the misadventures of a beautiful letdown

Drumroll Please!

2006-05-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

And the winner for the coolest new blog is.....

ME!!!!!!!!!!!

Without further ado, please direct your attention now and evermore to:

My NEW AND IMPROVED BLOG!

Sending a boy to do a man's job...

2006-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the most famous Bible stories of all time comes from 1 Samuel 17. This is the story of David and Goliath, a classic case of sending a boy to do a man's job. If you haven't read this story, I encourage you to read it by clicking here. Just before David is getting ready to go out and fight Goliath, Saul suits him up in his own tunic and a suit of armor. David says, "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So David proceeds in his own clothing with a slingshot and five stones to face the giant. As I was reading this passage earlier I thought of what David must have been feeling at this point. He is going out to meet a 9ft tall giant who also has an armor bearer, whom if I had to guess was most likely similar in size to Goliath. In the face of two giants with only a sling and some rocks. Sounds like a great place to be. David's response to Goliath's ribbing was, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." Pretty bold statement in the face of the giants, but when the LORD has got your back who do you have to be afraid of?

Sometimes I feel as though I am a boy sent to do a man's job, facing giants with a few pebbles. The beginning of chapter 18 finds David making fast friends with the King's son, Jonathan. The scripture says that Jonathan became one in spirit with David...soul mates if you will. The Message translates this as: "He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David's number-one advocate and friend." When you are facing a couple of giants it is good to have a dude that has your back. I appreciate those in my life that are like Jonathan...the people who got my back. As I venture out into the new life ahead of me, not only in ministry, but in life change, I need a number-one advocate and friend.

Blessings....

Forwarding

2006-05-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone have any idea how to point the traffic from this blog to another? I think it is time for change...Any help will be given a cookie.

Ebenezer

2006-05-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

What does a sidewalk have to do with Ebenezer? In 1 Samuel 7, Sameul starts out by calling the Israelites to turn from their old gods and return to the Lord, they go through a cleansing ceremony and commit themselves to the Lord once again. The Philistines get wind of whats going down and they rush out to beat down the Israelites. The Israelites get the 411 about the Philistines and ask Samuel to cry out to the Lord on their behalf. The Philistines sneak up on the Israelites while Samuel is sacrificing a lamb, but the Lord sent a storm to divert them. The Israelites ended up beating the Philistines down, old school style. Samuel sets up an altar and named it Ebenezer saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." Mark Batterson translates this sentence as "So Far So God".

This sidewalk is one of my Ebenzers. This sidewalk is in the backyard of my friends' house that I stayed at while at the Buzz Conference. Every morning while I was there I woke up extra early. One could attribute that to several things, but in my soul I know that it was a God thing that I woke up so early. This time allowed me to reflect and to pray and to just generally be in the Spirit. Last Friday I woke up around 4am and spent some time reading and praying and went into the kitchen mainly because I was restless and needed to pace. I paused for a few minutes in front of the door that looks out onto this sidewalk and just gazed. Those moments were some defining moments in my life. It was in those moments of quiet and openess that I felt the Lord calling me to ministry. I can honestly say that the emotion that filled me in those moments were something I have not experienced before. It is funny to me that I have gone to Bible College for as long/many times as I have and not felt God's calling. So Far So God.

Another of the big ideas that I came away from the conference with was that people are looking for something greater than themselves to be a part of. I began to think about that in my own life and where I have been and wanted to do. The companies that have drawn my attention to work for: The Walt Disney Company, The Mayo Clinic, Harley Davidson. Think of those companies in the context of what they do and it is easy to see why someone could be easily drawn to them. There is truly an air of greatness about them. I have wanted to be a part of something that is bigger than myself and have searched for that very thing. The funny part is that I have been a part of something bigger than myself and found everything else wanting. My thought goes like this: At Disney I had the opportunity literally everyday to make the vacation of a lifetime for families from all around the world. There is a great deal of satisfaction and pride in doing that. How much more then should the satisfaction (not a great choice of words, but all I got right now!) be for helping someone secure what happens after this lifetime?? I firmly believe that this is one of the reasons why I have not gone into ministry full time...I was looking for something greater than God. Many people spend their entire lives trying to find something greater than God and that is a life wasted.

So all that to say, I am in the market for a new job...one with eternal benefits.

What's this life for?

2006-05-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

I am up at the crack of dawn again...been up since about 4am again. I could attribute it to working nights or I could attribute it to God. I think I would rather attribute it to the latter. I decided to redeem this time and finish up some homework, all the while listening to a little music. The song that just came on was Creed's "What's This Life For?" I have been literally on the verge of tears for about the past 24 hours and this just about broke the dam. I can't really say that anything that was said at the conference was earth shattering, but I can say that God has been working on my heart and mind through the stuff that was said.

Big Idea: Be who you are. This applies not only to the church, but also to me. The mix of dudes and chicks that were here was simply amazing. From goofy Mark Batterson jumping in the dirtiest river in America to chase after a goose to Harley riding Dean Johnson to Ed Young d/b/a Bishop T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen. Be who you are. Be you. I wrote to my lady and said that I finally feel free. Honestly, I have struggled with ministry because I felt that I am too unconventional for ministry. I am off the wall, I have a lot of fun, I don't say things like normal church people say them ( I don't normally say nads though like some dudes I know. hah!) I think the huge takeaway for me is freedom to be who I am, unappologetically. I am pumped about what the coming days hold...it will truly be AWESOME!

I will post some stuff about Buzz day two when I get a chance. It was a good day as well...Lots of info about Branding, which was cool. We do that at Journey, but the next level is calling. Pastor Rich on a goose hunt at Silver Lake? I am pretty sure that if anyone dived into that lake they would die. (For those that have never been to Rochester, MN..we have one of the largest populations of Canadian Geese at this lake that is heated with waste water from the power plant. All year round we literally have thousands and thousands of geese around. Thousands of geese in one spot = lots of goose poop. I will do pretty much anything for the gospel, but I don't think that I would jump into that lake. Props to Mark!)

Blessings.....

Buzz Conference Day 1

2006-05-05T02:35:00.000-07:00

Well since everyone else is blogging on day one already, I had better get cracking as day two starts in about 3.5 hours. By everyone else I mean: Gary Lamb, Ben Arment, Mark Batterson, Tony Morgan, Tally Wilgis, Scott Hodge...just to name a few guys that I read when I can. I might be able to make the bloggers breakfast today, so we shall see. I am at the mercy of my driver. Oh yeah, I just checked in with the hardest working man at NCC, Tim Elzea. He wrote a little bit, apparently while Mark was praying? Whats up with that? haha! Tim, didn't want to bug you while you were running your tail off! Keep up the good work man!

Day 1 Buzz was awesome. It is just too bad Joel Osteen couldn't make it.

I am sure I will have some fresh thoughts and ideas after this weekend, I just need to process them and go through a whole bunch of pages of notes. I was digging the mind mapping software that some of the guys had there..pretty stinkin sweet.

The Theater Church forum was rocking and like many people said I felt like we were just starting to cook when the gas got turned off. Like Gary, I think that there is enough support to have a theater church conference. I had a thought yesterday while sitting there listening to some of the dudes talk about space limitations and creative service staggering, now mind you there was a representative from National Cinemedia there.....What if theaters had to start building bigger theaters for churches to meet in them? How stinkin cool would that be? It truly does seem like this theater church thing is a revolution indeed. Will there be a point when it becomes ineffective and obselete? Maybe. But what if churches caused a revitalization of the local cinema? Production companies are already talking about direct to DVD or DVD released on the same day as the movie, but what if there was reason for them to keep shipping out platters of movies? Revolution indeed.

Looking forward to day 2...Defining Moment is for sure happening for me. Up at 4 am this morning for whatever reason. I can't say that I heard an audible voice from God, but I can say that the Holy Spirit was there. Good times. Praise the Lord and Pass the Popcorn. (Or Redbull this morning, 4 hours of sleep is too beautiful for me!)

Anyone reading this at Buzz...look me up if you see me, I would love to meet you. Its a little hard to tell what people really look like in real life! ha.

Blessings....

Checkin' Out

2006-05-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

I am checking out of the blogosphere for a few days....probably won't even get around to reading anyone's blog either, since about 3/4 of the blogs I read will be live and in person with me!

I am heading out in a few hours for the Buzz Conference in D.C. If you haven't heard of the Buzz...check out the link. Be cool to hear from people have been where I want to go. Mark Batterson in one of his recent eVotionals said that, "I think everybody will be challenged and encouraged by the conference, but I'm really praying that it is a defining moment for some of the attendees." (emphasis his) I have been praying that I am one of them. I need more defining moments in my life. They are what make life so grand!

So, as I embark on this rockin adventure this weekend I covet your prayers for not only safety in travel but some serious God moments. I also ask for just a nice relaxing time with two of the coolest people I know, Curtis and Amy McGinnis. Hopefully they don't get sick of me after a couple of days, I don't come home til Tuesday.

Blessings friends. If you are going to Buzz, see you there! If you're not going to Buzz...well, my mom always said if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all....So I'll just not say anything!

Shalom in the home.

WDYWTD?

2006-04-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have had a recurring thought running in my head for about a week now. This thought stemmed from something I read about Steve Jobs, founder of Apple and Pixar. When Jobs was romancing the then head of Pepsi, John Scully, to come work at Apple he did many things that people do when trying to woo someone to work for/with them. The clincher for Jobs was when he took Scully up to a penthouse and posed this question, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to change the world?"

Several things strike me about this question. First, the guy was the head of a very successful bottling company that operates in countries around the world. To boil all that down to selling sugar water, which is really what it is, is simply amazing. Think about how Scully must have felt at that moment. A guy at the top of his game basically has some nut job tell him that all of it is based upon sugar water. Second, Jobs asked if he wanted to change the world. Who doesn't want to change the world? Every kid dreams of being a superhero or a doctor or a teacher..those people change the world. Unlike the commercial that was heavily played during much of my formative years, very few people want to grow up to be a junkie or a drug dealer or a murderer. I would bet that those people too wanted to change the world...they ended up changing the world, at least their part of it, in some way..probably not a good way.

So I got to thinking about the root of Jobs' question...Do you want to change the world? What a question. I think that today many of us are tied to jobs that we hate or schooling that we don't know what to do with that we are unable to even approach this question. One thing that I have decided for myself is that I am unwilling to allow my occupation to define who I am. I work at a world renowned Clinic doing Security. Is there pride in that, to a great extent I would say yes. Am I a Security Officer? No, I am a child of God! Some of you that know me well know my history with indecision regarding my chosen career....the preceeding is my answer to this. (Disclaimer: I like my job, so don't get all crazy on me. It is a God send in more ways that I even realize yet! It is good for me and the future of my family to be). I am not what I do. Jobs, for the most part, are what we do for money. Passions are what get us out of bed in the morning. World changers, history makers, earth shakers...They give up their sugar water for a chance that they might do something that will change the world.

So all of these ramblings to say: What do you want to do? Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to change the world? Take out sell sugar water and insert whatever you like. I am a minister and an entrepreneur at heart...for me that setence would read "Do you want to work for someone else for the rest of your life or do you want to change the world?" Emphatically I respond I want to change the world. It is one of my goals to be self employed in the next three years so that I can more fully be used by God to do His work. My job really is great but I am not a career man.

I challenge you to take a deep look inside your heart and see what lies within. Do you want to change the world?

Baby Got Book

2006-04-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

The following is about my state of mind right now. Started my new job working from 6p-6a and have only worked three days so far. Still kickin my butt.

Baby Got Book

Lots of cool stuff going on overall. Church is rockin, excited about the upcoming DaVinci series, outreach ministry and especially Good Friday this week. School is off and running. Gotta do a little catch up, but that is all good, my current Prof. rocks.

Going to D.C. for a conference the first weekend in May...that is going to be sweet.

If you can read any of this in a coherent fashion, I give you kudos.

Shalom.

How Jacked Up Punks Will Save the World...

2006-03-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

In my daily blog reading I ran across a great post on Mark Driscoll's blog, Resurgence, that totally blew my socks off. Click the link to read the whole post by Gary Shavey and Anthony Bradley.

When asked what the biggest problem facing the church today is, Bradley sounds off with the following:

"Fear, pain, passive men, and love. We fear the power of the gospel story, we fear the implications of the Missio Dei, we fear the Enemy, we fear transformation, we fear change, we fear questions, we fear doubts, we fear new leaders, we fear new realities, we fear people not already like us, we fear culture, we fear the Truth, we fear liberation, we fear healing, we fear mission, we fear living like Jesus lived, we fear being the people of God in a broken world, we fear facing our fears, we fear the healing of our fears, we fear risks.

Christians can be some of the biggest posers in America. We have failed to communicate to the world that being a Christian does not mean that "you have it all together." We are all broken people following Jesus on a journey to figure out what it means to live lives that truly have meaning beyond the mundane. Many traditions have reduced sin to rebellion and have skipped over the fact that people have been sinned against in ways that have left people living as the walking wounded often acting out sinfully as a way to self-medicate pain. As Jesus does, we need to bring the gospel to both pain and sin. We need the gospel to heal the whole person. The fact is that, we're all on a journey of becoming the kinds of people Jesus is making whole and living lives that matter in full harmony with God. We need to embrace the pain of others as if it were our own because Jesus meets people amidst there pain as well."

WOW!! I encourage you to read the entire entry as this was only a small snippet, emphasis mine. I particularly like what he said about being a Christian doesn't mean you have it all together. I am pretty sure that the world has figured this out already, how come the Church has not? The Church is a place for broken people to find restoration, not a place for pious, self-righteous people to compare how many activities they are involved in. It is rehab for sinners. The addiction is ourselves.

If it takes a bunch of jacked up punks to change the world and proclaim the Kingdom of God, how fortunate would I be to be found guilty of being a jacked up punk?

:Insert Catchy Title Here: (I really can't think of one! SAD!)

2006-03-30T05:21:00.000-08:00

I find myself more and more amazed at the secularization of a secular holiday. Where did Easter come from anyway? It started as a secualar "spring festival" that was adapted by newly converted Christians because it coincidentally fell around the same time as the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. First and foremost my response to this idea is, What? I know that there are a lot of things that we have taken from pagan society and vice versa, but who knew that Easter, the Superbowl Sunday of Church, was a pagan holiday first? (Thanks to Gary Lamb for the idea of Superbowl Sunday, mad props yo! Hope to meet you at Buzz!) The secondary idea that I get from this origin of sorts is that early missionaries thought it easier to accept the cultural norm than to change the beliefs of the newly converted. While I understand contextualization, to start a worldwide holiday because you were scared is unbelievable!! They were basically scared that these once pagan people would kill them or at the very least commit apostasy. How often are we guilty of the same thing. In our society it is very easy to get caught up in PC and all that crap (if you can't tell, I am not really into that!). I hope and pray that as a person first and foremost and as a Church leader that I NEVER take that easy road and twist my beliefs and Scripture to fit culture. (Granted there are some things that are not primary issues and therefore not worth dying for, but I would conside the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior to be a primary issue.)

I have long held that Jesus never commissioned us to remember his birth, but yet we spend countless hours, days, months and even years preparing for what we know as Christmas. While I don't think it is bad to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, I do think it is bad that often we worship the almighty dollar and the god of Visa. While not every Christian falls prey to these, many do, myself included. It is very easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the season. But once again, Jesus did not say remember that I was born, He said remember that I died. (I realize that these exact words were never spoken by Jesus, I take the institution of the Lord's Supper to be a commemeration of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. I also draw from I Corinthians 11 where Paul is instructing the church on how to conduct the Lord's Supper.)

"Wait a minute", you might be thinking, "I thought this post was about Easter?" It is.

What is the big idea? The big idea is this: Easter is about preparation. Pastor Rich talked about this at church this week, although I must confess that I didn't remember what the sermon was really about until Monday night Life Group when I read the passage that Rich preached on. (Sorry Rich, it really wasn't a swing and a miss, just my short attention span...when I don't do something with the info, it creeps into the recesses of my brain.) Mary got the idea of preparation...she annoited Jesus with perfume that costs more money than I make in a year. She was readying Him for the grave. How many of us have the dispensible income to give to Jesus and not even think twice about it? I am not saying that Mary was inordinately wealthy, but she was all out, full on in love with Jesus. The monetary cost was nothing compared to the "surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." She got it. She lived it. She modeled it. On the contrary, Judas didn't get it. He was hung up on the monetary issue. Why not give the money to the poor? Jesus says that the poor will always be with you, but I won't. Seems like ol' Judas didn't even get what Jesus was saying. He was probably more infuriated that he wasn't able to sell the perfume, which interestingly enough contained Nard (I just think that is funny, who says the Bible doesn't have funny parts?!?!). He was ticked that he couldn't get his grubby little hands on the cash.

Which one are you? How are you preparing for Easter? Are you buying chocolate and Cadbury Eggs? (I already bought my Cadbury Eggs...mmmm!) What is your focus as the commemeration of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection approach? I urge you to undergo preparations for death. We are called to die so that we may live. I don't encourage anyone to actually die, but to die to ourselves. To take up the Cross of Christ. To follow with reckless abandon. To repent, because after all is said and done the entire reason for Jesus coming to earth was for the forgiveness of sin. The Son of God on the Cross, in the tomb and resurrected is THE link between us and God for forgiveness of sins. If you haven't taken the step to enter into relationship with Jesus by asking for forgiveness, I encourage you to pray a simple prayer right now, it might go something like this:

"Lord, I recognize that I am a sinner separated from you by my sins. I know you sent Jesus to save me from a life apart from you. I ask for your forgiveness of my sins. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and from this day forward I will live for Him and not myself."

It doesn't have to be some ornate prayer, just something from your heart. God is always ready and willing to have a conversation with you, all you have to do it call. If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact me via email, I would be more than happy to talk about all this with you.

It is truly my prayer that we would all prepare for Easter with a new spiritual frenzy. I pray that daily we would seek to find ways to annoint Jesus in this prepatory stage. Amen.

Mission: Possible

2006-03-25T22:14:00.000-08:00

Your mission, should you choose to accept....

I was doing some reading earlier for class from the book "Becoming a Contagious Christian". This book really is a good resource for "friendship evangelism". I have never read this book before, I have sold a few copies, but never read it. (I know, I know, welcome to 1994!)

One of the things that really struck me and that I translated was from Luke 15. Jesus tells three distinct yet interwoven parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son. In each of these parables Jesus tried to convey to the Pharisees that criticized him for hanging out with the dregs of society that He was truly on a mission from God. The Blues Brothers got their catch phrase from Jesus. Looking at this section in light of Luke 19:10 where Jesus says that, "The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." That is why Jesus came to earth. God was missing some sheep, some coins, many sons (and daughters). God put out an A.P.B for His people and sent His secret agent Jesus on a rescue mission. God doesn't need Navy Seals or Jack Bauer or even Chuck Norris...007 Top Secret Agent Jesus is on the case.

Hybels has a formula in the book that says this: HP+CP+CC=MI What the heck does that mean? HP(high potency)+CP(close proximity)+CC(clear communication)=MI(maximum impact). That formula sums up the whole mission of Christianity right there. Jesus tells us that we are to be salt and light. That is where Hybels gets the HP and the CC. If salt loses it's saltiness it becomes ineffective...Salt needs to be highly potent to do its job. If a lamp is hidden under a bowl it is bascially useless, unclear. If the lamp is on the hilltop it illuminates for miles, it is able to make things clearer. Close Proximity means that just living a life that looks good is not enough, we have to get in there, get intimate. Being highly potent in close quarters with clear communication will lead to maximum impact. I am no math major, but that just adds up! This isn't that new math (Hybels joke), it is ancient math...Jesus is the originator of Algebra. Wish I would of had him for a teacher in Junior High! To put this another way: In CQB or Close Quarters Battle, the Secret Agent is in the thick of it using all of his resources to fight off the enemy. It would be rediculous for said agent to bring out his sniper rifle in CQB. He brings out a knife...you have to be very near your enemy to use a knife. Many of us, myself included, have tried to use the sniper rifle, even from afar, to engage in "lifestyle evangelism". Evangelism is CQB, a sniper rifle just won't cut it.

Mission: Impossible? No. Mission:Possible? YES! I look forward to developing my CQB skills, cause we all know that girls want boyfriends who have a lot of skills.

24 Hours of Prayer.

2006-03-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

On Friday, March 24th our church undertook 24 hours of prayer in partnership with Team Rochester. Team Rochester has the prayer vigil set up so that each church commits to an entire day of prayer. Being that our church is mostly dechurched/unchurched and recovering Catholics (in their words) and our numbers are smaller than most other Team Rochester Churches, this was no small undertaking.

Participants were encouraged to sign up for an hour to pray. Bless those of you who signed up for the wee hours, even if you didn't mean to! We were encouraged to offer up the city as whole in prayer, as this was the whole point of the day. Also, our church and its people, the leadership especially. I got the sense through this excercise and also just overall from the time that I have spent at Journey that God is preparing each of us as individuals and the church as a whole for some amazing things that we cannot even comprehend. It is hard to be quiet during prayer times because I tend to want to pray for the whole time, but I did try to just be still and listen. I actually ran out of time for all the stuff that I wanted to do/pray for during that hour. Just now as I am writing I decided that I think it would be cool to do this every Friday morning at 7 (my time that I signed up for). Not that I don't pray daily, but to have a time set aside that I pray specifically for the city is something that is exciting. I have a core conviction that God loves the city...it is where most of the people are, it is where decisions are made, it is where laws and regulations are made, it is where centers of learning are. I am not saying that people who do not live in the city don't need Jesus, but you can't argue with population density.

On a side, but related note: For my class that started this week one of my assignments was to devise an evangelistic prayer list. That was an interesting excercise...I have tried to have daily prayer lists in the past, but this one is actually for a grade. haha. It was good to examine my life and the people in it to see who I can share Jesus with. One of Journey's big goals this year is to develop one on one relationships. I think that this assignment goes hand in hand with that goal. I am excited about where it will lead.

So Far, So God.

SFSG

2006-03-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

"So Far, So God." -Mark Batterson

I Samuel 7:12 in the NIV reads: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."

This verse is where National Community Church got the namesake for their coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. Mark's interpretation and play on the saying, "So far, So Good" is "So Far So God."

Most of the translations of this verse say something to the effect of "thus far" or "hitherto" or "until now" the Lord has helped us. Some translations use Jehovah instead of the all caps LORD, which is really the same thing. The word Jehovah in Jewish tradition was so powerful and sacred that only the High Priest would use it and only on the Day of Atonement. The would substitute another word for Jehovah or just use vowel points, like YHWH. My understanding of YHWH is the intimate, personal, covenant making God. To say "So far, So YHWH" just invokes something in me, the personal, intimate, creator God has sustained me thus far.

Smith's Bible Dictionary Online says this regarding Jehovah: " While Elohim exhibits God displayed in his power as the creator and governor of the physical universe, the name Jehovah designates his nature as he stands in relation to man, as the only almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of spirits," (Numbers 16:22) comp. John 4:24 who revealed himself to his people, made a covenant with them, and became their lawgiver, and to whom all honor and worship are due."

Not a bad rendition or addition. The New International Reader's Version of the Bible says, "The Lord has helped us every step of the way." Every step of the way to building a coffeehouse, every step of the way to battling addiction, every step of the way in your marriage, every step of the way in your career, every step of the way in your ministry...The LORD has helped.

Jesus got this principle. In John, Jesus talks a lot about relationship with the Father. "Remain in me as I have remained in my Father." Remaining=Relationship. The basic underlying principle in life and ministry is that alone we can do nothing. If God hadn't helped me thus far, where would I be?

So Far, So God.

On a side note, I was looking for an exact definition of Jehovah and Google returned this:

Jehovah
Jehovah for sale. aff
Check out the deals now!
www.eBay.com

I guess that you really can buy anything on eBay.

Warrenism

2006-03-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

I was doing my daily reading of blogs and ministry stuff and ran across a Rick Warren quote in the Ministry Toolbox on Pastors.com. The quote says:

"Our culture is falling apart. If you’re not preaching repentance in your message, you’re not preaching. No matter what we cover, it has got to come back to changing your mind, because your mind controls your life." - Rick Warren

I have a core conviction that stems directly from the Bible: A change in thinking produces a change in action. Romans 12:2 tells us that in order to be transformed we must renew our minds. What happens then? We will be able to test and approve what God's will is. You want to know what God's will for your life is? Change your mind. You want to hear God's voice? Change your mind. Looking for answers? Change your mind. This transformational truth can be found in several ways, the easiest and best is simply by reading the Word of God. The whole stinkin book is full of truth and the truth sets us free.

Rick hits on one of my other core covictions: Preachers must preach Jesus. Jesus is why we do what we do day in and day out. Preach repentance "for the Kingdom of God is near", but at the end of the day it has to come back to Jesus. You're doing a series on Marriage? Bottom line: Jesus. You're preaching on The Davinci Code? Jesus. You're talking about money? Jesus talked about money, A LOT! You're talking about sin? Jesus mentioned something about sin...oh yeah, He forgives sin, He died for my sin, He wants us to not sin. Bottom line: Everything comes back to Jesus, who he is and what he did and what he wants us to do. Anne Graham Lotz has it right: "Just Give Me Jesus".

You want to know God? Change your mind. Stop thinking about you and start thinking about him.

I'm writing to catch you up on the places I've been...

2006-03-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hello to all out there in TV Land!

The places I 've been? Gary, SD and everywhere between here and there. Pretty exciting, eh? It really was a nice time, a good relaxing time. We spent the weekend with Destiny's parents and sister's family. Got to play with a two year old and a 8 month old for a couple of days. Good times! They love me, so how can I not love them? Had a nice snow/ice storm while there...getting one here as we speak.

I had an interview last night for a full time position within the Mayo Security department. I interviewed with the two guys that I had already interviewed with for my on-call position, so they already knew pretty much what to expect. They verbally expressed that they were looking at me seriously, like what they see in me. They like my attitude, just my overall attitude. You can have all the skills in the world and not have a good attitude and things just won't work out. So hopefully next week I should get a call welcoming me to the Mayo Security Staff full time. It would be good to have a steady paying job with great benefits. Haven't had one of those as of yet, well steady paying, but not well paying. Haha. This would be a steady well paying position. Hah.

I start a couple of new classes on Sunday. One is the second portion of the Ministry Internship and the other is Theology of Evangelism. The Internship I am not too sure what to expect because they base it off of the first half of the internship, which I did not complete at Crown, so I emailed the prof to see what I should do. The Evangelism class should be fun...take me out of my comfort zone and get me doing what I should already be doing if I actually care about people.

Thats about all the random news I have1

Look for a discourse on Baptism coming up...had my thinking sparked while at Church with Destiny's family on Sunday....been thinking of it since.

Until next time...Don't eat yellow snow!

Why multi-site?

2006-03-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

How sweet is that? I caught this on a blog that is part of a collection of blogs. What a phenominal idea. This apparently was an ad for Embassy Suites in a newspaper. So true of hotels, grocery stores, clothing stores and even more so about Churches. In the Orlando area there are all about multisite. One church is even so intentional about it that there name is Northland: A Church Distributed. They have meeting places all over the metro for people to get connected. While I don't think that multi-site is for every church, I do feel that churches who are moving and going and being used by God to change lives should think about it. For some, it is neccessary, for others its just plain good (for the community and for the Church itself).

Anyway, these guys are thinking of making a shirt that capitalizes on this ad. "Because building one giant church in one location would have been a dumb idea." Or something. Seems pretty resonable to me.

Just something neat that I felt like sharing. One of these days I will have an idea or some deep theological truth to share...for now feast on a newspaper ad and a borderline blasphemous video (In all honesty, I repented after watching that video because I just wasn't sure about it. It wasn't totally anti-Jesus or anything and while funny, the brunt of the joke (Jesus) is something that I take seriously and am offended by him being the brunt of the joke.)

McPassion

2006-03-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Stumbled across this while reading my daily blogs...

The McPassion

Frustration due to frustration

2006-02-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel frustrated? I know I do, pretty much daily in fact.

I was working yesterday, a long day of lots of problematic customers....so that made me frustrated. I have been dissatisfied with my work for several months, so it is not really difficult to frustrate me. I was thinking about this yesterday. I think at the root of it all I am frustrated because of my frustration. It isn't that the job is difficult...I get a call, pick up food, take said food to the customer and move on. Not exactly rocket science! I have always had an extremely high work ethic, doing the best that I can in every situation, even when I am not satisfied in my work. A couple of the sermons that I have been listening to over the past couple of days have talked about being the best cupbearer you can be. You may be 1000 miles away from your God given passions like Nehemiah, but being the best cupbearer in the mean time is what God is calling you to at the present. I find myself struggling with this....I have a lot of different God given passions, not a single one of them is delivering food. (on a side note, I have scaled back my work so that I can focus on school and my book selling, so that is a blessing!) I try to find good in every day, most of it ends up being that I can pay my bills and use the finances that I get to further the Kingdom...so it is tough to find fulfillment in just making money.

Not really anything crazy, just what's on my heart at the moment. I know that all of this will produce something beyond my wildest dreams....so I frustratedly wait!

I also want to say that the difference between being frustrated and discontented is important. While I cannot say that I, like Paul, have found the secret to being contented in any and every situation, I think that I am content in most every situation....just striving to do better, get better, learn more, live more. I have learned the secret to being content in most every situation, just not the secret of not being frustrated in any and every situation.

The (un)safest place to be is the center of God's will...

2006-02-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

Today we got the next to last installement in the "Uncivilized" series at church. One of the things that hit home with me was Rich's mention of the bumper sticker theology that "The center of God's will is the safest place to be." For many years I have listened to well intentioned Christians (mostly students and people in the churches that I have been a part of) throw around the phrase "I am trying to figure out God's will for my life." In its simplest form, God's will for your life is that you would stop worrying about His will for your life and start living. I think that we often make the mistake of pining over what it is that we are "supposed" to be doing that we don't live the life that God has called us to RIGHT NOW. Dean Paulson, the campus pastor and Bible prof at Northwestern used to end every sermon this way (or very close to this way), "I can't tell you who you are to marry or what job you are supposed to have, but I can tell you this..." Basically the last portion would be a Biblical truth about God and our relationship with him. What is wrong with going where God takes you and realizing that living day to day in the will of God is way better than having some roadmap to the rest of your life? Why do we feel the need to have that roadmap?

EDIT: I was doing some reading and came across Bono's sermon from the National Prayer Breakfast that was held a few weeks ago. He has said some of the stuff in other places, but it struck me today especially after the blog that I crafted earlier in the day. What I thought was one of the coolest things that he said,

"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it. I have a family, please look after them. I have this crazy idea...

And this wise man said: stop.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing.

Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed."

That has to be one of the best answers to "What is God's will for my life?" Get involved in what God is doing, its already blessed. Stop asking God to bless what you wanna do and do what God has already blessed. Stop searching for some cosmic greatness and realize the greatness that is alredy in front of you. It may not be comfortable, it may not be easy, it may not be something you ever thought you would be doing, but its already blessed. How can you ask for anything more? Have you ever talked to someone that said, "I never thought I would be doing (XYZ), but it is the best thing I have done!" They realize what it is to get on board with God and see where the ride goes. Chew on that!

The center of God's will is the (un)safest place to be. John the Baptist...beheaded. Disciples...persecuted. Paul...flogged/stoned/imprisioned. Jesus...suffered one of the most painful and humiliating deaths known to man. The center of God's will? That is safety? Sounds pretty dang dangerous to me...but being in the center of God's will is a good place to be. Not one of the persons (well the disciples early on might have...but once they got the Holy Spirit and their minds opened to the things of God, doubt it!) listed in my examples would have traded their experience for the "easy" road of being outside of the will of God. There will be trials and trouble along the way...no one said it would be easy, but it is worth it.

On a side note: If you build it, they will come. If only that were true. Rich told a story of one of the church folks who called him the other night while watching Field of Dreams....won't go into details, but after he told that story I kept thinking about church and my last blog. If you build it they will come. Too bad that doesn't apply to church anymore. Maybe not too bad, maybe it is too bad that more churches don't realize that. There are some churches that it does work for, but mostly those churches are building it, going out and telling people about Jesus and inviting them to come...they don't just come. I guess the church mantra should be something like, "If you build it, you gotta go invite them, then they might come, if you're lucky." haha. Mark Batterson says that the church is in the invitation business. How true is that? If we are in the invitation business, are we in the red or the black? As a business I think that we are in the red. In the business of invitations, I am in the red. I want to commit this week to invite just one person to come to Journey next week. I have a few of the church business cards that I am going to carry with me...they give the time, place and web address of the church...people can check it out before they come. I will use them this week. I challenge each of you to do the same...not just Journey folk, but everywhere across this land. All it takes is one. I don't care about numbers, finances or butts in seats...I care that people know Jesus, and guess what? We talk about him every week at church!

Here is to being in (un)safe places with (un)civilized people.

Marketplace Church

2006-02-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

One thing that I have become convicted on is that the Church belongs in the marketplace. The church should be right in the middle of it all, visable, relevent and reaching. What a better way to reach people than to go where they are? That is what we do with missionaries, we send them to the remotest parts of the earth to the people. The GO statement that Christ made in the Great Commission was not inclusive of missionaries, I think that it applies to us today. I think that for the past fifteen hundred years (I give the early church a break here because I think they got it. They needed a place to meet, they knocked on a door) we have expected that if we build a church building or even hold a church service at some random meeting place that people would automatically come. That may be true for people who are looking for a church, but what about those who aren't? What if the church is looking for them?

There is a huge movement right now in the Church community to meet in movie theaters. Regal Cinemas has launched an entire nationwide program to help churches transition into their theaters. In my daily grind I have the opportunity to travel around this fine town I call home. Today I was in the heart of downtown at this mall called The Galleria. This mall used to be IT. They had tons of great stores, a rockin arcade, state of the art movie theaters, great food court. I think about the only thing that is left from the old days is Games by James and maybe a couple random restaurants. The food court is hoppin busy at lunch hour because of all of the people around. I wanted to go check out and see what was up with the movie theater (I used to work there for a couple years during college....BEST JOB EVER! Bob and half of the Chateau managers worked there while I was there, also Mitch was the District Manager). I found myself dreaming of a church that is truly in the middle of the marketplace. How cool would it be if a church moved in and was able to revitalize a mall that may be lacking a little luster? How cool would it be if reatailers started moving in because of a church and not Gus Chaufaulis? I can almost guarantee that it would be front page Post Bulletin and on KTTC. But think about the locale...The Galleria is the veritable hub of the skyway system....it wasn't until The Galleria moved in that the skyway began to take off. Other cities have Metros and L Trains and subways, we have a skyway and a pedestrian subway. In this system you can reach most of the Mayo Clinic buildings, a large number of hotels, the Public Library and also the Mayo Civic Center (covention center/concert hall/arts center). I would love to someday plant a church in the Galleria Theaters. Not only because I love theater church...it truly is a "safe zone" for people..they are comfortable, it is someplace that they know, but because I think that it backs up my core conviction that the church belongs there.

Churches are getting this vision all across the country. Right here in Minnesota we have a great example. The River Church meets in the amusement park formerly known as Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America. Had the pleasure of going there a couple of times. I liked it so much that it inspired me to get a job at the Mall..unfortunately I got an offer to make about twice as much money I had to move to Rochester (very glad for that, don't get me wrong!).

So anyway, all this to say...God, lets do it!

Thoughts on Church

2006-02-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had a "vision weekend" at church. Well, more like a vision Saturday night. It was a great time to see where the church is headed, what the goals/dreams/aspirations are. It is a little strange for me to be involved in the level that I am (read attender) and not an integral part of the whole thing. I have been an unofficial leader at most churches that I have been apart of, so it is actually nice and different to watch other people be used by God.

One thing that struck me during the meeting and in subsequent days was one mistake that I see many church plants make (at least ones I have been personally involved in). The mission of the church and vision of the church are seperate but equal. The vision flows from the mission. The vision is how the mission is carried out. The mistake is made when the mission changes and the vision changes, but doesn't follow the mission. When there are shifts in direction over and over again and the pastor or elders or leaders take the church on a wild goose chase over and over....the church can not grow in spirit or in numbers. The reason I thought of this during the vision meeting was that Journey is an organic church (I like that term, Rich). The heart of the church is to reach the city of Rochester for Jesus Christ. This may take many shapes, but the idea remains. Reaching the city and making disciples...everything else is details). There are no bones about that. I know that the church will always be about these things. What changes is how that is accomplished and that is okay. I think that many churches change direction in the middle of things because they are not sure what they are here for. People will just be getting used to the old new direction when a new new direction comes in.

I am exicted about what God has done in the life of Journey Church, I am excited about where He is taking the church. The bumper sticker that I posted a couple of weeks ago about, "Get in, sit down, shut up and hang on" rings ever true today as it did then. I get the sense that bigger things are to come. God is preparing the leadership and what really is a core group of people for HUGE things to come. God is instilling in the church how to handle what is coming. That is awesome.

Good things, man, Good things.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars....

Extremists

2006-02-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

I got a little riled up earlier as I was listening to a talk radio program. They were talking about Cindy Sheehan wearing a t-shirt with the death toll of American Soldiers in the Iraq war and how the Capitol Police detained her because of it. It stuck me first as odd that just anyone can go to the State of the Union Address. Guess I have never thought about that. Second, I am absolutely fed up with extremists. Right wing, left wing, gay wing, whatever....I think that nothing good can come out of being an extreme leftist or rightist or whatever your cause is. You garner attention, of course, but what is accomplished. I guess I can keep on wishin. Finally, Casey Sheehan did not die so that his mom can become some Michael Moore wannabe. He died protecting the freedom of not only this country but that of the Iraqi people and ultimately the world.

I don't rant against Cindy Sheehan because she opposes the President that I voted for or the party with which I identify. I rant against her because I guarantee that if Casey Sheehan could get a message to her, he would tell her that what the troops are doing over there is just. I don't always agree with the war, but I am behind the United States Armed Forces 120%. Thank you for being there for us.

Recycled

2006-01-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

This was the title of the message this past Sunday at church.

A few cool thoughts that Pastor Rich shared that stuck with me:

1.) The average soda can has an average "shelf-life" of about 90 days from the time it is filled, bought, drank and recycled. The can is made new every 90 days. An interesting picture for the life of discipleship. Discipleship is not a once and for all deal, it is a process that takes time and energy. It may be that your discipleship needs to be taken to the curb everyday, every Monday with the trash, yearly, whatever....but there does need to a recycling.

2.) Paul was the man in all aspects of legalistic righteousness. Having all that was needed to be faultless under the Old Covenant, he considered all of that literal crap to knowing Jesus. (Philippians 3:4b-11 if you wanna reference) I have long considered this my "life verse" but don't really know if I can fully grasp it. Sometimes it seems like as hard as I try I don't feel I live up to actually living said life verse(s). Something that I have realized lately is that I am not perfect. Seriously. Its not always about attaining perfection but about the road getting there.

Gotta cut it short today, gotta go to work. The countdown to freedom begins. I have given myself until the end of February to either find another job or have my business at a level where I don't need a job on the side. That would be sweet. Wouldn't take a whole lot more. (Link to my store here )

Blessings,

T

It's Been Awhile

2006-01-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

I know that it has been awhile since I have updated. I appologize to my adoring fans for leaving them wanting.

Plenty has been happening in my life...been here there and everywhere doing this and that. Lots of holiday stuff..always a good time.

I am starting a new class this week...Nurture and Discipleship. Interesting that it comes at a time when the church that I attend is embarking on a journey (no pun intended) to discover an Uncivilized Discipleship. Should be good to think about all of this stuff together and as I do it for the class. I finally get to read something from Barna, something I have wanted to do for some time now.

Yesterday was the first edition of "Uncivilized" at Journey Church. Many great things were talked about and I know it made me think differently about the whole discipleship thing. One of the things that struck me as something that I have felt/thought for a long time was about fear. The fear that grips us, that our life may change and take us places that we may never have imagined. The fear that I like my life like it is, I am comfortable with who I am. I am not afraid of the waves as much as I am afraid that I don't have what it takes to be a Talmid of Jesus. Do I have the energy/drive/passion/fire/(insert word of choice here) to be dusty? (for more on this check out Pastor Rich's blog..link on the right!)

There is a bumper sticker that says something like, "Get in, sit down, shut up and hang on." Sounds about right for the ride ahead.

The Message

2005-12-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

The past couple of podcasts from National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) have featured guest speaker Dr. Rick Foth, an attender at NCC. In one of the messages he spoke about when he started working around Capitol Hill and how he could relate the Gospel in terms that would be more acceptable to the people around him. He came up with a way of summing up the whole shebang...very well I might add.

"Jesus left his place. He came to our place. He took our place. He invites us to go back to his place.'

Pretty nice, huh? Dr. Foth also relates how Jesus knows fully all the things that we go through here on earth, including one of the most traumatic things we go through, birth. Never really thought about it that way. Great insights.

Once again, thankful that I got an iPod so that I can listen to things like that.

Closed for Christmas

2005-12-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Church Marketing Sucks: Closed for Christmas

Seems to be the big buzz this year, with Christmas being on a Sunday. I am apart of a church that will be "closed on Christmas". Some people say that the church should be functioning on that day because Christmas is one of the big times where people check out church or come to church...I am not saying who cares, because I care about people, but who cares. Haha...guess I am saying who cares. I agree that Christmas is a holy day, or holiday if you want. But in all honesty, I don't think that church attendence every week is a mandatory thing or that we will go to hell for not having church on Christmas. I think it is excellent that churches have made this decision to have "family time". What an excellent opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas.

Thoughts?

From My Brain to Yours

2005-12-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

From My Brain to Yours

This guy has the right idea. I think that the great trend, at least among people that I read/talk to/interact with is that church is in fact not a place you go. He quotes from "Organic Church" by Neil Cole saying that if we worry about the building and all that crap, we are like the farmer who builds a great barn and stands in the door and invites the crops in. Wouldn't work too well would it? The farmer has to go out and harvest. Same commission has been given to us.

Josh closes his blog entry with, "I want there to be evidence in my life that I am working hard, toiling in the soil of lost souls. I wonder what it looks like to someone when we have been working in the field? What do they see in us? Can we inspire some to join? Let's get to work and stay hard at work.

The harvest is ripe and the workers are few."

Pretty much sums it up. Don't have any witty reparte, just wanted to share something that impacted me today. I am in my post lunch sleepy mode...so I think its time for a nappy...

Blessings friends.

"Go and make disciples of all nations...."

2005-12-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

Some of the last words given by Jesus in his time on earth...Go and make disciples.

The age old question, at least in my mind, is how does one make a disciple? What exactly does discipleship mean? What does it look like? At its core, a disciple is someone who is a student. Jesus wasn't the only great teacher who had disciples. Aristotle, Socrates, Josephus...all had disciples and were disciples of someone at some point. So if a disciple is someone who is a student of another, they are to learn from said person, in our case, Jesus. Jesus, being a master teacher, laid out the how for us as well. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) The 5 w's and an h have been answered in this passage. Who: YOU What: Make disciples Where: Everywhere (implied in the GO statement Jesus made, or at least this is my interpretation) When: Now and in the future, continually. Why: two-fold -- Because Jesus said so and because all power has been given to him in heaven and on earth (v18) How: Two fold also -- Under the power of Jesus...he will be with you. Secondly, by teaching them to obey everything he has commanded.

Pretty simple.

If it is so simple then why is it so hard and hardly employed by American Churches? Essentially, the church is to be a place of transformation....taking me and you from what we were and making us more like Jesus. (AMEN?!) How do we do this? Dallas Willard in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines says that there are basically two ways that the Church can undertake this task. First, the church needs to take the need for human transformation as seriously as those outside the church. Deal with people in real and practical ways. Secondly, "it needs to clarify and exemplify realistic methods of human transformation. It must show how the ordinary individuals who make up the human race today can become, through the grace of Christ, a love-filled, effective, and powerful community." (Willard, preface ix) Willard sets out that his whole thesis and purpose for writing this book is to deal with the second way...that anyone can become like Christ by doing one thing...Living like he lived. "If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father." (Willard, preface ix)

Seems very simple really. In order to be like Jesus, live like Jesus. Not really rocket science, but apparently difficult for us to accomplish since most every church I have been a part of has been lacking in this department. It is hard to make disciples when we ourselves are not disciples. How can I teach someone to be something I am not?

I think the heart of the matter is motivation and intentionality. Do I want to be like Christ? Am I okay with allowing my life as I know it to be rocked and changed? Do I have the fortitude to encounter this seemingly tumultuous (meaning a turbulent uprising; riot....a very fitting word for Discipleship) task? If I answer yes, I take the red-pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes. If I answer no, I take the blue pill and wake up thinking it all a dream and continue to be a "Christian".

Let's see how deep the rabbit hole goes.....

Tryptophan induced comas...

2005-11-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Each year about this time, Tryptophan induced comas see a sharp rise in number. Consuming copious amounts of the wonderful MEAT known as Turkey leads to many, many hours of napping on the part of a majority of America. (You may ask why I put MEAT in caps...well, contrary to what tree hugging euphorians may want us to believe, poultry, fish and pork are all meat. By the Vegetarian definition of meat, I am a vegatarian for the most part. If you are a vegetarian, you eat only things that could not roam about the earth, ie fruit and vegetables and lots of beans. END RANT) As a tradition, most folks share what they have been most thankful for this past year. To be quite honest, I think that is overrated...everyday should be "thanksgiving". A constant state of thankfulness takes the focus off of who we are and what we can do to the one who gives so freely to us. I am feeling a little giddy today for some reason...I think all of my brain power was used up on the paper I just finished up....so to that end I will write a list of things that I am truly thankful for...Curtis, you may have flashbacks on a couple, but they are just that funny.

Ten: Novacaine: Where would we be without it.

Nine: Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. Who knew that you could liquify a pumpkin pie and put it in a glass?

Eight: Totino's Pizzas. I think there is no explanation needed on this one.

Seven: The first snowfall of the year. Reminds me that yellow snow is not for human consumption.

Six: The Shuffle setting on my iPod and iTunes. I get bored easily, but when a random song comes on, it is quite exciting. If left to my own devices I pick the same stuff all the time.

5: Toilet Paper. Duh.

Fore: Burt's Bee Lip Balm. If I could find Burt and give him a hug, I would. This stuff is wonder balsam for my lips. Plus, it tingles.

Threve: (If you watch Celebrity Jeopardy on Will Ferrell's Best Of DVD, you will understand threve) Humor. I cannot possibly go through life without a smile....its just not who I am. I also love being funny..even though looks aren't everything. (Insert Kurt Rutzen laugh here)

Dos: Being able to wear shoes that are enclosed when it is snowing. I went outside earlier with flip flops on...not the greatest idea I have ever had. Needless to say, when there is over 1/8" of snow, I will be wearing enclosed shoes. Bummer...I used to heart shoes, but now I would much rather wear a flip-flop. Guess I moved to the wrong place then.

and the number one "thing" I am thankful for..................

The never ending love of God in my life....Not a day goes by that I don't think about this. I am not one to live life to be blessed, but my life is so blessed that I am glad to live it. My family, friends, pastors, girlfriend....they are what makes me so blessed. I am not so concerned with material fare, but with relational fare.....I need people, I want people in my life. It is really what makes the world go round. So if you are any of these to me, know that I am thankful for you and love you. Thanks for making my life blessed.

Coming up.....a discourse on some of the stuff I have been reading regarding "Discipleship". Since no other Journeyians are saying anything, I might as well. Is it okay that I talk a lot?

Wow, I am in a strange mood...Ah well, off to a feast of Ham, which is also a MEAT!

Blessings friends.

Church Marketing Sucks

2005-11-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

One of the blogs that I read when I can is Churchmarketingsucks.com. The basic premise of this site is that Church marketing sucks, pretty novel, huh? If you think about it, it is so true. I could go into a whole lot of discussion on why the church doesn't need to market itself, why they don't need web sites and why the church should be in the world but not of the world. But, alas, I am not going to. Long story short, they posted a ChurchCartoon.com cartoon that hits the nail on the head. (Click the link to see the cartoon.) Basically, churches do not know how to do the things that should be done to redeem the tools that we have. That is one of the big reasons why I want to do the church directory. I want to help churches get into the 21st century, heck even the 20th century would be nice. I think a lot of churches are under the impression that web sites have to be expensive and elaborate. I have seen church web sites that have barebones, cost about 10.50 to make and hit their target every time. People want to know the basics...Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. We all learned those principles back in 1st grade english class...guess that has been too long ago for some.

Sorry is this sounds like a rant...it really isn't, more like a motivational speech for myself to get this thing off the ground. In my search to see what the "competition" has to offer in the way of directory info on churches, I came across a couple of directory like sites. One that I found was actually quite good, but listed only 18 churches in Rochester, MN. There are 18 churches within 5 miles of my house...only an estimate, but I guarantee that it is a very close estimate. Like I said, the site is good, but content sucks. That is what I aim to change. Great site, great content.

On a side note, finally figured out how to enable the title bar, exciting! This from a guy who wants to run a web site? hahaha. Never proclaimed to know everything, but I am willing to learn.

Also, check out Rich Bontrager's blog for a discussion about discipleship. Be interesting to see the replies that are generated. I am still working on mine!

2005-11-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

One of the blogs that I read pretty much daily is from Mark Batterson of National Community Church in DC. (Evotional.com) Today Mark posted a link to a news story that was on the local channel there about podcasting and the Christian counterpart "Godcasting". Good video if you have high speed, check it out (Channel 9 News Feature)...if you don't, don't even bother, your computer may explode (literally). I was talking with my friend Curtis the other day about the whole podcasting thing. I have been brainstorming lately about how to redeem the technology that we have for use in God's Kingdom. As I have related, I have been greatly blessed by being able to listen to sermons and such in my iPod. I know that others would be as well. I also know that when I was a college student, it would have been great to listen to other preachers and just get a feel for what is going on out there in the Christian community. So in talking to Curtis we decided that it would be really cool to make a directory of Church podcasts, hosting and uploading for churches without that capacity to do it themselves. I think it would be a great time, a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I know that there are things like this out there, but to be honest, they are mediocre at best. It would be a great way to do some sort of ministry that I really feel passionate about. Another thing that we discussed was a church directory online. As someone who has relocated to a couple of different areas in the past few years, I have discovered a severe lack of organization in that area online. Also many churches either don't have any sort of website or they have a really poor one. My vision is to develop a web based directory with a catchy web address that is easy to find and remember that people can use to find churches wherever they are headed. One would think that it would be easy to find a church website in a certain area, but trust me, its not. So, those are the two things that I am kinda cookin right now...thinking about, praying about and just plain excited about.

Anyway...check out the vid! Have a rockin weekend!

2005-11-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

Further From Myself....

Further from my future
Further from the past
Further from the starting line
Further from the last
Further from my doubts
Further from my fears
Further from temptation that I faced throughout my years
Further from agitation
Further from distraction
The reaction of the dissatisfaction of others actions
Further from myself
Further from my flesh
Further from my birth and I'm
Further from my death

I was pondering what to blog about today...didn't really have any great thoughts going through my head or any news to discuss. So I was just listening to some music in iTunes and came across some Pillar. As a whole they have been one of the more influential bands in my life in the past couple of years. I saw them live in concert at a cool joint in Orlando called The Last Wave Club. Really cool place, would love to open up something like it...similar to Club 3 Degrees in Minneapolis, good Christian environment where kids can go and hang. This was during an interesting time in my life where I was just seeking out the alternative....the alternative to the everyday is the same. Listened to this band and it totally helped me understand a lot about me and life. This song in particular, Further From Myself, was instrumental in helping shape who I found myself becoming. The words really are powerful and quite scriptural. James records similar words in his book....James 4:7-8

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

If a person wanted to sum up this whole relational end of Christianity, I think these would be great beginnings. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. When I am further away from who I am, my faults and shortcomings, I am closer to God and He is shaping me into something that is nothing like who I am. (If that makes any sense!)

Just some thoughts...love to hear any comments, emails, suggestions...I hope that today finds you as blessed as I am.

Blessings,
T

2005-11-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Who says you can't go home?

Where I sit is miles from what I call home. 1309 in the air and 1510 on the ground miles....
For those of you who don't know, I am in Orlando for the weekend. The feelings that I have experienced over the last few days have been interesting. The first emotion that I experienced was sweat. I am not sure if sweat is an emotion, but it is now. The moment I stepped out of the doors of the Orlando International Airport I began to sweat. I remembered what humidity is like. If I needed to describe humidity in a word, that word would be gross! But overall it has just been a swell of other emtions. I am finding that it is like going home from college after a couple of years being away. You are home, but don't really have a home or a space anymore. Your parents have turned your room into an exercise room. Boo. I find that I am overall just glad to be here with my friends...its not about the place, its about the people. If sweat can be an emotion, then coupled with that is smell. For anyone who has lived here or visited often, you will know that there is a distinct smell to Florida. Maybe it is swamp gas or some natural phenomenon, but whatever it is, it is Florida to me. Sorry about the randomness of this entry, but just logging as I think.

I was able to hang out with one of my buddies, Jeff Bristow (see previous post, including link to his site for sponsorship). It is good to be with friends, especially Christian ones that one can dialogue with. The activities are inconsequential, but the time is what is important. Thanks, Jeff for driving up and hangin!

Went to Epcot yesterday, good times, good food. I am the Disney guy...if someone has a question about Disney, they call me. Sort of cool. Yesterday I was called gay because I know all the words to the Epcot fireworks show, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Today we are headed out to Universal Studios City Walk as they also have a Food and Wine type festival this weekend. The food is so outstanding...well, I don't know about the Universal one, but at Epcot there are at least 20 different countries represented, with samplings from their land. I particularly like the hummus from Morocco and the Beer Chesse soup from Canada. I was unable to get lefse from Norway, much to my disappointment. The good news is that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and hopefully my family will follow traditions of old and make some lefse the day after Thanksgiving.

Sorry that there is nothing deep in this entry, but I am on "vacation" so that is what is on my mind. Look for more new links to churches and hopefully I'll add a section for podcasts over there as well. Those have been a great blessing in my life and walk. If you still don't have an iPod of sorts, check out GodiPod.com. This iPod comes filled with cool stuff like the Bible and sermons and such. Also, if you are looking to buy a Nano, let me know and I can point you to someone who can hook you up. (He sells them out of the trunk of his car on Hennepin Ave...pretty sure its all legit.) (Just kidding)

Hope all of you out there in TV Land are doing great. Journeyians...hope today was blessed.

Blessings,

T

2005-11-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

Life, Love and other Mysteries.....

I was reminiscing the other day about the old days. I must admit that I am quite sentimental at times...I was dialoging with a very good friend about how my friend Curtis (see links to Cross Pointe Christian and the "McG's" blog on the right) used to just hang out and talk about life, love and other mysteries. I think at the time we didn't realize how important those conversations were in our lives, at least I didn't. Curtis has been one of my best friends for the better part of the last decade...sharing in my life's struggles and victories, but mostly just being supportive of whatever I chose to do with myself, always encouraging. Obviously, if said activities are detrimental to my health and life, he wouldn't encourage them. I called Curtis the other day and ended the message with "I miss you, man." I felt a little, well, gay, just because I was being sappy toward another guy. But I think that part of the Brotherhood of Christ is just that. Curtis probably knows more about me than anyone on this planet, my bads and goods...He just knows who I am. I think often times modern men lose this intimacy out of fear. I have many close friends, many of whom I would share a lot with, but probably only a couple that I can share everything with.

The reason why I am thinking about this really is out of my own current situation. This is one of the times in my life where I need to be vulnerable and talk about life, love and other mysteries with my brothers. Some interesting developments are taking place in my life that I would not in a million years have imagined would be taking place. If you have been reading this blog (all 3 entries, including this one) you will remember reading about the Wild Goose Chase. This chase is just being further solidified in my life. I cannot express enough to God about how thankful I am in this moment. I have begun a romance of sorts and am quite excited about what the future may hold. It is kind of difficult for me to allow myself to be open to being vulnerable to a woman due to past experiences. The last relationship that I had dissolved due to my emotional distance. I was unable to allow myself to be in the relationship in my heart. But I am glad that this time around hasn't been that way. I was thinking about this the other week and how God hardened hearts of people throughout the Bible...I am thinking that it was for my own good that I was emotionally detached. This may all be more than you ever wanted to know about me....but thanks for reading!

On a side note....if you or your church is looking to sponsor a missionary, take a look at these two fine young men:

Jeff and Jaime Bristow, Missionaries to Kenya

Mioche and Rosie Rock, Missionaries to Haiti

On another side note....if you would like to get up-to-date feeds of this blog you should download Mozilla Firefox

This is a browser that will take the place of Internet Explorer or whatever you are using...it allows live bookmarks, like the one for this blog. Firefox also allows a lot of other cool stuff, like opening windows in tabs. Best of all, IT IS FREE!!!

2005-11-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

I gotta say, Today was a good day....

If you can guess what song that line is from, you get a prize. Seriously.

I wanted to blog about Church. Today I went to Journey Church, aka "The Church at the Movies". (if you wanna read more, check out the links to the right, Pastor Rich's blog is there as well.) A few days ago I checked out the Journey website and saw that they have been going through the 40 Days of Purpose campaign, much to my chagrin. The church that I went to when I first moved to Orlando (about 2 years ago as of right now) went through this back when it all came out, so I was kinda like, "Man, isn't this old news yet?" (RICH -- If you are reading this, take no offense, please keep reading! haha) So we went to church today and Rich announced that this was the final Sunday of the campaign and that today would be a Celebration service for the time that was spent in community and discovery of purpose. I still was a bit hesitant to be there, but man am I glad I was. Several members of the community shared about their experience during the campaign. I had sort of forgotten how powerful testimony is. I have always been one to really enjoy and be encouraged by people sharing what God is doing in their lives. Let me tell you, today was a glimpse of what Church is about. Read on....

The very definition of Church to me has changed quite dramatically over the past few years. Growing up Church was a place that we went to. Church has now become something that I am, that we are. In the past few years I have been to Church gatherings in several movie theaters, The Mall of America, a High School, the 2nd worst neighborhood in Cincy, a mega-church and several "normal" Church buildings. A smattering of humanity in all of them, but probably the "best" one was the one in Cincy. The mixture of "normal" Church folks, ex-cons, ex-drug addicts, seminary students, etc was just amazing. That day truly changed my view of Church. Lately, I have been listening to many sermons from across the country and further solidified my thoughts. A.) Church is not a place that we go, it is something we are. B) Church gatherings are not a place for perfect people, Church gatherings are ICUs for spiritually sick people. These should be places that people are accepted no matter where they are at with God. I don't ever want to be apart of a community that doesn't reach out to people where they are at. That is what Jesus did. He could have easily spent all his time with some high and mighty folks, but he spent his time with tax collectors and sinners. C.) I am glad that there are communities all around the country and world that are getting these ideas.

To close...Thanks, Rich, for the testimonies today. They did my heart well, even though my heart wasn't feelin it at first. Be certain that we will be back...I am out of town next weekend though.

The name of this blog is "the misadventures of a beautiful letdown." The Beautiful Letdown is a song by Switchfoot. Such an excellent song and sums up quite nicely my thoughts....I'll leave you all with a snippet from that song.

"We are a beautiful letdown
Painfully uncool
The church of the dropouts
The losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools
What a beautiful letdown
Are we salt in the wound
Hey, let us sing one true tune"

2005-11-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

The Gospel According to Jon (Bon Jovi).

Welcome to Wherever You Are....Here is a little snippet from the chorus of this song off of Bon Jovi's latest album, "Have a Nice day":

"Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life, you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here right now, you're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome, to wherever you are"

The first time I listened to this song I kind of blew it off as an okay song with a catchy tune. The more that I listened to it, the more I understood. The song has since helped me to develop a new outlook on life in general and my life in particular. For the past couple of years I have been struggling with what on earth I am here for....trying to find out exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I have come to the conclusion that it is okay that I don't know what I want to be. I do know WHO I want to be....so that was the place that I decided to start.

A few weeks ago I got an iPod. I have since subscribed to numerous podcasts from pastor's across the country. One of the ones that I have liked the most is from Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in DC. The last series that Mark preached was about The Wild Goose Chase. Celtic Christians referred to the Holy Spirit as the Wild Goose...Think about wild goose chases, they take you to unexpected places. The three part message series was insightful for me as I have been working through all of my life changes lately and why some things are working and others aren't. Gave me a fresh perspective it all. Mark talks a lot about the book of Acts and Paul's journeys...truly a Wild Goose Chase. If you have time, take a read of Acts, great stuff there and with a fresh twist of the Wild Goose, makes it all the much better. (for more about The Wild Goose Chase, including videos and audio, check out Evotional.com, pastor Mark's blog...you can also click the link in my links section)

I guess all of this to say that the theology of Bon Jovi should be words for all of us to live by. Right here, Right Now, you're exactly where you are supposed to be. If it weren't for the Wild Goose Chase I would still be living in Florida, having a lot of fun, but missing out on meeting new friends and reconnecting with old friends. Last night I went to Kwik Trip to get some string cheese and chocolate milk and as I was leaving a girl asked if I would give her a ride. I recognized the girl from one of the restaurants that I deliver from, so I said sure. She was only going a few blocks, no big deal. So we hop in the Jeep and she started talking. Fine, I can pretty much talk to anyone. About the third sentence out of her mouth was, "Do you fool around?" My somewhat suprised and a little confused response was quite simply, "No." To which she replied, "Oh, thats too bad, I really need twenty bucks, bad." After a minute or so of silence, she asked if I was mad that she asked that. I said again quite simply, "No." I dropped her off literally three blocks from Kwik Trip and as I was driving home, I couldn't really believe what had happened. My first response was to call everyone I knew and tell them about it. I didn't do that..primarily because it was 12:30am. Cliche of cliches, I prayed for her. I realized that whatever this girl needed twenty bucks for, enough to meet some random person at a gas station and proposition him, it probably wasn't good. The Wild Goose led that chase...maybe there wouldn't have been someone praying for her last night and whatever she was facing. I say that the whole Chase I have been on would have been worth it just for that 4 minute encounter.

Parting words from Bon Jovi:

"Be who you want to, be who you are
Everyones a hero, everyones a star
When you wanna give up, and your hearts about to break
Remember that you're perfect, God makes no mistakes"

Blessings...

2005-11-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

2005-11-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

Just trying to see if this thing is on....didn't like the error message I got before!~