Ham Fighters Unite!

I'm moving

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Well, not me... not yet anyway...

My blog is moving to http://patricksievert.wordpress.com

Much love,
P

A shout out for a shout out

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:57:00 +0000

I'm really down with Craig Groeschel giving a shout out to Andy Stanley before the start of Lifechurch.tv's How to Be Rich series.

I think it's pretty tight that he pretty much just straight up said, "I stole this from Andy." I love that honesty.

P.S. - the original "How to Be Rich" series at NPCC was pretty dominant.

Profiles of mediocrity!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Ben Arment made a post about fitting volunteers to needs rather than fitting needs to volunteers.

I think that a lot of times in the church world, we're so happy when someone volunteers at all that we'll stick them wherever our most glaring need is, regardless of how capable or gifted they are in that area. What ends up happening most times when we simply put a body into a need is we fill a whole bunch of needs with mediocrity.

I would rather have some needs go unfilled, but use volunteers in areas where they are gifted than simply have a need and stick the next person who volunteers to help out into it.

Here's why:

I don't think mediocrity invokes change in its surroundings. Mediocrity doesn't invoke passion. Greatness does. I would rather, as a church and as a person, be great at a few
things and lousy (or negligent) at some others than be mediocre across the board.

(here comes the prototypical starbucks example)

Take Starbucks, for example. Starbucks makes great coffee. They don't really do anything else that great. But (almost) nobody complains about how their food isn't that great. And, although it's lame to charge for the internet at a coffee shop, that doesn't really hurt their business that much. Starbucks is wildly popular because they do one thing and do it well.

I'd rather the church do one thing (or a few things) and do them well than to do a bunch of things very very average.

I love the guys I work with...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:05:00 +0000

I just heard this one:

"If I'd a known he was gonna do that to you, I'd have called Moses so he could build an ark...

or was that Jonah?"

Conferences

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:51:00 +0000

As an aspiring church-planter (hopefully launching by this fall), I'd like to attend two conferences this year. I've got a few places in mind, but I'd like to hear your opinions.

What conferences do I absolutely need to attend?

Going to F-Ville

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:43:00 +0000

I talked to one of my friends who lives in NW Arkansas last night to make some arrangements. I'm heading to Fayetteville, AR at the end of February to see if that's where God is leading me. I'm kind of thinking it might be.

I'll spend a few days in the town meeting people, driving around, praying around the town, maybe visit a couple of churches already there. Hopefully God will make His plan for the vision he's birthed in me clear then.

It's really scary and really exciting.

I'm praying that God will lead me to a man (or woman) who shares the vision that I have.

oops

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Scott Williams alerted me that my blog hasn't been allowing comments from non-blogspot users. This has been corrected. I am sorry.

the saga continues...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:35:00 +0000

This will be a long post:

Where I left off yesterday, I had just taken Courtney's number out of my phone. I was totally content with this decision.

Until the next day when I was driving through Stillwater when I really felt God burdening me for Courtney. He told me, "I still want you to talk to Courtney about this."

I told him back, "no, I don't want to."

"I want you to."

"I've already made this girl cry once (that's another story), I'm not going to do it again by bringing this to her!"

"I want you to."

At this point, I literally yelled out loud at God, "No! I'm not going to do this!"

"Yes you are."

"okay"

So from there I made a couple more attempts to talk to Courtney. It was the same story as before. Finally, I decided I wasn't going to be able to ever talk to her about what God was placing on my heart. So I decided to write her a letter. It was the hardest letter I've ever written. But in it I poured out everything God had placed on my heart about her. By the time I wrote this letter, I'd had 11 dreams about Courtney (when you have that many, you start counting).

The day I mailed the letter, the dreams stopped.

I didn't see Courtney after that for over a month. I mean, I didn't see her walking across campus, I didn't see her at her sorority house, I didn't see her anywhere. At all. And I didn't see her in my dreams.

Until Finals Week. For the first time in over a month, I saw Courtney in a dream. The next day I saw her and talked to her for the first time since I mailed the letter. It was just a chance encounter on the street, with another friend present, so we didn't talk about anything. Then I went to Minnesota for the summer. And continued to dream about Courtney.

What was weird about the whole thing was that from this point on, whenever I would think about Courtney during the day, I wouldn't dream about her. When I would go a period of time without thinking about her, I would see her in my dreams. By the time I came back from the summer, I'd had 18 total dreams about her.

I still felt that God wasn't done with Courtney in my life.

The first day of school, I told my friend Nick the story about Courtney. That night I had another dream about her. In this dream, I talked to her about the letter I'd written her and basically told her that I still wanted to be friends if she was willing. What didn't register as significant at the time was that, in my dream, this conversation took place walking down Monroe Street.

The one place where I had consistently seen Courtney in the past was at a large praise and worship gathering called Overflow (Tuesdays at nine). So when I dreamed about having this conversation with Courtney, I sort of envisioned it taking place at Overflow. That's not where it happened in the dream though. I didn't even place any significance on where we were in the dream.

The morning after I had this dream, I woke up and saw Nick at breakfast. I told him about it. I said, "I'm going to talk to her today."

Nick and I headed to class, walking north down the west side of Monroe. About halfway down, Nick said that we ought to cross the street. As soon as we turned, I just laughed, and said to Nick, "look." Courtney was walking down the street on the other side. We were on a collision course. Once we crossed, Nick ended up talking with one of Courtney's friends, leaving Courtney and I to talk alone. I didn't talk about what I needed to talk to her about. Because I envisioned it happening after Overflow - despite what I saw in my dream.

That night I went to Overflow and saw her there. When the service ended, she was gone. I didn't get to talk to her.

A week later, I had another dream about her. In this dream, I saw Courtney walking down the sidewalk ahead of me, alone. I tried to catch up to her to talk. She was walking so fast I couldn't catch up.

The next morning, I was walking to class, and I saw Courtney walking, alone, just a ways ahead of me. The guy I was walking with asked "why are you walking so fast?" "I just have long legs I guess..."

That wasn't really why. I was trying to catch up. I couldn't. (At this point I think God was just telling me, "hey, listen to me all the way, don't put your twist on what I show you." Basically, he was just taunting me).

The next week, I finally got to talk to Courtney. I felt like I had fulfilled the burden God had given me.

But something still didn't feel right. I kept having dreams about her. None of the things I confronter Courtney about seemed to change in her. And where was the benefit for me in all this? I mean, shouldn't this story end up with us getting married and living happily ever after or something? 28 dreams about one person, when the next closest person had two? What was the point if there was no change in her and nothing in it for me!?!?!

Then one night I was driving through Tulsa and it all hit me what was in it for me. This whole process had taught me a lot about myself and about God. God used this to teach me how to listen to him. How to obey him. When it doesn't make sense. How to pray to him. How to be honest with him. How to trust him.

I don't know if there was ever any change in Courtney from this episode. I haven't seen her in over two years (so the whole getting married and living happily ever after thing isn't looking too likely at this point). But I know there was a change in me. And maybe that's what God was after all along.

Living the dream...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:06:00 +0000

Last week I wrote about how Scott Williams was the man of my dream. Today I want to talk about a series of dreams I had about three years ago.

To give a little background, before all this started, I NEVER dreamed about people I knew. At all. In the two years prior to this, I'd had MAYBE three dreams about people I knew. That's it. So what happened next was a total outlier.

It all started one night when I had a dream about a friend of mine (we weren't that close of friends). I'll call her Courtney (to protect the innocent and stuff). In this dream, Courtney cussed like a sailor, which is rather funny because she never talks like that.

Well, it just so happened that I saw her the night after I dreamed about her. The dream was random enough that I told her about it. She was like, "I don't like that Courtney!" And I told her, "I don't like that Courtney either!" And that was it.

Until I had another dream about her the next night. And the next. So in three nights, I had as many dreams about one person than I'd had about all the people I knew in the previous two years.

At this point, I think I should probably clarify that I didn't like this girl. You know, like like. I mean, I liked her like Kevin liked Paul, but not like Kevin liked Winnie. I mean, that would kind of make sense to dream about a girl you liked (of course, I'd never dreamed about any of the girls I actually did like...), but that wasn't the case with Courtney.

Anyway, during this time, God sort of gave me a burden to talk to Courtney about something in her life. So I'd see her some crowded place and see if she wanted to get together and get ice cream or something during the week (okay, basically, I asked her on a date, I see now, but I wasn't thinking of it as a date at the time). We'd make specific plans, and then I'd call her, and she wouldn't answer her phone (the truth is, she never answered he phone for anyone. not me, not her best friends, not her sister. And she didn't check her voicemails either, so that would have been worthless.). So I'd see her a couple of weeks later and ask if she wanted to get together some time during the week, and she would recommend specific plans, and then when I'd call her at the planned time, she wouldn't answer.

Now, when people aren't reliable like that, it absolutely drives me nuts! I hate it when people don't call me back! So I was pretty fed up with Courtney. The final time she didn't follow through on our plans, I got so frustrated that I actually took her number out of my phone! I wasn't going to call her again and get angry when she didn't answer. I was done with her.

Until the next day...

I'll pick the story back up tomorrow.

P.S. - Danica McKeller gets 50 bonus points in my book for writing a book called "Math Doesn't Suck".

I hate Godtube

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:15:00 +0000

Michael Lukaszewski made a post today about an article (in which he was quoted) concerning YouTube vs. GodTube.

Can I just say that I hate GodTube? Maybe that's too strong, but I really do. I hate separating Christianity from the real world.

The reasoning behind using GodTube, for many people, apparently, is to avoid the "bad stuff" that appears on YouTube.

You know what? The world is full of "bad stuff." Christianity ought to be a light amidst the "bad stuff." But instead, in our self-righteousness, we separate ourselves from the "bad stuff." It makes me sick.

Maybe, instead of avoiding the risk of someone who watches a Christian video on YouTube seeing something "inappropriate," we should run the risk of someone who's watching "inappropriate" videos on YouTube stumbling across something about Jesus or the Church.

We're called to be a city on a hill. A lamp that shines bright. But instead we cloak ourselves to "protect" ourselves while those we protect ourselves from go to Hell!

I work with about 100 frac hands day-in and day-out. Maybe (maybe!) three of them know Christ. And these guys are crude. It's the oilfield. One of the most notoriously crude industries there is. And I love it. By being open about my relationship with Jesus, by engaging people who don't talk and act "appropriately," I've been able to share the light with people who otherwise would have no connection to Christ.

No, we shouldn't engage in "inappropriateness" ourselves. But Christians who run and hide from the world's "inappropriateness" make me absolutely sick.

What do you think on YouTube vs. GodTube?

The Man of My Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:08:00 +0000

Yes. Scott Williams is the man of my dreams. Well, at least, he was the man of my dream.

I've never met Scott face-to-face, but last night I dreamt that I did. Interestingly enough, in my dream, Scott was about 5'2". And his wife was white (they're both black).

So the whole thing was pretty weird.

I wonder about dreams some times. Do they mean something? Do they ALL mean something? Do any of them mean something?

I think they do sometimes. I had a pretty crazy series of dreams about 2-3 years ago, all about the same person, so I definitely think God communicates to us through dreams. I just don't know how often. I'll write about it later this week.

The people I work with...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:59:00 +0000

I just heard a guy talking about his new phone... it went a little something like this:

"My daughter (she's 18) got one of those blueberries or blackberries or whatever the F they are, so she gave me this (showing his Razor).

"I started looking around all some of this music she has on here, some of these songs, ever other word's a cuss word (in a complaining voice).

"What is up with that S?"

Can't you really complain about the language in a song if you sandwich that sentence between an F-bomb and an S-bomb?

Apparently so.

My iPod is full!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:57:00 +0000

When I bought my iPod (used) two years ago, I thought the thing was WAY too big for my purposes (and it's only one of those old-school 20 GB ones).

Yeah.. I have 192.7 MB left on it. This is a problem. I'm either going to have to take some stuff off of it, or get a new one...

hmmm...

such a dilemma...

The best laid plans...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:29:00 +0000

So I'm sitting out here on a frac job right now. It's about 24°. It was down in the teens earlier. We were supposed to do two stages (each stage is supposed to take about 3.5 hours, with about 3 hours between stages) yesterday, two stages today, and finish up with one stage on Friday. Well, yesterday the cold weather caused the diesel to gel up on one of our main pieces of equipment. We didn't get started until 12:20 PM (over 5 hours late). Therefore, we only finished one stage yesterday. Today, water transfer's (a third party that transfers water from a pond to some tanks that we pump out of) lines are frozen. So far we're two hours late because of them. Who knows how much longer it will be.

We finally got started a couple of hours late, and this job is going to take about an hour longer than designed. Hopefully the next three stages will treat better, or who knows how long we'll be out here.

I've always been real bad about trying to plan WAY too much. I used to plan out time to be spontaneous. (Does it really count as spontaneous if it's planned spontaneity?) This job has ruined my ability to plan. It's been great.

James tells us about how we should plan our lives. I used to plan the when, the where, the how long, the what down to a T in my life. James warns us to instead listen for the Lord's will and "do this or that." This job was

I'm not saying we shouldn't ever plan for anything, but I think there's danger in planning too much. When we spend a lot of energy in making our plans, we can often tune out to hearing the Lord's plans - especially if he calls an audible.

This job has taught me the difference between planning for and preparing for. I can't really plan for anything in this job, but I have to prepare for just about anything.

How does the difference between planning for and preparing for present itself in your life?

What is a Ham Fighter?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:18:00 +0000

I get asked the question a lot: what is a Ham Fighter?

Well, really, there's no such thing. The name comes from the Japanese baseball team, the Nippon Ham Fighters. The thing is, almost no one in America has ever heard of the city of Nippon Ham, so they assume that "Nippon" is the city and "Ham Fighters" is the mascot.

Not quite.

Too many times what the truth is isn't what people perceive as the truth. David Kinnamon says in his book, UnChristian:

Only one-third of young outsiders believe that Christians genuinely care about them (34 percent). And most Christians are oblivious to these perceptions—64 percent of Christians said they believe that outsiders would perceive their efforts as genuine.

While our outreach to those outside Christianity may be out of genuine concern for them, most often, those same people we are trying to reach don't feel that we are genuine. Just like with Nippon Ham, most people don't understand the truth behind the team's name, so to them, "Ham Fighters" becomes the truth.

With the Fighters though, the difference between reality and perception is the difference between a boring name and a funny name. When it comes to Christians' outreach toward outsiders, the difference is heaven and hell. Because, unfortunately, most people's biggest obstacle to Christianity is Christians. And when we appear ingenuine [sic - can I sic myself?], it make Christianity appear ungenuine [sic - apparently so, since I'm doing it].

How can we community with clarity genuine concern for outsiders to Christianity?

Christmas Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 03:41:00 +0000

It was a pretty interesting year in terms of Christmas gifts.

My dad always wants me to give him a "Christmas List" of what I want, so that he just has to pick something. The last two years, I've refused.

A Christmas gift should says "I get you," not "I got you a gift." So I've made him do it on his own. Last year that whole concept was a struggle for him. This year, he made strides. He got me a half-dozen really nice goose decoys . He also got me a package of four AAA batteries. The batteries I opened first, so I figured they went to some electronic device I hadn't opened yet.

Nope.

He just got me some batteries.

The gift I got him totally surprised him, I think. He got a new fishing reel I knew he'd been interested in, but didn't really need and definitely didn't expect.

After opening presents at my dad's house, my brother and I headed over to my mom's house to do Christmas stuff there. My mom's husband's son and his wife (Chad and Kelly) came over, along with my mom's husband's mom (Grandma Peach - I don't actually know her real name, we just all call her Grandma Peach).

I loved it when Chad and Kelly opened their gift (in a bag instead of a box) from Grandma Peach. Rather than having one or even a few individually wrapped presents, they had a ton of little presents inside one giant bag. They just kept coming! I kept expecting to see Kelly pull a hat rack out of the bag next. (P.S. - Julie Andrews was a total cutie).

My brother gave my mom's husband (Mike) a bag of ham (okay, not really, it was actually a couple of steaks... but they did have drawings for bags of ham at the Halliburton Christmas party a couple of weeks ago).

A while back my brother asked for some recommendations for books on Godly guy-girl relationships. I loaned him a few, but afterward I sort of thought about it that he already had the best book on Godly relationships. So I gave my brother the best book I know of on how to read / study the Bible.

Mom gave me a scarf. I am so metro. I'm not real sure how a guy's supposed to wear a scarf, so I've been googling it a bit tonight.

Anyway... it was a pretty great Christmas. It's great to give, and I love to give other people the gift of giving (aka, it's also pretty great to receive).

What was the best gift you gave / received for Christmas this year?

Still meandering

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 02:43:00 +0000

Sunday's meetings with people in Tulsa did little to clarify the timing of God's vision He is casting through me.

I am going to plant a church. Most likely, in either Tulsa or Fayetteville, AR. I don't know where yet. I want to know where - but God hasn't revealed that. I'm going to meet with some people from the Fayetteville area early next week. I'm hopeful that those meetings will spark a light to the vision.

Headed to T-Town

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 04:33:00 +0000

I'm headed to Tulsa tomorrow to each lunch with a friend and talk about the vision I have for launching a church. I've had this vision for launching a church (and I'm thinking in Tulsa at this point) for a while, and every time I think about it, God keeps putting the name of this certain person in my head. What's weird is that I don't really know her that well. I called her a couple of weeks ago, though, and told her about what I wanted to do and that God kept giving me her name to be a part of this. Through our brief conversation, I just felt really confirmed that God wanted her to be a part of this. Even though we'd never talked about it before, I came away from that conversation feeling that we share the same vision.

So now I'm going to Tulsa to talk about the vision over lunch and see where she stands on this whole thing. This discussion tomorrow will, more than likely, determine the timetable for the launch.

If things go well tomorrow, then I will probably be looking to move to Tulsa in the Spring with an eye toward a fall church launch.

This is all very exciting, and very, very scary. But I'm probably pretty sure that's what faith is.

I'd appreciate any and all prayers and I leap forward into this.

Whatever it takes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:45:00 +0000

Proverbs 5:8 - "Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house."

I had an old computer that didn't have accountability on it out in the garage that acted as a temptation to me. Let's just say it's pretty amazing what a load of #00 Buckshot will do to a computer at 10 yards.

I don't think that will be too much of a temptation anymore.

My Triangle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:20:00 +0000

I don't know how James did this with a straight face.

Tim Stevens talks a lot about redeeming culture for God. That is, taking popular culture and using it to get into people's minds and relating it back to God.

I think this video is a great example of how to do that. Sesame Street took a song that had no redeeming value for their audience and turned it around to lead people in the direction they were trying to point them. For Sesame Street, obviously, their purpose was to teach kids about geometry. For the Church, our purpose is to lead people to God. But I think the premise is the same - and the method can be the same.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that "God has made everything beautiful in it's own time." That means everything. Everything can be redeemed for God. How do we do it?

What are some ways that the Church can redeem culture to make it relate to God?

Where are you?!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:37:00 +0000

Yesterday I had a very interesting phone conversation. It went a little something like this:

Me: "Hello."

Irate woman on the other end: "Where are you?!?!"

"Excuse me?"

"Who is this? Where's my husband?"

"This is Patrick Sievert, I think you have the wrong number."

"No I don't! This is my husband's number."

"I've had this number for over a year."

"This has been his number for two years!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I've had this number for over a year and have never received any calls for him. What number did you dial?"

"580-606-##27." (she knew what number she was dialing - and it was my number)

"Well, I'm sorry, but this isn't your husband's number."

So, apparently this woman's husband had a different phone number for at least the last 15 months and she never knew about it. Which made me think. How can two people who are that close to each other (even if only in proximity) go that long without communicating something like that? Did the husband just assume she knew his phone number? Did she never once call him on that phone in that time?

How do you think closeness to someone hinders your communication with them?

What Church Looks Like to the Unchurched

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Sievert) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:56:00 +0000

This is one of the most powerful articles I have ever read.

An independent newspaper in Seattle (one of the most unchurched cities in America), The Stranger, sent thirty-one writers to thirty-one different churches one week to record their experiences.

These are their thoughts:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=242675&mode=print

A few excerpts (I've changed color when the author/church changes):

If you're thinking of attending a church, I beg you not to attend the CFC—find one that understands humility and grace and charity. I'm an atheist, but the CFC brings Bible imagery to my mind. Standing in all the gaudy sound and tacky fury, all I can think of is the perverted temple that Jesus Christ ripped to pieces with his bare fucking hands.

At that point, Pastor Tim's worship band got back onstage and they started the whole booze and crackers thing—but I bolted. I could see all the single guys scanning the room for single ladies—and the last thing I need is some sissy Christian boy trying to knock me up.

On the front wall, where one expects Jesus to dangle, there's a large photograph of a mountain lake at sunset. "Lake Wenatchee," it reads, "January, 1986." Just to the right is a tiny door with no doorknob, which could only lead from the adjacent chaplaincy. The door has a peephole in it. Is the chaplain in there behind the peephole? Is he peepin'? Can he peep all the atheism that fills my cold, doomed heart?

I lower my head and pray to Lake Wenatchee. I get the overwhelming feeling that Lake Wenatchee doesn't give a shit. And even if it did, what could it possibly do for me? Or my family, or the hobo taking a nap, or all those people terrified to get on all those planes? How awful, to blame your misfortunes on a personal failure to pray persuasively enough. Anyway, at least Lake Wenatchee exists.

I slept badly the night before church: I was scared because I had never been before, and everything I know about Sunday services comes from David Lodge novels and Garth Ennis's Preacher series. "Are they gonna make me confess my sins?" I asked my boyfriend. He promised me they would not. "Can I eat beforehand? Can I get up to pee?" I was sure I would stick out.

There was only one point when I felt totally out of place: Toward the beginning, the pastor asked those of us who were guests to introduce ourselves. You're not likely to find someone more reluctant to speak up than a bashful Jew at Sunday morning church services. So I didn't, but the church is small enough that everyone knew I was a stranger, and that made my heart pound.

Two things worried me: how to dress, and the dread of singing. Dress is not normally a dilemma. Nor is singing. But in this instance both were concerns. I craved anonymity.

I stood out like a sore heathen thumb. To complete my sense of alienation, the sermon began with a pop quiz.

"What was Nebuchadnezzar's Folly?" Pastor Sam asked.

I stared at my neighbor's hands to avoid eye contact.

A toothy beard in back spoke up: "He didn't take the tree stump seriously." Pastor Sam nodded and expounded on the disrespected tree stump. I put on my thoughtful face.

After the show I chat with the main pastor, Ken Hutcherson. I confess to him that it’s practically my first time in a church. He announces it loudly and excitedly to the people around us. Then he puts a firm grip on my shoulder and steers me to a table where some women take my information so they can follow up with me later. Luckily I have Christopher Frizzelle’s e-mail address memorized.

Finally, a couple of positive ones:

This place is fucking gorgeous: 50-foot ceiling; stone-slab floors; white concrete pillars bookend the altar; light-pink, yellow, and off-white stained glass filter the morning light; and the piano-and-flute-heavy ensemble croon away.

In an era when Christianity is marketed as a sort of rock concert meets Gatorade commercial—with TV-screen preachers beamed into makeshift houses of worship in high-school gyms—St. Mark's splendor is awesome. I understand the populist impulse of the evangelicals, but God deserves some gentle beauty.

The words from prayers I thought I'd long forgotten rose to my lips unconsciously and there was something soothing in the...community of it all. I'd expected to feel a lot in my return to church—hypocrisy, boredom, and unease at least. What I hadn't expected was the sense of calm and goodwill that enveloped me the rest of the afternoon. Nostalgia? Father-son bonding? That delicious BLT I had at our postCommunion lunch? I don't really know, and I don't think I'll go next Sunday, but now I'm wondering if church might be something more than church after all.

What impression does your church give to its visitors?

What I do!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Sievert) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:14:00 +0000

This is how I roll:

What's in it for me?

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Sievert) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:17:00 +0000

I'm currently reading Mark Batterson's In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. In it, Mark makes the point that no one can ever sacrifice anything for God. Any time we do anything for God, any time we make any "sacrifice," we always get more back from God than we give.

Now, it may not always look that way at the time, but in the end God's reward for obeying Him always outweighs what we have to give up in obedience. I'm not just talking about rewards after we die either, but in this life.

The whole point of Mark's book is that we, just like Benaiah did in 2 Samuel 23, must chase our lions - that is, that we must take risks for God. We mustn't sit on the sidelines, but instead we must actively pursue obedience, even when it's dangerous. That danger, though, has its rewards.

Mark writes:

"You've never sacrificed anything for God. But let me push the envelope even further: If you were to always act in your greatest self-interest, you would always obey God." (emphasis mine)

I have a lion that I've been scared to chase for quite a while now - and honestly, it's the kind of lion that, until recently, I would have simply chalked up as an unattainable lion. But now, by God's grace, I have received the courage to chase.

What lions have you been scared to chase out of your own self-interest?

Certified 100% Pure USDA Grade-A Christian!!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Sievert) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:46:00 +0000

I saw this ad on facebook today. The girl has a "Certified Christian" stamp on her. I wonder who certified her? The USDA?

Not only that, but Christians join for FREE! I guess if you're not a Christian, but you're looking for a Christian girl, you have to pay.

Unbelievable. We are pathetic.