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.