"I'm so broke after paying my credit card bill, bloated mortgage, and new car payment."

How many of you can identify with this article (thanks to Bob Roberts, Jr. at Glocalnet)? 

Why does it take a suffering economy for us to try and place our finances under the Lordship of Jesus? 

Why do we complain about being broke when it is our own doing… and when billions in our world live–well, it’s more like die–on less than $2 a day?

How can churches help their own and those in the communities around them when it comes to this issue that doesn’t say, “Get your finances straight so you can give to the church” and, instead, shines the love and grace of Jesus on people?

Leave me some feedback…

Psalm 100

My wife and I have been doing a lot of thinking and letting God challenge us lately about stuff.  All the stuff we have.  All the stuff we have packed up in boxes in the shed not being used.  All the stuff sitting around the house.  It’s really starting to bug us.  Having read through Psalm 100, I’ve a new reason to be bugged about it.

I’m not sure I’m really thankful for any of it.  I take it for granted.  And I’m starting to think I have way too much.

Read the second half of Psalm 100,

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him; bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.

When this was written, most of the audience who heard it were thankful to have enough to eat for the day and to have shelter over their heads.  A majority of their time was spent harvesting, butchering, and preparing food for the day.  God instructs them to be thankful.

I take for granted that I have enough shirts in my closet to wear a different one every day for at least three weeks.  And that’s just shirts…

How can I be more thankful for what I have?  Praying thankfully is certainly a start (we’re instructed to pray prayers of thanksgiving), but if I continue to fall into the trap of consumerism, am I really thankful… or just greedy?  My wife and I are starting to think that as we go through our stuff, we’ll downsize… and not through a yard sale or eBay or Craigslist.  We’ll give it away.  If it’s not worth giving away, and can’t be reused or recycled, then we’ll pitch it.  I don’t know yet.  In some weird way, the thought of giving stuff away makes me thankful for what God has given me. 

Speaking of giving, God is a giving God.  Jesus gave everything.  Jesus instructed a rich dude to sell everything, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him.  I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t take Jesus at His word instead of pussy-footing around His words.  If we want to be like Him, and if we want to truly be thankful, it’s going to take more than words.  It’s going to take imitation of Him.  It’s going to require giving.

Now that I’ve stated publicly what I want to do… I now have to do it.

I’ve read a lot of books this year.  Most were good.  A few were remarkable.  This one tops them all so far.  The Forgotten Ways is an absolute MUST read for anyone who cares about the fate of the church in the Western world, and for anyone who cares about living the Jesus life.

Hirsch’s writing style can be a bit technical (I personally enjoyed it a lot), but the stuff is amazing.  The book is about what he has termed the Apostolic Genius.  It’s what made the New Testament church such an explosive movement.  It’s what made every Jesus movement so explosive (including the underground Chinese church).  He explores each aspect of the Apostolic Genius–the Lordship of Jesus, disciple making, missional-incarnational impulse, apostolic environment, organic systems, and communitas (not community)–and shows what it can and should look like.  When these things are present, the church (in whatever form or “model”) thrives and spreads like a virus.

Hirsch also, unapologetically, writes about the demise of the Western church due to consumerism, which has shaped a massive majority of churches into nothing more than providers of spiritual goods and services.  He does (and rightly so) hold out great hope for the church in the West.  It will take much work, prayer, sweat, and risk, but there is hope for revival.

While every aspect of the book captivated me and spurred me to much thought, the chapter on communitas really got me thinking.  It seems as if the early church (and other great Jesus movements) was always in a state of what Hirsch calls liminality–a situation of marginalization and danger.  This lead the early believers to really live what they believed and get on mission–communitas:  I for the community, and the community for the world.  It’s really got me thinking about how our church can become more on target with God’s mission.

A great book, a must read (even if it angers you… which it just might if you’ve been a Christian for a long time… and it definitely will if you’re a consumer Christian who cares about your wants and needs over those of everyone else).

The OBX was awesome this year (as it usually is).  A lot of sand, some sun, a little surf, some golf, a lot of root beer (some new brews that I hadn’t tried yet), watching the sun rise over the ocean, finding some great shells, and a lot of mental rest.  I’m physically tired, and not from running around (we did some of that, but not a ton).  The only complaint I had was the beds–hard as a rock.  It doesn’t matter if you sleep a good nine hours a night with no interuptions (which I did all but one night), if the bed you’re sleeping in doesn’t agree with you… you wake up feeling like someone beat the crap out of you.  My bed has felt like heaven the last two nights.  I’m taking an air mattress next year…

So it’s back to the ol’ grind this week, and I’m excited about it.  A lot of work to do over the coming 10-12 months…

This week, I’m on vacation at the OBX.  In my absence, I’ve conjured up some posts about other people who post on blogs… and they do a dang good job at it.  So read, then go visit them…

Jason is another college friend.  He was the front man in a ska band called “The Oisters.”  Ska wasn’t my thing, but those boys could shred.  He was bone thin in college, and covered in tatoos–which was so taboo on that campus.  But that’s what was so frickin’ cool about it.  Now, nearly a decade later, marriage and fatherhood have made us both older and thicker around the middle.

Jason is now the Creative Arts guy at Forefront Christian Church in VA Beach.  I haven’t been reading his blog as long as the others I’ve mentioned, but it’s way cool.  He blogs about life, observations, stuff to help other creative arts guys, conferences, his new baby girl, things he found on the internet that inspire his creative side, all kinds of stuff.  He also posts his creative stuff that he conjures up for his ministry–videos and sermon series bumpers for Forefront. 

Jason is super talented at what he does, and is very open with his knowledge about creative arts stuff.  His blog is certainly worth a read.

Just one problem.  He’s a Mac user.  And Macs are for sucks.  Well, they’re way out of my price range.  Or I’d own one, too!

This week, I’m on vacation at the OBX.  In my absence, I’ve conjured up some posts about other people who post on blogs… and they do a dang good job at it.  So read, then go visit them…

 I first learned of Bob Roberts and Glocalnet when I read his book, “The Multiplying Church.”  I’ve read some really good books this year.  This one is ranks right up at the top.  It challenged my thinking tremendously about the church–why it’s flourishing in the East in places like China, but declining here in the West; about the need for churches to be church planting churches, etc.  It was a tremendous volume that I’ll refer to many times in the future.  After I read the book, I checked out his blog.

Bob’s church in Texas is one of the most reproductive churches in the West.  His church, Northwood church, has planted close to 100 “daughter” churches (I think it will break 100 this year with their newest batch of trained church planters).  His blog reads just like his book–it’s challenging, to the point, non-sugar coated, I think you get the point.  He invited readers to interact with him recently about the books hi-lites.  It was so cool to interact with a book’s author, and with so many others as we try to figure out how to reach our culture–and cultures within our culture, and around the world.

His advice to me was priceless–serve those who hurt most around you.  And find somewhere in the world to serve (his church is currently serving in Vietnam).  You won’t have much success at first, but it will reap huge benefits for your church because it will become part of their DNA.  He recently went to Kenya to meet with preachers from across the globe to start a dialogue about how the churches in the East can teach the churches in the West, and vice versa.  He also got to meet with the Prime Minister of Vietnam recently, which sounded so cool.

So, check out the book and the blog.  They’ll both get you thinking about churches, church planting, church multiplication, and a global church movement.

This week, I’m on vacation at the OBX.  In my absence, I’ve conjured up some posts about other people who post on blogs… and they do a dang good job at it.  So read, then go visit them…

Wayne Wagner is a special boy.  And I’m not talking about unique.  Seriously, when I met him, I first thought he was kicked off the short bus.  I met Wayne at college.  Wayne was way out in left field–he liked to talk about strange stuff.  He listened to weird music.  He didn’t like to study.  He loved to play guitar.  I liked Wayne immediately.

Early in my freshman year, Wayne and I started a band.  We called it Jesus Wept.  We called it that because some of our other name choices weren’t exactly P.C. on our Bible college campus.  They weren’t bad… they would have just pissed people off.  It was a lot of fun.  We recorded a tape (with a big ol’ camcorder, which we dubbed onto a cassette, and then scrambled around the dorm making copies of on anyone’s tape deck we could use… and then we sold them for $5 a piece to ignorant high school students).  We played at several college functions and student events.  Heck, one of the trips we took is where I met my wife.  Thanks, Wayne (although you tried to convince her not to date me, you jerk).  For my first year of marriage, we lived across the hall from Wayne and his wife in the same house-converted-into-apartments.  Wayne and I would hang out, play chess, and smoke cigars (which was against our college’s rules).

Wayne is now on staff at New Venture Christian Church in Midlothian, VA.  He came on board in wake of a time of great turbulence at the church, and has helped bring things back together.  Wayne is outspoken.  Wayne is very opinionated.  Wayne has a Starbucks addiction (I think an intervention is in order).  He likes golf.  He likes a good cigar.  He has a beautiful family (his wife, Shannon, is absolutely perfect for him).  Wayne is painfully honest, most of all with himself.  Most of all, Wayne is freakin’ passionate about Jesus.  His blog, Supernaturally Pure, is much like mine (although he started his months before I did).  It is his public journal, as he reads scripture, reflects on it, is pained by it, challenges his readers with it, and prays about it.  No subject is taboo; no topic is off limits.

Do yourself a favor and subscribe to his blog.  It’s short, to the point, honest, at times painful, but always focused on Jesus.

And Wayne… when are we getting the band back together?  I need to make some d**n money before I die…

This week, I’m on vacation at the OBX.  In my absence, I’ve conjured up some posts about other people who post on blogs… and they do a dang good job at it.  So read, then go visit them…

Years ago, I went to the second ever service of a new church in VA Beach called Forefront Christian Church.  I absolutely hated it.  Secular music.  A sermon called “What Would Jesus Say to Kurt Cobain?” Funny videos.  In my book, it was blasphemy.  I wrote the Forefront staff to let them know about it.

Boy, did they ever get a laugh at my expense (and deservedly so). 

Vince Antonucci was one of the original team that launched Forefront back in 1997 (I think it was ‘97).  He didn’t discover Jesus until college.  He found churches to be weird, but stuck it out anyway.  He went to seminary, he interned at one of the largest churches in America, and then started Forefront.  Having now been in the church planting game for several years now, I know exactly why I hated Forefront (at first)–I was supposed to, because I was already a Christian.

I now appreciate Vince big time because, quite simply, he gets it.  He gets it because he’s been there–a dude who didn’t go to church growing up who found himself believing in Jesus and trying to make sense of this whole church thing.  He planted a church for people who hate church, and he (and the rest of the staff and church) will do anything short of sinning to help people find Jesus (his words, not mine).

Vince started his blog (vinceantonucci.com) to help other church planters.  He has shared his insights on church planting principles, sermon series, music, attitudes–a ton of info is available at his site.  He’ll occassional blog about conferences he speaks at–most recently in Poland.  He’ll also blog about books he’s reading, and encourages his readers to interact with his thoughts.  Occassionally, you’ll even get one of Forefront’s videos… which are hilarious (but, if you’re a comfy Christian, will offend you… which probably needs to happen).

His blog has certainly helped my thinking a lot.  Even if you’re not a church planter, you should give Vince’s blog a whirl.  You’ll be glad you did.  Not only that, go check out Vince’s book that came out earlier this year.  It’s a frickin’ awesome read (especially if you like jokes about elephant proctologists):  I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

And, Vince, if you’re reading this… buy a new freakin’ sweater!  Or take a new picture every once in a decade!  Love ya, dude.  Keep kickin’ ass in Jesus’ name.

This week, I’m on vacation at the OBX.  In my absence, I’ve conjured up some posts about other people who post on blogs… and they do a dang good job at it.  So read, then go visit them…

Today’s favorite blogs are by my wife, Laura.  She currently has three of them.

The first is Laura Saufley Photography.  While nursing is her day job, my wife’s passion is photography.  On this blog, she’ll post photos of sessions she does with friends and family.  Most often, my girls show up!   Usually it’s my two-year-old, Madalyn, doing something really strange and really funny.  Right now, she’s got some pics of our kids, my sister, and a friend who had some pregnancy pics done.  I may be biased, but I think she’s really good.

The second is called Counting My Pennies.  By her own admission, my wife is a spender.  In the past few months, however, she’s been really convicted about her financial habits, and embarked on a journey to be a better financial steward.  This blog tells about deals she finds (especially at CVS), other blogs with money saving tips, her successes and failures in finance, where to find good coupons, etc.  It’s a really honest blog and details a really honest journey she’s on (and it gets a TON of traffic). 

Her third blog is called My Journey From Couch to 5K.  A few months ago, she decided to start training for a 5K run that is taking place this fall.  If you know my wife, you know that she really isn’t the running type.  Well, she started… and she’s doing awesome!  She’s blogging about her experience, posting details of her runs, how well she does, and even her MP3 playlist.  To date, she’s lost over 16 pounds since she started!  Way to go, babe!

Running, saving, and shooting photos.  Go check out my babe’s blogs.  Wait… that sounded a little naughty!