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Showing posts from November, 2010

Update on See You Tomorrow

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So I got in the habit of telling one of my friends, "See You Tomorrow." Finally, my friend asked me "What does that mean?" (Is there a joke?) My reply: "No joke. Just I'll see you tomorrow whether here, there or in the air. Lord willing." We're not always guaranteed today; but when THAT "Tomorrow" comes; we shall be reunited with HIM.  No matter what happens; we're going to Praise HIM. Praise the Lord in all things. 2 Peter 3: 8-14 reminds us of this. We get to look forward to a new earth and a new  heaven, the home of righteousness. 1 Thess. 5: 10 says "He died for us so that, whether we wake or asleep, we may live together with him." My friend's health isn't great. I don't know what the future holds for my friend,(Nor for me) but I do know WHO holds the future. And until then, I'm going to continue to tell her "I'll see you tomorrow." We serve a GREAT God. Tomorrow offer

Practicing Greatness

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Just finished reading this book. It actually was one of my favorite reads this year. The 7 disciplines helped me reflect on what type of leader am I? If you have someone in leadership, this book would be a good read. There were some tough questions .... in the discipline of decision making. Instead of asking How do we do church better ask How do we be church better? (Getting away from Churchianity) Instead of asking how do we develop church members - how do we develop followers of Jesus? Some good things on how we are to be better leaders. From good to great. My prayer is to be a great leader rather than just getting by.

Marriage Obsolete?

Article HT to Doug R. It isn't that marriage is obsolete as it is the definition of family is changing. Seems media bias plays a role in this. Means the church needs more godly marriages and families to show the world.

Green Lantern Movie Trailer

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Judas - a book Review.

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Rarely does a book cause me to question it, but this one does. I had a hard time finishing it and had to re-read several times this book. Basically the Author goes over the collection of gospel writings and legends about Judas Iscariot. He even gives about the Gospel of Judas. (Gnostic heresy) It gives some insight of why some may have thought Judas more of a saint than a sinner and that he might of been a fictional figure. This book isn't for the faint of heart or those new to the faith. There are tons of books out there - other "Gospels" which aren't really so. Canon originally meant "a straight rod" or a "measuring stick." 1. Authorship - A book had to be written by an apostle or a close associate of an apostle. For example, Mark was not an apostle, but was a close associate of the Apostle Peter. 2. Nature of the Book - Does the message of the book agree with the content of divine revelation in the Old Testament? Does the book reflect th

The Just One Sunday.

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This Sunday I had the opportunity to preach from Matthew 9:35-38. "The Harvest is plentiful; but the workers are few ...." We took the just one challenge. We prayed that our congregation be one that maybe has just one young man consider ministry as a calling. It was very interesting is I called out our young men by name. (In our services I have a conversation and dialogue with the congregation. Usually I ask questions or ask people to say something and they respond back). We prayed that God would give us more workers for the Harvest fields. People were surprised by the stats. Over 1500 ministers each month leave the ministry. That the US is the 4th largest unchurched nation in the world etc. So did your church take the Just one Challenge? Can you pray? Do you see the need for more people to go into and consider ministry as a vocation - whether volunteer or career?

Fifty Cent Words

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There are tons of fifty cent words out there. (Fifty cent words are those words that make phrases seem longer or rather more complex and less simple) One in "Christian" circles uses alot of fifty cent words and phrases and tries to "Christianese" (Christianese means use them in a spiritual sense but really sometimes don't add to the conversation and dialogue) them. Here are a few terms I've used in a class for Wednesday nite on vocabulary. I. Theology - The pursuit of God. II. Bibliology - Study of the Bible. III. Anthropology - study of man, sin and death. IV. Christology - study of the work and person of Jesus. V. Soteriology - study of salvation. VI. Pneumatology - study of the work and person of the Holy Spirit. VII. Eschatology - study of the end times. VIII. Ecclesiology - the study of the church. There is importance to the study of things and words but in reality it is best to keep things simple.  Use non-Biblical words sparingly

YM Shorts Premier Issue.

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Found here Check it out!!

Living Below our Beliefs.

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This Sunday we're talking about Dumb Mistake #3 ...living below our beliefs. How: By letting sin entangle us. We need to put Jesus First. We need to Follow  Him. Hope you can be here!

Colors of God

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So a professor, a pastor, and a counsellor walk into a  .... Almost sounds like a running joke? right? The three authors presenting this book are from a different background ... planting a church in Canada. The church neXus is based on 4 main ideas represented by colors. Blue stands for the gospel, green for healthy living, red for community, and yellow for culture. For each of these topics, the authors seemed to be trying to be outside the box, but really isn't something new.  They try to distant themselves from the Emerging Church movement. (Which I think they mean emergent and misunderstand what emerging church was, is  ....) They have an informal dialogue - conversation on the different colors and what they believe in (Though it is interesting from Canada that the book is called Colors of God and not Colours but that's just semantics) The conversations they have about being the church is one that we all must have and examine. How do we go about being the Church? Wha

3words CCHMD

We don't Do Youth Ministry

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Article HT to Doug for the article. So how are you doing discipleship?

Books on my "To Read" Shelf

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Wild at Heart - John Eldredge - A Review.

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So its been almost 10 years since the first "Wild at Heart" came out. The book talks about the secret of a man's soul. It isn't football, sports, nor food.  This is a revised and expanded version. The author, John Eldredge, basically is writing this book as to his own children. It is getting away from the whole society thinking of the wussification (My Words - not his) of what manhood is, and isn't. The author tends to want you to know how masculine journey should go about. How it unfolds From "Boyhood to Cowboy to Lover to King to Sage. all in the course of about eighty years or so ..." pg. 246. In reading this book ... I had a hard time following some of the logic and context of the scripture verses he was using.  His book is very similar to the one I read called "No more Christian Nice Guy" John Eldredge, does well, to cause us to continue to dream, as when we were little boys and try to define what is a Christian man. The problem I

One of the most interesting Statements of Faith. YS.

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Youth Specialties has the following statement of faith from a few years ago that I appreciate. Important Stuff YS Believes (a.k.a., Statement of Faith) We believe in Jesus. We know He's part of the Trinity and all the other important stuff we also believe, but if we're honest, we're partial to Jesus. Don't get us wrong. God is like a Father—no, God IS the father—and the buck stops with Him (if you're going to have the buck stop somewhere it might as well stop with Someone who is … well … all about love with a capital L. Of course, He's also about justice with a capital J, but we'll take our chances that, in the end, justice will feel like love). And then there is the Holy Spirit—mysterious, windy, seems to like fire a lot, whispering, and always pointing us to … you guessed it … Jesus. We not only like Jesus a lot, He likes us a lot. Enough to die for us. We know that when life gets tough (and it always does) He'll be there for us. We believe

Turning Back your clocks!

What I would Do Differently

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I have done youth ministry for 13 years as an ordained minister and several years as a volunteer youth worker prior to that. Along the way, I have learned from the School of Hard Knocks. In that school, I had to learn from my own mistakes. As I look back at the years I spent as a naive youth worker, I think I would have changed a few things. If I was entering youth ministry today, in the 21st Century, here are some things I would do different that I learned from the School of Hard Knocks. 1. I would definitely pray more. Spend more time in prayer. 2. Delegate more. The better you can inspire and administer things, the better balance to your own life. 3. Have better resources. Purpose Driven Youth Ministry, DYM, and My First Two Years in Youth Ministry weren't written yet. I wish someone told me these things long ago. 4. Take care of my own soul. So often I so busy trying to save the world, I forget to feed myself. 5. Take more retreats. With my family, youth and