Hippy.

So i find myself half annoyed today with the fact that i have a blog. I mean i understand my intention of it, but yet, dah. I guess the problem is the real terminology of it. I despise the word "blog". it sounds like a sound an animal makes in a Pixar movie. Plus it makes me feel that i am more and more becoming one of those hippies that drink their coffee with designer creamers every morning (okay, well i do) loves the environment (i do, but do nothing about it) and wont stop talking about when Bush leaves the White House (no comment). Contrary to some people's opinion i am not a hippy, but i feel i may be in the process of becoming one. I got into ministry for a large part because of a book by some guy named Donald Miller titled "Blue Like Jazz", which is a book about a typical guy who finds peace with Jesus while going to a liberal university and being rejected by girls. My favorite section of the book tells of Don living with hippies for a while. I loved it because they seemed like the most Christlike people i have ever thought about, but, well, i got disappointed shortly after.

I was all big on the hippies and i wanted to be one until i went to New Orleans for a mission trip and a hippy that i came to enjoy got busted for weed. He was a Christian and had great opinions (although he smelled like sweat and peppers) but yet he still fit the stereotype to a T. So from there i stopped my journey towards becoming a hippy.

Lately i seem to share some hippy things, i love hippy music, hippy clothes, hippy politics (well 10% of them, not the "LEGALIZE IT, MAN" stuff, but moreso the social justice stuff) and hippy sayings.

I always saw Jesus as sort of a manly hippy. I think he was a big guy. He was a carpernter in the days of no power tools, and most of those guys were ripped and huge, so i would assume Jesus was no exception. He always seemed to be the kind of guy to never back down from a fight (except with the Roman soldiers of course), very manly. But he also seemed sort of hippy. He was homeless, he preached mostly of love and social injustice, and talked about wrath and repentance for those who dont obey God (okay that last one isnt too hippy). But i doubt God is a hippy, but in my ignorant mind, Jesus seemed like one.

I think the overlining reason i will never truly be a hippy is i wont drink or do drugs and i hate tie-dye. There is nothing more lame in the history of the universe (outside of country music) than tie dye. Groups of friends that do it should apologize to the shirt they did this to. So a hippy lifestlye isnt in my future, at least not yet.

So alas, i will continue being a churchy nerd that wants to be so many cool things, but truly only seeks to please Jesus. Thats fine, i hope.

Until the next time.

So, I am not sure if you guys like my preaching, are annoyed with it, or well, whatever. But i am making major changes. I mention quite a bit about this last week in my sermon, and well, it is from the heart.

I feel at times i become sort of a grand stander who kind of craves the spotlight and loves the attention a little too much, and i dont teach the bible all too well either. Well for whatever reason, i feel God doesn appreciate what i do, so i am going new.

I have spent my time since sunday researching/reflecting/studying about how not to preach. So far about me i have an understanding of mentioning, the state of the church (is tired), my testimony (is tired), and a few other topics need a long rest. I love to talk about them, but we need more. So this sunday is going to be pretty different. When i was in college i won the award for my graduating class for excellence in preaching, and i did that with good content, structure and i made it very little about me, but all about Jesus. So now, i am going back to that a bit.

Now i know what some of you are thinking, you are thinking that i am going to just end up being like everybody else and start giving you my "4 Points and a Poem" (funny, i have read poems twice in the past couple of months, i am a loser), but i hate that type of preaching, and i will never be that guy.

I feel if as a ministry we are to grow it is only through the study and understanding of Jesus Christ, and that is just what we are going to do. So once again, you may not care that much, you just want me to stay under 30 minutes (sorry about sunday if thats true, i get like that sometimes), but i feel i can do better by you guys, and i will.

Dear Elliot...

This is called 99 Balloons. Please watch.

मूवी, मूवी, Movie

SO this past weekend, Em was gone and in my free time (Yes, i have some) i watched DVD's. It was, well boring and sad that all i have to do with my free time without my girls is see movies, but, i did. I saw, The Mist (horrible), National Treasure 2 (liked it), No Country For Old Men (freaked me out, abrupt ending too, but great acting), Rocky Balboa (made me sad for the failed attempt with a world of potential), and Jumper (so fun). It was, like i said, sad that all i have to do with my time is that, but it is what it is. I think the main problem these days with me is i really dont get the chance to develop real relationships. What i mean is, in my job it seems if i go to your house, call you up, e-mail you, whatever, i am doing it because it is my profession to do so. Like if i ask you how you are doing, you feel like i am a doctor, and i am either trying to diagnose your problem or cure it. It feels a little lonely at times.

Dont get me wrong, i love alot of people here. I really do. I just at times feel like people cant always be their selves around me. Like my friends that drink make jokes (i think) like "hide the beer, the pastor is here". Or folks i know talk alot dirtier when i am not around, kind of censor themselves for me. Now i want to say that i appreciate all of this. I honestly dont mind when people drink around me, but if i had to choose i would say i would rather you not (if that makes any sense) And for the bad language, i got to be real with you, i hate filthy talk. I really do. I hate all cuss words and at this point of my life dirty jokes make my skin crawl. There was a time in my life i was all about that stuff, but at the present moment, i would rather you leave me out of those things.

So what does all of this mean? Well as many pastors have noticed, it means i have a hard time getting to know anybody. Its tough. I was talking with a buddy of mine from college this morning and we were sharing stories of stuff we used to do, and i was seriously laughing out loud. I couldnt believe there was a time of my life when i didnt worry about is my wife is doing okay, or if my daughter is eating or sleeping enough, or if everything is okay at church. I was just in a state where i went to class, hung out with my friends, and i just, was.

I perfer this time of my life though. I love our ministry here. I also love being a dad and a husband, and wouldnt trade any of that away. I just have to find a way to deal with folks in a way that they dont feel i am judging them or i am being a "pastor" all the time. Eventhough i am (sort of).

Well i guess at times i get a little too personal with this blog, but thats kind of where i'm at. Oh and for no reason, here is a video from a comic i love named Michael Jr.

Question...

This is more of a please comment type question.

What is the Best sermon you ever heard?

It could be one at your own church, on a podcast, at a conference or concert. What is the best sermon that you have ever heard in your life?

Feedback needed.

Seeing Hancock and Spur of the moment preaching (sort of)

So this past weekend Emily and i planned it out so that we would get to go see a mavoie on saturday night, which was cool because as many of you know, babies dont allow for much alone time. So we have our dear friend Kami babysit for us and we go to Chillicothe to go see the new Will Smith movie, Hancock. IT has become a tradition for Emily and i to go see the new Will Smith movie on opening weekend (Pursuit of Happyness, I am Legend, now this) and we thought it would be cool to do so.

We both loved the movie, i mean loved it. It had a great deal of profanity, and the lead character boozed it up, alot, but i want to tell you, if it was even appropriate for a film to have it (which is up for debate if it is) this was the film. His character was heroic, funny and sad. Which is basically what Christians today are. We are destined for great things, but our own selfish wants and "needs" get in the way and we screw it up. Plus it was the 1st superhero movie i have seen in years that i didnt feel like i was in a 12 year old nerd convention as i walked in or our of the theatre.Comic book purist hated the film, but to be fair, they hate anything that isnt their grandma's basement (that was mean, my bad.)

After the movie at about 9:30 pm, Ray (another Pastor at South Side) calls me and tells me the missionary that was scheduled to preach in the morning called and he was stuck in Atlanta, so he asked if i could do it. I didnt even hestitate and decided i would. Now the only problem is i was taking a task that i usually spend around 30 hours, and using about 3 hours to prepare for it. But i did. I got done at about 12:30am or so, and went to bed. Sunday morning i preached on the subject of John chapter 5, when the man said he wanted to be healed, but Jesus asked him if that was what he truly wanted. It had alot to do with the fact that we say we want our troubles to end, but we refuse to do anything to end them. It went good, i guess.

You never really know how good a sermon goes, at times people will say nice things, or mean things. But then at times they will say nothing, but, it doesnt matter. I want to help, but i am really only speaking for an audience of one (God). But yeah, never preached on that short of notice before, it was fun. So all-in-all fun weekend.

If you are into this election at all..

If you care about the Prez election, which i do, a little. then i know you most likely get your info from either a tv network or criptic e-mails with blue and red font telling you Mccain is a mobster and Obama is a terriorist. (if you read any of these, shame on you) but if you want a neat unbias source, go to relevant magaizne. they are having candidate interviews this month and todays was Obama, who i like. I also like Johnny Mac though, so i am not huge either way. But here is the interview, he talks about one of Two issues Fundamentalists seem to care about (abortion and gay marriage, which is, wow) But here is the link to his interview

http://relevantmagazine.com/life_article.php?id=7591

So I Have This Dream...

Before i go into it, i want to be clear about something. I in no way want to leave our ministry here at South Side. Things are going great and people are growing in Christ, so i would have to be a fool to abandon that. But still i think it is okay to share what my dream for my career and calling as a pastor is. I created this blog so that people could get to know the real me a little better, so therefore, this is my dream in life. People often ask me what my long-term goal for ministry is, well, this is it.

Ever since i got into Christianity i have felt this calling to do something big for God. Not just grow a church or baptize alot of people or even to help make disciples out of a bunch of filthy sinners (you know who you are, as am I) but to do something that is so big it outlasts me by a long shot. I have prayed for God to develop this, and well, this is where i am right now.

My dream is to plant a church. I know many of you know this, but it isnt your adverage run of the mill church. I want to start a brand new church in an area that isnt so much unChurched. See in most church plants people will plant one where there arent many churches, but in this one i would like to plant it in a area where there are many. See personally i think the Bible Belt at times gets flooded with religious, disingenuous congregations that really dont help people become disciples as much as the help people love churchyness. So i would like to start a church for (as a million guys before me have put it) people who hate going to church. It mainly would consist of a plan that is in a fantastic book titled "Simple Church". This is that the basics of the church are "Love God, Love People and Serve the World". We wouldnt be a group with lots of programs or campaigns, but moreso a group that meets, worships and during the weeks hangs out and grows closer to eachother. You might ask how this is different from your church, well it is, and here is how.

We wouldnt be a place that worries about wednesday night bible studies or sunday night whatever, it would only be (from the beginning) a worship service and small groups. The only other time we would all meet is for service projects to actually affect our community.

Another important thing I would make sure we did was to NEVER buy a property. I would love to meet in a theatre or mall, and then if we got bigger, meet in a school gym or a audotorium, but that is as far as it goes. I think within the church we get so tied up in our temple (church) that we forget what is important. Such a huge cost for a church is building maintenance, but for us, it would be nothing short of rent. It would be mandatory that if you joined our church you would become a missionary to our city, and two you be plugged into a small group.

And i even know what i would love to call it. See when studying the Gospels i have seen Jesus called many things, but usually those around him called him teacher or Rabbi. Our church would be, of course, all about Jesus (as most are). So we would be called "Rabbi Church" which of course most people would be scared of, as they would call us Jews, which would also be fun. There are about a zillion other details to it, including, who my staff would be (my buddy Paul Potter would share the preaching with me, but after that i tell nothing) what style of music, location, and how to the raise money, but none of that matters (although i have thought of all of it). I am sure i will never do it, but that is my dream.

Better With You

I guess i am just new to this marriage thing, but, well i have come to a conclusion, I dont get it. I really dont. I love my wife and i know she loves me. I love her more today than i did when we first met and we were in our "honeymoon period" (which by the way, i totally believe in). But it seems thats the longer we have been marriage the more confused i am on how to express how much i have grown to respect and love her.

I guess I didnt understand her when I 1st loved her. We were in college and i just got totally swept away by her. Up until that point i had dated alot of girls, and told a few i loved them, but honestly i had no idea what that meant when i said it. Then Emily got into my life and i just couldnt believe it. She became like this stunning force in my life that made me want to be a better student, Christian, friend, son, employee, EVERYTHING, but it was all spinning out of control because i was so in love with her that i sucked at all that other stuff i just mentioned. But all i knew was i would be a success in life as long as i was with her.

So we get engaged and then married and that is when the learning began. I found out that although a girl she was more messy than me. I also found out that although a girl she could hang out with me better than my group of guy friends, who at the time i considered brothers (not that i dont still, but i never see them these days) We had a little girl who i am madly in love with as well, and every little thing seemed great. But no is where the confusion hits. I dont understand how it is i keep failing her as her spiritual leader, her protector and her friend and yet she still loves me like i love her. I respect her beyond understanding. I do. She works constantly for our family, both professionally and volunteer work at South Side, yet not a complain and all she worries about is more cash coming in. She is amazing.

The other side of confusion is why the romantic part so different. When we dated i would here a song on the radio and be swept away with thoughts of her, now that we have matured we have moreso realized what love is, and understood that alot of the song/pop radio images of "love" involves a flavor of the week and not a soulmate. Anyway, the reason i mention this is i heard a song by an awesome artist named Five Times August and the song is called "Better with You" and i think its feel and lyrics describe Em and i to a T. here are the lyrics:

so maybe i've got a lot to learn
or maybe i'm justa hangin' on my words
or maybe it's not a big concern
but if i raise my headwould i understand why i'm
better with you

so maybe there's not a lot to say
or maybe i'm only doin' things my way, yeah
or maybe things will be okay
if i get it together
and do something clever
but make it better with you

so tell me where did i go wrong before you
before you came along
well it seems like i was lost
you showed me how to do things right
now i'm so glad that now you're mine..

so lemme say it all again

so maybe there's not a lot to do
or maybe i'm justa makin' myself confused
or maybe i've gotta nothin' to lose
but if i get outta line
just tell me you're mine
and how im better with you

so tell me where did i go wrong before you
before you came along
well it seems like i was lost
you showed me how to do things right now i'm
so glad that now you're mine

so use me dont let me screw it up
i believeyou oh and i need your touch
just a little spice of you
could never be too much
i believe you oh and i need you now
to make it better off somehow....
to make it better off somehow

so tell me where did i go wrong before you
before you came along
well it seems like i was lost
you showed me how to do things right now i'm
so glad that now you're mine

so use me dont let me screw it up
i believe you oh and i need your touch
just a little spice of you
could never be too much
i believe you oh and i need you now
to make it better off somehow
you make it better off somehow

And here is the song on a video. Enjoy and I love you Em.

Stuff Christians Like

If you want a great blog to visit daily, look no further than http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/ It could not be more hillarious and true. I challeng you to read the whole list, i did it once, and it gets added to every single day.