Hearing God Directly

Sorry to take a week off without warning. Between hard drives crashing and lack of sleep, it just kind of happened. But we're back :)

In my reading last week I came across this:

Acts 10:19-20 ~ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.” (NCV)

Now I know all the history of the English language, these would not be the exact words God said to Peter, and there were no quotation marks back then so it would have been a more generalization. And I used all these arguments in my head until I looked at the words "three men".

That's pretty specific. Three men. Word for word or feeling, Peter knew from God there were exactly three people, they were men, and they were downstairs. I wish I were that in tune with God. Hopefully I will be someday. But the other side of that is Peter. He knew God. He talked with God face to face in the person of Jesus. I hope I can get to that place too...

T

Caught In An Old System

Today Lorie and I went to see a movie, I won't give away what it is or what happened, but it was funny. Too often now I seem to see religious over-tones or something that fits in what I've been thinking a lot about lately.

But in this movie, it was weird. We've been looking at church a lot lately and in this movie there were two groups of people, one that wanted things to be the way they were and another that wanted to totally abandon the old for a radically new way of life.

I wonder how often we do this at church. One group wants things to be the way they were, recreate our "God moments" from a different era, but we can't see that things are changing. The other group, get rid of the old way completely and keep nothing.

Why can't we find a happy medium...? Or is there one...?

T

Change Agents

The last few days I have been reading some stories in the Bible that all share something in common. God needing to shake people up for change.

On Sunday we talked about David's Last Stand (II Samuel 24) and how God gave David what seemed like horrible choices for punishment. But really, they were not meant as punishment. David needed to offer a sacrifice, he needed to change what he was doing and it took an angel of death to convince him to change.

Another story, Stephen in Acts 7 (and into Acts 8). Jesus told the disciples to take His message, the Gospel, to the ends of the earth. And they were still in Jerusalem. They hadn't talked to anyone outside the city about Jesus. It took Stephen's death by stoning to scare the disciples into leaving and getting the Gospel out to where it should be.

Very few people like change. Even less like change that is dictated by someone else. And I think God knows that, but He also knows it's necessary, so many times He allows or even causes things that make change inevitable. Unfortunately, many times those hurt. But they are needed.

The next time you need to change, do it before an agent to cause changed comes in. And if a change agent comes, recognize it and move forward :)

T

Following The Law A Little Too Close

I was reading about a bar in my old stomping grounds of Edmonton this morning. Only this bar is a little different. It's for former alcoholics. To help them stay off the bottle, this "bar" is a place to give the same sense of fun and friendship that many people find at a bar, only it is 100% alcohol free.

Now, this sounds great, but they had one problem. People who go to bars generally smoke. So this bar allowed smoking. That is until the government found out. Edmonton is a smoke free city, the only place you are allowed to smoke is bars, bars being classified as places with a liquor lisence.

So this alcohol free bar was not allowed to have smoking. They thought it was needed though to help people trying to quit drinking so they asked how they could get a smoking allowance. For this, the law had to be followed strictly, they could only allow people to smoke if they had a liquor lisence. So yes, the alcohol free bar for former alcoholics in Edmonton now has a liquor lisence...

Do you think we're following/enforcing the letter of the law just a little too harsh on this one? But then again, do we do that in churches too, especially to those who are new and still trying to change for the better...?

T

It'll Never Happen To Me

Sorry I wasn't on yesterday, Lorie and I were sick. I didn't have the energy to climb stairs, it stunk.

Yet, last night at 4 in the morning (yes 4), our house alarm went off. Apparently our house thought lightning was too close and decided to Wake us up with an ear piercing scream.

So of course I went out in the pouring rain at 4 in the morning, still kind of sick, and made sure our house wasn't on fire. It wasn't. But the tree three houses away, it was struck by lightning.

And that may seem far away, except when the alarm went off last time (see previous blogs), it was our neighbor's tree that was hit by lightning (branch broken, black bark, all the fun stuff).

Too often when it comes to things like lightning, we think it will never happen to us. But just when we start to think and act that way, it comes pretty darn close...

T

Success Isn't Sprouts

Something interesting I read today. It was from a youth leader talking about sharing Jesus and spiritual growth, they said that planting seeds is a success, even if they don't sprout.

I like that. Too often we focus on seeing fruit right away. The problem is whenever you plant anything in life, it takes a while to grow and show leaves. No seed grows into a tree overnight. All we can do is plant seeds, that's our success.

So don't be worried if you don't see plants all over, keep planting seeds. It takes a while for the garden to grow...

T

Real Alarms

Yesterday I mentioned the alarms going off at church on Monday. Well, I noticed something when that happened...

We have many groups who meet at the church during the evening, that night a counselling session, a business meeting and two basketball games. Then the alarm went off. And nobody left.

It's funny how as children we are taught what to do when an alarm happens. Then as we grow older, we are so used to false alarms that we don't do anything unless we see smoke or we have someone tell us it's for sure real. At the church Monday, no one even checked, they just kept going as usual. One group even told Lorie when she told them we couldn't confirm it's a false alarm and they need to leave, "Well, we're almost done so we'll just finish up."

Have we become so accustomed to false alarms that we are not ready for real alarms? Do we have so little knowledge of how to find out if an alarm is real we just decide "meh" and don't look? Do we do that in life with real alarms, instead of checking, assume it's false until we see smoke or something is already burnt?

Just more questions...

T

False Alarms

So part of the reason there was no blog Monday was the craziness of the day. Yes, we had VBS, but there was a little more...

That afternoon Lorie and I were trying to rest from the Sud nay set-up and morning fun (I was out cold). Then a storm swept in. Then the rain fell hard. And then, oh and then, we had lightning strike really close to the house, so close it set off our fire alarm.

Now, we had never heard out fire alarm, just the smoke detectors. Lorie and I have now learned there is a difference between the two. And it took many calls to ADT to figure out how to fix this ear-piercing crazy alarm (Clover was scared).

That night we came to church to fix a few decorations we noticed fell during VBS. Again it started to storm. And rain. And lightning. And fire alarm. So for the second time we had to sweep a building (this one much bigger) and find the cause of the squealing.

In talking with some people involved in all this, I learned that storms set off a lot of alarms. Be it the thunder shaking or whatever, false alarms often come up during storms. It made me wonder if we do that. Do we see storms coming in our lives and instead of preparing or acting as we should, we send up false alarms and end up causing way more stress and drama than necessary?

Just a thought.

T

Vacation Bible School

My apologies for no blog yesterday, we are having fun this week blasting off into space with Vacation Bible School.

To see pictures of what we are doing, visit http://www.fishersumc.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=41317&PID=558918.

T

Where Did The Time Go?

Yesterday I was reading about the oldest boat we know of, it's from 7400 B.C.

And it got me thinking, how come we have stuff that's not that old (like 10,000 years or less), stuff that's really old (50 million years old), but there are so few things from in between?

Think about it, when was the last time you heard of something being discovered that was about 200,000 years old? A million years old? It's always relatively new or ancient. I wonder why that is...

T

Too Much Grace

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. We were at church late last night talking. Which is the reason for today's blog.

Last night at Downpour (Bible Study) we were talking about grace and justice. Somehow we got to talking about Jesus' last night before His death and how we would not understand it the way the people at the time did.

Then we started talking about grace. How we are forgiven no matter what. And the question came up "do we take advantage of that?" After all, in the old Jewish system, people were probably a lot more likely to try and not sin, since it cost them something every time (a sacrifice). Since grace really doesn't cost us anything, do we live up to where we should or to what we will get away with?

Think about that the next time you're driving... :)

T

Which Is More Important

Liz quotes me all the time, this time I'm going to quote her.

This morning in staff meeting we were talking about how people handle change (apparently putting an extra coffee station in the Narthex caused heads to explode...). Then Liz said this:

"When is going for your future more important than holding onto your past?"

It's a good question. We like to focus on what we have and not changing it, but in reality, the only way to have a future is to in some way let go of the past. Just something to think about.

T

CSI Effect

A while ago, there was a problem known as the Perry Mason effect. It came from people watching the law show Perry Mason and it's very predictable ending. Every show would end the same way, some last minute piece of proof or some dramatic speech by Perry Mason would cause the defendant to break down on the stand and confess. Pure Hollywood drama.

Until people who watch the show started to act this way in court. They wanted that last minute drama, they wanted the confession and when it didn't happen, they would not find the defendant guilty. They felt from their TV show they needed that "ah ha" moment.

Today's culture knows little about Perry Mason, but they know CSI, one of the most popular shows ever on television. And like Perry Mason, they have changed the court system. In the interest of drama there is always some undeniable piece of proof that appears thanks to the CSI team that causes a conviction.

And now that is expected in court. The jury, these savvy CSI fans, want that hardened piece of proof found by the CSI team. Fourteen witnesses saw the crime, who cares? Where's the DNA evidence to put them at the scene? It is becoming harder to convict a person by jury because the jury wants that 100% undeniable piece of "hard" evidence.

The question is, do we do this to God? Are we waiting for some emotional appeal that moves us to do good for Him? Do we need some piece of "hard" evidence before we believe, witnesses and circumstantial evidence are no longer good enough? Have we turned believing in God and following Him less about faith and more about a waiting game for something to convince us? Something to think about.

T

Can't Have It All

Today Lorie and I were watching "The People's Court" (I like court shows, I know...) and there was a woman on who was suing her ex-boyfriend for money during the relationship.

Here's why. He had a job, she didn't/ But she felt there was no reason she had to "go without" and still wanted fancy dinners. So they lived off his job, then her savings, then they were both homeless borrowing money from her mom, and she still thinks she deserves the nice things in life!

Sometimes, bad things just happen, but just because someone has a nice car doesn't mean you "deserve" one. I don't know why people feel so entitled to things, because they have life this good I "deserve" to have life this good.

It's funny, it seldom works the other way where people see someone below them financially and think "I don't deserve this good life, I should share with them"...

T

Class Acts

The sports news last night and today were all about one thing. A blown call last night at the Tigers' game.

Now being an umpire and a player, I feel bad. Galarraga was about to throw a perfect game. It all hung on one call that we very wrong. And unfortunately that's what happens in life, mistakes are made and sometimes calls are wrong. But what I love is how they handled it.

Galarraga had every right to be mad. He was not only the pitcher losing the perfect game, he was the one making the play at first. But he didn't yell. He didn't get mad. He was in shock, but he smiled, went back to the mound and finished the game.

Jim Joyce, the umpire who missed the call was then yelled at twice (the Tigers coach came out after the play and after the game). He stood there and listened, he never responded in anger. He then went to the clubhouse, immediately asked to see the tape, and saw that he was wrong. Once he knew he was wrong, he didn't try to cover it up, he made a statement that he had made a mistake, he understood the gravity of it, and he was truly sorry he couldn't fix it. He also went to Galarraga personally and apologized.

And after all that, Galarraga and members of his team said it. Mistakes are made. It happens. It can't be taken back, let's play the next game.

Now that is class. I'm as competitive as the next guy, but sometimes mistakes just happen. Living life doesn't mean you live devoid of all blown calls, you can't. Living life is learning how to deal with the blown calls and live on. It's very rare lately that sports people live up to their position of role models, but here I think everyone did a great job!

T

First Impressions

I was reading today about the importance of first impressions, something I think we've all heard about to some point. But I was reading about it from a different point of view.

When we talk about first impressions, we usually think of two things, either what they think of me or what I think of them. But what about a third point of view, one that happens but we don't talk about, that of the third person involved?

Like at a restaurant, if your waiter or waitress is really mean to you or spit in your food, you don't just get a first impression of them, you get a first impression of all the things associated with them. Like in this case, the restaurant. You now have a bad impression of the restaurant, even though the restaurant never actually did anything to you.

For me, yesterday I had to phone HP, they made a mistake with the new church computers. Not a problem, that happens. But when I called and talked to one guy for 30 minutes and he still didn't get it, I was getting really upset with HP. But it wasn't HP, it was this guy. I called back and got someone amazing next, problem solved in 10 minutes (free shipping and everything). If I hadn't been thinking bigger than my phone call, I would have been mad at HP forever.

Remember, you don't just represent you, your first impression may tell someone about your family, your school, your work, your sports club, even your God. Just something to think about...

T

Close To The Kingdom Of God

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately, how we don't like to give our lives to God, but we'll emphasize sacrifices. I will go to church and give a little money, but don't ask me to be be godly at work, that's a little much.

At one point Jesus was talking with a religious leader and talked about the greatest commandment (love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength). People like that, it sounds nice, but what does that mean? I like how the teacher responded:

Mark 12:33 ~ "One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.” (NCV)

It's more important to live a life that is godly than to give God the "requirements" of Sunday morning. What if we all lived like that? After all, Jesus' answer to this statement: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34). That's how you get to heaven, or better yet, bring heaven to people here on earth.

T

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

When I first moved to the United States, this was a holiday I didn't get (we don't have it in Canada, well, kinda). I think it's great, but I have two questions:

1. Do you know what it means? Do you know what this day is for? When I started asking the Americans I knew what this holiday was all about, very few could tell me. Don't you think you should know what you're celebrating?

2. How are you celebrating? Are you simply taking the day off work and grilling? That's fine and all, but isn't the point of the holiday to honor the families of those who have lost their lives protecting our freedom and liberties, even our lives? how does a meal with family and friends celebrate that?

I don't know, it seem funny to me how we just love holidays but we don't really care for the meaning behind them (what if we told everyone who is not a Christian to go to work on Christmas? I mean, I work on Kwanzaa). More things just to get you thinking...

T

Promotion Lock-In

This weekend was our Promotion Lock-In, a chance for us to all meet and talk, get to know wach other since we have new freshmen coming in next year.

Thanks to all who helped make this a fun weekend, and for all of you who showed up, we hope to see you back!

T

What Would It Look Like?

There are occasions where I read something in the Bible and wonder what it would look like to see that today. For this one, it's a prayer, and I wonder what the church would look like if we all prayed this prayer consistently.

Acts 4:29b-30 ~ "Lord, help us, your servants, to speak your word without fear. Show us your power to heal. Give proofs and make miracles happen by the power of Jesus, your holy servant.” (NCV)

This is what the apostles prayed right after starting the new church in Jerusalem. What if our church prayed that prayer? What if we expected God to back up what we say He would do? What kind of difference would that make in how we talk about Him?

Just something to ponder, maybe even pray...

T

Sense Of Loss For People We Don't Know

Okay, that title sounds way better than the post will be, but this is something Lorie and I were talking about the other day. TV.

Whether we like it or not, we form one-sided relationships with people on TV in the shows we watch. And it was funny because we were realizing how invested we've become now that some of those people are leaving. In the last week we've lost Jack Bauer (24), the people on Lost, the Canadiens are out of the playoffs and last night we said good-bye to Simon Cowell (I don't watch a lot of American Idol, but Lorie likes it and the only way she can get me to stay is emphasizing him, we get along).

It's just funny how these things/people we never really knew can be such a big part of our lives. Now I'm going to have to do other things like go outside... or read books...

T

First "Love"

We haven't done anything theological on here for a while, so I thought I would give it a shot.

I once heard a speaker talk about the importance of when a word first appears in the Bible. His example was the story of Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac where the word "worship" first appears.

So today I thought I would look up the word "love" since it is one of the most used words in the Bible. Ready for this? (I wasn't). It happens in the same story!

Genesis 22:1-2 ~ Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” (NLT)

The first example of the word love in the Bible comes from a Father's love for his son, a son he would have to sacrifice. Much like our heavenly Father had to sacrifice His Son. Many times this story is referred to as an example of the Jesus story, and here, I think it shows a lot about God's character and His love for His Son, and how hard it must have been to allow His Son to be sacrificed for us.

Wow, I didn't expect that one...

T

Does That Describe Us?

Last night Lorie and I watched the finale of "Lost" (I liked it, Lorie's on the fence), but I read this today about the show which is a something to think about.

Ultimately, 'Lost' was a show for the anxious, uncertain, post-Sept. 11 nation we have become. We've had to accept ambiguity as a fact of life, and we seek answers and closure, though none may be forthcoming. We're leery and skeptical about science but riddled with doubt about faith. To the extent that 'Lost' was about the journey and not the destination, about the drive to solve riddles rather than the solutions themselves, it was the show that best explained us to ourselves. (tvsquad.com)

Do you think that's true about us? We are anxious, we are uncertain, we are worried about things beyond our control, we don't like ambiguity but rather answers and closure, skeptical about science and doubtful of faith? Just something to ponder... (no answers from me either!)

T

No Way

Okay, so if you read this you know how I like odd numbers and spending habits of Americans, it just makes me laugh and think about what is really important to us. Well, here's a new one.

Pets. Now, I have a pet. He's a bunny. I like him. But as much as I love him I also understand he's a rabbit. Yet here in America, a new study has found that we (just the United States) spent $47.7 billion on pets last year.

47 billion?! That's enough to end world hunger twice! With change! Just one country.

(If you want the study, it's at http://www.gadling.com/2010/05/19/pet-travel/?icid=main|hp-desktop|dl6|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadling.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19%2Fpet-travel%2F).

Just something to think about...

T

Invasive Species

Wednesday at Downpour (Bible Study) we were talking about how people can be an influence, for good or for bad, on those around them. And in the discussion we started to get into how this works in nature.

Well, I happened across this (http://www.invasivespecies.gov/). Check it out if you have the time, it's a list of species that were taken out of their natural elements and now are causing havoc in their new home (even here in Indiana we have a few, they are listed on the site).

Enjoy, something to think about...

T

Actions Based Upon Consequences

Sorry it's late in the day, just the way my day has been today...

I was thinking today about one day on my trip to Africa. We had gotten up really, really early in the morning because we were basically on Safari, we were looking at animals in the Hwange Game Park. The "park hours" on the sign were 6am to 6pm (or basically, sunrise to sunset). In talking about our trip, we had to plan where we would stay when not in the park and one of our group asked, "What happens if you don't make it back in by 6?"

"You make it back by 6."

"But, what if you don't make it back in by 6?"

"No, you don't understand, you make it back in by 6."

And it went back and forth like that a few more times. Basically we were asking what the consequences were for being late, what would the punishment be. And their attitude was a little different. You don't worry about the consequences, you worry about the rules.

It seems to me in America we don't really care what's right or wrong so much as we care about what being wrong will cost us. If we can pay it or live with the consequences, then it's not really "wrong". What if we actually lived the way we were supposed to without worrying what would happen either way, right or wrong, we simply followed the rules simply because we were asked to and understood they were in everyone's best interests? What would happen?

And by the way, the best we could figure, the consequence for not making back in to the rest stops in the national park was the door was locked, you did not get in. That may not seem so bad, until you hear a lion roar in the night... Maybe their rules had some reason behind them...

T

Get Your Hands In There

For the last year we have been discussing serving (or our word for it, equipping) at Drink Deep on Sunday nights. I read something today that kind of fits with that:

Hearing something five hundred times is not as good as seeing it once. ~ Chinese Proverb

It's true. You can describe something until you're blue in the face but when it is seen it is better understood.

I think God's love is a lot like that. Church people love to talk about God's love, but people aren't listening. Not because they don't want to or the message is bad, but nothing beats being shown "I love you". We need to let peopel see that God loves them, it's a lot less work than telling them five hundred times.

We're talking about this Sunday night, come on out and be a part!

T

Sleeping? Really?

Sorry, I meant to blog about this last night, but I fell asleep... which is fitting...

Okay, so I like sports. I have no problem watching, playing, cheering for sports. I think they are a little overpaid, but that's just be. Then I saw this.

Ken Griffey Jr., a professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners fell asleep the other day during the game. And I don't mean he was on the bench and was a little bored. They looked for him to pinch-hit, had to search for him, and found him asleep in the clubhouse.

Now come one! I feel a little sorry for the guy, but you get paid millions of dollars to hit a ball. You should be able to at least watch the game of the team that employs you, let alone hit when they want you to. What kind of message does that send to young players, what kind of work ethic does that teach?

Sorry Griffey, I think you're a nice guy and I'm sorry you're so sleep deprived, but if you're sick, stay home. If you are paid to be at work, you should be awake like the rest of us :)

T

Mommy

Sorry, I won't be at the computer this weekend, my mommy's coming to visit! That means I'll probably be at Target. See you there!

Motion And Action

It's a quote from Hemingway I read Tuesday (yesterday was Fish Fry day, I was inundated with fried fish and chicken, sorry I wasn't blogging). But here's the quote:

"Never mistake motion for action." ~ Ernest Hemingway

I wonder how many times in our lives we have gone through this. I'm doing something, so it must be right. I'm not sure if I'm driving the right way, but I'll keep going. We have no other ideas, so this must be the right one. As someone who has done the wrong thing too many times, driven the wrong way but kept going and gone with the only idea I had only to discover not going with it was way better, let's do our best not to jsut go> Let's go where we should be going.

Just a thought...

T

What Else Could There Be?

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday, I was going to and got sidetracked. No really, I heard yesterday that Americans spend 11 billion dollars a year just on air conditioning (it works out to be 5% of all our energy costs). Crazy right?

But today I was reading my Bible and I've been spending time in the Gospels a lot lately (not a bad thing). And there's one verse that I always wish wasn't quite there or explained more. At the end of John 20 it says, "Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of his followers that are not written in this book." (John 20:30, NCV) and then in the next chapter, "There are many other things Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not be big enough for all the books that would be written." (John 21:25, NCV)

It just makes me wonder, what else did Jesus do? We think it's pretty amazing that He raised three people from the dead, but those are only the ones we know about. Did He really raise 400 people from the dead? We know He did the loaves and the fish thing twice, did Jesus really do it all the time when people were hungry?

And it makes me think how much easier it must have been to believe Jesus was God, and how many were that much thicker in the head to not see it. Just seeing what we have written should convince everyone, but more? What else did Jesus do?

It's on my list of when I see God questions...

T

Professional Organizer

The other night I came in the living room and Lorie was watching a show I'd never seen, Hoarders. It's about people who have so much stuff they can't move in their own house, barely even live.

To this lady's credit she got professional help and started to make progress. But I was thinking while watching it, the help this person got was from a "Professional Organizer", someone who has a full-time job of organizing people's things because they can't or won't do it themselves.

And I started to think, is that how lazy and affluent we are? There is nowhere else in the world you would ever hear of someone being able to make a living of organizing other people's stuff. Not even cleaning, just organizing. We have so much stuff we need help to figure out what shelf to put it on.

I don't know, it just struck me as weird. At Bible Study this week we talked about looking at things (like church) from an outsiders point of view, and I guess I was still in that mindset. What would an outsider of America think watching this...

T

"Action Is Character"

It's a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald. For some reason I felt like posting it since it's something we've been talking about at Bible Study lately. It's not about what you believe in your head and your heart, it's about what you do. If you really believe something your actions should mirror that belief.

Smart guy that Fitzgerald. He should write more stuff...

T

Playing Jeopardy

For some reason lately, it seems like I have listened to or talked with a lot of people playing jeopardy with how they think. I'll explain.

Jeopardy is a great game, but the premise is you know the answer and now you're looking for the question. And lately I've been listening to people who know the answer and are looking for the question.

Like last night, I watched that new History Channel show on Aliens. Smart, interesting, etc. But if you watch the interviews, the people are all the same. The answer is aliens, now we just have to find the proof/question. There's an ancient relic of a guy with a hood around his head and a backpack. According to these people, that's not it, the guy is wearing a space suit. That's the "only answer" (they said that phrase a few times).

Of course it's the only answer, it's the only answer you're using for all you do. But to be truly objective, you need to look at the question and see all the different possible answers.

The problem is people are doing this in their lives too. This job is the answer, that person is the answer, this thing is the answer, this action is the answer and the problem becomes that they no longer look for other solutions but try to fit that one thing into any question that comes along.

Many times there's not one answer. Sometimes there's only one, but it's not the one you have. I know a writer who when he has a problem he forces himself to come up with 15 solutions, mainly because he's learned if number 2 sounds good, he'll go with it and stop the process, but if he keeps going past number 2, no matter how good it sounds, he might find number 13 will work better.

Smart guy, and a smart way to live. At least, that's my answer...

T

Empty Churches

I was reading a little by Dan Kimball last night (he's a big emerging church guy) and he said something that I had never thought about but was so obvious I feel dumb for missing it.

All the time we talk about change at our church. We're even possibly in the midst of a big change. And all the time people want to keep things the way they are. Inevitably though, if things don't change, that means no new people and an empty church.

"But that will never happen to us" we say. "We still have people in churches and there are new churches and mega churches and all sorts of things." That's true. For now. What Dan pointed out that made me shake Lorie and tell her this is good stuff was this. To think a little longer down the road.

His example was European churches. Those big, wonderful, ornate, amazing buildings. A few hundred years ago those were thriving groups of Jesus-followers who gave to their church and community in such ways they built those big beautiful buildings. And now, they sit empty Sundays. During the week they are full, only because they now are nothing more than tourist attractions.

That phrase "those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it" keeps going through my mind. I hope we in America are not so arrogant to think it can never happen to us. Those who live like it will never happen to them, it usually ends up happening.

T

Reason For Recession?

Sorry, but I read this on the weekend and it made my head hurt. In 2004, the reported losses for gambling in America was $78 billion.

78 billion dollars!? Is that not insane to anyone else? And that's just reported, that doesn't include friendly wagers here and there. Think about it, that's an average of $260 per person, and that's just if everyone gambled (and reported it). So for people like me who don't gamble...

Sorry, that number's just staggering. We could end world poverty 4 times with that much money.

T

Thomas' Bad Rap

There's a piece of my heart that goes out to the apostle Thomas. He's forever named "Doubting Thomas" because he said he wouldn't believe Jesus rose again until he saw it for himself.

Yet, this same guy, he was one of the first ones to follow Jesus wherever He went. There's a famous story people know, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. However, what a lot of people don't realize is Lazarus lived in an area where the religious people did not like Jesus and wanted to kill Him. So when Lazarus died and Jesus wanted to go visit, all the disciples said no. They wanted nothing to do with that, they were scared for their lives. All except one.

Thomas was the only one who said "Let's go. If Jesus dies we die with Him."

That doesn't sound like a very doubtful attitude to me. That sounds like someone with a lot of confidence in Jesus and who He says He is. Maybe more of us need to be that "doubtful" in our lives. We'd probably see Jesus do a lot more if we were willing to follow Him when no one else will...

Too Stupid

There are times where I hear stories about people and wonder how they manage to tie their shoes in the morning. Here's one of them, and it kind of relates back to the April Fool's Post.

Disney has a policy in all their parks. No one over the age of nine is allowed to dress up. It helps avoid confusion between who work at the park and who doesn't. A fair policy if you ask me.

Well, the other day a woman showed up at Disneyland Paris with her daughter, both dressed up as princesses. The woman was wearing her wedding dress and Mickey ears. Security saw her, asked her to step out of line, politely explained the problem and asked her to change or else she would not be allowed into the park.

This woman gets upset. How dare they do this to her. How dare they have this rule.

The sad part, already I'm on Disney's side, it's a safety issue. But here's where it gets worse. The woman tells the security guards she had heard this rule. Wait, what? She new the rule? Apparently she had phoned and asked the park if she could dress up with her daughter and they said no for the reasons above.

So she knew the rule! Why did she show up anyway? Because she had called on April Fool's Day and figured it must be a joke and dressed up anyway. And here's the kicker. Now she's demanding an apology from Disney.

Okay, seriously?! This is one of the many problems with the world. Everyone cannot do everything they want, it's just not feasible. So we have a rule here for the safety of the millions of children who visit Disney Parks, a rule that this woman had explained to her personally over the phone before visiting the park, and she still did whatever she wanted and wants an apology for not being allowed to act like a seven year old.

What if we looked at the rules, understood they were the safety of many people and don't apply to just us, and then follow them, how much easier would things go? Just a thought.

T

Give Them Something To Believe In

I don't think it's a secret that there are many people out there who don't believe there is a God or that Jesus is the Son of God and can forgive us of our sins, etc. Well, people didn't believe it when Jesus walked the earth Himself, but here was His answer to the nay-sayers.

John 10:36b-38 ~ I am the one God chose and sent into the world. If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe Me. But if I do what My Father does, even though you don’t believe in Me, believe what I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.” (NCV)

Even if people don't believe in what you believe, let them believe in what you do. Give them something to believe in. Faith should be visible in your life, let it be. Act in a way so you give people something to believe in, you may be surprised at how it works.

T

Communication = Growth

Sorry it's been a while, Lorie and I were on vacation. Apparently she loves the ocean...

Okay, so today I was listening to one of the radio stations I usually do at work. It's fun because it's Disneyworld music (like the stuff you hear waiting in line, it's always happy and upbeat). While listening yesterday the "Spaceship Earth" ride at EPCOT was on. The full 20 minute ride. It was fun to listen to it and try to remember what was going on.

But the big key was this. I noticed something for the ride, I just hadn't really thought about it. The entire ride it about man's progress throughout the centuries. And here's the kicker. Every time we move forward, it ties back to communication. We leaped forward when we had a system of mathematics to communicate amounts to each other, we moved forward with the movable type press, the telephone, the internet. Every leap forward we take ties back to our improvement in communication.

So as you're at school, work, whatever it is, if you want to get further ahead, think about how you can communicate better. After all, Jesus is the prime example of this. For hundreds of years God communicated through priests and prophets, then He came and spoke to us Himself and opened up the lines of prayer for everyone to speak to Him directly. And relationships with God have never been the same...

T

Go

This weekend at Drink Deep we're doing a two week series on what Jesus said after the resurrection.

There's a common theme that hopefully the students will pick up on. It's "go". Go and make disciples; as Jesus was sent, so are we; feed God's sheep (which we have to go to the sheep to do). So if go is taught by Jesus so much after His resurrection right before He left, why do we like "stay" so much?

btw, if you want some verses, Matt. 28:19-20, John 20, 19-23, John 21:15-19 for a few...

T

Is It Still Easter?

Take a look around, listen to people talk, think about what's important. Now think about this for me (if you will), is it still Easter?

Jesus rose from the dead and gave us new life, an amazing thing. And on Sunday, all the churchy talk, prayers, attitudes reflected that, simply because it was a date where we celebrate that. It's almost a week later, are we still celebrating?

T

Not Mine

Sorry, but this happened Sunday and it made me laugh. Two children, siblings of course, were playing in the gym and somehow a piece of garbage appeared on the ground. What's even more amazing is it must have come from an alien who disappeared because when asked to pick it up, both kids, "Not Mine."

Why is it that so many things aren't ours but appear magically? Or even more so, why when asked to do something that we may not want to do, even if it's easy and takes five seconds, we are quick to explain that it is not our responsibility and therefor should not be our job? Why not just do the little things to help out whoever left it or has to clean it up?

Just a thought. Apparently we're teaching kids this... What will the world look like in a few years when they're adults and everything is "not mine"...?

T

Why Is It So Popular?

I read a familiar section of the Bible it other day. It's found at the beginning on John 8. You may know it, it's a story of a woman caught in adultery and Jesus tells the people who want to stone her that the one without sin can throw the first rock. They all walk away, Jesus tells the woman she is forgiven and to go and sin no more.

The thing that baffles me is this story is not accepted by all scholars. In some early copies of John's Gospel this story doesn't appear. Yet, it's probably the most used story of all time. Every Easter play I've ever seen uses it in some way. One of Jesus' most famous quotes is "go and sin no more".

So if it's so "maybe" in the Bible, why is it so popular? Is it because it shows the true heart of Jesus? Is it because it is the best example of how we should not judge others, not throw the first rock? Is it because it shows we can all be forgiven and shows that true repentance is not just being sorry but stopping our sin?

So many questions...

T

Do We Ever Miss It?

Growing up in church my whole life, going to Bible College and Seminary, I have heard a lot of arguing about what one little piece of Scripture means. I don't know if it's comforting or worrisome to see it happened with people around Jesus too.

John 7:40-43 ~ When the people heard Jesus’ words, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.”Still others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee. The Scripture says that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. (NCV)

We should all know this one, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. If the people had only done a little more research and made sure they knew what they were talking about, they would all agree. And yet, instead they decided to argue over who was right instead of looking to see the whole story.

And then after, they try to grab Jesus again and can't (but how?!)

T

What That Must Have Been Like

There are certain verses in the Bible I wish I could have seen. It just would make things so much easier in my mind. Here's one I mean:

John 7:30 ~ When Jesus said this, they tried to seize Him. But no one was able to touch Him, because it was not yet the right time. (NCV)

What does that mean?! Did Jesus manage to get a crowd in front of Him so they couldn't get near Him? Did He become like air and the people's hands went through Him? Did Jesus make some sort of force field and people were trying to get to Him but bouncing off some invisible energy wall?

I know, I'm probably going places in my imagination that didn't happen, but how are you unable to "seize someone" when they are right in front of you? Crazy...

T

Happy April Fool's Day

I don't know why, but for some reason you can mess with people however you want today and all you have to do to get away with it is say "April Fool's". I don't know why, but I like it! Have a good one!

T

Miraculous Boat Launch

It's amazing how you can read the same thing many, many times and still see something new...

I was reading this morning about the feeding of the 5000 by Jesus then how He walked on water. Many people know the story (it's in John 6) where Jesus is walking on the water, the disciples think He's a ghost, Peter steps out. Now here's the funny part. In John's account it doesn't mention Peter walking on water, but it does add this at the end:

John 6:20-21 ~ But Jesus said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take Him into the boat. At once the boat came to land at the place where they wanted to go. (NCV)

The second Jesus got in the boat, it appeared at land! How does that happen? They were obviously out in the middle of the sea when they saw Jesus or else Peter wouldn't have been so worried to walk on water ("Sure Jesus, I'll hop out the boat, it's only three feet deep").

So the boat obviously moved! And I don't mean like a boat, the boat transferred from one place to another. The second the disciples recognized Jesus and took Him in, the storm was gone and they were safe at land.

Sounds like what happens when we trust Jesus sometimes...

T

Strong Roots

On Saturday, Lorie and I did some work around the house. One thing Lorie really wanted to do, get rid of the bushes in front of the garage. They were little four foot evergreens, they really didn't fit.

Now, both bushes looked exactly the same. I mean exactly. The same height, same width, they even both had the same brown spot on the back where they weren't getting sunlight.

So I started pulling the one out. And I pulled. And I pulled. And nothing. It was painful. So I sawed it down to dig out the root. It wouldn't budge (I even broke a shovel). I tried everything. Eventually I had to get my other shovel and my axe, digging out a side then hacking at the roots. At one point we even found a bulbous root, about the size of my fist. All in all, we finally got it out. It took almost an hour and a half.

Then I looked at the other tree. Great. I really didn't want to do that all over again. But I had to, can't leave just one tree. So I started to pull, and it came right out. There was one tiny root, we cut it with the pruning shears. The second bush took 45 seconds.

It showed me the importance of strong roots. The hard thing about roots, you don't see them. Both trees looked exactly alike. There was no way to know one had strong roots and one had weak. Likewise we need to be doing the hard things that no one sees to have strong roots. A verse we used the other night at Drink Deep (our Senior High Meeting) -

Colossians 2:6-7 ~ And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (NLT)

So dive into some teaching and get some strong roots. It may just save you from being torn up one day...

T

Good-Bye Grandma

Just a little note saying good-bye to Sadie LeBlanc, my grandmother who passed away Monday. She was the one making sure the kids were at Mass, now she's at the best Mass of them all. See you soon.

T

Fed By Serving

I read this the other day. The story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well is a popular one, but these few verses aren't emphasized very often.

John 4:31-34 ~ Meanwhile, His followers were begging Him, “Teacher, eat something.”
But Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
So the followers asked themselves, “Did somebody already bring Him food?”
Jesus said, “My food is to do what the One who sent Me wants Me to do and to finish His work. (NCV)

What if we viewed serving as food? As something that actually fed our souls? It does. Many people, even those who do not know God, feel good and possibly even "satisfied" after helping someone. What if we were to harness that just a little more and look at serving God as our true "Daily Bread."

Just something to think about...

T

Do You Know The Whole Story?

Sorry, first, the 30 Hour Famine. We're still collecting money but it looks like we will have raised over $1500, so good job everyone!

But, the main point of this blog. Yesterday, on too many occasions I was involved in people talking about something in which they didn't know the whole story. Which is scary for a couple of reasons. One, they are talking about something in which they don't know all the facts, but for some reason feel they know enough to educate others. It's like being taught to drive by someone who has their learner's permit, it just doesn't feel safe.

What scares me more than these few thinking they have all the facts is the people listening thinking they have all the facts. So now, instead of them looking for the information themself, they are taking these pieces of truth as the whole truth.

I hope people don't just take what is said to them at face value. I include myself with that. I hope when I say something at church or I speak to the students, they don't just go, "Well, if Troy said it it must be true." There's a reason I try hard to put lots of Scripture references whenever I speak so people can go back to see where I got this idea from and see if my conclusions are right or wrong.

So I hope before you speak your mind, it's full. Your mind has all the facts. Just my thought of the day.

T

30 Hour Famine

I know, I'm still on the ruined words thing (thanks Jason!) but I wanted to let peopel know this weekend is the 30 Hour Famine for us at Fire & Water (well, just Water, it's Sr. High only). We're going to be starving ourselves for 30 hours straight, all the while learning about another culture, helping at the food pantry (yes, while not eating, it's mean, who would have come up with that...) and other fun thigns.

If you haven't sponsored someone, I'm sure we still have students who would be happy for the help. Ask them about the weekend when you see them next!

T

Ruined Faith Words - Worship

Another word that I love. Basically, because I love worship, and it really bugs me what we've turned it into.

If I were to say we were going to church to worship, what would you think we would be doing? The most common answer, singing. Worship is a style of music now. Don't believe me? Go to a music store, there's a section called worship. Type "worship" into Amazon, the top picks are all worship CD's or books about worship music.

Don't get me wrong, I like worship music, I like worshipping God in music, but that's not what worship is. We can't put it into such a small box. Worship is a lifestyle, it is wholeheartedly following God as LORD, not Someone we can sing nice songs to (which, for songs about and to God, contain a lot of words like "I" and "me").

I think the church has really hurt this by having a Sunday morning "worship" service. Yes, it is a time of corporate worship, a time where we worship God together, but for too many people, it is the one hour a week we give God as worship. Well, if He really is Lord of your life, what happened to the other 167 hours a week? Those are supposed to be lived in worship to God as well. Anything you do, if it's for God's glory, it can be worship. Scrubbing toilets can be worship (and some people need to worship a little more in ways like that).

So the question is, next Sunday morning, are you going to a "worship" service where you will "worship" by singing "worship" songs? Don't you want "worship" to be more...?

T

Ruined Faith Words - Devotions

This is one of those words that bothers me (I know, I'm a bad Christian). I always wonder what people who did not grow up in the church think about it.

It's meant to mean time alone with God. A good thing, a really good thing. Jesus did it all the time, but nowhere in the Bible did He tell the disciples, "I'm off to do my devotions." Even typing it looks weird. "Do my devotions." It's simply spending time with God alone.

What if we talked this way about other people. If when talking to my wife, we decide to go on a date, I want to spend some time with her, so I ask her if she would like to "do marriage devotions" Friday night. Really, that's what it would be, spending time talking with her, much like prayer is with God. When I spend time with Lorie and I doing "marriage devotions"? When I check hockey scores, and I doing "NHL devotions"?

Yes, we should be devoted to Christ, and yes, we should spend time with Him, but why not use the same words Jesus did. He went to pray. He was Scripture, but we aren't so we can also spend time alone with Scripture.

So that's my rant, another "churchy" word that really makes no sense, this one we didn't ruin, we just made it up. We shortened "acts of devotion" to "devotions". I've still got a few more words up my sleeve, but are there any that bother you?

T

Ruined Faith Words - Witness

We've talked about this one a little bit at church lately. I was asked to speak on the idea of being a good witness, and it really bothered me (not being asked to speak, the word).

We have completely changed this word. A witness is someone who sees something, generally an act of some sort, and gives their account. That's it. They simply tell their story. In court, the witness is not even allowed to speculate on what the meaning is behind what they saw, they can only tell the facts of what happened and how they were involved.

Now when we talk about "witness" at church, is that what we mean? Usually when I hear of a witness it's someone who is trying to convince someone else that what they believe is true. That the conclusions they have drawn are the right ones and everyone should agree. We have even turned this word into an action, we can go "witness" to someone or a group of people can go witnessing. Have you ever heard of a lawyer asking someone to "witness" to the court? And if they did, was it to tell the jury what to believe?

God called us to tell our story. Yes, we are also called to do more and make disciples, but when someone is searching for God, do you think they want to be told what to think or draw their own conclusions with some information you can give? I think of it like this: you want to go on vacation and ask me for my advice. Now I can do one of two things, I can do what we do with faith, tell you that you have to go visit Disneyworld, explain how it is the only vacation spot, force you to like it in your mind. Or, I can tell you about my trip to Disney and how good it was for me and nothing more and let you draw your own conclusion. Which approach do you think would work better?

So there's another ruined word for me, witness. Enjoy, there are more coming.

T

Ruined Faith Words - Gospel

Sorry, I've been under the weather still. I could go into details, but let's not...

Today Lorie was watching last night's American Idol (yay) and they said something that made me think, "Wow, we've ruined that word." There are so many we have done that to! So for the next couple of days, I'm going to put up my little rant on words that either the church has ruined or the world has ruined that belong to the church. If you have any ideas or words that come to your mind, feel free to email or comment them to me!

Today's word is "gospel". Here's why. I've heard this so many times, "This is a gospel song." Wait, a what? The gospel is the account of God coming to earth in the form of His Son Jesus and dying on a cross so we can be forgiven and have eternal life with Him. It is not a style of music from southern Mississippi. We have taken a word that really means the greatest story not just told but to have ever actually happen, and we now use that word to mean peppy music with nice organ and a little band.

We need to reclaim the word "gospel". I don't care if you like the music or not, that's not what "gospel" should mean. I don't want to walk down the street and hear "the gospel" and have people around me think of Mahalia Jackson (as much as I love her). Gospel is something personal to me because that story is a part of my story.

So... any other words?

T

Own Up To My Mistake

Sorry I've been spotty lately on the blogs, being sick really through my schedule for a loop.

Anyway, I have emailed a few key people and thought everyone else might like to know, since laughing at people's misfortunes is fun. We've been having some sound problems at NewSong lately and I just haven't been able to find the problem.

Well, God is smarter than I. The other day Taylor asked me a question about the NewSong amps and I found the manual, looked up the info, and while looking saw the schematics of how our amps should be hooked up, and immediately saw that it was different than how we have it now.

That's right, for over four years we have had the amps hooked up wrong. I apologize to everyone on the internet for making Lisa try to work with something not hooked up right. But yes, I messed up.

The good part is, I can fix it. I think too often when we mess up we try to cover it. Instead, let's say "I did this wrong, I will fix it" and move one. It may make life easier...

T

Is Genius in Front Of You?

I heard a great quote today from Jonathan Swift:

"When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." ~ Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects

Basically, if you didn't get that, when someone comes along who is especially great, all the idiots will join together to fight him. So follow the mass of morons and side with the guy they are against.

Really, it's something to think about. When something totally amazing happens, when someone comes in with something amazing, why is it so hard? Is it just so radical? Is it too amazing for us to handle since they are genius? Is it simply we are scared of the change it brings?

And that brings us back to last week, let's not go backward, just forward...

T

Don't Put Yourself In That Position

All day Lorie has been enjoying what we call "Momma's Stories", those cheezy Saturday afternoon movies that just make you realize how amazing American Cinema can be.

At the moment she's watching a nice teeny-bopper one. But all those movies fallow the same storyline and we just hit the part that drives me nuts. There is the happy couple that are not yet a couple, they like each other, but there's some other person in the love triangle who is trying to break them up. And inevitably in every movie the good guy/girl who is being manipulated ends up being seen by their true love in a position that they didn't mean. Kissing the other girl, holding onto the other boy, whatever it is. And there begins the next hour of entertainment where the two lovers find out it was a mix-up and who they should really be with.

Here's the part that drives me nuts though. We could skip an hour of this is all the people involved would do one thing: think! There would be no "misunderstanding" if the people involved used their heads and didn't get into that position in the first place. Don't go to lover's lane with your old girlfriend, even if she says it is just to talk. Don't go over to that other boy's bedroom. Just don't do stupid.

I think the reason people relate with these stories is because we've all done it. Been where we shouldn't have been, been seen in a light we didn't mean or was totally out of context. But for our sakes, let's make our personal movies less entertaining and with a lot less effort to dig out of bad situations. Think first and don't be put yourself where something could be misconstrued.

After all, who wakes up in the morning and says, "I could use more drama in my life today. Now how can I do that...?"

T

Being Sick

So as I am writing this (it was yesterday), I am sick as a dog. Seriously, I sound like death (and I was supposed to sing at NewSong practice that night, yeah, right!)

I hate being sick. I've heard all the stories, it's God's way or our bodies way of saying slow down. The problem is, it happens when I'm most busiest! And I haven't been over exerting myself lately, I just have a lot to do. But here we are, the day before the 30 Hour Famine, and I can barely keep my eyes open. I am so sick I am watching curling and trying to keep up.

So for everyone else under the weather, I support you, I understand, and I'm sorry. Get better soon!

T

30 Hour Famine This Weekend

For those that don't know, the Sr. High students are taking part in the 30 Hour Famine this weekend.

Now, for many people that means nothing. So I will explain. The 30 Hour Famine is an international event in which youth groups, school groups, scout groups, etc. take a weekend and starve themselves. They eat no solid food for 30 hours for two reasons. One is to understand what it is like for most of the world's population who do not eat every day, or if they do, only one meal a day. Here we have pantries full of snacks for between meals, we don't really understand hunger. So for the weekend we starve ourselves and talk about world hunger, even taking a few hours to play a game that helps us understand what it's like to carry water miles while hungry. We also eat with either a traditional meal from the country we're focusing on or a meal of what organizations like World Vision give to supply food.

And that's the second reason we do this. The students ask people to sponsor them for starving themselves and raise money for World Vision (you can learn more about them at www.worldvision.org). In previous years we have raised anywhere from $800 - $2300 to help people who were born in to less fortunate areas have a chance to eat, drink clean water, get education, all the things we take for granted.

So if you could please, talk to the students the next time you see them and ask about the experience, how they were able to help, and maybe even what you can do to help in this global campaign.

T

Hebrew Tenses

I was reading about Hebrew the other day (it was kind of by accident) and I found something very interesting.

Most of us know that in language there are tenses, words that are used to define an action. For most of us, we like to do it in time, the action was completed or will be complete, it was in the past, the present or the future.

In ancient Hebrew, I was reading there are no tenses that define time. There is no past or future tense of a word. There are only two, complete (perfect) and incomplete (imperfect).

It kind of makes you think of the heart of God. Is He more concerned that you get something done right away or that you do it completely/perfectly? Just something to think about...

T

Change pt. 3, The Sanctuary

The last one of the series, just something else to think about.

Why do you worship in the place you do? At our church, the service I attend is in the gym. And many people do not attend it because it's in a gym, not the sanctuary and as we all know, God only exists in the sanctuary.

Let's start with the word. Sanctuary means "a sacred or holy place". Now comes the big question. Do we decide what will be holy and tell God to meet us there? I mean, really. We build a church, we make a big room everyone can fit in, write "Sanctuary" on the blueprints and now we know that room will be holy? Or...

Do we meet with God every week together in one place, singing songs of praise to Him, praying together, learning from God's Word together in a certain room and by doing this we have moments in which we experience God's holiness and thereby the place becomes holy? And going with our theme the last few days, because we had a holy experience in that room, does that mean other people will just because we did? Are we forcing others to worship where we did how we did hoping it will rub off on them or are we gearing what we do to focus on the new person and how they can meet with God?

Think of your home. At my house as a kid, my mom prayed every morning in the family room in the basement. For her it was a holy place. For me, it was where I watched TV. No holiness whatsoever. Now, my mother could have forced me to treat it as holy and only pray there too, but she let me find God where I was at. Which do you think would have worked out better?

So if you find God in the Sanctuary, great. But I don't. I have been worshipping in the gym for 4 years. I have been leading students in worship there for almost 6 years. And just because it worked for me doesn't mean it will for someone else. But on the flip side, just because the Sanctuary worked for you doesn't mean it will for someone off the street. Go back to the comfortable thing. You're new, you follow the herd into the biggest room with the instrument playing you never hear, sitting on hard pews only where others say you can sit (because that spot is so-and-so's), the pastors wearing robes (which you see where else in your life?), and if no one says "hi" to you or tries to make you feel welcome, are you going to come back to give this spot a second chance at holiness?

Again, no right answers, this will all be very subjective. The question is what subject are we thinking about, ourselves or someone we want to introduce Christ to...?

T

Change Pt.2, The Organ

So thinking about my post yesterday and the organ all week (really), I've decided to blend the two to help explain both (sorry if this goes a little long).

A little history with the organ. It was not put into churches hundreds of years ago because it is holy. There are two reasons I can see why the organ entered church. It was loud and it was popular.

The popular music at the time is what we would now call classical. Tons of instruments to play for this type of music. The only problem is volume. You needed something that was loud for hundreds if not thousands of people to hear. A single violin is not that loud, but a symphony is. But there was one instrument that was really loud by itself. The organ. And you can control it's volume by controlling air-flow. That's why a lot of composers used it to accompany vocalists, like Handel and Vivaldi.

Enter the church. We need a loud instrument that can accompany vocalists and be turned down if need be. The organ. It's loud and it's popular. Now realize too, the church was not the only place that jumped on the organ bandwagon. Sporting events, they loved the organ (da da da daaaa da daaaa = "charge!"), Chicago still has an organ where the Blackhawks play (it's electric now). Even with tent revivals for the church 150 years ago, pump organs were loud and somewhat portable, so they were used.

What happened is we made the organ holy. It was a part of services and times of worship where people met with God so thy started to make the organ holy by association. Nowhere did Jesus say the organ is a holy instrument. It's not in the Bible. We decided it was holy because we associated it with holy times.

Fast forward to today. My biggest concern with the church is telling others about Jesus and helping people have a relationship with God, making disciples. Part of that is through worship. Now, Group magazine just did a study and found the number one reason people return to a church after a visit is because they were comfortable. Is the organ comfortable to people who don't have the holy history people that have been in the pews for 40 years do? Not likely, it's uncomfortable probably. Why do I say that?

Look at the reasons the organ entered the church. It's loud. Well, now we have electricity. Sound Systems. We can make anything loud. So let's look at the other criteria. Is it popular? Is it used in popular music and thereby makes people comfortable? I haven't heard the organ played in Starbucks or while shopping in a while, other places that use music to make people comfortable.

So should we get rid of the organ. Possibly. That depends on who is worshipping. If it is meeting the need of leading in worship and helping new people be comfortable, sure. For me, organ music doesn't do it for me. I grew up with Bon Jovi and U2 (which a lot of modern worship music sounds like, connection? Comfortable? People can sing along with worship because they've sang along to Livin' On A Prayer?) All I know is I search for God and bringing Him to people, and sometimes that means doing something different than what worked for me. But I also know my guitar is not holy, it was merely there when something holy happened in my life. Playing it will not recreate that holy moment, but it may be used to lead others into their own holy moments.

No answers, just something to think about. Too often I'm learning people have no idea why they do what they do or even why they believe what they believe. And that scares me...

T

Change

Over the past months (maybe even years, I haven't kept track) we have been talking in our church staff meetings about change. It's never easy for people, everyone seems to want to hold on to something special.

I had a thought Sunday while praying. I wonder if it's because we have made things holy by association. I'll explain. At some point many, if not all, people at our church have had a holy moment or spiritual experience with God. And those are great. But I wonder if we start to tie that moment to the things around us. It happened in the sanctuary, so God is only in the sanctuary. It happened while I was sitting in a pew so now I have a special connection to pews. It happened at the 9:45 service so forever I can only go to the 9:45 service. Is getting closer to God like lucky gym socks? Our team won a football game when I wore these socks so for every game from now on I will wear these socks. Do we try and recreate our experience with God with all the little things around us?

What if I were to try and do that with my wife? Our honeymoon was great, so every vacation from now on has to be where we went on our honeymoon. The best conversation we ever had was at this restaurant so from now on whenever we go out to eat, it's only that restaurant (and I need to order the same thing). And what about things that aren't meant to be recreated forever? On our first date I drove my 1994 Toyota Camry. It's long broken down and sold, should I try to get it back and force us to push it or use it somehow on our next date to recreate the magic?

It seems ludicrous, but do we do it with God? Do we take the things around us and try not to change them because in some way changing them makes us lose our grip on that experience with God? The sad part is, by doing so, we probably make sure that God can't move us forward to the new thing He has for us. Maybe that's why Jesus said this to those who wanted to help Him in ministry:

Luke 9:62 ~ Jesus said, “Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God.” (NCV)

If you plow a field and look back, you don't see where you are going and you end up with a useless not-straight line. I don't know, maybe we need to let go of some things that are our holy lucky charms and try to hold on to Jesus and focus on His ministry instead.

T

Does It Ever Change?

It's funny how being someone who is working at a church of one denomination while holding credentials in another (and my father works at another, and so on) I see how we could do so much working together but at the same time we seem to be so territorial. At one church I worked at the pastor actually told me I could do whatever I wanted with other churches (even in our denomination) as long as the event happened at our church. I mean, really.

But then we go back two thousand years ago to the first church with Jesus.

Luke 9:49 ~ John answered, “Master, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of people. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.” (NCV)

I mean, really! How dare they try to do amazing things for the glory of God somewhere else while we know Jesus is really here with us (so how could He possibly be helping them too?).

Imagine what we could do if after two millennia we shed that idea and worked together...

T

How Do You Not Share?

This weekend at church we are finishing up our series of "Growing As Disciples" with "Witness", the idea of sharing what God has done in your life.

It was funny, just the other day I read the story of Jarius' daughter (it's in Luke 8) where Jesus raises the girl from the dead. There was a little part I had heard and read so many times but didn't put it together.

In the story, the girl dies while Jesus and company are en route to her. When Jesus arrives he tells the mourners in the house not to cry, she's just sleeping. Then Jesus takes only Peter, James, John, Jarius and Jarius' wife into the room with the dead daughter. He raises her from the dead, but then says this:

Luke 8:56 ~ The girl’s parents were amazed, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened. (NCV)

How do you keep that a secret? How do you not tell people that your daughter is now alive? How do you manage to keep this on the down low with people in the other room mourning? Say thanks and ask them to leave? Do they ask the girl to never leave the house so people don't know she's alive?

So many questions. The funny part is as I type this I think about how I'm asking how on earth you can be silent about what God has done for you in this situation, yet so many people who Jesus didn't tell to be silent about what He's done in their lives, they have no problem at all keeping it quiet.

T

What Better Guy To Win?

Last night we all watched the Superbowl in the Student Lounge and quite a few people were upset the Colts didn't win. I however, will live. It's only a game. But also, I used to live in Louisiana and know a little about Drew Brees' story.

Here's a video of his going around the internet:

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=7dde44d1a0c8c69ccdec

Now how can you not root for the guy? He has even said in the past that he thought God put him in New Orleans for a reason after Katrina.

Congrats Drew, you deserve it. And I don't think a message like this would have gotten around the internet if the Colts had won...

T

When You Feel Alone

A sad story from this weekend:

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/boa-sr-last-member-of-bo-tribe-on-andaman-islands-dies/19346945?icid=main|hp-desktop|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fworld%2Farticle%2Fboa-sr-last-member-of-bo-tribe-on-andaman-islands-dies%2F19346945

Basically, the last known member of a certain tribe died this weekend, being the last person on earth to speak her language. No matter what you're going through, my guess is you can at least find someone who you can talk to...

T

The Will To Prepare

This past weekend was the Australian Open. I don't watch a lot of tennis, but I like the slams, and for some reason I get the Tennis Channel free whenever they are on (which works for me).

During the men's final, one of the commentators said a quote that many have said in different ways. Paul Bryant (a football coach) said it, Bobby Knight (a basketball coach closer to home) also said it. Basically, it's this.

Many have the will to win, few have the will to prepare.

It's true. There are so many people who want the big title, the big job, the big whatever, but they don't want to take the time to put in the effort without a guarantee of a payoff. They don't want to do the little things that seem insignificant but are truly necessary for greatness (in my musical history, these would be known as scales).

Jesus said this is also true with our souls. A few weeks ago at Downpour (our Sr. High Bible Study) we talked about it. From the words of Jesus:

Matthew 7:24-27 ~ "Anyone who listens to My teaching and obeys Me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse, because it is built on rock. But anyone who hears My teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will fall with a mighty crash." (NLT)

Notice the house wasn't built because we knew the storm was coming. Notice the house wasn't built, then a foundation was selected and the house later put on. The foundation comes first. If we aren't willing to do the little things to build the foundation of our soul, then when the true test comes, the tennis match or the storm, we won't be victorious. To win in life, we need to build that foundation.

So get out there and do what you can to build up your spiritual foundation. Read your Bible, pray, serve, talk with others, both who know Jesus and about Jesus to those who don't. Build for yourself the chance to win when the time is right.

T

Text "Happy Groundhog Day" To...

First, Happy Groundhog Day.

Now for something more fun. Working with teenagers and parents of teens/pre-teens, cell phones seem to always be an issue, especially with the new and improved way of communication, texting. Well here are some statistics from a new Neilsen Report (you can see them at http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/under-aged-texting-usage-and-actual-cost/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+NielsenWireOnlineMobile+%28Nielsen+Wire+%C2%BB+Online+%26+Mobile%29)

For those that don't go, the highlights:
Kids 12 and under with a cell phone send an average of 1,146 texts a month.
For 13-17 year olds, it jumps to 3,146 a month (or 10 every waking hour).

Think we're over texting just a little? Maybe we should hold back a little instead of texting over every little thing. Just a thought...

T

More Is Less

As many people are now realizing, we in America have way more than we need. But instead of hearing it from the church like usual, let's try a different approach.

http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/01/28/life-too-good-sell-your-house/?icid=main|hp-desktop|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.housingwatch.com%2F2010%2F01%2F28%2Flife-too-good-sell-your-house%2F

Read and enjoy :)

T

Yelling Is The New Spanking

According to the New York Times, parents have now replaced screaming with spanking. As many of us have seen, people think that spanking is wrong. The only problem is, what do you do with kids that don't care about a time-out. The new answer is scream.

The reason I bring this up is because after reading the article and thinking about it, I wonder if it isn't just parents. After all, everyone knows fighting is wrong, so how do we get someone to see our side or leave us alone if they don't agree with us? Yell at them of course! Don't believe me, watch any reality TV. There's a lot of yelling and drama.

I was just wondering how far this is going to trickle down. After all, many kids learn how to handle conflict from their parents, and if all they see is yelling, what do they learn? What about when they become teenagers, what's the only defense they have (that won't get them sued) that they have seen work...?

Maybe we should look at how to control ourselves. As Aviva Pflock (co-authored Mommy Guilt ) says, "The one thing you really have ultimate control over is the tone of your voice." I know I haven't been perfect with my tone, but really, there's got to be a better way to deal with conflict than yell, right?

Just random thoughts.

T

By What You Do

Many people have heard the story of building a foundation, the house on the rock was strong, the house on the sand was swept away in a storm. We even talked about it a few weeks ago at Downpour (our Bible Study). But do you know how Jesus introduces that parable?

Luke 7:46-47 ~ “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? I will show you what everyone is like who comes to Me and hears My words and obeys. (NCV)

So often I've heard the foundation is reading the Bible or praying or doing things that privately connect you with God, and all those things are good! But that's not all. There's more to it. Our foundation is built by doing what Jesus tells us to, by the way we live.

As much as we have tried to do this in the past few years, Jesus is not private. Religion is not a private act. It's something that is to be lived out and shared. When it comes to building a foundation for a holy life, the foundation needs to be built on action. We need to be doing all that Jesus told us to, not just the ones that make us feel comfortable or the ones we can do all by ourselves, all of it.

T

Even Jesus Prayed

I don't know why, but I have been very slow making my way through the Gospels lately. Maybe I'm lazy, maybe everything is jumping out at me. Who knows? (Well, God...)

Today I was reading about Jesus calling the twelve disciples.

Luke 6:12-13 ~ At that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and He spent the night praying to God. The next morning, Jesus called His followers to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He named apostles. (NCV)

Now here's where my mind started turning. Jesus knew everything (and still does), so He knew who the twelve disciples were. So why did He still pray? Why did He still spend all night praying? He had a connection with God being One with Him that we will never have or understand. And yet He still felt the need to pray for hours and hours all night over this decision.

I don't think we understand prayer yet. Obviously it's not all about the request or even making the right decisions. Jesus was going to pick the right people, He knew 100% He was, but He still spent more time in prayer before this decision than many others (that we know of). Was He praying for the disciples, that they would be ready for what they were to do? Was He praying for me reading about this moment knowing I would be confused?

All I can come up with is I need to pray more, because if Jesus needs extra prayer, and He gets it, how much more do I need since I don't get it?

T

In The Big Show

Starting tomorrow I will also be blogging on the Fishers UMC main website (every Thursday). I can pretty much guarantee that whatever I post will be on here, since I try to get on here 6 times a week and there I will only be writing 1 a week, but if you want to show support or even see what the other leaders at Fishers UMC are up to, check it out. www.fishersumc.org

T

Secrets

Last week I was watching TV (shocker) and during one of the many crime shows on (this one fiction, again, shocker) they were interviewing a field agent. They talked about how they had learned a lot, especially about why people do bad things. And then they said something interesting:

"Secrets. Trying to hide the truth chips away at your spirit."

An interesting thought, but I started to mull it over. I think it's true. Many times the reasons we lie, we cheat, we steal, we hurt others, it's all in what I would call perceived self-preservation. We're trying to save that image of ourselves we have created while in the midst of that process we are losing our true self. We kill ourselves to protect a false image, a mask.

Perhaps this is why Jesus said it was the truth that would set us free (John 8:32).

T

Another Quote

I know yesterday's was the best one ever, but here's another one. And it ties into the passion theme from a few days ago too (you'd think I planned this or something)...

"Direct your passion. Achieve your result. Always do your best and you will avoid regret. Pass on your knowledge without reluctance." ~ John Mazzella

Sounds good to me. Good way to live life. What if people who followed Christ lived this way...?

T

Best Quote Ever

Because of all the football hype, I found this quote and it made me laugh. Enjoy.

Games tend to focus more on structural aspects of culture. Chess is about military strategy. Monopoly about buying and selling... Football teaches bout territoriality. Primates mark territory with feces. We are primates. It is no coincidence that a play in football starts when a dung-shaped ball is passed through the legs of a player and that it's the position of the dung upon the field that determines what territory belongs to whom. ~ Joe Garlington

Awesome!

T

Winter Retreat

Sorry it's been a few days, we were gone on the weekend at the winter retreat and I'm still playing catch-up a little.

But I will say this, it was a great retreat. We talked about spiritual matters, relaxed, played football (we won thanks to Kari), made huge fireballs, praised and worshipped until the floor moved.

One thing I kept thinking about though is something we discussed Sunday night. Passion is infectious. For anything. Here in Indy peopel are a little more hyped because of the Colts, because the passion of those around us is infectious. For our worship time at the retreat, someone had mentioned to me "Why are we bringing all this sound equipment? Why not just go acoustic since there's less people?" And strangly enough, they were jumping around when everyone else was and singing just as loud (if not louder)...

We can make church an exciting experience each and every Sunday (or Wednesday, or whenever). We just have to bring the passion, not wait for it to be brought...

T

Scared Of Risk

I'm reading another book by the Imagineers at Disney. I just feel drawn to them, people who see the world without limits and literally do anything because they know they can. In an hour at the Magic Kingdom you can see ghosts, fly, ride a pirate ship and go on safari. And that's all within walking distance of each other!

So how do they do it? It seems one of the big ideas is to have no fear. This is from Marty Sklar (he's been there forever!):

In my experience outside Imagineering, in community activities and volunteer organizations, a culture of risk taking is a rare thing. Conformity is too often prized as a virtue. Risk my standing on the board of my community organization, church or synagogue, homeowners association and the like? What will my friends and neighbors say? How will they treat my kids?

I love it, but something hit me hard. Why did he add church? The obvious answer, because he's right. The church has been turned into a place where we do the safest thing, don't rock the boat. Isn't it funny that the entity, the group of people that changed the world by being fearless and doing the impossible led, carried and backed by the power of God is now the group trying to get by without causing waves? Hey, we won't even sing too loud during worship, what would people say?

We have to get back that spirit of being world-changers for God and be willing to sacrifice our pride to get there. After all, I don't read many stories of Jesus sitting by politely and quietly trying to not be noticed, just get through the worship service and get home until next week...

T

Have A New Husband By Friday

I'm not kidding, it's the name of a book I saw at Barnes and Noble the other day with Lorie. See for yourself:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Have-a-New-Husband-by-Friday/Kevin-Leman/e/9780800719128/?itm=1&USRI=have+a+new+husband+by+friday

Now as I read the description a little better, I see how it's about mutual respect and having realistic expectations of each other, but I'm still a little disturbed by the idea of the title and how people interpret it. One, that it's all the husband's fault (which it usually is, but give us a break), but two, that you can change someone in five days to be who you want them to be.

I think the author is more in line with what I believe (based on the short synopsis online), it's not about changing them exactly, it's about being understanding and loving them for who they are. We should be doing that for everyone! Hey, maybe by doing that, we could change the world in a week...

T

Don't Judge By What You See

An interesting look at the world I came upon. The author was talking about how we judge how good or brave or whatever other attribute you want to put on a person by what they do, what we see them do. But in reality there could be greater issues of the heart at work.

Here's an example. We would reward someone for their bravery of running into battle to save a fallen comrade. We would probably not reward someone's bravery for petting a dog.

But what if there was more to the story.

What if the person running into battle had no fear. They never were afraid for being shot, they were raised to be have no fear. Meanwhile the other person was attacked by a dog as a small child and has had a fear of dogs ever since and just then was the first time they had been brave enough to get within ten feet of a dog let alone touch one. They had a crippling fear of dogs for years and it took weeks and months of work to get up the nerve just to be in the same room as a dog. With this new information, who is braver? The one who never had a problem or the one who is overcoming emotions many of us would be scared to experience?

The point is, realize that little victories to you may be huge victories to others. Don't judge someone only by the little bit you see. They may be overcoming a hurdle that we can never understand...

T

Are We Too Busy?

A new study I read this week from a thousand business people:

89% take their work home
65% work more than one weekend per month
68% felt more overwhelmed than they did last year
53% spend less than 2 hours a week with their children (that's less than 1.2% of their week)

Maybe we need to slow down a little and look at what's important here...

T

Need Reminding?

I was reading something today which quoted a man named Dr. Johnson. No idea who that is, but here's what he said that I liked:

"People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed."

Working with teenagers, I totally see that! How many of us can remember the first time we were taught to drive? It took a lot more than one instruction, it took a lot of reminding to get it right (and some adults still need some reminding).

What do we need to remind ourselves of (after all, if we don't evaluate ourselves, who will)? What have we gotten upset about because "we've heard it before" but really aren't living it?

Just some thoughts from Dr. Johnson (whoever you are).

T

Could You Handle It?

Last Sunday we had on our church sign that the message for Sunday was about Luke 4. Although Pastor Aaron quoted Luke 4, the temptation of Christ was not the theme of the sermon.

But the other day I happened to be reading that passage as well and was hit again by something that most people glance over. If you know the story Jesus is led by the Spirit to be tempted, He doesn't eat for 40 days, then satan tempts him three times, fails, and leaves "until an opportune time". Too often we read that and glance over a few little words...

Jesus wasn't only tempted three times. We read that story and hear it at church and think we could stand up to those three little temptations, it was hard for Jesus because He was hungry. Read it again:

Luke 4:1b-2a ~ The Spirit led Jesus into the desert where the devil tempted Jesus for forty days. (NCV)

All forty days Jesus was tempted. Can you imagine for 960 hours being tempted in every which way (and God setting it up so it can happen!)? Too often we simplify what Jesus went through here. It was a full forty days of being nagged by the devil to give up. As verse 14 says, Jesus was tempted "in every way". Although we only have three written down, those three didn't cover in every way. We have no idea what Jesus went through for us to be able to continue His ministry. There are 613 laws in the Old Testament for the people of God to follow, was Jesus tempted to break each one, 613 temptations on the Law alone?

We'll never know, but don't take it for granted that Jesus did a simple little thing for us here. He went through more than we know!

T

New Wine In Old Wineskins

It's almost two weeks into the new year, how many resolutions do you think are still going? How many have you already thrown away?

Last night at Drink Deep (our Sr. High meeting) we talked about this in a broader sense and how following Jesus is similar. Too often people get fired up right away then seem to dwindle, like we do with resolutions. The reason is a story Jesus told in Luke 5, new wine in old wineskins.

The basic moral of the story is you can't fit something new into your old life. The reason so many people give up on their new year's resolutions is they don't change their life around the resolution. They want to lose weight, but they don't want to make the time to exercise, give up the foods they like, or really change any of their habits at all.

It's the same with Jesus. Many times people are introduced to Jesus and they think He's great, but instead of following Him they try to fit Him into their old life. They go back home and hang out with the same friends, do the same things, watch the same movies, visit the same websites, whatever it is, and somewhere along the way Jesus gets squeezed out. If you really want to know Jesus and have Him be a part of your life, your life needs to change to fit Him in. It's kind of like AA, when someone wants to give up drinking, they don't go back to the old bar with the old friends at the old happy hour.

So whatever your resolution is, holy or just plain silly, if you want to keep it, don't worry about the resolution so much. Worry about the life you're trying to fit that resolution into. Maybe some changes need to be made...

T

Doorknobs And Email

Two things:

First, thanks to all those who gave us doorknobs or gift cards to hardware stores for Christmas. We have doorknobs in our home now.

Second, we just set up a system where you can have this blog sent to your email. Sign up in the subscription box on the top left.

Thanks all!

T

Inspired

The other day I was reading a book that talked about inspiration (in this case, artistic inspiration). It took a look at the word "inspire", which means "to breath into or upon; to infuse with life by breathing."

Many times we hear about God "inspiring" people to do something. We may even feel inspired to act a certain way or do a certain act. Do we think of it as God actually breathing his presence into you? God giving you life and the will to do whatever it is you feel inspired to do?

I don't know, if we start locking at inspiration in that sense, how much would we give to that inspiration? How hard would we work to make what God has breathed into us a reality?

So next time you feel "inspired" to do something, take a moment. If it is from God, if it is His breath, we need to give it everything that a breath of God deserves.

T

Holiday Loans

I went into a bank the other day (not just the drive-thru, I know, they still have people working there!) and saw a sign for a holiday loan. For a special short term loan you can get just for the holidays.

Okay, I think we have officially missed the point of Christmas if we are taking out loans to buy presents and ham. At the end of last year the US had a national credit card debt of $972.37 billion (Nilson Report March 2009). How much of that do you think were Christmas overspending?

So as we struggle to pay off Christmas as we do every January (I used to work in a mall, January was a dead month!) how about we evaluate what's really important for next Christmas. To be honest, there are very few presents I can remember getting as a child, I only remember opening them with family. What about you...?

T

Good Fortune

In our student ministry, we have "fortunes" that go with all the sodas. Really, they are proverbs from the Message, so they sound like fortune cookies, and when printed with red ink they look like them too.

So here was the one I got the other night: "The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard; fools look for it everywhere but right here."

It seemed kind of like a good one. So often we think that God is so far away or that understanding Him is so hard. Sometimes we even think that to learn anything of importance you have to go far away, but there is so much of God right here and now, in our own lives, in every breath. We just don't acknowledge it.

So here's the challenge, look for God today, look for his wisdom, in your own front yard. Where can you find something to learn from today?

T

Go Dominos

I don't know if you've seen Domino's pizza's new ad campaign, but I love it (www.dominos.com).

The reason, they understood the need to change. Even though there were many people who loved their pizza, they understand the need to grow, and growth means things will not stay the same (see the blog from last week about perfection).

Sometimes we need to change. We need to grow. Even what we think is perfection needs to be fiddled with.

Yesterday, we had some differences at NewSong. Did I like our service before? Of course! But we can't stay the same. It's impossible. Even styles of worship change and grow. If that weren't true, we'd still be sacrificing goats in a temple, and I'd have to wear really big long flowing robes when I preach next week (yeah, picture that one...)

T

The Flavors Of Perfection

Although I didn't like the way they did it in a kids movie, I did like the example I saw last week of perfection.

A guy mixed a Christmas drink for a woman (in a kids movie, happy holidays), but the woman drank it and said it was perfect. It tasted like Christmas. The guy then made another drink and asked her to drink it. She said no, she couldn't. The first one was perfect. He insisted and she did, and discovered it was perfect too. And that's when he said the line I liked, "Perfection comes in many flavors."

I think we too often have a good experience, a good meal, a good anything and then decide "that's perfect" and leave it that way. But perfection can be different to different people. It can even me different to the same person. Sometimes something can be perfect but as we grow and change our version of perfection changes.

The point is, don't be scared of new things. You may find something else that's "perfect". Likewise, is you find something you don't like, be careful, to someone else, it may be perfect.

T