my voice

It feels strange writing this post- for most this will not seem like a big deal, especially since there are only a few people who read this blog.  But for those who do I just wanted to let you know that I will be taking a break for awhile.  I just have too much going on and I am trying to adjust my priorities:

1. New baby coming any day now.
2. Lots of new projects at church, like Lads to Leaders, visitation program, Easy Worship, etc.
3. Try to loss weight- sitting in front of computer late at night does not help with this.
4. Fill in your lame excuse for why you can’t get everything that needs to get done, done.
5. I also want to take some time to reflect on the focus of the blog- I feel like I am going in too many directions, and I want to get a better feel for what to write about.

The ultimate goal is to take some time off to handle all of things above and then come back better.

Thanks everyone for reading, thanks to the few who made comments. Adios!

The first chapter of unChristian addresses the Backstory- why was this book written- what lead to the research? I thought it was a great way to begin the book. Don’t drown me in gobs of research that were done for this project in the first 10 pages. It is also interesting to read that Gabe Lyons gave up a great career in order to pursue his passion. You may simply view this as useless material thrown into the book, but I see it as a way of communicating the importance of the unique gifts of Christ. Not everyone is a researcher, preacher, writer, etc. We each just try to do our own small part.

Here’s what I take away from chapter 1:

1. Christians have an image problem today and some of it is our own fault.
2. If “outsiders” have a problem with Christians, then they are also likely to have an issue with Christ.
3. We should care about our image problem. See 2 Peter 3:9; Luke 15:11-32; 2 Corinthians 3:2; Colossians 4:5-6.
4. We need to regain our effectiveness, not necessary our popularity.

I am sure that most of us are not surprised by any of these statements. What did catch my attention was the statistics about the growing size of “Outsiders.” When you look at the Elder generation (those 61 and older) and see that only 23% are not Christians. However,  40% of those who are 16-29 claim to be Christians. The increase in these numbers indicates that many people who grew up in the church have now left- and have not returned.

So really, we have 2 problems on our hands:

1. Changing our perception with the outsiders who only know us as a collective group.
2. Changing our perception with who those who have left the church.

I am not sure which one will be more difficult.  The question is,  Are we up to the challenge?

Over the weekend I picked up UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. This book caught my eye for several reasons:

1. Seeing the word “UnChristian” in a Christian bookstore- in this case, LifeWay, really stands out.
2. The cover itself is just very catchy- great job FiveStone!
3. The research that went into this book is done by the Barna Group- they always looking at relevant issues connection culture and faith.

So how could I say, “No.” Besides- I get a minister’s discount…

This book is billed as a must read for Christians, especially those who are involved in the leadership of the church and the contributors to the book reads like a Who’s Who of current leaders in Christian thought and ministry. UnChristian examines how our culture views Christianity, why it matters, what Christians have done to create the problem and what we can do to fix it.

Over the next 10 days or so I encourage you to check back in here, I’ll be posting my thoughts about each chapter.  Here are the chapter headings so that you can be prepared:

1. The Backstory
2. Discovering unChristian Faith
3. Hypocritical
4. Get Saved!
5. Anti-homosexual
6. Sheltered
7. Too Political
8. Judgmental
9. From unChristian to Christian

Also, here are some of the blogs and websites for those who made contributions to this book:

1. Mark Batterson
2. Brian McLaren
3. Dan Kimball
4. Jim Wallis
5. Rick McKinley

Okay- so a I am a little behind on work, behind on writing for the blog, and probably according to some, I am just a behind.  Anyway, better late than never for the top 5 Links of the Week.

1.  Is Jesus an eyesore?  Well, this billboard just happened to be in the wrong picture at the wrong time…

2.  Since I have no where close to a four hour week this book sounds really interesting, I’ll be adding it to my already long list of books to read.

3. I really wanted to attend this Bible Tech 2008, but I couldn’t because I was scheduled to preach last night- I went really well by the way, I am doing a series called Parallels.  It’s about Old Testament men and women who lives parallel the life of Jesus.

4. Its always good to get some blogging advice.

5. References to Sesame Street make me nostalgic, but there is a great message for anyone who has to present material to an audience- make it exciting!

This weekend I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This is a fictional account of the occupation of Denmark by the Nazis during WWII. The story follows Annemarie Johansen, a ten year Dane whose family is on the fringe of the Resistance Movement. When the Jews of Denmark are warned about “relocation, ” Annemarie’s parents decide they must do anything in their power to protect those in harm’s way.

This is a wonderful book about the power of one person to make a difference. Two other benefits are it is written at a fifth grade reading level- so almost anyone can understand it, also it is only 135 pages- so it is a very quick read. Its also a Newberry award winner.

If you are like me and hated to read when you were younger, but have sense gained an appreciation for books, I encourage you to read this. This is also a great book for socially conscience parents who want their children to develop a passion and concern for others.

On Monday we celebrated MLK Day- a day that unfortunately is remembered as just a chance to get out of school, rather than for the man it seeks to memorialize- by having a Game Day at church. We had a great turn out and a lot of fun. But I also wanted to try and hit on something important.

We talked about the difference one person can make. I challenged our teens to get on ONE.org and get involved, I shared about my support on Kiva.org, I reminded the teens that next week there will be meeting about our Honduras mission trip, and we have also already agreed to sponsor a child at the school in Trujillo (if you are interested go here.) But the thought that keeps rolling around in my head right now is that it is never just one person. There’s isn’t just one person who got me to where I am today, there is is not just one person who prepared me for what I am doing, there is not just one person who has influenced me for good- there are lots of people. The thing is though- each of these people had an impact. Each of them did their part on their own free will. They didn’t get together and say, “Hey, you know we really need to have a profound impact on JD so that he can do something great…” No, each them only had control over one person, but that one person made a difference.

So what are you doing to make a difference? Remember, it only takes one, but know that you are not working alone.

This week I have been a little slow on the reading.  I started Applied Economics and it is really challenging.  It’s not a difficult read, but just trying to think through the implications of what Sowell says has been really challenging.  His many point is to think past Stage One when it comes to economics.  That said, because I want to think past stage one I sharing not necessarily my favorite reads from the week, but the ones that challenged me to think differently.  I hope they will do the same for you.  Hopefully next week I can have a review of Applied Economics out for those who are interested.  This weeks links:

1. I am a member and minister for a church of Christ.  Our churches don’t usually partner together to do anything- although there are some notable exceptions (our church for example supports 3 evangelists in Trujillo, Honduras while a church outside of Atlanta, GA supports the Christian school in the same town- the evangelists work there as well), so reading about how other churches do that is always interesting to me.  Here is some news from LifeChurch.tv.

2. Giving away $30 million deserves to be recognized.

3. This book will definitely make it into my must read list this year!

4. I have always about Jesus’ sermons as being something that just happened.  They didn’t come after the 3 songs, prayer and scripture reading routine that is common for us today.  Here is an interesting away of addressing that.

5. It astounds me that this is at a church! I especially loved the comment, “Maybe one flatscreen over the sinks as you’re washing your hands….but one over each urinal??”  Maybe some one needs to go back and listen to some of Jesus’ sermons…

Not a big shocker here- but I am behind.  I have about 200 podcasts that I need to listen.  Over the holidays I just stopped listen, got out of my routine of simply listening to one a day and now I am stuck trying to get caught up.  Last night as a drove to Bible study I listened to a message given back in October- somehow I had just skipped over it.  It was from Imago Dei- a missional church in Portland, OR and the title was “Global Disciples.”

The jest of the message is that we are all missionaries, we just may do it different ways.  Three different families or individuals who are putting them selves into some time of mission experience- yet all were different:

1. A couple returning to Uganda- not to plant a church-but to work with the churches that are already there.

2. A single female moving to Dubai to help NGOs and others with cultural diversity.

3. A Canadian from a home church that does short term support with organizations such as International Justice Mission, Living Waters, Blood:Water Mission, etc.

It’s great to see different people, doing different things, all to the service of God.  So what are you doing?

I finished this book by Mark Batterson last week and thought you might be interested to read my thoughts on it. Before I go any further, let me say this:

1. I enjoy the wisdom that Mark shares on his blog- I read it daily. So please don’t take the criticism to mean that I don’t appreciate the great stuff that he is pointing out there that encourages and trains others.

2. I am not a published author, so although in some cases I am critical of the book, I also acknowledge that he has done something that I have never even had the opportunity to do.

That said, this book is like much of many of the other Christian self-help books that get written each year and suck ed up by millions of faithful Christians looking for something new to help them turn their lives around. The focus of Batterson’s book is Benaiah, who, according to 2 Samuel 23:20 ff, kills two Moabites warriors, a giant Egyptian armed with a spear- while Benaiah only has a club and- as the title of the book says, kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

Batterson makes some great points in this book from a psychological perspective. Having been trained as a therapist myself I know the power of reframing. He encourages the readers to overcome their fears, look for God-given opportunities, try to do something extraordinary. This is a message that we need to hear proclaimed through megaphones, not in isolated corners. Too much is wrong in world for us to sit back and let it continue to slide down the slippery slope. I also really appreciated the stories of “lion chasers” that he shared throughout- it really help to hear about the boldness in ours.

But the thing that gets me about this book is that from exegetical perspective, Batterson creates too much from the simple lines written about Benaiah. It reminds of the book written years ago about the prayer of Jabez. In similar fashion, Batterson talks about Benaiah’s prayer life and how he learned to pray from David. It may very well have happened this way, but we have no proof that it did. Several other times, in telling the story of Benaiah, Batterson enters into speculation in order to help the visuals leap from the page. It certain makes for an exciting read. But it seemed like some of the storyline that Batterson created was used to help him include the applications that we need to make in our lives. In other words, he had the cart before the horse.

So why share this? I want readers to be aware of the liberties that are taken in this book. Is the book good? Yep. I would I recommend it to some one who is struggling with fear and doubt? Yep. Was it worth the read? Sure- the book is less than 200 pages.

My ultimate recommendation would be to read this book if you really struggle with facing your fears, having boldness in Christ or if you stuck and trying to find the opportunity that God is leading you to- this book may just help you find it. But I would highly recommend to everyone that you check out Mark’s blog. He shares a wealth of information each week that is well worth the read.

1. This is one of best ways to tell if you are living like Christ. I would love to see this level of generosity at our congregation.

2. The weekly dose of church marketing.

3. I can think of lots of passages from scripture that could apply to our politicians, but this says it the best.

4. It’s amazing to me that they held onto to this for an entire year!

5. I am really encouraged by the work a friend of mine is doing. If you haven’t been reading his blog you need to start! Here is passing along some other great sites.