HIJINKS ENSUE

Blog Moving

2011-07-05T11:38:00.001-05:00

Hey all 5 people that may read my never updated blog. I'm moving over to blog exclusively on my tumblr. Check it out at justinmanny.tumblr.com

Check back soon

2011-02-10T14:36:00.001-06:00

I have a new goal to update this blog every Monday. Check back then. Just wanted to add something fresh.

Love Thy Neighbor

2010-09-14T09:32:00.000-05:00

I just found this article, through Q. It's very similar to what has been stirring in me about Avondale, the neighborhood I live in.

Love Thy Neighbor

Fasting from Twitter

2010-09-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Facebook recently passed Google as the site that has the most time spent on it? Did you know that Facebook is now a leading cause of divorce in America? Who hasn't lost 2 or 3 hours of our lives without even knowing it to the time-suck that is Facebook? This started creating a feeling. Maybe not like impending doom or anything, but it seemed like it was on the horizon.

I'm going to fast from my personal social media. I can't fast from the All Pro Sound social media. It's my job to put that stuff up. But from my own social network. I will not partake.

I'm not blaming her, but Jill is the reason why. She recently got an iPhone 4. Now, she's always on it. Looking at stuff. Playing Words with Friends till 2 in the morning. We went to dinner and she barely talks to me.

So for two weeks, I'm off of Twitter, which is the only network I actively participated in anyway. I will tweet one last time to let people know that the Twitter fast has commenced. I believe that this fast will go much like food fasts, in that when I feel the twitter pangs in my stomach, I will pray for God's strength to get me through. Maybe I will cope with the lack of twitter by blogging...NO! No social media!! Are location based services social? I don't any friends on them, so does that make them unsocial? Quite the conundrum. I do love Gowalla, and I believe I will be going to some cool places over the next two weeks that may need to be cataloged into my Gowalla passport. If I don't share my check ins on twitter, is that still a social network fast?

I think this is a picture of what many Christians do. We start out with great intentions, fast to focus on God. But then we see how close to the line we can get. What doesn't go over the line but comes really close?

Maybe you can join me. If you want to join me from a twitter fast send a final tweet with a hash tag #twitterfast, time and date, and then let's do this together. Imagine what you'll be able to accomplish without reading tweets!

Higher Standard

2010-09-09T14:31:00.001-05:00

Does this look like what Jesus died for?

I've rediscovered qideas.org this week, and I've been doing a lot of reading on their blogs and essays. There is tons of good stuff there. And it's got me thinking a lot about the church.

Our job as Christians is be innovating what it means to be a part of the church. But innovating in line with the biblical mandates from Jesus. And really, I feel like the shift that needs to occur is a backwards shift. The church has become a marketing machine, winning people to a way of life that doesn't challenge, but placates. We want to seem cool. We are watering down expectation levels to allow people to feel like they belong instead of holding people to higher standard. When the marketing message a church is a self focused thing, it doesn't matter how many messages a preacher preaches about living for something bigger. Those two things are diametrically opposed, and the church is shooting itself in the foot.

In the church culture I live in, Pensacola FL, I feel like the church is in a very dangerous limbo. More people here go to church than any place I've ever been. But here, I'm having a hard time finding people who are the church. Our job as the church is not to listen to some music, hear a message, drink some coffee and go home. But honestly that's what I see. I see a politician in Pensacola, who goes to a large church in town, campaign for a clean race and then steal campaign signs of his opponent, all the while acting like there's nothing wrong with it. Across our state, there a fanatical preacher who thinks that the best way to show Christ's love to others is to burn the Qu'ran. That's the danger of isolation that I see in these churches. When you focus internally so much, and ignore our calling, these things don't seem to far fetched.

Christ calls us to more. Christ calls us to make disciples. Christ calls us to love those that don't deserve it. Christ calls us to forgive when it's the hardest thing in the world to do. Christ calls us to make the world a better place. The Kingdom of God, that Jesus preached about, is here. It's us. It's the church. I think Jesus is looking at our clinical, sterilized version of what the church is and is asking where the dirty people are. He's a guy who chilled with lepers. He's a guy that love tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Now it's our turn to wake up and do what we're called to do.

We are called to go to the poor and oppressed.
To be help to those who need it.

We are supposed to be the living breathing arms and legs, hands and feet, of Jesus. We are supposed to be going to the hurting. We are supposed to be thinking of others. We should be striving to develop relationships with others like us, and those very different than us. We need to be striving to make the world a better place, every minute of every day. This isn't easy. This isn't fun. But neither was dying on the cross. We need to step up and live like we believe in grace. We need to step up and understand that we are losing the Spirit of "The Way." Let's reclaim the term "church." Let's reclaim love. Justice. Charity. Compassion. Hope.

Let's be the church as Jesus called us to be. Let's live to a high standard.

I am not a good golfer

2010-09-03T16:24:00.001-05:00

If there's anything I have learned from my trip to Cincinnati this last weekend, it's that I should only golf one time a month. If I golf once, do the best I can, wait till the next month. I played twice in 3 days with Jimmy. He shot par everyday, I shot like an average of 110. I can't hit straight. I was leaving clubs on tee boxes. Horrible out look. I bet if I had new clubs, that wouldn't happen. Possibly some Nike Victory Red Forged 3-PW SC Irons (Men's Right-Handed, Stiff). Just a thought.

But I gotta hand it to Jimmy. He was patient, and gave me pointers to make me better. You can't ask for more than that.

I feel like God looks at me the same way. He looks at us hacking away in the rough, can't get the ball out of the sand, and He wants to help. All we have to do is ask. I feel like a humble spirit is what it takes to succeed on the golf course, and what it takes to be an example of who Christ is.

Story

2010-07-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

I just finished my second book on the iPad. My first book was Stuff Christians Like, very very funny. And this next book I bought was A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I've always liked his style, it's conversational and real. I feel like that's what's important.

The gist of the book is to understand that your life is a story and that the things that make a story awesome and exciting are also what make your life awesome and exciting. It really made me want to create a better story for my life. Really become what I want to be.

So I've been thinking and praying about what could make my story great. And God really did drop something right in my lap.

A man named Pastor Frank showed up here in Pensacola. He's a village leader and church leader in Kampala, Uganda. He came to America to learn and become a better leader for his people. There was a conference in Orlando FL that he attended and while he was there he decided to extend his stay and visa here in the US. He saw a brochure for Pensacola Christian College (don't get me started) that said he could learn and work. So he flew to Pensacola, got ripped off by a cab driver and made it to PCC. When he got there the receptionist said that those work opportunities were only for their students and there was nothing they could do for him, but maybe a church could help him.

He eventually ends up at my father-in-law's church, and they try to help him. He's been hanging out and learning from some people there. And on Thursday, he came a spoke with us at work.

His story is incredible.

He was born on the side of the road, because his mother was trying to walk the six miles from their village to the hospital. As he grew up, his family made him their spiritual leader, but to the family spirits. A corrupt governmental regime was in charge and beheaded his father. So Frank went to Kampala and lived on the streets. Here he met some missionaries who helped teach him about Christ. And he was captivated. He became a strong believer and leader and returned to the villages to plant a church. He faced opposition form the witch doctor of the village and God's power showed through and the witch doctor was actually converted.

He was living an exciting story!! He doesn't sit and watch TV or paint his house, he lives a life fully devoted to Christ. The faith in God alone to leave his village to come get training in the US, not knowing anyone, is enough to put me in my place.

He showed us pictures of his village, and the orphanage that he helps runs, and his church. There are major needs in his community. Because a man can have as many wives as he wants in their culture, when something happens to him, he leaves many widows and many orphans. In the village of Bendegere, where Frank works, he said there are 280 orphans. They live in houses of host families, about ten to a house. 10 kids sleep under 1 mosquito net.

They had begun construction of a school for the orphans, but ran out of money. I asked Frank what it would cost to finish the building and he said $10,000. And now I want to be a part of his story.

A quote from Bono has always stuck with me from God is on the move, where he says,

Stop asking God to bless what you are doing. Get involved in what God is doing...because it’s already blessed.

And I see God working in Pastor Frank and Jesus Power Church in Uganda. So this is my goal. I want to raise the money Pastor Frank needs to build the orphanage in Bendegere. And I want to help get a well in the village where people can have better access to clean drinking water. Also, easier access to clean water will allow quality of life to increase, as they people don't have to spend hours of their day collecting water. They need supplies for their vocational school, funds for micro-loans to teach others to take care of themselves.

My starting goal is $15,000. It's a big number for me. Actually, it's impossible for me. But God can do it! If you would like to help, and be a part of something big, go to www.crowdrise.com/pastorfrank and donate to the project. All the money will go through Liberty Church here in Pensacola.

Frank wasn't looking for a hand out. He never once asked for an kind of money. But his ministry has many needs. As a part of a culture that is privileged beyond our understanding, we need to give back.

I'll be posting some pictures soon as I get some, so check back on the blog often. I'll keep it up to date with all of the work Frank is doing.

My Thoughts on the Oil Spill

2010-06-13T22:15:00.001-05:00

So Jill warned my not to "open up a can of worms", or "ruffle some feathers," so I'm going to be somewhat careful. I think that this spill is terrible. I feel for the families of the 11 men who died when the rig exploded. I think the impact will be far reaching and will affect lives for years to come. That being said, I feel like the reaction of many people has been a little bit ridiculous.

Apparently, there is a Facebook status going around that says a little something like this,

"So where are all the "Save the Gulf" concerts? Where are the T.V. Benefits with celebrities, musicians giving heart felt speeches on the poor fisherman, wildlife, beaches, loss of income, sabotaged gulf economy? I find it rather strange how these people (including our own government) are so quick to help Haiti and other countries, but sit on their butts for this one. Just stating the facts. Post if you agree!"

This set off quite the debate between some of my Facebook friends and acquaintances. I don't get involved in these kind of things. But reading the thread, I got madder and madder and madder. I can't understand how people can compare a natural disaster like the earthquake in Haiti, that came without warning killed over 230,000 people in a matter of minutes, destroyed homes and displaced thousands of surviving people, and completely disrupts normal life with an accidental spill of oil that is hard to stop and clean up, even with 100s of people cleaning.

I thought I would compare how my day went yesterday. I live here in Pensacola, on the Gulf coast. I know that this will have an effect, but on day 54.

I woke up around 9 am. Brushed my teeth. Fed my dog. Let him out. Got dressed.
Drove to Lowe's. Bought string for my weedeater and a Mountain Dew. Stopped at Citgo and got gas for my new lawnmower. Came home.
Filled up the mower and mowed the grass. It was hot but it was fun to use the new mower.
I used my weedeater to trim and get rid of some plants growing in my fence.
Finished up, cleaned up, took a shower and drove over to my in-laws house.
Ate a tuna salad sandwich, doritos, and a sweet tea while watching the world cup USA vs England game.
Proceeded to paint the back bedroom in their house a lovely dark green. Painted for a few hours till it was done.
Ate some Pizza Hut pizza and breadsticks.
Went swimming.
Drove home. Watched the Rays 9th inning. Played a little Modern Warfare 2. Went to sleep.

Does this sound like I need some government assistance or Bono to do a benefit concert for me. I'm not trying to say that lives are not going to be effected. But I live in this area where a lot of people are complaining about the lack of benefit concerts and government help. I don't have a day in the life of someone in Haiti after the earthquake, or in New Orleans after Katrina. But I'm pretty sure they didn't play PS3. They probably didn't care about the Rays.

I really feel like this discussion is happening solely because Americans are the most selfish people on the planet, myself included. We are so blessed and privileged that we just hoard more and more and more. We look at this minor setback in a major economical system of America that produces more money than we even know what to do with. We have also decided that if something doesn't go how we deem it to be "fair," then we whine and moan and complain and look for people to blame. When I look at this "disaster," the only people to blame are Americans. We demand so much oil to make our economy work. Yet we complain when the price gets high. We want people to get us thing cheaper and cheaper and cheaper and this is what happens.

I love this quote that a great and inspiring friend of mine posted,

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -Mark Twain"

This speaks to our American sensibilities. We only think about what we are doing and how our lives are effected. We need to stop whining about something that responsible people will pay for. We need to stop looking for handouts. We need to understand that the poorest American is a king in most impoverished nations.

As a Christian, I am a part of the Kingdom of God, an active vibrant community that should be bringing His compassion and love to the world. I never saw the disciples complaining that they faced hard times. Paul was shipwrecked, imprisoned, snakebitten, flogged, and kick out of town for doing what God calls all of us to do, love others in need. And I'm not going to apologize that I don't feel sorry for us, not being able to go to the beach, eat seafood, or make a little less money and adjust your life accordingly. I feel for those that can't take care of themselves. What's not fair is the fact that I was born into a privileged country, in a well off family. And at the same time, others are born into countries where their families make less than 1 dollar a day. That's not fair. Those are the people that need the benefits, and the help.

I have a fundraiser going right now to build wells to give clean water to people in Kenya. As Americans, the best way I see to deal with this oil spill, (which, honestly, right now we can do nothing,) is to think about others less fortunate than us. Stop whining about not being able to go to the beach, or eat seafood. Make a difference. I really think some feathers need to be ruffled, so consider your feathers ruffled.

H2O4K

Good Riddance Lost

2010-06-08T15:49:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about Lost on and off ever since the finale aired. Believe me, I wasn't happy. It seemed to me like they didn't answer anything at all. I understand that actors get older, or won't come back to the show. But you spent six years developing a story line, and in the last season you introduce new things and only answer those things. It didn't sit right with me. I know the people that like it say that it was perfect and beautiful way to give the characters closure. I get what happened. Just not what I wanted.

All that aside, I think somethings about Lost makes a connection with Christianity. (Not the all paths and being a good person will get you to heaven, when you are ready to go, thing though.) Our lives are complicated busy things. Intricate details are all around us. There are things that we dwell on, (like what was so special about Walt), and they become what is important to us. A lot of things we don't understand, why things happen, what happened, whatever.

But I think what God is concerned about is the final result of the journey. Just like Lost. While being wrapped up in details and unanswered questions loomed, the story ultimately brought the people where they ended up, and it didn't matter how they got there. Faith should be the same thing. Some of us have complex twisting pasts that have brought us to where we are today in our lives. We can't possibly understand why things happened, why did that person die, why did I get fired from that job, why did that person leave with no explanation. God had a plan for you. Those things were there because they brought you to where you are. They equip you for something more, something maybe only you can handle. When we end up serving and being a part of God's plan, the minute details that brought us on the journey aren't really as important.

The important part of my Christianity is not what has happened, but what I will do next, for the glory of God. How will I respond?

Sunday Morning

2010-05-16T18:49:00.000-05:00

I was surfing the web and saw this video on StuffChristiansLike.net. I laughed for about 45 minutes.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

I'd love to know what you think. I'll admit, I laughed to myself in church this morning because it's so true.

Jesus the Door to Door Salesman

2010-05-02T20:10:00.000-05:00

So today, I did a lot of work in the yard/front of the house. I painted the car port and foundation across the front of the house so I could plant the plants we bought. I think the final product looks pretty good. While I was painting, 3 kids from Pensacola Christian College came to the house. They were going door to door asking people if they wanted to go to heaven. (The obvious answer is yes, by the way.) I talked for a couple of seconds, told them I go to church, and that I have a degree in the Bible. They asked if they could pray for me, but I didn't have anything. I pretty much have a one track mind so I wanted to get back to painting. But when I got to painting, I got to thinking. Here are a few of the things I was thinking about.

1. Is that an effective way to show the world who Jesus is?

The more I thought about it, the less it seemed like the way Jesus would have envisioned. I mean, I am a different senario than most. But I can see a person who doesn't care about Christ saying, "Sure I want to go to heaven, but what about paying my light bill?" "What about feeding my kids?" Heaven is an awesome reward but that's not what we as Christians have to offer. We are supposed to be bringing a piece of heaven here to earth. Heaven is "otherworldly" and people in our culture don't think about that. They are trying to survive, everyday.

I am constantly trying to live in a way that shows God's common grace. But also, I don't want to do social justice for the sake of social justice. This neighborhood that I live in could use a lot of common grace. I know people here need to see the church in action. The church needs to be the church. Seeing if people want to go heaven isn't something people are really going to care about.

2. What is the motivation for these kids? What do they think about what they are doing?

Back many years ago, companies would have a sales force of people going door to door selling their products. They would have say a vacuum cleaner, like a Rainbow. They would demo the product and then sell right there at the house. That used to be the way to sell things, but then something happened...the Internet. Now people research and pick what they want. People are incredibly skeptical of everything. So this is what door to door evangelism does. Do we want to put Jesus in the same category of a door to door salesman?

I really want to understand what these kids are being taught that is causing them to think this is an appropriate response to being a Christian. I would hope they are trying to fulfill the Great Commission. But how does going door to door asking people if they go to church or want to go to heaven make a disciple? Isn't a disciple something that takes time to develop? Isn't a disciple the recipient of a relationship? The disciples with Jesus got a relationship. They got three years, seeing every side of Him. I see our job as Christian to be like Christ. We are supposed to call people to hang out with us, to be our friends, to eat with us. Going door to door, asking a question and leaving isn't a relationship. Man, making a disciple is dirty hard work.

I think the culture is tired of Christians trying to just do the easy thing. People in our culture respect hard work. Jesus got dirty and we need to as well.

I really wish that I had spent some time with those kids. I want to understand the thought process. I saw a guy yesterday standing on the side of the road at a stop light, white shirt, black tie, Bible in hand, screaming at the top of his lungs at people stopped at the light. I guess my adjustment to the "Bible-belt" is going to be tough.

If you are those three kids that were walking around my neighborhood on Sunday, I would love to spend some time talking to you, getting to know, understanding your approach to faith and why door to door Heaven invitations is the way for you. Come back and see me.

I'd love to hear what other people think.

Technology Dumbing Us Down?

2010-04-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

So the other day my phone totally died. And I was lost, figuratively. I couldn't remember anyone's phone numbers. I couldn't tweet. I couldn't check my email. I couldn't check in with Gowalla.

And this really got me thinking. Is our technology actually making us dumb? We have become so smart in small doses but it has made us not have to use our brains.

And this has allowed me to have an even better appreciation of why God chose to send His Son when He did. At that point in history, people remembered things. They passed on traditions orally. The writings that became the New Testament were from probably 40 years after Jesus had ascended into heaven. Yet the details of the stories that were saved are incredible. Somethings make us wonder why they are even there.

It's hard for me to imagine that God's hand was not in the creation of the Bible. It's hard for me to think that it's an accident. So, it's funny that, me not having any charge left in a device that makes me not have to think about things as much, really has caused me to think about where we came from.

God's ways are so much bigger than ours. And I think Him that they are.

Love Your Enemy

2010-03-28T22:00:00.001-05:00

Jesus speaks many times in Scripture about loving your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Treat the least of these like kings. Man it sounds great. It sounds hard but it sounds great. It's pretty cut and dry.

I was listening to the Mars Hill podcast today on my drive from Jacksonville to Pensacola. For Lent, Mars Hill was going through the story of Jonah. I honestly had never read Jonah in that way. I'll let you listen yourself to hear the whole story, but one thing in specific stuck out to me. Shane Hipps talked about the anger that Jonah felt because God spared the people of Nineveh. Most times I simply passed that over. But Jonah 4:1-3 says, But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord , was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore now, O Lord , please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” Jonah would rather die, than live in a world where God forgave the people of Nineveh. He pointed out that Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria, a vast empire at the time. They had enslaved and intermarried with Israel. And that was the worst thing that Israel could have happen. When Jonah got to Nineveh, he was wanting God to over throw Nineveh as justice for what they had done to Israel. But God forgave the evil of Nineveh and showed Jonah truly what it meant to love his enemies.

In our culture, I think most average people don't have true enemies. Sure Seminoles don't like Gators, but sports teams aside, most people strive to be liked by most people. People will act in certain ways to allow others to like them. Sure sometimes, people don't like each other, but rarely do we come across a life or death situation. Rarely are we in America oppressed. So the hunt for me is for an enemy.

I had a rough week. I had an experience that I believe may have created a situation where I can love on someone I normally wouldn't, someone hostile to me and my belief. The truth is, we don't need to find an enemy, or someone hostile to our faith. In this postmodern society, hostility toward faiths is mostly a thing of the past. What true for you is fine, but it's not true for me. It's time to love in a way that changes the world. We are to be a beacon of God's love. That's why we are to love our enemies. Because, as Shane points out, God loves indiscriminately, even those who enslave and destroy his people. And if He can do it, we should too.

Social Location Roundup

2010-03-18T22:30:00.001-05:00

So I've been doing a lot of research on the new hottest thing in social networking: geo-location. The fact that smartphones are in more and more pockets, all enabled with GSP, makes the possibilities of these networks interesting. I have currently been trying out many of these services, both on the web and their respective iPhone apps. I'm going to give you a little bit about each one.

All of these service center around checking in at locations. You can link pictures, comments, and send them to Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites. The popularity of Twitter drives these services.

Foursquare: Started in NYC, this is an awesome friend locator. When you check in, it's going to let you know. When you check in, you get points. Points get you badges. The game is to be the "mayor" of a location. Some businesses are using Foursquare for promotions, such as the "mayor" of a coffee shop gets a free drink each time they come. The possibilities for businesses and foursquare seem to be primed and ready to explode.

Gowalla: Gowalla is beautiful. The design is catchy. Right now, I would say it is my favorite. When you check in places, there are patches and stamps you can collect. They have also started building relationships with businesses to award players. Recently they partnered with inCase and Apple and gave away virtual and real iPhone inCase cases to people who check in at Apple retail stores. I currently am using Gowalla as my network of choice.

Loopt: Loopt was one of the first networks I saw. It would locate you on a map and allow you to say what you are doing. It's interesting that they have evolved along with Gowalla and Foursquare to include check ins. I like the map you can look at and see all the location of friends who have checked. Again, this only works if your friends are actively opening the app and checking in regularly.

Yelp: What differentiates Yelp is the ability to leave reviews of the locations. This is awesome for finding new restaurant, shops, coffee, in your area that rocks. As a business owner, you can control the information available on your business's Yelp page, something like an online phonebook page. You can edit information and release updates and promotion that show up on your city directory. They have also started to add checkin so you can see what your Yelp friends are doing.

Brightkite: Another graphically well designed site. Check in and searchable to see what others are saying. They also have a nice featured that allows for mass group text message conversations. It seems like just another check in, conversation place, basically geolocation Twitter, which Twitter can do.

There are some draw backs to these services. First is the people that use them. I currently live in Pensacola, FL. And not many people use these services. Also, many locations don't have spots set up. In the case of Gowalla, that makes it hard to collect items, because there are not any. People who live in big cities will have a lot more to do with these services.

The other concern is the privacy issue. Most friends I have think it's a great way to get stalked. There is also a website that's called PleaseRobMe.com that is really just a wake up call. The fact that telling people where you are can allow them to know where you are not. The goal is to be aware of over-sharing.

I think that only one or two of these will really take off. They are aiming at the exact same markets. The two front runners now and Foursquare and Gowalla. I think if you are interested in some of this, check one out.

My overall advice would be to find what your friends are doing and everyone use the same thing. The point is to connect to people you know, meet people who like similar places as you, and share pictures and comments and reviews. Do it where people will hear it. If you want to see what I'm doing, I'm on Gowalla. Friend it up.

I'd love to hear what you think. Feel free to leave some comments.

Transitions

2010-03-11T16:10:00.000-06:00

This transition has been a little bit tough. Moving, not as much. But my brain has had to transition from "church" think, "church" speak, kingdom all the time, to a business mindset. I mean, I'm trying to raise awareness now for a brand, where as before I was raising awareness of Jesus.

It's a little bit of culture shock too. Pensacola is a small town. And "church" is something that everyone has just always done. I feel a weird sense of complacency all around me. I don't feel a sense of urgency. I want to figure out why that is.

I think this points to a larger issue in America. Our lives as Christians cannot be lived in the a rigid framework. It can't be when we are only at "church." And "church" can't just be a another thing you do in your week. Sunday shouldn't mean "church."

As my friend told me today, "We are the church, no matter where we are." It is time for everyone to live like that. Paul says that what ever we do needs to be for the glory of God. Let's start living for the glory of God. I'm going to spend time finding what it should look like. I want to point us to a new way to live, totally centered on Christ.

New Year, New Place, New Blog

2010-03-08T22:07:00.002-06:00

I'm ready to get serious. I know I blog about serious stuff a lot, but now I need a place to interact with what God is doing. Moving from the ministry as a profession to ministry as a life. So over the coming weeks, I'm going to blog about some of the things I'm doing and some of the things I am seeing.

Let me know if you want me to think about something and write about it. All 8 of you that read the blog right now.

Light

2009-11-19T09:31:00.004-06:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in some time. I guess it needs to be moved up my priority list.

I've been wrestling with some stuff lately. I don't know how to answer the questions I have. So I'm trying to process it and see where God leads me. I am seeing major inconsistencies between what Jesus told us to do, and what we as the modern church actually do. I believe that a lot of it has to do with the disservice we did ourselves in developing an entertaining church experience for some many years. I remember thinking that the programs we have planned and what not are in competition with TV and movies and other things like that, so we need to make it as entertaining as possible, get people in the door. For the most part, that has worked pretty well. But I don't think we realized what it would do to the person attending the program. We have created a generation of consumers, well not created, but enabled. Everything about American culture is driven by consumption. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the food we eat, and now, the religious programming we partake in.

Things I've been reading have opened my eyes a bit. There are way to many things Jesus commanded, (and that's commanded, not suggested), that we can't do in the way we have programmed Christianity. It is impractical to expect people to care for orphans and widows by coming to a Sunday morning service, sitting in chairs, facing forward, singing some songs, hearing a message, giving some money, taking communion, and going home. And yet, church leaders are confused about why it's hard to get people to serve, and be like Christ.

Our religious experience has been confined to a 1 hour block on Sundays, a two hour block sometime during the week, and occasional praying while driving because the song on K-Love made think about praying. But Jesus didn't command that, and early church sure as heck didn't live like that.

Jesus said in Matthew 5,

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."

This idea of light in through out the Bible. A simple search on www.youversion.com (best online Bible out there, and for iPhone! www.youversion.com/download), shows that Jesus spoke about light through out his whole life. Light is something that reveals, shows what is there. It illuminates.

But for light to truly be effective it has be introduced to someplace that is dark. If you go into a dark cave, a flashlight can reveal every nook and cranny. But then I remember being a kid at church camp, and being away from home the first time, and they always made you bring a flashlight. And as kids, we would always turn on our flashlights even when we were in the well lit chapel. Why? They were very uneffective. We really didn't make it more light. But it was after chapel, when we left into the dark Florida night that those flashlight became our lifeline. The flashlight illuminated the path we were walking.

I feel like the church has become a room full of people with flashlights. We have a light, and it's shining, but we're in a room with lights already blazing. We try to illuminate what is already light and it's not effective. We need to leave that room. We need to look for the dark caves and crevasses, (I just wanted to say crevasse).

And this is where I'm struggling. We as church leaders think that our program is the most important thing, and we spend the greatest bulk of our time on planning music and videos and lights. But is this effectively being a light going into the cave? I have never seen a cave move to where there was light. Jesus even says that evil men hide from the light because they don't want people to know their deeds. We need to take the light everywhere with us. And where we go needs to be places that need light. Sure I'm saying go downtown and bring light to the homeless dudes like Chris Colson does. But what about your office? What about your high school? Your family? Your annoying neighbor that always parks his car in your grass?

Truthfully, I'm changing my terminology. From here on out, the word "church" needs to be sacred. In Greek ekklesia meant and gathering of people. So it's time to shift it back to that, and only that. It doesn't refer to a building anymore. You don't "go to church" anymore. You are the church. I am the church. We are the church. And the church is the light of the world. Let's call the building where gather something else. The word church needs to be sacred and specific about us, not our location. This change in terminology will help people understand that Sunday morning is a gathering, it's not church. Church is an army of Christ followers that are forcibly taking the light into the dark. And if you aren't doing that, if you haven't been in the dark in a long time, if you only hang out with other Christ followers, what are you thinking?!!?! Jesus COMMANDED us to change the world, to illuminate the dark, to heal the sick, feed the hungry, cloth the naked. He definitely did not command us to sing three songs listen to a sermon and go home.

If you read this, Thank you. I'd love to hear what you think. That's why blogs have comments. Let's start a discussion. I want to know what you think. I want to know of dark places we can all go and be the light.

Project 7

2009-10-01T09:37:00.003-05:00

Project 7 is a new organization that I want to support and advocate for. Let me give a little bit about them. The organization started because some guys were talking about the 7 deadly sins. And they realized that if we as people were to act in exactly the opposite of each of these things, then the world could change. So they create consumer products, bottles of water, mints, gum, t-shirts, and 50% of the profits from their items will go to a non profit organization that meets one of the seven needs. The 7 areas are: Heal the Sick, Save the Earth, House the Homeless, Feed the Hungry, Help those in Need, Build the Future, and Hope for Peace.

The thing that stands out is that people are aiming to change the world for the better. They are attempting to do something that is bigger than them, or money, or their small lives. We as Christians should be doing that. Our culture needs to have people speaking out for the oppressed, the downcast, the orphan and widow. Let's all jump on this idea. It's easy. IF you buy gum anyway, buy the project 7 gum. The bottles of water are at Caribou Coffee in Anderson Towncenter. Let's, as humans, start living for something bigger than us. It's not that hard.

For more info on Project 7 go to www.project7.com

It's not about you

2009-09-30T14:15:00.002-05:00

As Christians, I feel like we should be constantly serving, no questions asked. Our faith gives us a responsibility. Until we understand that, are we really fulfilling what it means to be a Christian? This week, I've been disappointed by things, that normally wouldn't get to me. I'm just seeing the selfish nature of human beings. The fact that we look out for ourselves first and foremost.

Why is that OK? Why isn't our inclination as Christians to be serving like Christ.

So, I was bringing some stuff into the church. I had 18 bottles of juice. And at least 6 people saw me making trip after trip, 4 bottles at a time, and never said, "Hey let me help you." Most of those people had the time. They had nothing going because long after I was done, they were still hanging out. Where is the servant nature in the church? Why do we feel like it has to be a big organized thing for us to serve others?

Another thing going on is the non-commital nature of people that I am noticing. When I get volunteers to help me, I want them to own there role, and look at it as an offering of service to God. But the disappointing thing is that people are too afraid to commit to a long term of service. Or if something else comes up, then this service takes the back seat.

Is that what pleases God? Are we supposed to look at service in the church as a job, something that can burn us out? Or are we supposed to look at everything we do in service to the church as an offering of praise and worship to God?

Worship of God is not only singing. Giving is not always money. When we became Christians, we were supposed to die to ourselves. But I feel like we as modern day Christians die to ourselves, when it doesn't get in the way of ourselves.

Being a Christian is not going to be easy. That's a given. That's a plain fact. In America, we want you to become a Christian and here is the easy way we do it: don't worry about commitment to anything to big, or hard; just make sure you come to church when you can; don't worry about serving, we understand your job is stressful; make sure that what you do at church is feel good about yourself, and have fun.

It's more than that! It's not going to be easy. DIE TO YOURSELF!! Daily. It's not going to be an easy thing. And once you have it, model it so others see it.

iPhone type correcting

2009-09-24T10:05:00.002-05:00

So, this happened a little while ago, but I was thinking about it and since I'm always so serious on the blog, I thought I'd share this. I was sending a text message to my friend Jimmy to tell him I couldn't hang out because I had people in town. I was typing quickly on the awesome iPhone touch keyboard and accidentally hit "e" before "p." When I did that, instead of "people" it filled in "epilepsy" and I accidentally hit send. Needless to say, those were two things that are not similar.

In another note, I watched a webinar yesterday about the awesome new tool from the people at youversion.com called You Version Live. It is awesome! It's going to allow anyone with an internet enabled device to interact with the live church service as it happens. If you don't have an online bible that you use, or you have a smart phone and would like an online bible to read when out and about, you version is the cat's pajamas! To get the app on your phone, direct your browser to www.youversion.com/download and it will direct you to correct version of the app for your phone [i.e. iPhone, Blackberry, Android]. If you have a phone with just internet, the mobile site for youversion is great as well.

I plan to try to integrate You Version Live into our service as soon as it is released on October 8th, so keep your eyes open and look for you version.

Part 2

2009-09-17T12:21:00.002-05:00

So, I ended up waiting a month to blog the second part. Part 1 talked about why I don't like tracts. Part 2 addresses the complaint that we didn't play very much Christian music at the Carnival during CT09.

Ok, it again goes back to the fact that people need to be met where they are at. We were trying to draw people in and if they heard contemporary Christian music, they aren't going to get into it.

We were able to get people line dancing, and talking and grooving because we attempted to meet people where they were. Nothing we played was controversial. We simply want to be welcoming. People will open up when they are comfortable and that was the goal.

It's time now for action. Time to follow up. Let's get back into those people's lives.

Christian in a postmodern world

2009-08-19T14:36:00.002-05:00

First off, man, 6 weeks is way too long to go between blog posts. I'm gonna be surprised if anyone even reads this one. So, I'm apologizing for my lack of blogability.

Now to some things that have been swirling around inside of my head. I was just having a conversation with a friend of mine about some comments we got on our CT09 event here at the Mount. The comments were a bit disheartening to me.

There were two. First, someone expressed disappointment in our not passing out tracts at the carnival. For those that don't know, tracts are a little brochure that basically point out the plan of salvation. Some make you feel bad and think you are going to be going to hell, and other things. These used to be an effective way of evangelizing, now they are an effective way of wasting paper and causing litter. Here's why this is my opinion. We live in a culture that is post-Christian. What I mean by that is, while there are Christians in America and people who claim to be Christians, most Americans don't live with the same set of basic foundational principles that the Christian worldview is based on. This postmodern culture is full of the relative. What is true for you is fine, but it's not true for me and therefore carries no wait on what I believe or how I act. This culture does not carry with them the basic principle of sin. They don't understand that human beings are fallen, broken people. Postmoderns have the idea that human beings are basically good. Christians understand that every inclination of hearts is to evil, as Paul says. We are broken sinful, in need of a Savior.

So a tract that says you are going to hell because of your sins and you need Jesus makes sense to a Christian worldview, but seems like nothing to someone that doesn't even think there is sin. Our job then as Christians is to fill in the gap between our worldview and the postmodern worldview. We can't expect a tract to even be useful until we show the reason you need a Savior. I understand that some tracts start there. But this is a creation, fall, redemption issue. Those have to be established belief before the need for Jesus is ever even important. As a final thing, were you converted by a tract, or by someone who loved you enough to be there and to answer all of your questions and show you what love is, who God is.

The second thing, well, I'm going to make that a post for another day. Possibly tomorrow.

Just know that our witness now has to be a more all inclusive attempt than it has ever been before because the presuppositions of those around us is completely different than ours.

Lighthouse

2009-07-01T15:03:00.002-05:00

Man it's been a crazy month of June. We had Ovations, Live It Out and Full Throttle all this month, all back to bak to back. While it was crazy, I wouldn't trade it for anything. The stuff that happened during this three week stretch was awesome.

The thing I had the privilege of doing was going to the Lighthouse Youth Services Boy's Home on Saturday. Of all the things I did, during this month, that was where I saw Christ in action. My small group is committed to spending time with these boys. They come from all around and have basically no family. They live in this home and the budget for activities during the week is about $100 for 13 boys. It's hard for the workers. So we went in, took them some food, played some games, (I still can't believe I lost the cornhole tournament), and really hung out and talked with these boys. Sure they were rough around the edges, but they were still teenagers that needed love.

Andrew, from my group, started talking to a boy named Andrew. They seriously talked the whole 3 hours they were there. Andrew came back to group this week and just talked about how awesome it was to become close with someone who needed it, and how it happened that quickly. It's cool to see it. Every member of our small group that made it to the house had meaningful interactions with one or more of these boys.

To me, this is the way the church should be. A bunch of boys needed some love and attention and shouldn't the church be there to do that. We are committed to doing this on a regular basis. We may not see the same boys every time we're there, but we know that anyone who ends up in that house needs some love and attention.

I want to challenge you, if you read this, to find a place like this you can serve. Lighthouse is not a Christian organization. All the better for us to bring the light of Christ to all those involved. We got to interact with the workers and show what it meant to be a Christian. Where ever you are, find a place where you can volunteer. It's what Christ would have done.

Live It Out

2009-06-11T16:04:00.003-05:00

Man, this as been a long week so far and it's only Wednesday. Live It Out was awesome! The kids were great. And the funny thing about it, it's premise is "I'm gonna take in the teachings of Jesus and then the only thing I can do as a result is Live it out." I think that's something we all need to understand.

I'm going to say this, but I'm not going to apologize. Being a Christian is not about going to Heaven. There, I said it. I feel like we as Christians, (myself included), have come to a place where we just look forward to heaven. Yeah, we know the world is fallen and we are to be a light in the world, but really we just look forward to heaven. I don't think that is what Jesus intended. When Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, he was talking about us, Christians. When the Kingdom of God comes... Why is it that now we just think about being in Heaven? Why do we think about that's when life will be great? Jesus called us to make life great now, here, for everyone, not just me.

That's the real problem, isn't it. Selfishness. Why is it that everything that we think about always involves us? I am always thinking of myself. Here is my radical thought, if we stop being selfish and start being the Kingdom, then we can be more effective at bringing Heaven to earth. That's our job right? To be the Jesus that people come in contact with.

I talk about this a lot, if we get onto this kind of topic, but I think about in Exodus. God calls Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the Israelite go free. But Moses is a little but timid about that. But God says something to him and Aaron that will alway stick with me. He basically said, you guys, when you are in front of Pharaoh or Israel, you are to be like God to them. What I see from that is that we are the only example of God people may ever come in contact with.

Man, Heaven is a reward. It's an unearned reward. But man, I want to live like I need to earn it. I want to live like Jesus did. Jesus was the start of the Kingdom on earth. We spend more time and effort on making sure our houses look nice or we have our school work done, than really spend time begin like Jesus to people. Where is our sense of urgency. I love that my job is about bringing Jesus to people. But honestly, sometimes it makes it harder for me to find people to bring Jesus to. I think that's why I am passionate about finding time, wherever I can to touch some ones life. Man, we need to "be" Heaven here on earth, live like you have a purpose and not just this need to consume. Then let's see what God can do then.

New Attitude

2009-06-01T20:46:00.002-05:00

So, it's time to turn over a new leaf. All of us. Anyone who is a Christian, it's time to act like one. It's time to really make a difference. It's time to stop being a spectator and to get a move on. There are tons of people all around us that just need to be loved on. Time to do it.

I feel pretty guilty. There's a guy who come to our church. He usually stands in the back by the sound booth during the service. I hadn't seen him in a few weeks and then this week he was back. But he was on a crutch and had a back brace on. I asked him what had happened, quietly cause it was during the service. He told me that he had been in a motorcycle accident. He had broken his back in two places, fractured his leg in two places, and broke his collar bone. And then he told me that a good friend of his who had been with him died in the accident.

I didn't know what to say. I mean what do you say. He looked broken, emotionally. I told him that I would be praying for him. But the worst thing is, I don't even know his name. I can't imagine how he must be feeling. I went to pat him on the shoulder to comfort him and he grimaced in pain. I'm such an idiot. He just told me he had broken bones and I pat him on the back.

I've been thinking about him since Sunday morning non-stop. I want him to know that when I said I was praying for him, I really am, all day long. And I want to stop being the guy who spends 5 seconds saying hi to people and I don't even get to know their name. I think though, I want to thank God that he was back at our church. We need to now be the family he needs, and rally around him.