Compassion International Testimony

Beth and I have sponsored children through Compassion International since 1987. We are on our third child. She is a teenager in Rwanda. This video is a testimony of the great work that Compassion does. Check them out at www.compassion.com.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

As seen on Seth Godin's blog, www.sethgodin.typepad.com

Every Christian Needs a Passport

I spoke at TNC a couple of weeks ago and one of my points was that every Christian should have a passport. We had 60 passport applications at the Missions table in the lobby. They were all gone after the second service. Here's an essay I wrote about this topic last summer. You may not agree with me. That's okay.

Every Christian Needs a Passport

Since the early days of my journey with God I’ve been aware of the Great Commission. For a Baptist, Matthew 28:18-20 is like the Holy Grail of Scripture. It’s one of the first passages of the Bible that is memorized after John 3:16. It is talked about repeatedly and we are challenged to believe it and live it on a regular basis. Next to the Great Commission is Acts 1:8 when Jesus commissioned his disciples to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth with the power of the Holy Spirit and the message of the gospel.

And we absolutely adore people who are fleshing out the Great Commission. We call them missionaries.

The King James Version Bible that my wife used in her childhood has autographs from missionaries who came to speak at her church. After these Christian celebrities spoke to a congregation, children lined up to get the holy people to write a personal note, cite a verse of Scripture, and sign their autograph on the inside cover of their Bibles.

The missionary men who spoke always wore a tropical looking untucked, button up shirt – like something a retiree in South Florida might wear. Ordinarily, no man could ever get away with speaking behind the pulpit without a coat or tie and wearing an untucked shirt but the missionaries broke convention when they came to town. It was like the standard issue uniform for male missionaries. The missionary women were always more colorful and creative. They wore the native dress from the country where they served and adorned themselves with the jewelry of the culture. They usually had some odd head covering – a piece of cloth looped around their head or a weird hat. They opened their talks with some unintelligible sentences and said, “That is how you say, ‘Greetings! God bless you and keep you’ in Gibberish, the language of our country.”

Our mouths fell open. In my small South Carolina town, the only people who could speak two languages were the Spanish teacher and French teacher at the high school. The missionaries then proceeded to tell stories of life change and adventure on another part of the globe. Some missionaries did a better job of story-telling than others. Unfortunately, most of the time, before they were halfway through their talk, they had lost their audience’s interest, and it was laborious listening until the end.

I was named after a missionary doctor. My mom loved missions and missionaries. Even in the dark ages, when my family was not involved in the church, I heard my mom talk about missionaries in Africa. She referred to the Pitmans, my namesake who served in Nigeria, often. They were my heroes even though I never knew them. My mom wanted to be a missionary when she was young but life didn’t unfold that way for her. She supported, helped, and prayed for a lot of them over the years. She typed missionary newsletters and stuffed envelopes with exciting stories of what God was doing throughout the world. We hosted an African pastor in our home one week and, finally, she served as a short-term missionary for four months in Tanzania with my dad in 1979. It was one of the greatest experiences of her life.

Missions. Missions. Missions. Christians love and believe in missions and missionaries. Then why doesn’t every Christian have a passport?

If you believe and teach the Great Commission shouldn’t you have a passport? If you say you believe in missions but don’t own a passport, are you a hypocrite? If you say all believers should support missions with their prayers, participation, and pocketbooks, but you don’t have a passport, aren’t you lying? If you are a loyal member of the WMU (that’s the Women’s Missionary Union – kind of like the Ladies’ Auxiliary for missions for a Southern Baptist), but aren’t prepared to leave the country, are you all talk and no action?

Maybe if we really believed in missions we would require new members of our churches to fill out passport applications along with their new member information – and the church would pay all of the expenses for the passport. If we really believe what Matthew 28, Acts 1, and other similar passages in the Bible say, we should expect to go on mission during our journey with Christ. More than once. It should be a lifestyle.

Did Jesus say that we had to have a special calling in order to go into all the world? Does the Bible indicate that we must become “full-time missionaries” in order to do our part in fulfilling the Great Commission? Where does it say that we have to obtain a Bible college or seminary degree to travel overseas and share the love of Jesus? Why have so many restricted foreign missions to so few?

Go read Matthew 28:19 again. It says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This verse was spoken as an imperative statement. It is a command, not a suggestion. Read Acts 1:8 again. It says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It does not say, “You might. You can. Or you may be.” You will.

Jesus gives no qualifications. No prerequisites. No special calling. No degree. No experience necessary. No ordination service required. He said, “Go” and “You will.” His audience had no questions and no rebuttals. They did what they were told and they turned the world upside down. But we have reservations.

“I’m not called.”
“I can’t afford it.”
“I’m not educated enough.”
“I need to go deeper in the Word first.”
“I can’t take time off work to go on mission.”
“What about my family?”
“I can’t leave my kids that long.”
“I don’t have any talents, gifts, or abilities to offer.”
“I’m afraid to fly.”
“My parents are aging and I need to stay close to home.”
“I have to get my kids through school.”
“I’ve got too many responsibilities here.”

Here’s the problem. We say we believe in the Great Commission but we haven’t really digested all that it says. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…and surely I am with you always.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

We focus on self instead of Christ. We think about all of the reasons why we should not go but Christ says simply to “Go.” We are afraid that we will be left out in the jungle all by ourselves. Christ says that he will be with us. We are afraid that we will not know what to say or what to do. Jesus says he will give you the power to do whatever the situation requires.

Here’s the bottom line: We are scared and we are selfish. We are scared to venture out into the unknown and we are too comfortable living our own self-centered lives.

So here’s my challenge to you. Go to the post office today and get a passport application. After you complete the application process, call the person at your church who is in charge of missions and tell them that you want to sign up for the next mission trip.

What? You say your church doesn’t have such a person? Give this to your pastor and tell him to read it.

And while you’re at it…ask your pastor if he has a passport.

Interview with Rob Bell

Thought you'd be interested:

http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/interview/rob-bell

Young Engineers

For a few seconds, I really thought that I might die laughing the first time I saw this:

http://veryfunnyads.com/ads/25417.html

Quotes from today's reading

Couple of quotes I came across while reading through some online articles today:

My favorite t-shirt says, "No One Cares About Your Blog." (Ben Arment in Catalyst Monthly)

In a Wittenburg Door interview with Rolf Potts, travel writer:
DOOR:I notice you talk about evangelicals at arm’s length, like you don’t consider yourself one.
POTTS: For me, evangelical Christianity is like an ex-girlfriend who you once loved very much—but now when you’re around her, every little tic, cliché and hollow pleasantry drives you nuts.

Sharpen Your Vocabulary & Donate Rice

Found this site tonight - www.freerice.com. Pretty cool. I donated 200 grains of rice. I think I'll place this one in my favorites list.

Dove Onslaught

Kudos to Dove for standing up to the "beauty" industry in this ad. Viewer Discretion advised!!

Check out the Otter video

My friend, Andy, the country parson, recently posted a great youtube video called Otters in Love. Check it out!

If I Had My Life to Live Over

Not too long ago, I celebrated my 46th birthday. (I know, I know, I look 29. Thanks.) Birthdays don't bother me much. I don't mind getting older. In fact, I kind of like it because it motivates me to do stuff - like help start churches, buy a motorcycle, write books, and take flying lessons (see post on 7/18/07). My age also gives people like Walt and Matt and other young TNC'ers an excuse to make fun of me.

When you realize you're not getting any younger, it gives you boldness to do stuff you've always wanted to do. To be honest, it's not birthdays that have motivated me to do things in the past, but funerals. As a pastor, I've performed many funerals. When I examine the brevity of life, I'm motivated to make the most of mine. I'm haunted by the thought that my dash will be insignificant. You know, the dash that will be on my headstone in a cemetery one day between 1961 (my birth year) and 20-- (my death year).

That said, here's something I found years ago in Chicken Soup for the Soul that stuck with me.

If I Had My Life to Live Over
(Interviews with the elderly and terminally ill)

“I’d dare to make more mistakes.”

“I’d relax. I would limber up.”

“I would take more chances.”

“I would take more trips.”

“I would eat more ice cream and less beans.”

“If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter next time.”

“If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.”

“I would go to more dances.”

“I would ride more merry-go-rounds.”

“I would pick more daisies.”

(Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul)

“Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Just Call Me Nostra-Gene-ius

On my post titled "Late Night Brain Dump" on October 2, I predicted that the NA Yellow Jackets would be in the playoffs. With a 23-20 win over 9th ranked Irmo tonight in their final regular season game, NA will be playing an extra week. Guess we'll find out in the next day or two who and where NA will play next Friday night.

A Place for Singles to Have Some Fun-damentals

Saw this on the Wittenburg Door blog. I didn't believe this until I actually visited the site. (No, I didn't register.)

http://www.fundamentalbaptistsingles.com/

Vacation Scoreboard

At the beginning of my vacation, Mike Fiedler sent me a link to Tim Stevens blog that gave statistics on his book writing retreat and suggested that I do the same. Tim Stevens logged the number of hours he worked on his book, number of pages written, etc.

While I didn’t go to the extremes that Stevens did, here’s an idea of what I did do while on my brief reading/writing sabbatical.

Books read or currently reading:

Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Book Proposals That Sell by Terry Whalin
Changes That Heal by Henry Cloud
Jeremiah by Jeremiah via Holy Spirit (PS – Chapter 9:23-24 is the passage of the week. Look it up.)
If you haven’t got time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over? by Jeffrey Mayer
The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey, Jr.
Beyond the Box: Innovative Churches that Work by Bill Easum and Dave Travis

Books that got a good, honest skim: (Note: A good, honest skim was a skill learned in seminary. I guess some would call it speed reading. I go through every page and skim each page, stopping at points of interest along the way. By doing that, I get the gist of the book but I don’t comprehend it entirely like a true speed reader.)

God’s Gravity: The Upside-Down Life of Selfless Faith by Craig Borlase
The Backward Life: In Pursuit of an Uncommon Faith by Jarrod Jones

Articles read: A Dimension of Being by Rick McKinley & stuff in 2007 Catalyst book

DVD watched: Just Stop and Think (15 minute film by Francis Chan given away at Catalyst)

CD's listened to: A series of messages on missions by Todd Ahrend (ask me for copies - they're incredible)

Writing projects worked on:

Wrote personal stuff in my journal.
Developed a book proposal for my novel “The God Robbers”
Created an outline (13 plot points) for new novel titled “Slow”
Revised/edited non-fiction book “Your Greatest Challenge” also brainstormed for other titles.

Motorcycle rides = 0

Thanks to a wonderful family (who will remain anonymous here since I’m not sure if they want me to publicize this) who allowed me to stay at their condo at the beach from Thursday to Saturday! It was great to get away and have some “me-time” though I missed being home with my honey and kids.

Reading, Writing, and Riding

I'm taking some vacation days this week. I plan on doing nothing more than reading some books that I have not had a chance to finish or even start. I am going to work on a book that I am writing and, if the weather is good, I might hit the road on the Honda one day. So far, the weather report looks wet this week. Looks like I'll get a lot more reading and writing done.

I'll give a book report here when I'm done.

If the weather is good, maybe I'll learn how to do some tricks on my bike this week too.

A New Board Game

I thought this was a joke when I first saw it. It's not...it's at Family Christian Stores for $34.99.

http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product_image.asp?ProdID=16542

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

My favorite part of this is when the crowd roars. Watch and see...

Reverb from Catalyst/Being or Doing?

30 of us from TNC attended the Catalyst Conference last week. It was a good conference with super music and challenging speakers. Instead of reviewing every speaker, I'll direct you to Mark Waltz's blog at http://www.becausepeoplematter.com/. Mark did a great job of reviewing each speaker.

I'll just say that Craig Groeschel probably spoke to me the most followed by Rick Warren. I've heard Rick many, many times in the last 20 years and that is the boldest message that I've ever heard from him.

Yesterday in our weekly staff meeting, we debriefed a little about the conference. Catalyst is designed for Christian leaders but over the last couple of years it seems to be more about trumpeting each speaker's causes and books. I wonder if Zondervan or Tyndale or other book publishers are subsidizing the expenses for Catalyst because almost every speaker is selling his latest book. In addition to that, many of them expose us to their pet cause so that by the end of the two day conference attenders aren't sure if they should give to a water project in Africa, an urban ministry in Philadelphia, a Christian art movement in LA, or buy a specific brand of shoe that promises to give shoes to the needy in return for your purchase.

It can get a little fuzzy.

Back to our staff meeting...I mentioned that the Catalyst workers shirts said, "What will you do?" The post-modern Christian movement is more about doing than being, it seems. The twenty-something generation, we are told, wants to do more hands on ministry than the baby boomer generation. It's all about action, they say. Rick Warren had the most memorable quote in my opinion when he said, "The body of Christ has amputated its arms and legs and all it is now is a big mouth."

Ow!

He's right. We have to do more than talk the talk, we have to walk the walk. But I cautioned our crew yesterday that there has to be a balance between "doing" and "being." Just go to http://www.wikipedia.org/ and type in Social Gospel or Walter Rauschenbusch (pictured above) and you'll see that those in this movement who are all about "doing" sometimes leave the Gospel behind. They forget that the reason for the ministry is done ultimately to lead people to Christ. The opposite is true also. A fundamentalist Christian is so separate from the world (i.e. "being" holy) yet overly aggressive with the gospel that he many times harms the reputation of Christ. So what's a Christ-follower to do?

Balance. We need to learn to be like Christ. When we learn who Christ is and what his expectations of us are, then we will "do" things in a way that honors him. If we "do" without "being," our efforts are no different than the local Rotary or garden club. If we "be" without "doing," we make no impact at all.

It's a quandry. And one that I won't settle in this early morning post. But that's just some stuff I've been thinking about since yesterday afternoon.

Steve talked about Thinkers, Feelers, Doers, and Talkers last Sunday. I lean toward being a thinker so I "think" that everyone should practice their faith like me! But I know that is not the case and that different personalities grow in different ways. It's all part of the journey...

Mom's Overture

I'm not a mom but I have one and I'm married to one. This is really good. I guess I should have saved until Mother's Day but couldn't. Thanks Moms for all you do!

Late Night Brain Dump

- I'll be attending the Catalyst Conference Thursday and Friday in Atlanta. A large group from TNC will be in attendance. I'll be able to connect with some old friends too.

- I've been reading Purple Cow by Seth Godin. Talking about the power of TV in its early days, he tells the story of the creation of Cap'n Crunch cereal. If you had a commercial on TV, you were guaranteed to sell your product. In 1962, Quaker Oats hired Jay Ward, the creator of Bullwinkle & Rocky, to create an animated commercial for a kids cereal. Ward invented Cap'n Crunch cereal and made the commercial. After the commercial was created then Quaker Oats began to produce it!

- We're over halfway through our SHAPE series on Sundays at TNC. It's a great study if you've never done it before. I know it was incredibly helpful for me when I was able to put the 5 elements of SHAPE together years ago.

- For the record (in case you were in TNC's 2nd service last Sunday) I turned 46 on my birthday Sunday - not 52.

- The Gamecocks are doing pretty good. Kentucky will bring a good test to Columbia Thursday night. Clemson looked awful against GA Tech! Awful! (Walt, Laura, et. al., you should be ashamed.) I hope the Tigers bring that with them to Williams-Brice in November.

- Speaking of football, the NA Yellow Jackets are having a good year. Yes, they are only 3-3 but considering their record over the last couple of years 3-3 is a major improvement. The guys are playing with a lot more confidence this year. We get into our conference schedule against Lexington this Friday. I think we will do well in region play. Expect NA to make it to the playoffs this year. That's right. I'm calling it.

- We are reading The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley as a staff. Pretty good stuff.

- Good news about one of my writing projects. Found out yesterday that an editor with a major publisher liked my book proposal. She was supposed to give it to the editorial committee today. They will read it over the next month and make a decision in their November meeting. That's pretty exciting whether they publish it or not.

Part 2 - Woody Allen Interviews Billy Graham