Category Archives: Random

Doesn’t really fit anything else.

Goals…

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I’ve been struggling with some goals that I have for this year.  Not so much resolutions.  More things that I would like to see done before the end of the year.  I realized quickly that the only way to have any level of accountability for these goals is to publish them.  It will enable me to look at them in writing on a daily basis but also inform those around me of the things that I really want to accomplish so they can be an encouragment. 

Lose 30lbs. 

Honestly I could stand to lose more than that but this is a start.  I’m already on my way to this one, but it is a daily struggle with understanding the difference between real physical hunger and mental hunger.  Knowing that while my mind may tell me I’m hungry, my body has all the nutrients and calories it needs to sustain is difficult.  Also I have a love obsession with food. 

Host a Secret Church event.

Secret Church is something I read about a long time ago.  I have some ideas about this and really feel like it could be very meaningful in the lives of Christians across denominations.  Whether it be a live simulcast or a reshowing of an old event, it is something I feel that needs to be done in our area.  If nothing more than to create an understanding that the “persecution” we think we feel living in a modern secular society is nothing compared to the rest of the world. 

Outline and launch a true Media Ministry.

We do a lot of media related stuff for our ministries at church.  However I want to truly hash out the ministry.  Complete with a robust video ministry and a consultation option for churches in our surrounding area that dont’t even know some of the cheap(or free) tools at their disposal to cast a larger net.  Help them to develop a better cohesiveness to their services through the effective use of technology and media.  We also need to do a better job of educating our own congregations of the tools at their disposal.  With technological advancements people can have a veritable library of biblical resources at their fingertips.  They just need to be shown what is out there.

The list isn’t incredibly long, but I need to leave room for anything new that might pop up, and the current obligations I have on my plate.

“Evil”

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The internet has become a great tool to be used by Christians.  But many within the church view it to be a place full of evil.  While much of the content online is questionable, the usefulness is not to be forgotten.
 
The problem here, as is the case in most situations, is perspective. We want to blame the internet for problems because we refuse to look inward.  We refuse acknowledge that if we didn’t desire the things out there, they wouldn’t exist. 
 
People aren’t just putting stuff on the internet with the hopes of tripping followers up.  They put it up there to make money because they have no moral opposition.  They only allow us to reach our desires more easily.
 
If we want the internet to become a more wholesome place then we need to become a more wholesome people. 
 
As a people we need to stop villifying an inanimate object and begin to realize the reason for it’s existence.  Demand justifies supply.  Not the other way around. Prohibition is a prime example of how restricting access to a certain object will not rid the populace of it’s existence. 
 
Personal accountability is and always will be a problem within the people of a church.  We forget that the Bible was written as much to individuals as it was to church.  It’s concepts and applications are commanded of you as well as the whole body of Christ. As a church we create an enemy of tools that could be vital to us.  Like an ostrich with our head in the sand, we just hope it goes away. 
 
I guess the call to action here is to be proactive as to the tools that we can use to further our message.  Realize the full potential of a thing before deciding it’s worth.  Snap judgements are usually wrong and limiting. 
 
Take every opportunity to evangelize.  Utilize all things for the advancement of our message.  Something that is so corrupt can  be turned around in a second by our decision to claim it for a more divine purpose.

Speaking over…

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I keep hearing this phrase “speaking over” someone.  And before you jump to conclusions, it is not what I do on a regular basis when someone else is talking.  In the most traditional of senses it’s the rude interjection to essentially cover up what someone else is trying to say. 

The phrase in the context that I have heard it recently has much more to do with talking about people.  I know I posted about gossip yesterday and today I’m still on this talking about people thing but it bears duplicating posts.

When you speak a something you know about a person, those words contain power.  Studies have shown in the past that a teachers expectation of a student, to some degree, can dictate that particular students achievements.  If you treat them as if they are a success waiting to happen, they are statistically more likely to be successful.  And the converse is true.  People will generally rise, or fall, to the level your expectations.

How does that connect?

If we “speak over” a person as to their inability to do certain things, they may never attain the ability to do those things because the power in our words has influenced them about their own abilities. 

If we “speak over” them about their ability to do succeed at something, they just might achieve it.  This sounds an awful lot like a high school motivational speaker, and maybe this is what it is.  But as a people and as a church we have to be very aware of the things we say about people.  Much more than gossip, truthful matters can be harmful. 

Someones misdeeds of their past can quickly become their future if we tell them thats exactly who they are.  If we take a minute to realize that those misdeeds should not characterize them throughout the rest of their lives, we might be less likely to label them as such. 

We should take a moment to ban the words disorganized, jerk, know-it-all, sarcastic, dumb, etc. from daily use.  We should keep them out of our mouths daily.  Our words can become someones direction.

Gossiping gossipers who gossip…

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I’ll admit that I really like to be in the know about things.  There is some secret pride(yeah I know thats a bad one too) in being the first to know something.  Maybe because it artificially inflates my errant belief that I am smart.  Maybe because it makes me momentarily more sought after for knowledge.  Or maybe it’s because I’m just plain nosey. 

I’m pretty sure we all know how harmful gossip can be though.  We have probably all fallen victim to it and made someone a victim of it in our life.  I heard an interesting thought about hearing gossip the other day.

I listen to sermons from various preachers on my way to work in the mornings.  This particular sermon contained the statement that they would stop people from telling them gossip because of the obvious fact that if the person wanted you to know they would have told you and the lesser fact that does create a momentary sense of pride in ones own actions.  It creates a fleeting sense of judgement.

That however is not the main point I took away.  I had an altogether obvious, but new revelation.  Maybe it’s better that we let the person tell us their story because while as an outsider we may be able to get a grander perspective of the whole situation, listening to their perception of the situation will really enable us to be in their shoes for a moment.  To be more understanding of the how and why of the situation.  If we had the precursoral knowledge, we have already formulated our vision of why what they did was wrong our ability to empathize is limited.  Our relational point is destroyed.  Our ability to listen and respond with an open heart is ultimately ruined.

Hymn vs. Projector

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I noticed this survey on facebook that asked the question as to whether you preferred to sing from a hymnal or a projector. 

Honestly I prefer the projector because I don’t have to flip to the page in a hurry to catch up and the person running the projector can skip the third verse for me.  Let’s sing the first, second and fourth verses. 

Also using a projector illustrates to me some level of preparation for the service.  We aren’t just going to pick up a book and randomly select songs when you are forced to pre-load them to a projection program.  While last minute changes can and are made, there is a certain level of preparation that goes into the constant utilization of the projector. 

Why do people dislike the projector?  Probably because they don’t know what to do with their hands now.  Once you free them from the death grip of a book, the non-charismatic feels kind of like Ricky Bobby in his first interview.  They don’t know what to do with their hands.  This lack of direction at first feels like trying to dribble a football.  Awkward.  But as time progresses we realize the freedom allows us to lift our hands to God during the service.  We can clap along with the song.  We can feel free to kneel and pray without having to worry about our neighbor who was sharing the book with us. 

Sometimes it’s nice to go back to that structure, but realistically that structure can become the point of the worship service, not the movement of the spirit.  And when we let ourselves get distracted by tradition or structure we limit the potential of God to move in our church.

Do everything as if…

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What does that mean?

Preach as if it was your last sermon. 

 
What freedom would come from knowing that you would not be held responsible for the things you said by the people in the church? 
 
Through your counseling sessions you have learned a great deal about the people in your congregation.  As such you might find it hard to deliver certain messages because you know it will directly offend a person.  Maybe even someone you hold close to you. 
 
What happens when you quench the flame God has put in your heart for that message? 
 
It becomes difficult to get a new fire started out wet wet tinder.

Teach as if the people in your class were never going to come back. 

 
What one last lesson would you want them to have? 
 
We spend a great deal of time trying to create these large arcing curriculum of biblical ideas only to find that people will often fall out of interest or come in halfway through the lesson and spend a great deal of time trying to catch up.  It’s great to learn about these big themes, but isn’t there something you can do each week so you don’t have to tell the people, come back next week for the rest of the story.  That kind of call to action is rarely accepted.

Love as if there were never going to be another person for you to ever love. 

 
Would we be more free and open with our emotions? 
 
Would we make apparent how we felt to the person if we knew they were the only person we were ever going to love?

Live as if God is sitting right next to you. 

 
Because he is. 
Simply stated. 
 
Whether we accept it or not, he is right there, watching everything you do.  What would your life really look like if you had a constant reminder that God is right next to you.  Would it be harder to make those bad decisions?

Our Church Prayer…

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Our church has adopted the communal prayer to be the church that is needed in our community. To be the refuge for the broken. To be the sanctuary for the outcast and downtrodden. It seems like a given that any church should seek this, but it is a conscientious prayer for us.

There is one problem with that though.

We pray to be the church that is needed in our community.

When we ask this, most of the time we expect that God will bring them to our church and we expect the sermon or the worship team or youth minister, or some other member of the ministry team to do the heavy lifting.

We have to realize that when we ask God to do something like that, we might have to be the people that bring God to them outside the doors of our church.

We might have to be the kind of people that don’t expect the pastor to do the heavy work.

We have to be prepared to share the message that God has shown us that is so important in our life.

We are responsible for the growth we expect to see in our church.

Hiatus…

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I took pretty much the whole month of January off as an unscheduled hiatus. I haven’t really felt “inspired” to write much of anything. I’ve also spent the time getting caught up on some tasks that had been put on the back burner for some time.

We are now 92.3% completed on our kitchen renovation. I am going to try to button most of those things up this Friday.

I enrolled in the biggest loser competition at work. There is money on the line and I have some plans for my fellow competitors that will remain hush hush until the last weeks of the competition.

It looks like I will be preaching again on February 19th. Both AM service and PM so if you have some time stop by and watch.

Saturday is Leah’s 1st birthday. It really doesn’t seem like that little girl should be one yet. The last year has been amazing and frustrating all at the same time. We are learning a lot as parents(mainly me learning how bad I am at it) and enjoying every moment.

Get right…

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Sometimes I wake up and fell like I just can’t seem to get right. 

I just don’t seem to catch a groove.  It’s not that any specific thing is going wrong or even that it is a bad day. 

Just not a normal feeling day.  It’s as if a haze has desended on my brain, and we all know I can’t afford too many of those days.  I can however power through until lunch.  Usually by then the fog lifts a bit and I seem to function a little better. 

What causes this?