Friday Friend Challenge

Taking a cue from Scott’s entry, I’d like to invite you all to a little two-week adventure – The Friday Friend Challenge. Starting today, I’d like you to carve out 30 minutes to an hour, and write some notes to friends. Yes, I said write. That’s with a pen. You may have to hunt one down. They’re slender instruments with a small rolling ball on the end that is inked as it rolls by an attached ink cartridge. Of course, you can always use graphite. Just don’t use a keyboard.

We’re talking snail mail here. It’s a lost art. And yes, you’ll probably have to look in the phone book for an address. Sigh. Those 30 seconds of hunting down an address are sooooo inconvenient when you could just send an email. But don’t. Don’t click.

Write as many notes as you desire in that 30-minute to one hour interval. Before you begin, make a list of folks who you feel like writing. They may be relationship-based (family, friends), ministry-based (folks needing encouragement, support, advice) or recognition-based (leaders, teachers, influencers). Then just start writing. Those that you don’t get to today, you can begin writing next Friday.

Let’s try this for two weeks and see how it makes you feel to pick up pen and paper.

A must read… 1

I have a shelf for "must-read" books in my house. If I ever get an office again where people can find me (I work out of the home predominantly, and there’s not room for my stuff at Journey), it will be moved there. These are books that over the years have deeply impacted my thinking, character, philosophies, and ministry.

Let’s add one today. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.

One of our small groups at church is currently going through it, and as I mentioned before, I just finished reading it with Ryan.

It’s a short read, but a powerful one. In fact, I would even say that in this day of reading, it’s a book that every believer needs to not just read, but digest.

It’s not about church trends, fads, emergent this or that. It’s about holiness. Holiness is a concept far removed from most of our experiences, yet the Lord says, "Be holy as I am holy."

It is holiness that marks us from our corrupted world and society. Church attendance or membership does not ensure your holiness. Neither does naive hype or hand-raisin’. Bridges says that we fundamentally misunderstand holiness.

"Our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered," he says. (p16) In other words, we are more concerned about conquering sin for our own benefits and self-worth than we are because our sin offends God. Because we see our struggle with sin as a success-failure game, we strive for "success" or "victory" over sin, which results in our attitude toward sin being mainly about us rather than about God. There are few tears of confession and repentance in our churches and lives these days over our sin because we see our sin mainly as personal failure rather than divine rebellion.

In addition, Bridges comments that "we have misunderstood ‘living by faith’ to mean that no effort is required on our part." I agree wholeheartedly. After teaching for many years, first to youth then to collegians, and now to folks of all ages, I see that as 21st century believers, we appreciate good exposition and application of God’s Word, but we fail to go home and match what we’ve heard with personal, disciplined effort. There’s a disconnect between our ears and our hands. It requires much sweat, effort, decision-making, resolving, and scheduling to change our habits, attitudes, and lifestyles to be in accord with the teaching of Scripture. We will not be holy without change. Change requires effort.

He also adds that "we do not take sin seriously enough." If every sin we committed incurred immediate, divine wrath, then perhaps we would begin to conceive how hateful God is toward sin. However, it is His grace and wisdom that stays His hand. His grace cost the life of His Son that we might not incur his immediate wrath, while His wisdom allows us to experience the consequences of our sins so that we will realize with distaste how unhealthy our selfishness is.

We pick and choose what sin we will consider unacceptable. Sexual immorality in the church is greatly frowned upon; however, pride is not. Yet it is pride that is preeminently hated by God. We whisper about embezzlers but laugh with gluttons. We fail to take sin seriously. We cannot choose what parts of God’s Word to obey and what parts to fudge on. "We cannot categorize sin if we are to live a life of holiness," says Bridges.

I’ll be reading this little book regularly for the rest of my life. It has immense value because we live in continual spiritual compromise.

Order your copy today, or be the first to comment and commit to read the book, and I’ll order you a copy as a gift.

Veggie Tales too much of a meal for NBC

It turns out that the hype and excitement about the mega-hit Christian animation series Veggie Tales being on NBC was a little overdone. It turns out that NBC’s censors have gotten ahold of the show, much to VT creator’s Phil Vischer’s dismay and quashed (or is it squashed?) references to God that are “non-historical.” In other words, they’ve ripped the ending out of the show where the veggies relate the spiritual and scriptural application. Gone is the final tag, “Remember kids, God made you special and he loves you very much.” Unfortunately, NBC must think that God loving a child is worthy of censorship. (Source)

Brent Bozell had an excellent commentary on the matter here. He concluded with:

This is one of those moments where you understand that networks like NBC are only talking an empty talk and walking an empty walk when it comes to the First Amendment, and “creative integrity,” and so on. They have told parents concerned about their smutty programs like “Will and Grace” that if they’re offended, they have a remote control as an option. The networks have spent millions insisting that we have a V-chip in our TV sets. Change the channel. Block it out.

But when it comes to religious programming — programming that doesn’t even mention Jesus Christ — just watch the hypocrisy. Instead of telling viewers to just change the channel if they don’t like it, or put in a V-chip for Bible verses, they demand to producers that all that outdated old-time religion has to be shredded before broadcast.

It’s truly sad that this anti-religious hypocrisy would emerge. Today, no one in network TV fears what the children are watching — unless it makes them think about God.

On Journey…

This entry is long overdue. My love for and admiration of the people of Journey Church has always been somewhat understated and undercover. When we began the process of starting a new church in our community in 2003, I was then serving as the campus minister at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at UAM. I started there in 1995 and enjoyed every moment of it.

However, we sensed the leadership of God in the intentional beginnings of a new church, with a decidedly different structure and strategy, and I resigned to start Journey. At that point, we did so in faith that God would provide for and meet our needs. Carolyn had started a Noble photo a few years before, and the Lord continued to use that business as a primary means of provision for us. In addition, I started Noble Design since my background was in design, journalism and advertising. Business from it comes and goes in spurts.

Carolyn and I continue to receive our primary income from these two sources of self-employment. I have great hopes that MonticelloLive will eventually become my primary focus as it begins to draw in advertisers and sponsors.

That brings me back to Journey. In the beginning, we received a meager housing allowance from Journey as support. As Journey has grown, it has begun supporting us with full housing allowance and with health insurance, but we do not receive a “salary,” so to speak, from them yet. The church just isn’t at that point quite yet.

All that to say this… when I first helped start Journey, and we were meeting in our living room, I was very hesitant and even reticent to talk about it with folks that I knew. At that time, most folks I knew, obviously, were members of churches already. I did not (and still don’t) want fully-participating members of other churches to leave their own church to come to Journey. I don’t encourage “church hopping.” However, in the past three years, that hesitance has become a habit. What initially began as a wise principle to prevent proselytism (“stealing” other churches members) has become instead a phobia of perception. I think somewhere along the way, I grew quiet about Journey to others, simply because I didn’t want to be seen as “bragging” or “boasting” about the church.

However, a church is not a building. It’s a people. It’s ordinary folks – friends, neighbors, co-workers, students, and children – who have given their lives to following Jesus Christ. It’s normal folks like me who are discovering daily just how true and real the presence of God can be in our lives when we follow His teachings and submit all of life to Him. That’s why I’m so privileged and honored to be a part of a church like Journey.

I see all of its members imperfectly pursuing a perfect God. There’s not a single one of us who “have arrived.” But I sincerely regard each person as seeking to allow Jesus to be Lord of their lives. Everyday folks are “being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3.18) simply by following the teachings of Scripture and loving one another. That’s really what being a disciple of Christ, a follower, a learner, a Christian, is all about anyway, isn’t it? It’s not meant to be hard, but something so simple a
child is held up as an example.

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. (1 John 3.23)

Believe – really, truly, and deeply and love. Believe and love. Give your mind and your heart. Radically.

I don’t know what this entry has meant for those of you reading, but for me, I had to get it off my chest. Journey is an amazing church.

Not because of its innovative structure or strategy of servanthood. Not because of its dynamic small groups. Not because of solid biblical teaching. Those are the things that folks might point to, but it’s not what makes Journey a great church.

Journey is not even a great church because it’s full of great people. The truth is that not one of them/us considers themselves “great.” They would all deny the description. Truth is, they’re just ordinary. Sinners being transformed into saints. Recovering hypocrites. Wretches who testify to the truth of “Amazing
Grace.”
The people of Journey are great because of our Great God. It is He that has made us and not we ourselves.

We are being transformed daily by Him. We are seeking daily because of the glimpse of Him that we’ve seen. We are striving daily to be more like Him.

And it’s the continual dailyness of these amazing, ordinary, grace-filled, God-glorifying people that compels me to write today…

Thank you. Truly.

Welcome New Readers 2…

In the past week there has been an upsurge in traffic on Notes from the Trail. Lots of new folks getting their feet dusty with us on this journey. I attribute much of this to the immediate and encouraging success of MonticelloLive. Did you know that last Friday it had just shy of 200 visits and more than 1300 page views? That’s pretty huge for a new website in a rural community! Thanks for your help in making that possible. I particularly want to thank Paul Griffin at Shelter Insurance. An email he sent to some friends got forwarded… and forwarded… until it made its way to the emails of teachers in the Monticello school district and at UAM. Many of the hits came from there, I believe.

For those of you just stopping in for the first time, let me encourage you to comment. It’s what makes blogs fun, participatory, and ongoing. It encourages the author, and it encourages others to participate as well. Often, what you have to say is much more important than what a blog author does!

By the way, for added exposure and traffic, if you’ve got the time, swing by and submit Notes.

Finally, for those of you following the minivan saga, I think it’s sold! Yahoo!

Related posts:
Welcome new readers 1

Big Life redesign…

Check out Andy’s site overhaul at Live a Big Life, and note the new link! Looks great! (Content even better!)

Apple is dead… or so they wish

In a simply wonderful, coffee-slurping, “I-told-you-so” kind of way, David Pogue’s article about Apple and the media is worth reading.

The church is losing its youth

Yet another study, this one completed in just the last month, shows that the evangelical church continues to hemorrhage internally. Churched youth are checking out of the church when they leave home for college, and many 20-somethings who were formerly regular, faithful members of youth groups are opting out of the church.

I experienced this trend first-hand in my 8 years as a collegiate minister at UAM. We consistently saw supposedly faithful members of area youth groups avoid our campus ministries, as well as local churches throughout their college career (and some of them made a career out of college!). Choosing instead to get involved in other forms of campus “life,” many lived profligate lifestyles.

Take it for what it’s worth, but I believe that the high dropout rate is due to the continuing treatment of our teenaged youth as a subcongregation to be entertained. High energy worship settings, mini-sermons, and big events dropped all combine to create a regular attender, but not necessarily a disciple or a true worshipper.

I think churches today need to seriously reconsider discipling their students, beginning as soon as 3rd grade. We should no longer seek to entertain youth by creating a separate youth congregation but rather by modeling, training, and freeing them to do active ministry in the community, church, and regions that we live in. The sit, soak, and shout method has been proven not to work. The Barna study is another resounding alarm to its failure.

David Kinnaman, the director of the research, said:

?Much of the ministry to teenagers in America needs an overhaul ? not because churches fail to attract significant numbers of young people, but because so much of those efforts are not creating a sustainable faith beyond high school. There are certainly effective youth ministries across the country, but the levels of disengagement among twentysomethings suggest that youth ministry fails too often at discipleship and faith formation. A new standard for viable youth ministry should be ? not the number of attenders, the sophistication of the events, or the ?cool? factor of the youth group ? but whether teens have the commitment, passion and resources to pursue Christ intentionally and whole-heartedly after they leave the youth ministry nest.?

May our churches rise up and think deeply about how to stop the bleeding and start the blessing of this generation of youth.

Related Posts:
Scott McKnight at Jesus Creed

Combatting biblical ignorance

I ran across an excellent website on Tuesday that I wanted to promote. Biblical Training has been formed with the express purpose of equipping believers with tools from great Bible teachers to express and communicate their faith in today’s culture. It begins with a basic Who is Jesus? class to more advanced curricula. Even better, it appears to be free!

Some of today’s great Bible teachers are lined up with the site already, including Danny Hayes from OBU and John Piper of Bethlehem Bible Church.

Stop by today and sign up for a class!

Welcome back… 2

I posted the lyrics to Welcome Back, Kotter on Kristy’s blog yesterday and immediately began laughing hysterically at myself as I proceeded to sing them for the rest of the day. Readers of Notes may recall the Blog Hostage Episode where I refused to post again until Carolyn did. I used that song then.

Here are the lyrics for your enjoyment:

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back to that same old place that you laughed about.
Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they’re turned around.

Who’d have thought they’d lead ya
(Who’d have thought they’d lead ya)
Back here where we need ya
(Here where we need ya)

Yeah we tease him a lot cause we’ve
got him on the spot,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

The song was a Billboard #1 hit in 1976. This was John Sebastian’s only solo hit, though as the lead singer and writer of the group
Lovin’ Spoonful he was responsible for 10 Top Forty hits from 1965-1961. (source)

So what was your favorite 70s sitcom or show? Kotter was definitely one of mine, as well as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Three’s Company (when I could watch it – they were living together, after all!), and of course, Gilligan’s Island.

Kingston, TN principal detours prayer reg

Thanks, Mom, for sending this to me… BTW, it’s true!

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod on September 1, 2000.

"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country."

Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate lifestyle," and if someone is offended, that’s OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex." If someone is offended, that’s OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem…

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple-minded"  and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor God and to ask Him to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.

This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except God and His Commandments.

Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical… I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s," and refrain from praying at this time.

"However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank God and ask Him in the name of Jesus to Bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that’s not against the law—-yet."

"One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray. They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the announcer’s box…

Somehow, Kingston, Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion." (sourced from the forwarded email)

New wheels, new game

My testosterone levels have shot through the roof since last Friday. I’m beginning to worry about myself. I actually considered wearing camo to teach in at Journey on Sunday. It’s all due to my acquisition of a new vehicle – a 2001 Nissan Exterra. Ronny Williams, a great friend who works at
Ryburn Motors as the general sales poobah called me last week. He said, “I’ve found what you need.” And indeed he had. Although the Exterra has 212K miles on it, it runs like a top and has the effect of re-masculinizing me. Aaah. Bye bye, minivan. Old Blue is on the sales block for $3K. Spread the word. It has 152,000 miles, a 2 year-old transmission and a brand new waterpump. Fit for a queen.

In other news, the Mr. Bug Exterminators lost Saturday, 16-0, to the Maxwell Green Machine. This junior league football team (3rd-4th grade) that I’m coaching has some great kids on it, but had a major case of the first-game-jitters (or maybe the coach did!). I think we fumbled the ball 37 times.
(It felt like that from out of the field.) At least we didn’t get beat as bad as the Billies did Friday night… and I don’t even get paid to do this. ;) Sam had a great showing, even recovering a fumble!

I don’t know if any of you are aware of it, but Journey has a podcast. If you’re really bored, you can listen to the messages weekly here.

Related Posts:

• Hazardous for your health
• Goodbye Dakota, I loved thee…
• Foreshadowing
• Smell on wheels

Mod It!

Oboy, oboy. I just stumbled across this site, subscribed to it over at Bloglines and am excited about the days ahead. Poking around in innards of Macs… What could be better?

Link up!

I’d sure appreciate all you Monticellonians out there putting a link to MonticelloLive.com on your sites! Gracias!

I’ll be back…

Whew. I’m pooped. Really.

My posting has tapered off here at Notes in the past few days, but it’s not been because I haven’t thought about it. I just haven’t had time to stop. I’ve been actively trying to nurture MonticelloLive into existence, as well as starting a new part-time job.

I started working with Rick Hales last week. Rick’s a great friend and an all-around tech marvel. From satellites to sound systems to lighting to things with ladders, he can do it. He’s been completely swamped for a while now, and after a conversation the other day, we decided we could help each other. I need the money, and he needs the help.

So, as a bivocational pastor/graphic designer/entrepreneur/gadfly married to a wonderful wife/best friend/photographer/increda-mom, I have been growing more and more cognizant that I’m not bringing home the bacon. She is. And fellas, that ain’t good. So, I’m working a part-time job. It’s a wonderful break from intensity because working with Rick requires a whole nudder set of brain cells that I didn’t realize I had. (Rick may be wondering if they actually exist.) This kind of work is not what I’m used to, and for the time being, it’s refreshing.

However, it means that I’m doubly-stretched. We’ll see just how far the amazing Super-Elasti-Jeff can go. (Remember Stretch Armstrong?)

So.. if my posts taper off, just keep commenting on old ones. That will make me feel special.

I’ll be back… I promise.

Deep love (1 Peter 4)

Above all, love each other deeply… 4.8

The apostle tells us to to love each other as an overarching command. It is to be our regular “attitude” (4.1) and the default of our Christian core.

When life has gotten hectic, wehn crises have multiplied, when confusion reigns – remember and renew your love for other Christians. Though we may not “feel” like it, a new attention to loving others deeply will blast us from our self-consummation. It will destroy our proclivity to nitpick, and it will lay waste to our ways of worry.

Love one another deeply.

How can I practice, model, and do that to someone today?

Offering hospitality is one way. Using what God has given you – spiritual gifts, natural talents, time, resources, etc. Whatever God gives you a peace about parting with, that, for you may be your call to express deep love.

For we cannot love one another truly without parting with something. “For God so love the world that He gave…”

Our reason for loving? Besides that it benefits us (“love covers a multitude of sins”), it primarily brings glory to God!

So that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 4.11

For “God is love” (1 John 4.16), and where we pour out love on another, we show God’s character, His presence, and His heart.

How can you shift from self-consummation to deep love for others this day?

The value of dirt…

Randy has done it again over at Stuff I Think. A short, brief entry that makes me scratch my head, and go, “Wow.”

Multiply…
I’ve made a “private” entry over at multiply.com for “family and friends.” My address there is journeyguy.multiply.com. If you’re not on the list, you can’t see it. If you want to be on the “family or friends” list, please send $1000 or leave an encouraging comment to explain why you want to be part of my family or my friend. ;) Just a warning: one of the things I do over at multiply is share my feelings. Ooooo. Yuch.

4th “Off the Path” link…

It’s been a while since I recognized a blog for excellence, consistency and content with my Off the Path link section. However, I have to recommend to you challies.com. I’ve been a steady lurker there for a long time. I love its design, and its material is always substantial. Swing my Tim Challies’ site and check it out!

The joy of suffering (1 Peter 4)

Physical suffering for Christ puts things into a radical new perspective, enabling the sufferer to experience new heights of joy in Christ, discovering as Nehemiah proclaimed, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 4.1

You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 4.2

Exactly!

Another thought that struck me is Peter’s exhortation about our prayers – urging us to be “earnest and disciplined” in them. (NLT) The NIV says it this way, “Be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray.” I’ve not considered that prayer is something to be disciplined about. Rather, I’ve always thought it to be the “want-to” conversation with God.

Discipline in prayer seems to hint that there will be times – most times!? – when will alone determines whether you pray or not. We will not always feel like praying. Discipline suggests that I determine to pray even when my heart is not in it. There is something powerful about forcing yourself to bow before God even when you don’t feel submissive. He is King, after all, and all kings have the authority to summon any subject before them at any time. Let us not forget that He may desire our presence before Him more than we desire His.
Going back to the clarifying blessing of suffering…

So be happy when you are insulted for the name of Christ, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 4.13
…these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to the world. 4.13
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. 4.19

Related posts:
Praying for those who suffer (the persecuted church)

Fantasy church

In these happy days of fall football, I came across Randy Borhlender’s Fantasy Church entry. Love it.

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