Personal Update

-Just read 600 pages in 2 1/2 days of Systematic Theology. My head is spinning, but it seemed like the same concepts over and over again. A lot of apologetical stuff. Now...to write the 15 page summary...sigh. Another paper due two weeks later and I'm trying to write three more book reviews that are due in two weeks...my mind is blown.
-Down to the Penguins and Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals. I can officially say I could care less who wins although I really don't like the Penguins with pretty boy Sidney Crosby.
-Less than 40 days till my vacation to Ocean City NJ. I am SO ready to get back home to the Northeast. How I miss my beloved Philadelphia more and more every day I am apart from it.
-Work is work. Nothing to new there.
-I have been watching a lot of Man vs. Wild lately. Bear Grylls is the man...flat out.
-I'm ready for football season already. Eagles will be lackluster again, but I love them anyway.

Memorial Day Tribute

I post this every year because these are two of my favorite speeches or pictures of our military. They deserve major respect today. God bless our fallen.

From Patton (edited!):

Now, I want you to remember that no *** ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb *** die for his country. Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball player, the toughest boxer. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.

Now, an Army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The bilious *** who wrote that stuff about individuality for the Saturday Evening Post don’t know anything more about real battle than they do about ***.

We have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit and the best men in the world. You know, by God I actually pity those poor *** we’re going up against. By God, I do. We’re not just going to shoot the ***, we’re going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We’re going to murder those lousy Hun's by the bushel.

Now, some of you boys, I know, are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you will all do your duty. The Nazis are the enemy. Wade into them. Spill their blood. Shoot them in the belly. When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do.

Now there’s another thing I want you to remember. I don’t want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We’re not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose and we're going to kick him. We're going to kick the heck out of him all the time and we're gonna go through him like crap through a goose.

There’s one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home. And you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now when you’re sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what did you do in the great World War II, you won’t have to say, "Well, I shoveled manure in Louisiana."

Alright now, you know how I feel. Oh, and I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle – anytime, anywhere.

And from Rambo (also edited):

"Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win, for somebody who wouldn't let us win! Then I come back to the world, and I see all those maggots at the airport, protestin' me, spittin', callin' me a baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me?! Huh?! Who are they?! Unless they been me and been there and know what the heck they yellin' about!"

For me civilian life is nothin'! In the field we had a code of honor. You watch my back I watch yours. Back here there's nothin'! Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment. Back here I can't even hold a job PARKING CARS!!!!
Wha... I can't... oh, I just--. Where is everybody? Oh ... I... I had a friend, who was Danforth. Wha--I had all these guys man. Back there I had all these guys. Who were my friends. Cause back here there's nothin'. Remember Danforth? He wore this black head band and I took one of those magic markers and I said to Feron, 'Hey mail us to Las Vegas cause we were always talkin' about Vegas, and this car. This uh red '58 Chevy convertible, he was talkin' about this car, he said we were gonna cruise till the tires fall off.
We were in this bar in Saigon. And this kid comes up, this kid carryin' a shoe shine box, and eh he says uh 'shine please, shine.' I said no, eh an' uh, he kept askin' yeah and Joey said 'yeah,' and I went to get a couple beers and the ki--the box was wired, and he opened up the box, blew his body all over the place. And he's layin' there and he's screamin', there's pieces of him all over me, just like--! like this. And I'm tryin' to pull em off you know? And he.. MY FRIEND IT'S ALL OVER ME! IT'S GOT BLOOD AND EVERYTHING! And I'm tryin' to hold him together I put him together his insides keep coming out, AND NOBODY WOULD HELP!! Nobody help me. He sayin' please I wanna go home I wanna go home. He keeps callin' my name, I wanna go home Johnny, I wanna drive my Chevy. I said well WHY I can't find your legs. I can't find you legs. (softly now) I can't get it out of my head. I --I dream of seven years. Everyday I have this. And sometimes I wake up and I dunno where I am. I don't talk to anybody. Sometimes a day--a week. I can't put it out of my mind...I can't......."

Movie Review: The King Of Kong

I saw a commercial for this documentary on G4. They are showing it in the upcoming month. It caught my attention because it looked so painfully dumb. I happened to find it online and watched it. It was actually pretty interesting.

The movie is about competitive video game players, mainly those who play Donkey Kong. The movie starts by building up the champion score holder, Billy Mitchell...a completely arrogant, insecure and fragile restaurant owner. This man obviously was told by his parents that he would be an astronaut. I have never seen someone so stuck on himself in my life. And the only accomplishment he can really brag about was...having the highest score in Donkey Kong that he suspiciously video taped himself playing...we think. His machine wasn't put under any testing to see if it was rigged. To top it all, the man IS afraid to play anyone head to head to defend his throne. He's too big for that. He honestly reminds me of the dwarf in Elf that thinks he is more than he is or Rex from Rex Kwan Do in Napoleon Dynamite.

Then there is Steve Weibe. Very humble obsessive compulsive guy who challenges him for his record. His family is visibly strained by his addiction, but his wife still supports him. His daughter makes a statement about his pursuit of a Guiness World's Record that was prophetic. She said "A lot of people ruin their lives to get in that book." Wow! Out of the mouth of babes. Steve is a nice guy and a school teacher who hasn't succeeded at much. He scores over a million on video tape, but his machine is put under scrutiny by Mitchell's henchman. On top of that, he scores a record at the time Mitchell sends a video tape of his supposed record.

It is a fascinating movie. I was laughing at some of these morons that are so addicted to games! Then Billy is a complete piece of work who is very insecure in himself. He talks tough to make up for what he isn't. His wife is a trophy wife. His marriage and life are a complete opposite to the life of Steve.

I thought it was going to be a sad end, but then it flashed an update at the end which made it worth it! Too awesome!!! Definitely fun to watch and laugh at. 3 stars from me.

"The King of Kong"

Wildwood Voted NJ Favorite Beach????

Story

You got to be kidding me. This poll is so biased it makes me want to throw up blood.

Wildwood is a hole. Its a low budget beach with nickel slots for the kids, bars every block, and hotel after hotel. I have been there a few times and have not been impressed. You get out of your car and you already feel scummy. There is nothing family, clean, civil, middle class, or nice about any part of Wildwood.

Ironically, Philly.com did their own poll. Last I checked, Ocean City was heads and tails above all other beaches. Wildwood wasn't even in second place! It was one of the worst in the poll. Why do news sources come up with inaccurate polls? OC is a dry town, with a nice boardwalk, family oriented, few hotels, long beach lines, and very clean. The only beach I ever consider on the Jersey Shore is OC. It has everything you would want in a beach.

Perry Noble Comment

"The church that doesn’t want to grow is saying to the world, “You go to hell…we’re doctrinally correct…you go to hell.” - Perry Noble

My response? I agree and disagree. Define growth? Are you talking numbers? Are you talking about making sure you have to build a bigger building because you had 1000 sign the dotted line? I agree that I want people come to Christ and his church to grow. However, if growth = large attendance to you, then you can tell the world (and those in your church) "You can think you're not going to hell (but you may not be saved at all)...we're concerned about your prayer and baptism number...you may go to heaven." Perry...growth is more than conversions...its actual spiritual growth, which I realize isn't as easy to monitor like numbers.

How do you respond to Jesus' multiple statements on "let the dead bury their own dead," "love me more than your father or mother," "deny yourself, take up your cross," etc. It seemed Jesus wasn't as concerned about a huge group following him as much as he was reducing the size of people following him by sifting the wheat and the chaff. The genuine followers remained. He constantly pruned his numbers by saying difficult and popularity killing statements. Those who were serious remained...he did nothing to coddle people to heaven.

Third Day of Class with Geisler

I have lived through a 15 hour day on Monday and a Tuesday of class. It's been an adjustment since I haven't sat in class for a long time. Dr. Geisler's content is good. I am a little let down because I thought this was going to be about Contemporary Theological Problems, but it has maybe mentioned one in passing (Neotheism). I have 2 fifteen page papers due in the next few weeks. I have a mule-choker size of a book to read and summarize. Shoot me! On top of it, I will be writing one on panentheism and the Emergent Church.

NOTE: Had Jersey Mike's Cheesesteak for lunch yesterday. Not bad...still not Philly, but not bad. The bread was the only lackluster part. Its supposed to be a hard Italian roll people!

Innovate Needed?

Does the church need innovation? Innovation means "to introduce something new; make changes in anything established." Is the established practices of the church a bad thing? What is the church doing wrong? Is it doing anything wrong?

Really, to answer any of that, you have to start before it. To say it needs innovation is to say that something it is doing is broken, outdated or wrong. Some say the church has to become "relevant" to appeal to the lost community. Pastors have become professionals wearing hip glasses, Armani shirts, who throw out U2 lyrics or quotes from artsy movies, and give practical steps to make your life cool. It's painful to see seminary students and pastors falling for this need to wear the right clothes, watch the right movies, and put on the appearance that "Hey! I'm just like you." Some get so obsessed with this that its unnatural. You can tell they are trying to look relevant. How about just being yourself and stop trying to look like Ryan Seacrest or Rod Bell?

Are our services in need of innovation? I was sucked into the church growth/seeker sensitive movement for a decade. The emphasis was best described as "preach the gospel in any way...except preaching." Too much scripture was avoided. Proof-texting became an art form. Now, musical performance and drama became necessary to have any success preaching. Pastors spent more time on art preparation than sermon preparation. The congregation became an audience. This is seen as innovation. Question: Was our preaching not drawing enough people? Did we have to start entertaining because the Bible was too boring? Was our preaching and reliance on the Spirit to do the work ineffective? Can God reach people today WITHOUT the arts?

Innovate our image? It seems we have turned into the source of social causes. I'm all for reaching the homeless and poor. I highly encourage the church to be involved in reaching their communities. But what has become the priority in this? Is it meeting practical needs? Is it spiritual needs? We honestly celebrate when we paint a house for the elderly, yet walk away without sharing love and the gospel with them. We hand out blankets for a night, yet we don't make an extended relationship with them and share Christ. We're so obsessed with meeting the physical that we let the spiritual become secondary. Jesus is the cart, social needs are the horse.

Does the church need innovation, or new ways of doing things because the current ones aren't working? Let's start with the need. Do we need to be hip? Do we need to be sensitive? Do we need to be broad in our beliefs? No. No. No. Our churches have become bloated like a steroid injected athlete: tons of muscle, but unnatural and unhealthy. We have massive buildings and numbers and a massive amount of spiritual unhealth and illiteracy. 75% of our generation couldn't tell you if Obadiah is before or after Daniel. They don't know what atonement means. They don't know what a convenant is. All they know is that they "feel good" when they worship and have a self-help sermon. Our congregations can't defend their faith because most of them DON'T KNOW WHAT WE BELIEVE! Doctrine and theology isn't popular and doesn't fit in a three point sermon with movie clips.

The church doesn't need innovation. It needs instruction in the Word, infiltration into the world, intelligence from the pastor, intensity from the congregation and it needs integrity of its teaching. We need Jesus. We need the cross. These things will not draw crowds unless God wills it. But that's just it. When did Jesus ever promise crowds? The path is narrow. The price is steep. The suffering, intense. Stop the cheap gospel.

A Couple More Thoughts on Ministry

• Right now, over 50% of America is unmarried or from an unmarried house. That is a huge number of people in any community. The highest numbers are in the Northeast. So what? Why aren't we preaching/teaching/ministering to the needs of the majority? Why do churches often treat singles ministry as a sub-ministry or a dating scene? We need to rethink single ministry. I realize that "unmarried" also includes divorcees, cohabitation couples and homosexuals. For about 50% of that 50%, the last thing they need is another sermon on how to have a good marriage and kids. Their sexual sins and dating needs to be confronted. They don't even have kids or families!
• I had printed a new stat from the UN that close to 50% of the world will live in cities within the next 10 years. However, most of our churches seem to be rural or suburbia. They are great, but why aren't we planting more churches in the city? The crime rate is through the roof. The homeless problem is crazy. Broken homes abound. The Muslims are rushing in to the cities because Christians aren't. Again, why aren't we going to the place with the biggest need? Is it hard? Yes! Will we have 100 disciples added a week? Probably not. But...what does success in an urban ministry look like? Is it about numbers or changed lives?
• Looking at both of these things, it looks like a ministry to the unmarried in the cities might be a potential for a very interesting ministry. Mars Hill seems to have tapped in to this in Seattle. It seems the traditional model of church that aims to families and marrieds may not be the right way to go about starting a ministry in some environments. We are missing over 50% of the people!
  

Regal Cinema coming to Lynchburg...THANK YOU LORD

It's about time. Holy cow. As big a college town as it is in Lynchburg, finally we get a Regal Cinema in 2009. I almost cried reading this news. The theaters in Lynchburg are WAY out dated. 14 screens of cinematic beauty! I am so pumped! Finally...midnight movies and student discounts...and really fattening popcorn.

Willow Creek's "Big Shift"

Well, just as I am going through a nasty aftertaste with seeker sensitive services, along comes an article (and a book) that only confirms what has been going on inside of me. Willow Creek is dropping seeker sensitive for deeper theological teaching. WOW! There's a concept! Instead of getting as close to being lost as we can to be "relevant," we actually start acting like Christians and studying our faith. We actually may be stepping away from feeding our churches nothing but milk and actually may start feeding them some meat!

I think the seeker sensitive service was a great idea, but sooner or later it was bound to catch up with a church when those who are being converted aren't being challenged to grow. I am really excited about this. I hope the wave will continue to get stronger. Maybe church will be church again? I have hope. Discipleship is gasping to life again. Now the only concern I have is...what kind of theology will be taught? Will it be watered down to not offend?

Men and the Kingdoms of Men - Part 3

What I speak about next is an area I have personally struggled with. I feel that every pastor at one time in their life had to struggle with this if they are honest. Sadly, victims may not even know they have fallen into this pit. This is simply called "kingdom building."

I believe that since we have an invisible God with an invisible kingdom, we often seek to fill the void of invisibility with visible things that show us the existence of God. In my own experience, this was seen in several things: the numbers, the property/material and the praise.

The numbers is by far the hardest war a pastor must battle with. We do desire to see the faith growing in our community. This is seen through changed lives. However, it can become an addiction. We move from letting God change hearts to "helping him out." We try to force God through big shows, fancy productions, amazing outreaches to get more and more and more. Soon we fall more in love with bigger numbers than genuine heart change. It seems the conversions at the beginning are very geniune whereas at the point of numbers addiction, they become watered down and uncertain. I don't blame those who believe they are converted. I blame those who tell them they are because they prayed, when the person may not be converted at all. Soon, the church becomes a factory pumping out bigger and bigger numbers that are (pardon my crassness) "cheaper faultier product." Small churches may not see the numbers, but at least there is deep and genuine discipleship involved.

The property and the material really are the same thing. We often prove the invisible work of God with the visible prosperity of the world. We build massive buildings, flaunt amazing multimedia equipment, show off our coffee shops and bookstores, have gymnasiums for our kids, and so much more. These are great tools, but again...we often and somehow translate these as signs of God's blessings on our ministries. Granted, God provides funds, but he can also provide funds for me to misuse on my own personal materialistic desires. Why is it that we flaunt off our equipment as the standard for all churches? Does this mean the small church can't possibly have an impact on others unless they have big buildings and enough lighting to light a Broadway show? Why are we proud? Is not the true sign of God's work changed lives, not 3 sets of Roland V-Drums and video production?

Finally, the praise. Again, I speak to this as one who has been guilty of this in the past. We often look for praise from people as a sign of our effectiveness. We somehow get tricked into thinking that success comes from us. Sometimes we will say, "It's all God," yet in our heart of hearts, we can't even imagine how he would have done it without us. I've seen so many new youth leaders who come out of Bible college thinking they are the next great youth pastor because of the accolades of their students. They believe they will change the world and that its about how great they are. They are soon humbled by God through any series of reality.

Being a leader is hard work especially in a ministry. We need encouragement and affirmation. However, when we begin to need encouragement from our people, it to can be an addiction. This is also seen when a leader will not take criticism or disloyalty from his staff or his people. It becomes a huge problem when the leader attempts to silence his critics. True leadership knows that they will be hated, but still serves those who hate him. Though he won't listen to every critic, he will understand there will always be dissenters. This is seen so clearly in the life of Moses as the children of Israel time after time complained and bickered. Moses stood firm and kept moving forward. He didn't cast off any who questioned him as leader.

I worry when we start looking at material things and numbers as a sign of God's hand. True...he does bring both of those, but if it becomes our obsession it becomes about us and the establishment of our kingdom instead of God doing what God will through willing men. We are representatives of an invisible kingdom. Our buildings will fall apart and be sold. Our lights and cameras are temporary. But the invisible...the souls of men...stand. If we put our drive into the invisible with the tenacity that we put into the visible, we will see change. One thing is for sure. I've seen many lives changed by God in my ministry with no technology, no fancy buildings, no flat screen TV's, no coffee shops, no satellite campus, and very little giving. I didn't need to bribe God to bring souls to him. He does what he does through rocks, donkeys, children...whoever he desires.

Quick Detour - Phantom Cell Phone Vibrations, Arlen and More

Phantom Cell Phone Vibrations
Alright....this is driving me mad.

The other week, I went for my left pocket because I felt my cell phone vibrating. I pulled out my Razr and checked to see who was calling. No one was. I put my phone back in my pocket. 5 minutes later, it happened again. Then on top of it, I felt a phone vibration and my phone wasn't even in my pocket. My leg kept vibrating. It continues to today. It is maddening.

This has been reported as "Phantom Cell Phone Vibration" and is a conditioned response. Your leg gets so used to feeling vibration from your phone that it gets triggered even when the phone isn't in your pocket. Yes...I'm going insane. This is crazy.

Thank You Arlen Specter
Now that Roger Goodell has compromised what he said he would bring to the NFL by not continuing punishment on the New England Patriots cheating tactics, Arlen Specter...who I never voted for...steps in to get a professional inquiry into the scandal. I used to have high respect for Belichik and the Patriots. The man seemed like a genius to me...now...I question it.



Final Notes
-I'm growing in my respect for Calvary Chapel even though I may not see eye to eye on their charismatic gifts belief. I am starting to be drawn to exegetical preaching again, if it is done well and made practical. I have no issue with topical. I think I'm moving to a hybrid of topical and exegetical.
-I started in on Systematic Theology by Norman Geisler. I am pleased to read something with someone I line up with closely. Every other Systematic I've read has been good, but has had flaws theologically (Grudem, etc). This will be a great class next week as tired as I'll be.
-I've started thinking post-Liberty. I think I may be opening up to the idea of a teaching pastorate, college prof or college pastor. I love student ministry and don't want to leave it, but I wonder if I've served my time. As for education, I've played with the idea of getting my MDiv from Gordon-Conwell, Bethel or a handful of others. I'm mainly looking at something more open in theology. I know where I stand, but I want to be challenged by those who don't hold my beliefs. Doctorate is still debatable. I don't know what I'd get it in or what good it would do me.

Men and the Kingdoms of Men - Part 2

Let me preface by saying the first blog on this was somewhat incomplete. I am not naming pastors nor followers I think are guilty of placing anyone on a pedastool. I mentioned who i did for the purpose of setting names up as examples.

What has prompted me on this issue is watching believers fighting over the issue of Calvinism and Arminianism. Though I am comfortably in the middle of these two groups, it is stunning how heated the debates get on these issues. These men both gave us a way to understand the basics of salvation in two distinctly different views. Both of them are found in the Bible. What I fear is when I see men beginning to take Calvin's words and making them equal to or higher than God's word. Calvin did us a great service to bring clarity to some important issues. I however don't believe he would agree with some of the followers of his beliefs who almost worship him as a saint. He has been elevated higher than the disciples sometimes. It scares me to see men adhere to a belief so strongly that they are closed to the other side. Often I see people on both sides arguing and debating and not listening and trying to understand the other sides perspective. Is this what Calvin would have desired? Splitting the church?

As humans, we love heroes. From the time we are kids, we imitate our favorite superhero or a police officer. We look up to them. They can do no wrong. As we get older, we replace them with others. We look to sports figures, movie stars, politicians, and church leaders. There is nothing wrong with having people we have high respect for and want to model our lives after. Again, the problem is, when they are elevated to a position that is equal to Christ, we have a serious problem. Most of the time, followers often worship a leader to the point that everything they say is gospel. In ministry, I've seen this in who we align ourselves with in a ministry style. I have fallen into this. There is nothing wrong with examples until they trump the Bible. I was a firm believer in Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and Church. It is a great model to follow. However, some churches and leaders can take this to an extreme by almost trusting the words of Warren and Fields more than what is Biblical. In no way do I single out PDC. I've seen this with the Andy Stanley model (my fav), Willow Creek, and many other models out there.

Let me say this- the models are not bad. Most are based Biblically and humble God-fearing leaders came up with them. What is so dangerous is when the church emphasizes the model more than the Biblical model in Acts 2. As humans, its so easy to fall in love with a human leader that we often can forget...they're men. They fail. They sin. They struggle. Just like me. They are also prone to mistakes. This again is why Christ must continue to be what the church is about, not a model or a leader. In 1 Corinthians, the church was beginning to fall for this. They were dividing over Paul and Apollos. Followers were lining up on both sides. It's then when Paul says..."they're just men who willingly showed up...God did the real work (my paraphrase)." We have to remember to keep the main person, the main person. Church is about Jesus Christ. Christianity is about Jesus Christ alone. Models come and go. Leaders die and fall. One constant remains- Christ.

The sad part is most of the leaders would never want the praise that their followers often give them. They realize that they are just a leader. I always remember Andy Stanley's sermon on leadership when he said, "Leadership is temporary and each will give an account." He used the illustration of Nebuchadnezzar being turned into an animal after thinking his kingdom was of HIS hand. In all reality, it was not. A humble leader realizes that he is along for the ride. God is the engine and the steerings wheel. We are the passenger.

Again, I say all of this as a recovering pastor worshipper. Doug Fields was on my list of people I wanted to meet before I die because I thought he was the only one getting it. Often I would elevate PDYM over God's own word. Doug I could see and hear. I couldn't see God. I was convicted of elevating God's leader as my source and defense for my faith and ministry. Doug wouldn't have approved, this I know. As followers, we must never replace the invisible God with the visible idol. Billy Graham is not God. He is his servant. Falwell is not God. He was his servant. Hybels is not God, Rod Bell is not God, Andy Stanley is not God and Doug Fields is not God. He has given these men temporary leadership that they will give an account for. We can look to them as models, but never as idols.

Men and the Kingdoms of Men - Part 1

As I've reflected over a couple years of Christianity and ministry in my life these past few months, it's been fascinating and revealing to me on the issue of men and kingdom building. I will admit up front my conviction over this as well.

There are many popular names in Christianity. Calvin, Arminius, Wesley, Augustine, Edwards were older men of the faith. As time progressed, we have new names: Bonhoeffer, Graham, Falwell, Hybels, Warren, and more and more. We won't see the end any time soon. Each of these men were used by God to do great things. As my dad has said many times, men are God's method. These influential men helped start movements in Christianity and the church and inspired generations of believers. God has truly used them in mighty ways.

What has become more and more troubling to my soul has been the followers of these men and in come cases, the men themselves. A couple issues I hope to talk about are followers who establish kingdoms, leaders who establish their own kingdoms, and what I believe men should be viewed as. It is often as I look at large churches, movements and such that I quietly whisper to myself, "They're just men! That's it." I'm troubled with how we place these men on the same pedastal as Christ and will stand there and deny we do! Their work is often seen equal to the work of Christ.

Stick with me as I talk about my thoughts and opinions on this important issue that I believe is plaguing the church.

Graduation 08 Highlights

-Though I didn't attend (with LU's parking? HA!), Chuck Norris was the graduation speaker. Sounds like he did pretty good. Then again, would anyone tell Chuck Norris he did bad? I mean, c'mon...it's Chuck. Liberty gave him an honorary doctorate in humanities. He is a humanitarian because he hasn't killed everyone though he could. I think a Doctoral degree in Butt Kicking or Roundhouse Technology should also have been considered.
-THANK GOODNESS that graduation is over. I have had my fill of setting up chairs for about 5 years.
-I tried out Dickies BBQ for lunch. I got brisket and polish sausage. It was okay. Not terrible. Their sauce is pretty thin. The brisket was good, but not smoky enough. The sausage would have been better with a mustard sauce. Gosh I miss Abner's in Philly.
-I can tell I've been losing weight. My clothes are falling off and I've pulled my belt as tight as I can without doing severe damage to my hips. I like it : ) Last I knew, I was down 15 pounds. LOVING IT!
-I'm already looking at where to do my MDiv since I don't want to get it from Liberty's seminary. I'm checking out Gordon-Conwell. I'm not sure if I have the grades or cash to get in, but I like what I see. It's in Mass, so I'd be getting closer to where I want to settle for the rest of my life.
-Saw Ross and Gavin Stevens today. Pretty sweet seeing people from the old church. They're getting bigger and older. Helps me realize I am too : (

GREAT quote by Limbaugh

"most of the time when people start ripping (and accusing) you, they're really telling you more about themselves than they are you."

So much truth in this line!!! Gosh I love that guy.

Emergent Church Observations

I love Mark Driscoll. The man keeps growing on me more and more. I don't agree with everything he says (Reformed theology, church franchising, etc) but he scratches my itch. There needs to be more like him in Christendom.

In a Youtube video
1. Emerging Evangelicals: Donald Miller and the like. Still evangelically based, focus on basic theology, but turning on some of the original traditions in churches.
2. House Church Emerging: No pastor, no building, little theology, but a huge emphasis on relationships.
3. Reformed Emergent: Mark Driscoll, Covenant Life, and such. They are heavy in theology, very relevant, often charismatic. Though I don't agree with some of Reform theology or charismatics, I'm really excited about this group and the resurgence of theology.
4: Emerging Liberals: Rod Bell, Brian McLaren, and the like. Little theology, heavy on being "relevant," often liberal in politics, and emphasize social action. Seem to like to emphasize change more than truth.

I'm very concerned regarding the liberal movement. I at first was very attracted to the teaching of Rod Bell. However...after awhile (his blessed are the peacemaker episodes), I was very turned off to being different for the sake of being different and rebelling against what the church was...even the good things it was.

What I like? The emphasis on relationship in the church, the break away from Christianese, the application of the Biblical church to modern times. the second takes on certain topics. They seem to not care as much about the number of salvations as much as the number of disciples. That is HUGE to me.

I continue to do my research into this fast growing movement.

My Two Biggest Soft Spots Revealed

Tonight at TRBC, there was a memorial for a 16 year old Liberty Christian Academy student killed early Sunday morning on his way home from an after party at LCA. We cleaned up around the area that night. To think one of the ones attending would be dead in the next 24 hours is heart wrenching. Tonight, there was a line out the door for the viewing at TRBC. It was very moving. As an outsider who never met him, it was hard. It revealed my two soft spots.

One- students. Duh! I've been working with them for a long time. I guess I just put myself in a youth pastor mindset. How would I deal with this? How would I help those who need help? Its really hard because I want to be in there helping kids.

Two- My gift of empathy and mercy is insatiable. I saw so many kids crying tonight and I wanted to go up and hold them and let them cry even though I don't know any of them. I usually feel awkward with death or people in the hospital, but I do love just holding people and letting them cry. It makes me feel like I'm helping since I don't have any words.

My prayers and thoughts go out to the family. I can't imagine how hard this is for them all.

The Worry Yourself Skinny Diet

Due to financial stress, personal stress and just all around big questions with life, I confess I have been losing the battle against worry terribly. I hate it. I want to be free of it. On the brightside, I've lost 13 pounds in the last month and a half. If I can lose another 10, I'll be VERY happy. Worry away!!!