Advent Conspiracy

In recent years my family and I have viewed Christmas very differently. We have made the decision to make Christmas more about presence and less about presents.  This switch has resulted in a deeper appreciation for the presence of Christ in our lives, and a deeper understanding of how we can be the presence of Christ in the lives of others.

This year our church will again be participating in the Advent Conspiracy.  I look forward, as a community, to celebrating the birth of Christ and at the same time making a big difference in the lives of those that have great need.

With Christmas less than two months away, now is the time to begin considering how you will approach and celebrate this important time of year.  Begin a new tradition.  Make plans now to join the conspiracy.

Sacrifice

If there is one thing in this life that I attempt to avoid, it's pain and persecution. I don't know anyone that enjoys it.  Unlike many in this world, we as the American Church find ourselves fairly sheltered from it.  This concerns me.  I am often haunted by the words of 2 Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Listen to John Piper's words and consider your life of sacrifice.



To live a radical life of sacrifice for Christ is both our highest calling as well as the highest honor we can ever achieve.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:10

HT to Adam.

Colors of Fall

I know it happens every year, yet each Fall I am blown away by the beautiful colors of the season.  Whom ever it was that planned Woodhaven, our neighborhood, they really knew what they were doing when they planted the trees!  And for the One that created the trees ... Wow, He really knew what He was doing!

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:11-12.   Good it is!

Like Jesus

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it really means, and what it really looks like, to be a follower of Jesus.  Is it going to church?  Is it having a quiet time every day?  Is it praying a certain amount of time each day?  Is it tithing to your church?  Is it living in America? What is it?

I hear a lot about how America is a Christian nation, or at least used to be.  I have to ask ... Really?  What makes us such?  Is it because our money says, "In God we trust?"  I tire of the forwards I receive in my inbox bemoaning the fact/rumor that our government wants to remove that phrase from our money.  Does it really matter?  Is it that important that our money contains that phrase, or are we merely paying lip service to God with it, because we really don't fully trust Him and live as Him?

1 John 2:16 gives us that answer.  "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."  May we as the Church not just admire Jesus from afar, or like Him for who He was, or pay lip service to Him, but may we truly walk as Jesus did.

Francis Chan said it well. Check this out ...



May we not just like Jesus but rather may we walk like Jesus.

Blessed Be Your Name

God is good. How easy it is to say when life is going our way.

So many times I have heard those words come from the mouths of people as they experience the good things in life. The blessings. The stuff prayed for. While the statement surely is true, I am often left to wonder, would God still be "good" when life falls apart?

Is God only good in the good times? How it must break God's heart to be called good when life is going our way, and then in the next moment shake our fists at Him when life turns on us.

I have had my share of ups and downs in this life. Times of great rejoicing and times of great anguish. I am thankful to God for His goodness through it all. I am blessed and inspired by the words of Job who could honestly say, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."



May we say the same.

Dude Perfect

I'm not that big of a sports guy, but this is simply amazing!

Six college guys having a great time making crazy basketball shots and then posting the fun to Youtube. What's even better, they turned it into a cause.

For every 100,000 views of this video produced at Christian camp, Sky Ranch, they will sponsor one child with Compassion International.

Watch the video so they get one more view, and then read more about Dude Perfect and their cause. Very cool!

Honor

Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise — that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Ephesians 6:2-3

Social Media Revolution

This just amazes me. For those that think social media is but a fad ... think again.



The social media revolution is nothing less than a cultural shift. A revolution. Social media has changed the way we do life, and for the Church the implications of all this are staggering. It excites me to be a part of it all.

What do you think?

Lord Save Us From Your Followers

I shared my thoughts on this provocative movie back in April of 2008 and continue to get a fair amount of traffic to this blog as a result. You can read what I wrote here. I'm now excited to learn that it will finally be hitting the big screen! Check here to see where.

If you have not yet seen this film be looking for it in theaters this September and do all you can to make sure you see it. It is my hope that this movie will continue to spark the conversation that is so badly needed in both the Church and culture at large.


This is a great song taken from the movie that will get you thinking.

Power of Forgiveness

As I prepared my message on Forgiveness this week, I came across a great story as told by Brennan Manning. It's a story of a women who visited her priest and told him that when she prays, she sees Jesus in a vision.

“He appears to me as real as you are standing here right now, Father,” said the woman. “And He speaks to me. He tells me that He loves me and wants to be with me. Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Not at all,” replied the priest. “But to make sure it is really Jesus who is visiting you, I want you to ask Him a question when He appears to you again. Ask Him to tell you the sins that I confess to Him in confession. Then come back and tell me what He said.”

A few days later the women returned.

“Did you have another vision of Jesus?” the priest inquired of her.

“Yes I did Father,” she replied.

“And did you ask Him to tell you the sins that I confessed to Him while I was in confession?”

“Yes I did,” the woman answered.

“And what did He tell you?” asked the priest expectantly.

“He said...’I forgot.’”

I love that about God.

The more we understand the extent of God's forgiveness of us, the more we will be able to forgive one another. There is great power in forgiveness.

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Building A Youth Ministry Team

If I have learned one thing in my years of doing youth ministry, it's that it can't be done alone. The youth pastor who thinks they can do it all, and be all to all students is only fooling themselves. It is for very good reason that God has uniquely gifted all believers. Check out 1 Corinthians 12.

Yesterday I had the privilege of being the guest on Tim Schmoyer's LIVE YM Talk leading a discussion on the importance of building a youth ministry team. It was a great conversation with youth workers from around the country.

We covered topics like:

• Why building a team is so important
• Ideas for promoting unity, training, and working with their schedules
• Good and bad reasons why someone might serve
• Answered questions from the chat audience

If you are a leader in the Church in any capacity it's worth a listen. A lot of great thoughts and ideas came out.

You can hear it here or grab it in iTunes.

End Extreme Poverty

Ok, so it's a little cheesy, but watch this video and then ask yourself ... what if it really happened?

Have you done your part?

Our family has been tremendously blessed by the relationship we share with Lizbeth an 8 year old girl from Mexico. We have had the privilege of being a part of her life for a number of years. In her most recent letter to us she writes, "May God's peace be always with you! I want to tell you that I am doing well in school. I will pass to 4th grade of Primary School soon. I give thanks to God because I have earned good grades. Everyday I pray for your family and you. At Bible School I have learned that God is great and that He is everywhere. God loves us very much no matter is we are of different nationality or if we have different color of skin."

Sponsorship is definitely a relationship of mutual blessing!