Archive for January, 2008

Being a Missional Christian

I’ve just completed a three week sermon series entitled “Being a Missional Christian”. The ‘big idea” for the series was simple:

Jesus came, in the likeness of men, on a mission to reconcile the world to God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21) That mission was entrusted to us by Jesus just prior to His ascension. (John 20:21) The question for us is whether or not we will enroll ourselves in His mission.

So much emphasis is given these days to “finding your destiny in God” that I fear we have forgotten the starting point. We take spiritual gift tests, read books, hire Christian life-coaches/pastors, and attend conferences to figure out how to live a happy and fulfilled life. And rarely do we ask the question, “What’s Jesus’ mission?”

How are we to discover where we fit and who we are if we don’t begin with Jesus?

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1570 days ago 5

Free At Last

I don’t have much time to post today because we are trying to get ready for the inspection Monday, finish a sermon and start packing. I thought I would show you this image I came across this week.

I think it’s pretty awesome. (Click the pic to enlarge)

Have you ever felt this way?

Have a Great Weekend!

1575 days ago 2

Craig Ferguson on Tom Cruise

I’m sorry. I just can’t resist posting this.

Craig Ferguson of “The Late Late Show” did a little spoof of the Cruiser. If you don’t know what he’s spoofing, look here.

Funny stuff.

[tags]Tom Cruise, Scientology, spoof, Craig Ferguson, Late Late Show[/tags]

1578 days ago 3

Remember Martin Luther King

Let’s take a moment and remember where we’ve been.

QUESTION: How far do you think we have come since 1963?

John Piper said it best this week at Desiring God:

The point of this weekend is not to celebrate all that MLK was. You need not belabor his sins. The point is to lift up some magnificent things he stood for and some necessary and amazing achievements of the civil rights era in which he was a key leader. We are Christians and can see these things in the light of providence and the gospel. Let everything point to Christ and him crucified. Consider Revelation 5:9 if you wonder whether ethnic diversity and ethnic harmony are Jesus-blood issues.

All you have to do to find some good word from MLK is Google his name. His “I have a dream” speech has some powerful lines. He dreams that some day his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” That cry is as important today globally and locally as it was in 1963.

I Have a Dream

[tags]I Have A Dream, MLK, Dr. Martin Luther King, John Piper[/tags]

1578 days ago 0

Weekend Thoughts

It looks like we may get some snow this weekend! It seems like the Raleigh, NC forecasters always get it wrong, but this time it looks like they may be right.

  • Some important MySpace news you may not be aware of. There is a backdoor vulnerability that allows anyone to use a specially constructed URL to access the photo gallery of private profiles on MySpace. Underage users are being specifically targetted (yuck…). If you have an underage user (under the age of 16) with photos in their gallery, I advise you to shut down the profile until MySpace fixes the problem. At least remove the pictures. The story from Wired News says that there are sites popping up right now that allow anyone to enter a MySpace user id number and then view their gallery. Creepy. Stay informed, parents!
  • I discovered a cool blog this week. If you are at all involved in maintaining your church’s website, I strongly suggest checking out “Heal Your Church’s Website“. He gives good practical advice with a sense of humor. He also regularly takes a look at particularly bad church sites and does (respectful) reviews of them with comments open. Cool stuff.

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1582 days ago 4

Proof Tom Cruise is Insane

A video has surfaced on the web that is equally humorous and disturbing. The video is of an interview with Tom Cruise when he won an award from the Church of Scientology. This video was produced by the Church of Scientology so this is Tom Cruise at his most “real” concerning his belief in the “teachings” of L. Ron Hubbard.

I’m all for respecting people’s beliefs and all that. But, this is nuts. Really nuts. After seeing this, I seriously don’t think I can ever watch The Cruise in a film ever again. It’s the creepy combination of massive ego and self-deception that I can’t stomach.

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1583 days ago 7

My First Rock Rebellion

Mylon LeFevre Big WorldI’m a preacher’s kid, though I didn’t have the stereotypical P.K. experience. I was not in a traditional church, a traditional denomination, nor is my Dad a traditional preacher. Compared to most pastor families, ours was pretty free. However, there were exceptions (at least in the early years). One of the restrictions we had was that Mom and Dad didn’t believe in rock music. We weren’t really allowed to listen to rock and roll at all.

Also working against us was the insane frenzy happening in the Church at the time about Satan living in the “African tribal beats” of rock music. Most of the vitriol about the rock genre had to do with the use of smoke machines, laser lighting and mullets. I’m with the fundamentalists concerning the mullet hair style but, I love pyrotechnics. If I could work sparkly explosions into my sermons, I would.

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1585 days ago 15
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