FaithEngineer

Bluegrass in Galax

Mike — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:40:10 +0000

For those of you who read my blog, here’s a short bluegrass video filmed just a couple of blocks from our church that gives you an introduction to our small city of Galax. Bluegrass and Old-Time Music are huge, with concerts year round by the bluegrass greats. We just had HoustonFest, with Ricky Skaggs, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Blue Highway, John Berry, and a bunch of other great artists. In August the 77th Annual Old Fiddler’s Convention is held within sight of the church. Typically over 60,000 people attend for a week of camping and bluegrass and old-time music. Galax has a population of around 7000 people, but it’s a big city for this part of the state. If you want to get away to the mountains, this is a great place to come hiking, biking, camping, or canoeing.

Welcome to my part of the world. That may help you understand how worship with a dobro, mandolin, and guitar can be rockin here. Check out our worship service from last week. If you want to be successful as a church, you have to understand and love the community in which you live.

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Taking a Stand for Truth

Mike — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:22:20 +0000

I am seeing a transformation take place in our society, and it scares me. I’ve noticed it primarily among our nation’s youth and college students, although it is taking place among people of all ages. The problem is a postmodern shift in how we view truth and tolerance.

Over the last few days, I’ve seen and heard numerous statements to the effect

I know what’s true for me, but who am I to tell someone else how to live their life. Just because it’s right for me doesn’t mean it’s right for them.

You don’t have to do a scientific study to show that youth and college age students are now more accepting of “alternative lifestyles”, drugs, cohabiting before marriage, same-sex marriages, and more. The reason is that society has taught us that we can’t speak truth into other peoples lives, and that just because something is right or wrong for us, it doesn’t mean it is right or wrong for others. Society wants us to believe that truth is relative, that is is based on our circumstances, traditions, and background.

Today’s definition of “tolerance” differs radically from the traditional dictionary definition. Tolerance used to mean showing respect to someone, even if you disagree. It meant enduring with something, such as a person’s behavior, attitudes or beliefs, without necessarily agreeing with them. In other words, love the sinner, hate the sin. However, today you are labeled intolerant and bigoted if you disagree with someone. Today’s definition of tolerance states that a person’s behavior, beliefs and attitudes are inseparable from who he or she is. Therefore, any attack on behaviors, beliefs or attitudes is seen as a personal attack.

In today’s society, each person’s idea of truth is based on their unique culture, and because all people are created equally, the new tolerance decrees that no one person can claim to possess a superior truth, or a truth that is “more true” than other people’s truths. Rather, all truth claims are equally valid.

Here is why this is so important. I have seen so many strong Christian young people refuse to take a stand for truth. Instead, in the name of tolerance, they are afraid to speak the truth in love as Ephesians 4:15 instructs us. The Bible is more than a guide book, it’s the divine story of a God who has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. It’s the Good News that God loved you so much that he sent his Son Jesus Christ to rescue you from your sin. We can and should address sinful lifestyles and behaviors. Jesus is the perfect example for us. John 4 is a just one example of how he confronted a woman living in a sinful lifestyle. He extended tolerance, love, respect, and grace to her, but he still shared with her a better way of life. We have reached the point where many Christians celebrate sinful behaviors while condemning other Christians who hold to their convictions based on the Bible. I think our church does a great job of standing firm in truth, while extending love to those who don’t know Christ. We have been accused of being a friend of sinners, and I’m perfectly fine with that, because we are in good company. But we also preach and teach that there is a better way to live, by allowing the truth of the Gospel to transform our hearts and minds to be more like Christ.

Isn’t it amazing how those who claim their mission is tolerance are so quick to judge and condemn Christians who disagree with them. Do you see the irony in this? As Christians, we should show grace, love, and compassion, but we can’t be afraid to take a stand for truth. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us that truth is not just a concept, truth is a person. So take a stand for Jesus, and don’t give in to the culture we live in. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel!

fre·net·ic – /frəˈnetik/

Mike — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:51:11 +0000

This is my word for the day. I was having a conversation with my wife last week and I used the word frenetic to describe our pace of life lately. After arguing with me that it was not a word, I looked it up just to make sure and found the definition.

Fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way: “a frenetic pace of activity”.

That seems to describe the last few weeks for us. Between my responsibilities at church, my classwork for the seminary classes I’m taking, raising three kids, and everything else I’m involved in, this has been a busy time. I seem to go through stages in life where everything hits at one time and I over-commit. That’s why the blog has been neglected a little lately.

It’s a challenge to abide in Christ when you become too busy. We have a rhythm of life where we must balance abiding in Christ and being fruitful. I’m doing a lot of good things right now, but sometimes the good can keep me from doing what is best. Here’s a question that I come back to when I think about my rhythm in life.

Am I working from rest, or resting from work?

There is a huge difference between the two. In the Bible, our rest is considered an act of worship. Honoring the Sabbath is even part of the ten commandments. God calls those who don’t work, lazy, but He calls those who don’t rest, disobedient. I’ve been too busy lately, so I’m looking at my schedule to see what can be cut out. Rest is important, and if I am to abide in Christ and be fruitful, I need to have a healthy rhythm of life.

Frenetic may indeed be a word, but it is not one that should regularly describe our lives.

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Changing the Scorecard for the Church

Mike — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:34:29 +0000

In the book Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church, author Reggie McNeal shares about a shift that is taking place in churches around the world. I had read this book last year, but I decided to go back through it this week in preparation for my sermon Sunday. I shared a message about the importance of engaging our culture and used Acts 17:16-31 as my example. In this book, the author shares about three major changes that are taking place in the missional church.

the change from an internal to an external focus
the change from program development to people development
the change from church-based to kingdom based leadership

For our church and many other churches we are in the process of changing the scorecard of how we measure what is really important. Instead of focusing on the ABC’s (attendance, buildings, and cash) we want to focus on our effectiveness at making disciples. This book does a great job of sharing what the new scorecard should be. I shared an illustration from the book about airports during my message Sunday. Here is what the author shared.

The airport is a place of connection, not a destination. Its job is to help people get somewhere else. … When the church thinks it’s the destination, it also confuses the scorecard. It thinks that if people are hovering around and in the church, the church is winning. The truth is, when that’s the case, the church is really keeping people from where they want to go, from their real destination. That destination is life. … The church is a connector, linking people to the kingdom life that God has for them. Substituting church activity as the preferred life expression is as weird as believing that airports are more interesting than the destinations they serve.

Think about it, when traveling, airports serve as the place where you find information about your connecting flights, it’s the place where you receive nourishment before your trip, and it’s the place where you recharge before you take flight (I’m still wondering why finding an electrical outlet in an airport is harder than finding Waldo) Airports serve a purpose of connecting you to where you want to go. What if we started viewing the church like that? As a place of information, encouragement, nourishment, and recharging, preparing people to take flight and take the gospel into the world in which they live? Unfortunately, we’ve come to the place where many believe the mission of the church is self-preservation.

Churches worry more about their seating capacity instead of their sending capacity. The reality is that many people in our communities will simply not come to us, we must take the church to them. I also read The Externally Focused Church again this week, which is another great book about how we can serve and show the love of Christ to the communities in which we live.

If we want to be effective as churches, we must start tracking, encouraging, and teaching what is really important. We simply need to change the scorecard.

A Free Way to Manage Multiple WordPress Websites

Mike — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:52:50 +0000

I manage multiple WordPress sites, so I’m always looking for a way to help me keep them updated and running smoothly. WordPress Multisite is one option, but it’s hard to setup and all of my sites are running very different themes and plugins, so it would be hard to make work correctly. I’ve tried ManageWP, and it is awesome, but it also has a monthly fee. So when I read about the free WP Remote on ChurchMag, I decided to try it out.

After using it for a few days, this is something that will definitely save me time and energy. From one screen, I can see the update status of all my sites. Green means everything is up-to-date, and yellow means I have plugins or themes to update.

There is one more big feature that makes this service go over the top. From the WP Remote dashboard, you can make backups of all of your sites. For now, they are encrypting and storing your backups for free. I didn’t have any problems backing up all of my sites, although I’ve read that others are having a little trouble with larger sites. They are looking at adding automatic daily backups in the future. This one feature alone makes this service awesome.

If you are managing multiple WordPress sites, then check out the WP Remote service.

Switching to ProPresenter 5

Mike — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:43:27 +0000

Video has been an integral part of our church services for the last six years. We project song lyrics, testimonies, photos, video clips, and even occasionally live video. We started using Easyworship running on a used PC we bought for $300 five years ago. We finally are upgrading our computer and software to allow us to do even more with our video system. Unfortunately, Easyworship seems to have stalled in development, with the planned 2010 update still not on the market. So we have chosen to go with ProPresenter 5 running on a 27″ iMac computer. ProPresenter has really become the market leader balancing both ease of use with tons of power.

I’m really looking forward to using prop layers for logos and other overlays on the screen. We will also have the ability to have different information displayed on the rear wall for our praise team. We can even display a countdown timer for a certain long-winded preacher It also features a great text reflow feature as well as integration with Planning Center Online. They even offer iPad apps to control your presentations. Check out their website for a complete list of the new features in version 5. I’ve also attached a playlist of their great video tutorials. If you want to learn more about it, then check out the following videos.

We should have the new system up and running in a few weeks. I’ll let you know more about it as we get it installed and working.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3D79D41217FFEF9F

Updating Windows Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

My Latest Backup Device

Mike — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:36:21 +0000

When it comes to backing up data, I want to make sure I have a plan. So when I got my new Macbook Air, I decided to add a new backup device at home. After evaluating several options, I decided to go with a Western Digital My Book Live 2 terabyte network drive. The great thing about a network drive is accessibility. I can access files on it from any computer in the house. Western Digital also has Android and iOS apps to allow you to download files or view pictures on your mobile devices.

The only negative about this unit is that it only has a single drive. The dual drive systems offer better protection against hard drive failure, but come at a much greater cost. Now if I can just figure out how to organize all my digital photos from the last ten years. That’s my next big challenge to tackle.

It hooks up with an ethernet cable to your router, and it works great with both macs and pcs. I have my time machine backup on it for my new macbook. I added a network switch with my home entertainment system and placed it there so that it is easy to access. Here are a couple of videos that show how it works and what it can do. You can pick one up on Amazon. Here’s a link to it on my Amazon estore.

Bluegrass 80′s Style

Mike — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:51:49 +0000

I love our college kids from Cornerstone!

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A Week of Contrasts

Mike — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:05:34 +0000

It’s amazing how quickly we can travel around our world. Saturday morning I was in the comforts of my own home, and Saturday night I was in a hotel in Managua, Nicaragua. I’ve spent the last few days working with Because We Care Ministries training pastors in Choluteca, Honduras and Somotillo, Nicaragua. The men above are my hereos. They serve as pastors in small villages around northern Nicaragua. They live a tough life, and nothing about their life is easy. One of the pastors in Honduras had to walk over three hours in order to take a two hour bus ride so that he could be at our 9am pastor training. That’s commitment. The excitement these men have for learning God’s Word is contagious.

I don’t have to tell you how easy we have it in the United States. The poverty and struggle that I see here is humbling. And yet the problems they face in their churches are very similar to the problems we see in the North American church. We are challenging them to serve their communities and to lead with a Holy boldness. Will you join me in praying for these men as they are studying and learning this week.

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What I Learned from Scouting

Mike — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:23:18 +0000

I had the honor of speaking at a fund-raising dinner for the Boy Scouts this week. I received my Eagle Scout award back in 1991, and Scouting was a big part of my teenage years. I loved the hiking and camping, and was even able to go backpacking in New Mexico at Philmont two times. In thinking through what I learned from scouting, I remembered one experience from my freshman engineering class.

I had good grades and was blessed to have a major university scholarship to Virginia Tech. I was in a special scholarship section of my freshman engineering class with a bunch of people that were smarter than me. The professor went through a series of questions about our backgrounds. He asked how many straight A students, how many perfect scores on SAT, how many valedictorians, and finally how many Eagle Scouts were in the class. Over half the class raised their hands and shared that they were Eagle Scouts and I realized that scouting had prepared me to be a leader. That one incident gave me the confidence that I belonged.

This week at the dinner, I shared some of the leadership lessons I learned from scouting. These have helped shape me into the leader that I am, so I wanted to share these lessons with you. I learned …

The importance of discipline – There are constant goals you are working towards, and it takes discipline to meet the requirements. You can’t quit until you reach your goal.
The importance of working together – When you are backpacking, you have to work together and learn to get along with the people you are with. You learn a lot about conflict resolution and teamwork.
The importance of responsibility – When teaching younger scouts or leading the group, you learn the importance of taking responsibility.
The importance of being prepared – You never know what to expect, so you learn to always be prepared.
The importance of ingenuity – Scouting teaches you how to be a problem solver. It’s a skill that defined my career as an engineer, and it definitely helps me in ministry as well.
The importance of worship – You can’t help but worship when you see God’s beautiful creation. Hiking through pristine mountains teaches you to slow down and simply worship God.
The importance of service – You learn how to serve others. The Scout Oath teaches you to “help other people at all times”

Scouting is so much more than hiking and camping, because it is a place where young leaders are developed.

What I Learned From This Past Weekend

Orgainizing Meals for Your Church

Mike — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:22:35 +0000

Here’s a great use of the internet. Most churches spend a lot of time trying to organize meals for people who are sick or in need. But it’s always confusing knowing who is bringing what, and when they are bringing it. Recently we used Take Them a Meal to help organize meals for a family at our church for over a week.

Simply create an online signup form on the site, then send it out for people to view and signup. It’s easy to use and it works great. It’s crowd-sourcing on a whole new level. There is also a companion site for organizing potluck dinners – check it out at perfectpotluck.com.

For those times in life when filling their table will warm their hearts.
Simplifying meal coordination so friends, family, neighbors and co-workers can show they care.
Create a customized online sign up sheet to include phone numbers, driving directions, food allergies and more that makes it easy for friends and family to take meals to those in need.

Religion and Rules vs. Relationship

Mike — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:12:29 +0000

I shared a video in church last week that a lot of people have been asking me about. The video has received over 20 million views over the past few months on Youtube. It’s titled, Why I hate religion, but love Jesus. The focus of the video by Jefferson Bethke is to highlight the difference between false religion and a relationship with Jesus. The video seems to have hit a nerve, with many critiquing it and criticizing it, but I think the video serves as a wakeup call to the church. We do have to be careful in defining what we mean by religion, but I think Bethke defines it accurately in the video. He says that religion is man searching for God, while Christianity is God searching for man.

Are we inviting people into a relationship with Jesus Christ, or are we inviting them into our system of rules and tradition and religion? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Replacing my Macbook Pro

Mike — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:35:38 +0000

My Apple Macbook Pro is almost 5 years old and is starting to show some early signs of motherboard problems, so I decided to make the plunge and replace it. This time, I decided to go with a refurbished 13″ Macbook Air. It’s cheaper, lighter, faster, and just plain awesome. I went with the i7 model with 4Gigs of RAM and the 256Gig Solid State Drive. There are a lot of rumors about new larger Macbook airs that will be released soon, but it’s hard to beat the deal I got on this refurbished one. I’m really looking forward to having a computer this fast and lightweight. I’ll post a longer review after I get it and start using it.

A Great Devotional Bible for Youth

Mike — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:40:32 +0000

I’ve seen a lot of teen Bibles over the years, but the Live Bible by Group Publishing has to be one of my favorites. My two oldest children are now in youth group and are spending a lot of time reading their Bibles. We bought them each a copy of this Bible, and they both love it. I grabbed their Bibles and took a quick picture with my cell phone. Not only do they look cool for a teen, but they truly have helped my children get in God’s Word.

My thirteen year old daughter just finished reading through the entire Bible, and my eleven year old son has finished the New Testament and is working through the Old Testament. The graphic design is contemporary, the content is applicable, and the translation is the easy to read NLT. If you are looking for a good Bible for your teen, then click here for more information from the Publisher. You can click here to purchase from my amazon estore.

I’m recommending this because I’ve seen how it has helped my own children. I love seeing teenagers develop a hunger to read and learn from God’s Word.

From the Publisher,

Most youth Bibles are just teen versions of adult Bibles. Live takes an all-new, teen-centered approach. It includes a wealth of experiences and activities that help teens discover surprising things about God, see God involved in their lives, and express their faith creatively. Teens will see how God works in the lives of other teens and be encouraged to express their faith, too.

Preaching Help for Pastors

Mike — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:32:22 +0000

I wanted to share this online conference for all of my ministry friends. Preaching can be tough. Every week you have the responsibility to share multiple messages with the people of your church. If you are like me, you appreciate all the help and training you can get. Here is an opportunity to learn from great communicators and pastors who do a great job each week preaching God’s Word.

On March 15th, from 1-4pm, you can watch this free online conference to learn how you can preach better sermons. Just go to the website and signup, and then login on the day of the event to watch and learn. For my local friends, if you would like to come join me, I’ll broadcast it on the big screens at Cornerstone. Let me know if you can join me for this. Here’s more information about the event

After talking to hundreds of pastors, we’ve realized that while preachers love preaching, it’s the preparation that often hurts. So we’re going “behind the scenes” with some of America’s best preachers to find out how they bring great content week in and week out.

Would you like to hear how Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Dr. Charles Stanley, Louie Giglio, and Vanable Moody prepare their messages? How would you like to learn communication principles from one of America’s best comedians…Jeff Foxworthy?

All of this happens on Thursday, March 15 at 1pm EST. And best of all, it’s 100% free. Preach Better Sermons is a free, three-hour, online conference focused on helping communicators prepare and deliver messages that matter. Some of the best communicators in the world will unpack these seven preaching principles.

Start with the Scripture.

Keep it simple.

Make it portable.

Show it, don’t just say it.

Find common ground.

Finish early in the week.

Preach with the end in mind.

It’s 100% free and since it happens online, there are no travel costs. Register for the free event here.

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2012 Chick-fil-A Leadercast

Mike — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:21:41 +0000

Last year, a group of community leaders came together to host the Chick-fil-A Leadercast here in our own community. We are excited to bring it back this year. The Leadercast will be on Friday May 4th, and will be from 8am to 4:30pm at the Crossroads Institute in Galax. Speakers include: Soledad O’Brien, Tim Tebow, Patrick Lencioni, Marcus Buckingham, John Maxwell, Angela Ahrendts, Roland Fryer, Urban Meyer, Andy Stanley, and Sheena Iyengar. Click here to order tickets or find out more information about this great webcast.

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New Website for Because We Care Ministries

Mike — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:29:39 +0000

I just updated the site for Because We Care Ministries. I moved the site over to WordPress so it would be cheaper and easier to maintain. Don and Pam Gillette do an incredible job of ministering to the people of Nicaragua. Our church has been on numerous trips there to work with them, and I highly recommend that you check out their ministry and see how you can partner with them. I’m planning on returning in April for a week of training local pastors.

If you are interested in any website work, check out my other site at FEDesign.net.

Book Review: The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham

Mike — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:05:42 +0000

I finished The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham today, and I must say this was a great read. I had to read this for a class I’m taking in seminary, so I didn’t really know what to expect. It turned out to be a fascinating glimpse into the life of a great man of God. This was one of my favorite leadership books, so I highly recommend it to others wanting a Biblical view of true servant leadership.

The book reminded me of the very first event we ever took a youth group to. In 1996, Jennifer and I took a group of teens to Panther Stadium in Charlotte for the youth night of one of Billy Graham’s crusades. Michael W. Smith and D.C. Talk were there in concert and it was a night I won’t forget. Billy Graham spoke powerfully, yet simply, and we saw many people respond to the power of the Gospel. It taught me a valuable lesson early in my ministry that true power lies in the Word of God.

While I knew a lot of facts about Billy Graham and recognized him as a great preacher, I don’t think I had ever realized he was a great leader. It was something that I really had never thought about. This book talked about the many different facets of his ministry. It is amazing to think of how many lives have been touched through his preaching and through the different ministries he started or helped. It was refreshing to read stories from the people who were closest to him and learn about his humbleness and authenticity. Here is the description from the book.

A behind-the-scenes analysis of 21 essential leadership principles from the life of Billy Graham. Billy Graham looms large as one of the twentieth century’s most influential and innovative leaders. Most people are unaware of his remarkable effectiveness as not only preacher and pastor, but as a CEO and a global leader as well. The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham is full of transferable applications for leaders in the church, parachurch, academia, government, and business. Lively interviews with his closest associates illustrate 21 principles that have driven six decades of visionary impact. First-hand accounts reveal stories of courageous leadership and growth through painful lessons. Graham’s relentless application of core beliefs and leadership principles have resulted in, among many honors, being listed in Gallup’s ten ‘most admired men’ thirty times, more than anyone else. Time magazine named him one of the top ten leaders of the twentieth century. This book asks: How did this happen? What are the essentials he embraced to achieve such extraordinary results? What can we learn from him and apply to our own leadership roles? This book is dedicated to those readers . Who sense the pressing need in today’s world for inspired leadership . Who rise to leadership’s high calling and are willing to carry its weight . Who are determined to deepen and expand their capacities and effectiveness

App Review: Ninite

Mike — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:12:06 +0000

If you have ever setup a new computer for your church, home, or business, then you know how time consuming it is to download and install all the typical programs that you need. I like installing iTunes, Chrome, Dropbox and lots of other freeware utilities and apps that will make my life easier. One of the students at our church turned me on to the website Ninite.com. Ninite is a service that allows you to visit one website and select all the programs you want to install. After you hit the Get Installer button, an install script is downloaded that does all the work for you. Below is a screenshot of just a few of the apps offered. Believe me, this is a great time saver. You’ll thank me later.

Coffey Anderson at Cornerstone

Mike — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:02:20 +0000

We just worked out the details to host Coffey Anderson at Cornerstone next month. Coffey is an incredible musician and an all around great guy. He was a finalist on the show Nashville Star and his website iCoffey.com is a great place to learn more about his music. I first found out about him through his YouTube channel several years ago. On YouTube, he shares both his original songs and his great covers. I love his guitar style! You can help us spread the word by downloading the poster below and sharing it around town.

Click Here for a pdf poster you can print out