Interview with Missionary Joy Sheraden

How long have you been a missionary and where have you served?

I have been on the mission field for almost 4 years in San Jose, Costa Rica.

How do you describe your current position?

My current position is the assessment and evaluation director for the global team of Boy with a Ball. Basically I track information so that we can see how our programs are running, what we need to change, if we need more personnel to make programs better, start new programs, or stop others.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you measure the American church’s global missions efforts? Why?

I haven’t had much contact with lots of other churches so I wouldn’t know how to answer that. I think there is some preparation for churches to send teams, but I’m not so sure that there is much preparation for long term missionaries within the churches. It’s great to go on short term trips, but what is the long term vision?

We agree that the gospel is the greatest spiritual need of the world. What is the greatest physical need?

I think that the greatest physical need is clean water, food, and education.

If you could stand in an arena full of church leaders, what would you say to them about fulfilling the Great Commission?

First of all, to the leaders, my question to them would be. Do you have a passport? Have you ever used it? Before you can ask other people to go you need to go yourself. I think that in some cases that teams get sent and they have not been properly prepared. There has to be lots of communication before, during and after any trip. Also having an ongoing relationship with the place that you want to serve is a huge thing. There has to be someone on the ground that has done the prep work and that will be there after to do the follow up. It’s great that you had 100 kids say "the prayer," but what happens to them after you get on the plane to go back to your life and they go back to theirs - Where they aren’t sure they are going to eat tonight, or even be safe? Who is going to teach them to walk it out?

Are you excited or concerned about global outreach in the next decade?

That is what excites and worries me. Who is going to be the one to do the follow up and who will support those that are the ones doing it?

New Wine or Kool-Aid?

At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I want to post something about Christian Leadership Conferences. I've been attending such for decades now. I am in my 23rd year of ministry and I have attended some stellar conferences through the years. I attended Rick Warren's Church Growth Conference in 1990 before anyone really knew who Rick Warren was and before Saddleback even had a building. The conference was held at a Presbyterian church in El Toro, CA.

I've heard many of the megachurch pastors and their leaders, Bill Hybels, Lee Strobel, Robert Schuller, Andy Stanley and his dad, Charles, Ed Young (Sr. & Jr.), Jim Mellado, Bob Russell, Greg Surratt, Perry Noble, Adrian Rogers, etc. etc. No doubt, I've been enlightened, encouraged, and educated by these men (and some women. And, by the way, did you notice that they taught me to alliterate?)

We moved our church offices recently which meant that I had to move a bunch of my books and stuff to a new location. I decided to go through a collection of conference notebooks and write down quotes and notes that I wanted to keep in my journal. Then I discarded the notebooks for the sake of space. I've enjoyed reviewing those dusty notes and, in fact, have been reinvigorated by some of them.

I say all of this to say that I am not anti-conference. But I don't attend them much any more.

I think we have too many now. There seems to be too many conferences and too many megachurch pastors with too many opinions. Each conference is trying to attract the same church leaders. Let's face it. Most of the church leaders who attend these conferences are white, middle to upper-middle class, suburban church pastors who are trying to reach white, middle to upper-middle class suburban families. And many leaders are saying, maybe even doing, outrageous things to get attention.

A few years ago one megachurch pastor told about how he spontaneously decided to do a staff turnover. He reassigned his middle-aged Administrative Pastor as the Youth pastor, the Graphic Designer became the Worship Leader, and other weird stuff like that. Everyone was reassigned to a position where they had no education, experience, or calling - except the Senior Pastor, of course. It was done permanently, not temporarily, for the sake of change.

In a breakout session later that same day, the newly assigned Youth Pastor confessed in his breakout session on "How to do Youth Ministry" that he had no idea what he was doing.

I wonder how many wanna-be megachurch pastors in the audience that day went back to their churches and did something similar just because the cool pastor from Texas said so?

Idiot.

Last night, I saw a Tweet from a friend who apparently attended a conference at a megachurch in Alabama. According to his Tweet, "Staff at (church name) will be fired if they are caught doing ministry..they are hired to train members to do ministry."

That's ridiculous.

I don't think my friend agreed either. (At least, I hope not!)

Everybody wants to do something different, out-of-the-box, creative, radical, cool, awesome, something nobody has ever done before, etc. etc. Jesus called it new wineskin. But you have to have new wine before you can use the new wineskin. New wineskin without new wine is not the answer.

Copying what another megachurch is doing is not new wine - that's called "drinking the Kool-Aid." Drinking the Kool-Aid is following a charismatic leader and doing whatever he says to do without question. That's foolish. (For details on where "drinking the Kool-Aid" began, see this Wikipedia link.)

Do I sound like an old traditional fart? I hope not. I've been in new, contemporary churches for all but 6 of my 23 years of ministry. I am currently in my 5th church plant. I love reaching people with the gospel of Jesus in a fresh, relevant way. But I don't love how church leaders dress, teach, talk, and lead like other megachurch pastors in an attempt to be like them. And I don't like how some megachurch pastors say or do ridiculous things to draw attention to themselves and their churches.

Just be who God made you to be. Please. If you want to put the gospel in a new wineskin, you've got to spend time with God and get the new wine. Don't just drink someone else's Kool-Aid. A pastor friend of mine told me years ago that we (pastors) need to get alone with God often. In his words, "We need to get a jug of water and a Bible and go out in the woods for a day and be with God."

Probably not bad advice. Don't drink the Kool-Aid. Get a jug of water and see if Jesus will turn it into new wine.

A Powerful Drama performed to the Lifehouse song "Everything"

This was new to me 3 years ago when I first posted it in 2007. You may have seen it many times. I was reminded of it and watched it again a few minutes ago. It always makes me emotional. I love it when the crowd roars near the end. Watch it again.

Buying Experiences, Not Possessions, Leads To Greater Happiness

Buying Experiences, Not Possessions, Leads To Greater Happiness

Lucky Penguin

What do you do when you're a penguin being chased by killer whales? If there's a boat of tourists nearby, you jump in the boat.

Why You Should Only Take a Carry-on Bag

Interview with Danny & Judy Armstrong

Danny and Judy Armstrong have a passion for missions! They served in SE Asia from 1986-2000 living in three countries and serving in multiple roles. Since 2000 they have lived in South Carolina and continue to mobilize and equip churches and individuals to reach the world. Danny and Judy became a part of ACMC in 2008.

How long have you been a missionary and where have you served?

We have been in missions since August 1986. We lived in Indonesia first then Malaysia then Singapore.

How do you describe your current position?

I am the Southeast Regional Director for ACMC. We are Mobilizers.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you measure the American church’s global missions efforts? Why?

As far as overall impact, I would rate the American church’s efforts high maybe 8 or so. This is because the US is still a major sender and supporter of global missions. I would qualify this by the observation that only a small percentage of US churches are effectively engaged in missions – maybe as small as 15%. Along with this is that only a small percentage of Christian giving is for missions and only a small number of the full time ministers are missionaries.

We agree that the gospel is the greatest spiritual need of the world. What is the greatest physical need?

Hunger is the greatest with at least 13,000 people, many of them children, dying every day because they don’t have food. Closely connected and a major need is clean water with 5800 persons dying daily.

If you could stand in an arena full of church leaders, what would you say to them about fulfilling the Great Commission?

Let’s not just say the words but let’s do it! We have the resources and the access to personnel to finish the task of Matt 24:14, IF we will make this the priority God intended. We cannot be faithful to the calling of God if we are not obedient to His Commission! Will we be faithful or unfaithful shepherds? Something along these lines….

If you had a platform to speak to all American church members, what would you say?

God so desires to use all of us in His Kingdom and for His Glory! He has given each of us a part in His eternal plan. We are to be about building the eternal, global Kingdom of God. That is to be what really consumes us, not chasing the American Dream or how much discomfort we can avoid as we “play” our way into eternity. God has placed His vision in us and let’s see that completely fulfilled. Yes!!

Are you excited or concerned about global outreach in the next decade?

I am excited about the next decade because I have a firm belief in the sovereignty of God. I believe He is doing so much in the world and drawing many to Himself. I am concerned about many churches and many of us as individuals whether we will choose to follow Him and be part of His plan or we will choose to follow the status quo and miss out.

Picking Dandelions Blog Tour

Sarah Cunningham's new book, Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life's Weeds, arrived in bookstores just a few weeks ago. I received my copy at about the same time and I have enjoyed reading her memoir about growing up as a PK (preacher's kid) in rural Michigan. Sarah is a young lady. When I think about memoirs I tend to think that it is someone's biography reflecting on all of the things the writer experienced during their long life. Picking Dandelions covers about the first third of Sarah's life. She's got at least a couple more memoirs to go.

Sarah is a wonderful writer who will take you on her journey from inner-city Pittsburgh to a one flashing traffic light town in Michigan to Ground Zero a few days after 9/11. Throughout her journey she learns that a Christ-following person is a changing person. And she's not afraid to tell you how she's changed. In Sarah's words, there's the "conversion within a conversion." The realization that walking on the heels of Jesus leads us through places where change is non-negotiable.

Sarah has also written Dear Church and was a contributor to unChristian. You can find out more about this amazing young author at www.SarahCunningham.org.

Advice to Public Pray-ers

My first speech was as a high school junior in a Public Speaking class. (Of course, this does not include Show & Tell and occasional book or oral reports given in elementary and junior high school.) I took PS again my sophomore year of college. I guess I've been teaching and doing presentations my entire adult life. I definitely have not mastered it. Not at all.

As a speaker, I tend to critique and evaluate other speakers too. It's kind of a curse because sometimes I don't listen to the message as much as I listen to the delivery of the message. I blame this on my Preaching classes in seminary. For two semesters, we sat in a little mini-chapel listening and critiquing each other's sermons. Those were long days. I still haven't been able to completely shake those memories.

One thing that I've often noted over the years is how we talk to God differently than we talk in normal conversation. We often describe prayer as simply "talking to God" yet when we do it, we begin to speak in an entirely different way. How you have conversations with God in private is between you two, but may I give some advice to those who often pray in public? This is certainly not an exhaustive list nor is it a criticism of how people pray. They are simply suggestions that will help you lead others in a time of corporate prayer.

- I know that the Aramaic word "Abba" is an intimate way of saying, "Father" or "Daddy" but when you open your prayer addressing God as "Daddy," you just freaked out half of the group. (If it's a youth group, make that 80%.)

- Just don't just say just 23 times per prayer. Just say just when it's necessary not just when you just can't just think of what just to say next.

- Ditto above advice for "God."

- Same goes for "Jesus."

- and "Lord"

- Please don't use multisyllabic theological terms that the common man does not know or use, e.g., propitiation, sanctification, sola scriptura, theophany, or infralapsarianism.

- Long prayers aren't necessarily good prayers.

- Here's an oldie but goodie: Don't use King James English unless that is your normal way of speaking. If you come home in the evening and routinely ask your wife, "Whatest hast thou preparest for thine family to sup on?" you may use King James English. Otherwise, 21st century language should be used.

- It's unnecessary to ask God to guide you, direct you, and lead you. That's what he does. I learned this from a friend who attended a prayer retreat with renowned missionary to China Bertha Smith. He prayed this prayer and she interrupted him in the middle of it by saying, "You don't have to ask him to do that! That's what he does! You just have to listen and obey!" (But I still pray this one a lot.)

- Don't pass on church announcements via prayer. How many times has a pastor forgotten to announce an upcoming event earlier in the service only to "announce" it in the closing prayer? "Thank you, Heavenly Father, for visiting with us today and please help those who have visited our service this morning remember to complete a Visitor's Card and give it to an usher before they depart our sanctuary this morning so that we can have a record of their visit."

- Kidding aside, be real, genuine, and authentic. God honors that and people appreciate it too.

- Can you offer any more advice?

Why Sin is a Bad Idea

I keep a journal of thoughts and quotes usually triggered by something that I've read. I recently read and reviewed Dave Browning's book, Deliberate Simplicity. Dave wrote something about sin that I've never thought about before but it makes a lot of sense. I read it again today in my journal:

Sin is a waste of energy. Plain and simple. It's wasting your energy on things you can't have or can't control. And it's actually a double waste. After you waste your energy on things like lust and pride and anger, then you have to waste even more energy on things like guilt and shame and regret. Nothing is more de-energizing than sin. But by the same token, nothing is more re-energizing than obedience. It's pure energy. (p. 145)

When we are tempted to sin, maybe we need to consider what it will really deliver. Do I really want to spend my time and energy on something that I know God hates and that I will eventually regret? Sure it might be fun for awhile (See Hebrews 11:25) but ultimately it will destroy.

A few weeks ago, I asked a young lady how she was doing. "Not good," she shook her head.
"Oh? What's up?" I asked.
"I'm having an affair," she confessed.
"I didn't know you were married."
"Oh, I'm not married. He is," she told me. "I beginning to feel bad about it."
"It was fun for a little while wasn't it?" I said.
She looked at me funny. I don't think she'd ever heard a pastor say that sin was fun.
I continued, "The Bible says there is a measure of pleasure in sin but eventually it makes you miserable."
"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm miserable now. I need to break it off."

We continued to talk about her situation and how she should handle it. I prayed an honest prayer with her and moved on. My friend is an example of how the temporary pleasures of sin will eventually wear you out and disturb you to the point of misery.

Granted, sin is more than a waste of time and energy. It's disobedience to God. It breaks his heart. It builds a wall between us and God as well as his people. Sin is ugly and useless. It's never positive - always negative.

Thank God that Jesus has taken it and flung it as far as the east is to the west (Psalm 103:12). His grace covers our multitude of sins. Live with the pleasure of that victory in mind, not the momentary pleasures of sin. When we strive to focus each moment on being obedient and bringing glory to God in all we say and do, we don't have much time to think about sinning. When we don't waste time sinning, we have more time to shine the light of Jesus.

Interview with Yours Truly

Check out this interview at WorkingWritersandBloggers.com

Book Review: Crazy Love by Francis Chan

For at least a year I've heard lots of people talking about Francis Chan's great book, Crazy Love. It is a great book but it's not what I anticipated. A great non-fiction book for me is heavily underlined, quotable, and filled with prose that makes me think, "I've never thought about it that way."

Crazy Love was none of those things. It wasn't the earth-shattering book I expected. No underlines. No dog-eared pages. No "a-ha" moments.

Sounds like I didn't like it, huh? No, I did like it. In fact, I wish every Christ-follower would read it. Francis clearly and succinctly shared foundational things that every Christian needs to know and do. Jesus said simply, "If you love me, you'll obey me." Chan's book contends that true love for Jesus is displayed through obedience - sometimes in radical ways.

Too many American Christians are content to pray the sinner's prayer, get baptized, and show up for church a couple of times per month. That's not Christianity. It's lukewarmness. It's what Jesus said he would spew out of his mouth (see Revelation 3:15-18). Jesus said that others would recognize believers by their fruit. If you think the "fruit" of Christian living is listening to a few sermons a month, having a decent marriage, not cussing, and voting Republican, you've got it all wrong.

In Chan's words, "we live and plan like we don't believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back." Are you obedient in your daily journey with Christ? Are you totally devoted to Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Total devotion is not just for pastors and missionaries. It is for every one who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

I really encourage you to read Crazy Love. The more I think about it, the more I think I was wrong. It is earth-shattering. If every believer took Chan's words seriously (which, by the way, is that we should take GOD'S Word seriously), it would turn the world upside down.

Busyness (Part 2)

In a previous post this month, I wrote about busyness. This has, indeed, been a crazy and busy month for me. It's why I haven't posted anything lately. I've been running in high gear since December. With the exception of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day when I went to Charlotte with Beth (see previous post), I've worked every day this month. This morning I woke up at 5 AM in pain. I think my body was rebelling and trying to tell me to stay home. So I did.

This isn't a whiny post though. I'm not complaining. It's actually a very exciting time for TNC as we move our student ministry and offices into a new location. I can't wait for the job to be finished. Hopefully, one week from today I can say we're almost done.

Even in the midst of the busyness, God has revealed himself to me in ordinary and extraordinary ways. Ordinary, in that, even in these fast-paced days I've made sure to take time each morning for Bible reading, devotional reading, and prayer. This year I am reading at least one chapter from my Ryrie Study Bible (NASB) starting at Genesis 1. I'm also reading Francis Chan's, Crazy Love. I will be through with it in a couple of days. Not sure what book is next on the list.

During this ordinary time, God has continued to speak to me, remind me of his strength, give me confidence, and stretch my faith.

God has shown himself in extraordinary ways too. He has used this time to remind me of the power of his family, the Church. The renovation project that we've undertaken has been fun and frustrating at the same time. But God's people have been extremely generous in this endeavor. Donations of time, tools, supplies, and money have saved us tens of thousands of dollars. I can't believe some of the contributions we've received during our move to The Blok.

Not to sound trite but God is good.

He really is.

For readers who attend TrueNorth Church, I can't wait for you to see our new location. There's still room for improvement, but I think you're going to like it.

For all of you who might find yourself busier than you want to be, I trust that you will stop and take the time to spend with the One who gives us strength. He is able to help you prosper and be successful even when things around you seem crazy. I promise.

PS - Guess where this picture was taken.

IKEA & Toothpaste

Yesterday, Beth (my bride of 26+ years) and I went to a happy place - IKEA. IKEA is like the Disney of home furnishing stores. I have never in my life been excited about going to a furniture store until I discovered IKEA. Last year, we spent a day in the IKEA Atlanta store. Yesterday we visited the new IKEA in Charlotte - over 6 hours in a furniture store! This kind of thing is not normal for me.

It is overwhelming. Put it this way, IKEA has a cafeteria and a children's daycare area. You can literally spend all day there.

Needless to say, we looked for things we "need" as well as things that we want. I put need in quotation marks because, in reality, we don't need anything. We "need" more bookshelves. That was the primary reason for our visit. Honestly, we "want" more bookshelves. We will be fine without them. We want to rearrange our house and update some furniture. We don't really need to do it.

The funny thing for Beth and me is we enjoy dreaming and thinking about these kinds of things but we have a hard time pulling the trigger on such purchases because a: We're never really confident in our interior decorating skills. b: We hate spending a lot of money on stuff.

Regardless, we had fun and we made a few decisions about purchases and it was a tiring but fun day in Charlotte.

Then I opened the newspaper this morning...

In Haiti, one week after the tragic earthquake, they are saying that over 200,000 people are believed to be dead. There is so much death and destruction there. Relief efforts can't come in fast enough. 1.5 million people are suddenly homeless and toothpaste is a hot commodity now.

Toothpaste?

The stench of the dead is so great that people want toothpaste to line their nostrils so that the smell will not nauseate them.

And I need more bookshelves...

I just finished reading Chapter 2 of Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. The title of this chapter is "You Might Not Finish this Chapter." Francis writes about the brevity of life and the fact that we don't know what a day might bring. We don't know if we will live through this day. I remember the day my mom died. If you had told me at 12:00 noon that day that my mom would die before 2 PM, I wouldn't have believed you. But she did.

We don't know what a day might bring. But we are to rejoice in the day. Rejoice in God's blessings. Rejoice always. Rejoice even in the pain.

For Those Interested in Publishing a Book

I am a regular reader of Chip MacGregor's blog. Chip is one of the leading literary agents in the world. I've also had the privilege of chatting with him at a writer's conference and hearing him speak. (That's us in the pic. I'm the tall goofy one.) If you are interested in the business of writing, I highly recommend that you follow his blog.

Chip's associate, Sandra, posted this yesterday. It's not a pleasant thought. In fact, it explains just how the publishing industry is changing and how difficult it is to sell a book today. If you want to write the Great American Novel some day, go for it. But know that the road to the mountaintop is steep!

Quotes from Deliberate Simplicity

I recently finished reading Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less by Dave Browning. Here are some things that I underlined as I read it:

The Great Commission does not say, "Come," it says, "Go." But we (the Church) create events, programs, services, and classes, then hope and pray that people will come to us.

When we lack passion, it is often because we have allowed something precious to become familiar.

Is church a place you go to or is church a place you go from?

We have churches full of people who love Jesus. But that's not enough. We need to love what Jesus loves: the world.

The greatest sin of the Church today is not any sin of commission or sin of omission but the sin of no mission.

A survey was performed in San Francisco asking, "What do Christians do?" The two most prominent answers: "They go to a lot of meetings" & "They are against things."

Worship is the way we stay centered. Small groups are the way we stay connected. Outreach is the way we stay concerned.

The gap holding back most believers is not the gap between what they know and what they don't know. It's the gap between what they know and what they are living.

Test Your Awareness: Whodunnit?

Found this on novelist Angela Hunt's blog

Busyness: The Devil's Workshop?

It's been said that, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." While that may be true, I've always contended that, "Busyness is the devil's workshop." The past several weeks have been pretty crazy. Along with the busyness of the holidays, our church has recently acquired a new building to house our offices and student ministries. We have 20 days to complete the renovations in the building. TWENTY!

We may be pulling some all-nighters soon.

Because of the busyness, I have to be careful not to let it take it's toll on me. I have to make myself start the day off with time with God - and a cup of coffee, of course! I must remember to enjoy the journey as it unfolds and look for divine appointments. I must remember to keep priorities in order. I must maintain a people-first attitude. It's easy for me to get into "task-oriented mode" and forget those around me.

I feel like I'm doing okay with it. I like to be busy. I rarely sit and do nothing. There's always a job to do, book to read or write, - and, of course, Facebook. :)

I found this brief blog post at Bianca Stingl's website.

She makes some good points about busyness.

Roll Tide!

Over Five Years Old

I was wondering the other day how long I've had this blog so I went back to my first blog post. It was on November 28, 2004 - over 5 years ago. Not many people knew what a blog was then. I think I was blogging before blogging was cool.

I started this to promote Timely Words. In my reading and research about online marketing and promotion, I learned about weblogs, AKA, blogs. Thanks to Blogger, this has been a fun experience. I look forward to posting more in 2010. Hopefully, I will have some "timely words" for you.

Obeying the Law

I just added this at the bottom right column. It's the law.

As of December 1, 2009, the FTC requires that bloggers disclose if there could be hidden interests or unspoken biases related to recommendations or endorsements. Therefore, you might want to know that most books that I review on this blog are provided to me free by the publishers. My reviews and thoughts are honest and genuine. I am not persuaded in any way to manipulate readers to buy a book that I do not fully endorse. Books that contain a link to Amazon.com products provide a small (VERY SMALL) royalty to me as well.

Julie & Julia: A Reminder to Writers about Perseverance

Beth and I brought in 2010 by watching Julie & Julia - a movie about two women in different eras aspiring to be writers. Julie Powell worked a dead-end job, was a wanna-be writer, and needed some excitement in her life. So she started a blog journaling her crazy resolution to cook her way through Julia Child's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julia Child worked for the OSS (pre-CIA) during World War II. Her husband, Paul, continued to work after the war for the US Embassy in France but Julia had no job, no hobbies, and no aspirations. Finally, she signed up for a cooking class for professional chefs in Paris. Food soon became Julia's passion.

Julia saw a need for a book on French cooking written in English for "servantless Americans." It took eight years of hard labor to write the book and appeal to publishers but the book eventually became a success.

Julie's blog began with no fanfare and no readers. Over time, she gained followers and before the end of the year she had a successful blog and publishers, TV producers, and film makers calling. It is a great story of success through nothing but good old-fashioned hard work.

I appreciated the movie because it shows how difficult and how hard it is to write and publish a book. As a wanna-be writer myself, I was encouraged and challenged by Julie and Julia's persistence and perseverance.

If you are writing a book or want to write a book, Julie & Julia, might inspire you. It's not easy. That's obvious from the film. But hard work often pays off when you stick with it. Congrats to Julie Powell who blogged her way to success.

PS - The movie was a lot of fun to watch. Meryl Steep was incredible as usual!

Read the Bible Through in 2010

Tomorrow morning I will sit down for my last devotional reading of the year. I used the One-Year Chronological Bible to read the Bible through this year. I highly recommend it. I especially enjoyed the fact that it was in chronological order. This feature really helps when you're working your way through the Old Testament.

Next year (Friday morning), I will begin a 2 year plan of reading through my Ryrie Study Bible (New American Standard translation). I prefer the NAS because it is the most literal translation of the original languages. And, besides, I've had it since 1979 and I have a ton of notes written in it. I'm looking forward to getting back into my study Bible again.

Click the link above to purchase your copy from Amazon.com.

Serious Business at the Border

I've been following Nicolas Rapp at his blog, Trans World Expedition. He's driving around the world. He started in NYC in November and is currently in Central America. Here's a picture that he took at the Honduras/Nicaraguan border. Wonder if there were drugs in the car? Wonder how ticked the owner of the car was - especially if there were no drugs...

How to Keep Church Members in the Stands

This week offers more opportunities to watch football than any other week of the year. The NFL has teams fighting for position in the playoffs and the college bowl games are in full swing. Hundreds of thousands of fans will sit in the stands of stadiums around the country pulling for their favorite teams.

It's great to be a fan in the stands but it's even more fun to be a participant on the field.

Unfortunately, a lot of church members would rather be spectators rather than participants. God didn't design you to sit and watch. He created you for a purpose and He wants you on the playing field.

It reminds me of something I read a long time ago.

How to Keep Church Members in the Stands (and off the playing field)

1. Keep People in Large Groups

People get lost in a crowd so never encourage them to meet in small groups or classes. Pretty soon they will stop coming or be in trouble and no one will even notice.

2. Let a Few People Do it All

If you let a few people do all the ministry in your church, others won't feel needed and may stop coming altogether.

3. Make the Vision of the Church a Mystery

The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." If you don't let people know the vision and purpose of the Church, they won't have a cause that keeps them involved.

4. Don't Require much of your Members

The Bible teaches that every member of the Body of Christ has a function. That means members that don't serve keep God's Church handicapped. If you do away with all expectations for involvement, the lack of commitment will keep more people on the membership roll than in ministry.

5. Create Boring and Irrelevant Worship Services

People will want to attend a church that has exciting worship and teaching that speaks to everyday life. The better you bore folks, the more inactive they become.

6. Stifle Spiritual Growth

Healthy Christians are usually active church members. Don't encourage people to grow spiritually. Don't endorse spiritual disciplines like daily Bible reading/study, prayer, tithing, etc.

Book Review: Primal by Mark Batterson

What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest, faith possible? You would have more, not less. You would have the beginning of a new reformation - in your generation, your church, your own soul. You would have primal Christianity.

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson is an invitation to become part of a reformation movement. It is an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down 2000 years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again.

Mark Batterson is the author of Wild Goose Chase and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. He is the Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.

Book Review: 40 Loaves

40 Loaves: Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day serves a three-fold purpose as a daily devotional, primer for a new believer, or help for those who have a lot of questions for God. Each chapter title is a question - questions everyone asks at one time or another. C.D. Baker does a good job of giving succinct answers to the hard challenges of life.

For example:

Why can't I overcome sin in my life?
Why don't I have more faith?
Why do I so easily lose self-control?
Why am I so afraid of death?
Why am I so confused about finding God's will?
Why does God seem silent in my life?

40 Loaves would make a great gift for those who are new to the faith or anyone with a lot of unanswered questions.

I have one copy to give away. Email me at genepjennings@aol.com and I'll randomly choose a winner on Christmas Eve.

"We Ain't Wastin' Nothing!"

Yesterday morning, our church family faced a difficult day when one of our staff members lost their beautiful baby girl after a healthy, full-term pregnancy. It is heart-breaking and gut-wrenching. Please pray for them.

As I was talking to Tommy, our Student Minister, about it yesterday, he said he felt funny preparing for the Element Student Ministries Christmas party. "It feels weird teaching on celebration with all that's going on," he said.

I told him to have fun and celebrate the moment.

It reminded me of another time about 20 years ago when we served a church in the Atlanta area. A pastor friend of mine suffered a similar loss in their immediate family. When he came home later that day his wife was obviously upset about the loss of the baby. He looked in the dining room and the table was set with the fine china that usually collected dust in the china cabinet. There were candles on the table and the entire meal was elegantly spread and waiting on the family to gather around.

"What's going on?" my friend asked. His wife replied, "After today, I've decided that we are going to celebrate every day. Every day is worth celebrating. We let the china waste away in the cabinet waiting for a special occasion. Well, this is special. From now on, we ain't wastin' nothing! We are going to live fully and rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad."

She preached a great and memorable sermon to her family that night. And one that I remembered too.

Celebrate every day. Don't let petty things get in the way of your relationships. Don't let busyness keep you from rejoicing. Don't let a day slip away without realizing how special life is and letting those around you know how special they are to you.

The Tiger Woods Saga: What Should We Expect?

Since my previous post about Tiger more dirt has been published about his affairs and sordid behavior. The last count that I've seen is 9 women. My wife and I were discussing this last night. We asked each other the question, "What does the world expect?"

The media is wearing Tiger out. Some are even crucifying him and saying he is no longer worthy to promote razor blades or golf shoes.

This is the same media that:

• televises the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
• gave us a decade of Jerry Seinfeld sleeping with a different woman in almost every episode
• publishes the annual swimsuit issue in the most popular sports magazine
• furnishes porn with just a couple of clicks with a mouse
• profiles "The Girls Next Door" each week
• glorifies music featuring lyrics of sexual escapades
• featured Adam Lambert's gross display on the American Music Awards

You can easily add to this list, but you get the point.

The media slams it in our faces day after day for years and, when someone does what they promote, they slam him for doing it. It's hypocritical, isn't it?

What Would Jesus Say to Tiger Woods?

Like millions of people, I'm disappointed in Tiger Woods. He's obviously put his marriage at risk by being unfaithful. While the story still isn't 100% solid, it seems there's something fishy going on. I'm sure the tabloids have misreported or misrepresented some things, but it appears evident that Tiger has crossed the line.

It also disappoints me that he has communicated only through his blog. I wish he'd call a press conference and let all the cameras and mics record him saying, "I've sinned. I messed up. I'm going to try and make things right." To be honest, I think he's being a little cowardly by not stepping up and facing this thing. He's a public figure and it must be confessed in public (in my humble opinion).

Do you wonder what Jesus might say to Tiger? Here's a thought:

Jesus went to Florida and at dawn he appeared in a wealthy subdivision where all the people and media trucks gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The media brought in a man caught in adultery. They made him stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this man was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such men. Now what do you say?"

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at him." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the man still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked him, "Tiger, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," Tiger said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

(An adaptation of John 8:1-11)

Am I Living Up to the Expectations of the Pastor?

A church member asked me that question yesterday. He is three years into his journey with Jesus Christ. He had a dramatic conversion experience. He struggles with a lot of issues from his past. He fights physical and mental challenges. His language is salty. He has a hard time socially. He has some addiction issues. He's, I guess I could say, rough around the edges. But he knows the Bible well. He quotes Scripture in almost every conversation. He wants to please God.

I don't think anyone has ever asked me that question before.

My answer? I said, "Absolutely. If you're seeking to follow Christ and being transformed by his Holy Spirit, you are doing all that should be expected."

Years ago, when I was a little more legalistic, I probably would have told him that he needed to attend Sunday School regularly, and Sunday night services, and Wednesday night prayer meetings, tithe, read the Bible and pray daily, go on church-wide visitations, listen to Christian music all the time, stop smoking, stop cussing, stop everything that wasn't "Christian," dress up for church, clean under your fingernails, etc. etc.

I'm exaggerating - a little. I'm glad that I could affirm him and encourage him with my simple answer.

Information Overload

I recently upgraded my cellphone plan to include internet access. Not sure if that was a good move. Now I feel like the poor donkey in this picture. I get phone calls, texts, tweets, and email on my phone. Not to mention that every time I log on to my computer I have emails waiting from another account, Facebook updates, blog updates, etc.

I know, I know - I put myself in this situation and I can back out if I want. The bad thing is that I can't let anything go without my attention. When I log on to TweetDeck, I feel obligated to go through all of the previous tweets that were posted since my last visit there. When I go to my bloglines.com account, I regularly look at every post before I clear them out. When I check email, I feel compelled to open every one that isn't obviously spam.

I'm getting information overload.

Then I read 1 Corinthians 8:1 this morning. "While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church (NLT).

I love knowledge and information. I like to read books, blogs, newspapers, magazines, tweets, websites, etc. I love to learn. In fact, a mantra that I truly believe is leaders are learners. As a leader of my church, I feel that it is part of my job to learn, stretch, and challenge myself to mold my brain in the shape of modern day apostle.

But sometimes I just want to simplify. I can't put my head in the sand and ignore it. The internet is not a fad. It's here to stay. This generation must learn how to handle the kazillion bits of information that enter our brains every day. It's no wonder so many people are ADD. It's become a part of our nature to bounce around from one topic to the other in a matter of seconds.

I heard a grandmother yelling at her young adult grandson yesterday because he was looking at his phone while she was talking to him. "Put the phone down and look at me when I'm talking to you! That's rude! You'll never get a job by doing that!" she lectured.

I laughed. What grandma calls inattention is now called multitasking. She's just lucky he wasn't driving and singing along to his ipod too.

So with all of this knowledge the Bible says we are to love more than anything else. I understand that I don't have to follow and subscribe to all of the different sources of information out there. I have to constantly monitor my information intake. But there is one thing that I MUST do, regardless of the barrage of info. I must love.

Let's give it a try.

You Never Know Who's Reading This

I thought this was pretty cool. I was messing around with my account on StatCounter.com and looked at the recent visitor map for the past week (pictured below). Seems people from all over have stumbled across this place. Granted, a lot of them truly stumbled here. I don't have many friends in India or Japan. But it does show you the power of the internet and the influence one can have even at a simple blog. I understand that most visitors don't stay here long, but what if? What if a seeker in Brazil, Nigeria, San Diego, or the Philippines stumbled on to this simple site and their faith was stretched, their minds engaged, or their hearts convicted?

It's a sobering thought and it makes me think twice about what I say here. For now, all I can say is, "Wow."

Microwaving Pop-Tarts

If you're microwaving your pop-tarts, you need more margin in your life...

All Christians are Not Hypocrites

Over the past couple of weeks, I've heard it publicly declared that, "All Christians are hypocrites."

It's not true.

This statement is a pet peeve of mine. Somehow this belief has entered the minds of many believers, but to believe it as truth is a misunderstanding of the term. I suppose some Christ-followers use this statement to recognize that no Christian is perfect - but we are not all hypocrites. Those unaffiliated with Christianity like to use the convenient excuse that "the church is full of hypocrites." Yes, there are a bunch of them. Full? I hope not. But all Christians are not hypocrites. The truth is the Church is full of sinners!

You can't be a Christian without acknowledging your sin. Jesus is all about rescuing us from our sin. When those outside the Church see a Christian sin, they think he/she is a hypocrite because they have the false belief that Christians are supposed to be perfect. Like the bumper sticker says, Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.

To be clear: All Christians are sinners and all hypocrites are sinners, but all sinners are not hypocrites nor are all Christians.

Hypocrisy is a type of sin just like lying, cheating, stealing, etc. (See 1 Peter 2:1). We get the word "hypocrite" from the Greek word, "hupocritos" which means to act or play a part. More specifically, to wear a mask. In the Greek theater, actors wore masks to display their mood. A smiling mask was worn to characterize an actor in a good mood and a sad mask was worn to indicate an actor's misery. You've seen the comedy/tragedy masks before, I'm sure. An actor in the Greek theater was called a hypocrite. This is why a hypocrite is sometimes called "two-faced."

The Bible defines a hypocrite many times in many ways. Isaiah said they are people who honor God with their lips but don't really mean it (29:13). The apostle Paul defined hypocrites as people who "claim to know God but by their actions deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good" (Titus 1:16). Jesus defined a hypocrite as someone who tries to impress others with their righteous living. They like to be seen by men doing good works, praying, and fasting. They like to appear religious but their religion doesn't come from the heart (Matthew 6).

No matter the definition, the major ingredients of hypocrisy are dishonesty and deception. Someone once said, "A hypocrite never intends to be what he pretends to be."

How do you know if you are a hypocrite? Ask yourself: Do I change who I am depending on the company I keep? Am I genuine, honest, and authentic with everyone? Do I willfully and intentionally put on an act for others?

There is a difference between an authentic Christ-follower struggling with sin and a hypocrite. If you're struggling with sin, you come to God saying, "God, this is a weakness in my life and I really need your help to deal with it." God welcomes that prayer and he promises to help. The authentic Christian knows he is not perfect and is remorseful when he sins.

But the hypocrite doesn't struggle to overcome his sin. He just tries to hide it (sometimes).

There's more I can say on this topic but I hope I've made my point. One word of warning: The apostle Paul wrote that we should keep our distance from hypocrites. They cause division and put obstacles in our way. They are not concerned with serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people (Romans 16:17-18).

It all goes back to honesty. Be honest with God and be honest with others. When you practice honesty, you should have no fear of being a hypocrite.

Gotta See It to Believe It

If you've noticed that I haven't been writing as much on the blog lately, it's because I've been spending a lot of time at peopleofwalmart.com.

People are strange indeed.

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.

Francis Chan - Balance Beam

What if we were honest?

As a pastor, part of my job is to listen. Lately, I've listened to a lot of people whose issues would be less stressful if they could be honest in their relationships. Honesty is one of the core character traits of peaceful living. Being honest with God and others is one of the foundational principles of the Christian life. If we could all practice honesty, I think the quality of our lives would dramatically improve.

Look at the guy in the picture. Would you be more likely to drop a dollar in his can if his sign said, "Will Work For Food" knowing in the back of your mind that the guy just wanted beer money? When I saw this picture, my first impression was that I would probably respond in two ways.

1. I would give him some money. (If I had any in my wallet. I rarely carry cash these days. I wonder when homeless people will be able to receive credit or debit cards?)

2. I would give him more money than usual. Just for being honest, I would probably drop a $5 or $10 in his can instead of a dollar or loose change. I don't advocate Budweiser or any alcoholic beverages and I know I shouldn't enable an alcoholic but something about his honesty causes me to want to reward him.

I remember hearing Rob Bell teach on honesty a few years ago. It truly is one of the fundamental traits that will make our relationships more enjoyable. When we pussyfoot around issues and other people's feelings, we create more complexity in our relationships, more secrets whispered about others when they aren't around, more barriers between our friends and coworkers, and more relationship "triangles" that often end up in hurt feelings and lost confidence.

What if we were honest? How would that change things? How would it change you?

YouTube's Greatest Hits in 4 Minutes

If God is Good - Book Review

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God--Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

A Classic Rock Song - Uniquely Done

Ben Rector - Free from TK McKamy on Vimeo.

You Were Born for This by Bruce Wilkinson

His New York Times phenomenon The Prayer of Jabez changed how millions pray. Now Bruce Wilkinson wants to change what they do next.

Anyone can do a good deed, but some good works can only happen by a direct intervention from God. Around the world these acts are called miracles—not that even religious people expect to see one any time soon. But what would happen if millions of ordinary people walked out each morning expecting God to deliver a miracle through them to a person in need? You Were Born for This starts with the dramatic premise that everyone at all times is in need of a miracle, and that God is ready to meet those needs supernaturally through ordinary people who are willing to learn the “protocol of heaven.”

In the straightforward, story-driven, highly motivating style for which he is known, Wilkinson describes how anyone can be a “Delivery Guy” from heaven in such universally significant arenas of life as finances, practical help, relationships, purpose, and spiritual growth.

You Were Born for This will change how readers see their world, and what they expect God can do through them to meet real needs. They will master seven simple tools of service, and come to say with confidence, “I want to deliver a supernatural gift from God to someone in need today—and I expect to!”

See video here:

http://bit.ly/wGT7l

Stephen Colbert and His Joy Machine

For some reason, we began receiving Rolling Stone magazine about a year ago. I've enjoyed looking through it and reading it each month. It helps me keep up with what's going on in the music industry as well as reading what those on the left-side of the political spectrum are thinking. RS is unapologetically a liberal thinking magazine. Each month features several jabs and punches at conservative Americans.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when I read this month's cover story about Stephen Colbert. Colbert, the host of The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 11:30 EST), grew up in Charleston, SC. He is a faithful attender of his Catholic Church and unafraid to say that he not only believes in God but loves Him and His Church. To be honest, I was shocked to read not just that Colbert was a God-fearing, church attending man, but also that Rolling Stone didn't attack or seem to mind his beliefs. For that, I am grateful to the writers and editors of RS.

Colbert's father and two older brothers were killed in a plane crash in Charlotte, NC, when he was a child. Obviously, this is a tough way for a young man to grow up. He admits that he struggled with his belief in God and his faith when he was in college. It wasn't until a Gideon gave him a copy of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs after he graduated college when he regained his faith. Colbert says, "I took one (New Testament) and opened it right away to Matthew, Chapter 5, which is the opening of the Sermon on the Mount. That whole chapter is essentially about not worrying. I didn't read it - it spoke to me, and it was an effortless absorption of the idea. Nothing came to me in a thunderbolt, but I thought to myself, 'I'd be dumb not to re-examine this.'"

Colbert continues to talk a little about suffering and how we should be grateful for our suffering. He also includes a nice thought on having fun at work. He calls his show "The Joy Machine." He strives to have fun with his show because, if not, it just becomes a machine. And if he's not careful, he will soon get caught up in the gears of the machine. (The Church can be like that. We can sometimes get caught up in the machinery of the Church and lose our joy.)

It's quite a remarkable piece.

If you've never watched his show, he is pretty funny and really silly. The Colbert you see on TV is nothing but an act. In fact, he said that he makes sure that his guests understand that he is playing a character that is an idiot and willfully ignorant about them and their causes.

If you find yourself at a magazine stand, you may want to pick up this copy of RS. With people like Kanye West and others on a constant ego trip on TV, it's refreshing to me to read about someone who understands that life is about more than themselves.

Wisdom for Obama from Dragnet

Coming Soon: Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

This looks interesting:

http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/

No Mo' Breakfast Song