Dinner Christmas fun with the family

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Happy Reformation Day!

This day in 1517 Martin Luther posted 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door in Germany sparking the Protestant Reformation.

As I reflect on this day in history, I wonder if I had the chance to nail some of my own grievances to the "door" if the church in America, what would they be. Here are three off the top of my head:

• Unity in Christ - The Church on America is full of bickering. Popular theological debates Divide denominations and Christians. We need to do a better job of encouraging believers to be united in Christ instead of divided over differences that are not central to the Gospel of Jesus.

• Cultural/Political Syncretism - many churches in America today mix politics of the empire with what it means to be a Christian. A Christian must put God over country in every issue. Christ was not a Republican or a Democrat.

• Mission - is the Church being Jesus' hands and feet to the world, or is it a private religious country club? I believe that the Church needs to return to its roots making disciples and caring or those that Jesus spent time with.

What about you? What thoughts would you nail to the door of the Church today? What pressing issues do you think are vital to the continuation of Jesus' Church in the world today? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hello September

Blogger.com has a spiffy new clean interface for writers. It was pretty enough to get me on here to make a quick update. See?

Life has been good these summer months. It's been really oppressively hot, but that's Alabama. Some of my favorite summer activities have been

• staying cool indoors as much as possible. A/C is a modern miracle
• visiting our local farmers market on Saturdays at Pepper Place. Local honey and produce is always awesome.
• hanging out with friends, babysitting our nephew and our friends children. They say we will benefit from the practice. I can change poopy diapers now.
• reading through the entire Harry Potter series for the first time at work (yes I can read at work, it's not as exciting as it sounds)
• and visiting the family lake-house at lake Martin!

Marie and I are looking forward to the cooler fall weather. Being Alabama, that could be another month or so. It would be nice to live somewhere where there was a fall before winter that lasted more than a few weeks.

As for spiritual matters, we have been praying for God's guidance as I seek another full time youth ministry position. It's been very difficult to wait on God's timing but we know that that is the very best for us. Please pray for guidance with us. In the meantime we have a very awesome church family here in Birmingham that we are enjoying serving with. Even while we wait, God provides!

Well this short missive is turning into a long one so I'll sign off here. Take care friends.

Doing the Father's Work

Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. But
if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I
have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will know and
understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father." (John
10:37, 38 NLT)

There are many today professing to be Christian leaders. Some
Christian leaders entangle themselves in the politics of the day.
Others write books. Others still are pastors of very large churches.
Some have their own television or radio programs.

But how are we to know whether they are worth believing and listening
to? Jesus told the people that his works were proof that he was doing
his Father's work.

Do the Christian leaders we follow carry out the Father's work? Do
they care about the people Jesus cared about? Do they love like Jesus?
Do they stand up to the Pharisees of our day?

I know I want to live the kind of life as a Christ follower that is
without a doubt doing the Father's work. It means I have to involve
myself in the issues and with the people that matter to God. It also
means I need to discern what those things are. Not an easy challenge
in our world today.

Motivations

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. (John 6:26 NLT)

Why do we become Christians? Is it for our selfish gain? This passage in John 6 follows the feeding of the 5,000. These Jews were excited that Jesus could provide for their physical needs like God provided mana from heaven.

But like the Israelites in the old testament they miss the point of Jesus' provision. Jesus is not a divine miracle vending machine. He is the bread of life. We follow Christ not for what he can give us (blessings) but because we recognize who He is. Jesus performed miracles to help us get a glimpse of God's kingdom and our King, Jesus. Why do you want to be with Jesus? To be with Him? Or are we merely using Jesus to get something we want?

A discipleship question

Recently on vacation I was meeting with my mentor and friend Jeff Miller and he asked me this question:

"If you met a new Christian who had never been discipled and you were given 5 days to instill in them everything they would ever learn about being a disciple, what would you share with them? You can only share one idea/value/teaching per day with them. They will never have another chance to learn from anyone else."

What would your 5 be?

My Encounter With an Evil Pothole

My car has been making me sad recently.  It's been going to the mechanic every week for the last 3 weeks to try and detect a leak in my A/C system.  After several visits it's been determined that the leak is nowhere to be found and the most likely candidate is the Evaporator Core.  To get to it it's going to cost something like $600 in labor to have my dash pulled apart in order to even check the thing.

Marie and I resolved to keep fixing this car for the time being because it's still cheaper than buying a new or used car.  So here we are, about to dump $900 in parts and labor into my little Chevy and then the unspeakable happens.  We were driving on our wonderful Alabama Interstate System when I hit a patch in the middle lane of the highway.  We'll call it a pothole, because it felt like one.  As soon as we hit it, my A/C fan started making a terrible noise like something was caught in the vent.  It got louder and angrier and then started smelling like something platic burning.  It cut off completly after that.

I get home and look under my passenger dash and find my blower motor broke one of it's mount screws and fell out!

Thank you Alabama roads for further breaking my car :(

A taste of the awesomeness

Download now or watch on posterous

p77.mov (33141 KB)

The Civil Wars @WorkPlay in Birmingham

Benny Hinn, Ultimate Power

Marie is asleep in the next room and I'm trying with all my strength not to wake her up laughing at this video.  It's brilliant!

"Barton Hollow" | The Civil Wars | Live on The Jay Leno Show (January 14th, 2011)

They absolutely nailed this performance, I'm so excited more people
are getting to hear their music!

Some 2011 Resolutions

I'm not one to make resolutions, but I thought this might be a good idea to put my own personal goals for the year out there. There is something about writing/typing things out that make them more real to me.

So this year...

* I will be slow to add "friends" on Facebook.

I have too many friends already. I value my friends and it is interesting to see what acquaintances are up to. By limiting my Facebook friends, there is less clutter from people I barely know and I can focus on keeping up with those I am more connected with. I'd rather have few Facebook friends and more real life ones.

* I will invest my time in genuine relationships that will be messy and difficult.

Nothing compares to face to face relationships. They can be tough work. But genuine friendships can last a lifetime and make it worth living.

* The thing that will most fascinate and infatuate me will be my relationship with God.

There are so many things in the world that arrest my attention. In 2011, I want to become more focused and attentive to what matters most. Not someone famous, not a new gadget, not my job, or a hobby or even a family member, God is much more fascinating and compelling than any of those things. It's time I devote my mental and physical attention like I believe it.

* I will learn how to be a better leader and a better servant.

As a person seeking to be paid to do ministry this year, I desire to be a better leader by pouring into and serving others sacrificially.

* I will make my marriage second to my relationship with God.

Marie, you're #2! I know that doesn't sound very romantic, but as I let God pour onto me, He enables me to love my wife/family more completely. After all, God is the source of love.

* I will learn to make the most of the present.

I constantly am thinking if the next thing I have to do. I'm obsessed with the future and it's not healthy. This year, I want to fall in love with the present. I want to learn to cherish every moment today. Yesterday is over and can't be changed. The future doesn't exist yet. The only thing I can control is how I live today. The present is a gift to be cherished.

How about you? What is a goal you have this year for yourself and why?