The seven27 Christmas Special

Jordan makes another hit, promoting our last BIG NITE gathering of '06!

For the Bible tells me so...

How much of what we do in the church is biblical and how much is cultural? I am personally convinced that much of what we do in church is cultural. Not that it is bad. It is just cultural. It is our expression of what we think would be most honoring to God (at least when its not "the way we've always done it"). Other cultures long ago or far away don't do life the way we do, so in some way they won't do church the way we do.

You come to conclusions about these things by asking a series of why questions? Why do we sing the way we do? Why dress this way? Why have this person speak this time and that person speak that time? You get the gist.

I used to quip (defensively)... for the Bible tells me so. But then I looked into the Bible and I didn't find much about how to do church, just a few descriptions (not prescriptions) of a few early churches....who even differed a bit on how they did things.

If this talk scares you, my next advice won't...look in the Bible for yourself. See how little the Bible prescribes for the church. The Bible tells us many important things about man and God and Jesus...life and death things, but it tells us little about how to do church. To further push on the issue of our cultural expressions of the church I sugges Dan Kimball's recent blog post Pews, Pulpits, Pastors, Preaching and other things that can get in the way of the church "being" the church.

I'm flattered

Kevin Carroll is my hero.

This has absolutely nothing to do with fact that he highlighted my blog on his blog, today. See the evidence here.

I am flattered, excited and giddy that Kevin saw my post on him and found it worth sharing with others.

I am planning on getting his book, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, and reading it myself this Christmas (seriously). I'd suggest you do the same and get one for someone else you know, whom you want to encourage to live playfully.

Vintage21 Jesus Video #3

Is Jesus for girls?That is what a majority of people think. He was a whiny, meek, compassionate man who was...well weak. And people get this notion from Church. I came across this hilarious video designed to get us to think about the Jesus we portray.

In the Spring of 2003, Vintage21 had a four week series on Jesus Christ, taking a deep look at what He said and did. It was difficult at times to get past our preconceived notions that had been developed by staunch, starched Sunday School classes of old. This is a satirical look at what some people think Jesus is like. Thank goodness He's not.

See video

Web Worship

As I lay on my couch last night watching Sunday night football , I also tuned into the Passion Live Link over at 268generation.com , curious about what would ensue. I've been involved in a bunch of conference calls over the years but never a Live Web Worship event. And what unfolded was refreshingly simple. It was an hour of singing led by Steve Fee broken up by times of prayer... that simple.

Apparently Louie Giglio gathered his staff and friends at the Passion House in Atlanta to broadcast the event. He regularly updated listeners as to who was listening and listeners "showed their support" by commenting on the blog. I noted that at 10:14 there were 133 comments and at 10:45 there were 200 comments. I even commented to let the staff know that a Buckeye was listening in. It appears that families were huddled around the family computer and college groups were broadcasting the link to entire rooms full of people.

The event was simply an hour of praise and prayer. We prayed for the upcoming Passion 07 Event, for college campuses and for the nations. I personally felt the tension in my life. The big screen in my living room was broadcasting another Sunday Night NFL game. Fans were cheering, commentators were analyzing and players were hustling. But the small screen in front of me was broadcasting this live worship event. My attention bounced between two realities, each voice vying for my attention. I sort of liked it. The tension that is...of allowing the Christ I worship to invade my personal space and play space, but not necessarily being the center of my attention. The tension of the here-and-now fighting with the still-coming. The tension of the already and the not-yet. Prayer and football were my comfort. I appreciate Louie Giglio's creativity, leadership and God-centeredness. It was a memorable Sunday night for me.

Passion Live Webcast

I just got an e-mail from Louie Giglio. Well...that is stretching the truth abit...it was more like the generic Passion '07 e-blast. So now we are both on the same page. It announced a LIVE WEBCAST, this Sunday at 10pm. I went to Passion '06 in Nashville (and blogged it here) and quite enjoyed the teaching (John Piper, Beth Moore, Louie) and the worship (Crowder, Redman, Tomlin, Hall, etc.). If you are interested in taking a peek at where college ministry is these days, then show up to the WEBCAST. Here was the e-mail......

Live Link Unites Students for Worship/PrayerPassion
Hosts Live Web Event Sunday Night, December 3

Though college students are notorious for making plans at the last minute, we hope you know where you're going to be Sunday night, December 3. Where, you ask? Huddled close to your computer with a few friends at 10:00 PM EST as we worship and pray together leading up to Passion07.

The Live Link is going to be an audio-only stream giving students across the nation (and around the globe) the chance to link together--some connecting from Kansas, others from a dorm in Boston and somebody in Australia where it's already Monday! The Live Link will be interactive, so you won't just be listening, you'll be singing at the top of your lungs (OK, maybe not so loud for some of you!) and praying with us. We'll be streaming the audio live right from our website at 268Generation.com. All you have to do is turn your computer on, get to 268Generation.com and click on the Live Link Banner.

It would be amazing if everyone on the journey to Passion07 gets connected on December 3, so tell everyone you know who's coming, and even those who aren't, and join with us Sunday night for the Live Link.

The Passion07 Live Link
Sunday, December 3
10:00 PM EST

Visit http://www.268generation.com/ for more info
Click on "Live Link" to test your connection

Leaders and Character

I came across some great thoughts on Leadership from Andy Stanley. An excerpt from his book Next Generation Leader was in the Catalyst Groupzine I am reading. Enjoy.

Character is not essential to leadership...But character is what makes
you a leader worth following. Integrity is not necessary if your
aspirations as a leader end with simply persuading people to follow
you. But if at the end of the day your intent is for those who follow
to respect you, integrity is a must. Your accomplishments as a leader
will amke your name known. Your character will determine what people
associate with your name.

Having character does not make you (or me) a good leader. Being a good leader does not require you to have good character. We've all had teachers, bosses, mentors who could gather a following, but people did not respect because of serious character flaws. And we've all had teachers, coaches and bosses who might not have been the best leaders but we would go to wall for them because of their integrity and honesty. So what type of leader are you?

I came across a blog that had an update on the Ted Haggard story. He is the Christian leader whose sexual indescretions were made public and he was publicly removed from his leadership role. It relates because his character cracked while his leadership skills did not. The church has done the right thing and it has also facilitated his communication with the church. Read this entry on the Haggards. In the entry you read a letter Ted Haggard wrote to the congregation and one that his wife wrote as well. Here are my reactions to his letter.

1. He betrayed his wife, his family, his church and God. Not that I don't. His sin was simply an act of betrayal.
2. He said what he did. I like that. He calls his actions for what they are and nothing less. How freeing (in a sense) that must feel, to have no secrets.
3. He owned his sin. He did not blame anyone or deny its degree. He took all responsibility for its cause and effect.
4. He took the consequences. He did not say he COULD not longer lead (he's a born leader), he said he WOULD no longer lead, he is not a leader worth following. There are consequences to actions and he in a sense leads the way (in a way worth following) of stepping down from formal leadership. How ironic.

Sunday morning "i"Tunes

I came across an interesting article about the common themes of "I" and "me" in contemporary worship music. The article is from blog.worship.com and refers to a book by Matthew Ward, former Christian rocker and member of the band 2nd Chapter of Acts. Ward comments in his book...

I took note of what types of worship songs we sang. Several groups from different parts of Europe led worship, singing their songs in their native tongues, with English translations projected on a screen. The vast majority of the songs European Christians had written were "we" and "us" songs. But the groups also threw in some songs from the United States—and I was surprised to discover that the majority contained lyrics centered on "I" or "me."

You can read the rest of the article here. Pretty interesting observation, huh. I think that this is an easy trap for us to fall into. Me & God. I and He. Not Us and Thee. Next time you are at church check out the theory that American Christians are into singing lots of "I"Tunes. It's not that these are bad, because each individual is accountable to God for their own life. But that it's incomplete in that God is primarily into gathering a people. In our small group last night we saw the same idea come out in Paul's writing.

Do you not know that you (plural) are God's temple (singular) and that God's Spirit dwells in you? I Corinthians 3:16

What if Christianity were more about WE than ME? What if Christian discipleship meant repenting of my individualistic tendencies? What if confession of sin was more than a me&God private thing, but was God's tool for creating intimacy within his people? What if conversion to Christianity also meant conversion to Christian community?

Sing about it on Sunday, then weigh-in with your thoughts.

seven27 Christmas Party

Jordan came up with a pretty witty add for our 2006 Christmas Party. I hope the party lives up to the hype! Thanks Jordan.

Saturday, Dec. 9
6:00pm - Caroling here
7:30pm - Games, Food, $5 White Elephant Exchange here

High School....Again

I came across a really creative youth pastor from Indiana. Scott Greene from Warsaw Community Church decided that to better reconnect with the students that he was serving he needed a fresh perspective. So at the age of 33, with a wife and a kid, he decided to go back to high school for two weeks. Find out more about his experience on his web-site "Two Weeks Back". How creative is that. Not only was he able to reconnect with students, he also created such a huge buzz that national media picked up on the story. Check it out.



What dream is God laying on your heart?
What out-of-the box idea have you shelved?
Are you afraid of trying something risky and creative?

Viva Scott Greene

The Dome of Heaven

I have never been to the Sistene Chapel (pictured) but I bet it would be breathtaking. This weekend I did go a catholic wedding with full catholic mass in Chicago. I paid close to attention to the prayers and homily by the priest and was encouraged by the truth about God and marriage that I heard. I can be quite critical of other pastors efforts, I guess that makes me feel better about myself. The worst wedding I ever attended was at this small baptist church in the country.

But this church in Chicago was ornately decorated, I mean beautiful. I did find myself following the different story lines that were portrayed in the artwork. At one point the priest noted that we were gathering in God's presence under the dome of heaven. I looked up and saw a dome at the top of the church. In the center was Christ, around him were angels and under them were pictures of the saints. The priest said something like, "we are gathered under the dome of heaven just as this architecture reminds us that we are joined today by God his angels and a cloud of witnesses."

I rather liked that thought, and since I am quite a visual guy I appreciated that the architecture of the building did paint a picture of the reality that God, his angels and his saints are witnesses to our living out the Christian story until the consummation of time. It made me think of Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Kan you play at work?

Have you ever heard of Kevin "Katalyst" Carroll? I hadn't really until last Friday. He was featured on this episode of the Catalyst podcast which I listened to on a drive to Chicago. Boy is this fella inspiring. If you like work to be work, don't listen to Kevin. If you don't like to play, don't listen to Kevin. And if to you dreams are childrens playthings, don't listen to Kevin.

He's got a bit of a rags-to-riches story that is featured on his website. He worked as an internal consultant at NIKE and was one of the influencers behind the LIVESTRONG yellow bands. He's authored a book that is a runaway award winner and is printed by ESPN books entitled, "Rules of the Red Rubber Ball." He's got a great list of inspiring books that I have never heard of.

Listening to him is truly infectious and inspiring. It makes you want to do more and to have more fun doing it...not in an everyone look at me sort of way...but more in a lets make the world a better place sort of way. And on top of it, he has a quote on a Starbucks Cup...that was the clincher for me.

DREAM ON!

God works through systems

Here is our staff (sans Brian) at the Drive Conference. What you see is pastors, men, sons, husbands, dads and one grandfather. What you also see is a network of relationships and a conglomeration of systems. Systems was the focus of session #2 at the Drive Conference. I guess I would describe systems as the intangible influencer's within an organization.

Andy Stanley suggested that not only does God work through systems but systems create behavior. I like this string of phrases that he tossed out...

Your church is a conglomeration of systems. Those systems determine how your church functions. You can't pray, fast, preach or inspire that away! This is as spiritual as anything we'll talk about.

These systems can impede ministry and obstruct leaders or propel ministry and launch leaders. Systems affect hiring, firing, decision making, starting new programs, stopping old programs and what we will and will not do in our services. Sometimes we are frustrated by the systems that slow down our ability to lead and sometimes we frustrate others by the system that we allow to slow down their ability to lead. It seems rather unspiritual to talk in such a way about church, but quite honestly it does put words to things that all church leaders feel and attempt to navigate. These are difficult waters to navigate that is why most churches simply don't or won't address them. Systems are the elephant in the church office.

Our church, has a burden to see people in our community come to Christ and grow up in the gospel. If systems create behavior, it begs the question are our systems getting in the way or clearing the way? We will often talk about dates and programs but do we ever push deeper to address the systems that affect such decisions? These are challenging thoughts for me.

Here are some diagnostic questions to ask:
In light of this, is there anything that we need to stop doing?
Is there anything we need to continue doing?
Is there anything we need to start doing?

Drive at Glance

Many people have asked about the Drive Conference. Mark Waltz at Granger Community Church has provided great overviews of the main sessions. So here are his re-caps.











DRIVE Session 1: Andy Stanley "Does Church Get in the Way?"
DRIVE Session 2: Andy Stanley "Liberating Your Organization"
DRIVE Session 3: Andy Stanley "Recruiting and Retaining Great Volunteers"
DRIVE Session 4: Charles Stanley "Dealing with Conflict"
DRIVE Session 5: Andy Stanley "Building High Performance Teams"

Shawn McDonald and Vomit

This has got to be a great post with that title right? Well I hope it lives up to your expectations. It was just another night in my average life. I got to go see Shawn McDonald last night with a few friends (Cory, Sean & Ed). He was playing at Bethel Presbyterian. I really enjoyed the show, although I don't know his new stuff. The band seemed tired after 3 months of traveling and it showed. At one point Shawn even apologized for coming across as ...well, tired.

My favorite song wash HUSH. He set it up by saying that he grew up fatherless and lived with grandparents. But that even his grandpa was never around. He seemed to choke up a bit as he told the story, betraying the pain that he has felt for not knowing a Father. The song talked about a fatherless boy's struggle to relate to a fatherly God. Sort of like Don Miller who thought having a dad was like owning a dragon, read my thoughts here.

I was reflecting on my boys and how much I love being a Dad. Many things clamor for my attention, but few compare with my relationship with them. Because I realize how powerful a father-son relationship is. It will propel them onto manhood or suck every ounce of manhood out of them. Dad's do you realize that? Don't cheat your sons by pursuing things for you. The money isn't worth it. Your reputation isn't worth it. Your achievements aren't worth it, if they rob your boys (and girls) of you. Others can do your job, but no one can be a father to your sons.

So I arrive home with this epiphany of love for my boys. Griffin is sick so I go upstairs to give him medicine and he proceeds to puke up a tummy full of milk. I strip his sheets, change his jammies, feed him juice, comfort him and lay him down. I head down stairs and every ounce of my being wanted to sit on the couch, read the sports page and watch the news... but I looked at his puke covered sheets and jammies... and fatherhood kicked in. Instead of focusing on me I scrubbed out his sheets and put me on the backburner. That is what dad's do.

And I thought that is what God does with us, over and over again. We constantly vomit all over ourselves and he stoops to clean us up, change our clothes and tuck us back into bed... because he is our Father.

God hears

This morning at 4am I awoke to the cries of our 2 year old, Griffin. He normally sleeps like a log (thankfully) but he has been sick for a day. I shot up and went in to his room to check on him. He was on-fire, as in really warm. I told my wife...and we went into action. She went into his room to comfort him while I ran downstairs to get the medicine and his milk. I returned to give him the milk and mom the medicine. He slurped them both down, then I took them back downstairs while my wife tucked him in. We were both back in bed in just minutes. It was true teamwork. And it all started because parents hear the cry of their children.

If you are a parent you know that is true... you hear the cry of your kids. If you are a kid you know that is true... because your parents heard your cry. And it reminded me of a biblical truth that I heard in a Rob Bell sermon recently, that God always hear the cry of those who are oppressed.

Now if you ever are in situations of suffering or oppression that is a truth that will comfort you. Remember what God said to Moses before delivering his children out of Egypt...

I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land (Exodus 3:7-8)

Egypt was the place where the children of God suffered and were oppressed. If you ever find yourself in Egypt... where you are personally taken advantage of or oppressed. Where you are maligned or pushed out to the fringes. Where you are disregarded or discouraged. Know that you are not alone and that God always hears the cry of those who are oppressed.

God is a loving heavenly father who wants to rescue us from our own Egypts and to restore us to a place of wholeness and health. If you will cry out to him he will send a deliverer to redeem and repair you, because he is a father and he cares for you as a child.

Caden's Masterpiece

Yesterday when I finally returned home after a ministry lunch I was approached by my 3 year old son, Caden. It appears that he had been drawing while I was out and had made a special picture for me. He said, "Daddy I want to give it to you and don't lose it"... isn't it supposed to be me who does the life coaching? Oh well...when I looked at it I was quite impressed, because this is the first picture he has drawn with arms and legs. After gloating over his "masterpiece" I asked him who it was and he thought for a moment and offered "Cowboy Woody." So Cowboy Woody it is.

You know, at 3 1/2, I see that he is growing up. He is drawing pictures with legs on them. He wears underwear and can pee standing up. He can almost brush his own teeth and has a great way of making little babies laugh. He can speak in whole sentences and knows how to use a computer mouse. He's growing up. But I can stop time when I look at this picture. It is a freeze frame of where he is right now. So I cherish it and thank him and look forward to what he will draw next.

Andy Stanley on Teams

In the last session of the DRIVE 06 Conference Andy Stanley talked about Building High Performance Teams. He started off with the comment, "Most people in the workforce don't feel like they are part of a team. They feel like employees. Team involves chemistry and that makes it hard to define and even harder to develop."

Thank goodness the days of solo-ministry is dying method. The days when pastors spend 27 out of 28 nights away from their family out doing ministry are all but history. The power of team is finally being brought into the church. Yet church staffs still struggle to build true teams. That type of chemistry comes from debating, playing together and depending on one another. That is why Andy drilled down on the benefits of truly doing ministry in teams and how to address the obstacles to building teams. He shared the following lists.

Tips for leading the team meeting (that is building a team)

• Prepare.
• Pull members into the discussion.
• Don't interrupt a debate...listen.
• Don't attempt to resolve tension - it won't really be resolved.
• Don't allow team members to interrupt each other.
• When you sense someone isn't listening...only waiting to talk...address it.
• Keep the discussion focused.
• When a sensitive subject is going to be discussed, give those who may feel threatened a heads-up.
• Conclude with assignments.

10 Ways to Kill a Team:

• Meet only when there is a crisis.
• Allow the strong personalities to dominate the discussion.
• Allow team decisions to be undermined by private meetings after the team meeting.
• Have your mind made up before you get input from the team.
• Remain inflexible in the face of new information.
• Cut off debate.
• Don't hold team members accountable for their assignments.
• Ignore the intangibles.
• Expect more of the team than you expect of yourself.
• Take individual credit for the accomplishments of the team.

I pulled this last list from Mark Waltz's blog. Mark is one of the Granger guys, who himself is a great team leader and future thinker. I've been to a couple of his "First Impressions" conferences that Granger hosts.

DRIVEing Tunes

Dave Barnes performed at Drive on Tuesday night. I had never heard of him before and I loved his music and his show so much that I just had to support the guy so I picked up his Chasing Mississippi album. He was absolutely hilarious on stage. And his music ranged from New Orleans Jazz sound to soothing acoustic ballads. It proved to be good driving music. You might check him out, here.






The worship from the Northpoint Band throughout the Drive Conference was memorable. We learned a bunch of new tunes with a mix of a few old ones. We just had to take it home with us, so I picked up the first North Point LIVE album and the worship continued on the DRIVE back. If you check it out you won't be disappointed.

The Drive Back

Well I've returned from Drive '06 and am still decompressing. Tuesday turned into Wednesday which bled into Thursday. Once the conference kicked into 5th gear, it did not slow down. As I continue to work through the principles and insights that I took away from the conference I will share my thoughts. I commented to the guys in our van that I felt like I was returning from Summer Camp for grown-ups. We did everything but trade e-mail addresses with the friends we made while at "Camp". On the way back we jammed to some of the CD's which I picked up from the conference (which I'll highlight) in a future post.

I thoroughly enjoyed returning home and spending the evening with my boys. While at the conference Denny caught a DVD of "Cars" that Drive was tossing into the crowd. He gave it to me to give to my boys. We will watch it many times.

25-50-25
I've come to a bit of an opinion on the value of leadership conferences like this. The conference itself is only 25% of the value. The conference is really just a dump of information and principles. So you typically walk away from such experiences with a notebook full of useless information... unless it proceeds to the other steps. Half the value of the conference (50%) is the discussion that it causes or starts with those to whom the ideas apply. This is where the notebooks come to life and is internalized and contextualized. It can be tempting to jump to implementation without having necessary and difficult conversations. The final 25% value of the conference is the execution and implementation of the principles into the local context. This is the bottom-line return-on-investment of going to the conference.

I'm not sure, but its seems like there are steps somthing like this to the conference experience.

Changing the Plugs

I had a really inspiring post on my deep insights on the conference today, but I lost the post. So let me say that Andy Stanley says out loud what every pastor thinks but is not really comfortable saying. It is quite endearing, even if you don't agree with everything that he says. But I often find myself agreeing with him. So hear are some pics of (a) Andy on the Drive stage, (b) Matt giddy before checking out KidStuff the 1-5 grade foyer environment, (c) the 722 band leading worship for 1,500 20-something singles.

Gearing up

The Drive '06 conference geared up today and boy are we having fun. Why would a bunch of pastors at a pretty successful church spend their time and money to come to a conference like this? Great question. We want to do what we do ed. Ibetter. We really believe that the local church has the most important story to tell and it is a matter of life and death. So we while we don't take ourselves too seriously, we take what we do very seriously. We want to be challenged to improve and excel. And Drive has not disappointt is quite a challenging place to be. Here are some highlights...

What I did today
I went to a session by Lane Jones called Communicating for a Change. It challenged us as pastors not be information disseminators by life-changing communicators. In the Q&A Lane talked about how Andy Stanley spends a typical week...quite insightful. Then I caught Getting Singles Engaged by the Singles pastor Joel Thompson. It wasn't so much about engagement it was more about ministry (sorry to disappoint) but Joel candidly shared the successes and struggles of their very successful ministry. Tonight in the general session Andy Stanley challenged all churches to consider how we might be making it difficult for people to connect with God. How we as the church in the way we do things might actually be an obstacle in the way of non-Christians coming to Christ. It is a humbling but healthy set of questions to ask.

Favorite Quotes
"Relevance is not giving people information they don't need." Lane Jones
"Be more committed to reaching some than keeping others." Andy Stanley

Here are a few shots to show you that we aren't working too hard

Holy Roadtrip

What happens when you load 6 pastors into a van and drive for 8 hours to a leadership conference. Well not much... really. 6 Guys on our staff are heading to DRIVE Conference at North Point Community Church this week. The funny thing is that I bet dozens of people at our church would die to be a fly on the wall in our van, and here I am in the van. It's not that I'm smarter or better but just that I am here. It is quite fun.

We did watch a message by Andy Stanley from last years Drive Conference on the principle of Momentum and how it affects ministry in the local church. You know the idea that sometimes its like you are swimming with the current, you don't have to work that hard and lots gets done. But other times you swim with all your might, but the current is against and it seems that you are losing ground. That is the concept of momentum. It sparked a great conversation between me and Matt (our children's pastor) about how much momentum or lack there of we felt in our ministries. The conference has already started folks...if you know what I mean.

Oh... I would like to on record that I did drive the last hour of the trip... that was the 11:00-12:00 shift. (Sorry for the self-promotion, but my wife thinks I'm the worst late night driver and she is pretty much right). But last night I ponied up and I did it!! I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Training Day

As Christian parents Christine and I feel burdened to press into our boys the two greatest commandments from Jesus.

You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

What might be simply and somewhat correctly viewed by some as participating in Trick-or-Treat we see as part of a larger core value of our family: Involvement with Neighbors. We think that for us to truly love our neighbors we must have some relationship with them, so we seek to be involved in our neighborhood as long as it does not cause us to compromise our commitment to the two great commandments.

We want our boys to grow into a love for Jesus Christ and taste of the life that he alone can offer, at the same time we want them to love and serve and know their neighbors. So when we dressed up the cutest Cowboy Woody and the coolest Buzz Light Year I know and literally ran house to house in our neighborhood, we were doing more than collecting Mars Bars...we were showing our boys that to Love Your Neighbors you must first be involved with them.

Click

Last week my wife and I finally watched the recent Adam Sandler movie Click. Any Happy Madison production is going to include its fair share of toilet humor, sexual inuendos and adolescent jokes and Click did not stray far from the formula. But I got more than I bargained for, I emotionally connected with the story.

I’m no film critic, but I know when I find a story that I can identify with and characters with whom I empathize. In the story Sandler’s character is busy climbing the corporate ladder, for the purpose of providing a “better life for his family”. He finds himself regularly having to choose between family and work. It’s funny the very family he is leaving to work to provide a better life for, just wants more of him not of this “life” he wants to provide.

The conflict in the story is that he finds a way to fast forward through the fights and the boring dinners…basically through life. And then he is laying on his deathbed realizing that he has lost his dad, his wife and his kids.

It really got me thinking about the most important relationships in my life, the people with whom I am the closest and whom I don’t want to fast forward through…. my wife and my two boys. I believe that my time with them is a gift, but honestly I don’t always treat it that way. Like when I get frustrated with the boys making messes or not going sleep or *gulp* wanting to play with me while I’m watching the game. And I often take my wife for granted and don’t cherish her or the time we have together.

I shed a few tears that night as I contemplated the possibility of not being able to spend time with my favorite people in the world. I don’t want to give my wife and kids the leftovers; they deserve more of me NOW.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

Is he that into you?

I couldn’t sleep last night and at 1:30am was flipping through the 6 TV channels that I get on my TV. As I often do late at night I settled on the DayStar Network which is a Christian station and in my opinion is a mix of weirdo tele-evangelists sprinkled with a few normal people. Beth Moore (who is one of the normal ones) happened to be on. She was teaching to a room full of woman and just happened to read a couple of excerpts from the book He’s Just Not That into You.

Have you heard of this book? I can’t stop hearing about it. It is written in part by comedian and former “Sex in the City” writer Greg Behrendt. I’ve even seen him with his own Dr. Phil style show on GTN. The book has been highlighted on the Oprah Show, in the USA Today, and by John Stossel on ABC News.

I haven’t read the book and probably won’t but I did watch the Oprah episode with my wife. In it he advises single woman of the many devices that men use to string them along as “friends with benefits” or “booty calls” while leaving the women hoping for more. On the flip side he challenges woman to step up their own self-respect and not be strung along by such men, by facing the truth that the guy “is just not that into you.”

When I saw that Beth Moore was preaching the same message I just couldn’t hold back comment. To quote her exactly she said “I’m not recommending the book and I’m not not recommending the book.” I guess that’s the way Christians give props to non-Christians who come up with a good well to tell God’s truth.

If his book frees a woman from settling for one bad relationship after another and waiting for a man who will love her and lead her sacrificially…that sounds a lot like what Jesus would be for. The Bible even has some pretty darn good advice about relationships, like here, here and here. But I’m not recommending the book and I’m not not recommending it.

King and Queen

In a singles ministry like 727, some people like to come and take a peek to see how many hotties are at our events... I know how it works. Well at our recent Red Carpet Costume Party they were coming out of the woodwork. I'd put our crowd up against Oscar crowd any day. Since I can't show all the pics, I thought I'd crown a Prom King and Prom Queen. The competition was tight. We had Mary Poppins, Justin Timberlake, Madona, Whoopi Goldberg, Superman, Bikers, Chris Daughtry, Sandra Dee and more. But the crowns go to.....

The King of the party....ladies we have a true stud in our midst.
























And the Queen gets her crown....any takers?



















See the rest of the party here.

UPCLOSE with Peep & Anna

My good friends from Estonia, Peep & Anaa Saar, stopped by our house last night to hang with our 727 crowd and update us on what is going on with them. Back in March about 12 of us from Northwest and 727 went over to help with their English Camp, what they call "The Best Week of the Year." At the bottom of this post I have links to my chronicles of our 2006 English Camp trip. Everytime I hear them share about what God is doing in Estonia it fires me up. Some have asked how they can learn more about their ministry, so here it is. We will probably take anothehr group in March 2007, so you can get in on the fun too!

Going UP is Blowing Up
These outreach events target highschool students called Going UP are as strong as ever. Peep commented that their September event on "Choices" was probably the best one they had ever done. Find out more at goingup.ee.

A New Church
Last Sunday they had their first public service for Ristee (meaing Crossroads) Church which is "A church for others, a home for everyone". They are truly church planting pioneers in Estonia. Find out more at risttee.ee.

Growing Family
Peep & Anna are expecting their first child on March 5, 2007. You can keep an eye on the family at their blog: http://www.tagahoov.ee/peepanna/

2006 English Camp Chronicles
Estonia Here we come...
Stockholm we've arrived....
The Eagle has Landed
Touring Tartu
Dinner at Craig & Reena's
Two very different Church Services
The seeds have been planted
Cory is GOING UP
Meet Small Group #7
Don't judge a book by it's cover...
Day in Tartu provides ministry opportunities
Postmodern Pastor
Feedback

Trading Spaces

If you could be anyone else for a day who would you be? A simple and a fun question to ponder. On different days we might trade skin or bank accounts or houses or jobs or wives with a number of different people. On our really good days we might not wish to trade with anyone. On other days…like when you have a really horrible fight with your wife…or when you get publicly humiliated… we would trade with just about anyone. Maybe that is where Halloween came from.

I tend to think about that a lot... that is... about what other people have and what I don’t have. So when I listened to Rob Bell’s message “What is it to you?” last Thursday, I had to catch my breath afterwards, it hit home that much. In his funny, somewhat sarcastic, narrative style he drove home the problem with the tendency we have to envy our neighbors or covet their lives. He basically unpacked John 21:19-21…

After he said this, Jesus told Peter, "Follow me." 20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them… 21 So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"

The title of the message comes from Jesus response in verse 22, where he responds “What is that to you?” It seems that even Peter was at times more worried about God’s plan for someone else than what God had in store for him. I can just imagine when I’m looking at someone’s life and I’m thinking, God what does he have that I don’t….Jesus saying to me “What is it to you?” For me it’s a wake-up call to turn my eyes back on my rabbi, Jesus, to be more like him and in that pursuit I will be more comfortable in my own skin.

We all covet something different. For the single folks its having a spouse. For the kidless folks its having a kid. For the overworked and underpaid its having a better paycheck. For the disenfranchised its power. For the street-smart its book-smarts. It's that tendency to think, boy God what I could do for you if I had what that guy/girl/church had.

If you need to hear Jesus say to you “What is it to you” when you look at others let me introduce you to Rob Bell. To hear this message search Rob Bell on iTunes podcasts and listen to “What is it to you?” (9/3/2006) or download that message here. Rob Bell is downloaded 50,000 times a week and his Nooma films have a cult following.

When Boobie lost his salvation

I love sports movies based on real stories. I’m not always the best at figuring out the line between the “based on” part and the “real” part, but I guess for the entertainment value I’m not especially looking for the boring truth but more the exciting “based on” truth. Well my choice this past Friday night of Friday Night Lights was no let down. It was the story of a 1988 West Texas football team in their quest to be state championships.

The story line that caught my eye was that of star fullback James “Boobie” Miles. He is a cocky loud-mouthed leader who is the heart of his team. His life is football and his future looks bright. But near the end of the first game of the season he severely hurts his knee. And his life will never be the same…some might say his life ended. Football was his savior which would lift him out of the despair of being stuck in Odessa, Texas for the rest of his life. And when he lost the ability to play football, he lost his salvation.

So I wondered is this “based on” or is this “real”. So I clicked through the extra DVD features and found the “The Story of the 1988 Permian Panthers”. The clip confirmed that Boobie was cocky, he was good and he did hurt his knee ending his football playing career. The interview with the real Boobie showed that he is a nice fun loving guy, but that he has wondered how his life would have been different if the injury had not happened. It might even eat him up at times, because football was his savior.

In the story Boobie reflected on his injury… “I guess God had something else for me. Maybe I would not have my twins I guess. Maybe I would not be as good of a Dad as I am I guess. I look at it like that. Keeps me from going crazy. You dig what I’m saying.”

Football was Boobies life, it was the way he spoke, the way he expressed himself and one day that life was snatched away from him. That could happen to any of us. In an instant our lives could be forever changed our “saviors” could be ripped from us. Maybe that is why Jesus offers the comfort of security in the life he can provide as a savior. Because he knows that other things won’t really save us. Football is a good way of life but it can be snatched. Jesus is a better way of life, because he can't be lost.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28

“Jesus” on Temptation

I recently came across some tips for novice poker players. I’m not much of a poker player but if I were I would definitely qualify as a novice. The tips were offered by Chris Ferguson a professional poker player whose nickname is “Jesus” because of his trademark long brown hair. He knows a thing or two about poker because as of 2006 he has racked up $5.7 mil in winnings.

But the closer I looked at his poker tips, the more they looked like a Christian’s guide to dealing with temptation.

Respect Your Opponent
…the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8b

Good advice huh?! The devil is prowling; he is against us and desires to trip us up and to turn our hearts away from Christ. He hangs counterfeits in front of us all day long to get us to sell out and settle for a dollar store alternative. He doesn’t take days off and doesn’t go to sleep at 8pm. He is not as powerful as God (1 John 4:4), but is a formidable opponent to the Spirit’s work in our lives (Phil 1:6).

Always Pay Attention
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy… 1 Peter 5:8a

On point again. Can you say A-L-W-A-Y-S.? To quote Charlie Hall, “this world is broken yet beautifully made”. The brokenness is the crack that the Devil uses to divert our eyes off the path of righteousness. The spiritual pilgrimage that we travel until the consummation of our hope (Titus 2:13) is a path littered with dangerous perils. We must Stay Alert.

Never Bet Your Medium-Strength Hands
Okay this one doesn’t really apply to temptation, but I’m sure it is a great poker tip.

Mortality is Relevant

I received my Nov/Dec issue of Relevant Magazine on Tuesday and poured through it that night on the couch. It is very cool (which I am not) and is full of music reviews (most of which I've never heard of) but I love the angle. Generally Relevant attempts to push practical theological issues that will resonate with young single adults. And it appears that this new generation is much more contemplative than I ever was when I was stumbling through college and into real life. I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time these days.

In the FIRST WORD, Cameron Strang, was contemplating the Big M - mortality. And posing the question what if today were your last... what would you do. He says,

"We're here only for a short time. We each need to make a difference and have lives of importance and passion. We need to live today like its' our last - with no regrets - because, after all, none of us is guaranteed tomorrow."

So if I had 24 hours to live here is what I would do:
1. Spend the whole time with my wife and kids.
2. Give all my stuff away to people who needed it.
3. Tell some close neighbors, friends and family members about Jesus, clearly, compassionately and for the last time.

And here are a few things I wouldn't do:
1. Workout (unless it was with my wife & kids)
2. Watch TV

Is God a Delusion?

I've never seen the Comedy Central show the Colbert Report before, maybe because I don't have cable TV. But when I came across this clip where Colbert goes toe-to-toe with militant atheist Richard Dawkins about his recently published The God Delusion, I was intrigued.

After laughing on and off throughut this clip, I must say I appreciated Stephen Colberts counter-points and his humor. I desperately needed a laugh and didn't know a cross-fire discussion with an atheist would do the trick. For a better understanding of Intelligent Design (but sadly less funny) I'd recommend Michael Behe's Darwin's Black Box.

Crazy about community

I’ve been studying the first century Jewish practice of discipleship lately, so that… like… when… like… Jesus said… like “go make disciples”, I… like… know what the heck he is talking about! And one of the things that it meant is a radical commitment to community. I came across the idea that to a disciple…the community is more important that the individual. That idea sure ups the ante on Jesus invitation to “Come, follow me”, doesn’t it. And it sure makes a little more sense why he would put commitment to discipleship above love of family (Luke 14:26). Jesus was crazy about community.

Now let’s try to put this into the context local church small groups, probably the churches best parallel to band-of-brothers type of discipleship community. On the spectrum of responses that people give to the suggestion that they should be committed to a small group here are three common ones I have seen:

It’s too unsafe: These folks love independence and distance, that way no one gets into their lives and exposes weaknesses or needs. To these folks church is a spectator sport and spirituality is a private thing. They will come to Christ as long as it doesn’t involve getting too close to his people. They don’t buy into community.

It’s too much: These folks buy into community but mainly when it is convenient. When work gets busy, family comes in town or they just aren’t feeling it they bail. They see value in community but when their personal lives need some attention it is adios to the small group. When push comes to shove the individual is more important than the community.

It’s too critical: This crowd doesn’t just buy community; they fry it up and eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They say, it is too critical to my spiritual health for me not to be committed to my church or small group. They place such a value on their community that they schedule life, pleasure and even work around this commitment. They are absolutely crazy about community.

If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison-- your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-- yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:26

I bounce around between these responses throughout my year. Sometimes I am tired and stressed and don’t want to take the risk of building community with others. These are the days when I just lay around on the weekends watching football. Other times I try it and I just don't click with anybody and it feels fake. Then sometimes I find the sweet spot of Christian community and pass the mash potatoes because I’m gonna feast on this as long as I can.

Another Reason to Join a Small Group

So you don't do as many stupid things.

Did you hear this latest gem of news, Mike Tyson is thinking about fighting women. Not that this would be the first of Mike Tyson's "against-better-judgment" decisions, but you wonder what goes through his mind before uttering such things.

In an article on yahoo sports Tyson reportedly referred to prominent female boxer Ann Wolfe as a possible opponent in recent press conference. He said...

"She's such a prominent, dominant woman in the boxing field."

When asked if he was joking about fighting women, Tyson said, "I'm very serious."

And this is yet another glaring example of why we need a small group. To talk some stinking sense into us. We've all made bonehead decisions, but I bet most of those decisions weren't run by our trusted mentors or faithful accountability partners before we went public. Commit to a small group of people who will speak the truth to you in love and more than likely you will not end up calling women out for a fight.

Does size matter?

Have you ever been bit by the Bigness Bug?
In our minds we often equate BIGness with success . Others equate BIGness with badness, as in God doesn't like big things. I'm not saying either one, in fact that type of thinking drives me crazy. What bites me is when I start comparing my little things to others big things. It would be easy to be a hater on big things... but what really hits home with me is the obsessive desire to be BIG that leaves me frustrated when things are small. When you boil it down it is a desire for bigness.

I'm not sure when it happened in my life. Maybe when I reached full stature at 5' 2". Maybe its when I realized I would not be a millionaire by 30. But there has been a knawing desire to be a part of something big. And part of it is I think that bigger is better... not that I should, but deep down I think I do. But that can have a deviously wicked effect on the soul, especially in the area of contentment. So I regularly need to be reminded that "size doesn't matter" when it comes to God. Because BIGness envy affects more than men looking for greater sexual pleasure.

Here's how the bug bites me. I see how big things are out there and I look at how small they are in my world and I wonder why I am not as successful. In fact, you know what my most unproductive days have been? They are the days where I jump from web-site to web-site and blog to blog, ooohing and aaahhing over how big, slick and successful THEY are in comparison to how small and average my stuff is.

Since that is quite a depressing way to live I regularly need comfort and encouragement from voices which rebuke my tendency to fall into a "size matters" mentality. For example I recently came across this quote from Richard W. Shelley, Jr. ....

"A desire for bigness has hurt many folks... The secret of greatness rather than bigness is to acclimate oneself to one's place of service and be true to one's own convictions. A life of this kind of service will forever remain the measure of oneÂ’s true greatness."

Maybe a switch from bigness to greatness is a needed correction. I also found some solace in Bill Hybels work Courageous Leadership where he reminds leaders of Paul's words in the Bible to "fulfill your ministry" (2 Tim 4:5). He then goes on to say "Fulfill your ministry- nothing more, nothing less."

Those words are like a fresh spring breeze to my soul. It reminds me that greatness in God's eyes is doing my best at the task that he gave to me. For me that means being a leading and loving husband. It means fathering my two boys and launching them into life. It means building my identity upon who I am in Christ. And it means being the best singles pastor that I can be, no matter how big or small my ministry is.

You know I think size matters, but its not the size of your parts or your church or your business, but its the size of your faithfulness to do what God has asked you to do. Sleep well and don't let the BIG bugs bite.

Pride comes before a fall

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:5-6

Kicking the Habit

I was reading through Don Millers “Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality” when I came across the following statement:

The devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man’s mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God.

I have enjoyed reading Don Miller because of his humor, his humility and his casual tone. And when I first read this quote, I loved it, so I did what I always do with quotes that I love in books, I broke out the highlighter.

Here’s what I love about the statement. I find that habits can distract us…because most of us are so ADD and nearsighted that we tend to focus on the means and not the end. So if Don is saying that Christians can be so focused on quiet times and prayer times and church services and community service (all great things) we can sort of miss the point. As good as these things are they are THE point is they are just a means to an end…a relationship with God. There really is no joy in doing these things, unless we do them out of our engagement with the heart of God... And I’m as guilty as the next guy of falling into the “missing-the-point” mindset of habits for habits sake.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize that habits are really the way that we do engage God. So I guess I’m disagreeing with Don. But I don’t so much mean habits in the abstract sense, like these disciplines or activities achieve some merit for us….I mean habits more in the relational sense…and relational habits allow us to engage God. Relationships require habits.

I think about the relational habits that allow me to connect with my wife. We tend to eat dinners together so that we can check up on the day. We like to watch Survivor & Dancing with the Stars together so that we can laugh and relax. We like to vacation together so that we can recharge our batteries. Without these habits and many others (including regular “I’m sorry”s and ‘You were right, I was wrongs”) our relationship breaks down.

In a similar way relational habits are necessary for us to walk in sync with God… relationally. We need to listen to him and talk to him…to understand his values and his view on things so that we can live as he lives…sort of like living in the light as he is in the light (1 John 1:5-7).

Relationships require loyalty: We get the sense from Scripture that God is regularly saying be as I am…not for us to earn his love…but to live in the realm of relationship with him. It is in the area of choices (or habits) that sin (or betrayal) and obedience (or loyalty) duke it out. In my habits I choose to betray or be loyal to my wife…similarly my habits display betrayal or loyalty to God…relationally (1 John 3:9). Now that is a habit worth being religious about.

Look on the Bright Side...

Do the situations and circumstances of life ever get you down? Me too. Sometimes it seems like our situation is pretty gloomy and we get in a real funk. Then we bump into someone who inspires us and lets us know that there are two sides to every story. Such is the story of Dick & Rick Hoyt...

Banner day for clay

Yesterday "Clay's World" got a small face-life with the release of my new banner. It was indeed a banner day for "Clay's World." But I must give a shout out to my good friend, Brendan Ringer, who did the dirty work. Brendan is the graphics guru who has helped me freshen up the look and feel of Clay's World. Without his help, I'd be wood (as we used to say in wrestling room).

And the banner gives a bit of the picture of the good life that God has given to me. The shot is taken at Lido Beach down in Sarasota, Florida...my family's favorite getaway. I am digging a big hole with my two boys and the shot is taken from my wife's viewpoint as she takes a break from sun bathing. When I think of rest and relaxation of time away from stress and time to recharge, this is the place I think of.

You know it reminds me of Psalm 23, where David writes, "The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name."

It is not just laying on the beach with my family that refreshes my soul...it is knowing that God has made the beach and invited me to enjoy it and enjoy him through it. The beach and the sun and the sand are my green meadows. The salty air that lifts the seagulls from the ground is his breath that sustains my very life. Many times he has renewed my strenght at Lido Beach as I dig with my boys and smile at my wife.

That's Creepy....

October brings thoughts of Halloween and that brings thoughts of creepy things. That is how The Barna Group (a Christian data collection agency) described the spirituality of 20-somethings....CREEPY. I might be wrong but I don't think they were suggesting that Christians in their 20's have had lobotomies or that they go through life like zombies, but I might be wrong.

I think what they were describing is the other type of creep, you know the type that happens to side of a creek. The dictionary describes this creep as "to slip or gradually shift position ".

Barna says that while teens embrace spirituality, disengagement...or creep... happens in their 20's. His data shows that 20% of twentysomethings remain active in their spirituality and 19% remain inactive in their spirituality. But the rest, 61% are those who were churched as teens but disengage during their twenties. Now that's creepy!

The facts are 20-somethings are leaving the church like its their job. Not all are leaving Christianity or "spirituality" but they are leaving the church. The reasons are piled high: college, jobs, individuality, rebellion, laziness, crappy churches and the list goes on.

But if you look at this Creepy situation from the other side (...it becomes Ypeerc) there is a great opportunity to take Christ to a large population of creeping 20somethings, who are not necessarily turned off to Christ or Church but are gradually slipping away from their teenage spirituality.

How can we stop the creep? The future of the church depends on it.

Reflecting on Fatherlessness

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes - 5x the average.
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from father homes - 20x the avg.
• 80% of rapist with anger problems come from fatherless homes - 14x the avg.
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes - 9x the avg.
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers com from fatherless homes - 10x the avg.
• 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes - 9x the avg.
• 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes - 20x the avg.

*taken from "To Own A Dragon"

Fathers make a difference...for good. Fatherlessness is a quiet killer wounding the souls of young men day after day. Who better to know than Don Miller, popular bohemian Christian author and himself the product of a fatherless home. Due to his mom's influence, his church and some other great men in his life Don has a good story to tell...and his recent book "To own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father" is chock full of fatherly wisdom bubbling up from a Son. I have a Dad and I am a Dad...but Don's witty, honest and sagely words taught me a thing or two.

Don writes in a conversational style and tells more stories and asks more questions than you typical self-help or Christian self-help read. The first chapter had me laughing out loud it was so funny! Whether you are wondering how to be father your son or are struggling to deal with issues related to your own imperfect father, this book will frame some questions that are helpful to consider. He's not afraid to open up his soul with statements like "I realized I was operating out of a feeling of inferiority. Deep inside, I believed life was for other people."

I liked his analogy on page 27, as he shared what he needed from a Father: People assume when you are swimming in a river you are supposed to kow which way you are going, and I guess some of the time that is true, but there are certain currents that are very strong, and it's when we are in those currents we need somebody to come along, pull us out, and guide us in a safer direction.

Manhood or what Miller refers to as "the knowing" is something deep within boys that is awakened by fathers. "The knowing" connects the dots for their identity, spirituality, decision making, work ethic, sexuality, integrity, etc. The good news, and Miller concurs, is that what our earthly fathers messed up our heavenly father can set right. Let's work on those statistics and call men to be fathers by being fathers.

Faith of our Fathers

This weekend I somehow found the way to read a delightful little book by Chris Seay called "Faith of our Fathers." The book was a creatively packaged conversation between three generations of pastors. Seay sat down with his grandfather, dad and his two brothers (one brother Robbie is an up and coming indie Christian rocker) to talk about the church, family and being pastors.

The church is definitely a-changin' and this book was a pretty good reflection of the changes in mindset and passion among the younger generation of church planters. This was a family discussion, as in they were actually related, but also in that they reflected how different generations of the church should and could discuss and disagree. You name it, they discussed it: music, depression, inerrancy, essentials of the faith, social justice, abortion, Jim Dobson, segregation, homosexuals, politics and the gospel.

They did not always agree, yet they agreed more than I thought they might. If you have ever disagreed with older Christians on their view of the church and it's role in society this book may help you to see them in a different light and to realize that disagreement and discussion are OK within the church.

Facing the Giants

This Friday, 9/29, a little known film "Facing the Giants" will be released in selected theatres around the country. It is a story about the football coach of a small private school who is known for losing and who finds out his wife is infertile and that some parents want him fired. He finds some way to inspire his team to turn around their ways and they find something within themselves to band together and make a run at the state playoffs. The twist is that the coach is a Christian. So despite the PG rating the film is explicitly Christian in content.

Here are some comments by Jason McLeod, who plays the role of Brock Kelley, the Eagles' defensive leader:

"When I look back on all the things that have come with the movie, whether it be pre-shooting, being on the set while filming, or the process that has taken place after shooting leading up to the premiere, it has just been an incredible journey. I have grown so much spiritually over the past two years and God has used FACING THE GIANTS in a major way."

"From connecting with Brock's character to watching God on and off set do things in His timing and make ends meet when there was no possible way. Going through some tough times and learning to 'Let Go and Let God' have His way in my life and knowing through my experience that He truly IS able to do exceedingly abundantly more that we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)! When this is all said and done, I don't want my face or name remembered, but what God did!"

The film appears to be quite family friendly, so it has that going for it. But how will it be received by film-goers. Will it's explicit Christian characters turn-them away before they hit the doors? Would you want to see this film? Would you take a friend who is not a Christian? Will this present the real struggles of life which give credibility to the struggle to follow Christ or will it be another candy-coated us-versus-them Christian product which becomes another reason people avoid church? I guess we'll find out this weekend. If you see it, I'd love your thoughts and those of your unchurched friends.

Prayer & Desire

"True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words: for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then, is to desire - but to desire what God would have us desire. He who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire is mistaken in thinking that he prays. Let him spend days in reciting prayers, in mediation or in inciting himself to pious exercises: he prays not once truly if he really desires not the things he pretends to ask. O! How few there are who pray! For how few are they who desire what is truly good!"
Francois Fenelon, (1651-1715)

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
James 4:2-3

Confessions

What do you do when you've got 22 hours to waste on a plane flying around the world? I read...so here's a sample from one of my vacation reads. "Confessions" is Driscoll's second book (following up Radical Reformission). Driscoll is the lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Mark's books are full of brutal honesty, biting sarcasm, biblical commitment and missional focus, and Confessions is no exception.

This book recounts the story of how Mars Hill Church grew from a rag tag group of 12 to its current 3,000 members over the past 10 years. He's a young guy in his early 30s who is beyond his years in pastoral experience and biblical literacy. I enjoyed the honesty with which he shared the difficulties, temptations and mistakes. I was also challenged by his commitment to prayer, the Bible and the mission of his church. He is an emerging leader worth reading.

Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Church said...
"After reading a book like this, you can never go back to being an inwardly focused church without a mission. Even if you disagree with Mark about some of the things he says, you cannot help but be convicted to the inner core about what it means to have a heart for those who donÂ’t know Jesus."

Here's an excerpt from the last pages of the book entitled More Pruning
"It is my deepest desire to be fruitful for Jesus. And according to his frequent kingdom parables, fruit comes not simply by growing but by his strategic pruning. Jesus prunes us through hardships, suffering, failure, loss, discipline, and pain. I have found Jesus' pruning of my life, marriage, family, and church to be incredibly painful, but it always results in bigger, sweeter, and greater fruit. Some pruning has been so overwhelming that I did not know if I could endure it and even questioned the goodnessess of God despite my knowledge of Scripture, which led to bouts of despair and anger."

We're Back

Bonjour and Buonjourno. If you couldn't tell from my previous post about our vacation, my wife and I went to the Mediteranean coastline of France and Italy. It was beautiful and sunny and quite tiring, but well worth it. We had time to read, play, reflect on our life and talk about what God is teaching us. And here are a few of my reflections:

People are different: The first thing we noticed was our differences from the French & Italians. They dressed nice, but different. They talk different, almost like another language. They work different hours (only 35 hours a week I hear). They have different priorities (like Italian shops would close down from 11-4 for a siesta). They travel differently. You just realize that life is different and you don't quite fit in.

People are the same: But in spite of our difference, people are the same. They love their families. They like to play. They laugh and joke and have misperceptions in about people in other countries. They hate and love and are friendly. People are people.

People matter: We noticed that after 24 hours in Italy, a time when we really struggled with the language difference we began to feel isolated and alone. Here we were walking around this beautiful beach town and we felt alone. We were longing for someone to talk to, or to hear a conversation that we understood. So Christine's reaction was to listen for English then run up to the people and ask them where they were from. One of my strongest memories from the trip were the people that we met and "befriended" on trains or in restaurants. There was Tom & Hannah the Australian university students. There was Simon & Judy the New Zealanders living in Scotland. There was the 52 year old Seattle doctor traveling Europe for 3 months with is 19 year old son Max. There was Darin and Krysa from Santa Monica celebrating the pregnancy of their first child. These becameour European friends...because people matter.

Some people matter more: But our hearts ached a bit because we left our two young boys behind. Caden, 3 1/2, and Griffin, just 2, were a regular topic of our conversation. We realized how much our lives had changed since they came along and we often wondered how they would react to certain situations in which we found ourselves. It was great to get away, but there is nothing like coming home, especially when you are showered with hugs and kisses from your boys.