Did you know….

Here are some amazing statistics.  It’ll be short and simple to give you a chance to mull them over a little bit….

1. If everyone in the world who calls themselves a Christian would vow to get just one friend saved every year, the whole world could be saved in 2 1/2 years!
2. If everyone in the world who calls themselves a Christian tithed (10% of their income) this week, we could wipe out the worst of world poverty, carry on all of our same programs and missions worldwide, and still have $76 Billion left over!

These statistics came, in part, from the director of UNICEF.  Feel free to do the math yourself, if you have the time!

Angels (An Answer to Prayer)

I wanted to share a story with you that comes from a coworker of mine whose mother has been going through an incredibly tough bout with her heart disease over the past week or so.  I will not go into all the details, but know that the surgery that is mentioned in the quote that I’m about to give you was something that was extremely dangerous and complicated because of some preexisting conditions.  That being said, here is a portion of an email that I got from her this week…

Let me tell you an unbelievable story!  Last night my mom said to her sister, “I wish mom (who died 11 yrs ago) was here.”  My grandmother’s name was Anna Francis. Mom said she prayed for a sign that her mom was with her! 2 hrs later, the night nurse came in and said, “Hi, Mrs. McClung, I’m your night nurse and my name is Anna.”  My aunt said, “There she is Barbara. All we need now is a Francis.”  This morning we were waiting for mom to go into surgery and a male nurse came in. He said, “Hi, Mrs. McClung, I’ll be your nurse…my name is Francis.” We almost fell in the floor!!! There is a God! Thanks for your support!

God does walk beside us, even in the toughest of times.  I also believe that angels exist, and they walk among us.  It takes nothing more than a willing eye and a heart desperate for God to make that all very real to us.

Six Strings = Six Things

I know that we are already more than a month into 2009, but I’ve just gotten the chance to finish listening to the January episode of one of my favorite podcasts.  The podcast from Worship Central is one that I latched onto about a year ago, and each episode gets even better than the prior one as songwriters/worship leaders Tim Hughes and Al Gordon discuss God, minstry, worship, and even have some major fun along the way!  I encourage you to check it out.

Anywho…

In their January podcast, Al and Tim discuss six key things to keep ourselves sharp in 2009.  The coolest part about what I’m going to share with you from this episode is that they center these six key things on the six strings of a guitar (which of course is very close to my heart!).  So, here’s a synopsis of what they had to say:

E = Examine Your Heart

• Matthew 5:8
• Are you worshiping with your heart?
• Whatever has your heart has your affection.
• “The Lord sees and judges the heart.  He has no regard for outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration” ~Isaac Watts~

A = Advance Humbly

• Luke 14:11
• Part of worship is humbling ourselves before God, recognizing how great He is and who we are in response to that.
• Pursue humility, care for and serve others, give of yourself to encourage others.

D = Disciple Yourself

• Matthew 11:29
• No one else is responsible for our walk with God but us.
• The most effective leaders are those that spend much of their time investing in themselves (reflect, study, prepare, pray).
• Luke 5:16

G = Guard Your Relationships

• Faith is all about relationship.
• Prioritize your most important relationships (God, spouse, family, work, ministry,….)
• Don’t pursue your calling at the expense of your marriage or your family.

B = Be Holy

• I Peter 1:13-15
• God is more interested in our personal obedience than our public appearance.
• Be a living sacrifice and live in a way that pleases God.
• Don’t put sin away to fester out of sight.
• Be accountable.

E = Enjoy the Journey

• Matthew 19:25-26
• We are not enough to do it all by ourselves.
• Times are tough, but if we give up at the first hurdle, we’re never going to see any results.
• Let the joy of the Lord be your strength.
• Colossians 1:10-11

I hope this puts some food for thought into your head, as it has done for me!

An Historic Day

Today, January 20, 2009, marks an unprecedented day in American history.  Today, we inaugurate the country’s first African-American President.  Now, I do not like to discuss politics, I don’t like to speculate on the performance of an elected official on their first day, and I certainly accept the fact that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in a fair and even procedure.  However, I would like to express some of my thoughts on the day. 

The implications that go along with this day are not only historical in value, but the underlying themes are ones that we can apply to our own spiritual lives and the processes and procedures that take place within the structure of our own church.  These thoughts have come to me as I hear reports from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as I see images of preparations for the day and rememberances of inaugurations past, and as I feel the impact of this significant event all around me.

First, I want to wholeheartedly echo the new President’s call for service and change!  Nothing survives without change.  Our bodies, our minds, our lifestyles, our habits…all require a certain amount of change to take place over the course of our lifetimes in order to adapt and survive in a dynamic environment.  Now, this probably sounds like Darwin talking, but we, as humans, must evolve along with our world.  I saw a t-shirt recently that said “Change is the only Constant.”  Likewise, a faith that does not change, grow, and evolve, is truly dead!  The very act of accepting Christ’s salvation is a transformation of our mind, body, and soul!  But spiritual change isn’t the only “constant” that we should take note of.  The world around us is changing, for better or for worse, and I believe the Church must accept it, embrace it, and change right along with it!  The flip side of this coin is that no change can happen without service at the grass-roots level.  Every member of the church must at least be in support of the change, even if it does not really affect them directly, and those who want to see the change happen must be the ones to lead the charge! 

Secondly, I want to draw attention to one of the major things that makes our nation and our democracy unique.  That is, the public election of our President, and the civility and peace with which the change of power from one to the next takes place.  Not everyone in America voted for Barack Obama.  Not everyone in America wants to change.  Not everyone in America is looking forward to what they believe will come out of a Democratic Presidency.  But, no matter what, there will be no civil war, there will be no coup, there will be no force involved in removing George W. Bush from the Executive Office.  Likewise, let us realize that when change happens in our lives, when evolution takes place in our churches, when those around us embrace the idea of service and a desire for change, we should not be the ones to latch onto the past and put up a fight to try and keep things “the way they used to be.”

Enjoy being a part of history!  Tell your kids about what is happening!  Educate them so that they may not forget the experience!  Don’t focus on the fact that “your guy” didn’t win, or you don’t agree with “the other guy’s” agenda.  Seek change, embrace evolution, start a movement!  It all starts with you.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  ~Romans 12:2~

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  ~2 Corinthians 3:18~

Teenage boys in tight girl pants????

What in the world does this phrase have to do with minstry and the Gospel?  Watch to find out!  I’d love to hear your comments!

Okay, so here’s what I think…  Some things grab people’s attention, and some peoples actions make others want to be like them, but only the things that we can do that are in line with God’s will for our lives, and the things that further His Kingdom on this Earth while we’re still here, are the things that will ever make a perfectly lasting and meaningful impression on the people who are willing to receive them and take notice of them with real appreciation.

Happy New Year

Greetings Everyone!

I’m not much on New Years’ Resolutions because I feel like many of them are simply empty promises that many people only “promise” because of the cliche, en vogue, politically correct nature of it all.  That being said, let me put this twist on things… 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  This is my resolution: to be a new creature in Christ.  If everyone took the opportunity, at each change to a new year, to embrace the idea that, when we dedicate, or rededicate, our lifestyles to living as Christ in the world, we are new creatures, think of the impact it would have on relationships, on our dedication to the Church, on our mission to the rest of the world!

With that food for thought to chew on, let me share my other “resolution.”  Perhaps this is more of a goal (which offers some different, more positive connotations in my mind), but nevertheless… I am making it my goal to put out a blog post at least once a week (if not more frequently) in 2009.  The one major obstacle is time (’nuff said).  My second major obstacle is what to write about…which I hope to cure with another of my more personal goals, and that is to set aside time each day to spend reading and studying the Scriptures.

I don’t know how many of you will end up reading this, but I hope the ones of you that do will encourage others to visit and keep track of my posts.  It is a great way to start conversations and keep each other close, even if through modern means.  And, lastly, I know that I am not perfect, nor am I a theologian, or in any other way qualified enough to dispense Biblical or Christian knowledge to the masses, but with dialogue and conversation amongst all of us, we can each clarify and debate the points, and therefore come to a more reasonable answer.  That is my goal for this blog, so I hope that you can help me in attaining that.

Enough for now.  Thanks for reading.  Look for more soon!

Peace.

An Incredibly Creative Intro to Worship

If you know anything about the Blue Man Group, this will make much more of an impression!  But, it’s nevertheless enjoyable!

Proof of Intelligent Design??

You be the judge.

Worship…NBA style?!

Is this how you view worship? Is this what really goes on behind the scenes? You might be suprised!

What are you advertising?

I spoke briefly during the first half of our service this morning about what it is to be a Christ-follower and not just a Christian, and I wanted to follow that up. For those of you that weren’t there, my question was, do the people around us, that we work with, or hang out with, etc. know us as Christians because of that favorite Christian t-shirt that we wear, or because we carry our Bible around? Or do they recognize us as followers of Christ because of the way we live, the way we talk, and the way we act? My challenge is this… this week, I encourage you to be aware of how you live, how you talk, how you act, and make sure that the people that are noticing you are not just looking at that really cool Christian t-shirt that you’re wearing, and they’re recognizing you as a Christ-follower.

I mentioned the PC vs. Mac parodies that I found. You can view those here if you click the “Christian vs. Christ-follower” tab at the top of the page.

And…for those of you who still want to sport a really cool Christian t-shirt…check out these links:
http://www.c28.com/

http://www.goodnewsclothing.com/

http://www.jesusbranded.com/