Everything about this place was interesting to me: the size, the screen, the movies themselves, car speakers, the spectacle, the big marquee sign, the long lines of cars. And I’m sure part of it was a curiosity of the unknown since we never went.

If it was late enough for a movie to be playing I would be so curious I would crane my neck to try and see as much of the movie as possible in the 3-5 seconds we sped by at highway speeds.

So with 80’s nostalgia being all the rage I took my kids to a drive-in last night. Now it may have had more to do with the fact that anyone under 12 was free but we’ll go with the nostalgia thing for now.

As an adult, these experiences rarely live up to the expectations you had as a child, but to see wonder and fascination light up in my kids eyes at the utter weirdness of this place was a lot of fun.

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I remember on cold winter days she would bring her mug with her in the van as she drove us to school. It was shaped almost like an hourglass but wider on the bottom with a sticky pad. This allowed her to put it on the dash without the fear of it slipping around while turning.

But it was in high school where I first remember experiencing coffee for myself. I started slowly as it was an acquired taste. A small coffee shop near us called Red Shoes was where I would slowly work my way up the coffee ladder starting with Italian Ice. I know, I know, its closer to a 7-11 Slushie than coffee, but I had to start somewhere.

From there I was introduced to artisan coffee and an "authentic" coffee shop experience by one of my best friends WT. He took me downtown to a place called Stellas. It was a renovated house that had couches, chairs, bookshelves, and lamps. I know that seems trite now, but I had never seen or hung out in anything like that. It was so relaxing and to a high school kid hanging out with friends it couldn't have been a better atmosphere.

I slowly learned to love, lattes, mochas, and eventually black coffee. To this day I'll never live down trying to be sophisticated at my senior prom when I asked our waiter for "coffee...black." But I said more like James Bond would say "Shaken...not stirred."

Fast forward to 5 years ago when I starting working on staff at Willow Creek Baptist Church. Every other guy there was crazy about coffee. And when I say crazy, not only did they hand-brew their coffee, but they roasted their own beans! I quickly assimilated and learned just how good single-origin coffee could be. Within a few months, I had purchased a Hario V60 dripper, scale, and everything else I needed to make my own handcrafted pour-overs.

I still don't roast my own beans but my morning ritual of making a great cup of coffee still lives on and is one of my most relaxing parts of the day.

If you're looking to get into hand-brewing, it's really pretty easy. And I've made it even easier with my handy dandy Pour Over Brew Guide. Feel free to download and share far and wide. 

If you want to buy a print, you can do that here: 
https://www.imagekind.com/pour-over-coffee-brew-guide_art

You can also purchase a great starter kit on Amazon: 
http://a.co/3dowAJM

This year I had the opportunity to participate in Angel Tree again directly. Angel Tree is a ministry that allows parents in prison to send presents to their kids. Churches often facilitate this ministry by having individuals purchase and deliver the gifts to the kids for the parent in prison.

Some years ago when I was helping to lead the student ministry at Saylorville Church, we participated almost every year. It was amazing to take a bunch of students into homes and hand deliver these gifts. It was a profound experience that never leaves you.
So when the coordinator of the ministry at our church mentioned that she needed someone to deliver some gifts to family near our house, I jumped at the opportunity.

Not knowing the situation I was hesitant to bring our younger children as I didn't want them to be disruptive but I wanted to share the experience with one of my kids. In the end, I ended up taking my nine-year-old son.

The home was only a couple minutes from ours, and we had planned to be there around 5:30 in the evening. You would think I would be familiar with my city, but I missed the entrance to the place and had to turn around. While we were making our way back, I received a text from the mom of the child asking if we were still planning on coming. It was 5:31. 

In that one text, I could see a long line of broken promises this mother has had to explain. Having already told her little boy that he was getting presents, she was nervous about being forgotten yet again. I immediately texted back to let her know that we had just arrived.

As we got out of the van, there was a peaceful silence in the night that only seems to happen around Christmas. While the air was cold, and we could see our breath, the soft glow of twinkling lights around the neighborhood spoke a warm welcome. We walked up to the building, and I handed my son the gifts to carry as I looked for the correct number on the apartment doors.

When we knocked and walked in, an overly excited six-year-old boy greeted us and couldn't wait to show us his tree, his stocking, the stocking for his baby brother and other things he had made.
I made small talk with his mother as he excitedly opened his gifts.
A couple of times I stole a glance at Jace who was taking it all in. There was a look of wonder on his face I'm not sure if I've seen before.

It was all over pretty quickly. I told them about our church, invited them to visit and left a very excited boy playing with his new toys.

As we walked back out to our van to go home, my son took my hand, looked up and said. "That was a lot of fun." I smiled back at him and nodded.

It was already a memorable moment for us both, but when we pulled into the garage, Jace piped up from the back seat and perfectly explained the spirit of Christmas. "Dad, I don't know why but that just made my heart really happy. It felt really good." 

I knew why. It's because giving always feels better than getting. I mentioned that, looked down at him and smiled.

“It makes my heart feel good too buddy."

This was first published on joshbyers.com/blog/2017/12/a-christmas-story

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Any church can get started producing quality video content for a reasonable budget. The question is where do we start? What equipment do we need? What is essential and what would be a nice add-on?

For starters, a basic and reasonable budget to shoot and produce videos would be around $1000. What follows are the basic components to set up your system for basic interviews, testimonies, life stories and other video productions your church may have. (Note that this is not for recording/streaming your services - though you could try :)

CAMERA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i – $454

The Canon T5i is a good entry level camera. If you're shopping around you'll want to make sure you get the version with the "i". The 5i compared to the 5 has a swivel screen, mic input and other upgrades. It will shoot 1080p HD video which is plenty of resolution to play in house and to upload for online viewing on YouTube and Facebook.

Add-Ons

7 inch DSLR Field Monitor ($139) – Sometimes its hard to see if you've gotten your focus right on the small camera screen. This monitor plugs right into your camera and even mounts on top for a large look at your subject.

Upgrades

Canon 80d ($1099) – A crop-sensor camera with better focusing and faster processing.

Canon 6D mark ii ($1999) – A full-frame camera that doesn't break the bank. Will still only shoot in 1080p but does shoot 60fps.

Canon 5D mark iv ($3299) – Top of the line full-frame camera capable of shooting in 4k.

LENS

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 – $125

This is one of the best starter lenses available and normally is the lens any professional would recommend you buy first. It will automatically take your photos and videos to a whole new level. It's able to shoot in low light conditions and will give you a real nice bokah (blurred background).

I Recommend starting with either a 24mm or 50mm lens.

Add-Ons

Canon 24mm f/2.8 ($149) – This lens will give you a wide angle option while still looking good in low light conditions.

Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 ($299) – While not great for shooting indoors, it will give you a good telephoto and long range option.

Upgrades

Canon 50mm f/1.4 ($349) – A couple steps down in f-stop will make a tremendous amount of difference in low light conditions. There is 1.2 as well but it runs $1300 and would only be for serious photographers.

Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS – This version ads in "image stabilization" which helps eliminate camera shake and reduces blurry images.

MICROPHONE

Rode RodeLink FM Wireless – $435

While being the most expensive item on the list, its probably the most important for a beginner as sound can make or break a production. A good video with great sound is always better than a great video with ok sound.

Upgrades

Sennheiser EW 112P G3-A ($629) – Sennheiser is the industry standard and this wireless lav pack is what the pro's use.

Sennheiser MKH 416-P48 ($999) – If you prefer to have your subjects more comfortable and not wearing a mic, a good shotgun mic is doable. This is a fantastic one.

LIGHTING

2400 Watt Softbox Lighting Kit – $99

Next to sound, lighting may be the most overlooked component to good video production. Even the best cameras and lenses will suffer with a proper amount of light. The good news is that you can get a good lighting set-up for not very much money. I recommend a classic three-point setup with a key, fill, and backlight. This kit not only gives you the lights, but also soft boxes to diffuse the light and stands to hold them.

Upgrades

Lowel DV Creator 1 Kit ($789) – A more powerful and robust lighting setup.

TRIPOD

Manfrotto BK Compact Action – $58

Manfrotto is the industry standard when it comes to tripods. The BK compact action is a sturdy tripod that won't collapse under the weight of your video gear and will keep things stabilized when shooting outdoors.

Upgrades

Manfrotto MK190X3-2W ($239) – This tripod is made out of better materials and includes a fluid-head which is ideal for shooting video and panning.

SD CARD

SanDisk Extreme 32GB 90 Mb/s – $18

You obviously have to record your video on some sort of media. SD cards are fairly cheap. You'll typically be able to fit 2-3 min of HD video per gigabyte. So a 32gb card will get you around 90min of shooting on a single card. You also want to make sure you get a fast card that can keep up with the camera 80-90 mbps is ideal.

Upgrades

SanDisk Extreme 64GB SDXC ($30) - nothing special, just more space on the card.

Our grand total for all our components is $1189 at Amazon. You can probably shop around and find things at a slightly lower price or look for combo deals which will get you really close to that $1000 mark.

If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them in the comments below.

I've read and heard the story of Gideon countless times but as I was reading through it today the sheer size of the task at hand, and absolute improbability of victory struck me. It's almost impossible to comprehend taking 300 men into battle against an army of over 130,000.

What does that even look like? It looks like the vast glory of God on display for all to see.

For me personally and for our family 2016 was a great year. We all grew a year older there were many memorable things for me to think back on. So with that, here is my list of favorite things about 2016 including:

• My Favorite Things I Bought on Amazon
• Favorite Apps I Discovered
• Favorite Movies
• Favorite Books
• Favorite TV Series
• Favorite Music
• Random Favorite Things

My Favorite things I bought on Amazon

Amazon Prime

If you shop very often on Amazon, their deal for free 2 day shipping is pretty fun. You also have access to Prime Video which is like Netflix.

LectroFan - Fan Sound and White Noise Machine

We used to use iPad white noise apps but the iPad speaker wasn’t loud enough and having a dedicated appliance is actually easier.  While it is still electronic the looping is seamless, the noise is actually loud enough to drown out other loud noises and the sounds aren’t obnoxious. If you’re looking for a sound machine I can’t recommend this high enough.

Kindle Oasis

I’ve always used my iPad and iPad mini for e-reading but could never really get into it because the screen would eventually tire my eyes out and even the iPad mini was got heavy and awkward to hold. I had resisted getting a Kindle because it seemed so impractical while having an iPad. I wish I had gotten one sooner. It’s so comfortable and light to hold. I can read in any light, my eyes don’t get tired and I’m not distracted by other apps. Its fantastic.

Bose Soundtouch

For as as I can remmember I’ve wanted a Bose system. Sure there are probably systems that are better and some that are cheaper but I can still remember going into a Bose store and being blown away by the quality and size of their products. As we neared finishing our basement I had the opportunity to finally get one and I haven’t been disappointed.  The great thing about this particular system is that it also acts as a video receiver (it has 4 HDMI in ports) so I can reduce the amount of components we use. It sounds great and looks great. Tons of fun.

Favorite Apps I discovered

Alto's Adventure

I don’t normally like endless scrolling games but there are two components that made this a winner. First the design of the game is absolutely gorgeous. The sunrises and sunsets are worth it by themselves. Second the developers did a great job at adding in challenges and levels to get you coming back to play. There are some that were insanely hard but it was always fun. It was especially fun to pair the game with LCD Soundsystem’s song Dance Yourself Clean.

Letterboxd

I love watching movies and for the longest time I’ve wanted an easy way to not only keep track of what and when I watch but to be able to rate the films right after I watch them. This is a well designed, well functioning app that does both of those things. My only wish is that they would incorporate TV series to track.

Filmborn

My favorite camera/filter app is still VSCO but Filmborn has some really great filters as well.

Five Guys

We recently got our first Five Guys store and during lunchtime the line is routinely out the door. Their app lets you order online and just go to the counter to pick up your food. I really shouldn’t be sharing this with all my Des Moines friends...

Mario Run

Our family is a huge fan of Mario. We’ll most likely but the new Nintendo just to get the new Mario game. So when I heard that Nintendo was releasing their first mobile game on the iPhone I was pretty excited. It takes a bit to get used to but the spirit of the game is the same and is a lot of fun.

Audible

I had known Amazon acquired Audible but I never put it together that my Amazon Prime account would give me some benefits there. That is until a long drive to Colorado had me searching for audio books to download and I noticed that Audible was asking if I had an Amazon login. Why yes, yes I do. In the apps channels there are a number of free audiobooks, nothing real recent, but a lot of good stuff nonetheless.

Movies

These are in the order that I saw them not what I think is better. I ended up seeing 36 new movies this year (I know that because of the app Letterboxd–see what I did there :) and there were 9 that I rated 4 ½ stars or better. My scale actually goes up to 5 ½ stars. 1-4 stars based on quality of story, acting, cinematography, and then an extra ½ star if I like/recommend it.

10 Cloverfield Lane ★★★★½

What a great thriller.  I loved the original Cloverfield in that the way they told the story was so original. This was completely different though it’s supposed to take place in the same universe. The acting and suspense are top notch and you’re left guessing as much as the characters are. If you didn’t enjoy the original Cloverfield you may not like the ending of this one but I thought it was fun.

Captain America Civil War ★★★★½

My son and I are big Marvel fans generally and big fans of Captain America in particular. The Captain America movies have been I think far and away the best of all the Marvel movies. The second installment with Winter Soldier might be the only comic book film to come close to the Dark Knight in terms of story and filmmaking. Civil War was fun because it had so many characters including Spider Man! The premise of civil liberties mixed with foreign policy was a great foundation to build the story on and the action was great.

OJ Made in America ★★★★★

One of only two films on my list to get 5 stars, this is a multi-part documentary that is a must watch. Not so much for the story of OJ, though that is really compelling, but moreso for the events in the culture that led to events of the trial and the reactions during and after. The insights on race and culture are extremely eye opening and sobering.

Zero Days ★★★★½

Another great documentary, Zero Days tells about the state of offensive cyber warfare in general and specially about the combined attack on Iran by the US and Israel with the Stuxnet virus.

Incredibly Stuxnet was only the tip of the iceberg and the NSA was ready and capable to shut down all of Iran's infrastructure if Israel physically attacked them and we we drawn into a war.

It also sheds light on the Iran nuclear deal so often mentioned in this political cycle. It was most likely made to avert a war. It also asked good questions about the nature of cyber warfare and the rules of engagement

Free State of Jones ★★★★½

In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. The reasons I really liked this movie are it's a true story, fantastic acting and this is subject matter we can never learn too much about.

Eye in the Sky ★★★★½

Eye in the Sky is a very intense modern warfare drama that explores the use of drones. There is a situation in another country where the use of a drone strike will undoubtedly save lives but there will also be collateral damage to civilians–in this case a small innocent girl.

From this I expected the typical scolding and virtue signaling that comes from Hollywood not to mention a tired story that tries too hard to push an agenda. I could not have been further from the truth.

The best films are the ones where you have an idea of what's going to happen and then everything is turned on its head. This is one of those.

The film is set in 7 different simultaneous locations and switches between them to provide the perspective of each character where they are at. This is beauty of the film and provides a tremendous amount of tension. It also allows the view points on all sides of the issue to be represented. I thought they did a very fair job at this.

In the end the film extols the horror of war, the massive decisions our leaders and military make on a daily basis, and does a tremendous job in not glorifying violence.

Hacksaw Ridge ★★★★½

While Hacksaw Ridge doesn’t glorify violence, it doesn’t shy away from it either. It’s important for us to realize how horrible war is so we avoid it at every conceivable turn. Its also important to remember and recognize the sacrifice and bravery of those that serve. This film is an amazing salve of heroism, liberty, and the true American spirit.

It depicts the common ground of decency and liberty we can find together.

Rogue One ★★★★½

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but I've enjoyed them, and since they are part of the larger culture I do feel some responsibility to embrace them on a certain level. That said I really enjoyed The Force Awakens last year and I enjoyed Rogue One even more. I really liked the fact that they had another strong female lead and it was very interesting to see all the foreshadowing to A New Hope. The last few minutes when Darth Vader appears out of the black and shows his true power is worth the rest of the film.

Arrival ★★★★★

The other film to recieve 5 stars was Arrival. It has a great twist, sparks the imagination, and presents an "alien encounter" in an incredibly realistic fashion. There is a palpable tension throughout the film that is necessary and realistic given the stakes.

It's gorgeously shot and the shallow depth of field added to the overall tension. There is a noticeable amount of silence as well which is just as effective as the soundtrack.

I love Brett McCracken’s review of the film and I would encourage you to read it. He asks this poignant question: “Would the “gift” of seeing the future be a blessing or a curse? How could a brain that grasps the eternal picture—an all-at-the-same-time awareness—not go insane in a time-bound world?” And obviously you can fill in how this might be fascinating to think about, especially around Advent.

It's a compelling, original story that will have you asking questions about the future, decision making, theories of time, and even Calvinism :)

Books

If You Can Keep It – eric Metaxas

In a year fraught with political animosity this book was extraordinarily helpful to take us back to the founding of our country and to rediscover just how unique and special the idea of America is.

Hillbilly Elegy – J.D. Vance

This is the memoir of a Yale grad who grew up in Appalachia and in a small industrial town with as dysfunctional of a family as you could ever find. Its compelling and revealing especially in this election year. No wonder it hit #1 on the NY Times bestseller list and has taken the country by storm. Be sure to also read Mez McConnels review and reflection of his own experiences.

Touching the Void – joe simpson

I finally read the book that inspired my all time favorite documentary. It recounts the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' successful but disastrous and nearly fatal climb of the 20,813 foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. The story is utterly amazing.

The End of Eternity – Isaac Asimov

I’ve never read anything by Isaac Asimov before but I’m glad to have started. I really enjoy thinkers who not only posit what the future could be but nuances and problems that might occur because of it. I also love stories that deal with time travel and this book is all about time travel and the effects it has on mankind.

The Faith of Christopher Hitchens – Larry Alex Tauten

Christopher Hitchens is famous or notorious for being an outspoken atheist. This book tells of the friendship that he had with a Christian Pastor. It is so encouraging on a number of levels. It gives hope for all and it shows that love can transcend even the largest of disagreements.

Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything – Aaron Draplin

Aaron Draplin is a designer who has designed a lot of really cool things. This book is part memoir, part portfolio, and all awesome. It’s a massive book that is beautiful to look at and provides tons of inspiration.

Visual Theology – Tim Challies & Josh Byers

How could I leave out my own book!? What an amazing year it was to see the launch and positive reception of something I’ve worked on for so long.

TV Series

Stranger Things

This was a treat that was completely unexpected and so much fun to end to the summer with. Me and my generation are obviously getting older and as we are the primary money makers and spenders I’ve noticed that we are quickly becoming the targets of many advertisers and shows. Nostalgia is huge right now especially from the 80’s. The creators of Stranger Things nailed the nostalgia factor and everything that we identify as cool and fun about the 80’s they packed in. Nostalgia alone however won’t work but there was a fun intriguing story and some really great young actors to pull it all together. I can’t wait to see what they do with season 2.

Halt and Catch Fire

Speaking of nostalgia… The show Halt and Catch Fire while always being character driven is based on computer companies and the development of technology in the 80’s and 90’s. This last season we saw the influence of Nintendo and the birth of web. This article by Jason Kottke nailed the sentiment and how cool it was to first discover the open web and it’s possibilities.

Broadchurch

The best shows are always about humans. What I mean is they are trying to convey human emotions and reactions to problems and everyday situations. The shows that do well are those that explore this while developing the characters around an interesting story. Broadchurch has to be one of the best at drawing a real emotional connection. In the story a young local boy of a small beachside English town is found dead and the plot revolves around solving the case. The story itself is compelling enough with lots of twists and turns but the focus on the true emotional state of the town in general and the family in particular is what makes it special.

Better Call Saul

Spinoffs and sequels generally don’t do very well. With the exception of a few they struggle to either come up with their own story or rely too heavily on the nostalgia of a previous show. Better Call Saul has done both brilliantly. They have crafted an amazing and interesting backstory to how Saul from Breaking Bad became Saul and hey throw in just enough of the Breaking Bad world to hit that nostalgia button. This show is so fun and so well written and acted it might equal or dare I say surpass its predecessor?

Music

There wasn’t a lot of new music for me in 2016 that made a real impact but here are a couple.

Changes by Mutemath

I love the sound of Mutemath and the unique spin they put on their music. Changes was a remix of their most recent album Vitals but it included one new song called Changes. The words I use to describe it are “pure sonic fun.” There is something unexpected around every corner and it’s a joy to listen to.

Even So Come by Tommee Profitt

I had never heard of Tommee Profitt before my friends Lisa and Curtis got married. They used his rendition of the song Even So Come as the attendant march and it blew me away. He absolutely nails the emotion and power of the song and it brings me close to tears when I listen to it.

Random Things

These are things that were great about 2016 but don’t fall into a particular category.

Good Friends

We were privileged to launch our book into the world at the T4G conference this year and we had some amazing support from some really good friends. We are super thankful for our Cody and Londa. They were so encouraging and supportive during this week. They were literally pulling strangers aside and telling them about my book! Each of them is the definition of a joyful servant. Blessed beyond words to know them. Thank you!

Photographing friends weddings

As my passion for photography has grown I’ve been blessed to be able to take photos for fun at various events including several weddings of good friends. It was so fun to capture some of the many emotions and moments of those days and give it to my friends.

Taking the kids to their first Bronco game

Even though they ended up losing the game the kids had an absolute blast. While we were watching the players warm up Bennie Fowler gave Jace his receivers gloves, the Broncos published some of my photos from Twitter all over the stadium, and we even got on the big scoreboard!

Chick Fil-A 1st 100

I can’t think of a much better way to spend a day then hanging out playing games with friends, being fed for free, and in the end getting a year’s worth of Chick Fil-A just for being there. So much fun.

Mia’s Spring Soccer Highlights

Mia had an amazing Winter and Spring in soccer and was constantly mentioned as one of the best keepers for her age group. I was lucky enough to record a number of her highlights and put them into a short video.

Being on Steve Deace’s show

With the release of my book came some really cool opportunities. One of those was to promote it and talk about it on a nationally syndicated radio show.  The segment went really well and was a part of the book ultimately making it onto the front page and number 20 overall of Amazon’s best sellers.

Broncos Super Bowl

Something switched on for my son this past year and he has become crazy interested in sports. This has been all sorts of fun for me as we got to share the Broncos’ Super Bowl victory together. I still come home every so often and see him rewatching it! I couldn’t be prouder.

Speaking at our local caucus

Even though the 2016 campaign was crazy and a lowlight for many I had the opportunity to stand up and speak for Ted Cruz at our local caucus here in Iowa. Even though Cruz eventually bowed out he did win our caucus and the state of Iowa in the primary and I’m happy to have played a small part.

Designing infographics for the Ted Cruz campaign

In addition to speaking at our caucus I also got to design several infographics for the campaign to use to help promote Ted’s message. This is unique to our place in Iowa as I was able to get to know several key team leaders and contribute to the campaign.

Baptism Videos

Anytime I get to be creative and share the gospel at the same time it’s the perfect confluence. We had a number of people get baptized this year and I was able to help tell their stories. Watch some of our stories here.

Church Plant Trip

My year ended by being able to take a trip to Phoenix where we are working to plant a church. The primary purpose was to shoot photos and film to help promote the church both here in Iowa and there in Arizona. It was so much fun seeing friends that moved down there and being able to do what I love to help the church grow.

This is the Epilogue of being #NeverTrump.

The only time I think I've been more shocked than when I realized Trump was going to win, was when our first child came out a girl after an ultrasound tech a few months earlier had given us a picture with boy parts circled...

Just as it was all those years ago the shock is wearing off and the question becomes what now?

I think its important to state that my position of being #NeverTrump was never about his ability to win or lose (though I did think he would lose). Rather it was a stand against what I believe (and still do) disqualifies him from a high leadership position. Even though I generally agree with the Republican platform, character should always "trump" issues. If you're a con-man and moral reprobate in character, you'll typically be a con-man and moral reprobate on the issues too.

That said, I hope I'm as wrong about Donald Trump as a leader and president as I was about the chances of him being president. I will continue to fight for conservative causes and will absolutely hold him accountable for the things he says and does.

But again the question remains what now?

For me as a Christian first and American citizen second, the answer is to look for ways to continue to propel the inclusive message of the gospel forward.

So here are three ways we can propel the gospel forward in light of this election.

1. Be Humble and Empathize

You must be gracious and give grace to those who you oppose.

If Hillary had won those on Trump's side would not want the victory rubbed in their faces. You would not want to see gloating Facebook posts and nasty memes.

In the past 24 hours I've scanned through thousands of tweets and have read dozens of articles and one of the most encouraging came from one of Hillary's most ardent supporters Mark Cuban. 

That was an amazing display of humility and leadership in the light of a crushing loss and we would all be good to emulate his example.

We also must empathize. There are a lot of people who are very nervous right now given what Trump has said and done during his campaign. Whether you think their fear is rational or irrational isn’t the point. It’s real to them and we would be wise for the sake of their soul to cover them with a grace and empathy that only comes from the gospel. 

Be compassionate towards your brothers in arms.

I disagreed with many very close friends and others over Trump's candidacy. They didn't stand for his moral character, but believed the best path forward for the country was to make sure Hillary was not put into a position of power. Though I disagree with their solution I respect their motivation. It would be an absolute travesty that the divisions fracturing America would also cause a permeant break among fellow Christians. We must remember we are trying to win the world and not just an election.

2. Pray and Give Thanks for Our Leaders

As Christians we are commanded to pray those who in a position of authority above us. 

I think its striking that Paul instructs Timothy to not only pray for those in authority, but to also be thankful for them. This admittedly is harder with some people, but remember Paul lived at a time when Nero, one of the vilest, and most bloodthirsty emperors was in power.

Most of us, even if you voted for Trump have strong reservations about how he will lead, but we must pray and find ways to be thankful for him. This would have been no different if Hillary had been elected.

And why? Because when we humble ourselves to pray and give thanks for our leaders, people around us are saved and come to the knowledge of truth.

I'm extremely encouraged by those in leadership positions that are already being an example. And these people are not just in leadership positions but have been some of the most outspoken against Trump.

If these guys can be gracious and public in their prayers so can we.

3. Keep the Gospel in the Center of Your Life

This last Sunday we had special service that focused on praying for the election and our country. One of my favorite parts was a testimony given by one of our members Joe Crisp. He spoke primarily about the recent tragedies of police shootings. Joe has a very unique and nuanced position as he is a person of color, grew up in the inner city of Cleveland, and is now works with law enforcement as a prosecutor.

Earlier in the summer we went to Joe, given his background and position, and asked what we as a church could do to help the volatile situation in our country. His answer was profound and simple as he told us to "keep doing what you do." What he meant by that was to keep living a life that show the love of Christ, and keep the mission to share the gospel of Christ as the primary thing in your life.

Those words are especially poignant in light of the election. We need to make the mission of the church our primary mission. By the way you can watch Joe's full life story here.

I love what Russel Moore wrote yesterday: "Political power—or the illusion of it—has not always been good for us. Such influence has led us to conform our minds to that of the world about what matters, and who matters, in the long-run of history. We should, as missionary Jim Elliot put it a generation ago, own our “strangerhood.”

What Elliot meant was we need to understand that this world is not our home. Embrace the fact that we have a hope to come that is better than anything here. That hope is realized in the gospel and we need to be bold to share it with a nation that needs it.

We will need to be united on this as a divided nation needs us to be focused on this mission.

Work to engage those not in your culture comfort zone.

If your Christianity only engages elites, college grads, artists, "creatives," urban professionals, etc. you won't understand why Trump won. The gospel is not just for those in our social circles. There is a massive group of people in our country that feel left behind. If we want to reach them with the gospel we will have to reject comfort and reach across our culture.

A good place to start would be to read the book Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. Another good place would be to read the review of that very book by Mez McConnell. Mez has the perspective of living in Great Britain and going through Brexit this past year.

Our identity is not in politics. Our hope is not in a candidate. Our party or support of a candidate is not the sum of who we are.

We need to continue to fight for the gospel. Spread it with love far and wide.

I'll end with this challenge from Matt Chandler. If we want to propel the gospel forward we must "fight for diversity love the poor and welcome the immigrant."

The shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have opened fresh wounds not only for our country but also in the mind and heart of this very white midwestern pastor.

Please understand that I come this subject with a very heavy and conflicted heart. On the one hand, as a white male, living in a mostly white city, in a mostly white state, I don’t have the credibility to speak on issues of race. On the other hand, as a pastor, leader, and as one with a platform, I am compelled to speak. You may rightly ask, “Why now?”

Something has changed, and maybe it’s just me, but I don’t fully believe that.

• We are literally watching, live on Facebook, the deaths of our neighbors.
• The outpouring of cries of people from my own conservative tribe seem to be much stronger than at any other time in my lifetime.
• There is a group of people who are truly terrified for their lives and for the lives of their children.

Any one of those things should give us pause to stop, listen, and consider what our response should be, but, when you put all of them together, I believe we are at a moment where we need to take some action.

The main issue at hand is the question of systemic cultural bias and racial injustice against African Americans. The idea that it exists manifests itself it many different ways and to many different degrees. And in the last couple days it has been exacerbated through two different shootings in two very different parts of America.

Now, I understand that the issues involved are extremely complex, run very deep, and have been around for a long time. I don’t believe it is helpful at this point to dive into the complexities about movements of arms, the inner-city, poverty, the fatherless, and everything else–especially for most predominately white churches. Also note, that at this point I’m not interested in prosecuting a case for or against the shootings. This is a personal testimony about an awakening and where I believe we need to go from here. There are always things you will be able to pick apart and question, but our hearts are deceitful, and, often, our biases hidden.

So what do we do?

We need to Listen

Racial injustice is an issue in our country. Do not gloss over this or roll your eyes because that is the whole point. To truly be able to recognize if there is injustice, I need to listen intently and empathize deeply. First, I believe we have done a terrible job of listening. We pretend to hear, and we may even nod in agreement, but then we go on our way unaffected by it all. I need to listen to those crying out. I need to hear their stories. I need to know how they feel. How many times in the gospels does Jesus listen and see and immediately respond with compassion? How could anyone not be cut to the core, listening to a four-year-old tell her mom it will be ok, after watching her father shot in front of her?

If we are listening, we will weep. Someone doesn’t need to be a saint for me to mourn their death. The Apostle Paul lays out exactly how a follower of Jesus is supposed to act in Romans 12. We are commanded to “weep with those who weep.” He follows that command directly with the command to be humble, and not think of yourself as higher than others. I weep with those who mourn today, because I hate the pain that they are in. We weep together because we can all identify together as broken people who need redemption.

This won’t change anything overnight, but our black brothers and sisters will know that we have their backs and in solidarity stand shoulder to shoulder with them. This doesn’t mean we condone all the actions of one group while disavowing another. It means that we will truly listen and empathize.

This goes beyond recognizing racial injustice on an individual level.

The Church Needs to Speak Out

For many reasons, most not very good, predominantly white churches have stood silent on the issue of racial injustice. Mostly it’s because it really doesn’t affect us. Individually, we all want to believe we don’t have a racist bone in our body, and the thought process is that, if I think racism is wrong, I’m good on this issue. There is no need to speak out because my personal opinion is on the right side. What if we had acted in the same manner when the Planned Parenthood videos came out? We all believe abortion is wrong to the core. We didn’t wait for all the facts to come out when we saw those videos. We knew innately that something was deeply wrong. We spoke out, we held rallies, we lobbied our representatives, and rightly so! Because we understand that all humans, including the unborn, are made in the image of God, life is something to be protected. The same thought process applies to racial injustice. We must speak out in solidarity with our brothers and sisters because they, too, are made in the image of God!

The white church has stood silent long enough. Those who speak out against injustice must not only be the ones who are being persecuted. We speak because we believe in the gospel. That is, we believe that Jesus was sent for all men, and salvation is for everyone because God loves all people and values them equally.

Last, we must recognize that it must be the church that speaks the loudest, because the systemic cultural change of sin rooted this deep only comes from the hearts and minds of men being changed by the gospel.

We Must Speak Out with the Gospel

Our own hearts can’t change unless we preach the gospel to ourselves daily. Specifically, in relation to the events of the past couple days, ask yourself pointed questions: Who did you presume was guilty when you heard about the shooting videos? Why haven’t you watched the videos? The point is, if we willingly looked more closely at the assumptions and prejudices buried in our hearts, we would run more quickly to the gospel. And we would not remain silent.

The hearts and fears of the inner city, the police, whites, blacks, Hispanics, and others won’t change, and we’ll keep on killing each other, without the good news of Jesus’ love transforming our lives.

Paul exhorts us earlier in Romans 12 to “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Why? Because of everything in the first 11 chapters of Romans that speak to the glory of Jesus saving us from our sins–because the gospel has been given to all men, and to all men equally.

The tone and timing of this may suggest to some that I am siding with one group over another. Nothing could be further from the truth. For true justice to take place we need to listen with humility.

Like the father unable to heal his son, we cry. “I believe. Help my unbelief.” We stand with you. We want to listen. Help us to hear what you hear and let the gospel guide us to solutions that help us to love all men.

And its not just the fact that its all there but the fact that you're expected to know what's going on at every moment–not to mention the irrational fear of missing out.

The real tragedy though I'm realizing is the fact that because of all the horrible news I'm not able to feel or empathize the way I want to.

These past few days have been crazy with the shooting of Christina Grimmie, the mass murder at the Pulse nightclub, and then this morning learning about a toddler being taken by an alligator at Disney World in front of his parents.

Its just too much and I don't have enough tears, emotions, or words for it all.

And that is just a drop in the bucket compared to what is going on in the rest of the world that I don't even know about.

I have to ask myself though, is it because I'm getting too much information or is it something else? How can I prevent the numbness? How can I empathize with everyone?

I can't.

But, I know someone who can.

And its not just that he knows and feels our sorrows, but that he is in the process of making everything sad come untrue. Because Jesus substituted himself for humanity there will be a day when there is no ugliness, no sin, no pain, no sorrow and no tears.

When I've reached my end of empathy and sorrow I can take comfort because there is one who's compassion is infinitely greater.

While I could could just copy what he's done I wanted it to mean more.

So many places, and names have memories etched into my brain and evoke a strong feeling of nostalgia and longing. For example, at the Westminster Mall there were these large balloons in the middle of a water feature that would go up and down almost magically. I remember sitting or laying on the carpeted steps in front of them and being transfixed as they would float up by some unseen force and then squish back down again. I must not have been the only one because there is a nine minute video on YouTube of just these balloons...

So every logo, place, and name I'm working on has a special place in my memory growing up. I plan on sharing all of these as I work my way through this project.

And its not just about nostalgia, I want to hone my illustrative skills, and also bring back or create new logos that have been long forgotten.

Right now my goal is post at least one logo a day. I've compiled a list of nearly 100 different things and I may add to it so I've obviously got my work cut out for me. 

I anticipate this being a really fun journey to look back on the things that made my childhood special in Colorado. I invite any of you to post your memories as well.

See and follow the project in progress.

The List:

• Putt-Putt
• IMAX
• DIA
• Santa's Workshop
• Westminster Mall (the balloons!)
• Grand Lake
• 9News
• Biggs
• Time Out on the Court
• McNichols Arena
• Denver Gold
• Denver Dynamite
• Denver Zephyrs
• Stella's Coffee Shop
• Chautauqua Park in Boulder
• The Flatirons
• Roller City
• Skate City
• Cinderella City
• Cinder Alley
• Graystone Castle
• North Star Drive Ins
• American Furniture Warehouse (Jake Jabbs!)
• Elitch Gardens
• Lakeside Amusement Park (The Fun House!)
• Celebrity Sports Center
• Northglenn Mall
• Larimar Square
• Lo-Do
• Heritage Square
• Cave of the Winds
• Glenwood Springs
• Hanging Lake
• Mile High Stadium
• Coors Field
• Webster Lake
• Winter Park
• Cooper's Square
• Beau Joes Pizza
• Copper Mountain
• Loveland Ski Area
• Berthod Pass
• Eisenhower Tunnel
• Boulder Falls
• Karls Dairy
• Northglenn High School
• Huron Middle School
• Casa Bonita
• Denver Zoo
• Stock Show and Rodeo
• Georgetown
• Broadmoor Hotel
• Camping
• Blinky the Clown
• Channel 2
• Show Biz Pizza
• Nathan's Funtastic
• King Soopers
• The Ranch
• Parade of Lights
• 16th St Mall
• RTD
• Broncos
• Rockies
• Nuggets
• Avalanche
• Water World
• Pikes Peak
• Stapleton International Airport
• Jim's Burger Haven
• Troccodaro
• Denver Post
• Rocky Mountain News
• Union Station

For Valentine's Day my son needed a box to take home his cards and candy. Of course in the age of Pinterest just sending him with any old box just won't do. So with the Super Bowl victory fresh on our minds we re-created the Broncos football field.

Originally I tried to use green tissue paper to cover the box but that was a complete and utter failure.

Duct tape came to the rescue. Not only was using duct tape a lot easier it strengthened the box for the mountains of candy and love it would bring home.

Supplies Needed:

• Orange and blue duct tape
• One piece of green construction paper (for the field)
• Black sharpie marker
• Cake pop sticks (for the goal posts)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Computer, printer and internet (for the graphics) or download the pdf containing all the graphics.

1. We started by cutting the green construction paper to the shape of the top of the box and taping down the edges. FYI, the included endzone graphics are approx 6.5" wide. That would be the ideal width for your field.
2. We then wrapped the entire box with blue and orange tape. The design is completely up to how you wrap the tape around the box.
3. Print out the graphics from the included PDF or download from internet. If you're looking for a different team, google "[your team name] logo" and then "[your team name] end zone."
4. Cut out all graphics and glue down end zones.
5. Using a a ruler, mark and draw all the yard lines you want on the field.
6. Glue down mid-field logo, first down line (yellow) and scrimmage line (blue).
7. Wrap cake pop sticks or whatever you are using in colored tape.
8. Admittedly this was a quick and dirty process, but tape together the cake pop sticks in the shape of goal posts.
9. Tape goal posts to side of box. We needed to cut the bottom of the post so it wouldn't stick over the edge of the top of the box.
10. Glue Super Bowl logo wherever you want because the champs are here!
11. Enjoy the excitement with your child!

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13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a great film. In fact I’ll go so far as to say I liked it much more than Star Wars. What??!! Sacrilege you say!

Now I love Star Wars, but I walked out of the theater after seeing 13 Hours more satisfied, more emotionally impacted, and more mentally engaged than I have been in long time by a film. 

I thought it was an amazing depiction of modern warfare–some have said the best. It really reminded me a lot of Black Hawk Down (which I also loved). Being a war film there were a number of things I looked for and it checked most of my boxes for a good war movie including lots of guns, fighting, male ego, blood, heroism, and sacrifice. I thought they forced the family man angle a little too much so that it didn't feel quite as genuine, but it still had an emotional pull.

However, the biggest takeaway for me was that the film clearly depicts the competing philosophies that we have in foreign relations with the Middle East in general and predominantly Muslim culture in particular.

One ideology says that we can stop terrorism, violence, and dictators by being winsome, having a conversation and working with local rebels to bring in democracy. A simplified version thinks that we should all be able to rise above our differences and just get along.

The opposite ideology says that this way of thinking is the definition of futile. The worldview of Islamic culture does not allow for freedom and democracy. The worldview of Islam has no intention, or desire of getting along.

Whether its ISIS trying to bring in the Caliphate now or Iran playing the long game, this is a religion (Apocalyptic Islam) that does not want peace, hates liberty, and would destroy all infidels, and the entirety of the West if they could, yesterday.

The leaders of our country for the past several administrations have failed to recognize this and have had the goal to impart American values and democracy in the Middle East. And from the Iraq war to the fiasco in Libya, all have failed spectacularly.

Why is this film important? It proves in a very visceral way that this strategy is a failure. It didn’t work when Bush invaded Iraq to depose one dictator. It didn’t work when Obama and Clinton aided the Libyan rebels to depose another dictator. 

You had maybe one of the best Ambassadors in terms of getting to know the people and getting the locals to love him and talk with him as was shown in the outpouring after Chris Stevens death. Yet it still failed.

This film is also important because it shows the lengths our leaders will go to prove their point. It has been stated that Ambassador Chris Stevens sent over 600 requests for additional security to the State Department. Why weren’t these requests for additional security recognized? Because it would have forced them to concede their philosophy doesn’t work.

Additionally, after the attack America was led to believe that a YouTube video was responsible. The leadership wanted to prove the point that when differences are pointed out people get mad and kill each other. They also wanted to say that those who would point out differences are to blame, not the ones who try and work together.

This film blows all that up literally.

There is no way that those attacks were a spontaneous response. First the attacks happened on September 11th, a holy day now for any jihadist. There were well-coordinated waves of attacks in two different locations. The local police and security disappeared at just the right time, and mortars were used effectively, which require advance planning.

I would love for the people of the Middle East to experience individual freedoms and democracy but what so many fail to recognize is that freedom and the rights of the individual are largely a Christian construct.

Western Civilization and America in particular exist because of the foundations given to them by Christianity. Christianity championed the rights of free speech. Free speech didn’t just happen all by itself. The liberty of conscience exists because America’s founders (while not all professing Christians) had a Christian worldview and understood that the tenets of Christianity were very good for society at large.

Christianity espouses that everyone has been created in image of God and has value. Everyone has eternal dignity. If I believe my neighbor (and everyone else in the world) was created in the image of God than certain behaviors will follow. I want them to be free. I want them to speak freely; I want them to have liberty of conscience. These liberties didn’t just happen. They were established, protected, and guarded by Christian societies.

The film 13 Hours The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi shows that we will never effect change or control the ideologies in the Middle East until we understand the foundation that drives their actions.

I give it 4/5 stars.

It's no secret that I like movies. Here is my annual list of films I thought were great, okay and ones you should never even think about seeing.

Note that not all of these came out in 2015, that's just when I happened to see them.

Also note that there is content in every single film I do not condone or endorse (yes even Pixar and “lesser rated” films). Film is philosophy and the main delivery method of influence to our culture. While it can be entertaining, it is also educational and helps us engage the worldview of the culture at large while helping us to understand our own Christian worldview. So do your research and view with intentionality.

10. Nightcrawler

This is a film I never intended to see because it just didn’t look that interesting but it was recommended strongly by a friend. The acting, pace, and story were very good and compelling. From a worldview perspective we were reminded that evil and depravity are in the hearts of all men no matter who they are and where they come from.

9. Mad Max Fury Road

I’m not one that typically gets into the apocalyptic dystopian genre so there is one reason this film makes my top 10 list. The visuals. This has to be one of the visually visceral films I’ve ever seen. From start to finish the landscapes, vehicles, concepts, characters and everything else put on the screen were amazing to look at. The story was lame which normally is the death knell for any film but that just shows how good the visuals were.

8. Avengers Age of Ultron

I’m a sucker for just about any comic book movie, especially since my 7 year old is all about the Avengers. Its just fun. Funny parts, good action, good characters, redemption, sacrifice – all elements that make for a good movie.

7. Ex Machina

A late entry, but very striking because of the incredible acting by all the main characters and the Twilight Zone/Black Mirror twist. The worldview implications were very compelling in this film also. It was striking that the title omits the first word from the traditional phrase Deus Ex Machina, as a main theme of the film was omitting the supernatural specialness of humanity. This then begs the question, without God is there any difference between man and machine?

6. 30 for 30 Hillsborough

Nearly every entry in the 30 for 30 series by ESPN has been amazing, but this particular episode intersected a great documentary with my newfound soccer passion. As I’ve become more invested in the English Premier League, its teams and histories have become very interesting. Hillsborough tells the story of one of the darkest days not only in soccer history but in England as well. This day changed soccer forever in England. It is compelling and riveting throughout with tons of actual footage from the disaster at Hillsborough.

5. The Martian

I like space movies and any film that needs to retrieve Matt Damon has traditionally been very good. Even with the subtext of “science as god,” the film is fun, very funny and shows how good of an actor Matt Damon is. If you like space, Cast Away and MacGyver, you’ll love this movie.

4. American Sniper

I love war movies. I love true stories. I love sniper films. Fantastic acting and great directing by Clint Eastwood make this a must see.

3. Star Wars the Force Awakens

This might have been higher had I seen it more than once. It was a lot of fun and what an experience to take my 7 year old son to his first Star Wars film! His face when the opening chords of the main Star Wars theme hit was priceless! I got a little bored with all the omages to the old films it lacked the gritty subtext that has made so many of the recent superhero films great and I think they missed opportunities to tell a deeper story, but overall it was a ton of fun.

2. Edge of Tomorrow

The surprise of the year for me was the Tom Cruise film re-titled Live, Die, Repeat. The best description is Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers. One of Cruise's best films in a long time, it had great action, great acting, a very fun story, and for anyone raised in the video game age a really cool plot device.

1. Inside Out

Pixar absolutely nailed it again. They understand human emotion and story better than any filmmakers right now. And we just happen to have an 11-year-old daughter going through very similar circumstances, so the emotion of the film was ratcheted up by about 100. But what a beautiful tale of family and growing up. From a Christian perspective I did wonder about the role of the Holy Spirit in all this and how the film would be different with that aspect as a part of the story.

Honorable Mentions

• Making a Murderer – This is a multi-part documentary which is why I didn't include it, but wow. Must see.

• Gone Girl – disturbing tale of human brokenness and today’s media voyeurism

• John Wick – everyone loves a good revenge tale

• Fury – Another true story war movie with great acting

• Big Hero Six – Fun story and keeps the Pixar influence at Disney primary

• Unbroken – Impossible to do justice to the book but a good effort nonetheless

• Jurrasic World – Everyone has imagined, what if they actually got the park running & Chris Pratt is fantastic

• Antman – Not the best comic book character, but still fun

• Furious 7 – Good end to the franchise and respectable farewell to Paul Walker

Movies I haven't seen but might make next year's list

• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

• The Hateful Eight

• Creed

• Spotlight

• The Revenant

• Sicario

• The Gift

Movies I wish I could unsee

• Kingsmen Secret Service

• The Cobbler

• Exodus Gods and Kings

• Dumb and Dumber To

• The Theory of Everything

Each week you can follow along with selected scriptures, prayers, carols and fun family activities to help guide you and your family during the month of December.

You can download the Advent Family Guide here or preview it in the photos below.

A lot of this study is put into the publication of "Study Bibles." 

Study Bibles are Bibles that are composed of a translation of text, notes on verses that help explain cultural idioms, meaning and more, background and cultural information, maps, charts, infographics, and much more.

The modern study Bible is an amazing collection of scholarship that we have available at our fingertips.

There are a number of study Bibles available and I'm asked every so often, which one should I recommend. To help answer that question Tim Challies and I created the infographic "7 Great Study Bibles." We hope this will be helpful in finding a good study Bible to use.

4 Color Print Available

One of the most important things for a guest or anyone in your church to help them navigate is a good map which shows where things are.

We've created three specific maps for our two services on Sunday and Wednesday night activities.

Our Wednesday night activities map is below.

I had three goals for our maps.

Keep it Simple 

Nobody needs to know exactly where the janitor closet is and no one cares where the Awana ball room is. We only needed key areas for orientation like the front doors, auditorium, and activity center.

I then added each relevant classroom. Not every room is on the map because not every room needs to be there. These are the major areas.

Keep it Clear

On the map itself there are no descriptions of what each class or room is. If needed you can put those in a key below. I also color coded each room for greater clarity. I could have just used the boxes with arrows but adding in color differentiated the rooms and gives a lot of visual contrast to point people in the right direction.

Make it Not Boring

Originally I had a blueprint layout of the building which wasn't very fun. Also not fun is listing each class next to a number. I found the visual key was to use the actual layout of the building and then throw in a fun graphical twist.

We use these in poster frames at key areas in the building, as handouts for new guests and on standing kiosks when a guest first enters the doors.

A person you don't recognize is walking towards you and your mind is racing furiously trying to place their face. Do you know them? Have they been here before? All of these thoughts are registering on your face as your brow furrows and you frown trying to search the recesses of your memory.

Its the moment of no return. Do you make eye contact and risk saying hi and the awkward conversation to follow, or do the safe thing and look away? 

As someone who cares about new people being comfortable in our church I want to know who these new people are. Unfortunately, like the majority of people I have to work at it...hard.

In a larger church one of the biggest obstacles to meeting new people is not being confident that they are actually new. I'm sure all of you reading this have greeted someone you thought was new only to find out they've been attending for the past 4 years and is a deacon.

That embarrassment factor alone keeps us from really greeting people as we should and in the process many new people slip through the cracks unnoticed or they feel a cold shoulder.

Its not that people in churches are unfriendly, in fact they want to be so friendly and polite they don't want to risk offending a guest by asking if they are new in case they're not.

So what can your greeting team and regular attenders of your church do to combat this?

1. Get over yourself.

Yes, its embarrassing to meet a new person that has been attending for 6 months but more than likely they didn't recognize you either. But really if you care for people and don't want them to fall through the cracks you've got to put your own feelings on hold and take the plunge. Care about that person more than you care how you look.

2. Smile and Be Genuinely Warm

The single most disarming and warm thing a person can do to another person is to simply look them in the eye and smile. Without any words exchanged the smile communicates instantly that I'm not threatening, I'm interested in you, I'm happy, I'm happy to see you, I'm approachable, I'm trustworthy, I'm pleasant, I'm opening myself up to you and many many other things.

If a greeter or regular church goer does nothing else then to smile at all guests who come through the doors, the experience of those guests will exponentially be better.

3. Use a Strategic Greeting

If you suspect that a person or family is new start off with a smile and ask them:

"Have we met before?"

There are a variety of ways you can intonate the question that communicate your intent. Its flexible enough to convey a sincere recognition of the person if you're pretty sure you've met but can't remember the details. You can also ask it in a way where you only have a vague recollection of a meeting.

Greeting someone in this fashion shows that if they have been attending you care enough to recognize them while admitting you don't remember everything. It is a self-depreciating way to ask, "Are you new here?"

I've found that most guests will answer with a form of "I'm not sure." The reason for that is they think you may have met, maybe even somewhere outside the church. Even if they're sure you've never met they will normally answer something like "I don't think so."

Either answer gives you an open door to ask for their name without the awkwardness of not having remembered it.

Even if they give a confident "yes" that you have met before or "no" you haven't, you've already shown that you recognize them and care.

You now have the open door to ask for their name without the awkwardness.

"Okay, I'm Josh (obviously insert your own name cause that would be weird to use mine), will you remind me of your name?"

Again, this puts the onus on you as the party that didn't remember, not the guest, and they are free to share with you.

Be sure to share your name without them having to ask. We have ridiculously huge name lanyards so I often will use that as a joke to point out my own name.

The big idea is that we want guests to feel comfortable and by caring more about them than yourself, smiling and using self-depricating language you can accomplish that.

And you America are soaking it up and buying in hook, line, and sinker.

Today, the latest fiction to hit popular culture is the film 90 Minutes in Heaven. This film is based on the book that arguably started the entire heaven tourism industry.

One of the most telling storylines is the number of books that were published in short span in this genre after it proved to be a money maker. As soon as everyone realized there was money to be made, stories of death, resurrection and visions of the afterlife became as common as a murder mystery.

Tim Challies and I have produced a Visual Theology infographic that shows the rise and history of the heaven tourism industry.