Is Your Ministry Sexy? by Matthew Paul Turner

Thank God for pastors like "Ben."

Read Matthew Paul Turner's post "Is Your Ministry Sexy?" here.

A One Man Band

Reaching the Next Generation

I beg of you, don’t go after the next generation with mere moralism, either on the right (don’t have sex, go to church, share your faith, stay off drugs) or on the left (recycle, dig a well, feed the homeless, buy a wristband). The gospel is not a message about what we need to do for God, but about what God has done for us. So get them with the good news about who God is and what he has done for us. Some of us, it seems, are almost scared to tell people about God. Perhaps because we don’t truly know him. Maybe because we prefer living in triviality. Or maybe because we don’t consider knowing God to be very helpful in real life. I have to fight against this unbelief in my own life.

Read the rest of this great blogpost by Kevin DeYoung here.

A Day at the Office

Silent Monks Sing

I Know a Secret

I have a few secret places that I would rather keep to myself. If too many people find out about these secret places then the sacredness and benefit of these spots will disappear. But, the truth is, these secret spots are prominently displayed on road signs and storefronts. It's just that they don't seem to have been discovered by many people yet. As more people take advantage of these places, the more busy and crowded they will become - and that may ruin them.

But I feel it is my duty to tell you about a few places that will rejuvenate you and make your life better.

One of my secrets is Goin' Postal on Marion Avenue in North Augusta. I haven't been back to the long lines of the Post Office since discovering this store. Goin' Postal is one of the best kept secrets in town. You can do pretty much anything there that you can do at the Post Office in a matter of seconds. Give them a try.

Other secret places are really no secret at all - but they are a nice getaway from the routine of the office - the New Moon Cafe and Metro Coffeehouse on Broad Street in Augusta. They both offer a variety of coffees, comfortable couches, and free wireless internet. I love eating lunch at New Moon. I've never had anything that I didn't like.

One of the best kept secrets that I know of in town is the Savannah River Bluffs Heritage Preserve. Beth and I discovered this place a couple of years ago. It is a 1.5 mile hiking trail to the Savannah River. The picture above was taken with my cellphone camera. I'm no Mike Adams, but maybe this shot will give you an idea of what you can experience there. It's amazing how therapeutic the rushing waters of the river can be. If you ever need to getaway without really getting out of town or spending a lot of time driving to a getaway destination, you should experience this spot. You'll think you're miles from home.

What are some of your secret places?

Cool Stuff to do with your Cellphone

I recently added internet service to my smartphone just to see if it would be worthwhile. I'm still trying to decide. But now that I've discovered some cool features out there that can be done with any ordinary cellphone, I may cancel the internet service.

Check out this short, but very informative, article. Really cool stuff!!

http://www.the20life.com/2009/10/05/turn-your-cell-phone-into-a-tool-of-awesome/

The Most Relational Man in the World

My friend, Steve Saccone, recently released Relational Intelligence. Steve is a native of Evans, GA and a Lakeside High School grad. I first met Steve at Stevens Creek Church where he served as a youth intern in his college days. He serves at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, CA today. Mosaic and its pastor, Erwin McManus, are very instrumental in leading the 21st century church. Steve's a great guy. Here's a funny book promo for his book.

The Numbers Shock Me

Back in the early 90's, I discovered the World Prayer Map published annually by Every Home for Christ (Get free maps at www.ehc.org). Since then I've tried to keep a current copy nearby to use as a prayer guide and resource. It is a neat tool that shows each country's population, the name of its leader, and the percentage of Christians in that country. It also serves as a prayer guide by assigning specific countries to pray for each day of the month and giving you specific things to pray for in that country. I highly recommend it.

I've been crunching some numbers lately and some of the results that I'm getting haunt me. For example, out of 227 countries in the world, 152 have a Christian population of 10% or less. 116 of those have a Christian population of less than 5%. (EHC gathers these statistics from Operation World - an organization that has been tracking and studying world evangelism for decades.)

What countries have the most Christians? The top 5 are:

1. Uganda 46%
2. Kenya 36%
3. Central African Republic 35%
4. USA 33%
5. Swaziland 29%

(Note: This list includes only countries with populations of 1 million or more. Some small islands in the South Pacific have a high number of Christians such as the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu.)

If you were to look at the listing of every country on the planet, you would be shocked at the number of countries with virtually no or very little Christian influence. Here are some examples:

Spain 0.4%
Greece 0.4%
Germany 2.9%
France 0.8%
United Kingdom 8.5%
Russia 0.7%
Iran and Afghanistan 0.0%
Vietnam 1.4%
Indonesia 4%
China 6%
Japan 0.4%
Costa Rica 12%
Colombia 4.7%

So it bothers me when we, the Church in America, spend so much time and money on ourselves and very little on world evangelism. We are oblivious to the fact that most of the world has NO KNOWLEDGE of Jesus Christ. We are like the band members on the Titanic. We continue to play our songs while the world around us is dying.

Jesus gave us a Great Commission to "go into all the world," yet very few believers take it seriously. We must be obedient to this calling. I fear that the Church in America, ONE-THIRD of the American population, is failing at this - miserably.

More later. Gotta go for now.

The USS Roomba

My friend, Andy, got a new toy - and was apparently really bored one night. Enjoy this...

Fishing My Way Out of a Funk

A member of TNC dropped by the office and left Fish! for me and other staff members to read. I was familiar with the book and Seattle's Pike Place Fish Company but never actually read the book. Several years ago at a leadership conference, I saw a video about Pike Place and it made quite an impression. The video below is a different one, but it will give you a good idea about why Pike Place has become a classroom for business leaders, employers, and employees. They incorporate four key principles that lead to their success.

The book spells them out in detail in a fictional account of a corporate executive (Mary Jane) who is given the responsibility to reinvigorate the operations center of one of Seattle's largest financial institutions. Mary Jane happens by the fish market one day during her lunch break and begins watching and learning the key principles of the market.

The four principles are:

1. Choose your attitude (Determine to make each day a great day.)
2. Play (Be serious about work without being serious about yourself.)
3. Be present (Stay focused when coworkers or customers need you.)
4. Make their day (Give a helping hand, a word of support, or a listening ear.)

Here's a short video of Pike Place. I laughed out loud when the guy chased customers around the market with an octupus.



This book came to me at an interesting time. I've been in a funk lately. We all go through them - at least, I know I do! I can't point my finger at any particular reason why I've been in a funk. I could blame it on busyness, stage of life, the beginnings of empty nesting, daily challenges and frustrations, even the devil. There are a number of possible reasons. Whatever they are, I picked up Fish! last weekend and read through it quickly. (It's only 110 pages, large print, easy to read.)

Last Monday morning, after my daily Bible reading and prayer time, I decided that I would not go into the office in a funk. So I got a piece of paper and put a plus sign on one side and a minus sign on the other. I listed all of the positive things in my life. It was long! I am SO BLESSED IT IS RIDICULOUS. I know God has blessed me immensely but it helps to put them on paper and meditate on them.

On the right side of the paper, I wrote down a few things that were dragging me down. I think I listed 3 things. They were so trivial and so STUPID that when I looked at my completed list I laughed out loud, shook my head and said, "Lord, I am such an idiot for letting a few things drag me down."

The negatives were no comparison to the positives in my life. Almost immediately, the FUNK was gone. I prayed a prayer of confession, forgiveness, and moved on.

I can't give Fish! all of the credit for getting me out of my foul attitude, but it is interesting that it came my way when it did.

PS - I started writing for ehow.com a month ago. My funky experience led to an article. You can see it here.