The Seducing of God

Before I get burnt at the stake or heresy for saying God seduces, let me say this: God seduces, but not for fornication, rather for a deep, intimate love that can only be gotten after said seduction.

You see, God desires us. He doesn't need us, we don't fulfill him, we don't (as Jerry Maguire puts it) "Complete Him" yet he still wants us to Himself. As I continue to walk the road of life, I see how God seduces, woos and calls me to Himself.

One of the ways he seduces me is by conviction. I both love and hate it when I am convicted of my wretched sinfulness. I love it, because I know it is God's Holy Spirit inside me, repulsed at the sin, yet calling my heart back to God. However, I hate it, because it leaves me feeling horrible for letting God down and sometimes I allow Satan access to shame me. I truly believe conviction isn't meant to be "Shame on You" said by the Holy Spirit, but rather God saying: "Son/Daughter, you are off the track, it's wrong, harmful and dangerous to be there. Let go of that trash and embrace me once again". It's harsh language to be sure, but not shame. Satan is the one who comes in and takes our sinfulness and shames us with it.

I had one of those moments the other day, reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. He talks about being obsessed with Christ, making Him the epicenter of your life and I realized that there has been no obsession with Christ in my life by any means. Francis simply outlined what it would look like if a person were 100% obsessed with Christ and it was pretty bold, amazing and convicting.

"I do want to want God" in this way (A.W. Tozer). I am glad that he seduces me, yet he gives me the choice to choose into his pursuit, or slap his hand for trying. Our God is a seducing, pursuing God, who relentlessly loves us. So many times, we choose away from Him. Let's decide to allow ourselves to be seduced by an amazingly loving, just God!

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The American Patriot's Almanac

"Patriotism means "love for country." The word comes from the Latin pater, meaning "father." Loving your homeland is just as natural as loving your father or mother---after all, your country nourishes you, protects you and in many ways makes you who you are. Just as it's virtue to honor your parents, it's a good and admirable thing to honor the land you call home" (page vii).

The above statement is in my opinion, the answer to "why this book?" The authors had a clear cut understanding of what this book was for and why they thought it was important to be written. The book has amazing historical facts, all set up for daily readings. Month by month, day by day there are historical accounts that happened on each day of the year. When reading some of the accounts, you hearken back to history class and remember how excited you felt at learning about certain tense historical moments, you hold your breath at the enthralling stories that are unfolded (or re-unfolded) to you as you read. Some accounts are mere tidbits, but some are deeply revealing of our countries history. My favorite of all the entries in this book comes right after the month of April. On pages 138-150 the entry is titled: Fifty All-American Movies. It takes 50 movies (some old and some recent) and explains how they in one way or another are defining films of American culture, life and thought. Being a movie guy, I was impressed by the choices and the knowledge the authors bring to the table on why they are "All-American" films.
The book is set up in a daily reading format. For me, it is extremely reminiscent of daily devotional readings (which made me feel uneasy...devotions of American History?). Each entry is extremely well written, thought out and interesting. The key thing that strikes me as most interesting is that each day has a historical event that happened in our history on that exact day.
The audience for this book is anyone who deeply enjoys history. I'll admit had I not been a book reviewer, I wouldn't have this book on my shelf. I like history, but I am not dedicated to knowing it to the degree of reading a book daily to learn tidbits of historical information, no matter how well written, interesting or fun they may be.
If you or a loved one you know ADORES history, this book is a MUST buy! It also integrates faith into the stories and doesn't shy away from a Christian overlying heartbeat. Which for me was enjoyable because most history books or books on history steer clear from any religious tone. If you don't enjoy history at all, don't bother buying this book, it will only become a dust collector on your shelf.


Lastly, I am intrigued at Thomas Nelson's choice at publishing a book on American History. I suppose it is due to the Christian tone of the writing and the knowledge that such a well written book on U.S. History would sell extremely well. I'm not knocking them, or criticizing in anyway, because making money is part of any business (Christian or otherwise) and if you think differently about that, you are a fool. It doesn't need to be the focus mind you, but if you aren't making money, your losing it and soon won't be able to continue to produce ANYTHING.
I guess, I simply desire to know the reasons why they took on the book.


If you would like to Purchase this book for yourself or gift, go here or click on the picture:

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595552677

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Year End Books!

This year was a year full of books for me and I wanted to share the great Christian/inspirational books I've read, as well as the fantastic fantasy books I've read!

Great Christian/Inspiration books:

Velvet Elvis- By Rob Bell (Zondervan)

Sex God- By Rob Bell (Zondervan)

To Own a Dragon- By Don Miller (NavPress)

Searching For God Knows What- By Don Miller (Thomas Nelson)

They Like Jesus, But Not The Church- By Dan Kimball (Zondervan)

Wild Goose Chase- By Mark Batterson (Multnomah)

The Shack- By William Young

Vintage Jesus- By Mark Driscoll (Crossway)

Confessions of a Reformission Rev- By Mark Driscoll (Zondervan)

Traveling Light- By Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson)

The Great Divorce- By C.S. Lewis (Zondervan/Harper Collins)

The Weight of Glory- By C. S. Lewis (Harper One)

Lord, Save us From Your Followers- By Dan Merchant (Thomas Nelson)


Incredible Fantasy Books:

The Dragon King Trilogy- By Stephen R. Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)

The King Raven Trilogy- By Stephen R. Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)

Brisingr (book 3 of the Inheritance Cycle)- By Christopher Paolini (Random House)

Dragon Heir (book 3 in the Heir Trilogy)- By Cinda Chima (Hyperion)

Pride of Lions (Sequel to Brian Boru)- By Morgan Llywelyn (Tor)



These books are all worth a read! These are my 2008 recommendations. Let's see what 2009 brings in the way of books!

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Teens and Sexting

Teens and sexuality has been a topic for decades. The latest fad of teen sexual expression has been a fad that has been around for at least 2 years. SEXTING. I've been talking about this issue with my youth leaders for well over a year, and the problem has only grown. With the ease of text messaging, we've seen teens flocking to texting. You can text in school and not get caught, texting plans can be cheaper than regular plans and teens seem to do all of their communication in 140 characters or less. Sexting is the sending nude or semi-nude photos of oneself via text messaging. A way of having "safe sex" via texting if you will. This lie of it being safe has been one of the many reasons why teens have been sucked into it.

Being a Youth Pastor, I'm not naive enough to think my students are doing it...in fact I would guess that at least 10% have done it or have seen it done (that is a MODEST estimation).

With the inception of text-plans, sexting has increased dramatically and sadly it is a fad that has only increased in appeal and use.

You may have heard of Vanessa Hudgens sending nude photos of herself to her boyfriend via e-mail...that event in my mind served as a huge catalyst that only PERPETUATED this problem. In fact I would argue that her decision to do that opened the doors of young teen girls everywhere to thinking it's OK. Here a young TV/movie star, sending out nude photos of herself, getting publicity for it and boys across America googling her nude photo could in fact seem attractive to young teen girls who are uncomfortable in their skin, seeking the approval of boys.

The affect on teen boys and the way they relate to their girlfriends after this event is also a big issue. I can only too well hear teen boys saying: "Hey Vanessa send nude photos to her boyfriend. We've been dating a month now...if you loved me, you'd text me some too!"

I'm NOT being over-dramatic either, I'm being serious! The things that celebrities do, shapes the way teens live their lives.

I'm sad to see that teen girls are giving in and teen guys are putting pressure to sext. This will have HUGE implications on our teens in the coming future. The porn industry is probably cheering this on, because soon these boys and girls who weren't meant to see a nude body yet, will soon desire more. They will want to see girls/guys masturbating, having live sex and it will skyrocket the use of pornography in our country 10-fold. More infidelity will slowly creep into the picture, more sex, more babies and more STD's.

This is the problem we face. How can we answer these issues? What can we do to fight this battle as parents/youth leaders/ youth pastors? I think it starts with trust. Can we cultivate with these teens an atmosphere of trust where they will willingly discuss these issues with us? I think we need to dialogue with CLEAR heads about these issues. I think the worse thing to do is to sneak in and find the pictures, the ground the teen from here till eternity. It's hard to not snap and go crazy. If a teen would've said to me: "I sexted my boyfriend/girlfriend. He/she saw all of me and it was fun!" I would have the definite urge to flip-out, tell the parents, call the cops and break his/her cell phone right there! Punishment will be a NECESSARY piece to this puzzle, but dialogue is just as important if not more important. Teens need to know the dangers, implications and the future results of such behavior.

How do we do that? I want this blog to be an open forum of discussion on this. It is HUGE. How can we punish, yet dialogue about sexting and other teen sexuality problems? How can we share with teens the importance of chastity, both in the act of and in this fad of texting?

Here are some GREAT articles about sexting. Please read them so you can further your nowledge on this issue facing teens today:

http://cpyu.org/Page.aspx?id=366143

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/11/25/sexting/


PS: You can Google "sexting" and tons more articles will appear. LET'S DISCUSS!

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A Swift Kick in the BUTT

Recently, I've been re-reading an amazing book titled: A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards. I was told I needed to re-read it by a great friend and mentor, because he noticed that I could use the lessons the books teaches yet again. In total fairness, he's 100% correct. I was in the wrong on something and he called me out on it. I both hate and love it when he does this. I hate it because my biggest fear in life has been doing the wrong thing which stems from a need to please people, which God is also calling out of me. However, I also love it, because I know the end result of being called out on your crap will always lead to a healthier me. Which translates into a better man of God, husband, youth pastor and friend. The process of working it through can definitely be an arduous and odious task...but it is all worth it in the end.

Anyways, back to the book. I am half-way through it already (only 96 pages not a feat to be recognized) and have been challenged both in what my friend was discussing with me and in many other ways.

This quote I read the other night was a swift kick in the butt for me: "What does the world need: Gifted men, outwardly empowered? OR broken men, inwardly transformed?"

This quote rocked me in two ways: the first, I've been dealing with for about 3 years now. I like to think of myself as someone who will be big someday. I think inwardly that I'm the man, a great communicator and someone important. I want everyone to like me and when someone doesn't I brush them off as stupid, because how could the not like "this" (points to self). You may say that's horrendous, you may be appalled and I say: "I am too, that's why I'm working on it". I know I am an arrogant man who probably doesn't have talent, who needs to be smacked upside the head a couple times and realize he's small-time chump-change. This reality is a difficult one for me (I am being 100% genuine and admitting this is hard for me), because I desire to be someone of importance...even if I'm not skilled enough a piece of me hopes the world won't notice, so I can have some fun in the sun of the spotlight.

This quote rocked me, because it pinpointed the SIN, and the PROBLEM within my own heart with these desires (Jim, I hope you're reading this). I had no desire for my heart to be transformed...simply my outward gifts. I wasn't asking God: "Change my heart" and if I was it came with the end tag line of "...so I can be somebody Big someday". My desires have had nothing to do with transformation of my heart to his, but simply everything to do with being somebody.

The second way it kicked my BUTT is that it made me come to the point of saying to God: I want a broken, transformed heart for the sole purpose of being inwardly transformed. I desire what YOU want for my life, not what I want for my life.

Just so you know, I am in the process of being BROKEN...so this book and this quote are timely for me. I think my friend and mentor knew that too, thus why he told me to re-read it. My life is being flipped upside down and it's hard. However, pray with me that I will allow God to use this time to call my crap out and make my heart inwardly transformed!

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The Eloquence of Words

I may be a geek, a dork a nerd or what have you but I love words! I love the way words can move you to the core, make you wet yourself with laughter or cry yourself to sleep. The power of words is astounding, horrifying and comforting at the very same moment.

Words are used to illustrate, captivate and motivate. Words are simply powerful. We can't go a day separate from words, for if you don't speak, read, listen or watch...your very thoughts, or prayers uttered in your mind are words.

For all the good words have, they also have the potential to harm, hurt, wound, bruise and even kill. The old adage: "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me" is a lie from the pit of hell! Broken bones WILL HEAL, yet wounds done by the harshness of words can last a lifetime or a tabloid, book or magazine can last for eternity.

I know a girl who was wounded by words. Her world was rocked by words, her heart broken by words and her life altered by words! I know words said to me for good or for ill have stayed with me, shaped me and effected me.

This is the very reason James writes in his book about the tongue, the designer, and user of words.

"Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
(James 3:4-6)

We need to be careful with the eloquence of our words. We need to ask ourselves "how am I using my words?"

I could tell story after story in my own life where I've used words against people, and they've used them against me. As a blogger/writer and as a preacher/teacher I use words a lot, so I especially need to be asking myself that question. This particular verse in James struck me hard about my words and how I speak:

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

(James 1:26)

WOW! My religion will be worthless...my profession of faith and utterance of ugly words of hatred or disgust come from the same mouth, which would then nullify my profession! Thus James says:

"but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be."

(James 3:8-10)

Have we been cursing men lately? Have we as Christians been leading a charge with tame tongues, or tongues out of control? I am not speaking of any particular happenstance, simply asking a question. Taming the tongue DOES go deeper than just the mouth which utters such harsh words, it stems in our hearts. Jesus in Matthew 12: 34b says this: "...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

Jesus calls out our hearts. These are my ramblings, things I've been pondering about my words, about what I say corresponding with what I do and who I am. James challenges me every time I read his words about words. I hope this has challenged you today too!

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The Hardest Thing

Tonight was a very hard night...so hard in fact that I'm up at 12:17am writing this entry. Tonight Marko, my longstanding intern told our teens that this was his last Youth Group.

There is no sin involved, no hard feelings and no punishment. Marko and I are on great terms and love and respect one another like brothers...this was just something God asked him to do.

I respect Marko deeply, because leaving a ministry is the hardest thing. I remember back to when I was an intern and left my internship to take my job here at Living Christ Church. It was much the same as Marko's. I told them on the very night that would be my last, there were tears, there was anger and there was love. Looking a teen in the eyes and saying: "I have to go" is the hardest part of Youth Ministry...so I respect Marko for how he handled it tonight.

Not to neglect or nay-say the hurt feelings of the teens, but out of everyone, I think I will miss Marko the most. A man of courage, authenticity and love (plus a really cool Venezuelan accent)! He was an incredible piece of our team (not just cause he did my "lackey" work either!), and I will always miss his presence in our ministry. I was so effected tonight that my talk sucked...thinking back on it, I probably should've listened to my wife and just not done a talk, but so is life.

Also tonight, I had to let the students know that due to the economic downturn in the U.S., I will be going part-time at the church as well as part-time at Chili's in the Palisades Mall, which will cause the youth ministry in February to change our youth group night from Tuesday nights to Sunday nights. Thankfully they took this bit of news A LOT better than the Marko news. I think they all understood and are ready to take on a different night. It doesn't change much...just the night!

I will be honest though...after tonight I feel sore. It's a spiritual/emotional soreness, because bad news sucks. That soreness is why I'm writing, it helps me put things in perspective, helps me clear my head and helps me put down in words what happened.

To be sure, we will all miss that silly Venezuelan, but I know God will take him to amazing heights in ministry...watch out world, here comes Marko Requena!

Look out Nyack, here comes Impact Youth on Sunday Nights!

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House of Dark Shadows: A Book Review

This book for me is a bunch of mixed feelings. First off, it's not my normal genre of reading, yet it definitely piqued my interest. Let me start with what I didn't like, then I will tarry down the road of what I liked.
The author Robert Liparulo in my opinion works to hard to fit "teen-lingo" into this book. I am a Youth Pastor, so I hang out with teens A LOT and I believe they would agree with me on this point. The tee-lingo which was placed in the book seemed un-natural and forced. The teen who was the video "gamer" only played his PSP 2 or 3 times, neither did he use any "gamer" terms, which if you're going to identify someone as a gamer, they better speak "gamer". Also, the use of "teen words" where they were placed almost seemed like the author was begging for a connection, as if to say the story wasn't engaging enough (which I believe in and of itself it was). If the author was writing this to fit a 14-17 year old, he missed his mark, however if he were attempting to reach a younger teen audience of the 9-12 range, I think his usage of teen words would make that pre-teen feel cool, or "apart of" the story because the misuse of teen words, or plugs for the PSP would excite them rather than turn them off. I am not entirely sure this was his motivation or even his target age.
The story as a whole was engaging despite the misuse of teen-lingo. The premise of a house that has portals to different worlds is inviting and exhilarating. There were points where I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what was coming next. The story was well thought out and planned as I am sure the whole series is (this is book 1 in a 3 part series). The characters for the most part are believable and real. The many twists and turns that this book takes the reader on are fun as well as completely unexpected (especially the ending where...oh I'm not telling you!). Maybe I am a bad suspense reader, but I honestly couldn't foresee the outcome.
Lastly, I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read but very intriguing, engaging and fun. If I had a tween (10-13 yr. old) I would hand them this book, knowing they'd enjoy it! To check it out for purchase or for extra information, go here: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595544941

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Lone Warrior

Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead. (2 Samuel 23:9-10)

This is an incredible story that is just plugged right into the Bible. Picture the scene: The battle lines are drawn at Pas Dammim (which means "the Border of Blood"), which is the border between Israel's land and the land of the Philistines. These are two nasty rivals, peoples who've hated each other for centuries. This very border is the scene of massacre after massacre. There has never been a winning battle for either side decided on this border. It is home to many a death for Israeli and Philistine alike.

The Israelites are taunting the Philistines from across the border. The three mighty men and David taunting the loudest. As hardened warriors, the Philistines are not about to let the Israelites insult them, nor their woman and definitely not their mothers. So they taunt back, and begin the war cry. The Israelites being their war cry, banging their shields with their swords all while screaming across the line at the Philistines. The Philistines of course answer back with their own shouts and sword banging. The noise is deafening, the battle coming is almost palpable. You can sense the tension rising. Eleazar especially feels his adrenaline pumping. He is ready to kill many man in the name of the Lord. No one will taunt his God, the God of Israel, his righteous anger begins to boil over. The hot red flashes of blood lust over take his senses. He can only see red.

King David shouts the call to rush the field, Eleazar leading the pack, in a Holy rage against the Philistine army. The Spirit of the Living God descends upon Eleazar and consumes the man whole.

The Israelite army begins to cower before the Philistine army. Sudden dread overtakes them. The ranks become confused, the men begin to fall back even King David retreats, but not Eleazar. The Spirit has taken him into the middle of the Philistine ranks alone. He pushes toward the center, men falling dead by his swords mighty blows. No foe can stand against him. One after another men die at Eleazar's bloody sandals. The Lord has overtaken him and his sword arm no longer is his own, it is the judgement of God which he is now dishing out. Not a single Philistine can stand his ground against such a foe. They begin to cower back, soon they are running away from this blood-thirsty sword which never seems to slake its thirst.

Shortly after they begin to run, they all seem to retreat. The horn sounds and all of them run away. The run in fear from Eleazar, one man with a bloody sword. Soon Eleazar comes to his senses and realizes all are gone. He looks down at his feet and there is a pile of dead bodies surrounding him. He looks at his bloody sword and puts it into its sheath. He attempts to loose his hand from the hilt but finds he can't. This soldier of the Most High finds that he's been at battle so long and so hard that his hand is now frozen to the hilt of his bloody sword.

Eleazar points the tip of his sword heavenward and praises God for this victory : "The Lord has brought about a great victory this day" he says.

The rest of the Israelite army is stunned at the power of God, that was wielded by this one man. They stay staring at the border of blood, dumbstruck. They see their mighty friend go to his knees and they rush the field to strip the dead bodies of their possessions.

This story blows my mind! I pray for the courage to be like Eleazar, I want it said of me that I went into battle and fought so hard and so long that my sword froze to my hand. You know, the Word is also called the Sword and I spoke this over a young man today, but I also own it as a word for me. The sword in this story represents the Word of God (for this young man and for me), and God is asking me to be so tenacious with the Word of God that it sticks to my hand after battle. That I will use God's Word to SLAY the enemy, taking the battle to the BORDER of His strong hold and making it a Pas-Dammim ( a border of BLOOD). God's word can slay Satan. It will slay him up, down, left right and center. The Word of God cuts the throat of the enemy. I've been like the other Israelites: tough enough to taunt him, but too cowardly to get into battle. I want the blood lust of the Spirit to come on me so I can be used by God to bring about a great victory. I don't want this for the glory of Marvin, just like Eleazar didn't want it for the Glory of Eleazar (nor do I believe this other young man wants the glory for himself), but I (we) want the Glory to go to God!

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Ministering with Your Hands/Team

The Great Get-Away Pt. 4:
*These next posts are simply interacting with Youth Ministry concepts given by Jason Ostrander*

This is the final Great-Get Away blog installment.

Jason during this weekend was showing us youth pastors/leaders the importance of the Word of God in Ministry, calling us back to what really matters and it was refreshing. It sounds interesting that a "pastor" had to be reminded of the power of God's Word and it's importance in ministry...but we do!
Ministering with your hands is the "what we do" in ministry. The nitty-gritty, the raw facts, the stuff we get dirty with and there is a lot of work in Youth Ministry. Sometimes we get bogged down with program, or maybe our focus is in the wrong place...this past weekend retreat opened my eyes to see some new areas to focus on and to see that what I've been focusing on is not quite where I should be. Jason talked about silos. Those big farm silos where you dump "the goods". These are the things we focus on, where our time and energy gets dumped. He drew out three silos and said here are our typical Youth Ministry silos: Sr. High; Jr. High and Sunday School/Young Adult. These three silos get our attention, our time and our efforts. We try to tailor everything to each individual silo. Here are the four things we put into these silos: Worship, Prayer, Word, Service. ( Here he drew these as smaller silos going across the three main silos). Jason described how each of these conduits goes into our ministry. What he did that I didn't expect is he FLIPPED the picture, so the four silos of Worship, Prayer, Word and Service became the main silos and the silos of Sr. High, Jr. High and Sunday School/Young Adult became the secondary silos.
Jason then described how our ministries could be transformed by God if we dump the goods in the silos of Worship, Prayer, the Word and Service. If we paid more attention to detail here, still tailoring stuff where it needed to be tailored, but the focus is changed! "Maybe instead of a Jr. High Youth Pastor, you have a pastor of Prayer" Jason said.
For me, this made a light switch go off...yeah! Why do I focus more attention on the other silos to the detriment of the other silos? Why don't I work with my team to develop a different focused ministry? This is where team came in. I can't ON MY OWN change the focus of the Youth Ministry. I need to utilize my team in such away that the silos of Worship, Prayer, Word and Service get dumped into! I may be a gifted speaker, but I totally STINK at singing and musical stuff...so I need a team around me who is gifted in the areas I am weak. Working with a team is allowing their strengths to compliment your weakness and visa versa.

I deeply hope this information has blessed you as much as it has me. I am still working on how to impliment all of these amazing ideas, so we can journey together if you desire. I want to have a vibrant ministry that is more focused on God-sized things rather than on man-sized things. May God bless you youth pastors and youth leaders richly!

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Cultural Christianity Vs. Authentic Christianity

Definitions:
Cultural Christianity: a moralistic, behavioral set of ethics that are put upon "followers of Christ" to determine whether or not they are good people that are going to heaven. More emphasis on how you look, and act than anything else

Authentic Christianity: a relational, heart-drawn call to God, His Son Jesus Christ and a willingness to be lead by the Holy Spirit. A competent understanding of your own sinfulness and a desire to change your heart above all else.

For years I have struggled with these two types of Christianity. When I was growing up, most of the people in my churches were cultural Christians, worrying themselves about how they appeared to be following Christ, rather than actually working on their hearts before the Almighty God Himself. This then trained me to do the very same thing. Not only did I succeed at doing so but I was a champion at pointing out others short-comings when it came to their appearance of following Christ. Cultural Christianity is simply a play with good characters and bad characters. A Ruse to get people to think that they are following the right path. You end up believing certain lies like: You can only be Republican if you're a Christian; Christians never get mad; Christians never fail and if you fail, keep it quiet so no one finds out; and most importantly is make sure you are "on your best behavior" at church.
When I got to college, my whole sphere of my beliefs came CRASHING down upon my head. I saw the utter flaws within my relationship to Christ, my own sin that I thought was ambition but was pride. I saw my black heart even though I thought it was as white as snow. I saw how often my finger was raised in accusation rather than admittance of my own wrong-doing. God used my college days to utterly transform how I perceived, loved and knew God. This is by no means a blog to say "how far I've come", yet a simple confession of my own personal past and present misconceptions of my Faith.
What I began to grapple with, was that to really wrestle with God was not to see all the sin in the world, but all the sin within myself. It meant that I needed to go to the mattresses with the Lord, baring my sins open to Him and trying to feebly keep some sins I enjoyed for myself. God has since been calling my junk to the forefront and will continue to do so. This has humbled me when it came to my finger pointing...mind you, I still pridefully do this but I trust I am getting better. I realized that I am just as rotten and disgusting as everyone else, I simply have a Savior that decided to graciously cover my sins because I asked Him. Without the covering of Jesus I am no better than the worst sinner whoever lived. I have within me the capacity to sin with limitless sinfulness. This understanding and the understanding that Christ has graciously given Himself for me has been a HUGE transforming truth for me.
This understanding is what I have called Authentic Christianity. No longer and I working on myself for a crowd, but giving myself over to the Lord for Him to point out the junk in me and asking Him to graciously help me pluck it out of my heart and life.
I'll be the first to admit that I live a culturally Christian life more and less of an authentic Christian life than I should. Yet I believe that if we all would grab onto this heart-changing, rather than outside changing Christian Faith, allowing Christ to purge us from within...the World will soon stand and take notice. It has nothing to do with being "culturally relevant" and all to do with how the God wants a relationship with us!

(For other post about this, check these out: Cleaning your Cups, Galatians Sermon, Authenticity)

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The Truth About You

When I read the description for this book, I rolled my eyes. When I opened up the first chapter and read that I needed to watch a 22 minute video as a companion to the book, I got frustrated. Lastly, when I read I should write down stuff in a notebook (provided within the book), I got mad.
Those are all things I typically don't do. However, for the sake of the review, I did them. The movie was decent, well shot and almost felt like a Nooma video sans Rob Bell. The notebook was a good idea, but for me a hard thing to really put into practice.
The book and the writing however, I couldn't put down! Marcus Buckingham is a winsome, amazingly articulate author. I was engrossed by his writing. I found myself agreeing with everything he said, saying out loud: "Yea, I feel that way!" or "Yea, I can't wait to do that!". This books purpose was singular: empower the reader to be a person who lives, breathes and works in their strengths. Marcus shares numerous lies that we believe about ourselves and others that cripple us from living and working in our strengths. We find ourselves asking why we do things more so than what are we doing. Marcus really nailed a gigantic reason why people hate their jobs. This book revolutionized my thought on how I design my day.
I think the biggest "take-away" for me is going to be building a team around me, who is strongest at my weakest, so then I can live in and through my strengths. There are times when I will have to do a weakness of mine during my day, yet if I have a team of people around me who can take that load, the more happy and the more successful I'll be. If you hate your job, or if you simply feel drained after work, I double dog dare you to pick this book up. Read it, see if you can see what your true weaknesses and strengths are and then see if you can build up the things that help you work on your strengths!
To conclude, I want to tantalize your brains with what Marcus calls "The best advice you'll ever get". Here are all five advice points:

1. Performance is always the point
2. Your strengths aren't what you're good at, and your weaknesses aren't what you're bad at.
3. When it comes to your job, the "What" always trumps the "Why" and the "Who"
4. You'll never find the perfect job
5. You'll never turn your weaknesses into strengths

You probably don't agree with all of them (or any of them) but that's OK because you'd have to read it to know what he means.

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Ministering with Your MIND

The Great Get-Away Pt. 3:
*These next posts are simply interacting with Youth Ministry concepts given by Jason Ostrander*

Last "Great Get-Away" post, we talked about ministering to students with your heart, today is about your mind. Again, this weekend was transformational in how I approach ministry. Jason when he got to this segment really hammered us.
The main thing I got out of this session was how much am I personally in the Word of God? Jason challenged us with this question. If the Word of God is not prevalent in our ministries, what is?
We can put together some amazing games, sweet curriculum or even use some good material...but is it surrounded, bathed and soaked in the Word of God? Is our talk time 5 minutes of the Word and 35 minutes of video clips? Is our study quick glances in the Word to fit our "monthly topic" or is our study time soaked in the Word of God and the talk that comes forth from dripping with the dew of the Lord?
I had to honestly answer these questions and realized I've fallen way short of the mark. This wasn't a time to shame us into "reading our Bibles more" but a time to authentically look at how we've been doing ministry. What has our "mind" been focusing on? When we sit at our desks as Youth Pastors, or have lunch with a teen is our counsel/study/lesson that comes from our mind soaked in the Word of God? If not...why not?
I was SUPER convicted. I knew I slapped "monthly topics" together (sometimes the day of) simply placing funny stories (or not so funny stories) into my lesson with a peppering of the Word of God. I wasn't dripping with the scent of God...in fact if you smelled closely you would only smell a faint hint of Him. However, we should have our minds so IMMERSED in the Word that we have the fragrance of God just coming forth ahead of us...that way too everyone knows its not us, but God.
Am I now amazingly perfect with this, now that I had a "weekend high" on Jesus? NO. However, now that I see what I've been doing I want to re-direct myself. I want to be dedicated to taking a shower in God's Word...

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Porn-Again Christian?

" Let's talk about Pornography and Masturbation"...not your great conversation starter, huh? All the sudden you get a lump in your throat. A hot, uncomfortable perspiration begins. A desperate attempt to become un-noticed comes over you, even if you are the life of the party.
It's not easy, it's not fun and it can be embarrassing...yet it is VITAL! Teens don't get enough healthy sex-education today. They either get the legalistic NO because I (or God) said so answer...or they get the "Yea, just use a condom" conversation followed up with a demonstration with a banana and a balloon. Sorry but these are NOT ways to encourage our teens to avoid sex. They need frank, in your face discussions, that show them the WHY in the NO and also the HOW when the YES comes! Young Men (boys) especially need to be given more than the pat answer. We as Youth Pastors/Leaders/Parents need to teach sex health rather than sex ed. Sex is good, sex is GREAT and sex is amazing. Yet, to receive the TRUE GIFT of it, there are boundaries, and contexts which can allow one to have the best sex ever.
As I was looking at all the "purity" events, books and discussion guides for young men, I ran into this one. A book by Mark Driscoll titled: "Porn-Again Christian". This is a RAW, FRANK look at male sexuality. It brings up porn, prostitution and masturbation. Topics generally that we shy away from. Mark is candid, funny and to the point about this junk and why it's trashy and harmful. He brings it to light in real, relevant ways for young men. I think you all should take a look at it. It may offend some because it is so RAW. However, our teens see, hear and say worse than this book could ever touch. Our young men are craving an encounter with a man who is unafraid of discussing about these topics. They are dying to know if what they're doing is good, wholesome or OK. Some what a rubber stamp that says: "you're not having sex, so you're OK". Yet, they need this type of in your face look at these topics.
The BEST part of this is...the book is FREE for download right now on the Resurgence website. To download and read, go here: http://relit.org/porn_again_christian/
Check it out, and give me a holla about your thoughts, reactions agreements or disagreements!

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The Great Get-Away Pt.2

*These next posts are simply interacting with Youth Ministry concepts given by Jason Ostrander*

This weekend was a rejuvenating time for me. I got the chance to get away, spend time alone and spend time with God. It has been one of the best experiences I've had as well as one of the best encounters with God I've ever had.
This weekend, Jason Ostarander, the National Youth Director for the Christian and Missionary Alliance (long title anyone?) decided that it was imperative to pour into us youth pastors and youth leaders for a weekend. His whole concept was US. Not tools for a better ministry, but tools for a better US, which would in turn translate to a better ministry. He discussed with us 4 main topics: Ministering from the HEART, MIND, HANDS and as a TEAM. I will put Heart and Mind separate, then the last post will be Hands and Team. I will throw some Marvin in there, but I want to translate to yall alot of what Jason brought this weekend.

Ministering from the HEART:
Jason talked about how the heart is ever important both to God and for ministry. Our hearts need to be right with God, our hearts need to be in line with God and our hearts need to be ministering from the very heart of God. If our hearts aren't right before God, everything we do will not be right. It may be good, but we'd be doing it in our own power, NOT the power of God. Jason really laid into us in the audience on how we need to get our hearts connected to God. He gave verse after verse of how important our hearts are and how our hearts steer us.
The biggest smack (for me came) when Jason quoted Matthew 12:34: "...Out of the overflow of the HEART the mouth speaks". What am I filling my heart with? Because whatever the answer is, is what my mouth will be talking about. He asked us then to think about the last 3 conversations we've had that were significant (more than 5 minutes long)...why don't you think about this right now too. He then said what did you talk about in those three conversations? That will help you to see what your hearts are full of right now.
This came as a smack to me, because I wasn't talking about God, my wife or my future kid, nor my youth group (in those three significant conversations). I was talking about my fears, my worries about money and such. My heart, going into this past weekend was worn out, beat up and DONE...and I didn't even know it. I was teaching lazily to my youth, leaving them wanting more. I was not really a husband so much as a lump and my joy was slipping away...
Youth Leaders/Pastors...our hearts are KEY. Are you feeding your heart with the WORD of God? I know for sure I wasn't. I want to BATHE in the Word, soak in the Word and allow it to bring my heart in line with God's heart. As I spent time this weekend, I always remember that mountain top stuff doesn't last...but as with any retreat, it's what we take with us, those important keys that we get that last for the long haul, even when we're in those valleys.
May You and I allow the God of all Love permeate our hearts!

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The Great Get-Away

This weekend, I got away. I got away from my TV, I got away from my computer (I took it, but didn't bust it open ONCE), I got away from my Fantasy books (which I love reading), I got away from my house, I got away from my cat, I got away from my job and hardest of all, my wife wasn't there either.
I took the plunge and went up to a place called Lake Champion for a Youth Leader (and Pastor) Retreat called Invigorate '08. It wasn't you're typical Youth Leader retreat, in that it wasn't all about the coolest curriculum, the best sermon, the niftiest technology, the newest Youth Group game or the best way of doing small groups. It wasn't about connecting to Youth Culture, or even how to be the coolest Youth Pastor, with the sweetest lingo to connect with your youth. It was all about GOD. It was about how I (we Youth Leaders) need God. It was how we can be better connected to the source, which is Christ. On the periphery of the conversation was the Youth, but the main focus was how we connect with the Almighty.
I've never been to anything like it and I'm the better for going and receiving what God had for me. My eyes were opened to many things, all of which I will be 100% Authentic about. I will make this a 4 part blog-fest both for me so I can better grasp what God has done and for you, because although the context was for youth leaders...it's for everyone!
Let me preface this blog-fest with a couple side-notes. 1. Jason Ostrander (the speaker for the weekend) was used by God to smack us Youth Leaders in the face with what REALLY matters in Ministry. 2. God spoke directly to me about my failures, of which I will share. and 3. If you are a youth leader and weren't at this retreat, I challenge you to read all these posts.
I think what was opened up this weekend is something of high importance, that truly deserves discussion, so please discuss!

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What is God doing?

You know that place where you are asking God for an answer and all you receive is a still silence? The place where your insides are screaming to know the answer to a dangerous question and God's silent? That frustrating "wait" moment that God places you in? Yeah...I'm there! In a previous blog titled Wished I Had and Ephod, I explained how I wished I had that mystical and Biblical device to discern God's will...and yes, I still wish I had one!
The place of waiting for me is the HARDEST place to be. I, by my very nature am a creature of "RIGHT NOW!" My Father used to say I had a problem with "instant gratification" which means I felt like needed what I wanted right in the moment I wanted it. It was so bad that one year as a High School SENIOR, I pre-viewed all the DVD's I bought my family for Christmas...yea that means I watched them all, then gave them away as gifts! No joke. It was Christmas Day and my family was opening there presents and every one one from me was a DVD, without the wrapping around it. No one said anything about it, until my Dad opened his. He looked at it and asked outright: "What's going on with the DVD's Marvin?". I tried to think of something clever that would make sense like: "Well Dad, I know how much the wrapping bugs all of you and I know how the security tape is annoying, so I took the liberty of unwrapping it all for you!" Yet, my wit wasn't up to par so I decided honesty. The story is told and re-told every Christmas...

This (the DVD pre-veiwing Marv) is the innate Marv that is banging on the walls wanting God to dish out his secrets. People have been telling me that the moments of "waiting" are the defining moments of growth, patience and testing. We see ourselves grow and change in these moments. I must say that all I can see is my total depravity and utter dependence upon myself through this time. I keep trying to figure it all out. I keep trying to look for signs in the circumstances. I keep pushing, yet all of it comes out to nothing! I know that no matter what God does, I will be taken care of. I know that no matter what God does I will not need to worry and it will be perfectly that which he has for me...yet I still desire to know. I think the Psalmist had this same dealing, that's why he wrote:

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."
(Psalm 27:13-14)

I know I will see the Goodness of my God. It's not easy to get a constant: "WAIT" when in prayer with the Lord, but even though it SUCKS, I know God has a reason for it. I hate waiting, I really do. I still (selfishly) wish I could have an Ephod (please Lord?) but this is where God has me and if He says wait, I know for sure that it's right where he wants me to be (even if it's NOT where I want to be). So, what is God doing? I don't have a clue, but I know I will see His GOODNESS, and no matter what may be down your road, you can trust and know that you too will see his Goodness.

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A Challenge

Reading through my new Chronological Study Bible I've come into some new insights. I was challenged yesterday in a sermon done by Barry Jordan a missionary to Indonesia. He said yesterday that nothing has been more enlightening than reading through the life of Jesus over and over again or the last 19 years. He challenged his listeners to read through the life of Jesus: "Get to know Jesus" he said.
This challenge was one I readily accepted. I've been studying Jesus a bit here and there, but reading through his life again and again was something I was ready to do. Here is where my new insight came in. I realized that I just received recently the new Chronological Study Bible and I could read through the life of Christ in the order in which it all happened! Some of you may be saying what a geek I am, and yeah maybe I am. But I started reading through the life of Christ and it started with John 1:1-8, then went into Luke. What's amazing to me, and the insight that I am receiving is about the culture and times of Christ. Jesus is becoming more and more real to me and I love it.
Christ's life is one of inspiring proportions, I think Barry's challenge was right on...will you take the challenge with me?

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Review of: Chronological Study Bible

The new Thomas Nelson Chronological Study Bible is more than I expected. Swirling around the publishing date of this new Study Bible was much controversy. Many people were skeptical about it and I admit so was I. However, if you purchase this Bible, I think your skepticism will subside (mine has).
I've been pouring myself into this Bible, wandering how long it would take me to review it. However, I can't approach this as if it were a normal fiction or non-fiction book. For me to read every page of this Bible, and then comment on it would take months. I have though, thoroughly looked at, worked with and studied this Bible. In fact I was up past midnight last night pouring into it! Below is a synoptic view of this Bible, starting with what it is.
Before cracking this Bible open, I expected it to be a Bible set up in the Chronological Authorship of the Scriptures. If this were the case, Job most likely would have been first, it being the first of the Biblical books written. However, the Chronological order is of the Biblical Narrative, not of the authorship. It also follows the narrative History of the entire world, placing the Biblical events into a time line, which we can (due to History class) better place in our minds when it happened. The Bible is divided into Nine Epochs (or ages of the Earth). The Epochs Being: Epoch 1: Creation- 2000 B.C.; Epoch 2: 2000-1500 B.C.; Epoch 3: 1500-1200 B.C.; Epoch 4: 1200-930 B.C.; Epoch 5: 930-586 B.C.; Epoch 6: 586-332 B.C.; Epoch 7: 332-37 B.C.; Epoch 8: 37 B.C.- A.D. 30; Epoch 9: A.D. 30-100.
Within these eras, the Chronological Narrative of the Earth and the Bible is placed. Instead of reading the Scriptures as separate books, this places the entire Bible on one Narrative time line.
I was skeptical at first, because I didn't know this was the approach of this Study Bible before I read it. I thought it would be the same feel as a normal Bible, so I wandered why I should bother spending my money on a product that simply re-arranged the Bible by the first books written to the last books written. However, placed in this narrative chronology, it brings the Scripture into a whole new light! You can follow for example David and his Psalms. We see an event happening to David and we can see the Psalm written by David, directly after the event! That in and of itself allows me to understand the particular Psalm as well as David better! It opens the eyes of the reader to a whole new plain of Biblical understanding.
I believe that Thomas Nelson has done well with this Bible also, because they understand the importance of story to my generation and the generations after me. Connecting to story is a HUGE way for my generation to connect with God. Placing the Bible in it's narrative chronological order will speak to people of my generation that a normal Bible won't.
Also, seeing the Scriptures in this ways brings a depth of Study that other Study Bibles don't bring. It incorporates the history of the world along side the Biblical History, helping the reader to better understand the cultural context of a particular piece of Scripture.
There are MANY features that I haven't even mentioned, all of which bring amazing things to this Bible. Some a person could do without, but they are all pretty interesting none-the-less. Here is what you'll also learn about (taken from back cover): Agriculture and Herding, Architecture and Building, Arts and Literature, Beliefs and Ideas, Cults and Supernatural, Culture and Society, Daily Life and Customs, Food and Drink, Geography and Environment, Health and Medicine, Marriage and Family, Plants and Animals, Politics and Government, Religion an Worship, Science and Technology. All of these features are placed in little boxes or bubbles in and around the text. My only issue is that at points it feels very cluttered and hard to follow. Once you get used to navigating the scriptures as well as these extra boxes and bubbles, it connects and makes sense, but it can be difficult at times.
Lastly, the layout of the Scriptures can be difficult to understand. If you are trying to find a specific passage from memory of where it was in your original Bible, chances are you won't find it. Unless you look at the very back of the Bible, which gives (in Biblical order) the pages certain portions of scripture can be found. It takes awhile to learn how to use, but once you do, this Bible is quite incredible. Read it as a story and it will make reading/understanding this Bible a whole lot easier.


*PS This Bible was given to me for FREE to review. Thomas Nelson has a Book Review Blogger Group, in which Bloggers can receive for FREE books of their choice. However, the blogger must put a 200 word minimum review of the book on their blog, as well as on Amazon.com. If you are an interested blogger, give a shout and I will send you the link!*

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Cleaning Your Cups

Today, I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll. In this sermon, he was dialoguing about Matthew 23. When he got to verse 25, I needed to soak this in. Here's what it says:

"Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside o the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean" (Matthew 23:25-26)

When I first looked at this, I was like: "Yea Jesus, tell em'! This is a message the church as a whole needs to hear! Tell em'! Then I felt the Spirit of God ask me: "How often do YOU try to get away with cleaning the OUTSIDE of YOUR cup?" It was then I looked at this verse as a verse for me. How often do I pretend to have it all together, how often to I make my outside look nice, all the while my insides are screaming with pain, or sin. I talk a lot bout authenticity because it's important, but have I been listening to my own sermons, or simply "looking like it"?

This is a verse I think we each need to wrestle with, because let's face the reality...we all try to get away with washing the outside of our cup and sometimes we get so stuck on the cleaning the outside, that we completely forget the inside. We become so preoccupied with the outside, that the inside of our cups (being our hearts) get neglected for days, years and decades! I know the inside of my cup isn't pristine...in fact it's pretty dirty. I am encouraged that Christ was so bold about these issues. I challenge all of us to check our cups!


How's YOUR cup?

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The President-Elect

The long, arduous campaign is finally over. America has decided her new President, Barack Obama. It was a historic event, full of tears of sadness and of joy. All I can say at the end? Thank God it's finally over. This campaign was exhaustively long and seemingly drawn out. However, at last it is over.
The question now goes forth as to "Where do we go from here?", and there are many answers to that question. Those who voted McCain can grow bitter, angry and self righteous. Those who voted Obama can grow arrogant, giddy and rude, yet those are not answers I would suggest. I think we've had enough bitter Obama junk, enough bitter McCain junk and definitely enough defaming of both candidates. I think it's time to move on. Those who voted for Obama, embrace him as your President. Those who voted McCain, embrace Obama as your President. We've had 8 years of "liberals" complaining about Bush...does there need to be another 4 of "conservatives" complaining about Obama? Please, choose to say NO. We can grow together as a united nation, debunking the power of bi-partisanship or we can entrench those bitter feelings and continue to divide a already weakening country. My challenge is to step up and Live as Christ would live. Christ wouldn't bash someone, Christ wouldn't say: "Oh well, now our country will fall to pieces because Obama is in the White House". Folks, no matter who you voted for, God is STILL God! Never forget that truth. Let's end bitterness and try to make this a better, more united country.

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Authenticity pt. 5

Most of my past posts have been on authenticity. Many of you have interacted with these posts, and I believe it is the heartbeat of this generation, a desire for intimate authenticity. Being authentic is NOT an easy thing, yet it is a truly amazing thing. I could tell you numerous stories of how I have not been authentic, how I've hidden behind a mask of false pretenses, judgment and secret anger. I could regale you with many stories of my hidden sin and how no one knew who I really was (and I will share many these and many more in my book)...because there are many. There is a laundry list of falsehood within the church and without. I cold tell you how amazing authenticity is within marriage and friendships as well as your relationship with God (because it is). Yet I would be in the wrong if I didn't share with you the COST of authenticity.
Many times we are hit with great sermons about changing ourselves and walking closer to God and the preacher makes it seem easy as pie...yet when we try to go about following the advice from the pulpit, we're smacked with the reality of how difficult it really is! This post is an effort to be honest with you and share that there is a cost to authenticity. I don't want to pretend that if you takes steps 1,2 and 3 you'll be successfully authentic and there will be no difficulty whatsoever.
Being authentic will hurt. For example, when I shared with my wife (then fiance) my deep dark sins of my flesh, she was blow away, hurt, saddened and confused. This was a step of authenticity that I took and it hurt. It hurt because I realized that my sinfulness now no longer touched just me and God, but my future wife. It also hurt because I could no longer hide behind this perfect facade that my fiance had set up for me, I felt like I fell short of her expectations and I hate that! I love making people happy...yet if my wife thought she was marrying a perfect man, with no flaws...she would've been smacked with my sin once we were married, then she would say: "You're not the man I married" (like so many wives say).
Being authentic as you can see has a cost. A big one. The cost of Authenticity is intimacy. You're probably thinking that intimacy isn't a bad thing, why would I be afraid of intimacy. And I would tell you that true intimacy is you being an open book, the person you're intimate with knows you in and out. Intimacy is a cost because you can't be fake and when you are, you get called out on it (my wife points this out to me all the time!). Intimacy means that your "secret" struggles are out there in the open, people know you have issues (like EVERYONE does). It costs a lot to be authentic. *This goes for your relationship with God as well...the more authentic we are with God, the more intimate our relationship with him becomes!*

I will continue this discussion. Please leave your comments, this open discussion has been good to interact with!

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Really Amazing

Last night, I received an amazing opportunity. I received an e-mail from Thomas Nelson that asked me to join their new blogger review group. It is a group designed for bloggers who can read and review books. Recently, I reviewed The Faith of Barack Obama and Through the Storm, two of their new books (you can read my reviews on this blog, just search them). These are books they chose to have us bloggers review, however with this new group, we the bloggers can pick and choose the books we desire to review! This is so amazing to me because it is a FREE book and an opportunity to make my blog a better known blog. My blog will be looked at more due to Michael Hyatt the CEO of Thomas Nelson posting a link to my review on his website which is viewed by thousands of people! The next book I am going to review is something I had on my Christmas list..the new Thomas Nelson Chronological Bible! Be on the look out for the review soon. This is a great opportunity for me and I thank Thomas Nelson for being willing to do something so inventive and just plain awesome!

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God, the Shaker and Mover

God is TRULY doing a work in our Jr. High Youth Ministry! As you've read by my blog, the CRAZINESS that we've been experiencing has been a wild ride. However, I've learned to see that if you allow God to strengthen you during the wild ride, there is a HUGE payoff at the end!
Before I give some great news about Wednesday Night, I want to give some background into our Jr. High Ministry as of late. This is probably the MOST attended youth night we have as well as the MOST non-Christian attended. One week, I counted off 25 Jr. High teens and all but 5 were from non-Christian homes (most had parents who've NEVER been to church...EVER). We were still missing approx. 5 of our regular teens this night too! Well, as you can imagine, this many teens who've come from un-churched, non-Christian homes has been a bit of a challenge. There has been tons of talking during the lesson and tons of "he said, she said" fighting that goes on. One week, I had hit my limit and wandered what God was doing and if I was good enough for this calling. The very next week is when I hit something I didn't expect...I gave a teeny bit of my life's story and the teens were silent, listening to every word dripping off of my tongue. They loved the connection of my life to the Scriptures. Now, I'm a student of Youth Culture, and I know teens connect WAY more with personal stories, yet for some reason I never utilized it the way I did this one week.
Well, I prayed about this effect and since our Month's theme was: The Quest (Our Journey Towards God), I felt like this Wednesday, God wanted me to give my full testimony (which is pretty intense, I will Blog about it sometime soon). I did indeed give my full testimony and the teens again were intensely listening to what I was saying (something that doesn't often happen for the full 20 minute talk). God was moving in their hearts and when we moved to Small Groups (which I do every week after the talk, so the teens can then interact with the lesson together), God showed up in a BIG way. As a side note, the greatest fun during this time, was that one of our Sr. Highers (Ty Walker) was leading the small group discussion and he did great! When Ty got to the question of "Do you want to Go on this Quest towards God" 3 kids raised their hands, asked how they could and then PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST! It was flippin' sweet and so much more sweet that a Sr. Higher was able to get these Jr. Highers to this point. I praise God for what he's doing!

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What's so BIG about Authenticity? Pt. 4

One thing I've noticed about teenagers is that they can spot a "fake" person from a mile away. It's as if they have radar to sniff out a person posing. In the Church, this "fake" person motif is all to familiar. We say things like: "I'll pray for you brother" (and don't do it nor mean it). We see people acting different than they do at church in their homes, their jobs, and their schools. And I tell you that this fake face has become a negative pungent stench in the nostrils of today's youth. I will continuously quote UnChristian due to it's prophetic nature into today's youth and in this book, they've found that 85% of people 16-29 find the church as a whole (meaning us Christians) to be hypocritical! (By the way, I agree)
Being authentic is NOT being hypocritical. 1 John 1:5-10 says: "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives".
In bold is the call to Authenticity. We need to confess our sins, this is WALKING in the Light! We admit out junk. This means, we're honest, we're open, we're vulnerable. This type of authentic community brings fellowship with both God and men (read the italicized portion)! Also, this type of authenticity is attractive to the world, they need a place to admit their junk! The World NEEDS the church to be a place that says: "Oh, you're messed up? You're a sinner? All of us are too! We've messed up (and still do sometimes) but let us show you the LOVE of Christ, and give you the KEY to life!" A place that is willing to LOVE, take in sinners, be real with them and show the Christ (the Light) is a place that will be BOOMING with non-Christians!
Non-Christians (especially 16-29 year olds) FEAR going into a church because they will feel like everyone hates them, they will feel as if they are un-welcome because of their problems. They will feel isolated because they would be made to feel that they are the only person there with issues! Yet, if we could create an AUTHENTIC place where they will no longer feel this way, we could see this generation (and the next) come to Christ like NO OTHER generation in history!

In my next segments on authenticity, I will show how it does COST us to create this type of atmosphere, I will share more from 1 John about what this Authenticity creates and lastly, I will show how this type of Authentic living brings about the HEALING that God desires for us! Stay Tuned and PLEASE let me know your thoughts!

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The Cross Kills Lizards

At Living Christ Church, we've been doing a sermon series on the Cross. This past Sunday I preached a sermon in this series titled: The Cross Kills Lizards (Luke 9:22-25) Here is that sermon:

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Arguments and Apologetics Pt. 2

This is the last installment of Arguments and Apologetics. Something I've found to be true is that we Christians are natural arguers. It's true! Say for example I say: "I am voting for Obama in this coming election. I feel McCain's policies are dumb and Obama's rock." This simple statement would be commented upon post-haste! I would have people asking me about my faith, people asking me how I can be a Pastor and vote for "a disgusting liberal". Literally I might be asked how I could be a CHRISTIAN if I voted Obama!
Or for example, I say something slightly less controversial. Say, I simply say: "I read Harry Potter". This is controversial, but slightly less than the Obama idea. This statement would bring people arguing that J.K. Rowling is a witch(which she claims in Newsweek Sept. 2001 article this is false) and other such non-sense.
First, let me make myself clear. I am by no means UN GUILTY of these very same arguments! I've said these things and believed them as well. My point is simply that we Christians argue...ALOT.
It is intriguing to me how controversial things can be. It also pains me as a Christian, that we (myself included) run, head first into such arguments. What really ends up happening is that these arguments seem (or to be honest ARE) bitter, with malicious intent. We'd rather win an argument than lose one, so we pull the God card. If we feel Obama is not the right guy in office, simply say: "I don't think he's right for office, so I won't vote for him". There is no need to attack a persons CHRISTIANITY over it, just so you can be "right".
This also translates to how we witness. If someone you know says: "I don't believe in God". Don't sit there and try to "debate them into the Kingdom"! They won't budge and in fact, your debate tactic will end up turning them OFF to the gospel...because they will feel you care more about being "right" then you care about them. Here's how we can still win people for Christ, if we let go of arguing people into the Kingdom: Live a life where Jesus is CONTAGIOUS. Allow God to so permeate your life that people catch Jesus. You're not force feeding them, your showing them. Allow your life to be a conviction or a stumbling block to the un-believer, so much so that they realize that the way they've been living seems like a lie (because it is) to them!
Build many honest relationships, where people can see the Christ that lives in you. Befriend the "sick" as Jesus did..for they need the Doctor. Yet do as Jesus did and simply be with them and they will be transformed! If it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!

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On Being a Future Daddy

In late August, I found out I was going to be a Papa...but I had to keep it quiet until 2 days ago. This entry will reveal how I felt in the moment.

My wife, Hilary comes out of the bathroom, holding the test and it says: "Pregnant" on the little digital screen. She kind of has this half smile, nervous laugh going on. I look at the little word and get super excited! I was like a monkey with sugar. I grabbed my cell phone and tried to take a picture of the work pregnant...too dark. So I grabbed the camera and tried again to no avail.

Then after all the excitement of calling family and revealing how awesome it is to have the feeling that I will be a dad, something hit me. It was this crushing feeling of responsibility. It was a new, awkward feeling I've NEVER felt before. But I found myself questioning: "Am I good enough to be a Daddy? Am I old enough? Am I responsible enough? Will I still be able to do this, or that? Will I be selfish or will I be selfless? Will the baby even like me? Will we be able to afford a baby? "

These thoughts sort of crushed me and I remember staying up a little later that night to ponder what kind of a Father I would be. I like to read, write, stay up, sleep in. I love to spend alone time with my wife, God and friends. I enjoy time to myself, with the X-Box 360 or a movie. This will change everything. The time I spend doing all of the things listed above will shift. As I thought these things, I remembered how selfless Christ was. How he moved from the right hand of God (Supreme Comfort), lived as a human for 33 years, suffered and died...for me. It was there I decided that I will do my very best to be a selfless Daddy and Husband. Believe me, I know I will fail...I have no delusions of grandeur, but in the end, I know it will be worth every moment!

As I think about it right now, I wish I could hold that little bean in my arms right now! I am still very excited to be a father, I just wanted to admit that I am a bit scared too. I want to be the best Daddy I can, portraying for my kids the best possible picture of a Daddy I can, so when they learn about God the Father, their Abba...they won't have a SUPER distorted view, but an easy to grasp image of God as Father.

The road to fatherhood so far has been ponderous, but as soon as the Baby is here, I am well aware that pondering must cease and action must begin!

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Through the Storm By Lynne Spears

Thomas Nelson Publishing Company has again given an AMAZING opportunity by giving out 200 free books to bloggers! I was among the lucky few and was asked to give a 200 word review of the book.

Through the Storm is an amazingly touching book. I have to admit that I went into the reading very skeptical. I am a Youth Pastor and have seen TONS of bad press on Britney Spears and her family. However, I like all of America was only reading HALF of the story. I was more than convicted as to how I came about my judgments of this family while reading this book and know for sure that anyone reads this book, they would be too. Lynne's utter candor in this book was shocking! She was just flat out honest. I must hand it to her for bearing her soul out in this book. Purposely rehashing awful events, so we could see the truth in the matter, was just amazing.
One thing that made me almost weep due to my conviction was the fact that Britney's aunt (to whom Britney was close to) died just 2 weeks before her "shaving her head" incident. I mocked her for her insanity, yet she as simply reacting to her pain. My inner pastor felt wrecked while reading this book, because I just wanted to minister to Britney, Jamie (Britney's dad), Lynne, and Jamie Lynne! If I could sum up Lynne's attitude during this book it would be one word: Transparent. She was just open about all aspects of her life, and not just Britney and Jamie Lynne either! She talked about her marriage and divorce, her failures as a mother and most of all her faith. I was shocked at how steadfast this woman is in her faith. So many people bash her and many Christians including myself have said horrible things about "a woman whose kids do such things". To doubt a persons faith totally and completely based off of the "performance" of their children is plain wrong and this book was used by God to convict me of this truth!
Lynne uses tons of scripture both in reference and in detail throughout the book. She tells of how God helped her and her children (and husband) through hard times. I am truly glad I read this book, because to be honest, I probably wouldn't have aside from this opportunity and I would be the worse for it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of this book, the honesty that's in it and the courage it took to write it! I strongly recommend reading this book.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me the pleasure of this read and for challenging Christians to seek out truth and not fabricated fictions!

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Arguments and Apologetics Pt. 1

Evangelism in today's American Youth Culture is dramatically different than it ever was. Apologetics, the way I was taught was more of a "debate and argue" format. Where one person (in this case the Christian) has the rebuttal to every possible question (which was said as "giving an answer to our faith"). I believe that in the "modern" era, this approach was incredibly effective. People just 20 years ago were looking for cold hard facts and when you could debate and give them facts that would repute an argument they were proposing...they were hooked.

Somewhere along the line, there was a huge shift in thinking. When exactly this thought change occurred is still under debate. However, the fact remains that evangelism has changed. In the book UnChristian, several different things were studied. This idea of what evangelism mode is most effective was part of the study. Here is a little bit of what was discovered: Televangelism, door-to-door witnessing and tract evangelism COMBINED total a whopping 1% effective rate with people ages 16-29! 1%! (Do you know how much money is spent on tracts each year? More than 1% of the budget, that's for sure!). Also discovered was that "Relational Evangelism" evangelism which is in and through a trusted relationship has a 78% effective rate!

Non-Christian young adults, in order to come to Christ in Today's culture, don't need a lecture on how they are wrong, but a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24). Our mode of Apologetics NEEDS to change. Do we still need answers? OH YES! Do we need to argue them into the kingdom? NO WAY!

How do I know this works? I've seen the power of this type of evangelism. There's a teen in our ministry named Paul, who started coming with his girlfriend who was a student of ours. His first event he came to was simply a movie night. No talk afterwards, no shove em into Jesus trick at the end...simply getting together (non-Christians and Christians) to watch a movie. This caused Paul to build relationships with our other Christian teens. Even after he and his girlfriend broke up, he kept coming, because he felt welcome with us, he felt accepted and loved, so he remained. Eventually, he accepted Christ in his life and is now looking to get into ministry! Relational Evangelism works!

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What's so BIG about Authenticity? Pt. 3

Many of you reading this may know that I'm writing a book on the idea of Authenticity. I've written over 60 pages on it and hope to dribble a little bit out on my blog here for all of you to see. I believe that this idea is GIGANTIC for our teens today and of tomorrow, thus my writing a whole book about it. It all started back in September of 2007, when I did a sermon series with my Sr. High teens about it and the response was incredible! I've seen our teens embrace this authentic lifestyle and choose into it. Here is an excerpt from my forward of the book...enjoy!

"...When put on a social network, we can be whoever we want to be, but the desire to be known still drives us. A lot of what is put on the social network is the true us, but there are altercations we choose to make, so we look better. However, I know that deep down inside each and every one of us (youth and adults) there is a desire for the true us to be known. When you think about it, we all realize that when someone likes the fake face of us, they are not accepting or even liking the real us.
This book is about how we as the church can be a place of authenticity and transparency. Authenticity is what the youth of today are crying for, a place where they can be known for who they are, the good, the bad and even the ugly. We as Christians in the past have had a rough time at being real. We hide our stuff better than the world, for fear of rejection. It’s time to rip off our masks both with God and each other so we can be real with our hidden junk, find love and acceptance and receive God’s forgiveness. For too long, we as the Christian sub-culture have been turning people away from God because we tend to portray ourselves as perfect and all put together, when in actuality there are people; teens and adults who are hurting inside, because they have hidden sin, hidden pieces of themselves, hidden doubts that they’ve NEVER been able to express due to the fear of exposing their true self.
God has a word about the fellowship of the brethren and the transparency we need to have in order to have authentic relationships both with God and men. This book takes those pieces of scripture and hands them to the reader to challenge us all to live Transparent!"
-By Marv Nelson, Transparent

*I will be posting more about Authenticity, and more excerpts from the book are forthcoming*

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