Sondra took Laura (her sister) to Johnson Bible College for a college visit. She's been gone since Saturday. Since she's been gone I figured I'd get somethings done such as rake the leaves. While raking the leaves I broke my new rake. They don't make them how they use to. It's so weird that it gets dark at 5:45PM. I barely get home before then. It makes it very hard to get any yard work done. However, I must say it's much easier to get up for work in the morning. This has been a pretty boring post.... so I at least want to say "I love you Sondra and can't wait for you to get home."
Ah...
the memories
So, pretend you are the assistant manager for
a coffeehouse/pizzeria. You come into work early afternoon to find one of
your staff running around taking pictures of other staff doing crazy stuff.
What do you do?
You laugh and go along with it. But only
a few hours. Can't seem like your soft.
Zack I can't believe you put these on the internet. If Brumby's was still
open it would most likely be closed now. : )
The Evolution of Rick Warren
About 5 years ago I remember going to a
discipleship class at my church. The focus was on leadership. It was
basically a one year mentoring class between the current leadership and the
future leaders of the church. We read a book a month and then discussed it.
One of the books was Rick Warren's
Purpose Driven Church. This was my 1st exposure to Rick's work. I liked
it because it was fresh to me at the time, having grown up in a small town. A couple years later
Purpose Driven Life came out and everyone went out and bought the book. And they still are for that matter. I started to resent the Purpose Driven stuff because
everyone was doing it. Not that it wasn't good or biblical, just I get a
little worried when Christianity becomes the cultural thing to do and when I start hearing stuff like "purpose driven life with change your life". When it starts to surpass the bible for the go to book, I get a little leery. So I
was never a big fan of Rick Warren... until recently when I listened to a podcast interview by Catalyst in which he talked about how the success of Purpose Driven Life
changed his life. For the better if you ask me.
Rick talked about that his influence and
affluence should be to help the poor and marginalized. He spoke of a
second reformation. Where the 1st was about doctrine/theology, he prays
that the second would be about living out those doctrines and theology. Action instead of words. He also spoke of his wife, marriage and family. I highly respected his thoughts.
A while back He came out with the
P.E.A.C.E. plan and I'm
proud to see him backing up his vision. He also has an AIDS conference
coming up in Nov. On hiis website,
www.rickwarren.com, he speaks of the 5 global giants facing the world.
All five are issues to address. I'm
excited to see Rick's influence and affluence in action. That G-d is using
him to do big things in the world and that Rick is humble enough to gives G-d the praise for it.
I continue to learn to quiet my cynical thoughts about people/leaders and trust
that G-d is using them to move people towards the kingdom, even if it isn't the
way I would do it. I'm interested in reading his book,
Bible
Study Methods. Has anyone read it, if so what did you think?
After thought - Pastors out there...
please don't mimic Rick style just because he's successful. It's getting
annoying. Just because it worked for him doesn't mean it will work for
you. Follow Jesus and I'm sure your theology will start to align with
Rick's! Then you will have something in common, the love of Christ. Love G-d, impact the
world!
FireFox 2.0 was released sometime yesterday. I recommend giving it a try. My opinion is that FireFox is the best browser out. The only issue I have with it is using it with itunes to play embedded music files. But a lot of my techie friends talk about how great Internet Explorer 7.0 is. However it is pretty much a rip off of FireFox's tab design and Safrai's RSS feed design. Microsoft is good at that, taking other peoples ideas and making them theirs. Today, I stumbled on to a blog which happens to be one of the software designers from FireFox.
It appears that the IE team sent the FireFox team a cake congratulating them on the release.
He types: "P.S.: No, it was not poisoned 
"
Mars Hill released a live worship album a about a month ago. I can't stop listening to it. What I admire about Mars Hill's
worship (aka Music at Mars)
is that they actually (or at least do their best to) embrace different styles, instruments, and
a theology of 24-7 worship. Most churches say they have an eclectic style, but it's just not true. Throughout this CD it explores
their directions (theology)
of worship along with many styles. Some of the styles I must say are
lacking a bit, none the less the effort is there. Traditional,
contemporary, gospel choir feel, hymns, choruses, country, bluegrass, modern,
guitar driven, piano driven, drum loops and even a full drum core. Love
it!
The final song is "You Are" by Aaron Niequist, who is the
worship leader at Mars Hill. I have really gravitated to this song since
I've been teaching Revelation. It has so many musical swells and the words
are awe-inspiring and humbling that I can't help, but picture the throne room.
You Are
by Aaron Niequist
Ground of all that’s good and beautiful and right
More than Heaven can contain
You give order to the stars and to my life
More than Earth can ever tameFor we have heard your song
We sing it all day long
Joining Your Eternal MelodyWe love the way you are,
The way You love and lead,
The way You recreate, Emancipate,
The way You love and love and loveAnd we cry “Holy! Holy!”
You are so powerfully beyond me.
We cry “Holy! Holy!”
You are so beautifully unlike me.God, You fight for all the broken and oppressed
You are found among the poor.
God, You hear me even when my heart’s a mess
And our cries You can’t ignore.<<repeat chorus>>
Women:
All – Heaven and Earth cannot contain
Heaven and Earth cannot contain
Your ways
Your waysMen:
Better than religion makes You seem
You are even better than we’ve ever dared to dream
Ever dared to dream.©2006 AARONieq Music
Last Sunday I had the privilege to teach with my
good friend and Pastor Andrew on Sunday morning. Yes, preaching! I
must say I was a little nervous, but I did pretty well. I did have one
slip up, half way through the message I started calling the Greek/Roman goddess,
Artemis..."Arminis"??!?! Don't ask, I think it was a brain freeze from
listening to too many lectures between Calvinists and Armenians.
We taught on Revelation, but more specifically on
worship. Here it is if your interested in sitting at your computer for
45mins. I appologize for the quality. Not the best...
I'll setup a link to the PowerPoint when I get a
chance.
2.5 days, 2 insulation blowers, 156 - 1" holes, 63 bags of
cellulous insulation, 175 - 1" hole plugs, 6 workers, and some sloppy joes and
chicken sandwiches - WE HAVE A WARM HOUSE! It also has really cut down on
the city noise. Hopefully the $450 investment will pay off when I get my
gas bills this winter. Last winter gas bills (Nov-Feb) were $1400.
Thank you Mom, Dad, Trevor, Jeff, Lee and Kayla for helping
us.
t h e
lost
message
o f J e s u s
I picked this book up from
the $5 bin at my local book store (about a year ago) and have not read it.
Started to read it and noticed it was much like Brian McLaren's, "The Secret
Message of Jesus". Flipped the book over and noticed that McLaren
recommends it. He says "The Jesus introduced by Steve in these pages
sounds like someone who can truly save us from our trouble." I thought
McLaren's book was good, but this one is even more readable that his.
Seriously this Brit paints a refreshing picture of aspects of Jesus and the
Kingdom that we've left out of the gospels for centuries.
Table of Contents:
Rediscovering the Lost Message
The Kingdom Has Come
Now For Some "Good" News
The Promised Prince of Peace
Let the Revolution Begin
Right Here, Right Now
A New Agenda
Just One Story
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
One Act, Two Scenes
Afterward: The Scandal
Best $5 book I've bought -
EVER!
A Cynic's Path to Recovery
Why am I naturally drawn to correction and cynicism?
Is it because I'm self righteous or perhaps self indulgent in my own
perspective?
A friend wrote:
You think that with your many wise words you will bring me peace, but
instead you belittle me. Any peace that I might have drawn from my Savior,
you interrupt. I finally feel triumphant, confident, acceptable, free, and
you still go on correcting me. You twist and tangle my words. You have so
many ideas but no idea. Stop. Just stop once and listen.
<<click the text to see the whole post>>
Although she's not speaking of me
directly, I can not help feeling that G-d's using her to speak to indirectly.
Often I catch myself being ridiculously anal about the way things are
communicated and I'm not always sure why. I usually chalk it up to the fact
that clarity is key in communicating the gospel. But it's just not true in this case. I'm
learning that actions, tone, and timing speak louder than an well thought out
theological statement, and what I'm learning about myself is that I've become a
cynic to other's experience of life. I have been a spectator in my own life, so I view other's lives an think I having all
the answers to their problems. So my cynicism actually stems from fear, that masked with
pride. The fact is that to live a life relaying on Jesus (Yeshua) is not easy
and it takes courage. So who am I to take away the courage the G-d has given to
his people. I know their is a time for correction, but may I journey with them
as a friend, a brother, a husband, a son and some day a father. Setting them
free from baggage they might be carrying.
The answer to my question,
why am I naturally drawn to correction and cynicism?, is fear. I'm often not
courageous enough to step into the vastness and complexity of G-d's will (or
pleasure in Greek) for my life, so I am skeptical and cynical of their life.
Those of you who find peace (Shalom) and fufilment in
G-d, hold on to it. People are really afraid that they are missing out on the
what you have found. They are in awe of it and that is why they are cynics.
I’ve been listening to Mars Hill Bible
Church’s live worship album; their worship leader addresses the issue of
cynicism well. He talks about the only way to really get over being a cynic is
to be aware of G-d’s infinite wonder and focus on the upward praise of God
instead of the downward condition of the heart. Or at least that’s what I got
out of it. He mention a book that has helped him, Orthodoxy, which I read last
year. He quoted one of my favorite
paragraphs in the book speaking of G-d beautiful spirit.
“The thing I mean can be seen, for
instance, in children,when they find some game that they specially enjoy.
A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce
and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always
say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly
dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But
perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God
says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it
again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daises
alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got
tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of
infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than
we.” - Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton.
The
last sentence often plays and plays in my head throughout the day. That G-d is
younger then I in spirit and I am in awe of that. In awe of him! I want to
apologize for those who I’ve been cynical to; churches, ministries, family,
friends, and to my wife. I’m a cynic who is on the path to recovery. May G-d’s
kindness and love shine upon you and may you be in awe of him.
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