Some of us know the Talking Heads as a band in the 80's if you're old enough to remember but anyone in ministry for too long knows a 'talking head'. These are they that can talk shop about the latest trends in church world with some level of passion and urgency but surprisingly enough sit behind a desk in a church office in a leather chair sipping on a cup of joe when suddenly they realize that they actually haven't engaged in conversation with someone outside of the church in over a year... or two but who's counting.
I was talking with a co-worker today about this and felt that the only influence on the mission field that most people have consists of about 12 people on mySpace - give or take. I went to a conference in October called Catalyst. Craig Groschell of Life Church in Oklahoma said something that I will never forget. He said "God, forgive us when we become full time pastor's and part time followers of Jesus."
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
My pastor woke up to this in his backyard this morning... I really don't have much else to say. We were going to try to set it on it's feet because of the rigor mortis but we figured that was just a little too redneck. It had eight points and when he came home at lunch to drag it away someone had come into his yard and sawed off the antlers.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Redwing
There is new band I am lisening to called Hem. They have a song called Redwing and I really feel the words.
"We are standing on the rooftops
We are circling like sparrows
We are tiny, we are trembling,
Scared of everything
But the heart is still a red wing"
The basic idea of all of us wanting so badly to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I love the line that says we circle like sparrows. It took a few times to listen and sink in that sparrows don't circle like predatory birds. We're all tiny, trembling, and scared of everything and that's perfectly ok because our hearts are still redwings.
"We are standing on the rooftops
We are circling like sparrows
We are tiny, we are trembling,
Scared of everything
But the heart is still a red wing"
The basic idea of all of us wanting so badly to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I love the line that says we circle like sparrows. It took a few times to listen and sink in that sparrows don't circle like predatory birds. We're all tiny, trembling, and scared of everything and that's perfectly ok because our hearts are still redwings.
Sleepy Time
My kids have a tendency to get out of bed about a dozen times before they really go to sleep. Tonight I tried something a little different to help them go to sleep. I made up a play list on itunes called sleepy time and played in softly in the front room. I checked on them a few minutes ago and they are all sound asleep. I must admit I'm getting a little tired as well. Here is the play list...
Sweet Baby James - JT
Betting On Trains - Hem
How's The World Treating You - Alison and JT
Lazy Eye - Hem
walkin' man - JT
Sailor - Hem
Carolina on my mind - JT
Polly's Dress - Hem
You Can Close Your Eyes - JT
Sarah Maria - JT
Waltz - Hem
A Junkie's Lament - JT
For My Father - Andy Mckee
My Traveling Star - JT
Rylynn - Andy Mckee
Wandering - JT
Into the Ocean - Andy Mckee
Daddy's Baby - JT
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Naked As We Came - Iron & Wine
Lion's Mane - Iron & Wine
Waitin For A Superman - Iron & Wine
Hold Me Jesus - Rich Mullins
Ebb Tide - Emile Pandolfi
An Affair to Remember - Emile Pandolfi
Until it's Time For You to Go
Emile Pandolfi An Affair to Remember
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Kitty Pity
A Siamese cat has been walking around our house now for about 6 months. Yeah I know it must sound weird that a full bread Siamese cat is a stray hanging around my house and not a permanent fixture in my house. For the record I have massive amounts of kitty pity. At one time my family owned 17 cats due to a highly self motivated tom cat with a thing for more than one feline. We had four females and they all gave birth around the same time which resulted in the 17 cats. That is where I come from...
"Kitty", who has access to our house and the neighbors (which is another story in and of itself), was caught red pawed in my garbage tonight. I wasn't upset at him but a little shocked that he wanted my garbage instead of the feast inside. I don't know if finishing the story would take away from some of the magic but I need to illustrate.
I couldn't help but make the connection between "kitty" and myself in terms of my relationship with God. I feel like "kitty" when I get caught sneaking around God's best digging through the left overs when the smell of a 7 course feast is just behind the partially open door. If "kitty" only knew that he were a full bread Siamese - he would never wonder if he were accepted in my home. If only we knew that when God looks on us that He only sees Jesus and that every thing in God's kingdom is at our disposal.
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
"Kitty", who has access to our house and the neighbors (which is another story in and of itself), was caught red pawed in my garbage tonight. I wasn't upset at him but a little shocked that he wanted my garbage instead of the feast inside. I don't know if finishing the story would take away from some of the magic but I need to illustrate.
I couldn't help but make the connection between "kitty" and myself in terms of my relationship with God. I feel like "kitty" when I get caught sneaking around God's best digging through the left overs when the smell of a 7 course feast is just behind the partially open door. If "kitty" only knew that he were a full bread Siamese - he would never wonder if he were accepted in my home. If only we knew that when God looks on us that He only sees Jesus and that every thing in God's kingdom is at our disposal.
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
4 friends everyone needs
I saw this article on Lifeway and just had to post - enjoy;)
The Developer
Your best friend will always be the person who brings out the very best in you. According to Billy Graham, he wouldn’t have made it as an evangelist if he had to minister alone. Over 53 years ago, Billy Graham met his staff and best friends: Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, and Grady Wilson. These three men protected him, strengthened him, counseled with their wisdom, and corrected him when he needed it. He is convinced that without these friends he would have burned out within a few years after his first groundbreaking crusade in 1949 (Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, pp. 125-129).
Developer friends will bring the gift of encouragement to your life and bring out the very best in you.
The Designer
We tend to think of mentors as a personal, hands-on coach. The Latin and Greek define them more as “advisors” or “wise men.” Jesus was a master mentor. He ministered to thousands, trained hundreds, equipped twelve, and had an intimate friendship with three men.
Designer mentors may live near or far, be acquaintances or strangers, or may even be dead. They “design” our lives through Scripture, books, tapes, articles, or seminars.
The Disturber
We need friends who will shake up our status quo. Disturbers ask us difficult questions, forcing us to take a closer look at motivations and ambitions. Disturbers know when we have retreated into our comfort zones, and they call us out to greater effectiveness. God uses disturbers in our lives to become the object of greater force that breaks inertia and propels us to greater achievement.
A biblical picture of a disturber is in Deuteronomy 32:11. In this passage the mother eagle tears up the soft nest to reveal sharp thorns that bring discomfort to the eaglets. Because of discomfort, the eaglets leave the nest and learn to fly. The mother develops her young by repeatedly pushing them out of the nest and catching them until they become skilled flyers. Eagles were never meant to stay in the nest and neither were we. The disturber pushes us to learn to fly.
The Discerner
In a lifetime of relationships, perhaps only a handful of people are willing to play this vital role because it requires mutual vulnerability. More popularly known as accountability partners, discerners bring the gift of spiritual insight into our lives. They know how to speak the truth in love. They know how to exhort and rebuke, seeking to keep their friend on the right track. They are also vulnerable—the true friends who will walk into the room of your life while everyone else is walking out.
Proverbs 27:6 reads, “The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.” Always be slow in choosing your discerners and even slower in leaving them.
If you are without close friendships, I urge you to seek them out.
The Developer
Your best friend will always be the person who brings out the very best in you. According to Billy Graham, he wouldn’t have made it as an evangelist if he had to minister alone. Over 53 years ago, Billy Graham met his staff and best friends: Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, and Grady Wilson. These three men protected him, strengthened him, counseled with their wisdom, and corrected him when he needed it. He is convinced that without these friends he would have burned out within a few years after his first groundbreaking crusade in 1949 (Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, pp. 125-129).
Developer friends will bring the gift of encouragement to your life and bring out the very best in you.
The Designer
We tend to think of mentors as a personal, hands-on coach. The Latin and Greek define them more as “advisors” or “wise men.” Jesus was a master mentor. He ministered to thousands, trained hundreds, equipped twelve, and had an intimate friendship with three men.
Designer mentors may live near or far, be acquaintances or strangers, or may even be dead. They “design” our lives through Scripture, books, tapes, articles, or seminars.
The Disturber
We need friends who will shake up our status quo. Disturbers ask us difficult questions, forcing us to take a closer look at motivations and ambitions. Disturbers know when we have retreated into our comfort zones, and they call us out to greater effectiveness. God uses disturbers in our lives to become the object of greater force that breaks inertia and propels us to greater achievement.
A biblical picture of a disturber is in Deuteronomy 32:11. In this passage the mother eagle tears up the soft nest to reveal sharp thorns that bring discomfort to the eaglets. Because of discomfort, the eaglets leave the nest and learn to fly. The mother develops her young by repeatedly pushing them out of the nest and catching them until they become skilled flyers. Eagles were never meant to stay in the nest and neither were we. The disturber pushes us to learn to fly.
The Discerner
In a lifetime of relationships, perhaps only a handful of people are willing to play this vital role because it requires mutual vulnerability. More popularly known as accountability partners, discerners bring the gift of spiritual insight into our lives. They know how to speak the truth in love. They know how to exhort and rebuke, seeking to keep their friend on the right track. They are also vulnerable—the true friends who will walk into the room of your life while everyone else is walking out.
Proverbs 27:6 reads, “The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.” Always be slow in choosing your discerners and even slower in leaving them.
If you are without close friendships, I urge you to seek them out.
Monday, September 3, 2007
When my brothers were to young to be wise
I am reading a great book right now called "This Beautiful Mess" by Pastor Rick McKinley. His preface is that Jesus said of the Kingdom of God that it was coming and is in you. While most evangelicals wait for the Kingdom, or claim to be building the Kingdom, Rick believes that the Kingdom of God is here now and is also coming. His plea is to recognize that even though it is not visible the Kingdom is here and that we are called to live in it and be signposts to others directing them towards the reality of the present Kingdom and the physical Kingdom that is coming when Christ returns. Here is a poem from the book that I really felt.
"When my brothers were to young to be wise but to old to name things creatively, they invented a game called: Let's take turns jumping off of Tom's roof and throw the cat after the person who jumped. At least they took turns... Later when my brothers were too young to be wise but old enough to put their scientific knowledge to use, they played a game called: Let's pour gas over this giant pile of weeds and light it on fire. At least the Doctor said that their eyebrows will grow back... Later when my brother was old enough to be depressed but too young to know how to cope, he would play a game called: Let's go to Tom's house and do a lot of drugs and drink all his step dad's beer. At least there was that one English teacher who asked id something was wrong... but what could you say? We are so poorly equipped to deal with these troubles, and there are so few doctors of the soul these days... What is there to do? I know some people who fight it all their lives, kicking against the goads until they bleed to death. Others, like Dad, ignore it, thinking that hard work, sunshine, and the passing of time will resolve it. Still others, like Mom, ostracize and cast blame by leaving condemnatory evangelical polemics taped to your bathroom mirror. But now my brothers and I are old enough to begin to be wise, yet still young enough to climb the cold roof to talk and to smoke. So I will play a new game called: Let's go and bear one another's burdens. At least I will not laugh at your pain, I will not try to fix your problems, I will not ignore your suffering or condemn you with my piety... I will simply lie here next to you in the cold while we breathe our smoky prayers to God." ~ Raeben Nolan
Music I am listing to today:
1. Calling on You - Stryper
2. 8th Grade - Chris Rice
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