Galatians

If you ever want to be reminded that we are not saved by legalism or even by the act of baptism (not saying it's not important and necessary), read Galatians. Paul spent an entire letter devoted to the idea that we are justified/saved by faith in Jesus Christ...alone...that's it. I wander sometimes if our ancestors forgot about this book. Paul spends the entire book of Galatians reaming them for thinking that they can observe the law and be saved. The real kicker is in 2:21. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" If we forget about the grace of God, we negate the Cross. I am still trying to wrap my head around this idea as a recovering law follower.

Pragmatism

Definition-The pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities; a concentration on facts rather than emotions or ideals. No wander Christians struggle with making lists and fulfilling them. No wander Christians struggle with living by a set of moral standards-Because preachers have been telling us "how to" for so long. Here are 3 points that will help you... If you have sin in your life, here are 3 steps... When we preach "practical" over the cross, we are only encouraging people to "do" Christianity instead of being so caught up in the fact that we have already been made righteous, that we are already sanctified, and there is absolutely nothing we can "do" for God to love us any more. I'm obviously not saying we can do whatever we want, but I think I understand Paul better when he says, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" This is the gospel he was preaching. A gospel not of moral standards, but of the grace of the cross. Not a gospel of pragmatism, but one of redemption and sanctification.

Choice

I guess I had always thought that it was a decision that I made to become a Christian. To a certain extent it was, but to a certain extent, a bit selfish to think that I did something to earn salvation-even the decision to become a Christian. But I think scripture may tell us differently. I decided to start reading through the book of John and didn't even get through the first chapter, without God showing me this awesome truth. Listen to the words of John in 1:12-13. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." We believe in the name of Christ and he gives us the RIGHT to become children of God. John says that it was not our decision or our will, but only by the grace of God that we are now children of God. It is not that we received God's grace after we became children of God, but it was God's will, and his right to give, for us to receive it.

Conviction

I was convicted earlier this morning by a sermon that Matt Chandler preached and I wanted to share some of those thoughts (Jumbled as they are, this is what came out as I sat down). It really made me think about what I hold as important. And by that I mean what I spend my time doing and thinking about. This is a simple question and one that you might think is easily answered. Do you love Jesus? This is not meant to be a guilt trip but an honest assessment. Where is your time spent? How much time to do you read your bible? Do you have an honest love and passion for Christ? Really. It is unacceptable to me, that ministers are to be the only ones who "know" the bible. It is unacceptable to me that "calling the church" means calling the building and talking to a minister (not saying that's bad, only when it is used as a crutch). I am no more of a "minister", or special, or "Godly" than anyone else. I pray and hope to God, that you realize that you are part of a priesthood of brothers. I pray and hope to God that my broken, selfish, materialistic, lustful self, can be used in some way, to show others that I have been saved, justified and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Please don't read this through a negative lens but one that is a plea for honesty within each of us and with each other. God help us as we are continually sanctified through his word.

Representative Part 2

Tuesday night went great! We had 6 representatives from Mayfair and had a really refreshing conversation with some great Methodist brothers and sisters. They were inquisitive about every part of our "denomination". I say "denomination" because they couldn't grasp that every Church of Christ is autonomous from the other one. No board of directors, no governing body, no certain book, no lectionary (ask me later what that is)-so interesting. One of the main thing that we wanted to get across was that Churches of Christ are struggling with image, what they believe, and why they believe it. A new generation of believers is emerging and asking necessary questions and challenging the status quo. At the end of the conversation we had about 4 people come up to us and tell us about "horror stories" from the Church of Christ and that we had cleared up some real confusion and frustration they had with us. Sad but true that this is where many "denominational" churches are now-dispelling myths about their particular faith. God help us as the church tries to become your bride.

Representative

So I received an interesting call yesterday from a Methodist pastor down the road (this could go a lot of different ways). They have been doing a class on Christian religions for the last 8 weeks and have had representatives from each denomination come and speak. In a nutshell, Caleb and I have been chosen to represent the Churches of Christ. A few things they asked us to talk about-History/background, sacraments (Communion and baptism) and worship style among others. I love this idea, and I am pumped to have the opportunity to represent our denomination. Anything you would like to clear up to other denominations about the Churches of Christ as whole? What is the one thing you would make absolutely clear about our denomination?

Ladies Class

Caleb and I have been teaching the Ladies Class on Tuesdays here at Mayfair. Sounds a little weird I know, but I only go when I teach. I have to admit I was a bit distraught when I first found out that we had to teach ladies class. It is mostly older women, however a few of the younger ones show up when they can. After just a few classes, I was in love. These ladies are awesome! Interested yet gracious, they make a great audience for a couple of young ministers just getting their feet wet. It has been great getting to know them better and I always look forward to their monthly luncheon. Can't wait to teach again.

Information vs. Application

Here is the crux of what Southern religion/doctrine is going through right now-Information vs. application. For the last 50 years or so we have relied heavily on information/doctrine to save people. We have infected people with the idea that knowledge and "correct" doctrine are the way to be saved. Oops...we forgot that Jesus said, "Go into the world and preach the good news". One of the pros our generation, as there are many cons, is we have latched on to this idea. We cannot ever forget that our job as ministers to the broken world, is to SHOW them how Christ lived and what he was about. But, as the book UnChristian found out, moral standards are not the way to SHOW people. Restoration and redemption is what we are to be about. Restoring broken relationships, having healthy Christ-centered marriages, using our finances in a way that is contrary to how the world thinks, and maybe the biggest is letting the church be at the forefront of how to uphold all of these. We cannot make information the point and we cannot apply the wrong principles. God bless us as we strive to find a healthy balance of the two.

I Need Help

Caleb and I are teaching the Ladies class here on Tuesday's over the book UnChristian. This is book is about people's (non-believers) perception of the church. Such a powerful book for looking at reality. I wanted to share a quote with you from Margaret Feinberg, a well known Christian author and speaker. I feel the same.
"I thought becoming a follower of Jesus would help me kick the sin habit, providing the inoculation I needed, but in some ways the symptoms just grew worse. I realized how much was was infected and how it was affecting my attitude, my relationships my life. So the truth is that I'm fighting. I'm fighting sing with everything I've got. Odds are that if you're calling me a hypocrite then you caught me on on of my worst days. I am sorry. I'm sorry that I let you down and disappointed you. But the truth is that i'm not giving up or letting go. I've encountered a God who promises that the battle ends in victory--life instead of death. S call me crazy--but I'm holding on to that promise. I'm also trying to uphold the standards God has set. They;re pretty high, and some days I just find myself laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. But then I feel an urge, an energy, to get up and fight once again. I could use your help. The next time you see me behaving like a hypocrite, pull me aside and gently let me know. I'd really appreciate it."

The Missional Church

I heard someone say not to long ago that the phrase "Missional Church" was an oxymoron. I have to agree. If the church has to think about what it's mission is, it has already missed the point. If our mission is not what Jesus was about in Luke 4:18 then our efforts are in vain-"...preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." I don't think he was only talking about these exact kinds of people. I think his vision was much bigger-one of restoration and redemption of an entire people. This must be the church's mission-to restore things (here is the important part) HERE ON EARTH as it is Heaven. To show people how God intended for creation, relationships, marriages, justice, grace, and forgiveness to work (the list could go on). The church doesn't have a mission, the mission has a church.

A God"less" Society

Let me explain. God created everything. He didn't just create animals, tress, microorganisms, and us. He also created, art, business, education, music, politics and a bunch of other stuff too. However, for a long time there has been a divide in thinking on these things. God created church and nature, but he didn't create all the "secular" things we take part in. Actually, I think we have it a little backwards. God is in every part of everything that we as Christians do. In fact, He is in every part of every thing that everyone does. The rest of the world has decided to take Him out of the picture, hence God"less" society. This is why so many God created things have been so perverted by the world. They have taken His original purpose and His original design, out of the picture. For example-When you plant corn, you plant it in rows. If you were to plant it any other way, it wouldn't work. Well, it might work, but it doesn't work best. When we take God out of how he designed things, out of his own design, it might work, but it doesn't work best.

Whoville vs Whatville

For so long we have thought of the church as a what. The building, the systems, the programs, the paid staff and so on. Of course, most of us remember the little rhyme that went, "Here's the building, here's the steeple, open the doors and here are the people (you did this little ditty with your hands...someone back me up on this)." As many times as you have heard, "The church is not the building, it is the people", we have still continued to model church as if it was the building. We continue to build million dollar boxes in hopes that people will show up on our doorsteps. We must stop thinking like we are living in "Whatville" and start thinking like we are in "Whoville." Thinking this way is difficult. It requires more work. It requires being uncomfortable. But the biggest change of thinking is that it requires us to meet people where they are. I love this quote from Reggie McNeal, "If we build great what's, we'll never get to great who's." If we continue to think that the church staff are the only ministers around, we will never realize that God has charged every one of us with being a minister. Whoville vs Whatville...I think Whoville wins every time.

Catalyst Part 3

Here is another great tidbit from Catalyst. In the past 100 years or so, Christianity has thought of itself as a guard of something very valuable. We want to protect a lifeless artifact, and we hope that no one steals it. Guards are always on the lookout for suspicious movement and anything out of the ordinary. Many times you even have to pay to see what is being guarded. Instead, we should begin to think like gardeners. A gardener has a vision of what is to come. Gardeners anticipate growth, are persistent, but also must protect what they are growing. However, protection is not the main point-growth is. Let's start thinking like gardeners and less like the guard who guards the Mona Lisa.

Catalyst Part 2

We learned so many great things at Catalyst. I thought It might be nice to share a bit of what I learned with you. One of the many great messages we heard was by Reggie McNeal. Here are a few of his thoughts. Think of the church as an airport. Airports are not where you end up, they are not your destination. If they were, they'd all be pretty crappy destinations. Instead, airports are connection points. They get you to where you are going; they are temporary. We must begin to think of the church as a connection point to something much better. The church is not the end destination. When the kingdom is the center of everything we do, thinking of church as a connection point is much easier. A connection point to how relationships are supposed to function. How a family is supposed to function. How a marriage is supposed to function. And the ultimate connection point, Christ. The next time you are in a airport give that some thought.

Catalyst

Had a great week in Atlanta at Catalyst! So many compelling speakers and so much motivating and convicting information. One of my favorite quotes from Reggie McNeal goes like this, "We have tried to get God to bless our vision. It's not our vision...it's God's. We were created to be a part of what is important to him." Caleb and I drank from a fire hydrant of information for 3 days straight. It was great, but so exhausting. Can't wait to go next year!

Romans

I have been loving going through Romans with our staff. I have a great commentary on it and it has some great insight. One of our favorites though had to be the version which he quotes the scriptures in the commentary itself. Here is Romans 12:1-2--I love this!
Brothers, I call upon you, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies to Him, a living, consecrated sacrifice, well-pleasing to God--for that is the only kind of worship which is truly spiritual. And do not shape your lives to meet the fleeting fashions of this world; but be transformed from it, by the renewal of your mind, until the very essence of your being is altered, so that, in your own life, you may prove that the will of God is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

I love the translation, "the very essence of your being is altered". Made it so real for me. Hope there is some encouragement there for you.

Assumptions

I've been thinking a lot about communication-how to do it most effectively, what that entails, and how I can get better at it. One of the things that Court and I have talked about recently was how assumptions fit into effective communication. I will try and make this as clear as possible. When I am talking to someone about a certain topic, and they assume that I don't know something about that topic (when I actually might), and they begin to feed me the information as if I didn't know it, it clouds the effectiveness of our communication. I hope this makes sense. Have you ever been in a conversation, and you were both trying to say the same thing, but were both saying it in very different ways? That's what I'm talking about. I think this is where I could get much better at communicating more effectively-choosing the right words, in the right order, so that across the board (no matter who you are talking too), they do not assume something different than the message you are trying to get across. I think I say, "That's what I meant." way too often. What are your biggest communication frustrations?

Relationship before preference

If you think about your closest relationships and how they came to be, more than likely it was relationship before preference. You became good friends with them because it just clicked. You have a ton in common, your personalities compliment each other, and they probably bring out the best in you. Over time, you begin to learn each others preferences-what really bothers or excites them. For other people, those things are annoyances or difficult to understand, but you understand them perfectly because of the relationship that you have formed. For you, there is no list of rights and wrongs that you need to please your friend by. Maybe you see where this is going. Christ wants a relationship with us first. Out of the relationship building process, understanding and fulfilling preferences flow naturally from within us. Sounds simple, but so many of us say and still believe (through our actions), "List first, relationship second." Try relationship first this week, I'm sure you won't regret it.

Inadequate

I feel like God has been teaching me a lesson. I know I have said this before but in the last few days and weeks I feel that God has really been trying to impress this on my heart. No matter how many righteous acts I do, no matter how many things I "get right", no matter how humbled I may feel or be, no matter how well or not well I lead discussion in my small group, it will never be enough. Even on my best of days, my inadequacy is more than I will ever be able to make up for. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags to God". No matter how many rules we try to keep to feel good about ourselves, our hope must always be in Jesus' perfection through the cross. I love this statement by Matt Chandler, "Our hope must never be in our moral expectation, but only in the cross of Christ". I will finish with a statement from Paul, "What a wretched man I am...Who will rescue me from this body of death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Context

Everything we do is about the right context. The story of the woman giving all she had in Luke 21 seems out of context. A purple cow (thanks to Seth Godin) in a field of all black and white cows seems out of context. Me talking about engineering or computer programming on this blog would seem out of context. But, if we knew that Jesus was actually not talking about giving, and that he was talking about the hypocrisy of a religious system it makes much more sense. Or we said the purple cow was actually an advertisement for a purple shoe, or engineering was talked about on this blog because I had interviewed a Christian engineer it all comes in to context. Christianity/scripture/religion, in the wrong context, seems all too wrong. People are becoming more devoted to putting back in the right context. What ways do you see Christianity/scripture/religion in the wrong context?

Labor Day

Kind of a bummer in the morning-we had a funeral yesterday at Mayfair of a longtime member who had not been coming recently due to her health. But it got better in the afternoon...kind of. Courtney and I recently started P90X with my brother and sister in-law (no i will not post before and after pictures) so yesterday we did it a second time. I am the sorest (sp?) I have ever been in my life. We also went to Chick-fil-a to get a free Chicken sandwich. The only "college team" shirt Court had was, Harvard. Kinda funny. How was your labor day spent?

Celebration at the End of Genesis

We have finished Genesis in our Sunday morning class! It was a great study of God, his people, and how that impacts us today. Someone suggested that for our celebration everyone should come dressed up as their favorite Genesis character the next week for class. Well, we did. Bet you can't guess who is who?

Fear and Faith

Caleb and I were talking about this yesterday and I wanted to see what everyone else thought about it. As we were talking this came out, "Faith doesn't exist without fear." Here is a bit of prompting. Having the faith that we proclaim obviously isn't easy. There is something that holds us back from really acting on that faith. Acting in the way that God has called us to act. By acting i don't mean "doing the right thing", more along the lines of, acting in faith, or living in faith (hope this makes sense). When was the last time you acted in faith? So much so, you leaped out in faith and couldn't see the bottom, but had faith that God would catch you. So back to the original question. Does faith exist without fear?

YA Meeting

Thanks so much to everyone who attended the meeting tonight/last night. Thanks to everyone who participated. I know God was in that meeting and God will continue to work at Mayfair. A special thanks to Jeff for answering our questions honestly and taking a huge risk that I believe will have great rewards.

Organization

I'm trying to get more organized. I'm putting a white board up in my office to write to do items and not to do items on. I would love suggestions. How do you get/stay organized?

Viral Video

This video is hilarious. I'm sure some of you have seen it. Good stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

Psalms 34:8-10

This is an awesome verse I read right before worship yesterday. The man who fears God, LACKS NOTHING. The rest of the chapter is really encouraging as well, but this verse jumped out at me. Lacks nothing! The discouraging part is, I will never be able to fear God enough to not lack anything (hope that made sense). But the best part is, Jesus in his perfection, makes up for everything I lack! Praise God.

Passion-Communication

I am passionate about communication.
This, I believe, is the crux of a healthy thriving church. Without communication, unity will be stifled. Without communication, passions cannot be expressed. I cannot express this enough-A group cannot know a leaders thought’s and intentions unless they are spoken in a clear and understandable way. One may have the best of intentions, and may have the best possible answer to the current circumstances, but if the answer is not communicated clearly, and often, the group will be confused. Without good, meaningful, direct communication, marriages die. Without good, meaningful, direct communication, churches die. If a church is to be healthy, it must have honest and clear communication-this cannot be overlooked.

Passion-Church

I am passionate about simplicity.
When church becomes too complicated, the gospel is watered down. Too many ministries, programs, committees and meetings, can take our focus from where we know it should ultimately be.

Passion-21st Century

I am passionate about becoming the church in the 21st century.
We will not reach people if we are striving to be “exactly” like the 1st century church. Let me clarify. This does not mean we abandon what the 1st century did. It does not mean we abandon the things the 1st century church believed. It does mean, however, we use whatever means we have available to help us to reach people in a culturally relevant way as I believe scripture teaches the 1st century church did.

Passion-Unity

I am passionate about unity.
I believe if people have a unified vision, goal, and attitude, nothing can stop them from accomplishing what God has place upon their heart. This will only happen if all are willing to stand together - ALL! Once there is a wavering from anyone, this model breaks down. As Margret Mead says, “Never doubt that a small group of committed thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it is all that ever has.”

I am passionate-Series

I had quite a bit of thinking time at camp and decided to write about things that I am passionate about. So this week will be a few of the things I am passionate about. On any of these posts, I would love to hear what you are passionate about. I do not claim to be perfect in any of these areas but I strive be better and push others to do the same. Here's a start.
I am passionate about leadership. I am passionate about leaders leading. People who are in leadership positions must have passion for what they lead. Without passion leadership means nothing. Actions speak louder than words. It doesn’t matter what one says, it doesn't matter how many different ways one tries to communicate, if actions are not joined with words, trust is lost. This is much the same in the Christian faith. If one only has faith and no action they are no Christian at all. And in the same way, if one only has action and no faith they are no Christian either. Leader’s words require action. However, one’s actions are seen by all - intentions are not. Leaders lead by actions.

The Last Two Weeks

This has been a crazy last two weeks. I have been at Camp Blue Haven and had a great time getting to know the other teachers better and influencing lots of campers lives. I was in Nashville the last half of the week to watch my sister get married. It was a great time to see family and to see how much the congregation there loves my sister. It was a much needed time of rejuvenation and I am glad to be back in the office with some great friends. As a side note, I opened my office today and there was a frenzy of strings and encouragement. Thanks so much to anyone who contributed and know that the Young Adults class means so much to Court and I-we have made some of our best friends here.

A New Voice

I don't know how many of you were at the Youth led services on Sunday night, but you missed a great service. One of them had never led singing before-ever, and he did a great job. But for me the highlight of the night was Caleb's message. In short it was this. We, in the Churches of Christ, preach a gospel of form and not faith. We are known for what we don't do and not for what we do. That is, proclaim the message of Christ through love, not explain with words. That is a very short synopsis of what he preached on, but I just wanted to give you a glimpse. When he speaks again, you will want to make sure and be there.

Tom Boker

I went to a funeral yesterday for one of my Dad's really good friends-Tom Boker. If you have ever visited Memorial Road you were probably greeted by him. He was a Deacon there and there was about 500 people at the service. It was a great funeral with a lot of singing and celebration of his life. He was touted as the unofficial ambassador of Memorial Road. It was an inspiring time as I listened to stories of how he would keep a box of bibles in his trunk and give them to people he met. It also made me realize how much I love my own grandparents and that I don't spend enough time with them as it is. After great celebrations like that, I am reminded of the hope we have as Christians in a new life with Christ-here on this earth and in heaven. A hope that no other religion can offer.

Site for the week-Surface

Well, its not really a website. More like a new technology. It is called Microsoft Surface. Here is a great demo-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxk_WywMTzc

Camp

Here are a few observations I took from camp this week-mostly class time.

1. It doesn't matter how emphatically you talk to middle school boys, if your content is not condensed and simple to remember, it will be forgotten.
2. Acronyms don't work.
3. More than one scripture in a lesson is confusing.
4. There is no reason why the entire class can't be interactive.

There is my rant for camp bible classes. Overall it was a really good week. My kids were great and we had a really good time. There was a lot of great activities and by the end of the week we were all exhausted. I would do it again, but I am glad it was only 3 days long.

Eating your peas

Tonight we had our young adults bible study. In the month of June we looked at how the public reading of scripture has been devalued over the last few hundred years. I would argue, especially in evangelical christian circles. Long story short, we decided to make the point of coming together tonight, reading. This may not sound like the ideal bible study. In fact, it was equated to "eating your peas" (or whatever vegetable you hated as a child). So For about 25 minutes we read 7 chapters in 1 Corinthians. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. I thought I was going to fight boredom, sleep, drifting thoughts and so on. Really I don't know why I am so surprised that I didn't. I don't know why I didn't have faith that the Holy Spirit would work through us reading the Holy word of God. In some countries, just having a bible in your possession will get you killed. Think about what is actually happening in reading the word of God-we are proclaiming a totally different lifestyle. We are telling the world that we believe in the one true God just as the 1st century church did. It may take a while for the church to realize that the public reading of scripture, in my opinion, is just as important as the sermon or singing. It may be that we have to "eat our peas" for a little while. And maybe just maybe, we might grow to like them. Peas anyone?

Hi Speed Cameras

Just for a little fun, type in Hi speed Camera on youtube. There are some great videos on there. Not all painful one's either.

Wave Pool

I was at a neighborhood pool yesterday babysitting some of our friend's kids. As the kids were playing, one of the older ones started making a wave pool asking all the other kids to grab a kickboard and join in. Next thing you know, every kid in the pool was bobbing up and down and splashing as hard as they could. Wave pools are a blast; especially if you are 5-13 year old (Court tells me I fit right in). A few things about wave pools-Anyone can help make the waves, and most of the time that's everyone. Wave pools aren't sustainable for very long. Wave pools can only happen if there are a lot of people in the pool and they all agree to do the same thing. I say we make a wave pool at Mayfair. Got a kickboard?

Being Faithful

To be faithful as God has been faithful to us, proves to be much more difficult than it sounds-especially in this human flesh. Most of us are very familiar with Israel's story. God chooses them to be the people that show his power/grace/omnipotence to others. But as we all know, they fail time and time again. Other people fail us. The church, heaven forbid, sometimes fails us. But we are called to be faithful to Christ. That means showing the love of Christ when others fail you. That means being faithful to Christ, and all that it encompasses, when others fail you. As God was faithful to Israel, sometimes this means doing something you are completely uncomfortable with. This means standing up for what you know is right. This means teaching the truth in love, even if it means letting that relationship, "wander in the desert for 40 years", because you know it will do more harm than good to continue in it. May God give us wisdom and discernment as we strive to be faithful to the calling of Christ.

Standards

Standards are changing. We expect customer service to be great. We expect great quality food. We expect that our car will not break down. The standards for everything are becoming much greater. Not just services, but businesses/churches/schools/government. All of these are constantly trying to improve. We are not okay with how things are now. In fact, we will probably never be okay with how things are now (whenever that may be). Has the church done this? Is the church trying to raise it's standards (I'm not talking about us individually, but what the church looks like to the community)? Do you believe the community sees us as constantly trying to improve? I'm not sure I know the answer so I would love to hear what you guys think.

Giant Ice Cream Cookie

So Katie, Caleb and I went to Elephant Bar to meet Jeff Bonney for lunch yesterday. One of Katie's favorite reasons to go to Elephant Bar is the Giant Ice Cream Cookie. If you have not partaken of this cookie it is about 10,000 calories big and amazing! As we were talking to our waitress, Jill, Katie mentioned that she might just skip lunch and go straight for the cookie. Jill informed us that they were switching menus and the Giant Ice Cream Cookie was no longer available. We were distraught, downtrodden and then beat our chests and poured ashes on our heads as we mourned. After we finished mourning, we continued to give Jill a hard time informing her that the Giant Ice Cream Cookie was probably the best thing they had on the menu. Katie said something to the effect of, "Olivia (her baby's name), really wanted the Giant Ice Cream Cookie today." With which Jeff responded, "yeah, don't mess with a pregnant lady." Long story short, we ended up with a Giant Ice Cream Cookie at the end of our meal. However, the Giant Ice Cream Cookie did not come from Elephant Bar. Jill informed us that she had called her husband and asked him to go look for some Giant size cookies around town! And he did it! Imagine that phone call, "Honey, there is a pregnant lady that really wants a Giant Ice Cream Cookie and we stopped serving that here. Can you go buy some cookies so we can make this?" Unbelievable! We also found out that it was Jill's second day on the job and they are new to the city! Needless to say, I will be calling the manager and singing Jill's praises (not literally). Jill and her husband are also looking for a new church and said they will probably be attending Mayfair at some point. Make sure and say hi. What a great day.

Repentance

"When I am weak, then I am made strong" These are Paul's words in 2 Cor 12:10. As I read chapter 12, something hit me. Being frustrated leads to repentance. That may not be a mind blowing statement for some of you, but for me it was forming. I realized, that frustration leads to a bad attitude. A bad attitude to anger. Anger to impure thoughts. Ultimately, those thoughts lead to sin. I realized, this is actually a good thing (obviously, I am not saying that it is a good thing when we sin). When I sin, I know I need to repent. I have been made weak. Paul's words flooded my thoughts, "When I am weak, then I am made strong." I have heard those words hundreds of times, but this time, the cycle of frustration to repentance happened in just a few hours. Wow! "When I am weak, then I am made strong!" For me to become who I am to be in Christ, it takes those frustrating moments. It takes being angry. It takes knowing that I need to repent. Because, in those moments, as frustrating as they may be, we are made strong! This week, when you become frustrated and weary, know that repentance is near and you will be a better person for it on the other side.

The Box Doodle Project

To see some really cool cardboard boxes check this out
http://www.neu-e.de
It is a side-scrolling website so the scroll bar is at the bottom.

Thought for the Day-Feelings

When someone is not good at something, and I mean really not good at it, but for some reason have been told otherwise their entire life, what do you do? Do you spare them the embarrassment and tell them, crushing their spirit? Or do you stand by and watch, counting the seconds/days until they are done/finished? Would love to here some of your experiences.

What would you do if....

That is the title of the latest book I just finished reading by Henry Yoder. The question he attempts to answer is, "What would you do if someone was attacking your wife/sister/mother/father?" Would you retaliate? Would you meet violence with violence? Or would you find a more creative way to foil the attackers plan? Much of the book talks about a Christian's answer to violence. Honestly, I had not thought about pacifism much and for a good portion of the book and was baffled by his answer to violence-nonetheless a Christian's answer to violence. There was a point in reading the book however, when my attitude changed. He argues simply that, we are to show the love of Christ to others as he showed to us. That may sound dirt simple, and in theory it is. But when speaking of violence/war it becomes much more difficult. I'd love to know some of your thoughts on pacifism. What do you think a Christian's response to war should be? What should a christian response to violence look like?

Bible Study this Summer

So I thought we might do something a little different for bible study this summer. Since we are only having two meetings a month, it will be difficult to have an on going study the entire summer. So instead of doing a book, or a book of the bible, or even a video series, I thought we might a do a study of some of the christian disciplines-prayer, scripture and the Lord's supper. Looking at them from the perspectives of what it really meant to the Israelites, Jews, and the NT church. How they were performed, where they were performed, what the purpose of them was, and what it meant to them at that time. We will learn about them the first week, and the second week, we will spend time doing each one. First week, for example, we will learn about prayer from the OT/NT perspective , and the second week we will spend 30 minutes or so praying. The first bible study is June 11th at our house. Hope to see you guys there.

AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

This website is hilarious! Some great, really awkward, family photos.

Vertical

Tomorrow we will start a new quarter on Wednesday nights. We are going to spend some time of focused praise and worship, with some thoughts on why we worship, and what it means to worship. Afterward we are going to have some snacks and hangout. We are calling this time Vertical. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I wanted to clear things up. Here are the names it is not-Horizontal, Parallel, Altitude, Perpendicular, Corresponding or Analogous. It's Vertical.

Joseph the Dreamer

Yesterday I was beaten down and encouraged again by the story of Joseph. Cocky and prideful as a youth, but humbled by an uncontrollable set of circumstances. Through all of his uncontrollable circumstances (being thrown in a well, sold to slaves, Potipher's wife) he continued to do the right thing. All the while, God blessed everything he did. Joseph must have thought his dreams were not going how he had envisioned them going. I often feel, "This is not how I had pictured this". All the while, God is saying, "Just trust me. Have faith. Be my Child". Things always seem to work out, most of the time going much better than I could have envisioned. More often than not I feel the pain, the uneasiness, and the unknown, is not worth it. The pain of going through the valley, the pain of growing, the pain of change seems to wear my spirit thin. What limited vision we have. What a lack of faith we have. But in spite of all those thoughts, I take comfort in knowing that, Joseph had a God given dream and still probably wasn't sure it was ever going to come true. In fact, Joseph had 12 brothers that were trying to make sure it wouldn't come true. So whatever dreams you have, whatever vision you have for you life, or whatever you don't know right now, know that through an uncontrollable set of circumstances, you might just get there.

Encouraged

Lately, I have been reading a lot more about churches that are making concerted efforts to truly be the body of Christ. For example, some are offering their buildings to new church plants when they are not using them. Churches of differing denominations funding and building a new house, and giving it to a well deserving family. Many large community churches are now putting free resources on the web for others that may not be able to afford it. Despite our differing belief systems, the church is striving to be the "body" of Christ-each one playing it's role. I'm excited for what God is doing/going to do through his church.

New Music

I am always looking for new people to listen too. Lately however, I have been stuck listening to Derek Webb. I love his stuff. Any suggestions?

Are we good CHRISTians?

I love this thought/story from Francis Chan. He tells a story about a friend of his, Dan, that went to Tijuana, Mexico with Pastor Von. Pastor Von has spent years ministering to a community there in Mexico. As they were walking through the streets and Dan was watching pastor Von minister to the people in this community, Dan realized that if Jesus was still on earth, this is what he would be doing. As Dan was telling this story to Francis, he said this, "The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus". This is when it hit Francis, "I could be the best, most popular, well liked pastor in the world, and have the most passion for telling people about Jesus, but if my life doesn't reflect Christ's, it means nothing." What a challenging statement! When was the last time you said that about someone-"_____ was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus". When was the last time someone said that of you? Our lives should so reflect that of Christ's, that we can boast as Paul did in 1 Cor 11-"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ". May God give us wisdom and courage to live like Christ.

Thought for the Day-The Gospel

I have been coming back to this thought a lot lately and think it is so pertinent to who we are as a church. The church is not called to be a part of the culture. We are called to be anti-cultural. We are called to be different than what is happening around us. Instead of making our focus to be seeker friendly, or our building cool we should really be focused on preaching the message of Christ and "being" the church (as opposed to "doing" church). We plant the seed, and God will provide the growth. I think there is a definite need to be relevant to our culture but we don't have to be like our culture. If the church isn't offending someone, we probably aren't doing our job.

People Highlight-Caleb Foster

If you have been here the past few weeks you would know that we just hired a new youth minister-Caleb Foster. I had the privilege of getting to know Caleb through summer singers when I was subbing for their guitar player one semester. I am really excited about working with Caleb. It has already been great having another mind to bounce ideas off of. If you have the chance make sure and introduce yourself to Caleb and his wife Roxanne.

Living Offensively

Obviously, I am not talking about living to offend people (although I feel that is some people's mission in life). This is more about offense and defense. Just a quick question to pose. Do you live to not lose? Or, do you live to win? There is a big difference. What are you doing to actively pursue God's will for you life? Instead, are you waiting, hoping that God will reveal it to you? We must take action. Indecision, is actually a decision. You are choosing not to decide. What is it in your life that you know God is calling you to be more proactive about but you are to afraid to fail. You are just waiting for one more sign..."if you would only...","...then I will...". We must be willing to fail. We must be willing to live life on the offense. This week, I dare you to not wait for another sign. I dare you to decide to do whatever that one thing is that you know God is calling you to do. I dare you to live offensively.

Site for the Week-New Magazine

Here is a new magazine I stumbled on through another blog. Great design, super simple, good stuff. www.seeingtheeveryday.com

Question-Hilarity

Wanted to get everyone's feedback about Hilarity-our game night. We had great attendance last summer and were thinking maybe we could do it again, just this summer. What do you guys think? We would try and do it at people's houses maybe three times this summer.

Funerals

I just went to a funeral yesterday for my great aunt. Funny story-I didn't actually know that she was my aunt until a few years ago. Her name was Elaine Putnam. We called her, "Aunt Elaine". But when you say it fast, it sounds like, Ann-Elaine. So, to me, that was her name-Ann-Elaine. Just a few years back, my sister informed my brother and I that she was in fact, our great "Aunt" Elaine. I'm a dummy.
It was a beautiful funeral. We sang, we cried, we laughed, and most of all we rejoiced that she is in a better place. I have attended two really great funerals in the last couple of months, and both I have been privileged to be a part of. Maybe this is a bit morbid, but, I'm kind of jealous of Aunt Elaine. I had to lead a song that I didn't know yesterday at the funeral-Hand in Hand with Jesus. Maybe it's a bit cheesy and old school, but life will be so much easier that way.

Site for the Week

Thisiswhyyourefat.com-A quick disclaimer-this is not what is sounds like. Just some pictures of some really disgusting food. Good stuff.

Would you rather...

While starving on a desert island, eat a live moth with a body the size of a tomato worm and wing span four inches, or eat a dead hummingbird with the feathers? Disgusting

Thought for the Day-Hit and Run

Last night a buddy of mine and I were picking our wives up from the airport and witnessed a hit and run. It had to be one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I have had in a while. When it actually happened we thought about stopping to see if everyone was okay but luckily we didn't because we ended up getting the car's tag. I really hope the people that were hit were okay. We drove back by and they were gone so we assumed all was well. We happened to be in the right place at the right time and hopefully, justice will be served. I would love to hear about some of your, "in the right place at the right time", stories.

Benj and Lana Clark

Occupations: Contrary to popular belief, I am not a policeman nor a firefighter (sorry Jacob and Penny!) I am Curator of Education at the Oklahoma Historical Society. This means I work with teachers and kids and teach a lot of Oklahoma History to folks. I also do a lot of research and writing for educational materials and exhibits. Lana keeps the office of Pitt and Forrester Vision Source running smoothly. She has been there for a couple months now, I think, and enjoys discovering that the human eye is pretty interesting.

Hobbies: Lana crafts and cooks and does both very well. She does a lot of paper crafts, but is also interested in sewing and painting. I like books. I love to read, I collect books, I talk about books and write for the Fine Books & Collections Magazine blog.

Meet: We met at York College in York , NE. I grew up in Nebraska , Lana grew up in Montana .

Married: 6 ½ years (almost). It’ll be 7 years Nov. 30^th.

Pet-Peeve: Not making fresh coffee when you take the last cup (at work). Not a big fan of Oklahoma ’s closed primary elections. The biggest one: Daylight savings time. Don’t even get me started.

Baptism or Belief?

This is something that has really been on my heart lately and I think it is such a huge issue today in the religious world. The community church says that baptism is how we show publicly our belief in Christ. The Churches of Christ say that baptism is the way by which we are saved. The community church makes a fairly big deal about believing in the Christ, and belittles baptism (this is obviously a generalization). The Churches of Christ, I believe, build baptism up to be the end all, and we don't talk much about the belief aspect of our salvation. Why can't we have both? I believe the Church of Christ has a lot to add this conversation. Are we as a church perfect? Not by any means. What I would like to argue is that "belief" in and of itself, is just as important and necessary as the act of baptism. If you read through the scriptures you would find that "belief" is always accompanied by baptism with few exceptions. In fact, one might could argue that Jesus dealt more with belief than he did baptism. The roman centurion wanting Jesus to heal his daughter-Jesus says this, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." The leper, the woman who touched Jesus garment, the men who lowered their friend through the roof to be healed-there are so many accounts where people "believed" and were healed! We must remember in the first century it was blasphemous to "believe" in a king other than Caesar. That to "believe" in Christ was to risk your life. To say what you thought to be right, to change your lifestyle to mesh with what you believed, to tell your friends about it, was to say the Roman government was wrong. Baptism or belief? I believe both of these to be indispensable equals in talking about salvation.

Site for the Week

Check out todaysbigthing.com-Some pretty good videos on there.

Completely Miserable

I have been reading the OT lately, specifically 1 Samuel. There are so many great stories in this book. There are some even better applications for our lives, and implications of who God is and how he works. As Samuel is getting older, he appoints his sons to judge Israel. They are no good, and the rest of the nation begins crying out for a King, because they do not believe God to be good enough. Here is the good part. Samuel tells God what is going on and God says, "listen to them". Shocking! Furthermore, God knows this new king will make all of Israel completely miserable, and tells Samuel to make that very clear. Of course, Israel falls again. I think this story gives us a little insight into how God thinks. It shows, that even if entire nation wants one thing, it might not always be the best. It shows that God, in his infinite wisdom, might just give you what you selfishly want, knowing that you are going to be completely miserable. What's worse about this scenario, is God might actually tell you that you are going to completely miserable. Just like Israel, we will learn a valuable lesson. And just like Israel, we might be completely miserable, but we are still, and will always be God's chosen people.

Thought of the Day

Social justice has become a very prominent issue in the church in the past few years. What is the church supposed to do about it? Are we to be involved? What is our role? First, I would like to pose that social justice is an oxymoron. Social justice implies that we, the church, are in a separate class, that we don't need it, that it is only for, "those people over there"(thanks to Scot McKnight for the thought). Not so. We are a part of the system, we are the people that need justice. This indeed is why Christ came-for our justification.

Would you rather...

Would you rather live without music or internet? Tough one.

First Post

This is my first venture into the blogging world. I've been a little hesitant about starting one but finally took the dive. Looking forward to hearing from everyone!