Enter Into the Great and Disturbing Silence

You can read my latest post at Christ and Pop Culture here.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

This article by Nicholas Carr is a must read. Carr, explores the question, Is Google Making Us Stupid? Yes it is a long article and will test your reading endurance, but it is well worth your time.Here are a couple of choice quotes from the piece.

Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.

I think I know what’s going on. For more than a decade now, I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing and sometimes adding to the great databases of the Internet. The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I’ve got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after. Even when I’m not working, I’m as likely as not to be foraging in the Web’s info-thickets—reading and writing e-mails, scanning headlines and blog posts, watching videos and listening to podcasts, or just tripping from link to link to link. (Unlike footnotes, to which they’re sometimes likened, hyperlinks don’t merely point to related works; they propel you toward them.)

For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind. The advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded.

“The perfect recall of silicon memory,” Wired’s Clive Thompson has written, “can be an enormous boon to thinking.” But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.

The medium isn't merely a neutral conduit for information, it does certainly change us.

Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet, not to mention the popularity of text-messaging on cell phones, we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice. But it’s a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking—perhaps even a new sense of the self. “We are not only what we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University and the author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. “We are how we read.”

Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.

There is a ton of thought provoking stuff in this article. I must admit, I think I have experienced a change in my mental reading habits. I used to be a big reader of books, now I have a struggle trying to finish one. My concentration seems too often to be lacking - I have begun to wonder, even before reading this article, whether I could still absorb those deep theological books I used to devour.

Also, if you have the chance, Justin Taylor who pointed me to this article, has very interesting thoughts HERE on his blog.

Also, I have posted about this type of subject here as well. Check out my previous post, What the iphone may undo.

coffee saves

According to a new report in USA Today the consumption of coffee actually reduces the risk of dying due to heart disease. As long-term studies begin to come to their conclusions, it is more and more evident that the regular consumption of coffee is actually beneficial for your health. Check out this quote from the article:

The results show that as coffee consumption increases, the overall risk of death decreases. The association is explained mostly by a decrease in CVD deaths, Lopez-Garcia says. Women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day, for instance, had a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers.

Not that I needed a scientific study to tell me to drink coffee, but it is always nice to know that you can drink that Venti Americano and be assured that you are doing it for your health.

(ht: Mark Doebler)

Addiction

This is the promo video for the upcoming Men's Retreat at Perimeter Church (our "mother" church).  I know some of the people who had a hand in creating this-very clever.

UGA VI has died

Story Here

This is a sad day for the entire Bulldog nation.

Is church making you fat?

In light of my renewed commitment to diet and exercise, I found this interesting study here about the Southern Baptists. I am not intending to be picking on my Baptist brothers and sisters, any church is just as guilty.

"...Christianity is the Truth"

“Marketing is about felt needs. You find the need and then you say Christianity will meet that need. You have to adapt to people’s questions. And if people are asking a question, you want to show how Jesus is the answer. But at a certain point, you have to go past their question to the other things that Christianity says. Otherwise you’re just scratching where they itch. So marketing is showing how Christianity meets the need, and I think the gospel is showing how Christianity is the truth.”

—Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and author of The Reason for God, speaking about his ministry model

(ht: christianitytoday.com)

Gates is Gone

Bill Gates, the guy who gave us "the blue screen of death" and "clippy" will be retired from the day-to-day operations of Microsoft. Here is his departure video.

Goodbye Bill

Biblical Word Clouds

Do you know what a word cloud (it's like a tag cloud)A word cloud is a stylized way of visually representing occurrences of words in a particular text.

Wordle is a website that takes your text, and turns it into a word cloud. Below are some examples of the clouds that have been made. Sure it looks cool, but how can this be useful?

Bible Study - because it allows you visually see which words are used the most within a certain text. And, as you know, when you do Bible Study one of the most important observations you should make are the words that are used the most frequently. When a word is used often - it usually screams - take notice! Click on the pictures below to see two examples:

Here is one that I did on our current sermon series at Big Creek (John 14-15)

A growing pluralistic impulse

Fifty-seven percent of evangelical church attenders believe many religions can lead to eternal life, according to a study. The survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, also found that 70 percent of all Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

“The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. “There’s a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences.”


(ht: christianpost.com, 6/23/08)

Information Overload

Too much stuff, so little time. Here again is a lot of good material throughout the week that I've come across. I feel the need to share some of the good stuff with you since I don't have time to comment on it throughout the blog.

This stuff shows up in my Google RSS Reader throughout the week and I use the widget from my "shared items" in my Google Reader to post the most interesting information that I've gathered from the web. Enjoy some fun, entertaining and provocative reading. (my shared items have their own individual rss feed that you can subscribe to directly)

The Top 25 Web-Apps that Make my Life Easier

In keeping with Tony Morgan and his list, here is my list of my top 25 web-apps that are making my life easier. (I do share a many of Tony's pics - with notable differences.)

Here is my list (not necessarily in order of usefulness):

1. Gmail - I’ve been using Gmail for years for my all email. I was glad to have kissed Outlook goodbye and will never go back. I love the search-ability and use of labels. Also you can't beat the spam filter. and am now using it for all work email. Try Gmail Labs for fun beta options.
2. Google Calendar - I love the integration with Gmail and the ability to share my calendar with others.
   
3. Switchboard - Often times I need to find a phone number, and it's published, then I'll find it with ease with Switchboard.
   
4. Google Documents - Most documents are simple and therefore Google Docs is a great option. Also, it provides a great opportunity for sharing and colaboration. Plus with Google Docs, it is easier to find a document when I am looking for it.
5. Blogger - It’s how I share daily insights about ministry, leadership and life from my blog.
6. Twitter - This is a new app for me, but it has really begun to grow on me. It’s how I share mini-insights throughout my day.
7. eBible - I love being able to read, search and study the Bible online.
   
8. Backpack - I am using Backpack mostly for the reminders. And with the Firefox extention, it has become an easy way to make important reminders throughout my day.
   
9. Jott - Jott converts voice into text. Jott is awesome. I can call a number and capture a thought while in the car, I can add an appt. to my Google Calendar, or update my Twitter. This has been an invaluable tool.
   
10. Xdrive - Provides free online storage when I’m looking to back up important files.
11. YouSendIt - It’s a great tool for sending big files to other people.
12. Scribd - This has been a helpful tool that allow me to post documents to my blog. It not only allows them to be "viewed" but downloaded as well.
    
13. Evernote - This program has come a long way over the past couple of years, and I love it. Evernote lets me capture and store stuff, mostly stuff from the web. With Evernote I can easily file sermon illustrations and important ministry ideas.
    
14. Mint.com - I’ve started using this app for tracking personal finances. Easy to use and it delivers great reports.
    
15. PageOnce - I call this my dashboard of life. It takes all of my information that I may track on websites, and pulls it all together for an "at-a-glance" online dashboard.
    
16. Google Analytics - I use it to track stats for my blog.
17. Woopra - This site is amazing. I use it to periodically monitor live traffic on my blog. Also it has a desktop client that allows me to access my information very easily.
    
18. Google Reader - Using a "reader" is the only way to read blogs. In my opinion, Google Reader is the best.
    
19. TimeBridge - This program, linked with my Google Calendar, lets me schedule appts. with one or many people without having to be burdened with the back and fourth of "email tag". This has been a BIG time saver for me. (more about TimeBridge from an earlier post from Ministry Best Practices)
    
20. Pandora - This is a site that you can use to create your own Internet radio station that plays your favorite genre of music.
21. LetterMeLater - Not yet ready to send an email. Then send it later. You can have your email timed to go out when you want them. Plus they are integrated with Gmail. I won't be surprised if Gmail eventually integrates this option in their program.
    
22. Pinger - Send a voice mail out to a group of people. I love the ease of use and when people get a voice mail, it often gets more noticed than an email. I have used this program to send out quick reminders and information to the church, all done with one simple call.
    
23. FeedBurner - This is the service I use to track subscribers to my blog.
24. Facebook - I love how easy it is now to keep up with old friends. It has also been an effective communication tool toward young people who now consider email as passe'.
25. Doodle - This simple little program has been a real time saver. You set up an online poll, send the link out, and the program does the rest. It has helped to coordinate membership interviews when we are trying to find people's best date and time in their schedule.
    

What would you add?

(this post was cross-posted from my other blog: Ministry Best Practices)

Suburbia becomes unstable

Big Creek Church is a suburban church. We are reaching out to a suburban people. Typically suburbanites are self-sufficient and always "appear" secure. That security and confidence is beginning to fray at the edges.

Some proclaim the unfolding demise of suburbia.

"Many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and '70s - slums characterized by poverty, crime and decay," said Christopher Leinberger, an urban land use expert, in a recent essay in the Atlantic Monthly.

Most experts do not share such apocalyptic visions, seeing instead a gradual reordering.

"It's like an ebbing of this suburban tide," said Joe Cortright, an economist at the consulting group Impresa in Portland, Oregon. "There's going to be this kind of reversal of desirability. Typically, Americans have felt the periphery was most desirable, and now there's going to be a reversion to the center."

Read the entire article from the international edition of the New York Times.

This fraying and lack of stability may provide a needed crowbar to open up the hearts and lives of suburbanites. God often uses uncertain and unsettled times to get our attention. Circumstances such as the economy may be God's needed megaphone to speak not only the church (because we have much to repent for) but also toward those still far from Him.

God is asking to turn away from our self-sufficiency, narcissism and isolation and turn to Him.

Using Twitter to Diet

I am following the idea and inspiration of fellow blogger Dennis (mentioning it here on his blog) by using Twitter to provide encouragement and accountability for diet and exercise.

I have set up a Twitter site to record my food, exercise and weight. Visit http://twitter.com/billeatshealthy

Using this tool, Twitter, I am going to be vulnerable and honest with you. I am going to tell you what food I am putting in my body. I will let you know when I exercise and how much. And you will get updates on my weight, loss or gain.

In essence, it is a food diary and a exercise diary. And you get a chance to see it all!

You can "follow-me" in Twitter or subscribe to it's RSS feed or check the updates on the NEW sidebar on the left hand side on this website.

You can respond to me - encourage me, rebuke me when I drive into Krispy Kreme to get a dozen or commiserate with me as well.

I am doing this for me, and I trust that because I know that friends and the internet world will be watching, that it'll provide accountability and the necessary motivation.

-Bill

What do you do when its the last donut?

It is always fun when the family gets to pick up a dozen from the Krispy Kreme, especially when they are "Hot and Fresh".

At that moment -Life is Good.

But it doesn't always stay that way, especially when it comes down to the last donut. Everybody wants it. No one wants to cave in. It's a stalemate. It is the effect of the last donut.

The last donut effect goes well beyond sweetened fried dough, it goes into every aspect of life. We are always looking out for our own interests, I know that I am. And yet when I read Paul's words in the scriptures, he says,

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like–minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Phil. 2:1-4

Look to the interests of others!? That behavior seems so counter-intuitive, and yet that is exactly what we are being called to. It seems impossible, right? Not really. It only takes reading a little further down the page to realize that it isn't impossible, but rather made very possible by Christ.

Jesus looked not to his own interests but rather yours and mine. That is the very nature of the cross. Verses 5-11 are a beautiful picture of Christ's humility on the cross on behalf of us. But not only is humility manifest through his sacrifice, but also his exultation as well by the work of his resurrection.

I am thankful that Jesus didn't give into the "last donut" effect and claim his rights and authority. I am eternally grateful that he willingly emptied himself desire in bringing me back into a right relationship with my heavenly daddy.

Man auctions off his life

A lovelorn man who put his life in Australia up for sale on the Internet was one step closer to starting over Monday as bids for his house, job and lifestyle hit 2.2 million dollars (2.1 million US).

Ian Usher, a 44-year-old from Yorkshire in England, launched the unusual auction after announcing on his blog: "I have had enough of my life! I don't want it any more! You can have it if you like!"

Read whole story HERE

Usher is going to reboot his life. He wants to start over by selling off his former life to whomever is willing to pay for it. Is this just a stunt, or is it a honest crisis of man trying to find significance and meaning in his life? What do ya think?

Death is Savage!

Check out my new post over at Christ and Pop Culture - In "The Savages", Death is Savage

What Americans Want

What is the "American Dream" for most Americans? What do they really want? In Barna's latest study, he looks at what Americans want when they dream of their ideal life. Here is what they found:

There were six specific conditions that at least three-quarters of all adults identified as being very important elements in their ideal life. Those included having good physical health (listed by 85%), living with a high degree of integrity (also 85%), having one marriage partner for life (80%), having a clear purpose for living (77%), having a close relationship with God (75%), and having close, personal friendships (74%).

There were another half-dozen items listed by at least half of the adults interviewed. Those conditions included having a comfortable lifestyle (mentioned by 70%), having a satisfying sex life with their marriage partner (66%), having children (66%), living close to family and relatives(63%), being deeply committed to the Christian faith (59%), and making a difference in the world (56%).

The survey uncovered seven conditions that only a minority of Americans deemed worthy of including in their vision of their desired future life. Those conditions included having a college degree (named by 46%), being personally active in a church (45%), traveling throughout the world for pleasure (28%), working in a high-paying job (28%), owning a large home (18%), owning the latest household technology/electronics (11%) and achieving fame or public recognition (7%).

There are some fascinating trends here in this study.

One example is that having a close personal relationship with Christ was very important and yet being personally active in a church was very low. It is an interesting disconnect that people see the church as an impediment to their relationship with Christ. It also shows how individualistic we are in our relationship with God. The community and body of Christ doesn't in the minds of many Christians connect, as it should, to their relationship with Christ. That is a shame. We are not merely individuals in a privatized relationship with God but rather we are part of a "community". And as such we need one another to grow and be encouraged toward become more Christ-like.

I know that part of this disconnect has been the church's fault. We have made church an activity to do, merely a place to go, and simply a club to join. Rather, the church is called to Love God through our worship, to Love One another through real, authentic friendships, and to Love the Community by going and serving the least, the last and the lost.

May we as a church reclaim that vision and purpose again.

(ht: Barna)

From the Strange but True file

This is what happens when Hanna-Barbera cartoons mash-up with Mormon Theology 101.



Is this wild or what? Honestly, this is what they believe (although they may currently downplay it and laugh it off) and in fact this video even left out a couple of other strange tidbits concerning the Mormon Faith.

And yet, with such strange and silly beliefs, Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

(ht: The Plow)

Into Great Silence

I just finished watching this fascinating documentary, called "Into Great Silence". It is about the Carthusian monks, the strictest order of the Catholic Church.

The Carthusian monks seeks God in solitude on three levels: Separation from the world, life in his cell, and inner solitude or 'solitude of the heart."

Every monk lives in a room or a "cell" as they are called. There he spends the larger part of his day alone.These monks are extreme hermits where virtually no visitor's are allowed, that is why it is especially valuable that they allowed themselves to be filmed.

The monks are allowed to leave the monastery once a week for a walk, during which they are allowed to speak. Since they have a vow of silence, the documentary was in complete silence.

When you sit there and watch it, it draws you into their world. I felt the silence encompass me and it is an experience we don't often have in our "modern" world.

Watch it. Watch it alone or in silence. And enter into the world of the monastary.

Oh Dang, How did I miss this?

Bishop N. T. Wright appeared the other night on the Comedy Central program “The Colbert Report” to promote his book Surprised by Hope. I occasionally watch the Colbert Report, but that night I wasn't watching. But thanks to the internet I can see what I missed (You can as well by watching the video below).

Also here are a couple of thoughts from Denny Burk that made me think:

1. How conducive is a comedy show to talking seriously about the weighty things of God? “The Colbert Report” is more than just satire. It turns every subject that it touches into a joke. Is that helpful?

2. Shouldn’t Christians be concerned not merely with spreading the news about “heaven” (and the new creation) but also with how one gets into “heaven” (and the new creation)? Bishop Wright was able to say that people get to participate in the work of the resurrection now through acts of charity. But that was as close as he got to an explanation of how one might inherit eternal life. I think all would agree that this explanation is manifestly insufficient for any sinner who wishes to know how he might be reconciled to His offended Creator. There was no talk of sin, judgment, the cross, faith in Christ, or forgiveness.

To be sure, the format of the show and the jocularity of the host work against faithful Christian witness. But if this is all that can be done in 7 minutes, I’m wondering how helpful it is to appear on this show to talk about a subject as important as this one.

What do you think? Does the nature of the show distract from Wright's message. And do you think Wrights message isn't complete enough in explaining "how people get into heaven"?

(ht: Denny Burk)

New Georgia Blogging Carnival is UP!

Go here for the newest carnival of Georgia Bloggers. There's some good reading there, and of course, yours truly has a post there.

Summer Reading

In about two weeks I am going on vacation. And this vacation, I'll have the chance to, not only catch up on some old reading (books that I have started this summer but haven't finished) but also crack open some new books. Here are a couple of books on my vacation reading list: The Shack by William Young (everyone is talking about it, so I better read it); Hokey Pokey by Matthew Paul Turner; and The God Conversation by J.P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff. Those books should keep me busy enough. If you are looking for some good summer or vacation reads, here are a couple of valuable summer reading lists (courtesy of the JollyBlogger) that can get you started.

Tim Keller's summer reading list.

Common Grounds Online Summer Non-Fiction Reading List.

Common Grounds Online Summer Fiction Reading List.

Books & Culture offers four novels that will keep you company this summer.

Kevin Kelly - Books that Changed My Life.

How to Sabotage Your Chruch

Here's an excerpt of a1944 'Simple Sabotage Field Manual' from the US Strategic Services,explaining how to train people to sabotage their workplace. Full of useful suggestions, from the very practical to the less so (i.e. bring a bag of moths into a theater showing propaganda films). It also recommends doing things through channels, making speeches, and referring matters to committee as techniques of sabotage.

What is scary is that this list of subversive and sabotaging acts is so eerily close to church meetings that I have been a part of (none at Big Creek - I truly am referring to other experiences).

So if you want to sabotage your church and their heart for kingdom ministry, then go ahead and implement these simple techniques. (For some of you, your church is already doing it.)

(1) Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.

(2) Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate our “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of per­sonal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic” comments.

(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study and considera­tion.” Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five.

(4) Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.

(5) Haggle over precise wordings of com­munications, minutes, resolutions.

(6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting. Attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.

(7) Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your fellow-conferees to be “reason­able” and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.

(8) Be worried about the propriety of any decision — raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon.

Have you ever been in or a part of these kinds of meetings?

(ht: Jollyblogger)

Get Firefox 3

Internet Explorer who? For some time I have been using the Firefox browser - you may call me an early adapter. I have turned on family and friends to this better browser with tabbed browsing (well before IE7 ever had it!) and all the fun Add-ons. Now comes the long awaited version 3.0 release.

For a while I have been playing around with the beta version of some on my secondary machines, but now my primary PC has the newly released 3.0 version.

Michael Buchmore of PCMag has a review of Firefox 3, just released:

Three years in development, over 15,000 bug fixes and feature improvements, a new page rendering engine, remarkable performance gains, multiple OS integration — you could say the several hundred engineers working on Firefox have been busy. And their work has paid off.

Speedy performance, thrifty memory usage, and, in particular, the address bar that now predicts where you want to go when you start typing (what Mozilla insiders refer to as the Awesome Bar) firmly plant Firefox at the top of the Web browser hill, flying the flag of our Editors' Choice for browsers.In particular:

The top new feature has to be the address bar, what Mozilla types call "The Awesome Bar," but which the development team has officially dubbed the location bar. As you type into it, a list of suggested Web destinations based on your browsing history pops up.

It uses what Mozilla's phenomenologist Mike Beltzner has coined "frecency" — a combination of frequency and recentness — to determine the best suggestions. And, as icing on the cake, the search bar is now resizable, so you can divvy the space between the location and search bars to your taste.

When I tried it, the location bar's first suggestion was right on the money most of the time. Knowing that hitting the down arrow and Enter will usually get you where you want to go — not to mention save you untold keystrokes and time — will change your browsing habits.

I love the address bar - but the key element for me is a Firefox that uses the computer's memory well. The old version would chew up my CPU usage. And the only disappointment with 3.0 for me is that some add-ons that I have grown to love aren't yet compatible with the upgrade.

But if you haven't yet tried and used Firefox, you need to! You can download it for free here.

And don't forget, Provocative Church is always best viewed in Firefox!

Trying to eat healthy...

I am making a concerted effort to eat better, eat smarter and exercise more. I am over 40 and if I need to get my weight under control and make sure I stay healthy. My lifestyle doesn't help matters much because my job is too sedentary therefore I need to be intentional to move around more in order to burn those calories.

Ultimately isn't that what losing and weight control is...good eating choices and exercise.

I think this skit from MADtv makes that point with some humor.

Be free!

Read even just the first 2-3 paragraphs of this article:

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/16410826.html

How's that for transparency and vulnerability? – And this isn't some anonymous person, rather this article is in the newspaper within his own hometown (where his family and friends live and read the paper). Not only that - he's the president of the ministry! Now that is freedom. Being free of shame and lies...I can’t wait to be that free!

Don't come to my church!?

Nick over at Essential Shift has a provocative post. The post starts off with a bang:

If I had it my way I would do away with outreach events. I would get rid of every event we hold at our church that is geared towards bringing non-Christians to our church. Now let me explain. Non-Christians are non-Christians for a reason, and they don’t come to church for a reason. 99% of everyone here in America has been to a church, has been invited to a church, or has been witnessed to, and there are still those who want nothing to do with the church. Why do we think that inviting them to a murder mystery night get them to change their mind? I’ll tell you why, we want it on our turf, we want to call the shots.

He then continues:

Ok, let me rephrase my opening comment, I would get rid of them until we are doing our job by going to them first. We like being comfortable, we don’t like confrontations, and boy to do we hate not being in control.

Read the whole post here

This is a lesson that I learn a while back while working on the college campus. We have too long expected people to come to us. To come on our turf. To come to our events. That doesn't work as well as it used to. We saw that shift on the college campus and now that shift has permeated into the culture at large.

Rather, we need to be reaching out and going outside of the four walls of our church. For too long the church as had a "come to us" mentality. If we have any chance of reaching the lost, the least and the last in our community - we better start willing to get uncomfortable and dirty and "go to them."

Information Overload

Here again is a lot of good material throughout the week that I've come across. I feel the need to share some of the good stuff with you since I don't have time to comment on it throughout the blog.

This stuff shows up in my Google RSS Reader throughout the week and I use the widget from my "shared items" in my Google Reader to post the most interesting information that I've gathered from the web. Enjoy some fun, entertaining and provocative reading. (my shared items have their own individual rss feed that you can subscribe to directly)

The Best Show on T.V.

Last night's finale was tight...I won't say more just in case you haven't seen it.

He will be missed

NBC News’ Tim Russert died today in Washington of a massive heart attack while preparing for Sunday's "Meet the Press" . He was 58 years old.

In one of the most exciting political seasons ever, it won't be the same now without Tim.

How are you doing?

Do people ask you that church?

What do you say?

Fine...OK...Alright? Short and simple answers that don't say anything.

If you are the one asking that question..is it just done because of social pleasantries or do you really want to know?

If you are the one being asked...is the gospel real enough in your life that you are willing to risk telling people an honest answer?

Certainly Sunday mornings may not always be the right context and environment to go deep and long..but that is why it is so important that we are connecting in small groups and within life-on-life spiritual friendships.



I always enjoy Scott's cartoon, making fun of the ordinary things in life.

The Gospel in all it's forms

This is a fascinating article from Tim Keller writing in Leadership magazine about the gospel in all its forms. Keller takes as his starting point the simple, traditional, evangelical presentation of the gospel, then examines two criticisms of it (one that it is too individualistic, or second that everything is contextual).

At the end he explains the ways in which he tries to integrate the individual and corporate aspects of the biblical gospel in his preaching:

1. I don't put all the gospel points into any one gospel presentation.

2. I use both a gospel for the "circumcised" and for the "uncircumcised."

3. I use both a "kingdom" and an "eternal life" gospel.

4. I use them all and let each group overhear me preaching to the others.

Read the whole thing.


(ht: Between Two Worlds)

Blogging Fast

Have you ever fasted? Fasting is a wonderful, yet difficult, spiritual discipline. I know for me personally, when I fast (denying myself of food), my awareness of God is often heightened. My heart and mind are drawn to God and my eyes are fixed on Him.

As many of you may have noticed, I have been on a blogging fast. The fast was unintended and unannounced. But I needed to pause blogging let it be dormant for a season so that I could close some important open loops in my life. Like most fasts, ultimately it is refreshing and rejuvenating, as this one was.

Having a blog off-line for a couple of weeks isn't good for a blog. But ultimately the blog serves me and I don't serve the blog. The blog is, and has always meant to be an outgrowth and extension of my life.

It was nice to know that several of you asked, "Hey I noticed you haven't been blogging! How are you doing?". Even my own mom called worried when she noticed that I hadn't posted in a while. She thought that I may have driven my car in the ditch or something (Hi MOM!).

Let this be the first post to break my fast, more "Provocative" posts are on the way.

Free Download

ChristianAudio.com is offering a free audiobook of Pilgrim's Progress (10.5 hours) free in the month of June. Just use the code JUN2008 when checking out.

(ht: Between Two Worlds)

No Fear

I John 4:18:

in Bible in Basic English version:

“There is no fear in love: true love has no room for fear, because where fear is, there is pain; and he who is not free from fear is not complete in love.”


in the New Living Translation:

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

Monday is for meetings....

Monday is for meetings. Monday is my day of meetings, meetings, meetings. Staff meeting, meeting with Lead Pastor, meeting with elders and leadership. listen

Powered by Jott