A Thankful Heart

Last night I asked some of our 60s Plus group to share something they were thankful for.

One response:
"I'm thankful my grandson invited me to church."

priceless....

T-Ball, New Christians, and the Church

T-Ball league has a lot to offer us in helping relate to new Christians.


T-ball players sometimes run to Third Base first.
New Christians run to the Book of Revelations or Page 1 of the Bible.
We need to help them begin their reading journey in an easy-to-understand part of the Bible, such Mark or John.

T-ball players don’t play specific positions in the outfield. They just spread out.
New Christians sometime don't get to serve anywhere, or are put in too-difficult positions.
We need to let them enjoy serving all over the place, and allow them to experience some Kingdom work without giving them too much responsibility.

T-ball players can never remember the batting order.
New Christians don’t understand our service structure or the “Appropriate Church Service” techniques and traditions.
We need to design services that are friendly to the new person and help them understand why we do what we do.

T-ball players wear a little bit of everything—jeans, shorts, ballpants, sweats.
New Christians are not sure what to wear to church.
We need to create an environment where anyone can wear anything to church. No matter what you wear, you still get to join in.

T-ball players all bat through in each inning. There is no three-out rule.
New Christians want to join in, without strict rules that they don’t understand.
We need to relax on the dogma, rules, and deep theology and make sure New Christians get to have fun and enjoy this new community during the first chapter of their spiritual journey.

T-ball players don’t all know the name of their team, just the color of their shirt.
New Christians don’t understand all the denominations labels, nor do they care.
We need to help New Christians enjoy being on the team without bogging them down with labels, distinctions, and differences.

T-ball players all win. No one keeps score.
New Christians want a positive environment. They don’t want to feel like they lost a game.
We need to celebrate wins right from the very start of their spiritual journey. Point out the the spiritual strides forward. Rewards them. And don’t make them feel like a loser when they mess up. They need to feel like winners.

T-ball players love their free drink at the end of the game.
New Christians want to feel appreciated.
We need to discover ways to reward new Christians and make them feel like they did a great job each week they are on their journey.

T-ball players have fun whether it’s practice or a game.
New Christians want to enjoy their journey, whether at a weekend gathering, or sering on a team.
We need not to bore new Christians with mundane meetings or training sessions. We need to create dynamic training and discipleship sessions that engage their hearts and minds.

Side-Note Scribbles

I captured a few "side-note" inspirational thoughts I heard during the Book of Hope meetings.

• You have to get the church body to own "the lossness" of your community (and world).
• Everyday needs to be a personal John 15:5 day. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."
• We need to develop indigenous leaders.
  
• We need to be known as a life-giving church.

One more interesting thought:
When you walk into an AA meeting...everyone is a wreck and everyone knows it. So everyone is accepting. When you walk into church, everyone acts like they have it together, so everyone puts on their game face. AA is relational, accepting, open, and welcoming. How can the church be like that?

Side-note Observations

In the midst of short-term missions meetings at Book of Hope, I get to cull insights and observations from the random ministry conversations.

I'll share a few:

• Church planters are fueled by mission...and it's inspiring.
  
• We all need to develop a strategy to measure true life transformation.
• We need to do "Needs Discovery" in our communities.
• If you want a powerful and effective leadership team, you need to "invite the fight" to the table and struggle and fight through real issues to lead the church forward.
  

God is big. We are not.

May we simply realize the magnificence of God.

Riley, 2, at Fox Ridge State Park

August Rush

Are you Listening?


This is a story of an orphan in search of his parents. But it's much deeper than that. It's about "sensing" something unseen and full of mysteries that could help reunite them.

For the orphan boy, it's music. He hears music in everything. And he believes the music will reconnect him to his parents. This movie is centered around music. And it's full of good music, too.

The boy hears music when others don't. He asks this mysterious street guy (Robin Williams) why others don't hear it.

His reply, "They're not listening for it."

This opens the door to great spiritual conversation after watching the movie. Not to over-spiritualize a movie (I'm not a huge fan of that) but we have to ask ourself if God speaks to us in his mysterious way. Are we listening and tuning in to hear Him.

A lot of people made fun of August Rush in the movie for "hearing" music. August didn't care. He just followed what he heard.

Are we listening to the mysterious? The supernatural unseen?
Do we believe we can connect in an unseen way?


August Rush trailer {video embed}

Goodbye Boat, Goodbye

My boys' bath toys sit on the edge of the bathtub.

The bathtub is next to the toilet.

My boys "miss" the toilet, thus the floor gets gross.
Sometimes the toys fall off the tub and land behind the toilet.
One particular toy landed in the "gross zone" one too many times.

So we threw it away.


Our four-year-old son found it in the trash.
He took it out.
He said, "No, not my boat. Why is it in the trash? I want it."

We explained it was very dirty and had to be thrown away. We explained that potty had gotten on it. We explained we would buy him a new, clean bath toy.

"But I want my boat." And he held onto it.

We put it back in the trash.
He climbed into the van.
He waved goodbye and said, "Goodbye boat, goodbye."

What is in your life that needs to be thrown away? It's time to let it go. It's a dirty habit. It's unclean. It's unhealthy.

Once you throw it away, don't go back and pull it out of the trash. Walk away. Leave it in the trash. Say goodbye.

a gift?

I got a tract shoved in my door today.

I opened the front door to see if i got anything good in the mail.
Nope.
Any thoughts?

grabbed my heart

Romans 15:1-2 (The Message)

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"

How can we help others? Your turn to talk...

hey toothbrush...no vacancy!

So I have a toothbrush holder with four available spots, and now have a family of five.
Is this considered poor planning?

I have three bedrooms, but need four.
I have a one-lane driveway but need two.
I have a one-car garage, but need two.
I have four matching dining room chairs, but need five.
I have one toilet in the house, but need two.

Is this poor planning or poor perspectives?
On one hand I feel crowded and under-resourced, on the other hand I feel extremely blessed beyond belief.

I must learn to be content.
Do you struggle with this?

perspectives

Tonight I go to bed at 1 a.m. in my home.
Two families I was with today still sit bedside in a hospital next to their loved ones.

- A heart needs healed.
- A virus needs erased.

May God heal their bodies.
May I never take for granted my health.
May I never forget His blessings.

Praying for my friends.
Believing in my Healer.

Now that I'm 33

I survived another birthday. And, like almost every birthday, I got asked the mundane question,"How does it feel to be a year older."

Here's my answer:

Jan. 12 I was 32. Yesterday I turn 33. Today, I'm still 33.

Today, like last week when I was a mere 32, I still:

• want to grow closer to God.
• be a good husband and dad.
• hurt when people close to me make unwise choices that will impact their lives.
• celebrate when an elementary students asks me to share something out of her bible to the rest of the Kids Factory students because it spoke into her life when reading it at home.
• feed the dog.
• read my Bible.
• talk to my wife about life.
• drink coffee.
• check my email and rss feeds.
• twitter.
• get on the scales and groan.
• strive to inspire others to live for God.
• hate waking up early in the morning.
• wrestle with my boys.

Instead of thinking in years, I've come to believe I need to think in days, moments, and opportunities. I want to make the most of the time I have and opportunities I've been given.

May we always strive to make good choices, avoid temptation and foolish living, love God, love people, and serve as many people as we can--one day at a time.

hearts and dollar signs

It's the first week of January. We are ALL recovering from Christmas and the whole holiday season. And now when you go to grocery stores and malls, everything is red and pink gearing up for Valentine's Day shopping.

Can we please take a break from this overload of commercialized holiday marketing.