfully correct them. In these two examples, you are obeying God above your parents, but still honoring and respecting them at the same time.

This leads us to the pecking order when it comes to whom we obey. Jesus says we must love Him more than our mothers and fathers. Loving Him more does not mean you dishonor your parents. You still respect them, but you hold Christ in a higher place and choose to obey Him over your parents when the two conflict:

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37-38, NIV)

Loving God and following Christ in an unsaved family will undoubtedly cause some level of division within that family. Christ knew He would be a source of division for families who have some saved and some unsaved:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' (Matthew 10:34-36, NIV)

It's awkward to try to have fellowship and a meaningful relationship with family who isn't saved, because there really isn't any fellowship to start with (light vs. darkness). A great way to approach this situation would be to tell your parents how you got saved and how you have experienced God's love and forgiveness. Showing your acceptance of them and your forgiveness of any wrongs will go a long way to mending the relationship, and could even help get them saved as they see how much God's grace has impacted your life.

In fact, we see your sharing your faith with your parents as the ultimate honoring of your father and mother, because you desire to see them in heaven and their lives transformed. It would be dishonorable to say nothing and just allow your parents to continue in their sin for the rest of their lives and into eternity. You are honoring your father and mother by living a holy and godly life. Any parent should look highly on this (but unfortunately many do not).

Satan may try to use the "honor your father and mother" verse on you to get you to stop praying for, and preaching to, your parents about Christ. See this accusation for what it is - a lie. Keep on doing what you are doing, and we hope and pray they come to repentance and a true faith in Christ that produces obedience to, and a love for, His Word.

Ask the Lord to help you love your unsaved parents and direct them towards receiving Jesus into their lives. Do a lot of praying for God to soften their hearts and open their eyes to the truth and He will begin to work!

One more thought I want to add: We live in a broken and fallen world full of imperfect people. In life those same broken people have children. And while no one is perfect and no one is the perfect dad or mom, some parents, through their own struggles with sin, end up doing much more harm to their kids then good. (ex. sexual, physical, verbal abuse, etc) So when does a child, of any age, begin to distance themselves from the destructive lifestyle of their parent(s) and move on? I think under 18 it's up to other family members, friends, churches, and government agencies to step in. Over 18 it's more of a personal decision by the child to respectfully remove themselves from the relationship until a time comes that reconciliation can begin. We don't choose our parents. The argument can be made that God did but even God doesn't control what kind of parents they are.

My 15 Seconds Of Fame

2009-07-22T07:21:00.002-05:00

As I reported in an earlier blog, my soccer team began our summer out-door season with an impressive win. I went on to predict that my "Mike G. Kiss Of Death" would soon follow since I had never been on a winning team in my life before. So it wasn't surprising to me that we lost out next 6 games. Then last night came. Maybe it was the fact we had nothing to play for last night in our next to last game of the season or maybe it was the total solar eclipse in Asia, whatever it may have been our "Big Green Machine" played the best game of our teams life last night as we pulled out a stunning 3-0 shut-out victory. (Kudos to MSBC's very own Hank Ferrel for an amazing night in goal)

The most memorable highlight for me was that I scored my first goal ever!!!!!! I guess a blind squirrel does find an acorn every now and then.

How He Loves Us

2009-07-22T07:20:00.002-05:00

This song is slowly growing on me. This is the best version I have heard yet.

Best Reason Yet For Raising Minimum Wage

2009-07-20T12:49:00.001-05:00

On Friday, July 24, the last stage of the "phased-in" minimum wage will go into effect, bringing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, signed into law by President George W. Bush, provided for a three-stage increase in the minimum wage, to $5.85 an hour in 2007, and to $6.55 an hour in 2008, ending with next Friday's increase to $7.25 an hour.

In a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, Secretary Hilda L. Solis said that the increase would affect workers in 30 states, which currently have an applicable minimum below $7.25, and the District of Columbia, which provides that wages must be $1 per hour more than the federal minimum. For families with a full-time minimum wage earner, Solis said, the increase would mean $120 extra per month, which, among other things, would allow the working poor to replace their regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, "which would save the family money in the long term and be an important step toward a greener country."

I can't make this stuff up!

Nooma 24 Premiere "Whirlwind" - Free for Today Only

2009-07-08T06:07:00.001-05:00

http://premiere.flannel.org/storepremiere.html

Questions about Prayer

2009-07-06T07:26:00.003-05:00

This whole situation with my friend Aaron and his daughter has caused me to re-examine what my take is on prayer. Before I throw out my questions I'm struggling with, I want to make it clear that Aaron, Kate, and their entire family has been on my heart and mind non-stop since I first heard the news a week ago. My current struggles have nothing to do with the way the prayers have been handled by everyone involved with Kate and everything to do with me working out my thoughts and beliefs on prayer. Now on to my questions (which I have no real answers to at this time)

- Does it really matter to God if one person prays or many? Are prayers answered solely in response to the amount of prayers being lifted to God and the multitude of intercessors? Can and is one person's prayer be just as effective as 1000? 10,000? If so then why ask for people to pray? If not then is prayer more like a popularity contest?

- Does it matter who prays? James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" So does only the righteous have their prayers answered? What about the people who aren't "believers" but still feel the need and desire to lift up a prayer for someone even though they don't have a clue what or why they are doing it?

- Is focusing your thoughts and prayers on one person while ignoring the rest of the hurt and suffering just because we are connected in some way with that person the right thing to do? Don't get me wrong, I've probably prayed more for Kate then my own kids this past week, but what about every other 5 year old at any hospital that's going through the same thing? Who's praying for them? What if they don't have the deep family and friend support Kate does?

How much do what we pray for (healing, peace, etc) really effects the outcome? Jesus said to pray, "Your will be done". So why do we ask God to fulfill our will? Oswald Chambers said, "It's not so much that prayer changes things as it is prayer changes me and I change things". I'm not sure why but that has always resonated within me as seeming right. So if it is then does all of our prayers for someone else really change anything for that person? Or does by the simple act of praying for that person we are changed because we are finally in constant communion with God?

Again, this whole situation effects everyone differently. For me it has caused me to search deep for these answers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Praying For A Friend

2009-07-03T06:40:00.003-05:00

Long, heart-breaking story short: An old friend from high school who is now lives with his family in AZ found out this week his perfectly healthy 5 year old little girl has a golf ball size cancerous brain tumor. She is schedule for surgery today. Please lift up Kate, her family, the doctors, and nurses as they begin what will seem like the longest day of their lives. You can read all about their situation here:

CaringBridge / mcraekate / Welcome

The month of June in 10 words

2009-07-02T11:59:00.002-05:00

Where did June go??? And now for a brief recap...

New Kid Coming January
Packing For New House
Mission Trip

Movie Review time: Slumdog Millionare & The Wrestler

2009-06-07T18:33:00.002-05:00

The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke pulls off the performance of his life (and one the best performances I have ever seen by an actor) as Randy "the Ram" Robinson. This tragically heartbreaking story is about a famous wrestler who's dealing with his age, a failing heart, and is beginning to believe it's time for retirement. He has no job skills, his love interest (Marisa Tomei) is a standoffish stripper who only regards Randy as a customer, while his daughter (Evan Rachael Wood) hates his guts and refuses to see him. The opposing challenger he fears most and wrestles with is his future loneliness. Randy lives alone in a trailer park, works part-time in the deli department at a grocery, but his faithful fans and fellow co-wrestlers love him because he's a marvelous guy and a true legend in the ring. The title of the film is a bit misleading because the story actually focuses on Randy's personal life and relationships, how he lives and gets by when outside the wrestling arena. Being a wrestler is what he does and shooting for the title is just a secondary plot which documents all the behind-the-scenes activity in the art of fake fighting. 4 Stars

Slumdog Millionaire
Where to begin? There is so much to say about this film but I am at a loss for words. How do I describe the way it made me feel? It's a drama, a romance, an adventure with action, a story of survival and social injustice. It will tug at your heartstrings and stimulate your mind. Shocking visuals of poverty and violence will assault your senses, but a story of enduring love and perseverance will counter the scenes of sorrow and deprivation. Top notch directing, amazing character development and acting, excellent cinematography, and most of all great storytelling make this a film that will not soon be forgotten. Told in a series of flashbacks, we see the events that shaped the life of the "slumdog" that enabled him to answer the questions as they were presented to him on the Indian version of "Who wants to be a millionaire". To put it simply, this film is awesome and a must-see. 4 Stars

The Man Behind The Curtain

2009-06-04T07:27:00.003-05:00

I stalled as long as I could. After many years of request to record our worship services and after many years of putting it off, the gift of modern technology has finally gotten the best of me. Our church recently purchased some recording equipment for our fellowship hall, which is where I lead our weekly Refinery service, so people would have access to past services.

I'm not sure the exact reason why I never cared if my services were recorded. One reason is I know how I am when I hear a really great talk at a conference. I buy the CD afterward then when I listen to it again it wasn't quite as good as I remembered it. I was always afraid the same thing would happen with me. Someone would love the message and service then listen to it again and see it really wasn't that great. Another reason is the demon of self-doubt I wrestle with daily. After every message I ever give I'm immediately attacked by my dark-passenger. I convince myself that what I said didn't make any sense, or that it was not biblical, or instead of leading people closer to Jesus I actually managed to push them further away. Now that we can and are putting the services online for the whole world to hear it opens up the door for outside criticism of what I say and what we do. And believe me there are some morons somewhere just waiting to pick apart everything that is said and done. It happens to the largest churches and most famous pastors and it happens to the smallest and least known. I just didn't want it to happen to me. I get beat down enough from me much less getting it from anyone else.

So here we are now slowly catching up with the rest of the church world with our new online website. If you care to listen you may, just remember that this is still in it's infancy stages and we're still working out some of the technical mishaps. As far as the music and preaching, there are no excuses for that.

http://www.msbcrecordings.blogspot.com/

So this is what winning feels like!

2009-06-03T17:11:00.003-05:00

In my not so illustrious sporting career I have never, I repeat never played on a winning team. I know it's early and the Mike Gianopulos "Kiss Of Death" will probably come back to kill this but after one game of my new soccer season our team is 1-0! I'm playing with the same group I played in-door soccer with at the Y this past winter. The Kernersville Soccer Association organized their first adult league and had over 200 people sign-up. We joined as a team and added a few more folks to the mix. After getting killed in the in-door season I wasn't expecting to much this go around. I'm not sure yet if the competition is not quite what it was at the Y or we are just a much better outdoor team. We scored the first goal about 5 min into the game (that became the first time our team had ever had a lead) At the half we were up 2-0 and when the final whistle sounded we had won 4-1. Look out Barcelona here we come!