I’m sure for some, it is true that they’ve never really heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. That is a sad fact, especially in our “Christian Nation” when there are so many that claim to be Christians. For most though, I think it is something else.

Recently during a sermon, the pastor referenced a passage that really clicked for me and and perhaps sheds some light on the topic. In II Corinthians 4:4 it says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (NIV)

So basically, Satan is blinding the unbelievers. When the Gospel is shared with them, and it clicks, they literally are seeing clearly for the first time. It really is a new revelation to them.

For those of us who have been Believers, it’s a little hard to understand why it seems so fresh and new to them, like it’s a brand new discovery. Along with that freshness though, usually comes an enthusiasm. Perhaps we would do well to learn from their passion and try to rekindle a bit of it in our own walk.

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What they are ignoring however is a basic principle of statistics that occurs over and over again all around us. We learned about it in school in various classes and forms. Many times it even affected our grades. Everyone liked a teacher who graded “on the curve”, unless of course there was that person who “wrecked the curve”.

In a nutshell, the bell curve, or normal curve as it is often called, says that most measurements are going to fall in the middle. There will be some at each extreme, but the vast majority will fall in the middle.

So “how does this apply here?” you may ask. Today, our pastor talked some about Spiritual Apathy. There is a vast group of people out there who may believe, or disbelieve in God, but really don’t see how it applies to their every day life either way. They are spiritually apathetic. They are just living out their lives day in and day out without giving a thought to how it affects their eternity.

This is the group that brings a bigger benefit to reach out to. They just need woken up from the spiritual coma they are in. They need to be shown the Love of Jesus and how it applies to their life right now. It is also an urgent calling, because it has a much greater impact on their eternity than it does on their today.

I encourage you to stop fueling these endless and purposeless debates and reach out to the larger group. The group that doesn’t know they need to care. And by caring about and for them, we have a much greater chance to reach them than those who have already made up their minds. In the long run, simply reaching out and caring for others will have a bigger impact on the extremes as well.

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There’s nothing positive about a spoiled brat who expects everything to be given to her or done for her. Creating someone like this is definitely not one of my goals. So why do I think that spoiling my daughter is a good thing?

First of all, I don’t really spoil her much by buying her stuff. That really doesn’t yield positive results. Kids who expect things to be given to them all the time, result in adults who expect to get whatever they want. That’s just not a sustainable life style. Besides, stuff never really makes people happy.

I also wouldn’t want her to have everything done for her to the point that she is incapable of doing things for herself.  She needs to learn how to take care of herself so she is prepared if she goes away to college, or takes a while to get married. Or perhaps she won’t get married. Who knows what life has in store for her. She needs to be ready for whatever life throws at her.

What I want is for her to be secure in who she is. I want her to know that I do things for her just because of who she is, not because of anything she does. My desire is that she won’t then need to seek out someone to make her feel special. Instead, she will KNOW she is special and will seek out someone who recognizes that fact and will treat her as such.

A princess is sometimes thought of as someone who can’t do anything for herself and requires being waited on hand and foot. That is not my goal for my Princess. I want her to be treated like a princess because she is one, not because she can’t do it for herself. We make sure that when she asks us to do something for her, that it isn’t because she can’t do it herself. This helps to build her self confidence as well.

Overall, my goal is to make life very tough for any potential suitor. I want them to have to pursue her and work to be deserving. I don’t want her to feel like something is missing in her life and she needs to go out and seek it. They say that a healthy relationship with their father is one of the most important factors in girls growing up to have healthy relationships with men. I definitely don’t want to let down my end of the deal. The spoiling will continue. You’re welcome.

P.S. Young man, you better bring your A+ game, ’cause your A game just won’t do. (Take your time. She doesn’t get to date until she’s 30.)

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I tend to disagree however. While I haven’t played an instrument since high school band, I have a deep appreciation for music. It truly moves my soul. When I see someone on stage who is truly moved with passion for what they are doing, I feel it right along with them.

For those that disagree, I wonder how you feel about hand raising? Isn’t it the same? People get moved by the Spirit and raise their hands in worship. This is just the way a musician raises their hands in worship.

I’m sure there are a few musicians who are truly just putting on a show to stroke their own egos. Should we criticize and restrain those that are truly worshipping though? It’s not easy to judge the heart of the person playing , and the Bible is pretty clear that we shouldn’t anyway.

If we take a look at the Biblical example of David, I think we get a pretty clear answer on the topic. In 2 Samuel 6, we have the story of the Ark of the Covenant being brought back to Jerusalem. During this, David is dancing and shouting before the Lord with all of his might. This was during a very public event. In fact, his own wife was embarrassed by his public actions. I see no condemnation by the Lord of his actions however.

I absolutely love seeing someone passionately sharing their gift before the Lord. It adds to my worship experience. If it’s not your thing, perhaps you should practice a little Grace and allow each to worship in their own way.

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Another interesting observation is that a person’s view of failure is crucial. Failure is not permanent. You simply change and grow based on that failure. We need to learn to focus more on that in the school systems. If we could get kids to understand that pop quizzes show them what they need to focus on for the bigger test, perhaps we could help them in developing that mindset of failure.

Something I wonder about is whether the Christian Faith helps in the formation of that grit. If the concept of failure not being permanent is a key, it seems that is at the core of Christianity. Isn’t that what we base our salvation on? The Grace that our failures are not permanent? What do you think?

This is a very short video. Please check it out.

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One side of the argument I hear so often is that we’re falling behind the rest of the world. Let’s just say we come up with the perfect standards that are the best in the world, and then we come up with the perfect test that measures our kids to those standards with amazing accuracy. Do we win then?

What is the goal? Is it to have the smartest kids in the world? Is it to have the best educated kids in the world? I don’t think those are the goals at all. A better set of questions is, will they be healthy? Will they be happy? Will they be prepared to face the challenges of the world to come? Will they be free?

I don’t think they will be, and aren’t those the things that ultimately are what we want for our children?

Let’s think about what made America great, why it is (or at least was?) the greatest Nation. Our forefathers didn’t come here to get a better education. They didn’t come here to be the smartest nation. They came here to be free from tyranny and free to practice their religion in the way they wanted to. It was the unrestricted pursuit of those ideals that lead to our greatness.

They didn’t need someone to tell them what they had to learn. They learned what they needed to be successful. We need to be instilling that same passion for learning into our children instead of scaring them with some arbitrary test that they have to take based on information that some committee decided was important.

We also need to take a bottom up approach. We need to stop telling teachers exactly what and how they need to teach, and then hanging the children’s performance on a standardized test over their head. We need to let them use their passion for educating children to do just that. Have you ever heard some 50 year old talk about a certain influential test they had when they were in school? Now, how about someone with tears in their eyes talking about that special teacher that made all the difference in their lives?

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but what I do know, is that more of, or a revised version of, what we already have is not going to work.

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This morning I read a devotional on the topic of worship. It got me thinking about how our modern society views worship versus what worship really is at its core.

You see so many churches spend time, money, and energy creating the “perfect worship experience”. This includes the proper lighting, backdrops, and video projection. Multi-piece worship bands practice for hours to create just the right sound and stage presence. Songs are chosen to set just the perfect mood and to complement the pastor’s message.

Preparing to come into God’s presence should never be an after thought, so I do believe that all preparation is not pointless. The question is, how much is enough, and how much is just catering to the human desire to be entertained? The biggest responsibility for preparing for worship falls on the one worshipping and no amount of added atmosphere will change that no matter how well intentioned.

My own most intense worship experience happened without any of the modern “essentials”. Every time I hear the song “How Great Is Our God“, I am taken back to that moment. Not only did we not have special lighting, or backgrounds, or video, I don’t think we even had any musical instruments, although someone might have been playing a guitar. It was during a mission trip with youth from our church. We were in David, Panama, sitting on the covered back patio of the home of the missionary couple who ministered there. It was evening and the rain was just pouring down.

My heart was totally focused from several days of mission work surrounded by other believers just carrying out the work of Christ. It was totally awesome. It’s an experience I will never forget. I felt in complete connection with my Creator and was just worshipping Him in His Awesome Glory.

It’s time we get back to the basics. If you aren’t “feeling the worship”, then the problem is not with the service, or the worship team, or the church leadership. The problem starts within. Spend more time with God and in His Word, and tear down those walls that are separating you from Him.

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Last night, the earth lost a mighty man of God. It would take a book to write the background of this young man, so I can’t really do that here. If you would like to know more, you should go to Fishers of Men Mexico and read more about his background and his family. You will also get to meet a lot of other awesome men, women, and children by doing so.

But back to Danny. About a month ago, Danny, only a boy of 5, went in for heart surgery because he only had half a heart. Because of this, his body did not process oxygen as well as it should. The surgery was designed to improve that situation. It was a very risky surgery, but very necessary. The regular oxygen saturation level in his body was only 70-75%. You would not be released from a hospital with that level, and yet that was a regular level for little Danny. 

The amazing thing about him was that he didn’t let that stop him from being a little boy. He lived life to the fullest. I never met Danny in person, but I heard from people who did as well as learned about him from his mommy’s blog. He loved to run and play as every little child does. He also loved more than most children. My dad talked about how Danny jumped up in his lap even though Danny had just met him. We could all learn a lot from Danny about how to live and love.

Danny also had a passion for Jesus. His desire was to grow up to be a pastor like his daddy. Thus the need for the surgery. His life would definitely be shortened if nothing were done to correct his condition.

His whole life up through this point had been one miracle after another. He lived 5 years with only half a heart! Just getting approved for the surgery in Mexico was a miracle. And then it was free, and they met someone who lived within a few minutes walk of the hospital where his parents could stay when not actually at the hospital. Just one thing after another. That’s why I was fully expecting God had big things in store for this young man’s life. Why else would He preserve him this way? He was going to become a big time preacher and bring many to Salvation. At least that’s what my plans for Danny’s life had in store. But God’s ways are so much higher than ours.

During that month he was in the hospital, at least one of his parents was in the special lounge/waiting room 24 hours per day, sleeping on the floor or a metal bench with other parents of critical patients. During that time, his mom and dad ministered to those other parents as well as hospital staff.  I’m aware of about 10 people making a decision to follow Christ in that room during Danny’s stay.

And lets not forget the hundreds of people who follow his mom’s blog, Facebook page, newsletters, and more. How many lives were touched for the good through Danny’s story?

So what is the definition of a pastor? Don’t they bring people to Christ and then shepherd and encourage them in their walk? Sounds to me like Danny did all that through his life, don’t you think?

When life has got you down, think about Daniel. No, I don’t mean think about how tough his life was and how you don’t really have it that bad. Instead I want you to think about his passion for life and how he made every second count and how he touched so many lives. That’s where real success in life is.

We’ll see you again soon Pastor Danny.

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I receive a magazine called “Technologies for Worship”. I started receiving it because I used to volunteer as a sound tech at a church we previously attended. It has some great articles on the basics of using audio and video technologies in church.

Increasingly though, I have become disillusioned with the content. It has less to do with changes in the magazine than it does with changes in me.

The Spirit has been working on me about priorities in life. What is truly important, and what is just fluff?

As I read the magazine and see the multi-million dollar facilities and the six figure audio/video upgrades, I begin to wonder if it’s really the best use of resources in a world where whole people groups have not heard the Message of the Gospel and so many people are dying every day due to lack of basic food, water, and medicine.

To illustrate my point, let me refer you to a short article within the first ten pages of the latest issue of the magazine. It’s titled “GLP Impression Spot One & Wash One Enhance Worship at Lifegate Church”. Really? It enhances worship? (In case you can’t tell from the title, it refers to a new lighting system.)

I also have run sound for a very small Christian Music venue. We were located in a multi-purpose room at a small church. We used a small audio system that was decades past its prime. We had ZERO lighting beyond two banks of fluorescent house lights. The stage wasn’t even big enough for all but the smallest of bands. They usually put the drums on the stage and everyone else played from the floor.

But I cannot tell you how many times I truly Worshiped in that place. That’s because it has nothing to do with hardware or facilities.

The reasons I could worship are very simple. First and foremost, I was open to the Spirit and ready to Worship. And secondly, the bands were ready to be a conduit for the Spirit and True Worship.

It’s really a simple formula. It requires no complex audio systems. No flashing and sweeping LED lights. No multi-media presentations. At its basic, True Worship simply needs a willing worshipper. The One Worthy of Worship is already there waiting, and He’s not messing with His iPod.

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Today my wife was reading to the kids out of Genesis as part of our Advent reading. In this reading I discovered that maybe this practice didn’t originate in our house, or even in the home represented in Family Circus. In Genesis 3 as God confronts Adam about how they realized they were naked he more or less responds “not me!” it was Eve, and she responds “not me!” it was the snake.

So see, maybe our kids came by this practice honestly. It couldn’t have come from me though because I never blamed anything on somebody else when I was a kid…

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