Here are my top five for twenty-ten:

1. Spiritual | Read the Bible through in one year, spending a daily time reading the Word and praying, and a weekly time praying with Rachel.
2. Physical | The obligatory “lose weight” goal: eat healthy and exercise regularly.
3. Relational | Romance my wife: flowers, cards, gifts, weekend getaway, weekly dates, writing love songs to her…
4. Financial | The other obligatory resolution. Save more, spend less & become debt-free.
5. Personal | Grow in my skill sets: practice guitar more regularly & set aside a creative hour once a week to write/record music.

I’m not a church planter, but today’s post caught my attention. It hits something that I am faced with on a daily basis (and you are, too):

Stress.

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro has a great principle called “The Plate.” Every leader has a certain-sized plate based on their skills, gifts, life season, health, etc. Not all our plates are the same size, and that is the way God designed it. Trust that God made you who you are to do what you can do and leave it at that. Realize that a lot of your stress comes from the fact that you have a salad plate stacked with a buffet plate’s amount of food. Repent. Resize. Repeat.

Links:

• The Resurgence: “5 Hard Truths” series
• Book: Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro

After. I’m convinced: this is a spiritual issue. I signed up to join Two Futures Project, and have already sent a letter to my State Rep, Senators & the President. And I think you should, too.

Here’s why:

Nuclear weapons were built to fight an enemy that doesn’t exist any more. They’re no use against today’s threats. Experts agree that the only way to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and the resulting catastrophe is to work toward their complete abolition.

If you’re skeptical, don’t you have to wonder why a supermajority of security experts
advocate the total elimination of nuclear weapons—and why our top nuclear scientists
are telling us that we can make it happen? This is a totally nonpartisan issue: the champions of abolition include top Cold Warriors like George Shultz, Reagan’s Secretary of State, and Henry Kissinger — plus seventy percent of all former Secretaries of State, Defense, and National Security Advisors.

I think Christians can witness to the sanctity of life, creation care, and concern for the poor by advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

This is an important issue.

Check out the video and other resources on twofuturesproject.org and decide for yourself.

“…because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.”

Did you see it? Here it is again, in the same article…

*click to enlarge

“…spoke on condition of anonymity because military records are confidential.”

I’m not downplaying the murders that happened. It was a terrible tragedy. I have a brother-in-law serving in Guantanamo Bay, and I can’t imagine what my sister (or any other military family) is going through just having him away from home, let alone losing a loved through an event like this one. My heart goes out to the families of the soldiers.

But outside of sympathy, I’m frustrated. Our society has devolved morally as to consider any act acceptable as long as you (the perpetrator) don’t have to pay any penance for your actions. So long as we speak anonymously, it doesn’t matter if we walk on our integrity.

This isn’t new, but in a way it is.

After seeing “Jessica Simpson calls Melrose Place crap” as a front page CNN headline, I’m not surprised by the media diving to new lows, but there’s just something about our military instigating the breach of trust – the one group supposedly living in integrity to honor one another – that makes it just sad.

That happened again last night when I read the following paragraph:

“…if you say you are called to be where you are, a few questions need to be answered. For example, how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? …what would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless?”
- Francis Chan, Forgotten God

That was my reaction this morning.

After reading through the Bible this year (3/4 completed), I’ve followed Israel’s meteoric rise from the depths of slavery to becoming the wealthiest nation on earth, and losing it all in utter destruction. After investing so much time into studying their lives and choices, it’s difficult (for me, at least) not to feel an emotional connection to their story. Just last week I finished the book of Jeremiah, and watched Israel become arrogant and proud, only to end in Solomon’s temple being devastated and the people being carried off into exile in Babylon.

That’s the likely point where Lamentations takes place. It’s a poem from the point of view after having just watched your home, family friends be torn apart.

My eyes are spent with weeping;
my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out to the ground
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babies faint
in the streets of the city.

They cry to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.

What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
Lamentations 2:11-13

In the midst of that sadness, there is hope. Even though the author is weighed down by this despair, he can still see the larger picture and the sovereignty of God.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
l his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

There’s something absolutely breathtaking about contrasting the devastation of sin with the glory of God, and watching a broken people turn back to Him.

But people often say, “…that church is just too big.”

Maybe the problem is that people see all of those organizations as having value. But the church – beyond my own satisfaction – is just useless.

(via @ErwinMcManus)

This week, Jackson was interviewed by Catalyst about their philosophy of doing ministry in the city. He shared some invaluable insights on why people do or do not invest in their communities, and what it means for a church to get involved. Check it out below.

Catalyst Voices – Jackson Crum from Catalyst on Vimeo.

From (almost) left to right…

• Firefox.

  I tried Safari, Flock, and loads of other browsers, but always end up coming back to Firefox. Interesting tidbit: the name was inspired by the story of Samson in Judges 15)

• Mail.

  I have three email accounts that I use frequently: personal, church and business. I love having a combined inbox and the typical clean Apple appearance.

• iCal.

  Apple’s calendar. Since Rachel and my personal email addresses are through Gmail, we use Google Calendar to manage our schedules. We sync our Google Calendar accounts to iCal on each of our computers (via CalDAV), so the moment she adds an appointment to her calendar on her Mac, it’s added online, to my Mac and to my iPhone, and vice versa. This has been the most useful tool for us to communicate with each other by far.

• iTunes.

  I listen to a lot of music. It also syncs up my phone.

• Things.

  Task lists on steroids. It handles project management, daily to-do’s and everything in between, but also adds tags, manages areas of responsibility and syncs everything with my iPhone.

• Evernote.

  Note-taking on steroids. Take a snapshot, and it recognizes the text in the photo. Take images, audio, written/text notes and they’re all available online, on your desktop or on your phone. And it’s free.

• Tweetie.

  Follow me on Twitter. Then download Tweetie to use on your computer.

I’d be interested to hear what you use (Windows or Mac – or non-computer productivity stuff) to keep your life organized. Leave a comment with your favorite life hacks.

And me, well, you know I can’t resist you. Before you had even made up your mind about me, I was hopelessly lost for you. I love you more at this moment than I even did when I wrote the last sentence… see? That one’s already outdated, too!

It’s both exciting and incredibly humbling to realize that you chose me. To know that I’m the one that gets to wish you a happy birthday first thing in the morning year after year, to turn off the lights each night, to make you coffee every morning, to keep your car filled with gas, to cheat at padiddle (and sometimes STILL lose), to cherish you, to honor you, keep you…

This sounds more like an anniversary anthem than a birthday post, but hopefully you get a glimpse of how honored I am that you willingly choose to spend the remaining years of our lives together.

Happy birthday, my love.

I get up around 5:45 or so to spend time with Rachel before she leaves for work at 6:30, then I spend some time in the Word. Usually around 7:00, Ethan wanders out to the kitchen table where I’m sitting, climbs up into my lap and buries his head in my shoulder for around 10 minutes. Don’t be fooled: he’s not awake, he just isn’t fully asleep.

[side note] More than any other time of the day with him, at that moment I am beyond satisfied. I could sit like that hours. More than once this moment has brought about the analogies to God as our Father and us taking refuge in Him (…but that’s another blog post). [end side note]

Once he regains some sort of consciousness, I fix him breakfast. This usually consists of a cereal bar or something that lacks any sort of preparation – although this morning he had blueberry waffles (that’s right: dad-of-the-year right here). Then we play and wrestle on the floor until around 8:00 when it’s time for me to go to work and I have to drop him off at daycare.

Sometimes I shower and get ready for work in that time, too… but not always.

It is beyond comprehension how fast this kid is growing up. He’s walking, talking, climbing, high-five’ing & fist-pumping like a rockstar. It feels like Rachel told me she was preggers just yesterday, but in less than three months (78 days to be exact) he’ll be turning two years old.

That’s the paradox of fatherhood: I can’t wait to see him grow up, and I never want to see him grow up.

On one hand, it’s the month Rachel & I were married, it’s the month I gave my life to the Lord, it’s the month my parents were married… but on the other hand, it’s tax time.

This morning as part of my daily Scripture reading, I read Numbers 33 about the death of Moses’ brother Aaron. God ordained a specific time & place for him to die and even told him about it beforehand. And basically, once Moses & Aaron kicked off, the people of Israel were able to cross the Jordan River and conquer what is now known as the land of Israel.

At the Downing house, we pay someone to prepare our taxes for us. So getting our taxes done isn’t typically a stressful ordeal. The part that I hate is seeing how much we’ve given away or saved compared to how much we spent. It’s that death-like certainty of the exact dollars and cents that drive me crazy. It’s just never quite adds up to what we intended or hoped for.

And in the end, I rationalize it. And I move on but never really move forward. It makes me wonder what in my life needs to be put to death so I can start to make progress instead of just staying busy.

I read in Luke 5 today, about Jesus telling the soon-to-be-disciples to cast their fishing nets on the other side of the boat. When they followed his advice, they brought in more fish than they could have possibly imagined… and then they quit fishing.

“…he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

…And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

I’ve gotten into the pattern of thinking that God gives us great gifts so we can remain in that position. A pay raise, making that huge sale, finally crossing that task off our to-do list – they’re all reasons to press forward, right? …Maybe the blessing isn’t the point. It could be that He’s allowing us to see a glimpse of what could be – if we would only take our eyes off of ourselves long enough to see it.

Maybe the material blessings we experience are only to put some context to God’s power and to free us from depending on anything other than Him. And that makes me wonder if I’m using this glimpse as a gateway to sit at Jesus’ feet or of freedom to as an excuse gain more “gifts”?

Just a random thought on my Monday morning.

I am a designer and an artist, and I work with the students as a designer and an artist. My role is to show them what I know how to do, and get out of their way.

- Cyrus Highsmith

• I met my wife Rachel when I was about 5 years old. I was in love with her by the time I turned 8.
• Our parents are close personal friends with one another from church.
• We take our coffee almost exactly the same way: two creams, no sugar. (but most of the time her two is a lot more than my two).
• Even though I knew she was the one before I could even do long division, she didn’t realize the inevitability of our future together until after she got out of high school. But that’s typical of each of us – she considers her decisions before making an informed choice while I plow ahead and ask questions later.
• I love that every morning she gets up and goes through her morning routine to get ready for the day (I, on the other hand, was born in Iowa – ’nuff said).
• She is a voracious reader. I don’t even try to keep up anymore.
• In addition to reading written books, she is a master at sodoku and crossword puzzles. (with a mind like a steel trap!)
• My current educational aspiration is to reach the Bachelor Degree level. If my wife went one step further, I’d be calling her “Doctor Rachel”.
• I love that we share a lot of history together. We grew up in the same church, where we were baptized and years later were married there.
• We like a lot of the same shows, like Law & Order: SVU, Miami Ink, The Office and Jon & Kate Plus 8. Sometimes we don’t agree, but most of the time the remote control battles are kept to a minimum.
• I love that she got me my first ear piercing (20th birthday), and then later she got me my first tattoo (23rd birthday).
• I love how her eyes light up when Ethan runs across the room and jumps into her arms. Being a parent with her is almost as fulfilling as being her husband.
• I love that she’s a counselor for adolescents and teenagers. Some of the issues she deals with every day make my “pastoral work” look pretty wimpy in comparison.
• I love that we still play padiddle whenever we’re in the car.
• I love that she’s every bit as organized as I am. She’s a planner and a scheduler, and that’s like a glass of cool refreshing water to my dry & thirsty obsessive-compulsive soul.
• Did I mention that my son is being raised by a licensed professional counselor?
• Before we started dating, the common interest that really sparked our friendship in high school was a desire to serve God. It’s encouraging to have that foundation in our relationship.
• I love that we still hold hands when we walk, that and she prefers it when I put my arm around her while we sit together.
• We’re both have Type A personalities in action, but deep down we’re both really shy. That means that we’re usually very outgoing in public, but are really quiet and reserved at home.

And finally…

• I still fall more in love with her each day. In a hundred different ways, I’m captivated by her beauty, her personality, her intellect, her passions… She is absolutely breathtaking. I can only imagine the train wreck I would be if God hadn’t blessed me beyond measure with her as my wife.

A man ought not to be so confined by any premeditated form as to neglect any spiritual infusion, he should so prepare himself as if he expected no assistance, and he should so depend upon divine assistance as if he had made no preparation.

– Isaac Watts (quoted by Bob Kauflin in the Winter ‘09 issue of Leadership Journal)

The project was unique in that, not only were they all writing songs about “poverty” and “remembering the poor“, but they went a step further and released their rights to the songs they had written. That means that ALL royalties would go to the charity organization that now owns the songs: CompassionArt. Even the record labels and agencies for each artist agreed to it – which is a pretty big deal if you think about it…

“Together these songwriters account for at least 40 million albums sold, 76 No. 1 songs, nine GRAMMY Awards, 98 Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, two American Music Awards, and 78 current CCLI Top 500 songs sung by millions in churches around the world.”

The album has a great variety, with upbeat and energetic songs like “Come To The Water” and “We Won’t Stay Silent” to the more worshipful “King of Wonders”. And while it was a collaborative effort, you can definitely still hear the influence of the individual artists shining through (e.g. Israel Houghton was clearly at the helm of “Shout Praise”).

On the first listen, I was a little unsure how I felt about it. It isn’t a typical “worship” CD, which is what I had expected/wanted. But I think it was just written to appeal to a broader audience than churchified folk like myself. And the more I hear it, the more I like it. I’m about 4 listens in now, and can actually say I like every song on the album (no small feat if you’re familiar with my insatiable sarcasm).

All that to say – if you’re looking for some new music and want to simultaneously serve the poor, pick up the new CompassionArt CD. You won’t regret it.

Well, obviously they do… or at least, I do.

All of this nightmarish sleeping has made me realize one thing with total clarity: I’m a worrier. I tend to over-analyze things and (at least in my head) make the smallest event into a national tragedy. Whether it’s church events, worship planning, finances, worries about me being a good husband or dad or whatever the case may be, there’s one common denominator – I worry about it.

I guess it should come as no surprise that lately while reading the Word, I’ve felt that God has been speaking to me directly about this aspect of my personality. Even yesterday morning I read Psalm 37:8-9, where David wrote:

“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.”

This morning, after my nightmare, I woke up around 2:30 …and then again at 4:30 (recurring dream), and each time my mind was replaying the scenes I had been dreaming. My head was swirling with thoughts of being lost in an abandoned building, worrying about losing my family in the dark there, being chased by lunatics, struggling with locks and doors and fighting to get out… and then I realized how closely this mirrored my conscious life (aside from the “chased by lunatics” part… mostly). I run around, responding to the moment, worrying about people’s opinions, all the while doing everything I can to maintain control – which only results in less control.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi that “…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” But what I’ve been realizing is that it wasn’t a blanket statement. The peace of God is fully available, but it doesn’t just happen. And lately I’ve been blocking God from guarding my heart and mind. The complete passage says…

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7

One of these days, it’d be nice to get it right on the first try… but for now, I’m still being chased by lunatics in my sleep to make me realize my need for more dependence on God.

It’s crucial for us, as leaders, that we not create experiences for people. We need to lead people into relationships where they see our identity in Christ and, over time, find theirs. We need to design worship services that break down barriers that prevent us from seeing God’s heart for His people. We need to stop defining our churches by what people experience in the doors, but rather by whom people become because of Christ inside those doors.

- Patrick Sprague on NeueMinistry.com

With that focus in mind, I have been so encouraged lately to see John Piper writing about prayer on the Desiring God blog. One article that I’m sure ‘ll be coming back to on a regular basis was featured yesterday:

9 ways to pray for your soul

1. For the desire of my heart to be toward God and his Word.
   Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain. (Psalm 119:36)
2. For the eyes of my heart to be opened.
   Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18)
3. For my heart to be enlightened with these “wonders.”
   [I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18)
4. For my heart to be united, not divided, for God.
   O Lord, I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psalm 86:11)
5. For my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world.
   O satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
6. For strength in this joy, and endurance during the dark seasons.
   [I pray that God] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. (Ephesians 3:16)
7. For visible good deeds and works of love to others.
   [I pray that you] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…bearing fruit in every good work. (Colossians 1:10)
8. For God to be glorified.
   Hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:9)
9. In Jesus’ name.
   He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? (Romans 8:32)

More of John Piper’s writings on prayer this week from Desiring God…

• A Good Start on Prayer in 2009
• Texts to Pray for Our Children
• 10 Reasons to Pray the Scriptures
• Newton’s Struggle with Prayer
• What the Early Church Prayed For

Indifference can be tempting — more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person’s pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction.

…Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor — never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees — not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity we betray our own.

– Excerpted from “Perils of Indifference” by Elie Weisel

If you plan to see a film during 2009, make sure that this is one of your top considerations.

More here: The I Heart Revolution

[via]

On a side note, if you’re reading this and you serve at a church with a thriving children’s ministry, this will probably seem slightly bush league to you. I’d encourage you to tell what has (or hasn’t) worked for you and your church in the comment section below.

CrossPoint Kids!

We’re rolling out some shiny new features to our kids’ ministry in the upcoming weeks! You’ve already heard about Noah’s Park Children’s Church and Sunday School. These are both going to be fantastic environments for your kids to be energized and engaged by the Bible.

In addition to the great programming, we’re also putting a sign-in system in place to give the parents some peace of mind. The first time your child attends, you will be asked to fill out a quick and easy registration form. This lets us know if there are any special considerations we should be aware of (allergies, their favorite snack, etc). Everyone will fill out a registration form on their first visit, but after that you’ll just check in your child on the sign-in sheet. It’s as easy as that!

If your child will be participating in Children’s Church and Sunday School (both services), there’s no need for you to pick them up for the break between services; they can stay with the ministry leaders the entire morning. However, if you do plan to pick them up after Children’s Church (1st Service), we ask that you indicate it on the sign-in sheet and meet them promptly afterward. Our ministry leaders will wait in the room with your kids until you arrive.

Don’t forget, if you’d like to complete the registration form early, you can find a copy on the website or in the church office. We’re looking forward helping your family grow together in Christ with a fun, encouraging and safe morning for your kids.

To find out more about CrossPoint, check us out on ye olde world wide web.

Instantly, a huge smile flashed across his face and he started bobbing his head to the music in an awkward, pseudo-headbanging, dancing motion.

Since he’s a sixteen month old pre-toddler, it was pretty cute. Not to mention a little predictable, because anytime he hears any “music” (which in the past has included noise-making toys, the neighbor’s car alarm, a song on the radio, or any other rhythmic sound), he breaks into baby-interpretive-dance mode.

It made me think about how I respond to music – and especially – how the church responds on Sunday mornings when I’m playing music and leading worship. I didn’t teach him how to respond to the songs. I didn’t show him how to move his head or raise his hands or spin around in circles when a song is playing.

The question is: who taught me not to?

If the saints in heaven are lying prostrate before God, and the heavenly hosts are shouting “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty!” again and again for all eternity, is it too much to suggest that we jump and shout and dance and laugh and weep and clap while we sing praises to God here on earth?

There will always be more people willing to do ‘great’ things for God than there are people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants.
-Rick Warren

And from I Corinthians 3:5…

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.”

“…on the whole we don’t take Jesus seriously — whether we call ourselves Christians or not. There are some remarkable exceptions, but by and large we don’t love our enemies, we don’t turn the other cheek, we don’t forgive seventy times seven times, we don’t bless those who curse us, we don’t share what we have with the poor, and we don’t put all our hope and trust in God. We have our excuses. I am no saint. It is not meant for everybody, surely? It’s a great ideal, but it’s not very practical in this day and age…

In light of that painfully accurate statement, I found this video to be very uplifting and encouraging.

There’s been an enormous amount of criticism leveled against Rick Warren over the past few years since Purpose Driven Life was released. Honestly, I can’t imagine what he and his family have endured, but in spite of it all – he continues to push forward to the thing God placed a burden on his heart to accomplish: remembering the poor.

Regardless of whether or not your church or congregation is participating in One Sabbath, I think we can all take a cue from Pastor Warren and begin working toward living the gospel instead of just talking about it.