So, there has been this video floating around youtube called: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. Here is the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Today I came across a response called: Why I Love Religion and I Love Jesus. Here is the Link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE&feature=related

I would love your thoughts as you watch both. Please engage the discussion below. ...

The best-selling author and preacher of the 20th century, A.W. Tozer, said that the most important thing about a person is what comes to mind when they think about God. This is true every moment of every day, compelling us to renew our minds according to the truth.

So, here is a popular question... Is your cup half empty or half full? In your estimation of God, is He good or not? Hold on, before you answer this question, make sure you are being honest.

Let me set up a scenario for you... Let's say you have been praying for God to do something in your life - something specific - that will be a miracle if it happens. And guess what! He does it! A miracle! Unbelievable! Indescribable emotion and victory!

Now, next thought - are you waiting...

I am trying on a new idea... Please help me process:

The hypothesis is this: knowing truth doesn't change very much.

Jesus is true. He says He is the way the Truth and the life and no one comes to the Father accept through Him. Once He makes that claim, He is either right or He is wrong. I happen to believe with conviction that He was right. I believe it with so much conviction that I have given my life in full time service to that reality.

That being said, I am not sure that "knowing" that truth does very much for me. That prepositional reality is not the transformational power that I hoped it would be. There are lots of truths that I know to be true, but I do not follow them. Eating healthy is better for...

This is taken from another website and I openly admit that this is NONE of my own work, but many of my own thoughts expressed well.

Here is the link: http://www.thinkchristian.net/index.php/2010/12/08/is-christmas-worth-defending/


Is Christmas Worth Defending?
Posted December 8th, 2010 @ 7:12 am by Bethany Keeley-Jonker

The more I think about Christmas traditions, the more I discover a strange amalgam of silly (but fun) cultural traditions, Christian symbolism, and unbridled consumerism. For instance, consider the following symbols of Christmas that would be unrecognizable in first century Israel: snowmen, reindeer, pine boughs, holly, bells, sleigh rides, electric Christmas lights, electronics wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons. Perhaps we can separate these things from “the reason for the season” or point to how they developed from the real gift of God With Us and the generosity of a real Saint Nicolas. I love a lot...

So it has been awhile since I have written on here... Months in fact.I always feel a little awkward talking about stuff God is doing in my life and hanging it out there for the general public to critique. And it gets to the point where I feel like I should have something profound to say and yet I am not sure I have much new to add to my story at the time, so I decided to take a break.

In that time, I have been on an interesting journey that has led me to some deep conclusions about my life, my ministry, and my every interaction with people. These ideas are much more impacting to me than to anyone else I am sure, but they are without a doubt course altering in my own heart. That being said, this post is not about those...

First, a couple of thoughts, then some explanation: there are 2 ways to answer this question... the proportional or direct way, and the inverse or consequence way. So, the direct way is Romans 12:2 says if you want to know God's will, transform yourself through the renewing of your mind. The inverse way of understanding God's will is to look at what missing the mark does, then we understand what hitting the mark should be.

I think it is less dramatic to attack it directly, however it is also less effective. The inverse way says that sin - or missing the mark - separates us. therefore, inversely, connectedness is the mark... The next question then would be does the rest of scripture corroborate that idea. And in fact it does. That is why Jesus gives us what we call the "great Commandment" or Love God and Love People. This...

Man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked
upon God's face, and then descends from contemplating Him to scrutinize
himself.

John Calvin

A good friend sent this to me this week. It is so true. He wrote in his email...
"I sometimes pray "Lord, help me to see You for who You really are,
and help me to see who I really am without You." In His response, I don't
think I ever fully get to see Him for all He really is, but I do get a
better and renewed picture of who I am without Him. It isn't pretty."

Isaiah wrestled with this in Isaiah 6...
Isaiah 6:5 (New Living Translation)
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people...

Battle #5 - Culture over a leader...

I recently heard a recording from Jim Collins (author of Good to Great and Built to Last). He said we must get over the draw we have to the idea of a need for a dynamic, charismatic leader.

I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor my whole life. I have spent my life around church leadership in varying degrees. I have to say that there is no place that the tendency to follow a dynamic leader is more present than in the church. One powerful church pastor told me, "People are sheep. They will go where ever you lead them." Fairly scary proposition!

One of the transitions that I observe in culture is that the boomer generation was a very hierarchical in its respect of and need for leadership....

Battle #3 - Information vs. Insight...
So I spend time on an amazing website called TED.com. TED.com is dedicated to taking people who are teh global trendsetters and putting them on a stage and letting them talk.

Today I happened across a lecture that Seth Godin gave in 2003 that speaks exactly to what is happening in the church. At the time, he was in the process of releasing his book called "The Purple Cow." And the whole idea is that in defining what you bring to the table, you need to be remarkable. The idea is that if you are driving down the road, and you see a cow, you will not notice it at all. Cows are boring and normal. But if the cow was purple, you would stop and take note, because cows aren't purple as a rule. Now,...

Sorry for the delay on this... My father spent the last few days in the hospital so I have been a bit preoccupied. Things are much better now so we can continue with the task at hand - The second battle that the church will have to fight. Battle #2 is The Battle for the role of Church in my life and in the life of the culture.
Hebrews 10:25 (New Living Translation)
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

In years past, it has been Christian practice that if you have a friend who is ready to start a relationship with God, or if we have a friend that we want to accept God (whether they are ready or not) we bring them to church. ...