Grammer

It is awesome that immediately following my post announcing my acceptance into grad school and I write a post dealing with teaching people who may seem simple-minded, with the worst grammer ever. Seriously, read the next post of you don't think it possible. .... Proof read...

Sorry, I was in a hurry and in a panera bread, (the only place I have internet access currently).
I left the post because I believe that this is a problem.

Most (if not all) of the great deceptions the devil pulls are through our pride. We don't even know it is there, and then all of a sudden we feel that we have an understanding that is above the comprehension of those we are supposed to teach.

How often do we hear about, get involved with, know of, or complain about how churches have a tendancy to become a baby-sitting service. The church gets full of people who only are there because of what they can get from the church. I would suggest that is because we get caught up in ourselves and treat people as though they were babies and needed us to grow. If that is the culture a leader sows...

I was recently told by a pastor that I know well that the people in his congregation simply could not do what was needed to grow the kingdom. This is totally contrary to the message of Christ. He was all about letting everyone in, and more importantly empowering them. The disciples were these guys, not the best or smartest and Jesus said you are capable to lead the church.

I doubt this problem is intentional, but we have to constantly check ourselves, and each other

A simple culture

On several occasions recently I have had people talking about teaching specific congregations within the church. More often than not, in my discussions of how to best teach a specific culture ( or subculture within western culture ) I have been told that the culture is too simple to understand deep teaching. Poor, rich, upper class, new christians, inner-city, suburban, rural, blue collar, you name it, all are used to rationalize a lack of solid teaching.

I can think of 3 seperate teachers/pastors in opposite cultural settings that have told me how their people cannot understand deep teaching due to being simpletons. Is this the truth?

I understand some people actual have mental problems that slow their understanding of basic truths, but everyone else just have not been educated. I wonder how dangerous it is for leaders to assume a lack of potential in their people. Doesn't God open the banquet to everyone once the original guests elect to see it as trivial and not show? Isn't there something to be said about how Jesus taught blue collar, uneducated people how to know God and they built the church?

Maybe it is just me, having a passion to teach, and thinking everyone else should. But maybe it is a huge problem, maybe many leaders in churches are dropping the ball.

I am still thinking through this and will post more, but it was a bit fresh today.

hey big time college grad!

well, that is a while coming, but I officially have been accepted to graduate school and am now in the process of scheduling classes, and waiting for finacnial aide to come through. I am excited to go back to school.

I am currently at panera bread and a lady just sat down near me. Can I just comment on old lady smell? I used to think it was a natural smell, but now I realize that they actually purchase a pefume in order to make this smell. I am a second away from passing out from this mix of normal perfume, old spice, original lysol and comet. Seriously, feel free to dab. If you suffer from OLS, I apologize.

more news later

FAFSA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I could incur wrath by the power of my word it surely would fall on fafsa. I'm talking the sky would blacken, with thunder crashing, and lightning flashing, my voice would become huge and fill the sky and sound like an army of warriors reigning down a battle cry of death towards all whose ears they fall, simply when I said the word FAFSA.

Um yeah, you know how it is hard to convey emotion in an e-mail or or other print as such? You know, it is easy to sound distant and a little cold or maybe angry without intending to. Well, in this case it surely will do injustice to the amount anger that courses through my veins. If I took my blood pressure right now, both me and the nurse might have a heart attack. But I would stay standing, pressing on solely powered on the disdain for filling out the FAFSA!

For those of you who don't know, I am trying to go back to school. My application is taking forever to process and so the admissions office suggested I apply for student aide right away in order to have it all in by next wednesday when it is due. ( student aide is how I will be paying for school , so it is imparative that this happens) So, for the last enitre day, I have been trying to fill out the Federal Application For Student Aide. FAFSA! ( wrath & warriors & stuff) BY the way, who includes "for" in their accronymn? How much cooler would it be to say FASA? But no FAFSA! does nothing easy, everything takes forever.

The biggest hole , aside from having twelve million web pages to do two things (get and ID and apply) is discovering your PIN or acces code. I apparently had one from doing my undergrad ( I must have been skippng that day) but they can't tell me over the phone. They can however take every other bit of my personal information over the phone in order to tell me to go back to the website where dreams go to die and request a new pin be sent over the unsecured internet to my easier than a phone to access google account. Oh, and it takes between 4 hours and 3 days. I guess I just wait here at Panera like its Christmas Eve and I know santa is coming.

Needless to say I am a bit bitter. I get fired up with things that are automated and do nto actually help with a particular problem. I am sure John Fafsa is a good man, and I love him as Christ tells me to, but his application process is not cool. Sorry, I had to bring you on the tirade.

If you made it this far I give you open season to vent on something as a response. Anything. slow drivers, the guy at walmart, Ukraine's airport, Atlanta' airport, puppies, K- fed getting an album, you probably have something. If you were in a possitive mood, my apologies, you can comment on something awesome to lift our spirits.

later

Some Thouhts on Generations

So, one of the problems that so many churches face is the struggle between older and younger members over the basic approaches to doing church. My wife and I recently left a church that had well passed, but at one time had struggled with little things like choir robes and the color of the pew cushions. THings that I believe my generation views as inconsequential. That church over the course of ten years or so was able to change the culture out of holding so much stock in the "things" of the church.

Julie and I are now serving in a new church that after being closed to dying completely three years ago, got a new dynamic pastor who has a vision to grow the church. I'll explain my quandry as quickly as possible. IN three years this church has grown from like 20 on Easter to 200 + weekly. THere is a life in this church like I haven't seen in a while. The people are eager to serve others and eager grow. It is evident the moment you step into the church and it is the main reason Julie and I decided to go there. Now that we have begun to submerge ourselves in to the church culture we have begun to see some of the behind the scenes struggles they have weekly. Yes, weekly. There are older members of the church who have been there for years, or were there for years and then came back as its grown. I say older because noon e under 60 causes an flak in the matter. The people there argue and raise complaints and cause dissention and are stubborn to the core about seeing the church go their way or die.

Now the problem I have is not with them holding onto what they believe is true, it is that the things they are holding to me seem stupid. Examples: The rails in front of the stage, the lecturns on the side that no one use...ever, the organ no one uses...ever, the "alter" that sits in the middle of the stage which no one understands why its there and is also never used...ever, the placement of a screen to run any video needs, the number of pews in the chapel, the 25 year old couch that is falling apart in the fellowship hall, when the bell rings, and then some. My opinion..the dumbest stuff ever. THey are basically a lead weight to the progress of the church. I can see being up in arms about a new program with questionable spiritual signifigance like a block party with slot machines to raise money, but the couch?

This is a problem that faces tons of churches, and I am not looking for encouragement that you just have to deal with it, nor am I beginning an argument to put all folks above a certain age on a reservation some place warm where they can have their own way at church, and music, and be able to drive, smell funny, make left hand turns at their own pace etc. . I feel that there is wealth of knowledge, wisdom, experience that is basically burned on the color of fabric on "things" inside a building where a specifc body meets. Why is it such a problem connecting older and younger? I wonder who fails? Was there a breakdown in the church a few generations ago that resulted in an age group of people more concerned with things and attaching their salvation to the place they meet and its overall appearance? ARe the two other generations present within churches wrong with their new music and now their to experiential and intimate approach to worship? Is there sin involved on either side? THese members are financial givers within the church, so do they have the right to have such a say in the thing they helped buy 40 years ago?

OUr church has put a band-aide on their problem by having a "traditional" service early in the morning, that everybody else warns new people not to come to. The two biggest questions I have are,
1. Is this a specific problem with this generation in western culture, or is it a problem that I will contribute to when I retire? (note I wonder if Billy Graham raises a fuss in his local church when the kids want to use their video ministry?)

2. If not, and if I think it is wrong because I feel they are not only missing the message of the gospel but also are hindering it, is it a sin for me to support a "traditional" service that appeases those sensabilities and not gently but firmly confront these brothers and sisters who are not to look down on me because I am young, with the truth and message of Christ?

Just some thoughts

Pastor's Wife

OK so here is something that has been a cool progression of what God is doing in our lives. Julie has a job as a youth pastor and I have the job of the pastor's wife, so to speak. I am sort of slowly getting into a leadership at the church. I am preaching the end of this month and we ( the pastor and I )are exploring ways to get me up to lead worship and teach some different classes. I am going back to school as well, provided I get accepted.

When we decided to come here, we felt that God was callingus to a place to minister together, for Julie to grow in a leadership role, for me to go back to school, and to step up into a leadership role. So far that side of it has been cool. I have had people ask if I had a million dollars what would I do. This is pretty close to it, only with a nicer car.

Since we have been here we have been confronte several times with the need to make some more money. I start to freak out and try to find the first job I can. I start the wheels turning in my head about how much better life would be if I had a job the doubled up our money. This was espescially strong in the first couple of weeks. God however has shown us that He is in control and my trust needs to be in Him. We have been able to work out our finances in a way that allows me not to have to work and to be a pastor's wife. Really, it means that I can pour my energy into the ministry God has called me to. I am excited to get some things going.

If are willing, please join us in praying that our house will sell by the end of the month, as this is the source of most of our financial turmoil.

I will keep you all posted in that regard.

News

So here's what's been happening here. Julie and I are in our new place and liking it alot. (though not as much as if our house was already sold) Jeremy our ninja cat was angry that we put him in his cage to travel and then scared of the new surroundings and hid under our bed for three days. Steve our dog basically just thinks we put carpet down for him to run easier, as opposed to having actually moved.

It is interesting being away from where I called home. I moved alot growing up and adjusted relatively quickly every time. This has been a bit more difficult as and adult. I sound like an old lady in church I know, but there is something to be said about comfort and control. I used to go to my movie theatre, or my golf course, or my workout area, my gyro place, church, italian restaurant, sub shop, friend's house, field to play ball with steve, place where my wife and I shared our first kiss. All are not here and it is a bit discomforting. I am getting adjusted slowly but surely. I have met some nice young Christian peers, which will help.

I am also looking for a job (which stinks), I am limited in what job I can get as I am plannign to start school in January. There is a possability of me being a meter reader for the power company, which would be rather humorous and sort of crappy, but well paying with good benefits.

There is alot of thought going into the sort of ministry challenges facing this area, which I shall dive into later, except on commenting on the problems facing an area that is almost midwest, influenced by Judeo-Christian philosophy, depressed, sort of republican, and largely facing a total mis-conception of who Christ is. Like I said, large can of worms.

So, first priorty...find a job and not stress between no and then.

Then see Jackass 2....

Hey!

Sorry that it has been a while all of you who may have been waiting anxiously for some insight into my soul. Julie and I are in the process of moving to Medway, Ohio. Julie got a job as a youth pastor at a church there, while I am going to be going back to school to get my master's degree in Biblical studies or something of the sort. I am sure that this will enable me to come up with more better things ramble about eloquently.

We are moving wednesday and then worrying about selling our home thereafter. Hopefully despite the crapiness of the current market, we will be able to sell our home rather painlessly. I will try to be better at filling every one in on life and what has been going on with us, but it depends on computer accesability.
peace

Ninja Master

So being in between work really is no fun. Julie and I are currently trying to figure out where we are going. IT is pretty stressful as we are waiting for different possabilities to play out. There are other areas of stress, but I cannot comment on specifics.

It is interesting how the blog basically enables people like me the opportunity to share thoughts with the world. Sometimes it functions like a personal journal of what is going on and other times like a newspaper column to shoot an idea out there for people to chew on and hopefully get a little fired up about.

Though I currently have alot for people to get fired up about(AKA probably just me), I will settle on happier trails. After returning from"vacation" julie and got home to a happy puppy and a cat further into his planning of world domination. He has been working on his fighting as he got into a tiff last night with a neighbor cat. He occasionally runs around out back. He did last night and apparently ran into another cat ninja. All we heard was the hiss/ reeeeeeeeer! of a good strike and then we we new a battle of epic proportions was ensuing. Complete with some matrix-esque kicks and a winning slash from Jeremy evidenced by white fur in Jeremy's claw found later. We sent steve ( our dog ) out to wag his tail at the opposing cat, but he got distracted by eveyrthing in between the door and the end of the porch. Alas Jeremy had apparently struck a walked away, like a true ninja master.

Maine

So Julie and I are in Maine. It is good times. Lots of misquitoes. I mean swarms, I would welcome the chicken pocks rather than this opening of the fifth seal of the apocalypse. THe ocean is cold, there are supposed to be moose here. I am anxious to see one. We cooked up some fresh lobster, which was mighty fine and are having some good R & R, I am hoping to get some time to get some good updates on my blog which has fallen stagnate of late. My apologies.

Starting today with the question of how long is a good alter call? We were at a meeting last weekend where the alter call not only last one hour and fifteen minutes, but also included every prayer chorus in the book bringing even the most stubborn alter-goer-downer down with several repeats of "all that I am."

though I do love that song, I wonder how useful it was for me to sit in the audience and feel obligated to watch as people made tearful recommitments, I meant with heads bowed and eyes closed. I maybe just super cynical, and need to go the alter myself. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, don't fret it is no - big deal, just a rant. I will probably be putting more thought into this, later.

Mexi Dips and Chips

Ok so, my friends Tim and Jamie always used to talk about Taco Bueno. Being from the northeast (where there are no Taco Buenos) I had to hear stories and take their word for its goodness. THeir description was "taco bell, but way better". Being a large fan (both figuratively and literally) of the crunch wrap supreme and chil cheese burrito, I thought there was no improving upon perfection. I stand corrected. I just went today for lunch and experienced firsthand mexidips and chips, with a chalupa-ish thing ( AKA #3). I feel as though I have just choosen the red pill ( matrix), and been confronted with reality for the first time.

I may be exaggerating a touch, but given the option of all fast food, pizza shops, and franchised restaraunts, Taco Bueno now sits amoung the top five. Good times, good tacos, hence the name I guess.

When Life gives you lemons...

sell them and buy some iced tea. mmm tea.

So, for those who don't already know, I lost my job. After four years at the church where I was serving, and a position shift, I got the ax. There are negative elements to the whole ordeal, but all in all, my leaving is on good terms. The hard part about it is the fact that both Julie and I had put in alot of time and energy into pushing the ministry foreward, only to be removed. We are now leaving alot of the friends we made and on to something new. TBA as I find out what that is.

It really has been evident through the whole thing that God is directing it all. Though it sucks being told "you don't fit here", it opens the door for us to freely move foreward. Anyone want to buy a house?

Well, I'm sure I have something lighter and witty next time, Superman opens tommorrow.

Hitch

I feel as though I have talked about the movie Hitch before. It has recently been added to my elect top five list. It isn't remarkably funny, but funny. It does however perfectly demonstrate not only the concept of men marrying up, but more specifically is a perfect characterization of My wife Julie and I. ( If you put out a romantic comedy about she and I, Kevin James would play me and the girl from the movie would play her.) I am sure it will get blockbuster acclaim when it is made.

So, last week was a bad week. I elected not to write about it on the blog as not much positive could have been said aside from the journey is more important than the destination.

To quote Julie's friend... "I know God is trying to teach me something, I just hope it isn't something crappy like patience." or humility.

So quickly you say

Yes, I wrote a blog like ten minutes ago, but I have been confronted with one of the more funnier videos I have seen in some time. Check it out if you'd like.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/mothers-day-picture.html

True Worshipful Community

So, I decided to listen to just the radio yesterday and stumbled upon one of the CHristian stations. THey played a Mercy Me song while I stuck hot poker's into my eyes. THen they proceded to talk about how their station promotes true worshipful community.

Is it me being fed up with people trying to sound like ultra spiritual, high thinkers, or would that phrase cause the biggest disconnect with anyone outside of western evangelical church subculture? I use words like... community, meaningful, fellowship, post-modern, etc. all the time but am often reminded that they are words that sound good. And "worshipful" ... come on, they can't be serious. It sounds like a word that would come out while praying aloud in a group of people who are better than you. Don't pretend like you haven't played the Pharisee, we all have done it at some point.

My point is, these sort of spiritual words, or made up words strike me as being dangerous. THey mask over the need for action with empty words. I have been seeing more and more recently how Christians get decieved with stuff that sounds important and sounds right but couldn't more distracting. THere are two bads happening. One, we use words like worshipful to help push us towards doing something new, something relevant, something that doesn't bore us because that will translate directly to a non- Christian, so we think.
Two , we use big words that turn away non-CHristians because the words couldn't be more irrelevant to someone who isn't engulfed in church culture.

My re-occurring thought is that the newest Christian song isn't going to pull the secular world into the church. ( not that it won't aide or that being relevant to the culture is mute) THe world need truth taken directly to them. When JEsus taught he taught straight truth through teachable moments steeped in secular culture. How does the church find the balance? Will my thoughts change things? no. Does everyone in my circle say this? yes.

There could be more to say, but I am gong to go and do.

plotting and Flutie

First off, Doug Flutie announced his retirement from professional football today after 21 years either in the CFL or NFL. Hats off to the fluterino at 43 still had the juice to convert the first dropkick in like 50 years in the NFL. Giving hope to all short, old average looking dudes he had success all over the place from the National championship to the NFL where he took his team to the super bowl a few years back only to get benched.

Second, I have been watching Jeremy, my cat recently and have come to realize that he is definitely plotting world domination. He watches everything, constantly adding up figures in his head in order to achieve his goal of taking over the world. He practices his ninjitzu punches on Steve, my dog ( who thinks he is playing and runs all over the house only to be ninjitzu pnuched again). He has been walking around outside when it rains in order to build his stamina against his arch nemisis water. His only weakness is the flahlight, which when turned on, shoots a circle of light on the wall that is irresistible, and must be caught. World, be ware of Jeremy.

On the subject of losing your passion

if you are tired...
I don't care who you are or what you do, there are days when you don't want to do what you do. There are days when I don't want to play my guitar, or go into the church and hang- out wth the people I love to work and do ministry with. Are these the days when my faith is falling short? are these the days when I fail? Are these the days when I have crossed the line and done all I can do?

I am not having one of these days today, but am reminded of those days when I talk about being passionate about something, specifically what GOd is doing in the world through His church or could do without our sinfulness getting in the way. IN those days, " sabbath" becomes real. Truly entering into a state of not only rest, but reflecting on who God is.

It is awesome to think that GOd is not only willing, but fully counting on using us to do His work on earth, despite ourselves. IT is also awesome to realize that most of the things God wants us to do not only seem too big for us, but are too big for us. I have always heard people in ministry talk about working out of the overflow. God's spirit pouring out of us do to our awesome time spent with God... I am currently making the face... (for those of you who don't know the face, think of the dumbest thing you have ever seen someone do to you, take that disdain and direct it through your eyes and the face will take of itself.)

I agree that we have to work out of our overflow, but we also have to be realistic about who we are. honestly, outside of Jesus, who has that good of a quiet time. To make the matter more real, God said, take a break! you are human, I took a break and I'm God. I find that when my passion fades, when the thing I know God wants me to do is boring, I have surpassed the point when I was supposed to take a break. So don't be lazy, but take a break, walk around outside, read the Bible for no reason, play "throw cards into hat", find some people to mess around with, do anything else that could be put into a dorky what to do that is touchy feely book,
just break away and be refuled, return ready to fight round two of the good fight.

its all good

So, I have been feeling the pressure, having not posted in a while, to come up with something awesome. Luckily, I have been sort of focussing my energy into doing some song writing and reading through the book of Numbers. So far my creative and passionate buttons have not been depressed leaving me looking forward to anything.

Julie and I listened to a talk for a leadership program our church is doing. In the talk, the speaker was talking about our leadership moment when God reveals the element of our sinful world that pushes us to action. He talked specifically about Moses seeing a fellow Jew getting beaten by an Egyptian, this burned in him and eventually blossommed into His leadership role when God calls him. It was a good talk, the most important thing I thought that he said was to expose yourself to the things that tick you off. Like if it is bad music, put yourself into a position to experience it in order to fuel the fire. Another example would be Christ clearing the temple, His heart burning for what God had set up on earth to represent HImself to man.

Being very interested in how passions are developed in our lives I really connected with this concept now that I have been thinking about it. In our culture it is very easy to not stay fired up. Between TV, movies, golf, family, dog, bible study, order of service ( not in order of importance) I find it so difficult to stay fired up about what God has set me up to get worked up about.
"It's all good" should not be my mentality, but rather GOd's broken heart for all that is wrong with what could have been perfect. Maybe I should starring answerring the question "howsit goin?" with ... " bad. I look around at churches that don't get it or are so pre-occupied with themselves, they miss God! or how could you stand in front of the gathering of the body and not spill forth the most inspired - Spirit lead talk or worship or silence? ! "

I could go on, but it is already negative. of course... I am sure it wasn't kicks and giggles wen the temple was cleared.

One Bad and Roses

So, I watched a camp video from my final year working at summer camp, at the end of the video was an episode of VHI Behind The Music that some of us made up and produced about a made up group calle d" ONe Bad and Roses. It was ather humorous as we had an OK video editor, had talked all summer about doing the spoof, and then did it really quickly in an afternoon. So it came out very impov sort of in the same vain as Spinal Tap. Anyways, all that to say it was fun to remeniss (sp?). So fun in fact that I accidently rewound the entire tape and somehow ( I am still blaming my cat Jeremy, as he always has that look in his eye) pressed record. Recording 8 hours (on SP) of Sportcenter as we slept. THere was a sort of shock the next morning after realizing that memory piece was gone. Luckily I am not all that sentimental, but it was still kind of sad.