Send an atheist church on ebay

This is astounding...

Now, obviously there is a sermon illustration here, so some of you will hear this again...but this really is strange to me in that it's funny, challenging and yet sad at the same time. Interesting.

OU vs Miami Basketball

Didn't get to make the game today. Any of you OU fans want to tell Mdog, Rachel and me what the score was? Who won?

[Snicker Snicker]

Transformation

"The Christian gospel gospel insists that the transformation of the human personality is really possible. Never easy. Rarely quick. But possible." [John Ortberg]

I'm reading "The Life You've Always Wanted" again. For the 7th time. It is probably my all-time favorite book. If you have not read it, go and order it on Amazon.

Go ahead, I'll wait...

You got it? Great.

John speaks to me in profound ways. He is a Dallas Willard fan (as am I)...and BTW, if you haven't read "Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas you can oder that when you order, "Life." If you read these two books and "The Divine Conspiracy" [Dallas], you basically have heard ever sermon I have ever preached. Well, not literally (although I do tend to steal from them a LOT), but these two books contain my "life theology."

So I've seen a lot of transformation in my life. Both in me and in people around me. I know it is possible. But we want it quick and easy.

My media friends have taught me if you want a project done, there are three factors: quick, cheap and good. Choose 2. If you want it quick and good... it won't be cheap. If you want it cheap and quick, it won't be good. Rarely do you get all three. (They would say "never," but I think they do it all the time at Central...okay... so it isn't quick in that they spend many hours working on it but they often do it in the context of a couple of days.)

So the same thing can be said about transformation...

It's so funny how we in the modern day church understand the concept of grace. NEVER before in all of Christian history has grace been so cheap. We see grace as a passport to everything we want, when we want it. We REFUSE to "work" at our life with God as we cry out, "I don't want to be legalistic!"

But folks... NOBODY understood grace that way until the last 100 years.

Spiritual Disciplines are a lost art. "Denial," never heard of, except for something simple given up for Lent. Means of Grace? We take communion and never think of this amazing gift that Christians died for in the early church.

I guess I really believe I can become more "loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, self-controlled and gentle." And I don't think it's a passive thing. (Ten dollar term: "Cooperative Sanctification"). And I SO want transformation. I'm so amazing at how much growing I need to have in my life. Thankful for what has happened... but I still have so far to go.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. If you feel comfortable, is there an area you want to grow?

try this link...

Go to CNN Video... Alleged sex for salvation

Here is the drag and drop link but I'm not sure it works


http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1166939772

This bothers me...

This bothers me on so many levels. How does something go this wrong? Who do you believe? What does this mean? I would appreciate your comments.

Yea I know...

I'm fasting. Yea, I know that you are "not supposed to tell people that" but the reason Jesus told people to do it in private was so they didn't brag about it as a sign of being holy. Trust me, after this post, you will certainly not think I'm holy. Or bragging.

I hate fasting. Yea, I know, people have had amazing experiences of God when fasting. Yada Yada. For me, it has always been a discipline. And Hebrews says (and I just echo it) "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful..."

Can I get an amen?

But when I fast I am so painfully aware of how stinkin' weak I am! How dependent I am on food. How food is my god. I celebrate by eating. I relax by eating. When I'm depressed I eat. When I fast, I can't turn to that fake god. I have to be aware of the real one. But the fake one is soooo enticing.

But I still can't stand this. I'm so weak.

See... you can't possibly interpret this as bragging or pride!

Love

Okay, so a lot of you chimed in on the idea of loving God and you wrestled with the question of, "what is love." Thanks. Great discussion. Love is decision, love is an action... love is not feeling... yep, you are all orthodox, good Christians who can quote the bible and could have a career in making Christian bumper stickers. :O)

Now, let me push back a bit.

I have said (and preached) for years that love is a decision. It is part of almost every wedding message I do. And yes, I know that "love is a verb." Love is action. Yes, I know that I choose to love my wife and that my feelings are not always the same. (Although I could debate that point.)

BUT COME ON NOW FOLKS... do you REALLY think that love is a "decision that leads to action?" Is that it? Thank GOD I didn't marry you! [Around dinner and candlelight] "Honey, I think I've decided to act in loving ways to you."

(I'm egging you on in case you don't know it by now.)

But seriously though, is that really what love is? Is that really how God loves me? Does God only love me because he chooses to? Is God's love for my ONLY revealed in his actions toward me?

Or does God passionately love me with such intense feelings I could not even begin to comprehend? Is it possible that God thinks about me every second of the day? Is it possible that God can't get me off His mind? Is it possible that God is so pre-occupied with me that He can't sleep at night so He just stays up watching me sleep?

Oh I know... that kind of love sounds almost scandalous.

But man, if I didn't believe this I would pack up this "Christian thing" and become a believer in some impersonal life force!

Yes, love is action. A decision. But love IS a feeling as well.

God loves you perfectly. He has incredibly strong feelings for you!

Yes, I love my wife. And yes, sometimes that love is a decision... but hey folks... I have incredibly strong feelings for my wife. I'm passionate about my wife. I long to be with her. I miss her when I'm not around her. I love my friends. Yea, they can get on my nerves (mdog, "when are you leaving again?") but I long to be around them.

So yes, let's not reduce love to just a feeling. BUT LET'S ALSO NOT reduce it to JUST a decision, or act of the will, or action.

Honestly, this is a huge thing to ponder... because then what does it mean for us to love our enemies?

Chew on that for a while.

The Walk..."I need a job."

This Saturday I did the Good Works Walk for the Homeless. As the focus of our trip we went to Wendys restaurant and all filled out job applications. We tried to put ourselves in the place of someone who was homeless and looking for a job.

It was humbling.

I work hard. I work long hours. My work is emotionally tough at times. But it's not physical labor and it actually is fulfilling. And, all things considered, I'm paid well. But that is not the case for everyone.

The state minimum wage is $4.25 an hour according to the government website. But let's say you make $5.50 an hour. And let's say you are really good and get 30 hours a week. That's $165 a week (before taxes). How do you live on that? Good Works pointed out that most people working their way out of being homeless don't have a car, so they walk to work. So that is another hour or so that you are not being paid, but it's tied up in work.

So I'm not sure what to do with this information. But it troubles me. And I prefer to live my life comfortably with no conviction... thank you very much.

So I've tried to post some pictures I took of the Walk... but they are on my new site...blogging pictures.

Yes, "Blogging Pictures."

I've never been really creative with names... my childhood stuffed frog was named, "ribbit" and my childhood dog was "brown dog." (You can guess his color.) So there it is, "Blogging pictures."

Also, pictures take forever to upload, so there are only a few. And now something is wrong with blogger... so I will add more later. My favorites are not up yet! (Note to self, always start with your favorites.)

Maybe I will figure out a better way to post pictures.

Oh my...

From an email that came to my church account...

Subject: "The Secret Weapon for Phenomenal Church Growth"

What is this secret weapon? Is it a new church program? Prayer? Starting a new service? Maybe a discipleship or evangelism program?

No... the secret weapon for phenomenal church growth is....

drum roll...

Church signs.

You know, church signs. Like the one out front of your church? What? Never noticed it? Well, if you had one of these church signs, you would. Thousands would flock to hear the dullest of sermons, the most lame, uninspired worship, the coldest of pew sitters... just because of the sign.

From there email: "A church sign is one of the most important investments you can make in your church. It’s hands down the most effective advertising tool you can have.

What can a new church sign do?
Bring in new members
Increase your financial resources
Communicate with your community
Portray and project your church image
Let people know who and where you are"

I wish I was making this up.

Help me Walk?

I'm Paul's daughter, and I'm at that stage where I'm trying really hard to walk...

But I can't.

And you really can't help me.

But you CAN help my daddy walk!

This Saturday he is participating in Good Works "Walk for the Homeless." Good Works is an amazing organization here in Athens that works to change the lives of many struggling with poverty in rural Appalachia. They provide "biblical hospitality" through The Timothy House (the only shelter for the rural homeless in the 9 counties of southeastern Ohio) and through the Hannah House (a long term residential care-community).

But they don't just provide housing. Good Works is involved in job programs, creative volunteer service opportunities, community development ministries... they are making a huge difference in this area.

As part of the Walk, Good Works is asking each walker to find 10 sponsors to contribute a minimum of $10 to help support the ministry of Good Works. My daddy would like to find 100 sponsors.

Would you consider sponsoring him for the walk?

You can donate by sending a $10 check (or more) to:

Good Works
P.O. Box 4
Athens, OH 45701

Or you can donate on line-by going to their web site and click on "Make a Donation." Also, take a second to surf their site and see what they are about. Please drop daddy a note and tell him if you are going to sponsor him.

Sentence order can be important...

So am I the only one who finds the sentence order here amusing?

This is from Princess Cruiseline's "Shore Excursions" book for the Eastern Caribbean. For the St. Barths excursion they are listing what we should and should not bring, stuff about passports, etc. and then they get to this line:

"Please be advised that partial nudity is allowed on the beaches. Those prone to seasickness should take adequate precautions."

Losing weight

Maybe I ought to try one of these.

"Sleep, those little slices of death. How I lothe them."

So that is a quote from a book that I have never read. I saw it when I was watching, "Nightmare on Elm Street" when I was in college and going through my darkness phase.

I have never slept well. I don't need much sleep and to be honest, don't like it all that much. But the last several nights (maybe for a week) I have been a wreck because I just am not sleeping well. I physically feel terrible. I ache. I have muscle pain. (I think from carrying Lydia so much.) I can't sleep. I feel like I'm falling apart.

Yes, I know I need to lose a bunch of weight and work out regularly... maybe that is catching up with me... or maybe I'm getting sick (although I don't feel sick) but I want sleep. I just want to fall asleep like a normal person and sleep for 7 hours uninterrupted. (I have no memory of ever sleeping through the night.... more than 6 hours.)

People who know me know my work schedule. Until I became a father, it was not unusual for me to be up at 4 and in the office by 5. I always thought it was funny that people saw that as "spiritual" (although yes, I do spend time with God in the morning.) It's not spiritual, just insomniac!

I will trade my body in for a normal one God.

And as I write those words, there are a LOT of bodies I would not trade for. As I write those words I'm thankful that mine mostly works.

So I have to work a lot tomorrow. Normal Sunday morning stuff, meetings in the afternoon. Staff meeting in the evening. I really, really want to sleep. To say I'm going to try to go back to sleep would be wishful thinking... but that is what I'm going to try to do.

Why your camera doesn't matter

For my photography friends... just an article I found interesting.

Loving Jesus

Tonight as I drove home from a meeting, I heard a pastor on the radio talking about loving Jesus as your "First Love." He said to his congregation that there "may be people here who go to church and believe in Jesus but do not love Jesus as your first love." He went on to say how we need to have a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" (a phrase I'm actually growing to hate) and to love him more than anything or anyone else.

Yea... I'm guessing all of us who are Christians agree with that. But as he said those words, I just was trying to figure out what that really looks like.

I mean really.

I love my wife... that makes sense... I love my daughter... I have family and friends that I love... and sure... I certainly love Jesus. But it IS different. I'm guess more than anything I'm just trying to be honest... my love for God is really different than any other love. And my love for God is reflected in my love for other things.

I mean, you can't really tell how I love my wife by how I love my friends. I know all kinds of people who look really good on the outside and seem like nice people... and then you get to know them and they have a crappy relationship with their spouse. Or you have the person who is the excellent parent, but a lousy spouse.

But how I love people proves how I love God.

So to have God as my "first love" does not mean I necessarily deny my spouse in order to love God, but that I reflect God's love to my spouse. I'm not making sense, am I?

I read this a while back and wrote it in my journal. I'm not sure but I think it is from the book "Halftime."

"I have chosen to make Christ my primary loyalty, but [that does not mean] he is my exclusive loyalty. That was an important distinction, for I still had loyalties to [my wife], my work, to friends, to projects. Christ is at the center of all of that, but he would not stand in the way of those other things which gave me balance and wholeness."

I guess for me what it means to "love God as my first love" is that I allow God to direct the other areas of my life. So hopefully, his priorities direct each area of my life.

Would any of you share what it means for you to love God? To have Jesus as your first love?

Going Public

For almost a year I have carefully hidden my identity from my readers. It's time to go public. And now... my picture...



Thanks to mdog for excellently exposing me.

Ah... well... you know...

A random blog

Yes, it's a new year. I'm guessing I should write something profound as the first blog of the New Year. Sorry, no dice.

So what is it with Paris Hilton? I mean, really. I was running through the channels and she was on some show and everyone is making a fuss over her. Now, I'm a guy (even though I'm a pastor)... but from a guy's perspective... seriously... SHE IS NOT ALL THAT ATTRACTIVE. I mean, I could quickly find hundreds...thousands of women more attractive... so don't tell me people watch her because she is beautiful because she really isn't. And why does the media follow her around again? Why do we care about her opinion? What does she contribute to society? Tell me again what she does for a living?

Sheese!