simplyken

A Missional Icon...that few know about

2009-08-07T12:44:00.008-04:00

Think missional is something new? Think again. It may be the fashionable new word of Christians striving for biblical authenticity but I was fortunate to have a Mom and Dad that were missional. They kept missional company like my Uncle Ed (image left) who, to me, is a missional icon.

Uncle Ed just turned 90 years old last month. I was able to go back to Oklahoma and spend some time with him. While his vision has faded with age, he still has an amazing missional mindset. While he's been a missionary to Mexico for sixty years Uncle Ed began living a missional lifestyle before he ever decided to be a missionary. There's too many stories to tell so my conversation below will reflect the results of Edgar Stone's missional lifestyle.

Me: So Uncle Ed, exactly how long have you been doing mission work?

Uncle Ed: Fifty-nine years. It'll be sixty next year.

Me: How many churches have you planted?

Uncle Ed: I've planted eight-eight churches, but we have two missions we've started in the last couple of months. A couple of the buildings have been blown away by hurricanes over the years but the work is still going on there.

Me: That's amazing.

Uncle Ed: The hurricanes?

Me: No, that you're still planting churches at your age?

Uncle Ed: What am I supposed to do? I don't think you can retire from doing the Lord's work.

(I cracked a huge smile and got emotional. Bring it in, Ken...)

Me: I guess the Bible School that you built is going strong?

Uncle Ed: Yep. We've graduated 575 pastors.

Me: Do you know how many churches they've planted?

Uncle Ed: No, but plenty I guess. I don't keep track of that. I've got enough to say grace over.

Me: And the sewing school...how many ladies have gone through that?

Uncle Ed: Over 800 now. They get a certificate of completion that means something to the Mexicans. It gets them jobs that pay $7 or $9 dollars a day instead of $2 dollars a day. A lot of the pastor's wives have gone through so they can earn money so their husbands can do ministry and plant churches. Some of them go through just to start their own business or get a better paying job.

So here's a guy that's ninety years old that's lived a Great Commission life - a missional life. Of course, there were revival meetings and crusades and the typical evangelism events that were the norm for his generation. But I know from personal experience that his opportunities to persoanlly share the Gospel didn't center around holding meetings. It centered around relationships that he built with people every day. It happened because he practiced social justice and was a pioneer in "business as mission." Then there's the mentoring of 575 pastors and their personal impact and who knows how many churches have been planted as a result.

That's a missional lifestyle.

Perez Hilton's and Miss California's "firestorm"

2009-04-21T19:24:00.011-04:00

So Perez Hilton, the celebrity blogger, asked a question to Carrie Prejean (Miss California) pertaining to California's same sex marriage law and followed up with, ""Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?". Not only did he say that her answer (born from her values and spoken with authenticity) cost her the title, he then vilified her by calling her a "dumb *%$@#"

"If you can't say anything good..."
Let me start by saying that I think the structure of Mr. Hilton's question was solid. Great setup, good application, and then a qualifying wrap. My appreciation for his interview skills and as a reputable blogger and especially a beauty pageant judge pretty much ends there.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should."
So it seems that just about anyone can be a judge at a beauty pageant. I mean after all, I could be one. I blog. I'm a guy. I'm a pretty good judge of beauty (you reading this Michelle?). I am a student of popular culture and have been told I have some mad relationship skills. I haven't even gotten to my signature square glasses and my ever evolving "doo". My question is, "When do I get my phone call to get that gig?"

The answer will be, "Never". Mostly because I'm happily married and Michelle would slap me into next year. Another stellar reason is that just because I have the same qualifications as Mr. Hilton doesn't mean that I should take the gig. In fact, even though I have one more qualification than Mr. Hilton I shouldn't take the gig. You see, I'm not gay and he is. I have one more qualification than Mr. Hilton does in this instance.

Out of sheer curiosity I ask the question; Why would a beauty pageant ask an openly gay man to be a judge for a clearly heterosexual event? That's like inviting a livestock judge go to the Westminster Dog Show. It just doesn't make sense. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from homophobic. Quite the contrary. I have gay friends. It just seems stupid to have a gay man judge a beauty pageant.

What's worse is to have an inconsiderate, under-qualified judge at a competition that's clearly lost any relevance that it could possibly have ever possessed.

Oh yeah, the whole just because you can doesn't mean that you should thing comes from an ancient spiritual text that says something like "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial." Smoke some of that.

As a side note, I'm positive that if someone called Mr. Hilton a "@#&^%$# whatever" for responding with his clearly biased opinion of Ms. Prejean's answer, he would use his media leverage to smear someone else.

Another blogging cycle begins

2009-04-17T10:21:00.003-04:00

It's evident that I blog in cycles. I think it's more about workload than commitment. Seth Godin will remain forever the Blog King in my mind.

A new cycle/season in my life has begun. I've taken a job (9 months into it now) as the Maturity|Missions pastor at Chestnut Mountain Church. ~~The title is a bit confusing. It's really an executive pastor kind of gig. What it boils down to is that I manage people so our senior pastor doesn't have to.~~ There's been a reorganization with student's and children's ministries reporting directly to Jeff. I still have plenty to do...

In the last nine months I've traveled to Uganda, Kenya, and Germany for mission trip stuff. Interesting to say the least. I must admit that Germany was my favorite. Not because it was 1st world. If anyone reads this that knows me, you know that I prefer difficult mission work, both physical and spiritual.

Germany has a desperate need for more church plants. There's some cool stuff going on, but young adults in that country are starving for relevant churches. I'm still praying about how I can help out there. Pondering...

Spiritual disciplines

2008-01-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure the current Christian sub-culture in America understands the spiritual disciplines. I'm not sure they want to know what the spiritual disciplines are or what they entail. My experience with Christian sub-culture in other parts of the world is that they don't need as much to grow at a greater rate than we do. Experiencing their Christianity makes clear to me that how we Americans view spiritual growth is, at best, skewed.

A contributing factor is that, in an attempt to engage people in spiritual disciplines, the marketing arm of every American denomination (especially mine) has attempted to create a nauseating amount of studies for every imaginable demographic. I'm thinking about writing the study notes to a new Bible called "The Anorexic, Single, Chemically Dependent Parent of Hyperactive Children Study Bible." Only in America.

Ubiquitous technology is also huge factor in our failure to engage in the spiritual disciplines. Technology is supposed to simplify our lives but it usually provides more clutter. I still love technology. I love iTunes. I love podcasts. I love the Internet, my cell phone, my bass guitar, my PowerBook G4, iPod, coffee pot with timer, WiFi, DSL, T1, satellite TV, TiVO, YouTube, and my garage door opener.

I heard a church leader in North Africa say that the cell phone was the 11th plague on Egypt. I think technology may be a plague to end all plagues, at least in America. Too much of a good thing is, well, too much of a good thing. Take frogs for instance. Frogs are okay. Frog legs are even tasty when they're cooked properly. Frogs eat pesky insects. Frogs are useful and make great National Geographic pictures. Frogs are great except when there's so many you have to pile them up and their decomposing carcasses stink to high heaven. Let me have frogs, but let me have them in moderation. Likewise with technology.

Getting your devotion on an RSS feed to your cell phone that you read during a boring meeting might qualify as engaging the spiritual disciplines. Maybe. It could happen. Or maybe you could open your Bible for 30 minutes instead of surfing the Internet, or checking email, or texting, or writing on somebody's Facebook wall, or watching season three of The Office...again.

Me? I'm going to end this post and pick up my copy of "The BIBLE in 90 Days; Cover to Cover in 12 Pages a Day" that I was enticed to buy when an endcap caught my eye at my local Lifeway Christian Store. Hey, it works for me. Do whatever works for you. Just engage in a spiritual discipline.

Alexa.com...go kill some time, but not too much

2008-01-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

I found the website Alexa.com while I was reading a book for work about search engine optimization (SEO). It's a great site that shows current rankings for the most popular sites on the Internet. If you have a website, you can see where it's ranked. I downloaded the toolbar widget so I can see how popular sites are when I come across them.

Go kill some time at Alexa.com, but not too much time. Mindlessly entered into, it really deteriorates our relationship with God. More in a later post and a sermon at CMC on Jan. 27th.

People still checking simplyken out

2008-01-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

Oddly enough, people stumble onto my blog. It's amazing. People are finding me with some pretty bizarre searches. Anyway, thanks to those who read...I guess. I'm definitely not trying to get ranked on Alexa.com, for sure.

So about the moniker thing...

2008-01-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

Since it's been SIX MONTHS since I posted the last time, do you think I'm gonna remember? I've got other theology crankin' my brain right now.

Been thinking about the "born again" moniker...

2007-07-11T22:52:00.000-04:00

And it's a good one. I've been thinking about it a lot recently due to a study on salvation we've been doing in one of our small groups.

More thoughts before the weekend...I'm a bit tired right now.

Bravo, Prince!

2007-07-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

Prince is giving away, yes, giving away his new CD as part of a covermount. Nice. He's ticking off record retailers by doing so. I say, they need to get over it. It will probably be a catalyst to him selling even more copies than if he had gone the regular distribution route.

Maybe there's another monster hit like Purple Rain on this new project. I hope so.

OK, just one more...

2007-06-28T21:59:00.000-04:00

"I feel like God does make everything happen for a reason."

So God made her drink and drive...and then He made her drive without a license...twice...and then He made her feel victimized.

Things that make you say, "Hmmmm."

Paris Hilton's favorite Bible verse...

2007-06-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

"Ummm....I really don't have one."

I couldn't resist.

If you're ever in Southern California...

2007-06-23T13:02:00.000-04:00

Try out a great sushi bar in Del Mar named Matsu Gawa. Except for my hand cramping because I don't know how to use chopsticks that well, the food was super fresh and the portions were large.

We took some clients out for dinner at Chart House, just south of Del Mar. The view was amazing (Sorry, no pics.) We made reservations through the Hilton and they made arrangements for the best table in the place and our menus had my bosses' name at the top..."Jeff and Susan Sanders party". Pretty cool.

Last night we ended up going to Carlsbad to eat at a Mexican restaurant. We weren't about to fight the traffic headed to San Diego for the Padres game. Hey, we live in Atlanta and we're not stupid, OK?

Anyway, it was a great trip that paid off big time for our marketing department. Hope to see most of you at church tomorrow.

Gone to San Diego

2007-06-19T22:31:00.001-04:00

I'll be in San Diego tomorrow through Saturday. If you need me, email me, text me or call me.

Just remember that I'll be three hours behind. In 72 degree weather. On the beach. Eating seafood that's billed to the company credit card.

See you Sunday at 11:30am.

The first month of 47five17 has been pretty amazing...

2007-06-19T22:16:00.000-04:00

Why? Well, let's just enumerate, shall we?

Not many students knew me that well.
It was announced it at church, but not much more than that advertising-wise.
A lot of students were coming off a pretty crappy senior year at church.
We're not a college town, per se. (But then again we are the home of Oakwood University!)
We haven't thrown a bunch of money at it.

Why has it gone so well so far? Let's enumerate...

Pastor Jeff has been behind it from before day one and has supported it big time.
You guys were way ready for something that wasn't HS, but was young adult.
A lot of you were coming off a pretty crappy year at church and were ready to engage.
There were more than a few that decided to stick around GSC...sweet.
The students and young adults of Chestnut Mountain like my hair.
Prayer.

Good times.

StumbleUpon

2007-06-12T21:41:00.000-04:00

If you want one of the best time killers for surfing the web, go to StumbleUpon. Put in your interest, click on the little globe in your browser, and stumble upon some of the coolest, eclectic, and obscure websites ever.

Enjoy.

Spiritual beings living a human existence

2007-06-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

Our pastor, Jeff Benefield, has recently and frequently used the phrase "We are spiritual beings living out a human existence." Or at least something really close to that. Fact is, it's a very true statement, especially proven in recent conversations that I've been involved with. For instance...

A couple of days ago when working at BestBuy, one of my favorite managers was passing the time with me (we were brutally slow), and was telling me that he had found a great movie about vampires. I asked him why, and he said it was because that the movie a lot of the cast of Aliens in it and that immediately made him a fan. He said it was just cool. So how is that spiritual? People innately gravitate to spiritual things. It's not the first time someone said they loved a vampire movie. The whole vampire thing is, to be sure, a spiritual topic. Demons, crosses, Holy Water, life after death, etc. It's fascinating stuff to a lot of people. We are spiritual beings living a human existence, even if the most popular spiritual topic isn't "Christian."

Another example can be found in my oldest daughter. She's enamored with the thought of the spiritual, sometimes with spiritual stuff that isn't founded in a Biblical worldview. Just last night, I went downstairs to grab a book and found her watching "The Exorcist III." While she had only watched just a few minutes of it, I was a bit ticked off and made her change the channel. I chose to use the event as a chance to disciple her....We ended up having a great discussion about the reality of demonic activity and the misrepresentation of the majority of Hollywood's portrayal of spiritual things. My ultimate response was that she couldn't watch crap like that without knowing exactly what the Bible says about it.

Since Christians are spiritual beings living a human existence, we should take advantage of the insight that Scripture gives us into the spiritual. It's just plain lazy to let Hollywood or the journalistic establishment drive our worldview of spiritual things. So get on Biblegateway.com and search demons, angels, heaven, hell, and anything else that movies like The Grudge, The Ring, Underworld: Evolution, or Constantine portray as truth. While there may be entertainment value for some in those kind of movies, it's important to remember the following:

As a spiritual being living out a human existence, you've got to know and understand the Truth.

New header design...

2007-06-08T21:52:00.001-04:00

Huge thanks to super-freak artist Jonathan Maloney for the new header design. How cool is that? As much as I love the pic of the old blue truck, it was time for a redux.

Thanks again Jonathan...all I can say is, "Wow!"

Another Paris Hilton blog entry...

2007-06-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

I wonder how much time humanity lost today in following Paris Hilton's re-incarceration? The court did today what her family failed to do...enforce boundaries and show her the consequence of living outside those boundaries. Her courtroom antics were more like a chided toddler than a grown woman. Go figure.

One of the most refreshing things I heard today was from an 11 year old girl visiting our home. After our family's conversation about Ms. Hilton ended, the girl asked, "Who's Paris Hilton?" I responded, "It's really good you don't know." I wondered out loud to myself, "Why did I waste so much time listening to other people talk about it?" Perhaps I'll waste less time on stuff like that in the future.

Paris Hilton is a thumbnail of what's wrong with pop culture.

Wow, that's a great sentence if I may say so myself. I should have just left it at that. I'm too lazy to delete the other paragraphs.

Later...

This Sunday...

2007-06-07T22:09:00.001-04:00

Why is there pain, evil and suffering? (for Sunday, June 10)

2007-06-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

Add to that, 1) Why do bad things happen to good people? 2) is God punishing me for things I've done? 3) Why Sanjaya? (just kidding).

Everyone has asked at least one of the above questions to themselves. The human response runs the gamut of, "I don't know" to "God is punishing me" to "I hate God for letting that happen." None of the responses is an clear Biblical response. The goal of this Sunday's discussion is to help you get your head around the basics of the question and build an understanding of evil and suffering that results in a Biblical worldview.

The college courses that touch on evil and suffering (philosophy, humanities, sociology, psychology, ethics, etc.), will rarely be taught from a Biblical worldview. They will, more than likely, be taught from a completely humanistic view of the world. So, your choice is to 1) Go to class relying on an uneducated "pop" Christian understanding of the deeper questions of life, or 2) Have an educated and Biblical worldview and be able to discuss it with more confidence. With that being said, let's choose the latter.

Here's some stuff to research: (You can post questions!)

Google the following important dead guys and their basic thoughts on pain and suffering:

- Albert Camus
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How do the following nonevangelical faith systems view evil and suffering?
- Hinduism
- Christian Scientists
- Buddhism
- Zoroastrianism
- Manicheism

How did Plato view evil and suffering?

Look up and find what you can on the following Biblical principles (views) of evil and suffering:
- The Punitive principle
- The Disciplinary principle
- The Revelational principle
- The Redemptive principle
- The Eschatological principle

Here are some Biblical passages to meditate on:
- Genesis chapters 1 and 3.
- Romans 5 (verse 15-18 then 1-5)
- Romans 8 (verses)

Later...
Ken

FreeMind

2007-06-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

I've always thought mind mapping was a cool thing. I bought a book to try to learn how to do it because Ed Young said it revolutionized his productivity. The book was tedious at best. Maybe my self diagnosed adult ADD had something to do with it.,,who know. One thing I do know is that I found a free mind mapping software called FreeMind and it's freakin' cool. It's relatively intuitive and has made my strategy and planning for the college ministry really become focused. It's not perfect by any stretch but it definitely is robust enough to get the job done. And it's FREE. I likey.

Back in the saddle(s)

2007-06-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

Part One
Since the last year has been one of underemployment (understatement of my lifetime), I chose to take on a part-time job with BestBuy last September. I took three months off so I could focus on my day job. After things solidified there, I got back in the retail saddle and I haven't even broken stride. Sales are good, even in the slower part of the year. In the grand scheme of retail employment, it's a really fun job. Especially since I only work on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. The employee discount is sweet, too. I'll probably work through July for now because....

Part Two
As I've posted before, Jeff has asked me to fill in at CMC on Sundays that he's away. I'm doing it again on July 15th. Good times. As a result of my growing relationship with
the staff, they asked if I would be willing to do Young Adults (18-35) and Missions on a part-time basis. So, I'll start doing that in August. That's a lot for part-time, but because the two areas are squarely in my "sweet spot", it will be a challenge and not a chore. The big focus is on college age through the end of school year '08. Career people and young marrieds are next and then missions. I won't be able to lead mission trips until I build some vacation time at my full-timejob. Until then it will have to be vision casting and logistics.

It is a much welcome return to home electronics and ministry...I can hear Hank Williams now,...."back in the saddle(s) again."

Personal update

2007-06-02T22:38:00.000-04:00

As my two faithful readers know, it's been challenging year for me. Transitioning to the marketplace hasn't been hard from the perspective of my ability to perform. Rather, it's been finding a place that matches my abilities and passions. My current employer, a small but very successful website and hosting company, is a great fit. I was hired because they needed someone with public speaking ability and sales experience. The company takes care of their employees in generous and creative ways. I'm very blessed to have the opportunity. Thanks, Jeff and Susan.

Pandora, the website...not the first female

2007-03-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

This post is for all 1.5 people that have frequented my blog recently. Especially for Charlie, since he's into music. Just a tip to try out Pandora, a music streaming site with a great twist. You create a "station" from an artist or song that you like and Pandora will go and find similar artists or songs. Lovely, actually. I have the following stations so far: Cartel, Yellowjackets, Kutless, Corinne Bailey-Rae, Porcupine Tree (great band), and Collective Soul. You can "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song and it will remove it from the playlist.

Do not be yoked together ...with another cell carrier

2006-06-20T20:37:00.000-04:00

We are long-time Cingular customers. We have been particuarly fond of calls that are free to our long distance friends and family and to other Cingular customers. We have even carried an exorbitant amount of rollover minutes...until recently.

Our oldest daughter, who turns 15 next week, has a boyfriend now. He's a good kid. Smart. Articulate. Athletic. Good looking. Outgoing. Well mannered. Sounds like the perfect kid.

Problem is, he's a Verizon customer. That's not good. As of the 18th of the month we had less than 100 minutes left. Right now we...rather, she and handsome have whittled our rollover minutes down to 582 as of 8:44 EST this evening.

The Bible is full of practical wisdom. While it is outside the boundaries of exegesis, I am still convinced the the words found in 2 Corinthians 6:14 can be applied to different cell carriers. Nay, the yoking of Cingular kids and the sinful kids with other cell carriers.

I fully realize that customers of Verizon and the rest are casting stones at me as well. Maybe Alltel (love their new commercials) has a corner on the truth.

I've calmed down now. Loving my neighbor as myself...and making sure beautiful and handsome call each other on the land line or using IM before 7pm on weeknights.

if you would have told me I would be doing these things a year ago...

2006-04-24T21:06:00.000-04:00

I would have never thought I would be a partner in my own business. (Oh yeah, that TEC thing didn't work out. Their loss.)
(1) That I would be TiVo'ing the Stanley Cup playoffs. (2) That I would actually watch them and enjoy them immensely.
That I would not be in full time Christian ministry.
That I would be heavily involved in the student ministry of the church I attend...and totally digging it.
That I would be garnering a reputation as an encourager....who'da thunk?
That I would be more patient than ever before. Frankly, just a little patience was a big step for me.
That I would be this focused and happy after all the stuff that's happened in the last eight months.

God alone gets the credit for everything. The biblical challenge of "count it all joy" actually seems like it's possible to attain. At least now more than ever.

Peace.

it's all about the life changing story

2006-04-17T22:06:00.000-04:00

Easter is a big day in my faith system. It's actually bigger than Christmas. Christmas is great and everything but, in the worldview of the evangelical Christian, it's simply a precursor to the celebration of the apex of Christianity...the atoning death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I've been doing the church thing from the womb and have seen lots of different portrayals of the life of Christ. I've played the apostle Peter in a Passion play. I've gone to Easter cantatas. I've participated in a bunch of different Easter rituals, including egg hunts. I reckon they have their place. From my perspective, it seems that the focus of all the rituals tends to be on the production rather than how the Passion story can actually change someone's life.

This Easter was different. The church I attend, Chestnut Mountain Church, did a life drama based on the life of a guy at our church. The guy, Chris, had grown up in church and knew the right answers but he never allowed it to change his life. He ended up making some poor choices and lost his job, marriage, and the respect of his friends. The result was multiple run-ins with the law and jail time. After a long, dark road of addiction he ended up repenting and asking Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior. The songs, video, personal testimony of Chris, and drama of the conversion were so well done that the focus stayed on the message of God's life changing power. It was balanced. Brutally honest. Crystal clear. Real life kind of stuff.

Yesterday was proof that a church can communicate the claims of Jesus Christ with poignant relevance. Kudos to the leadership of CMC.

Oh yeah...I got to play bass yesterday. Rippin' good fun for sure.

Interesting

2006-04-06T22:14:00.000-04:00

I'm always intrigued to see who's been stopping by my blog. I hope it's been good for you somehow.

UNITED...incredible

2006-04-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

In the Christian worship music subculture there are some psalmists/artists that receive rock star treatment. It's unfortunate, but it happens nontheless. There is a group of folks from down under that, at least on the surface, seem to be the real deal. The student worship ministry of Hillsong from Australia called UNITED exude genuineness. While I haven't met them personally, it is evident that there is something different about these people.

My wife and I went to see them at 7:22 last Tuesday night. As usual, the production was first class. The UNITED folks were in top musical form and more importantly, led the crowd in some very authentic worship. It was incredible. I know that may seem over the top to some, but that was the perception that I and my wife had of the evening.

I haven't picked up their new CD/DVD combo United We Stand, but I'm sure I'll buy it. Even though I'm a huge fan of ITunes, I'll pick up the good old fashioned hard copy. The DVD's these guys produce are very well done. It's worth the extra few bucks.

gee whiz, I had fun tonight

2006-03-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

Our newly formed men's discipleship group had our first meeting at an Atlanta Thrashers game tonight. We spanked the Sabres 5-0. One of the guys in the group owns great seats he uses for business purposes. His clients backed out tonight. Bummer for them...

The group is made up of some guys in the construction industry. Two concrete guys and two erosion control guys. They started the study group and asked if I would lead it. I, of course, said "Yes" simply because it was a way to help some guys that had been struggling spiritually and another that is on a spiritual quest.

The spiritual barometer for the group is: One follower of Christ that's just starting the growth process. Another is not a believer, but is intensely seeking spiritual things. The third is a Catholic dude that is spiritually sensitive, but I haven't had a chance to go much beyond that. Then there's me...a guy that thrives on making disciples.

Not only did we do some serious male bonding tonight, we also found out the reason that we all wanted to be a part of the group. That reason is that being in a macho industry doesn't make you a man. What makes you a man is the strength of your character. All of us have something(s) that we need to adjust in our lives. Our goal is to see that happen in this group.

So how did the four guys fare at the game? We all spent a ridiculous amount of money on Philips Arena food. None of the guys bought beer. The Catholic dude gave up beer for Lent. Two of the guys don't drink that much. Me...I'm a Southern Baptist again so that means drinking is verboten (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Seriously, "'You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything'" (1 Corinthians 6:8, NLT).

I had fun tonight. It proves that you don't have to get hammered to have fun with the guys. It does, however, help if your team crushes their opponent.

the bittersweetness of sort of being back in the Southern Baptist loop

2006-03-17T05:43:00.000-05:00

Stealth Baptist
I'm attending a stealth SBC church now. We're stealth because we don't have "baptist" in our name. I think they changed the name to save on printing costs. I'm not sure of that though. At least its a place where I feel comfortable inviting people to check out the claims of Jesus Christ.

Warm fuzzy
There is comfort level of being a part of a large organization. For me, it's knowing that there is some sort of support network. The ability to share and retrieve information related to the Mission increases dramatically when you're in the SBC loop. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy as I write this.

SBC doesn't stand for Stupid Baptist...yet
Granted, the SBC has its share of flaws. One that personally ticks me off right now is a controversy over something that isn't fundamental to carrying out the Mission of the Church. It's a controversy that has caused many to spend more time involved in writing postition papers than carrying out the Mission. Not good. I personally think they would rather argue than lead people to eternal hope. It's also causes others to spend their precious time making sure there is a balanced rebuttal to the whole thing. For those who care, check out the blog called SBC Outpost. My bud Marty Duren is just short of genius because his blog is so much cooler than mine.

Mission
In the grand scheme of things, nobody empowers people to be on Mission better than the SBC. You can plug into the system or you can create your own system. Very nice. We've come a long way baby.

Have a nice day......Yes, it's OK to hum the BonJovi tune right now.

just for fun

2006-03-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Charlie...and I'm in the mood to talk...

Four Jobs I've Had

* Short-order cook (same as Charlie!)
* Truck rental operations manager (almost like Charlie!)
* Substitute teacher
* House painter

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

* The Matrix
* Tombstone
* Napoleon Dynamite
* Open Range

Four Places I've Lived:

* Lead Hill, Arkansas
* Kansas City, Kansas
* Little City, Oklahoma
* King George, Virginia

Four Shows I Like To Watch:

* 24
* SportsCenter
* Mythbusters
* UFC

Four Foods That I Like:

* Seafood
* Falafel wrap
* Medium rare filet mignon
* Little Debbie Devil Squares

Four Sites I Visit Everyday:

* Yahoo Sports
* Atlanta Falcons
* Atlanta Journal-Constitution
* GeorgiaWeather.net

Four Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

* Visit all of the Smithsonian museums
* Go deep sea fishing for sharks
* Do the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure thing
* Play bass for Eric Clapton

Four People I'm Tagging:

- The only people I know really well that blog have already been tagged...

It's been longer than next Monday...like seven months

2006-03-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

The three day retreat was prophetic. I can't remember the Scripture reference that spoke to me the most, but it essentially said I should be silent when spoken against. So the last seven months have been silent. The emotions have died down. I have forgiven. I have moved on.

We're members at Chestnut Mountain Church . Great pastor, great staff, especially great student pastor. I'm playing in the band and helping out with the student ministry.

For income, I have taken a position as an Area Sales Manager for The Erosion Company. I would give you a link, but our website is lame. If you must see it, Google it. It's enjoyable primarily because I get to spend a lot of time outside and with all kinds of people. The vast majority of the people I come into contact with are not Christ followers. That makes for lots of opportunities to make a difference, so that's probably the coolest part of the job.

I am healed, energized, and ready to blog again. So here goes...

TO'ed by T.O.

2005-08-18T09:39:00.000-04:00

This is a picture from March, 2004. Happy times. Terrell Owens is getting what he wants. A seven-year contract worth almost $49 million.

He helps the Eagles make it to the SuperBowl. He makes a heroic effort to play after recovering from a serious injury. No one can deny his brilliant performance in that game.

Fast forward to August, 2005. Terrell Owens is whining, complaining, and calling it "business" that he is worth more money after a good, but not phenomenal year. He wants a new contract. The Eagles haven't budged and T.O. decides to repeat his antics with the 49'ers. He badmouths his coach and his quarterback....a lot...on national TV. So much for the history lesson.

There aren't enough words to describe the depth of T.O.'s self-centeredness. He is a cancer. T.O. and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, are pathetic examples of everything that's wrong with America's popular culture. T.O. may be a gifted athlete, but he has some serious deficiencies in his character. T.O. is a three year old trapped in a ProBowl body. Unfortunately, Andy Reid and the Eagles have the unfortunate task of raising the boy to be a man.

Good luck, Coach Reid.

Go Falcons!

Partnership in missions...common calling, common goal

2005-08-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

Just a little recap...God initiated the idea of partnership in his redemptive plan. Missio dei or God on mission is a great way to describe it. Thanks, Marty. I hadn't thought of that phrase for a few years. God on mission, in the flesh, giving us a living, breathing example of what it means to be incarnational. To the casual reader, there's a lot of Christian subculture words here. They are good words with deep meanings. Investigate them.

The recap continues with the example of individual/individual, individual/church, church/church, church/denomination, and denomination/denomination partnerships. If you're wondering how two churches or two denominations can partner together in missions, the answer comes in points three and four of this article.

3. Common calling in mission partnerships.

The apostle Paul speaks of a Macedonian call to share the Gospel in a specific place to a specific people. That call was shared by Luke and Silas. The Scripture clearly points out that the calling was to share the Gospel with the Macedonians.

One of the mystical components of the work of the Holy Spirit is how he pulls together people of like minds to reach specific people groups. The common calling in mission partnerships takes place through prayer, the study of Scripture, and participation in vision trips to places where one believes God may be calling to join him on mission.

For example, I resonate with two distinct different groups. One group that I have a heart for is the postmodern American culture. God has placed in my path others that have a desire and innate ablity to reach this specific group of people. There are many others that have a desire that all people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but they do not have the same passion or skill set to reach postmoderns. Another group I have a heart for is a people group in North Africa called the Beja. I cannot tell you specifically why I am drawn to this people group. I can only tell you that there is a distinct call from God to be on mission on their behalf. Not everyone is willing to go to North Africa in a predominately Muslim setting to be on mission. There are, however, those with a common calling that I partner with.

4. Common goal in mission partnerships.

Common calling is accompanied by a common goal in mission partnerships. In mission partnerships, the common calling to a specific people group is the result of a God given unity to believers. The product of that unity are common goals that God gives to the partnership.

I say to potential partners (this gets me in trouble with people from churches with congregational polity), "God doesn't give mixed signals to his people." If God calls you into a partnership, he will not tell you one thing and those that partner with you another. God isn't schizophrenic. He does not author confusion. God authors unity.

These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:14, NASB).

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6, NIV).

There will be leaders that rise up and take the initiative in administrative and logistical areas in any partnership. There will be differences in opinion in those areas, to be sure. If a partnership is truly being led by the Spirit, those differences in opinion will quickly fade under the deep sense of God's hand in the common calling and goal.

Apple laptops aren't worth this...

2005-08-16T14:36:00.000-04:00

I want an Apple laptop really bad. Fortunately, we're budgeting for one in the Fall sometime for me. As bad as I want an Apple laptop and as bad as I want to be a good steward of God's money I would never do anything like this.

Partnership from a mission perspective

2005-08-15T19:05:00.000-04:00

The word used for partnership in the New Testament is koinonia. For those of you that are seasoned veterans of the Scripture, you will recognize this word is also interpreted as "fellowship".

The three instances* in which koinonia is used in conjunction with missions are:

common gift, contribution (Romans 15:23)
partnership in the Gospel (Philippians 1:5)
partnership in the ministry to the saints (2 Corinthians 8:4)

*The root word is also used in 2 Corinthians 13:13 in the sense of communing, partnering, or fellowshiping with the Holy Spirit.

Two of the uses (first and last) deal with partnering in giving to the work of missions and very well may have been the same common fund collected for the church in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, it gives the present day church a precedent of cooperating in giving to missions. The second of the uses deals specifically with partnering with other Christians in the sharing of the Gospel toward the accomplishment of the Great Commission.

The Lord Jesus sent out the disciples in twos. That is clear evidence that partnering with other individuals is an important part of being missional. It is also a prerequisite for empowered prayer...where two or more are gathered, etc. The partnership of Paul with Silas and Barnabas are other instances where individuals partnered with each other for the purpose of sharing the Gospel.

Churches partnering for the purpose of strengthening other churches and sharing the Gospel is evident in Paul's letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. It is a clear example of the Gentiles within the Church giving aid to and partnering with the Jewish contingent within the Church.

While the language of the Scripture is not in imperative form, there is a solid precedent for partnership in missions. That being said, mainline denominational Christian churches and independent churches that currently do not partner with other churches are missing the mark. Empowered mission work takes place when believers partner together. The growth of the Gospel is also more rapid efficient when partnerships take place.

How partnerships can take place between individuals, churches, denominations and even sending agencies will be discussed in the next two sections of the article.

Biblical basis for partnership in missions...on being missional

2005-08-14T23:43:00.000-04:00

I am taking a break for the next week from writing the daily devotional. In its place, I will be making good on a commitment I made to write a manuscript for a presentation on missions that I presented this Spring.

Hopefully it will serve a two-fold purpose: 1) I will keep my word to some friends and co-workers. 2) It will begin to generate a mission mindset at The Journey Church and with others who might read the musings herein.

I truly think it will be as challenging for you as any devotional I would write (or not). Prepare to be challenged to look outside your world to a world that is dying without Christ.

My guess is that the manuscript will be read (when completed and if distributed) by church leaders and churches of a more traditional mindset. My prayer is that they will begin to replace the word "missions" with "missional".
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The purpose of this article is to revisit the Scriptural call of God for partnership in mission. God's call is for local churches to partner with each other and with individuals to increase their effectiveness in sharing the Good News at the local, regional, national, and international level.

This goal of this article is for church leadership engage in Biblical partnership and influence the people they lead to: 1) challenge people to be missional like Jesus 2) understand the common calling the local Church has to mission partnership 3) find unity in the common goal of the Church in mission partnership 4) embrace the common doctrine in mission partnership 4) adopt an attitude of equality in mission partnership 5) openly communicate within the mission partnership.

1. On being missional...like Jesus

To truly understand partnering with other Christians in the work of mission, one must begin with the ultimate example of mission partnership that is embodied in the Incarnation. The Incarnation, God on mission as human, should be a revelation to us that God fully intended the work of redemption to be a partnership (John 1:1-14). Jesus was and is the embodiment of God on mission. Jesus showed us that to truly be a God-follower, we must follow His example of missional.

God chose to set the example of partnership by working with and within humanity to accomplish His redemptive plan. Jesus called on us to carry out the Great Commission through his incarnational or 'missional' example.

In recent history, there are individuals and a scarce few churches that have exemplified the missional example of Jesus . In my opinion, there is no Christian denomination in existence today that embodies the missional church.

That's why it's important that we understand the first biblical example of partnership in mission is God in partnership with humanity in his redemptive plan. The primary example we must embrace in being missional human beings is that of Jesus Christ. Why God would partner with humanity in his work of love and grace will remain a mystery...at least until the Second Coming. Until then, it's not for us to figure out but simply to obey. We must follow the perfect example of being a missional God-follower given to us by the Master in the New Testament. We will fall short of that example, to be sure, but the grace extended to us in our shortcomings is simply one more facet of helping pre-Christians understand the loving nature of the Heavenly Father. I believe that can be summed up in the word "authenticity".

There are a lot of things we can learn from Jesus' example of being missional. We should be willing to understand the cultural aspect of those God puts in our path. We should have an ability to understand the spiritual sickness that underlies the presenting problems of social aberrations. We should have a willingness to approach and socialize with those that are far from embracing the principles of God's revelations of Scripture. We should be willing to share the Gospel and all of God's principles in a way that is relevant to whatever culture God may send us. Jesus modeled a missional relationship with God in each of these ways. Jesus called us to do the same when he said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Understanding the primary model of partnership in missions that Jesus gave us in his incarnational/missional lifestyle is the foundation that all mission work should be built. Embracing that primary example of partnership given to us by God is a secure beginning point explore what the Bible says about local churches partnering with other individuals and churches.

Tomorrow: The meaing of partnership and biblical examples of individual and church partnerships.

a prequel to Partnership in Missions for my emergent friends...

2005-08-12T08:24:00.000-04:00

God chose to set the example of partnership in missions by working with and within humanity to accomplish His redemptive plan. Jesus called on us to carry out the Great Commission through his incarnational or 'missional' example.

In recent history, there are individuals and a scarce few churches that have exemplified the missional example of Jesus. In my opinion, there is no Christian denomination in existence today that embodies the missional church.

There has been a resurgence of the missional church. But missional people and missional churches operate under the shadow of the institutional Church. The institutional Church, and the denominations within it, have done a disservice to many Christians in creating and teaching a "corporate America" mindset in doing the work of mission.

The denominational stockholders are encouraged to invest in the local church. The local church, in turn, pay a franchise fee to the denominational mission institution or "sending agency". Professional missionaries are screened and hired by the sending agency and are then supported as the sales force of their denomination. They come home regularly to give reports. The sending agency of the denomination publishes their annual report in the hope of increasing their revenue base. The institution feeds the institution. Some mission work takes place, for sure, but effective mission work suffers.

There is need for a wholesale change in denominations to adopt missional thinking. So that missional people don't come off as elitists or whiners, it's important that missional people are an example to the institutional church by modeling partnership in mission work. A wholesale change in thinking by a denomination will take many years of influence, so that means that people that have recaptured the missional thinking of the early Church should work with their respective denomination while partnering with others to accomplish the Great Commission.

So what if you're like me and you just can't do the denominational thing anymore? Keep some of your denominational contacts. Then look for like-minded people to partner with in missions. There are plenty of movements out there, just keep your ears and eyes open. Above all, keep being missional.

Biblical basis for partnerships in missions...on being missional

2005-08-12T06:23:00.000-04:00

I am taking a break for the next week from writing the daily devotional. In its place, I will be making good on a commitment I made to write a manuscript for a presentation on missions that I presented this Spring.

Hopefully it will serve a two-fold purpose: 1) I will keep my word to some friends and co-workers. 2) It will begin to generate a mission mindset at The Journey Church and with others who might read the musings herein.

I truly think it will be as challenging for you as any devotional I would write (or not). Prepare to be challenged to look outside your world to a world that is dying without Christ.

My guess is that the manuscript will be read (when completed and if distributed) by church leaders and churches of a more traditional mindset. My prayer is that they will begin to replace the word "missions" with "missional".
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The purpose of this article is to revisit the Scriptural call of God for partnership in mission. God's call is for local churches to partner with each other and with individuals to increase their effectiveness in sharing the Good News at the local, regional, national, and international level.

This goal of this article is for church leadership engage in Biblical partnership and influence the people they lead to: 1) challenge people to be missional like Jesus 2) understand the common calling the local Church has to mission partnership 3) find unity in the common goal of the Church in mission partnership 4) embrace the common doctrine in mission partnership 4) adopt an attitude of equality in mission partnership 5) openly communicate within the mission partnership.

1. On being missional...like Jesus

To truly understand partnering with other Christians in the work of mission, one must begin with the ultimate example of mission partnership that is embodied in the Incarnation. The Incarnation, God on mission as human, should be a revelation to us that God fully intended the work of redemption to be a partnership (John 1:1-14). Jesus was and is the embodiment of God on mission. Jesus showed us that to truly be a God-follower, we must follow His example of missional.

God chose to set the example of partnership by working with and within humanity to accomplish His redemptive plan. Jesus called on us to carry out the Great Commission through his incarnational or 'missional' example.

In recent history, there are individuals and a scarce few churches that have exemplified the missional example of Jesus . In my opinion, there is no Christian denomination in existence today that embodies the missional church.

That's why it's important that we understand the first biblical example of partnership in mission is God in partnership with humanity in his redemptive plan. The primary example we must embrace in being missional human beings is that of Jesus Christ. Why God would partner with humanity in his work of love and grace will remain a mystery...at least until the Second Coming. Until then, it's not for us to figure out but simply to obey. We must follow the perfect example of being a missional God-follower given to us by the Master in the New Testament. We will fall short of that example, to be sure, but the grace extended to us in our shortcomings is simply one more facet of helping pre-Christians understand the loving nature of the Heavenly Father. I believe that can be summed up in the word "authenticity".

There are a lot of things we can learn from Jesus' example of being missional. We should be willing to understand the cultural aspect of those God puts in our path. We should have an ability to understand the spiritual sickness that underlies the presenting problems of social aberrations. We should have a willingness to approach and socialize with those that are far from embracing the principles of God's revelations of Scripture. We should be willing to share the Gospel and all of God's principles in a way that is relevant to whatever culture God may send us. Jesus modeled a missional relationship with God in each of these ways. Jesus called us to do the same when he said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Understanding the primary model of partnership in missions that Jesus gave us in his incarnational/missional lifestyle is the foundation that all mission work should be built. Embracing that primary example of partnership given to us by God is a secure beginning point explore what the Bible says about local churches partnering with other individuals and churches.

Tomorrow: The meaing of partnership and biblical examples of individual and church partnerships.

On having non-Christian friends and making a difference in the world

2005-08-10T05:52:00.000-04:00

A Baptist deacon asked his pastor to go with him to invite a friend/co-worker to an upcoming Easter service. The pastor, of course, accepted the invitation immediately. The pastor met the deacon at the church at the appointed time. They left in the deacon's truck and headed to their appointment.

As they engaged in conversation about their favorite mutual subject of football, the pastor noticed that the deacon was headed down a street that was known primarily for it's night life. No, not night life as in bats or raccoons or even the opera. Night life, as in bars and strip joints. The pastor asked where they were going to meet the invitee. The deacon named the bar. The deacon then asked if the pastor wanted to turn around and go back to the church. The pastor, being the rebel he was and remembering how Jesus mingled with all kinds of people, told the deacon to drive on to the appointment.

The appointment was kept by the invitee/friend/co-worker only because the deacon knew that his friend could always be found at this bar, on this day of the week, having a beer and shooting a game of pool. The deacon pulled into the parking lot of the bar and parked. The pastor looked around to see if any members were driving by and got out knowing this is what Jesus would have done.

The deacon and pastor walked into the bar and made small talk. Being "good" Baptists, they ordered two Pepsi's and got in line on the invitee/friend/co-worker's table. The deacon's friend was, admittedly, taken back by having his Christian friend come into "his world". And when the deacon's friend asked who the friend was he had with him, he was taken back even more. The deacon and the pastor got beat like a drum at the pool table but they made a positive impact on the non-Christians in the bar that night. The invitee/friend/co-worker didn't attend the Easter service, but he was closer to listening to God's message of forgiveness more than ever before.

The pastor never told his church members he went to the bar. He didn't want the deacon to get in trouble.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Growing up in the Christian subculture, I was taught a form of bigotry. It was a bigotry targeted at non-Christians. Kind of strange, don't you think? In the very same house, I was taught to respect people of other ethnicities and cultures. Even though we were from the South, the "n" word was verboten in our home and rightly so. Being the son of a pastor, I was raised in a home that place a high view on international missions. The result of that was a personal desire on my part to learn and investigate other cultures. The culture of North Africa deeply intrigues me to this day.

The bigotry, of sorts, against non-Christians in my earlier years was a genuine attempt of my parents to keep me from running with the wrong crowd. After all, Socrates did say that "birds of a feather flock together." There is a thread of wisdom to be embraced here, no doubt. But when I began to read the Bible more intensely in my latter 20's, I came across a number of passages that completely blew apart my worldview of non-Christians . No longer could I say, "They just need God." I had to say, "I need to be their friend so they can see Jesus in me." (It also meant I needed live a more authentic Christian life.) Christ hung out with the disciples for sure. He also spent most of his social life in the presence of people that the religious people thought were off limits...white collar criminals, prostitutes, and those with socially unacceptable diseases to name a few.

The following passage of Scripture should challenge every Christian that reads this devotional. Especially if their view is that Christians should only have other Christians as friends.

So buckle up all you Christians, we're going for a ride...this devotional might make you a bit queasy.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral peopleÂ 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. (1Corinthianss 5:9-10, NIV; emphasis mine).

As Christians, we can't be isolationists. Secluding ourselves from those that are not yet Christians, to paraphrase Paul, would mean that we would have to pack up and move to Mars or something. Over my many years of being in the Christian subculture, I have heard people say in arrogance or ignorance that they had nothing other than Christian friends. The arrogant wear it as a badge of honor. The ignorant probably would have non-Christian friends but they've either been sucked into the legalistic Christian subculture or they simply haven't thought that much about it. The reason for this blog entry/devotional is to jar some and nudge whoever is left.

So how do you have non-Christian friends without being influenced to the point of indulging in the things that cause them and you pain and misery? How do you make a difference in the world without compromising the spirituality that's transformed your life? Do what Jesus did. He had a core of God-followers that he was around the most. When he spent time with those who weren't yet God-followers, it was always after he had spent a lot of time talking to the Heavenly Father in prayer. Talking to God a lot also prepared Jesus for the criticism he would receive from the Pharisees, i.e. religious jerks. (On a very encouraging note to those that attend The Journey Church, you don't have to worry too much about Pharisees in our faith community.)

If you're a follower of Christ and you lack non-Christian friends, get some. It's the only way to make a difference in the world for God. Have Christian friends, but be a friend to those who aren't Christ followers yet. Don't take my word for it. Take Jesus' word for it:

9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:9-13, NIV).

It's time we all made some new friends, isn't it?

Have a great day

The big flashlight: a modern day parable

2005-08-09T06:01:00.000-04:00

It was a dark and stormy night. (Nice beginning, huh?) The weatherman had warned of thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. The hail woke us up. Then it got still and quiet. Then the wind picked up again. That meant it was time to get in the 'frady hole (Okie phrase for storm cellar). We had to use our hall bathtub as our storm cellar. But that wasn't the real problem. The problem was, the power was out. It was pitch black except for the flashes of lightning that intermittently gave just enough light to get to a spot and be stuck until the next flash of lightning. I didn't have to worry about that because I had the big flashlight in my bedroom. The other flashlights had weak batteries. I knew that because I could hear Dad screaming something to the effect that I had better put fresh batteries in his flashlight after I go frog gigging next time or it would be my hide. I was thinking to myself he should have listened to the weather before he went to bed. After all, the weatherman said it was going to storm...bad. The more I thought, the worse things got all the way around.

It didn't help matters that Dad stubbed his toe on his way to the kitchen to find some matches and a candle. Now he needed the light so he could find me and kick me into next week. All the time I couldn't figure out what the panic was about. I couldn't hear the freight train sound of the tornado yet. Besides, I had the big flashlight with me. In fact, I was just getting out of bed to find it for Dad.

Now there was another problem. I couldn't find the big flashlight. I couldn't find the only flashlight in the house that had a good battery in it. Brilliant. I needed to find the only good flashlight in the house fast because things were quiet in the kitchen. That meant Dad was getting close to having the light necessary to...well, you know.

Found it. It was under my laundry. Not in the laundry basket, just under my laundry. Under the "clean enough to wear again" pile next to my bed. I clicked the button on the big red flashlight with the good battery, and it lit up my room. I turned around to take Dad the flashlight and saw him standing in the doorway. I anticipated the inevitable implementation of Proverbs 23:13. As I handed the light over to my Dad, he greeted me with words that I completely did not expect.

He took the good flashlight from me and said, "Son, you have to keep the big flashlight where anyone can get to it when it storms. It puts everyone at risk when you keep it to yourself. Now take this candle and go get some blankets out of the closet and get in the tub in the hall bathroom. I'll go get your mother.........What in the world were you thinkin' anyway?"

I was thinking I was glad I didn't get kicked into next week. I was thinking I was selfish to keep the only good flashlight for myself. I was thinking Dad knew that feeling guilty about putting others at risk would be worse than his boot in my backside.
.......................................

Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all (Matthew 5:15, NLT).

Even in the most modern of translations, Matthew 5:15 takes some investigation to understand the truth within the passage. Let's put the passage in modern day terms. "Don't turn your flashlight on and stick it in the laundry basket. Instead, keep it out where everyone gets use out of it." In other words, if we keep the light that Jesus Christ has given to us to ourselves, it deprives those who don't have a relationship with him from knowing him at all. Their eternal safety is at risk when we selfishly keep it to ourselves. If you and I are going to make a difference in the world, we have to put the light of Christ in an obvious place. A place where it can benefit everyone.

Heavenly Father, please help us remember that the light of your love is for everyone. May we never keep it to ourselves. In Jesus name we ask this. Amen.

Have a great day.

On being Johnny Storm

2005-08-08T08:57:00.000-04:00

In the summer blockbuster movie Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm takes a leap of faith from a skyscraper and then screams, "Flame on!" He takes off in a blaze of glory and defeats the heat seeking missile intended to kill him. He is a changed person. He has embraced the incredible power created within him as the result of an encounter with force far greater than himself. He is able to do things no one, not even Johnny Storm, thought possible. Amazingly, he begins to understand his new found abilities aren't for his personal glory but for the better good of humanity. He moves from self-centeredness to serving others.

If you're a follower of Christ, your story should turn out a lot like the Marvel comic character Johnny Storm. Since you've been reborn and have become a new creation, you've been given capabilites far greater than your own. In order for you to realize all that God has for you, it will take a leap of faith on your part.
The gifts you've been given of eternal life and the power of prayer aren't yours to keep. Instead they've been given to you to benefit others. God has re-created us so we can make a difference in a world that is sick and living in darkness.

You are the light of the world - like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see (Matthew 5:14, NLT).

The leap of faith you and I have to take isn't that difficult. When Jesus speaks about his purpose and plan for us in Matthew 5:14, he's telling us that he will put us in a position where our light can be seen...like a city on a mountain. He's also saying that our light isn't there just for our benefit, it's there for others to find their way to God...through us. We're a light that should draw others into the community of God.

Letting your light shine in the darkness of the world is actually easy. That's because letting your light shine is more about being than doing. Jesus says that his followers are the light of the world, we don't have to manufacture anything. Being in a healthy relationship with him results in being a light. Jesus puts us in a place where we can be seen, in a community of other lights, so others benefit and can see their way out of their personal darkness. That's easy enough. God's grace not only makes us a light but puts us in a place where that light can be seen.

More on letting your light shine tomorrow.

Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all (Matthew 5:15, NLT).

Have a great day.

Big God

2005-08-03T09:22:00.000-04:00

Forgiveness is a big word when it refers to God. Especially the word used for forgiveness in the Old Testament. OT for all of you newbies. We're talking the first thirty-nine books of the Bible.

The word that's used in the OT to describe God's forgiveness toward us is literally translated abundant forgiveness. That's not just plain vanilla forgiveness here. Not a "no problem" or a "it's all good" kind of forgiveness. Think about the word abundant. It means plentiful or profusion. In other words, an ample supply of lavish expenditure. It just keeps getting bigger. Amazing. That's a lot of forgiveness. That's a Big God. Let's talk about the last half of that translation. The word forgiveness means to give up resentment. When God forgives, he lets go "a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury."

So what's that say about God and his ability to forgive? Even though God is displeased with our sin he chooses to lavishly expend his love on us. In other words, you can't begin to tap his forgiveness. He is more than willing to give up any feeling of displeasure with us and his ability to forgive is endless.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21, NIV; emphasis mine)

For those reading this that are followers of Christ: Take some time and thank God for his abundant forgiveness. If you meditate on that passage long enough, you won't be able to do anything but bust out in thankfulness.

For anyone reading this that hasn't started a relationship with God: God's forgiveness is bigger than...well, you name it. His abundant forgiveness is there for the taking. Ask him to forgive you and wait for him to pour his abundant forgiveness into your soul.

He's a Big God. Very Big God.

Have a great day.

Thinking beyond forgiveness

2005-08-02T13:57:00.000-04:00

Forgiveness isn't easy for a lot of people. Read the following real life situations and think beyond forgiveness. It will help you forgive the big stuff and the little things.

"I can't believe they call screened me."

Forgive them. Maybe they have something big going on in their life right now. As a matter of fact, you may not be the most important person in their life at this second. Or they could be very busy. There's a possiblitiy you could be getting on their last nerve and they don't want to talk to you right now. On the other hand, maybe there's a relationship issue that needs to be resolved. You may need to ask them to forgive you.

"That jerk just flipped me off!"

You didn't do anything. You're just sitting there minding your own business. The person that used their middle finger to tell you you're Number One has bigger issues than not getting his/her way in traffic. Forgive them. It's clear they're leaning toward their Darth side. Ask God to bring something or someone into their life to make it better. You say, "Yeah, right". I say just try it. You'll be amazed what it will do for your attitude.

"I'll never be able to forgive them for what they did."

A fireman accidentally dropped their overcoat on the road after they finished a run. My Mom swerved to miss it, lost control of her car, and ran head-on into a conversion van. She died immediately. Did the fireman make a mistake? Yes. But would being angry at him for the rest of my life bring back my Mom? No. The circumstances were completely beyond my control. Forgiving the fireman was the only logical solution. I had to forgive the fireman for something he did that was totally out of my control. It wasn't just the right thing to do, it gave me peace in a difficult time.

We can't control how other people react to life. When their adverse reaction to life affects us, we have to forgive them. We can learn about how to forgive when we understand where forgiveness comes from. Forgiveness began with God. God, in his perfect wisdom and knowledge knew that humanity was going to make mistakes...plenty of them. God decided to forgive humanity and give humanity a chance to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness is God's gift to us. He forgives us when we use our free will in ways that damage our relationship with him and with others. He could control us. Even though he's God and he has every right to control us, he chooses differently. God shows his love for us by not controlling us. He gave us free will so that we can choose to love him in return. So what do free will, love, and forgiveness have in common?

If God controlled us, that wouldn't be love. If God didn't forgive us when we exercise our free will, that wouldn't be love either. So God forgives. Jesus Christ showed us what it meant to forgive, even from a human perspective. Sure, he was God and he could have simply given the word and rescued himself. But Jesus' mission wasn't to impose himself as God on humanity. His mission as God was to forgive humanity for the wrong done to Himself and to humanity. Another facet of Jesus' mission was to show that humanity had to be a part of God's mission. He showed us we should forgive others for things we don't have control over.

We can't control other people's life situations. We can't control traffic. We can't control other people's oversights. You can't control the fact that I sent this daily devotional out so late.

We can control how we react to life.

Have a great day.

p.s. Please forgive me for the late devotional!

Anything minus one

2005-08-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

God can forgive anything we do to him or others. Anything except one thing. Some that read this will inevitiably say, "What's up with that? You've said earlier that God forgives all sins." I did say that. He does forgive all sin...I just forgot to mention the except one thing. It's a sin that I don't think about too much. I don't think about it much maybe because from a very early age I was taught to not even go there. Jesus is the one that let's us know about it. He says:

I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin (Mark 3:28-29, NIV).

The anything minus one is blasphemy. So what exactly is blasphemy? You don't hear about that one much, right? The reason it's not mentioned much is because it's a sin directed at God alone. He's the only one that is directly hurt by this sin. That's the reason it's so grievous. It's the only sin that guarantees the punishment of eternal separation from God. No wonder my parents to me to never go there.

Here's a definition:

blasphemy: 'blas-f&-mE
1 a : the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b : the act of claiming the attributes of deity
2 : irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable

This sin should make us shudder. Doing something that would cost us eternal separation from God? Something that is irreversible? No way. Why would we want to slander, defame, or make fun of the very name of God? Nothing comes to mind for me. How about you?

Jesus got around the "claiming the attributes of deity" part because he was God. Jesus told the Pharisees (the religious jerks of Jesus time) that you could defame him personally or his name. That's because Jesus knew they were thinking of him only as another human being who dared to claim an aspect of deity. It never crossed their minds "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father " (Philippians 2:10-11, NIV).

We jokingly say to pompous and arrogant people, "Who died and made you God?" Plenty of people, especially celebrities for some reason, claim to be God. Some religions like Mormonism claim you can be a god some day. That would mean that an imperfect creation would somehow become perfect and rule their own universe or planet. One thing is for sure: If I ever ended up in a universe like that, I would be pretty ticked that I was worshiping someone who had been human once. Total buzzkill.

All kidding aside, this is serious business. When we commit those inevitable daily sins, we can have the assurance that God will forgive us. His perfection makes up for our perfection. He has the ability to see beyond our flaws and see us for who we can be. He continues to love us while we struggle to move beyond the things currently holding us back.

Most of you that read this don't think much about blasphemy. That's good. The thought of slandering God is something you don't want to think about too much. It's best to keep God's incredible mercy and forgiveness in the front of your mind. About that blasphemy thing... just never ever go there.

Have a great day.

a Christian worldview of eternal life

2005-07-30T11:07:00.001-04:00

While there are varying views of heaven and the afterlife among evangelical Christians, most agree on how one gains eternal life.

If you want to read more than my little blurb here, pick up John Eldredge's book, Epic : The Story God Is Telling and the Role That Is Yours to Play.

Disclaimer: This is a rough paraphrase of the story of God's redemption of humanity as recorded in the Bible. It is what it is. The intent of this post is to answer the question of a guy that sounded like he honestly wanted to know. Questions are fine, but if you want a theological debate you probably know where to find them on the Web anyway. With that in mind...

God created Adam and Eve. They lived in a garden called Eden. Life was perfect then. They had total access to God. They walked with talked with God every day. God made things easy to exist. He gave them only one condition to live by. "Don't eat of the tree of good and evil. If you do, you'll die." Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of human pride and ate the fruit. It immediately caused a separation between them and God. They had to leave the garden of Eden. The result 0f their disobedience was separation from God, pain in birth, hard work, and unpleasant things like thorns and thistles started cropping up...not to mention physical death.

God didn't give up on humanity. He made a covenant (literally "cut a deal") and said that he would never leave or forsake humanity. In fact, he made a way for sin to be forgiven. A sacrificial system was put into place but humanity did a lousy job of following that. He knew the sacrificial system they were using wasn't going to be the solution. The whole time this was going on, God was telling us there was much more to come. Much more of his forgiveness and love that is.

Enter Jesus Christ. He was God in the flesh. 100% God and 100% man. That's a tough one to explain...it just is what it is. He was born of a virgin, impregnated by the Spirit of God. Very mystical, but, why shouldn't it be? This is God stuff we're talking about.

Since Jesus was God in the flesh, he lived a perfect life. No one in history can say that. He showed us what it meant for a human to have a perfect relationship with God in the midst of a world that was infected through and through with sin. Sort of a prequel to a new Eden...a new heaven and new earth. Religious people hated Jesus' guts. They tried to kill him from the get-go. In due time. God had a plan for humanity to be redeemed through Jesus.

The religious freaks had Jesus sentenced to be crucified and he was crucified between two criminals. Then Jesus, doing exactly as the Father asked, took all the sin of humanity on himself. My sin, your sin, everyone's sin was nailed to the cross and forgiven forever.

He was buried. He stayed there for three days. On the third day, he rose from the grave. Can't explain the metaphysics, he just rose from the grave. After he rose from the dead, he spoke to his closest disciples and told them what they need to do...that was to tell everyone possible that their relationship with God could be restored.

When we believe this story, a story only God could pull off, God restores our relationship that was broken in Eden to brand new.

Our reaction to the story can be outlined like this:

- Admit that what we've been trying to obtain peace and forgiveness hasn't worked and that we need God to forgive us of our sin.
- Believe that Jesus died on a cross to forgive us our sin and that he rose from the grave.
- Accept God's free gift of eternal life. God gives you eternal life because you admitted that what you've done hasn't worked and you've been humble enough to admit it.
- Commit to growing your relationship with God.

Another good thing to do is read the book of John in the Bible. It explains things really well. Go to www.biblegateway.com

a Christian worldview of eternal life

2005-07-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

Stopping the vicious cycle of religion

2005-07-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away (Isaiah 64:6, NLT).

I think Karl Marx may have been right when he said "religion is the opiate of the masses." Now before you choke on your bagel or spit out your latte, let me explain.

Religion is addictive. Religion as an institution that realizes humans need to feel better about what they've done wrong. Protestants pay penance by attending church every Sunday, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Catholics go to confession. Presbyterians give lots of money. Episcopalians have the best Christmas parties. No matter what their denomination or faith system, they get their conscience fixed one way or another (or not) and continue to be no different than the rest of the culture. It's addictive. Live like you want, then numb your conscience with religious ritual. You feel good about yourself for a couple of days and then you feel the need for a fix. Do some more religion. Feel bad. Come back for more religion.

Most people have at least been exposed to the vicious cycle of religion. They've either experienced it first hand or they've seen how shallow it is from the outside. People move from religion to religion or church to church looking for the spiritual high that will last them all week. That's why Isaiah 64:6 was written then, and that's why it's so applicable now.

The beginning point to stopping the vicious cycle of religion is to start a relationship with Jesus Christ. He alone can fix the core issue: sin. When we trust in Christ alone to solve our problem of repetitive damaging behavior (sin), the need for a spiritual fix goes away. It's almost overstated in some circles, but knowing God is about a relationship and not religion. Jesus Christ makes us brand new...mind, body, and soul. "We are all infected and impure with sin." Jesus cures our infection of sin. Religion simply numbs the pain of sin for a while.

"When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags." Outside-in religion gets us nowhere spiritually. Doing the right thing, saying the right thing, being in the right place...all the pious things that we think will bury our real problem of sin, end up being worthless. We leave the religious gathering with an emotional high that fades quickly. Or worse, we leave with no sense of encountering God at all.

So we begin again. But this time we realize that the issue isn't the church or religion, it's our sin. We realize that there is no quick fix for our souls. The cure for our sin sick souls is a relationship with Jesus Christ. We realize it will take consistent work on our part. It will be an everyday, every hour, every moment commitment. And God is there, all the time...waiting to show us His love for us. He accepts us unconditionally and challenges us to change without making us feel like dirt.

We can all stop the cycle of repetitive, damaging behavior in our life. The fix is inside-out, adjusting our character as we grow in a relationship with God.

Have a great day.

Ricky Williams and holiness

2005-07-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

If you follow the NFL, you know that Ricky Williams has decided to play football for the Miami Dolphins again. He's turned over a new leaf. He's been given a new beginning by head coach Nick Saban. No more weed for Ricky. He contritely asked forgiveness from his teammates for leaving them in a tough spot last season. He's a changed man. He's gone from the narcissistic, tokin' tailback to the total team player. When I read about and saw footage of Ricky's comeback, I gave him credit for trying to make amends. In his own way, Ricky's been on a quest for holiness.

Now there's a word you don't hear much about lately: holiness. I'm not talking about the Pope here. I'm talking about the lifestyle that Christians are supposed to live. This isn't the prudish, Quakerish, what you do on Sundays kind of thing. It's a state of being.

Holiness is hard work. Being holy is a lot harder than looking holy. Lot's of people can fake it for an hour or two on Sunday morning. That's easy. It's also why a lot of people that claim to be Christians fake it. The whole time, we're breaking God's heart because the sincerity of our faith is a fraud.

But I'm not talking about you or me, right? We know that if you're a genuine follower of Christ then you've been made holy by God's forgiveness (Romans 3:24). You've been given the ability to approach God whenever and wherever (Hebrews 10:18-19). The hard work of holiness starts soon after your reorientation to what is good and right (Hebrews 12:1-12). Your conversion was a point in time (you were reborn; John 3) but the process of becoming like Jesus Christ is a continual process (2 Corinthians 2:15).

So what is holiness anyway? If it's not the pomposity of religion or the arrogance of belonging to a moral country club, what does it look like in the everyday life of a Christian? To begin with it means you're different...on the inside. The reorientation of your soul and spirit from self-centeredness to others-centeredness has taken place. Quite literally, you have been set apart from others. Not for pomposity or arrogance, but for serving. Your relationship with God has been sealed, but the process of changing your behavior has just begun. It's a process that happens from the inside out.

The process is one that takes discipline and hard work. The process is initiated by God and then you and I participate in the process of becoming holy. Here are some principles of the holiness process found in Hebrews chapter 12: We have to consciously get rid of anything that slows the progress of becoming more like Jesus Christ (v.1a). We can't give up on ourselves or God (v.1b). We must keep the example of Jesus in the forefront of our minds (v.2). We have to get used to the fact that holiness is hard work. It will take self-discipline and accepting discipline from God to keep us consistent (v.3-12).

Holiness is hard work, so we have to work hard at it. When we're not consistent, God's grace is there to forgive. When we are consistent God is standing on the sidelines cheering us on. Either way, God is on our side. His love endures forever. Keep working at being holy.

Have a nice day.

Beginning again...from the inside out

2005-07-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

Things looked okay on the outside. It was a bit worn, but it looked reasonably intact. As you walked around the church their were signs that upkeep was needed but it didn't look that bad. It seemed that way until a Southern Oklahoma thunderstorm opened all of our eyes to the truth.

I walked into the church on the blustery morning before church and heard water running. I thought it was a toilet that was stuck at first, but the sound was different in a way. Following the noise down the hall to a door that led to a storage room, I opened the door and found a four inch waterfall pouring from the ceiling. The deluge had broken through the roof, broken the ceiling tile and poured onto the floor. I immediately grabbed a barrel that was used to collect food for youth camp and put it under the waterfall. It was clear the makeshift solution wasn't going to handle the deluge long.

Then I heard voices over the sound of the church's new waterfall. Three very faithful men had followed the roar of the water and begin to survey the situation. Lucky for us, the church had let me store some extra tools in this room. Luckier still, one of the tools was an axe. One of the men took the axe and cut a hole in the floor straightaway. He poured the barrel, now 2/3 full of water, into the new hole in the floor. Problem solved. Sort of.

A wise old man in the congregation began looking around. He knew it was a symptom of a much larger problem. He found a problem that included six broken rafters, rotted flooring, an outside wall that was three inches out of plumb, and an auditorium roof that would cave in with the next good snow. His investigation resulted in the gutting the auditorium, tearing out a complete section of the church, replacing the entire roof (rafters and all) of the auditorium, and a complete restoration of the interior of the church.

We had to begin again. The process started with people admitting that things had been done wrong. They had let repairs slip. They had added on without thinking about how it would affect the rest of the structure. They realized the there was a need for a total renovation. The essence of the building had to be left intact, but the structure had to be restored and rebuilt. It was a daunting task. It would happen overnight.

Sort of sounds like our lives doesn't it? We find out that our lives need restructuring and we wonder if it's even possible. The great thing about God is that "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26, NAS). When we learn from our mistakes and restructure our lives, the storms of life don't cause nearly as much damage. When we live our lives based on God's ways it leads to a more consistent spiritual and emotional life. Here's a verse I hope will make it more clear to you:

If you are wise and understand God's ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth (James 3:13, NLT).

Water came pouring into the church on that Spring morning. Mistakes had been made. We ended up spending a lot of time fixing things in our little world instead of letting the love of God pour out to our community.

Live a life of steady goodness by understanding God's ways so you can help others enjoy and understand God's goodness.

Have a great day.

"I'll never do that again..."

2005-07-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

I'll never chew tobacco again. As a right of passage to make the varsity high school baseball team, I took a good chew of Red Man. Thank goodness it was at the end of practice on the way home. I turned three shades of green and then got sick. I promised myself I would never do that again. I didn't do it again...until a year later. A good friend of mine said Copenhagen was smooth and he never got sick. He said I should try some. I did it again. I turned four shades of green this time and got more sick than I did the time before. It was awful. I said to myself...you guessed it...I'll never do that again.

I actually never did use smokeless tobacco after the last time it made me sick. It wasn't will power or a brilliant display of holiness on my part. It was a passage of Scripture from the Bible that taught me a powerful truth about learning from my past mistakes.

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly (Proverbs 26:11, NIV).

Poignant, don't you think? Those words graphically spoke to me how ridiculous it was for me to use smokeless tobacco. Others could handle it. I couldn't. To continue trying it was just being stupid. I kept returning to my vomit, so to speak, and I kept playing the fool. Those words kept me from repeating that past mistake. The principle of Proverbs 26:11 kept me from repeating other mistakes as well.

Why is it so hard for us to learn from our past mistakes? Why don't we learn from them? To keep doing something over and over again that causes us physical or emotional pain is foolish. We keep doing "it" because we don't like to admit we're wrong. We try to rationalize our behavior so we can continue the madness. However, the only way to stop the cycle of damaging behavior (sin) is to put wisdom in our mind and soul. To do that you have to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5) and memorize an appropriate Scripture that will help you refrain from doing "it" again.

My troubles turned out all for the best - they forced me to learn from your textbook (Psalm 119:17, MSG).

Make a point to memorize Proverbs 26:11 (the dog and vomit passage). It's kind of gross, but I promise you it will make you stop and think next time you want to repeat a past mistake. God wants his best for you. He's given us all the wisdom we need for life in the Bible. Put the Scripture into your heart and soul. The repetitive mistakes of the past will fade away and you'll begin to understand the phrase "His love endures forever."

Have a great day.

football...Falcons...hot...fun

2005-07-25T21:21:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of training camp in for NFL teams. Since I live a mere 15 minutes from the Atlanta Falcons training facility and I'm a huge fan, I decided to endure the mid-90 temp and watch some football.

Big dudes. Except for Warrick Dunn. Michael Jenkins is a stick, but he can sure do the do. Then there's Ed Hartwell, our big free agency pick up. He's a beast. Michael Vick even acknowledged a bunch of kids that were screaming his name at the top of their lungs seeking his recognition. He gave it. Nice.

You can't get as close to the players as you could two years ago. That stinks. However, you didn't get to go to training camp two years ago, just passing camp. It's still a great thing to take in. It's FREE. If you want to park close you pay $5 to some Hall County booster clubs or you can follow me to a little known road across the street from the facility and park for free. It's not like watching them play the Eagles, but hey the price is certainly right.

It was stinkin' hot. I think the rest of practices I catch will be the morning ones, especially after school starts. There won't be as many people attending then.

I sure do miss being a high school football chaplain. Freaking ACLU.

Beginning a new week....again.

2005-07-25T08:38:00.000-04:00

Everybody dreads Mondays at one point or another. It's back to the grind. You go from the weekend to being five days from the weekend. The traffic, duties, and people you got away from on the weekend are back. It's inevitable.

Maybe you're feeling like there's no way to get past the stuff of life. Maybe you did something over the weekend you regret. You could be overwhelmed with life and don't know how you're going to get past it. Then again, you might not be pressed all that hard but you still could use some reassurance that God actually does care about you. Below is one of those "Wow" kind of passages from the Bible. Read it and then we'll look at it a bit more.

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day (Lamentations 3:23; NLT).

Look at the middle phrase, "By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction". Encouraging stuff. Are you breathing right now? Good. Thank God for His mercy. Been destroyed recently? Credit God's unfailing love and mercy. Have things been difficult in the past but they're looking up now? God's faithfulness is large...huge.

If you're a follower of Christ and God is your Heavenly Father, then his promise to you is His unfailing love. In the first sentence in the passage above God tells us that his love is unfailing (eternally consistent) and it never ends. The passage also says that his faithfulness is great (literally 'huge'). So God's love is eternally consistent, doesn't stop, and his faithfulness is huge. Even on a Monday. Oh yeah, and every other morning too. God's mercies are there on hump day or your worst day. We all have those days we would like to forget, but few of us rarely face destruction. We can thank God for His mercy on that one.

Your boss may fail you. A co-worker may blame you for their mistake. The car may break down or your A/C may go out at your home. You may even get stuck in the dreaded Interstate parking lot. No matter what, you can count on God to be there faithfully loving you fresh and new every day.

Take some time right now or sometime today and draw close to God. Enjoy his presence and unfailing love.

Have a great day.

So how are things?

2005-07-22T07:31:00.000-04:00

So we've been on the devotional journey for a couple of weeks now and it's time for the big question. It's a question that may challenge you or frustrate you. It may also be a question that causes your mind to race with all of the things God has been saying to you recently. It's a question that will help you gauge where you are in your spiritual journey. I've written a lot of words the last couple of weeks, but there's no need for a lot of words from me today. It's time for the question.

Are you ready? Here it is.

How are things between you and God?

Talk to him about it. His love endures forever and His mercies are new every morning.

Enjoy your time with the Heavenly Father.

Have a great day.

Be prepared for a visit from God

2005-07-21T07:06:00.000-04:00

It's in our nature to want to encounter God. Mankind attempts to encounter God in many ways. They worship nature, animals, geographic locations, other humans, and some even aliens. They build mosques, temples, altars, sheds, shrines and even pile up rocks in order to connect with God. Some people slide on their hands and knees, others pierce their bodies, still others cut themselves and a few even nail themselves to crosses. All of these methods of attempting to meet with God focus on taking something material and enticing God out into the open or proving that one is worthy to be in His presence.

If you read the Old Testament of the Bible, you'll find something of an obsession with some people in building a temple for the presence of God to reside in. It's actually something God ordained and asked to be done. He even gave specific directions and materials to be used in building the Temple.

I encourage you to take the trouble of reading the specifications for the Temple in 2nd Chronicles. Take the time to read the detail and picture it in your mind. It's really quite fascinating. The defining moment of the completion of the Temple was the Israelites experience of God's presence. It personally struck me how nonchalantly we take an encounter with God and, specifically, how we prepare for an encounter with God.

Christianity often does a lot of things to get ready to meet with God. Some dress up in their Sunday finest. Others make sure they've given plenty of money to the decoration of the sanctuary they attend. The more progressive folk put their emphasis on making sure the latest technology comes off without a hitch. A lot of things are done outwardly to prepare to meet with God, the moment arrives, and more people than we would like to admit walk away from the experience unchanged. Now read Hebrews 9:11-14 below.

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (NIV)

It's OK to wear your Sunday best, give money to the church, or have technology in church. But outward preparation is secondary to making sure that our temple, our body and lives (1 Corinthians 3:16), are prepared to meet with God. The book of Hebrews explains the shift of focus from outward preparation for God's presence to the inward preparation for meeting with God. Preparing our hearts and consciences to meet with God should be our primary concern. The Temple of the Old Testament was beautiful, even exquisite. A life that has been cleansed by the confession of sin and prepared by reading the Scripture is just as beautiful to God. In fact, it's essential if we're going to encounter God and be in His presence.

The beauty of moving the Temple from Jerusalem to the center of your soul is that you can access the presence of God anywhere. It is beyond brilliant. No more waiting till that one day a year or one day a week to meet with God. He's given us the ability to be in His presence anywhere at any time. The preparation is simple, direct, and costs nothing...except our willingness to ask forgiveness and clear our conscience.

So what are you waiting for? Don't wait until Sunday to get dressed, get in the car, set up the church, and the band starts playing. Meet with God wherever you are, whenever you can. Just prepare yourself and then thank Him for being so available.

Have a great day.

Content with being discontent

2005-07-20T08:49:00.000-04:00

Contentment is a word and concept that is virtually non-existent in our culture. When's the last time that you heard a professional sports figure say, "I'm getting paid what I'm worth. I don't need more money"? Have you heard of any Fortune 100 CEOs turning down their performance bonus because they're content with what they have? What about the regular guy like you and me? We all want more money, a better car, a faster boat, the latest cell phone, the newest power tool, and the list goes on. We really don't know how to be content.

If I listed in this devotion the things that I want to replace the things I already have it might make you nauseous. You and I are a product of the American capitalist and consumer culture. It's difficult for us to be content. I'm personally due to another trip to North Africa. Why? It will knock you down a notch and make you content with what you have for a good long while. Need a toothbrush? Cut a 1/4 inch diameter stick in six inch sections and use it for a toothbrush. Need a snack before bedtime. Roast your own coffee, peanuts, and popcorn and enjoy the good company of other human beings. Need something to wear? Go to the suuq (market) and by clothing that, frankly, looks like everybody else's clothes. Can't find a McDonald's within walking distance? How about going to the local restaurant and getting some meat cooked over hot rocks? It's amazing how good coffee tastes, how well dressed you feel, and satisfied with your meal you are when you only need your basic needs met.

Americans are spoiled. American Christians are spoiled. We go to churches with gorgeous chandeliers and gilded choir lofts. Or we listen to a professional band and watch the speaker on high definition screens that most minor league baseball teams would kill for. We walk away wondering what they'll do to entice us back next week, or we may just leave in awe of the incredible display. We're content with our wealth and our accomplishments. We're content with our spirituality. We do our duty, go to church, and tack on religion like any other hobby in our life. All the while, we may have been busy with a lot of religious activity but there's nothing tangible or intangible to show for it. We're content to be spectators rather than players, content with our spirituality.

Here's a radical thought...What if you and I were to only to find contentment in being discontented with how well we know God? Not information...relationship. And born out of that discontentment that drives us to know God on a deeper level there is a discontentment with what we have done to serve Him. I'm talking going beyond the necessary things like helping out at church. This is a discontentment born out of knowing God that insists that everything we do or think or feel has to do with God. Every person you meet has to do with God and there's no rest until you've at least introduced them to Him (The Message//remix, pg.1716). The name for this state of being is holy discontent.

Holy discontent is where standard issue Christianity won't do. It's when spending 75 minutes a week at church is just part of a life lived for others. It's when we view every encounter with people as an opportunity for something beyond us. It's investing in other people's lives while others are content to play church. It's making known, in one way or another, "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthains 15:3-4, NIV).

Invite someone to church. Host a movie night. Have a small group in your home. Feed a homeless person. Set a lunch appointment to share the Good News with a co-worker. It's doing things like this you'll find contentment.

But godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6, NIV).

Have a great day.

Trials and tribulations of the flip flop tribe

2005-07-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

I am of the flip flop tribe. I value the air flowing freely over my feet as the flip and flop of my onomatopoeiaic footwear carry me to wherever I am appointed to go.

I do, however, wonder if the girls of Northwestern's championship lacrosse team used proper White House edicate by wearing flip flops when they visited the President. I love my flip flops as much as anyone in my tribe, but there's just something about meeting the President of the United States in flip flops that awkwardly straddles the gap between fashion edge and White House edicate.

I am torn. What would I do? If I were asked to visit the White House and meet the President as part of a delegation of next generation pastors, would I revert to the suit, tie, and dress shoes of another life? Or, would I wear a nice shirt, khakis, and dress flip flops from ALDO? Instead of flip flops I think I might splurge and spring for a nice pair of slip-ons.

Nonetheless, I don't fault the girls for being who they are. Worse fashion and edicate crimes have been committed. The people that are hurt the most are the girls' mothers.

Click here for the AP story on the flip flop flap at the White House.

Super-sizing your spirituality is unhealthy

2005-07-19T09:57:00.000-04:00

I watched the movie Super Size Me this week. Twice. I watched it once by myself and another with my family (with a couple of strategically placed fast forwards). After watching it, we all swore that we would cut down on our fast food intake. Well, maybe except for Emily because she loves McDonald's and she's a stick. For most people though, you'll swear off McDonald's too...for a while.

Morgan Spurlock, the director/guinea pig of the movie ate nothing but McDonald's for thirty days. He ate everything on the menu. Over those thirty days he gained 24.5 pounds. His cholesterol doubled. His liver took a beating from all of the sugar in the shakes, ketchup...and believe it or not...salad. He got depressed, fatigued, irritable, and addicted to the food that was literally killing him. We all know that no one in their right mind is going to eat McDonald's everyday. Well, except for Don Gorske who's downed over 19,000 Big Macs in his lifetime. He's an anomaly, in that he eats there constantly and is in good physical condition. I'm thinking there's a spiritual analogy in this story of human overindulgence and addiction....

We all do things that we know aren't good for us. We engage in activities that we know damage our physical well-being. Pick your poison. Many of you that read this know my vice is Little Debbie Devil Squares. It's like crack in a yellow box. I need a fix right now. Must...not....give....in. You have to admit that except for a few of us, we all have a vice or two. What's yours? We also know that taking in certain types of food in excessive amounts isn't good for us. It's the same way with out spiritual lives.

A balanced spiritual diet is essential or you'll end up spiritually bloated and incapacitated. The Bible talks a lot about food. Yes, it talks about famines and gluttony and eating stuff that might offend someone else. There are other ways that the Bible looks at food:

The river (water) of life. The Spirit of God that should flow from a Christian's life. (John 4:14; 7:37-38) Even though this isn't technically food water is the essential thing we intake to live.
Spiritual milk. The basic teachings of Christianity. (Hebrews 5:12)
Solid food. The deeper teachings of Christianity. (Hebrews 5:14)

As followers of Christ, we have to be filled with the Spirit (instead of being full of ourselves). As followers of Christ we have to know and practice the basic teachings of Christ. As follwers of Christ we have to know the deeper teachings of Christ for the purpose of stability and mentoring others. When we "super size" one area of our spirituality it's unhealthy. It will result in an inconsistent and bad belief system. It will also result in an inconsistent and bad example of what it means to be a Christian. Supersizing one area of spirituality results in spiritual sickness. Spiritual sickness causes us to have poor attitudes, unhealthy emotions, and engage in damaging behavior. Diagnosis: Sin.

So next time you feel like supersizing your spirituality, just say "No thanks" and eat a balanced diet.

Have a great day.

Politics will get you killed

2005-07-18T10:28:00.000-04:00

Everyone deals with politics at one point in their life. I'm not talking blue states or red states or primaries or the electoral college. I'm talking politics at your job, on your kid's sports team, your HOA, or (God forbid) at a local church.

People, by nature, want to push their agenda and get their way. People that aren't inclined to deal with life ethically or for some reason are power hungry tend to use politics to advance their cause. Politics are usually born out of a lack of trust and insecurity. Sometimes it's just pure meanness. No matter what the motivation, principles from the Bible can help you see politics for what they are. Reading the Bible will also confirm that politics have been around for thousands of years. The example I'm going to point you to is from the life of king David, circa 980 BC. Read this passage of Scripture.

Since people that use politics are usually unethical, untrusting, or insecure, each situation has to be dealt with a bit differently. No matter what the motivation is, here are some general principles to look to:

Expect the unexpected out of people when they feel threatened.

David's honest condolences, sent to Hanun because of his father's death, were completely rejected because Hanun thought David was spying on him.

People that feel threatened will attempt to humiliate you.

Hanun had David's messenger's humiliated by having their beards shaved and he "cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks".

When threatened, people seek to form allegiances and contract with mercenaries.

Hanun figured the humiliation would immediately start a fight so he took a defensive position with his people and others he had contracted with.

When attacked, stand your ground ethically.

When David saw that Hanun was taking a defensive position (it looked more like an offensive), he followed God's directions to stand his ground.

Rest assured, that if you do the right thing, your name will be cleared and people will learn not to hang around the troublemaker.

Hanun's armies were defeated and the mercenaries gave up when they saw that David had done the right thing. The mercenaries pleged to never align with Hanun again.

Here's a great passage to bookmark when politics come up:

Don't worry about the wicked. Don't envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like springtime flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others-- it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land. (Psalm 37:1-9, NLT)

Don't let politics kill you. Learn and follow God's principles for dealing with people and the fog of complicated situations of life will become clear.

Have a great day.

Quick movie reviews

2005-07-16T20:46:00.000-04:00

Batman Begins - 4.75 stars out of 5 stars. It made me feel like a kid again. I'm going to try to watch it on the big screen one more time before it goes to DVD.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 2.5 stars out of 5 stars even though my wife and daughter thought it was a solid 4 stars. OK, Johnny Depp was entertaining as ever, even though he made Willy Wonka a bit too metro for my tastes. I think they could have shortened the movie by 45 minutes and it would have been fine. Waaaaaaay toooooooo slooooooooooow. Since Tim Burton directed it, it was a bit dark as you might imagine. The cinematography (thanks, Britney) was stunning but it didn't make up for the pace. Plenty of sermon illustration fodder nonetheless.

What does your day look like?

2005-07-15T09:19:00.000-04:00

Let's see...I have four, fourteen year old girls asleep in my living room right now...remnants of a birthday party.

I have to make sure three they get home today. Really my wife Michelle does, but I may have to take one of them home.
Write a devotion.
The worship folder for Sunday needs to be finished, printed, and folded.
I'm having lunch with a couple of guys today. One of them could be a potential part of The Journey as a staff guy down the road.
Start draft work on the Batman Begins message.
I need to go see either Batman Begins or Fantastic Four to keep up with the whole movie series thing.
Mowing the lawn would be a good thing but hey, I can blow that off until tomorrow.

Since the devotions this week focus on the purpose of life, I thought it would be a good idea to show you what I'm thinking about my day. I'm sitting here thinking, "How I can live the purpose of life in each of these situations today?" Let's see, that means living redemptively. That means acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. How about I just go through each of the tasks individually?

Teenage girls in the house. Let them sleep in. If that isn't loving mercy and showing God's grace, I don't know what is. When I was a kid I had to get up and feed the cows and do chores and blah, blah, blah. Oh yea, I can also invite the two girls that are unchurched to come to The Journey.

Write a devotion. Self explanatory. I hope it adds value to your day.

The worship folder for Sunday. I'll have a an admin someday. It's really not that big of a deal. That might fit into the walking humbly category.

Lunch with a couple of guys. Our worship arts guy and someone he knows to be exact. That 'someone' is a young guy that's taken his fair share of lumps in the ministry. The goal is to eat, listen, pray, dream, and help that 'someone' on his journey of ministry. If nothing else we can let him know that there's life beyond the traditional church. This is definitely a loving mercy and walking humbly with God thing.

Start draft work on the Batman Begins message. Another self explanatory task, with a goal of helping people better understand God and his redemptive purpose for our life.

I need to go see either Batman Begins or Fantastic Four to keep up with the whole movie series thing. If you think this is a veiled attempt at an excuse to see a movie, get over it. This is cutting edge ministry, in the trenches, connecting with culture. Really. OK, it's not exactly work in some respects but it is essential that we Christians interpret culture through the filter of God's redemptive work.

Mowing the lawn would be a good thing but hey, I can blow that off until tomorrow. This is a lesson in redemption. I would not have to mow grass and cut weeds if Adam and Eve would have just kept their pride in check. Having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the assurance of being a part of a new heaven and new earth (with grass that I'm thinking won't need to be cut) is motivation to mow the lawn by tomorrow afternoon.

More stuff will come up. I'll need to be close enough to God to know how to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God when it does. Think through your day right now. Try running what you have to do today through justice, mercy, and humility filter.

Ask yourself the question, "Will the other human beings I come into contact to day be better off for being around me?"

Have a great day.

What do Enron, Custer, and Brad & Jennifer have in common?

2005-07-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

Failure. It's never pretty. Enron, Worldcomm, Arthur Andersen, General Custer, and Brad & Jennifer are all examples of failure to some degree or another. If there's one thing in the world we hate to admit as humans, it's failure. No one likes to admit that the plan they developed and implemented failed.

We tend to blame accounting practices, battle plans, and Angelina Jolie for the failures in life. But what about the greed, pride, and self-centeredness that cause most human problems? Why don't we address those issues and admit a need to change our character? Because it's personal, that's why. Admitting that there are character flaws in our life is something that we all find hard to deal with. It's easier to place blame than take responsibility. The plan most people adopt in life is to mess up over and over and blame it on everything but their unwillingness to change.

The plans we make for life end up being more like a Band-aid when what we really need is a pride-oplasty. We listen to Oprah, Geraldo, Rush, Al, Bill, or Montel and hope for the best. We keep making plans and placing blame and come up empty in more ways than one. If that doesn't work we go to church or read the Bible or pray and ask God to give us some sort of cosmic Mapquest with turn-by-turn instruction. Other people try putting a bunch of world religions together and living by relative truth and developing an incredibly complex spiritual system and hope that works. So how well are our human plans working to solve life's problems? Not too well, obviously.

So what about God's plan? If God has a plan, what is it?

God's plan is simple: He wants to redeem humanity. Wait a minute...What about world peace, famine, child abuse, terrorism, abortion, divorce or my kid that needs to go to Brat Camp? What's God's plan for that? The answer is still the redemption of humanity. Don't blame the Democrats, Republicans, Muslims, your parents, your spouse or your kids. Be a part of God's plan of redemption. Remember, God's plan is pretty simple: Redeem humanity. Our part in that plan is to "...act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God" (Micah 6:8). Here's another way to look at it: "We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life" (Ephesians 2:10, NJB).

God's plan of redeeming humanity started by becoming like us. He chose to do that by having Jesus be born to a woman named Mary, a virgin. Because Jesus was God and man he showed us what it meant to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God...perfectly. Jesus loved the unlovable, cured the incurable, and railed on the religious. He sacrificed his life for humanity and took all of our sin on himself. He forgave our sins when he didn't have to and explained grace by his actions. After he died on the cross for our sins he rose from the dead. When we believe that and place our trust in a relationship with him, he gives us the power to live redemptively too. Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, so am I sending you" (John 20:21, NJB). So God's plan for us, as Christians, is to be a part of his redemptive plan. We're supposed to live redemptively.

Redemptive living makes dealing with other people's failure much easier. Redemptive living will also prevent a lot of failures from happening. Acting justly, loving mercy, and walking with God...He never said it would be easy. He did say that's what Christians were created for.

Have a great day.

the purpose of life happens in community (part 2)

2005-07-13T09:15:00.000-04:00

(culture is looking for a place to connect)

Sometimes it's good to be alone. To focus, recharge, rest, and prepare for the next round of relationship encounters. Jesus did it, for sure. But Jesus spent the most of his time with people. Sometimes with a few, the twelve disciples. Other times it was with huge crowds. All of the time he was mixing with the culture and connecting with other people.

The American culture is no longer one of community. We try to say we're a culture of community because we still know it's valuable. So we give churches the name "community" church and there are online "communities". There are gated "communities" and we have "community" centers. How much community really takes place? How much do people genuinely connect and feel wanted and cared for? Are real relationships being engaged or have we started giving places the name "community" in hope that community might really happen?

So what is community anyway? (I'm starting to sound like the old guy on 60 minutes!) The sitcom Cheers was a good example. Mayberry RFD was another good example. A good movie example would be Cheaper by The Dozen. Community is/was when people knew who you were. They accepted you for how God made you, quirky personality and all. They lived life with you. They laughed, cried, mourned, and enjoyed sharing a meal with you. They even told you when you screwed up and let you know about it. Community is a place to know others and be known by others.

From a Christian perspective, an authentic, functioning Christian community has all of the above but it goes a step further and invites people into the community for the sake of friendship, healing, accountability, fun, worship, and learning. You may not have realized it but within that definition of an authentic Christian community the five purposes of the church...evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and worship.

We were created for community, for relationships (Read Genesis chps 1-3). God created us so we would have a relationship with him. He gave us other humans to have relationships with. We've been created with an innate desire to have meaningful relationships. So how do we connect in urban/suburban culture, where we can be sitting in traffic, at a sporting event, at school, even at a megachurch and never connect with one single human being? Even though we may have been around thousands of people in one day? An authentic, Christian community.

The redeeming, healing, and connecting message of Jesus Christ is designed to bring people together in community. Our purpose as followers of Christ is to share that message and create a community of faith where hurting, disconnected people can be redeemed, healed, and connected...with God and with other people.

So here are two questions to challenge you today: What can I do to connect better with the people of The Journey? Who do I know that needs to be redeemed and healed and connected with God?

People are looking for a place to connect and be part of a community. Let's be there for them.

Have a great day.

stuff I wish I would have thought

2005-07-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

Randy Bohlender says some pithy stuff once in a while. I'll quote his latest here but click on the link and visit him anyway.

if you're going to have a God....

I'm developing this train of thought where, if you're you're going to have a God, you really need to have room in your theology for Him to do something difficult to understand. Or maybe you should just get a dog.

True, so true.

the purpose of life happens in community (part 1)

2005-07-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

(being alone so you can be with others)

Being by yourself is necessary sometimes. You need to get away from the kids when they're driving you nuts. Some personal time is in order when you're stressed at work. Maybe there's a friend that's getting a little too clingy and you need to slip away for a while. There are even times when you need to be away from your spouse. Personal time allows you to get away, collect your thoughts, and approach things with a clear head. Our culture calls it "me" time.

As a matter of fact, Jesus took "me" time. When Jesus took time for himself he usually prayed. He went off for forty days where he prayed and fasted. When the crowds became a bit too much he went off by himself for a short while and then went right back healing people. Jesus went off by himself to pray when things got stressful. Sometimes he just got a lone and prayed. No stress. He just got alone and prayed.

About now you're saying, "Yea, but that was Jesus. He was God. I just don't think about praying when I'm alone that much." There's a couple of things we have to remember. First, the Bible doesn't say that Jesus prayed everytime he was alone. At least not like we envision: with hands together, kneeling, and a yellowish-white glow around his head. When he was getting away from the crowd in the boat he was probably rowing and saying to himself, "Why can't these people leave me alone?" We discount too much that Jesus was also 100% human. He had the same frustrations we do with people. When he got alone he didn't genuflect and get all religious looking and then pray. He kept rowing and talking to the Heavenly Father. When you get away...in the basement from the kids, in the bathroom from your co-workers, on a hike away from everybody...just get away and tell God how you're feeling. It sure beats talking to yourself.

Second, the only way you and I are going to survive being around other people is to take time to be alone with God. Jesus taught us by how he lived that we can't provide for others emotionally and spiritually if we haven't taken the time to refuel our own lives. Think about it, Jesus was God in the flesh and he had to get away to pray. Why should we think we can keep blowing and going without any rest and time alone with God? We need to get away. When we get away we allow God to strengthen us and get rest. When we get away and talk to God we can clear our thoughts and gain a whole new perspective on things.

Being with people, no matter what their age, is draining. When you feel like you're running on "empty", take some time away. Recharge. Refuel. Talk to God. God's promise is that you'll have more strength and endurance (Isaiah 40:30-31). Why not take him up on it?

Have a great day.

the dog days of Summer...well, sort of

2005-07-11T12:31:00.000-04:00

The title of the post isn't a comment on the weather here in Atlanta this July, especially since it's been relatively mild. I'm referring to church attendance in July. It seems like a lot of my colleagues are making it known that their attendance has been way down. We at The Journey Church are no different. Attendance has been way off.

Part of that has been due to the huge transition of losing a couple of staff guys, neither of which was expected. We handled the transitions well. Even if staff transitions are handled well some people are going to leave because...well, just because.

Since I'm not so much in the popular preacher blog loop (not a bad thing at all), I don't talk about it much here. Another reason is that one of my coaches, Nelson Searcy of The Journey Church in New York City (same church name purely by accident), gave me some good advice. You can't live your life by looking at weekly attendance. You have to look at trends because they're important, but allowing your self worth to be tied to weekly attendance is dangerous. No worries, school starts back in less than a month. Vacations and youth camps are over. "Thank God" in the truest sense of the phrase.

In the midst of this Summer's attendance slump there have been some incredible things taking place. Our worship is better than ever. There's an energy that's been missing in worship, at least for me personally, in my entire ministry. There's momentum in the middle of the "summer slump." Yesterday was one of the most poorly attended days of the year but a first time attender started a relationship with God.

Starting a church is difficult task no matter what. Starting a church with no denominational or financial support is even more difficult. But starting a church and seeing eternal things happen in the middle of the dog days of Summer lets you know that bigger things are on the way.

Tired?

2005-07-11T10:27:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons that we feel distant from God is that we're just plain tired. Like any other relationship, maintaining a relationship with God takes work. Since God doesn't take up physical space in our lives, he tends to get less of our attention than the other relationships we have. That can be a real problem, because if we're not close to God we don't react emotionally to our human relationships the way we should. If we haven't spiritually recharged by being with God, we have little or no energy left to give to our human relationships.

Instead of talking to God, we literally wear ourselves to a frazzle talking to humans about things they simply don't have the answer to. We start our mornings worn out from no sleep because we've spent the night worrying about whatever. If we're tapping ourselves out by making plans that end up failing anyway it's probably time to make a change.

When we spend time with God and ask him about family issues, problems at work, strained relationships, or even world events that affect us, we get a completely different perspective on things. Think about it...the closer you get to God the more infinite, powerful, incredible and all knowing he becomes to us. When we recognize that God is able to ____________ (fill in the blank with anything here), we walk away from a visit with him full of energy. Why? Because we sense we don't have to worry as much or try so hard to make things turn out like we think they should. When we ask him for wisdom, which he give us generously (James 1:5), we become more productive in life and our emotions are far more healthy.

There's a very well known Bible verse that says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). When we settle down, either physically or mentally, we're simply allowing God a chance to get a word in with us. He wants the best for us. He wants to us have peace and joy when life gets difficult. God assures us that when we wait on him, be still with him, and tap into his power, we'll have all the energy we need. Here's what God says:

But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:13, NLT).

Take some time today and be still with God. You'll see renewed strength and you'll sleep better tonight.

Have a great day.

reflections on world events

2005-07-08T22:47:00.000-04:00

I've had a super busy day. It centered around a trip to the doctor. Thanks to the fall of man I have a sinus infection and bronchitis. Fun. I've just now really had time to sit down and reflect on yesterday's bombings in London.

I'm a bit of a hawk. I took a fair amount of military science classes in college. I even went to ROTC summer camp...for two days. When I made it to the ENT doctor during in service, he disqualified me and sent me home. For guess what??? Sinus issues. Back to the hawk thing. I also pastored near Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK. It's one of the largest new recruit training posts in the Army. I have lots of friends that serve or have served in some sort of artillery unit. I even got to "pull the tail" on a Paladin howitzer. Gee whiz was that a rush. I also pastored near Dahlgren, VA which is home for a Naval R&D base. With extra special permission (seriously) I got to tour the bowels of the computer system for our SLBMs (Trident). I didn't understand 80% (Probably why they let me in, ya think?) of what I saw but it was phenomenal anyway. I also got to tour the training center for the Aegis destroyer radar system. Talk about Star Wars kind of stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with our military personnel.

So when a friend told me about the bombings in London yesterday, I got a pit in my stomach. Not a 911 kind of pit, but a pit nonetheless. My cynical mind went through it's normal thought process...protesters, conspiracy theory...back to reality...terrorists. I watched the cable news networks and scoured the Net for whatever was there. It seems the bombs were simple but the organization of the attacks wasn't. Then I got really ticked off. Whoever did it are a bunch of spineless mongrels. Almost simultaneously I began to laugh.

The name of the group that took responsiblity for the killing of innocent people and wounding hundreds of others was...Are you ready?...The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I just thought the name was really funny. Maybe it just lost something in the translation from another language or something. I mean, who takes credit for an act of war with a name like The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I still say they're spineless mongrels.

May God bless and protect the Brits. May their intelligence network find and serve justice to the perps quickly. God save the Queen. God bless America.

The God of relationships

2005-07-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

To know God better you have to know God. I mean like, know him personally. He's a being not just an idea. While there are mystical and incomprehensible things we'll never know about him (because he's God), he can certainly be known. To know God you have to go beyond gathering information about him...reading devotions, books, blogs or whatever and take the risk of saying, "I want to know you and be known by you."

God wanted a relationship so bad he created human beings. At the risk of getting all metaphysical, any kind of being wants relationships. Beings need community. So, God created humanity. Then he saw that it wasn't good for humans to be alone. I mean, walking and talking with God was great for the first human but the human needed a soul mate. Voila. God took care of that and created Eve for Adam. It was good. Very good.

Then it got bad. Humanity got self-centered and the result was being distanced from God. Humanity went on an "It's all about me" binge. The whole time God wanted to restore the relationship. He tried to show them that a relationship required sacrifice. They sort of got it, but few really understood. Humanity preferred to add God into the equation at their convenience instead of making a relationship a priority. Kind of self-centered, huh?

That didn't bother God. His love was so big, his forgiveness was so deep, his desire for a restored relationship with us was so consuming that he decided to become human. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ. From my perspective that was risky on God's part. Actually, it's remarkable. At many levels it's hard to imagine God becoming open and vulnerable to time and space and pain and suffering and rejection. And he, meaning Jesus Christ, went through all of that and still chose to sacrifice his life for you and me so the relationship could be restored. The power of his love chose to sacrifice everything. The power of his love resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead reaches out to us 24/7/365.

As I wrote this I was thinking and praying:

God, how could I not love you? You've been misrepresented, I've been self-centered, and you still chose to be open and vulnerable so I could know you. It's beyond my comprehension. I don't get it all, but thanks for doing it. Thanks for always being there. Thanks for loving me in spite of me. Thanks for helping me see how Jesus made it possible for me to have a relationship with you and to talk to you.

God's waiting to talk to you. It's definitely worth the risk.

Unfreakingbelievable (and a word to people that comment, especially anonymous ones)

2005-07-07T22:51:00.000-04:00

OK, so I change the format of my blog (out of sheer laziness) and post my devotions that go along with my current message series and, according to Bravenet.com, I've had 65 first time visitors today? Unfreakingbelievable. I thought the four people that RSS the sight would put me on snooze. What gives? How did this happen? Eleven comments (really 10 cause I screwed up one of my own) on one little entry on the dependablity of the Bible? Unfreakingbelievable. Maybe it's a fluke. Who knows. If not, we need some ground rules here.

A note to people that comment: (other than people I actually know)

The devotions that will be posted over the next few weeks are founded on the historical, orthodox beliefs of the Christian church taken solely from the Bible. If you have questions, I'll answer them as best I can but I won't debate you.

My suggestion is that instead of hiding inside the Internet, go to a church close to you that believes the Bible and start a dialogue with one of their leaders. If they're lame and won't talk to you, go to another one. There's one within driving/subway distance to you surely. If you're unable to get out of your house, we can find someone to come to you. The reason I say all of this is that the Kingdom of God is about relationships. You simply can't form those over the Internet. Constructive dialogue happens when two people are face to face. I encourage anyone that wants to comment to do so, but bear in mind that if you want to enter into dialogue about something, don't try to hide from confronting the issue with a real human. Christianity is made to be discussed in community with real live human beings. The general anonymity of the Internet is simply contradictory to the organism of community. Talk to a human being (in person) that's been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and you'll find the conversation very engaging.

A word to any future anonymous posters: I'll delete your comment if you post anonymously. In my best Jack Black voice, aka Ned Schneibly: "Posting anonymously is lame." Fortunately, the ones I've challenged have stepped up and given me their name or blogger name. Why so...... ...uncompromising? My job as a spiritual architect is to help people engage God through relationships in community. Anonymity is simply contradictory to the organism of community. I can only care about someone if I know their name.

Tomorrow's devotion: I don't know yet. Something about knowing God better. Based on today's happenings it will probably take a 'relationships and how our culture cultivates isolation instead of community' kind of bent. I'll need to see what the Bible says about it first.

65 new readers today. Hmmm.

God is not boring

2005-07-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

There is nothing boring about God. Religion, yes. God, no.

If you want to get closer to God this Summer, one of the best ways is to read the Bible. OK, I already said that yesterday. But reading the Bible is considered boring by most people and I thought it good that I say that reading the Bible is important again. It's important because it will change your life, not because that's what "good" Christians do.

I didn't read the Bible much growing up...even as a pastor's kid. There were two big reasons. First, the Bible I had access to was written in 17th century English. I didn't talk that way. When I read it, I sounded like I had lisp with all of the words that ended in "eth." Second, I heard people talking like that when they prayed and they thought that you had to speak King James English to talk to God. Something wasn't right about that because when I talked to God he heard me just fine. I waited for a better Bible translation. Until a better translation came along I listened to my Dad explain that "And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me" meant Jacob was going to hang back, send a present ahead, and wait to figure out if the guy he wanted to see would talk to him. All that being said, I didn't study the Bible that much. Now I do.

I study the Bible a lot now, not so much because it's my job but that it's a good book you don't get tired of reading. It's not boring. It's only boring if you read it the wrong way. If you start in Genesis and read it like a regular book, you'll start having problems focusing about Leviticus, which is less that 5% into the book. To really understand how much God loves us and wants a relationship with us you need to read different parts of the Bible simultaneously. Otherwise you get stuck somewhere in the blood and guts of 1st and 2nd Samuel or the "begats" of the Chronicles. The great news is that some genius (I really mean that) figured out that if you read a certain amount of different parts of the Bible everyday, you could read the Bible in a year.

Try using a One Year Bible. Go buy a hard copy or go to www.oneyearbibleonline.com and just click on the current day. You can either read it or listen to it (great for stay at home moms). It will make the Bible much less boring because you get a balanced diet of God's story.

When you read the Bible, you're reading what God thinks about you and the world you live in. You're reading about real life...birth, death, war, love, sex, spirituality, kids, husbands, wives....and the God that cares enough to talk to you about all of it. Read the Bible and I promise you'll be closer to God this Summer than ever before.

Google God...read the Bible

2005-07-06T08:26:00.000-04:00

So where do you look for advice about things that are happening in your life. Do you read? Do you Google it? Do you call your spouse?...friend?...co-worker? ... the current prayer hotline on TBN? It's smart to get advice from other people. There's an ancient saying by Solomon that goes like this: "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel."

History says that Solomon was a smart guy, so it's probably a good idea to take his advice. He says we should seek wise counsel. You can get a good piece of advice from some of the places I mentioned above but you won't always get wise counsel. Ask yourself this question the next time you go to one of your information sources: "Is this place going to give me a quick fix or is it going to give me a principle that will work for the rest of my life?"

There's nothing wrong with Googling for an answer to a problem or asking a friend what you should do in a certain situation. Where most of us go wrong is that we scour our resources looking for an answer and end up exhausted and frustrated. Enter the Bible. We ask our friends to tell us their stories. We read the Web and books to see what people think about any given situation. So why not read the book that God wrote and find out what he thinks about life? Why not read the Bible to begin with, and begin our quest for wisdom and information with a completely reliable information source?

If you're just starting back to church, take this moment to commit to picking up a modern translation like the New Living Translation, New International Version, or the Contemporary English Version and read it. Or go to BibleGateway.com and use its incredible search engine and search dozens of translations. If you've been in church a while but you've replaced looking in the Bible for answers to your life situation with other things, use this moment to recommit to using the Bible as your primary source for answers.

Let the Bible encourage you, strengthen you, make you wiser, and challenge you to change. Make it your starting point for information about life's situations. Things will start to look up very soon.

You've tried asking everyone else what they think. Why not ask God what he thinks?

2005-07-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

This devotional series is the result of our God on Film '05 message series. It's primary goal is to connect people with God and/or get them closer than they've been in a while. To see the rationale behind this temporary change in posting style, read the previous post.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005
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So you've decided to spend more time with God. Some exciting things are going to take place in your life in the next few weeks because of your decision to walk with God more closely. As I look back over my prayer journal over the past couple of months, it's amazing to see how many prayers have been answered by God. Rest assured that God will do the same for you.

God answers prayer based on what's best for us, not what we want the most. When we ask God to reveal himself and his will to us, he promises to listen and take action. The Scripture tells us "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (John 5:14 NIV). Read that again...he hears us if we ask anything according to his will. That means we have to adjust how we talk to God doesn't it? The adjustment is easier for us to make because God promises that our confidence in how to pray increases when we ask his opinion. Since he's God, his opinion is trustworthy. If our confidence goes up, the time we spend with God goes up.

The first thing I talked about in Sunday's message was that we should ask God to reveal himself to us. When we ask God to reveal himself to us, it's like asking the question, "So what do you think God?" The incredible revelation about the whole thing is when we talk to God this way he actually hears us.

Sometime today, ask God what he thinks you should do about the most pressing issue of the day. Then be still and know that he is God...and your not. He'll begin to make you wiser and more patient in dealing with the things that matter to you the most. He'll hear you and reveal himself to you because you matter to Him. He'll do all of that just because you ask the question, "So what do you think God?"

mixing it up...a little change...shifting gears

2005-07-05T22:16:00.000-04:00

As a whole, my blog has been a bit random in its content. Sort of, whatever hit me at the moment whether it was a great CD or commenting or even something that ticked me off. That's going to change somewhat for a while (Yuck. Talk about your passive sentences!). As a part of a message series at The Journey Church I've offered to provide daily devotions (5 per week) to those who sign up by email. Since my style of communication is to weave in life stories , I thought I would post them here for eveyone's viewing pleasure...all four of you. In order to massage my ego I must mention that my readership has doubled from two to four in just two weeks. Watch out Terry Storch, here I come...

Change like this is supposed to be the demise of a blog. People read you because there's something they enjoy about what you write about and how you write about it. So I'll look at this as a bit of an experiment. Going from a personal comment on life kind of blog to a devotional kind of blog may knock my readership back to two but, hey, I'm willing to take the risk.

The primary reason to take the different approach for a while is quite simple. I'm lazy. I don't want to write the devotional and blog because, frankly, I don't like writing that much and I'm not as good as Alex McManus anyway. If you don't like the temporary change, go to Alex's blog. His glasses are the same as mine, he's a musician, and he's all about ministry to the next generation. Other than that we're not much alike because he's really smart and I'm just a dumb redneck. Oh yeah, and I've got this prominent Southern accent that he doesn't have. You have to admit that the accent doesn't come across too much in writing, does it?

Back on topic...If you're one of the four diehard readers out there, you just might be able to get something out of the devotions. If not, I completely understand. If it's worth anything, I reserve the right to interject moments of creative overflow or commentary on life as I deem necessary. I know that will help you rest better. We'll see what happens.

In his best Kip voice: Peace out.

You have to admire Tom Cruise's passion

2005-07-01T23:43:00.000-04:00

You have to admire Tom Cruise's passion about life and his religion, even if you don't agree with his religion or like the way he verbally threw up on Matt Lauer. I've been a Tom Cruise fan since Top Gun. The Mission Impossible projects were cool and I really enjoyed watching The Last Samurai on vacation this week. All very passionate movies. I wouldn't expect less from Tom Cruise. In his interview with Lauer he was quoted as saying that he's passionate about life. I would agree. He is one passionate dude.

Mr. Cruise is also passionate about the Church of Scientology. In fact, that's why he really blew up at Mr. Lauer. He went ballistic, pun intended, about his religion. I didn't get to see the interview, but when I read about it I thought it a bit unusual coming from a Hollywood type. I mean, after all, Hollywood types are passionate about a lot of things...usually weird things...but not about religion. When I read about how he went off about how the mental sciences were essentially a hoax I was taken back a bit. Don't get me wrong. If there ever was a "suck it up and tough it out" kind of person, it would be me. But, I think that we overdiagnose and overprescribe meds way too much in emotional and behavioral situations that are even slightly out of the norm. However, I don't totally dismiss drugs or therapy. If you're in the ministry (at least in the majority of ministry environments) for very long you get mentally down. More people in the ministry than want to admit it get depressed. It happened to me. While drugs and counseling aren't the only answer to chemical imbalances they sure can help. I digress...

Even though I admire Mr. Cruise's passion, I find his commitment to his religion suspect. I knew enough about Scientology to get me into trouble so I went to a source that I felt was trustworthy...a minister of Scientology that's also a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. I respect the view of a U.S. Navy chaplain primarily because my experience with Navy personnel has been one that exudes precision. Anyway, back to the suspect thing. To become a minister in the Church of Scientology you have to start out "auditing" other people. Specifically auditing is "a unique form of personal counseling intended to help an individual look at his own existence and improve their ability to confront what and where they are. It is a precise, thoroughly codified activity with exact procedures" (emphasis mine). The auditor keeps a close watch on the counselee by using an E-Meter. The E-Meter continuously measures the electrical resistance of the person's body and helps the auditor correctly diagnose the person and make necessary adjustments in the person's treatment. The E-Meter ain't exactly an EKG. Read an interesting article on the E-Meter here.

When an auditor establishes their...umm...integrity, they are given the title of minister and wear clerical clothing and everything. The genesis of my cynicism is that Mr. Cruise sounds a lot like a KJV fundie when he starts bashing the "pseudo sciences" of psychology and psychiatry and comes off as a self-professed expert on behavior modification drugs that are readily available on the street. Here's what I really don't get...Why doesn't Tom Cruise think that "auditing" functions, at least on the base level, just like psychiatry or psychology? The intent of any counseling session is the modification of behavior. There's no difference. Except that in psychiatry they actually use EKGs, MRIs, and CT scans.

Another thing I don't get is that Mr. Cruise is a smart guy, but he seems to overlook the fact that Scientology looks curiously like a mixture of Mormonism, Hinduism, and Universalism with a healthy dose of good old fashioned gnosticism mixed in. Then Mr. Hubbard adds a bit of deism to make it look more legit.

One more thing I don't get is how a religion is given so much credibility when it's based on one person's sole writings and teachings with verbosity being the benchmark of truth. Can we get a second opinion from another auditor or something? I even get a second opinion when I ask if a movie is worth seeing. Maybe the reason I like the Bible so much is that it has at least 31 human authors that claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. I figure if over 3o people can come up with the same things about God something has to be right about it.

Wow, that felt better than a discharge of harmful energy...I think. I had a bad muscle spasm one time and the doctor hooked me up to a Medco Sonolator and it made my muscle twitch a lot and then I felt better. Was that like a reverse discharge of harmful energy? Did I dabble in Scientology? They didn't talk to me while they were doing it so I don't think I was "audited". I think I'm OK.

Oh well, you still have to admire Tom Cruise's passion. You have to admit he's a good actor. He's creative. He's intelligent. I also think he's misled. Just my opinion, of course. But what do Matt Lauer and I know about anything anyway?

the end to a short vacation

2005-06-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

We were relatively close to the two shark attacks in the Florida Panhandle this week. The last one was closer to us than the first. After seeing this pic on the news, my daughter and I stopped our trips to the local sand bar. I was torn between the logic of the experts that said there was a 1 in 5 million chance of being attacked by a shark and my landlocked, country boy instinct that says it just doesn't make sense to swim where critters can kill you. Nonetheless, I will simply take snorkeling gear on my next trip to the beach. I really love the ocean, I'll just swim underwater where I can see what's coming.

I came home more tanned and rested but I don't feel completely rested. After three years without a vacation, I really did need to take the two weeks in a row suggested by the church elders. I probably could have been gone two consecutive Sundays, I just thought it best to be gone only one. There will be plenty of time for extended vacations later. I plan to splurge on my time off next week and play a round of golf or something. Don't get me wrong though...it was a good vacation, just a bit short.

We spent a lot of time at the pool and walking on the beach. We also took one of those three hour cruise things to Shell Island. I was dreading it for two reasons: 1) I get sea sick. 2) I would have rather been reading. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We came across a pod of 12-15 dolphins. We stopped and watched them and then they cruised along with us. They got withing five feet of the boat on our side. Much cooler than seeing them at the zoo. Shell Island was deserving of its name. Tons of sea shells. Michelle and the girls had a blast. The beach was pristine. I thought of what it might have looked like to the early explorers to see a bunch of tourist running around picking up sea shells and chasing crabs. It was a good deal. Only $12 for adults and $7 for kids. And $1.37 for motion sickness pills.

We're back home in suburbia. Our emotionally needy dog has finally settled down after a few hours. We learned our next door neighbors were evicted while we were gone. Our other neighbors decided they wanted to give us their patio furniture. I don't have to mow the grass tomorrow. Nice. It's the end to a short vacation.

I would really rather be sitting on the balcony of the condo listening to the surf instead of typing this.

looking for the supercritical

2005-06-24T08:28:00.000-04:00

I copied this from this week's church e-letter at The Journey Church. Who knows, it may do others some good.
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As we get closer to moving to our new location it's important that we're all on the same page and understand one of the most "critical" things about church planting: critical mass.

Critical mass: An assembly in which a chain reaction is possible is called critical, and is said to have obtained criticality. In a larger assembly, the reaction will increase at an exponential rate, and this is termed supercritical.

I'm no nuclear phyicist, but I do understand the basics of critical mass. OK, for those of you that know me really well you can stop laughing. I said I knew the basics of the principle. I also know that critical mass can be applied to church planting...or any other social context for that matter. (This isn't new information for people that run in church planting or sociology circles, so you folks can move on to the next part of your day now.) Let me put the principle of critical mass completely in a church start-up/church planting context, specifically The Journey Church context.

The social critical mass in a church setting is around 125 adults. How do I know that? Well, let's start with the Bible. When the early church was born, there were 120 adults in the upper room where they were meeting. Those 120 adults were fervently praying and asking God what they should do next. They had reached a spiritual critical mass. Spiritually "charged" believers that God was able to use. The church reached supercritical in a very short amount of time after that and the church grew exponentially.

That took place after three years of intense ministry by Jesus (God in human form). That took place after Jesus has spoken to crowds of at least 15,000. It took place after he had died and risen back to life. The supercritical happened after only 120 of the 500 that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection did what he asked and went to the upper room. (Just thinking out loud here.)

As a spiritual leader, I'm looking for the supercritical to happen. Some would say that I set my goals too high. I say that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think. I understand that we live in a different spiritual/political milieu than that of the 1st century. But the fact is, God is still who he says he is. He actually wants his Church to grow and touch lives that are sick and living in hopelessness. The big question is when will supercritical happen at The Journey? Here's some thoughts...

The first step is to reach critical with critical mass. Based on the history of the Church and some modern day examples, that means that The Journey needs to be a spiritually healthy group of around 125 adults to reach critical mass. The Journey has become a spiritually healthy church, but we only have about fifty adults right now. That means the people that attend The Journey have to invite others to see what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of their faith community, the church.

The second step is to understand the social importance of critical mass in a church plant. There is a social comfort associated with being in a large crowd. For the extrovert it means there are more people to talk to. For the introvert a large crowd means a better chance of going unnoticed. Both introverts and extroverts attend church. If a church hasn't reached critical mass, first time guests will be very uncomfortable. The reason that most church plants don't survive the first year is that they don't reach critical mass. When people invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers they have to help them understand the social environment by telling them what to expect.

The third step is interpret critical mass to first time guests. If critical mass isn't interpreted to the first time guest they'll leave thinking, "Somethings seems wrong there" or "That whole thing seems broken." It's the church plant attenders job to preempt the perception of the broken social environment.

First of all, authentic and genuine care for the guest has to be expressed. Ask guests things about their interests, where they're from, what their occupation is and then connect them with people in the church with similar backgrounds and connect them with others quickly.

Second, you have to interpret critical mass to a first time guest depending on what "language" they speak. To the unchurched guest, it's best to describe the principle of critical mass using entrepreneurial language. Using phrases like "We're a startup church" and explaining that "you have to like ground floor kind of things" will help them better understand the social environment. For the first time guest that is churched, it's important to let them know we're an independent church plant with no "mother" church. It's also important to let them know about the critical mass thing from Acts 1. Even churched people will need to have an entrepreneurial mindset. If they're coming from a highly progammed churched, don't be surprised if they feel uncomfortable. Don't worry about it. If they're supposed to be a part of the core that God uses to reach critical mass they'll stick around.

Here's the bullet point version:
- Critical mass is critical to our church.
- Know the Biblical and social reasons for critical mass and be able to interpret it.

Let's do the critical mass thing...
Ken

we are so Naamanesque

2005-06-23T07:52:00.000-04:00

Naaman was a very successful and well placed dude that had a very ugly disease. There was a young, Spanglish sort of girl that worked for Naaman. She told him about a guy that she knew back home that she thought could cure him. It sounded like a great idea to Naaman so he went to his boss and asked for some time off. Since Naaman had an incredible track record, his boss gave him the time off and a bonus to help out with expenses.

Anyway, Naaman goes to see the guy in the foreign country. He walks up to the front door of the healer's office anticipating that he will be seen by the man himself, Elisha. Instead, Elisha sends word to Naaman that all he needs to do is go to the public bathing area (definitely not from America) and wash seven times. Naaman gets really ticked and starts walking away. He's all, "I came this far to see Elisha and he sends out his admin? I thought he would come out and personally see me and do his whole healing thing and make a big deal of curing the sick guy! Instead, he tells me to go bath in a public bathing area? For cryin' out loud, the public baths are ten times better where I'm from than they are here. Who's he kidding?" Naaman is beyond ticked now, he's in a rage.

Some of the people in his entourage catch up with him and try to talk some sense into Naaman because he's obviously lost it. One of his admins says, "Hey, think about it Naaman, you came all this way and were willing to do something extraordinary to get cured. Why aren't you willing to do something simple to get the same result?" Naaman is busted, so he goes to the public bathing area and washes seven times. On the seventh time, he is miraculously cured.

Naaman goes back to Elisha's place and Elisha meets with him this time. Naaman wants to pay Elisha for his trouble...very well. Elisha refuses payment. No biggie for Naaman. But, Naaman needs something to commemorate what just went down. Naaman asks for, and gets, some dirt to take home with him to build a memorial. After all, it was a spiritual moment for Naaman.

It was such a spiritual moment that changed the worldview of Naaman. He stopped worshipping the latest and greatest "designer" god. His life had been changed by the one true God and he made some huge adjustments in his lifestyle. He didn't throw away everything, just the stuff that got in the way of him having a relationship with God.

Why is it that when God offers a simple, mainstream, even boring solution to our predicament we often scoff at it? Why do we think we have to see a mediator when God wants to talk to us personally? Why is it that we have a problem with God when he meets our needs but not in a way that we expect or want? Why do we have such a sense of entitlement and expect that God's servants have to do things the way we want them to?

We are so Naamanesque.

a rush of html to the head

2005-06-22T07:45:00.000-04:00

The family was watching chick flicks last night so I decided I would tweak my blog. Little did I know that I would be able to make the changes I did. They were daunting, monumental changes since my html skills are like Napoleon's "numbchuck" skills.

The result is a new look and some links that have been added. I'm a minimalist but the old look was boring. Everything has been added for your viewing and surfing pleasure.

beach blanket blessing

2005-06-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

It's been three years since our family had a real, shurnuff, vacation. Vacations in the church planting world seem few and far between for most guys. That's why church planters get discouraged. They don't know when to take a break. In their finite, but very good wisdom, the elders of The Journey decided they would make me take some time off before I get to an unhealthy state of emotion.

Thanks to a very generous family, we're headed to Panama City, FL for a week's worth of beach, pool, seafood, crab dip, watching movies, and hopefully a lot of reading. I'm talking serious down time. Our only connection with Atlanta will be our cell phones. That's right, no Internet for me for a week. I can feel the night sweats already. Since I don't own a laptop right now, I'll get whatever information necessary to life via the TV. GASP...reverting to something as arcane as the TV for information. Whatever will I do? I'm so spoiled.

As The Journey gets closer to the most critical time in it's short history, it's important that I stay spiritually focused and come back with a lot of leadership energy. So, just in case the four people that read my blog care, here's the books I'm taking with me to help me to do just that...

While we're out of town our home will be guarded by our trained attack dog. Let the reader feel the fear inherent with the name "Patches".

www.suejennifer.com

2005-06-17T17:14:00.000-04:00

Brilliant. Really. Filing a class action lawsuit to keep The Runaway Bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, and her fiance' John Mason from making money on her really stupid and uncalled-for midnight ride to Albuquerque is a brilliant idea. It ticked Q100 "Bert Show" producer and co-host Jeff Dauler off so much that he decided to file the suit and set up the website. Is it a promotional gag? Probably, but I don't care.

The more I see her in the media, the more infuriated I get. To make things worse, the media dives in like a harpy eagle for the kill...killing in the ratings I mean. OK, now I'm really ticked at Katie Couric. Why doesn't Katie Couric interview some single mother in Atlanta that's working two jobs to feed her kids and pay childcare but decides not to run from her problems but works like crazy to do the right thing? Why doesn't Ms. Couric interview an intern at an Atlanta hospital that's been working 36 straight hours for all of the right reasons and has a lot of other reasons to give up the hell they're going through for the sake of serving humanity? Geez, when I'm mad I write really long sentences, huh? Anyway, props to Jeff Dauler and anyone who recoups their money from the lawsuit.

I have a better idea. I'll go talk to Jennifer Wilbanks and ask her to join The Journey Church. She'll say, "Sure, I'll make sure I invite my friends and family. It'll be a great day and I can support your church plant with all of the money I'm making from my little trip to New Mexico." I say, "Gee, thanks." Then I take off with my wife and kids to Panama City and say I can't take the stress of having a celebrity as a church member. As a result of my (our) stress, my entire family gets henna tattoos while in Panama City. Upon our return to Atlanta, we're confronted by angry, legalistic religious people that demand that we remove our tattoos. We, in turn, see the error of our way, seek counseling and cover up the stain of our sins with tube socks. Heraldo Rivera gets wind of it, jets to Atlanta, and scoops the story of our stress induced flight to Panama City. I get a book deal and make a zillion dollars by selling an insane amount of copies my book Coping With Celebrity Wannabees: My Flight to the Redneck Riviera and Subsequent Struggle With Tube Socks.

Hey, my story is just as believable as Jennifer Wilbanks. Think I have a chance?

observations from visiting another church

2005-06-17T08:04:00.000-04:00

My youngest daughter has been going to Vacation Bible School at a nearby "contemporary" Baptist church. Here are some random observations:

The meaning of the word "contemporary" varies widely from church to church. For us it means modern rock music and no vestiges of anything aesthetically related to traditional church. For others, "contemporary" means updating your look in some areas and still functioning like the majority of most other churches.
Some churches don't care if you come there or not. Nobody greeted me or spoke to me when I dropped off my daughter. Nobody. Not the people sitting at the reception desk. Not even the lady that showed my daughter where her grade level was sitting when I asked her where my daughter was supposed to go. There was no, "Nice to see you." No, "How did you find out about us?" No, "Would you like information about the church?" Nothing.
"Contemporary" doesn't mean high energy to some churches. There wasn't any level of perceived energy that is normally associated with a large gathering of school age children. I'm all for keeping things under control, but there was no walk-in or ambience music, no video playing or anything that set the tone for the day. Boring.
I miss the pledge to the Bible even though I think it's a bad adoption of culture by the traditional church.
Volunteers are the backbone of the church.
I thank God for The Journey Church.

A closing question: What can a church do to be waiting for culture instead of always trying to catch up to culture in being relevant?

must read...

2005-06-15T14:29:00.000-04:00

If you've ever wondered why I say the things I say and took the leap into the world of church planting, read this article. It's long...really long, but well worth the read. Let me rephrase that...this article is a must read for churched people.

Thanks to my bud Marty Duren for sniffing this one out.

smaller than our website gives us credit for

2005-06-14T08:12:00.000-04:00

Listening to John Mayer this morning and thinking about a comment from a guest at The Journey this weekend.

The comment was that we look organized and high energy on our website but there weren't nearly as many people there as he was expecting. Granted, this guy visited after having been part of a big ministry somewhere. I totally understand his comment. I wish we were bigger than what our website gives us credit for.

Some say you shouldn't portray something you're not. I agree. That's lying. Since I wanted to make sure we were being ethical in our advertising, I went back and read through our website. We don't misrepresent anything. The fact is, we all interpret things through a predetermined filter of experience, personality, and current emotional milieu...among other things. Case in point; another visitor within the last couple of weeks (that usually attends a well-known megachurch) said that our children's ministry was really organized considering we were a church plant. It's all about perspective.

Our philosophy about how we present ourselves is this: Just because we're a church plant doesn't mean we have to look crappy. You can be high quality and small. I was talking to an advertising executive this past week. He does stuff for Nintendo, Remax, Fisher Price, Hasbro, and Sony, etc. He told me that our website was way above average for a church of any size. I got warm fuzzies all over after he told me that.

Back to the guy that visited this week...

The guy said that he felt like everything that happened at The Journey Church this Sunday was made specifically for him...the worship, the message, and the people. That tells me two things: 1) The guy was looking for God to speak to Him. 2) The Journey is listening to God. I think this time smaller was very good.

A side note to end on: John Mayer is an incredible songwriter and musician.

On the Michael Jackson acquittal...

2005-06-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

Whatever you think the verdict should have been in the Michael Jackson case, there is a truth that none of us can deny.

Being really weird isn't a crime.

Sex and The Supremacy of Christ: A Review of Parts 1&2

2005-06-09T20:27:00.000-04:00

My bud Marty Duren had a link on his blog for a limited number of downloadable copies of the yet to be released book Sex and The Supremacy of Christ, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. If you read it and review it in your blog, they give you a free hard copy when it goes to print. I think they've stopped handing out the freebies. Sorry.

I've read chapters one through five thus far. I must admit that this would have been an excellent book to have read for a sexual ethics class in seminary. It seems to be a book for pastors, scholars, and those who prefer a heady treatment of a Christian view of sex. Frankly, an unchurched person would struggle with this book. It speaks directly to the Christian subculture that wants an in-depth if not academic approach to the issue of sex.

I personally would refrain from giving this as a marriage building tool to a person or couple struggling with sexual issues. However, I would imagine that this would set well with the college age crowd, in that they would enjoy wrestling with how the supremacy of Christ impacts their sexuality. I envision some late nights discussing the book in Bible study groups on campuses.

The book, as you might guess, is squarely grounded in Scripture. Sometimes excruciatingly so. Save the introduction, I found only a few engaging and relevant passages that get anywhere close to real life application.

The first two chapters, authored by Piper, is a thorough investigation of the supremacy of Christ. It proposes two theses: The first was that sexuality is designed by God as a way to know Christ more fully. And the second was that knowing Christ more fully is designed by God as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. While both statements are true, Piper could have handled them more succinctly. He thoroughly outlines how the supremacy of Christ affects everything in our reality. The case he builds for the supremacy of Christ is airtight, but his effort to tie it to human sexuality was a stretch for me.

Our knowing all that God promises to be for us in Christ gives us the power to suffer with joy. And here’s the link: we must suffer in order to be sexually pure. (pg. 45)

I'm glad Piper lost me four paragraphs before his chapters end. I was having a hard time seeing how being sexually pure was related to suffering. Granted, it isn't easy being sexually pure but I personally don't associate it with suffering. I've met people beaten and imprisoned for the Gospel. They didn't mention that going without sex while in prison was a part of their suffering.

Ben Patterson's third chapter was well written and more practical. It's a good mix of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. (I haven't used those words since seminary but felt pressed to do so since reading this book.) Good theology and good application. My kind of stuff.

David Powlison's fourth chapter was...well...long. He was tasked with speaking to Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken. No new ground broken here. I didn't see much to link the supremacy of Christ to overcoming and healing sexual brokenness. He does make a concerted effort to bring in relevant illustrations.

Al Mohler's treatment of Homosexual Marriage as a Challenge to the Church: Biblical and Cultural Reflections is very well written. This would be a great section for a young Christian to read so they might grasp their theological moorings in our postmodern world. It's a hot social topic for the generations to come so I understand why it was included in the book.

Overall: So far it seems like a good book for the seminarian. Not a book that you want to take your small group through. The theological concepts are, of course, usable in sermons but the practical application would be left to the expositor for the most part. We'll see how the rest of the book goes...

nobody understands me when I talk Oklahoman...

2005-06-09T11:32:00.000-04:00

My wife will tell you that in stressful situations that I revert back to my redneck/country/cowboy patterns of speech. This is exceedingly embarrassing for her. Fortunately, the last few times I have slipped she's not been around.

Just for fun I thought I would let you peek into my subconscious and see just how much of the West I have in me. When I say West, I really mean Western...like Tombstone western. Chew on these for a bit...

"You got a burr under your saddle?" This means, "What's disturbing you that you're not telling me about?" It can also be used combatively with a meaning of, "Who ticked you off?"

"Get off your high horse." Or, "Don't be so freaking arrogant."

"You're beatin' a dead horse." Which being interpreted means, "It's a lost cause, dude."

"You got a hitch in your get-along?" Always said with a wry smile, meaning "Have you seen a doctor about your back?"

There you have it. I'm pinein' for my ropers about now.

structure should submit to Spirit...another core value

2005-06-06T23:36:00.000-04:00

Structure should always submit to Spirit. It's a core value of The Journey and it happens to be one of my personal core values.

I've never been one that liked much of what the traditional church had to offer, except God. It was full of structures that had lost their relevancy, efficiency, and spirituality. Boards, committees, buildings, business meetings, and church members that felt like the church had been built on their family name...all of these structures an invention of fallen men. The structures got more attention than God. In fact, the structures made the decisions and God was asked to bless the structures. How twisted is that? Unfortunately, there's a lot of churches out there that still live in that world. These are the people that use the Scripture that says, "I the LORD do not change" as a mantra for inflexibility.

If most churches came to The Journey Church and sat through the business meetings we don't have and see how much the leaders trust the people and vice-versa, we would have to call 911 because they would go into cardiac arrest. The upside is, we would still make our decisions the same way. The downside is, the cardiac arrest might not scare enough hell out of the typical church attender.

What blows me away is how the Church got so screwed up in its decision making process. I've known churches that have taken years to decide how one fund was going to be spent. The Biblical model is to pray, hear from God, then take the action that He gives. Oh yeah, did I mention that in the Scripture that the leaders got together, prayed, heard from God and then told the people what was going to happen? No votes. No committees (literally the name of a gathering of vultures). No business meetings.

The Church in the book of Acts turned like a modern day JetSki. Nimble, quick, and able to react at a moment's notice from the Holy Spirit. A more literal analogy is that the early Church reacted to the Spirit's leading like a body instead of a business. It moved together, in concert. Swiftly. Sometimes slowly. Always in unity.

When I talk about our land as the "next location" it makes some people jumpy. You see, after we move from the school to the "next location" of a rented property, our next move will be to our land which is another "next location." Human beings are creatures of habit. We don't really like change that much. When I talk about a "next location", they want to hear something with a more permanent ring to it. They want their Promised Land. So do I, but God doesn't do tabernacles, temples, or synagogues anymore. He does the Church through His people, the Body of Christ. That means buildings can and are used by God but frankly I think we've come full circle from the first century to a synagogue model of church. Jesus went to the synagogue to teach, but the bulk of His ministry was in the marketplace...but that subject is for another day.

Back to the subject at hand. Some want to know what the vision is for the next five years. I want to worry about today, because "tomorrow has enough trouble of its own." Yes, we have a vision and we've made plans. We've planned out the details of what has been referred to by one person as "Starbucks meets church". It's going to be a fun place to invite people to hear about the claims of Jesus Christ. We're also fully aware that the Spirit of the living God could tell us that we need to change it tomorrow. That means being flexible. Being willing to submit structure to the Spirit. To succeed at being flexible, you have to be close to the heart of God. Maybe that's why change and flexibility is so hard for most of us.

how much should core values cost?

2005-06-06T09:07:00.000-04:00

Core values. Every organization has them. They're either stated or unstated. The stated core values are the ones you find on the "about us" page on a website or in an organization's brochure. The unstated core values are the ones that really drive the organization. The key as a leader is to do whatever it takes to make sure that any stated core values are the same as the unstated core values. It's easy to say who you are on paper and be completely different as an organization or as a person.

For instance, the unstated core values of any given organization are apparent by the way that organization interacts with their client. If that org. (I'm tired of typing the whole word so I'll abbreviate it as org. from here on) is customer conscious, friendly, and helpful it's evident that they value the client. The org. may or may not have customer care as a stated core value but it's evident that the org. has developed a DNA that is other-people-centered. They care about the customer. In the orgs. that you and I have visited, there may not be a sign to say that they value you as a customer, you simply feel valued. That's because the org. has trained its employees or volunteers that serving the client comes at a cost. The cost of a customer-oriented core value is: Replacing a bad attitude with a good one, setting aside personal issues, and positively interpreting what is happening in the org. that you don't like that day.

Here's an example from a company I've loved since I was a kid: Sonic Drive-In. Sure, there are some Sonics that have bad service. But overall, the customer service is very good. Even though not all of the carhops rollerskate to your car anymore, it's still a great place to eat. Last Friday evening, they forgot the tomatoes on our cheeseburgers. With a push of the magical red button, our server came with six tomatoes. Ummmmm, extra tomatoes. No muss, no fuss. Just good customer service....with a smile, by the way. You could see that a customer-oriented core value had been adopted by this store. The manager had it and so did all of the employees. You could see that the cost of the customer-oriented core value was a price they were willing to pay.

I don't want The Journey Church's stated core values to be cheap, empty words on a page. There's nothing worse saying you're one thing and being another. I've even considered taking our core values off our website until we become more like our core values.

Since our core values come from the Bible, that means that they are attainable and sustainable. For Christ-followers, we know they're attainable because we "can do all things through Him who strengthens us." They're sustainable because "He who began a good work" in us "is faithful to complete it."

The cost of living Biblical core values is high. It costs us our right to claim church for our own needs. So how much should core values cost? It depends on what you want to pay. To put an old saying a different way....The customer gets what you pay for.

fun day

2005-06-03T20:49:00.000-04:00

From the inception of The Journey Church, we've wanted to do things with excellence. The band has always been way above average for our size and our children's ministry is getting better every week.

However, the video component of worship has been pretty bad. OK, we stink it up. Bad, really bad. Casey (the worship dude) and I have wanted to smooth things out, but frankly we were completely ignorant of what it took to have smooth video switching.

Enter Greg of Video For Worship. Greg does the video production for Passion events, 7:22, and a bunch of other stuff as well as being on the staff of NorthPoint. He took the time with us today to give us a "Video Switching and Producing 101" class (of sorts) over lunch. We bought a few toys. Nothing over the top. Just things that will take us from quaint to relatively smooth. It won't be long before our startup church will be doing some things like the big boys. No, we won't have a 24X30 foot LED screen or a bank of screens that share a signal but we will be able to show video without looking like we're changing a DVD at home. Thanks Greg.

As soon as I got home from Alpharetta, I hopped in the van with my wife and kids and we went to get some new glasses for Emily, our youngest daughter. I must say that Lenscrafters is a pretty good place to buy glasses. They're a bit pricey, but with our insurance and wife's flex spending plan it's pretty easy to chin. They hooked her up with some way cool glasses. My girl definitely has good tastes. She got her new, cool glasses in just over an hour. Nice. I remember that I used to wait two weeks to get new glasses when I was her age. Oh yeah, Old Navy is having a great sale right now. You might want to pop by and pick up some flip-flops @ 2 for $5 or some baseball tees @ 2 for $12. Don't pay attention to the price you find at the links. The in store price is good. I got a couple of new ribbed tees 2 for $12.

After our Old Navy fix, we went home and watched Ray. Wow. Great movie. Jamie Foxx is unbelievable.

Fun day.

Hillsong UNITED - Look to You :: REVIEW

2005-06-01T22:33:00.000-04:00

Maybe I was having a bad day (don't think so) or maybe I just didn't like all of the slow songs on the previoius Hillsong UNITED project More Than Life but their latest project Look to You is absolutey fabulous. I got it for $14.98 at a Lifeway Store and I think FamilyChristian stores are running the same sale.

The first song Salvation is Here starts with a blistering bass line and takes off from there. In the middle is the beautiful All For Love that ends up being big, even huge in sound. My personal favorite on the CD is What the World Will Never Take. The words are phenomenal. These are not seeker songs. This is straight up God worship, loud and clear. If you believe in evangelistic, modern rock worship, then this is the CD for you.

It's a rarity that any CD in our day is beginning to end a great project. There's usually a bad song or two. I personally think there isn't a bad song on this CD. Not even a weak song.

BONUS: It comes with a bonus DVD that will rock your world. Turn it on and worship. My family did. One of the extras is a behind the scenes look at how they pulled of the recording of the event.

We very well may end up learning most of the songs on the CD. It's that good.

confessions of a naive blogger

2005-05-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

I have always viewed myself as being above average in being in touch with culture...especially in the last three years. I started blogging thinking it would be a way for me to keep my writing skills sharp. Honestly, I started blogging because my pastor friends were blogging and I am fiercely competitive! We all have our approach to blogging and I've used mine as a cathartic tool in the final stage of detoxing from traditional church. I wanted my blog to be more of a personal, cyber-journal. Not anymore.

I knew that anybody with access to the Internet could find my blog. I also knew that the less I posted on other people's sites and left it off message board and email sigs that I could remain relatively obscure. I guess that was naive to some degree. The fact is, if someone wants to find you on the Web and you have any presence there you will be found.

Completely unconnected people have commented about the blog. I was talking to a guest at The Journey yesterday and she mentioned she had read it. With the heightened traffic on our church website, more people finding my blog is inevitable. That means simplyken is going public (like it already isn't?). From now on I'll be open about it. I'll put it in my email sig. I'll probably put a link to it on our church website. I guess I'll let the world into the mind and soul of Ken Miller...follower of Christ, husband, father, high tech redneck, football lover, and inhaler of Little Debbie Devil's Squares. Oh yeah, and not-so-naive-anymore-blogger.

Can blogging help your church?

2005-05-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

One of the guys that goes to The Journey Church asked me if I blogged and pointed me to an article at churchmarketingsucks.com. At their site they mentioned an article by Ken Gosnell where he gives four reasons why blogging can help your church. When I saw that it was a lifeway.com article, I was a bit suspect. They're not exactly on the cutting edge, ya know.

So I read the article and did a little poking around. Gosnell may be a consultant, but I'm not sure he's a veteran blogger. I'm a bit taken back that Lifeway would feature an article by a guy that, from what I can find, has been blogging for two months. Huh? Am I missing something here? Nevertheless, here's my take on Gosnell's article.

Gosnell says that: 1. Blogging will bring churches closer together as it closes a communication gap.

He speaks of this primarily as a way of communicating vision to the church that gives people the ability to share ideas and thoughts in a timely way. I think it might work if the people that participate didn't grow up in a churched setting. If churched people comment and participate, the likelihood that they'll shoot an idea out instead of shooting at the vision is pretty slim. On the other hand, if you can get unchurched or recently converted unchurched people to participate it might work. I'm still cautious about buying into this point. Blogging for vision casting might work in my context . I'm just not sure how.

Gosnell says that: 2. Blogging will help to develop sermons and classes.

I want to know how he's done this successfully. By that, I mean how has he personally gotten a broad spectrum of people to participate in the sermon building process? At the risk of sounding cynical, it seems more like a "geez, this is a great idea and it would really change how messages are prepared and delivered" more than "here are a half dozen sermons that have been developed using the process I described". I'm not buying what he's selling so far.

As for me, I've always tried to listen to people and see what their issues are in life and I would welcome a way to expand that. I think blogging could be a great way to get ideas and life stories (used with permission of course). Bottom line: I'm not from Missouri, so you'll still have to show me this one will work.

Gosnell says that: 3. Blogging will break down barriers and remove masks.

I'm totally in agreement with this one. I think it's great for people to see what I listen to, read, think (but not everything) and do. It seems like the post-modern generation values transparency highly. I've never been one to play games. I say take me for who I am, not what you want me to be. When Gosnell says, "People experience significant freedom to communicate when blogging", I say make it known that "Anonymous posters will be deleted and placing of verbal IEDs is not acceptable."

Gosnell says that: 4. Blogging will help the church to engage the culture.

Maybe. People that make up the blogosphere account for less than 4% of the American population. My guess is that many bloggers lean to the techy/geeky side. Granted, culture is being engaged, but the slice of culture you're engaging isn't that big. On our church's account, it's probably not a bad idea.

All that being said....

I'm open to exploring blogging as a tool to engage culture but I don't think it's the next big thing in breaking down communication barriers in or into the church. I do think it has a niche in the communication matrix of a church. I'm just not sure how it's going to work for The Journey Church yet.

renascentfaith.com

2005-05-25T20:52:00.000-04:00

Brian Turner is an emerging kind of guy that has his head screwed on right. I found out about him through my buddy Charlie after he read an article of Brian's at The Ooze. When I went to Brian's website/blog at renascentfaith.com I was pleasantly welcomed after I made a simple comment affirming his article. It's a good place to hang out. He writes with a positive clarity rarely found in a subculture that is immersed in negativity. Read and enjoy.

I had only one minor issue with Brian. It was the potentially disastrous omission of a picture of a Telecaster guitar on his website. There were only pictures of Les Pauls. Not good. Les Paul guitars have their place in music, but since Brian hails from Dothan, AL it was only fitting that he had a true Southern guitar adorning his already good place to hang. He took care of it within 24 hours...with a picture of like six Teles. Cool. All my fellow Tele fans say, "Thank you."

By the way, "renascent" means rising again into being or vigor.

God and a medium mocha

2005-05-25T20:32:00.000-04:00

I've been breaking in the new guy this week. Some that cruise here prayed fervently with me for a like-minded worship arts pastor. Well, you can mark it down; God answered in an incredible way. Casey Darnell is everything a modern worship church could want and God saw fit to direct him our way. Go figure. Very, very cool.

Special thanks to my bud Heath Baltzglier, bass player in the NorthPoint/7:22 fraternity, to turning me on to this cat daddy. Special thanks to Neal Tankersley of Red Sky and NorthPoint/BigStuf/ad infinitum for the network lead to Heath. Thank you God for your faithfulness. We turned a big corner this week. I'm talking bigger than ginormous.

It all happened because of God and a medium mocha.

"Get in touch with your peelings, Cuc."

2005-05-23T23:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool little video that does a nice parody on Star Wars. Whatever your position is on natural foods, you'll be able to mindlessly burn about 5 minutes here.

Here's to you Obi Wan Canoli.

the holy dissatisfaction of Moby

2005-05-21T09:33:00.000-04:00

In the most recent edition of Relevant Magazine, techno artist Moby speaks of his faith in Christ and makes a statement that every apathetic Christian should embrace. OK, I know...if someone is apathetic they probably won't care. How about this? For Christians that want a deeper faith but find themselves in a religious rut, they should embrace Moby's challenge. If those of us that do care would live our lives with more holy dissatisfaction, a lot more people would find the joy of a relationship with God.

Moby said:

You can never be a follower of Christ and think that you're doing a great job.

Put that in your religion pipe and smoke it down.

statcounter.com

2005-05-19T23:18:00.000-04:00

We use www.statcounter.com to track our web traffic. It's a freebie. Most hosts have something free anyway, but this one is easier for me than the one Interland provides. I don't know how to insert the code into the website. All I know is that it's a blast to look at the report and see who's been looking at your site. It only gives town, state and country but that's still pretty cool. All of the typical stuff like which pages they cruised and how long they were on your site are tracked as well as a bunch of other stuff.

It was easy to see how much our traffic increased when we ventured into billboard advertising for the first time. People headed to the Mall of Georgia from Suwanee, Duluth, Roswell, and Alpharetta have given us some good spikes. I just want to know how somebody from India finds our site? What the heck is up with that?

Here's the billboard...

some music reviews

2005-05-19T22:37:00.000-04:00

Mute Math ep. A couple of the guys from now defunct Earthsuit started this band. While a bit eclectic, their music is soothing and fresh. With mixes of techno, reggae, and Brit pop it's a mix that I find strangely addictive. The song Peculiar People is eerily like an early Sting tune. The words are great and a bit less cryptic than when they did the Earthsuit thing. I personally think 4 of the 7 songs on the EP are outstanding. The song OK is an incredible song of grace. The band is supposed to record a full length project in the Fall, pending more radio play and EP sales. My worship arts pastor saw them in Pensacola this week and said they were phenomenally close to their studio sound. I can't believe I actually like these guys.

United is the modern worship ministry of Hillsong. You can tell that the next generation has been strongly influenced by their older mentors Darlene and the other dude that writes most of their songs. A lot of people recommended this and, frankly, I was dissapointed. The slower stuff was the best, but the rest was musically uninspired. As usual the lyrics are spot on but it didn't make me want to crank the volume. It seemed to have the dynamic that some of us were talking about at lunch a few days ago. When a huge crowd is involved, mediocre music and speaking takes on an energy level higher than it deserves. That's my take on this project and I'm sticking to it. We'll cover a couple of the slower songs on this one...maybe.

Dwell is a worship CD recorded at the Cincy Vineyard by artists from both the US and the UK. It's a best of the best of music from the Vineyard Church worldwide. The first three cuts are worth the price of the CD. Dwell, More Than Ever (our church begs us to play this song all of the time) and Love Me Like You Do are the best of the project. There are a couple of other good ones in my opinion. The whole thing has a very Coldplay feel to it. Nice.