Archive for July, 2007

There is a fantastic article/column in an Australian paper by Hugh Mackay about community. Backyard Missionary wrote about it over on his blog. The word community has made a comeback in some church circles in the past 10 years, and our church actively seeks to develop biblical community in our small group ministry. We also seek as a church to impact our overall community through involvement, prayer, service, and ministry.

Mackay says this in his article:

Doing something with your friends is great. Singing in a choir with people like you is therapeutic. Turning up for events at your child’s school can give you a wonderful sense of being part of a community.

But “community” is a tricky word; it can be used to make us feel good about the herds and tribes we belong to, while blinding us to the needs of the neighbors who surround us.

I think too often churches today tend toward isolationism, creating tight-knit “communities” that actually become somewhat exclusive religious organizations. They do not create or send a Welcome! message to the people of their town or city. Rather, it seems that most folks on the “outside” view churches as closed, or “planned” communities. If you didn’t get in on things early, it’s too hard to jump through hoops to fit in now.

How can any given church affirm a message of not only “you are welcome here” but “you are wanted here?”

Black

by Ted Dekker

Dekker begins this colorful trilogy with the novel Black and tells the story of a young, aimless 20-something who begins having dreams. Strange thing is, he can’t tell which is reality – and when he’s really dreaming.

One world that he finds himself in (while dreaming in the other one) is our present day reality. Another world is a vibrant, sensory and spiritual-filled world in which he is told that the other world (ours) is part of the “histories.”

Dekker creates a compelling plot, and I’ve got to say that I’ll be reading the next installment. Speak up first for dibs on my copy before I list it on Amazon.
A great series for Potter fans that are experiencing post-series grief syndrome. (PSGS). ;)

See more about Black

Funny video, and thanks to Lou for giving me the heads up! Although I laughed, I felt dirty for doing so.. ;)

What do you think this series is saying about the meaning of the word “Christian” in our culture?

Over the past two days, I’ve realized why that silver, extremely sticky tape is called “duct tape.” It’s not “duck” tape. For one, mallards and the like don’t slow down long enough to tape them.

It started over a week ago when we had our house leveled by a company called $999 House Leveling. In short, DO NOT use them. They will not return phone calls, and without going into the gory details, we can not recommend them to anyone in good conscience. If you want to know, email us.

However, we can say that they ruined our air conditioning ducts under the house. Crawled all over them. Smushed flat. We didn’t know for a couple of days, and it finally dawned on us that the house wasn’t cooling like it should. It took us a few days because it happened during those rare days of cool, spring-like weather. (I think the Lord sent it just to calm our frayed nerves.)

Thanks to a new friend, Justin Dreyer, we now have round AC ducts again. He and I crawled what felt like 10 miles under our house the last couple of days, cutting the ducts apart and putting new ones in. I saw things no homeowner needs to see. Like the jawbone of a small animal and what looked like a petrified human ear. (Have they found Jimmy Hoffa yet?)

Justin and I had some great conversation under the house. It usually went something like this:

Can you reach that?
Reach what?
That.
Hold on… no.
Oh. Well, can you see the metal clippers?
Uh, they’re under your butt.

Anyway, we are so thankful for Justin and Amanda. They’ve only been in town for about two months and already, they’ve gone waaaay out of their way to help and serve us.

If you need any home improvement or want to turn your home into an energy-efficient dwelling, call Justin. He’s amazing. I think he has figured out a way to heat and cool your home on sardine juice. I’ll come along to help… and bring the duct tape.

Jeff Kapusta got me with a one-two punch today as I reviewed Bloglines for his latest entries. The first one was about the issue of trusting God and how his church has learned to trust deeply and more. I’d encourage you to read his post about a few experiences his church had with learning to trust God more.

He also posted about his experience at youth camp with the Lifepoint youth. Here are three of his thoughts (you gotta read the others too!):

1. You’ll find yourself questioning the future of the free world.
2. You will be convinced that your generation was the last to receive a brain.
3. You’ll either grow younger or older just being around them. You choose.

Woohoo! According to this site, my blog is worth moola. I’m waiting…

My blog is worth $24,839.76.
How much is your blog worth?

I don’t remember the term “spiritual warfare” being used much in the churches I grew up in, and I was a three-time-a-weeker. However, there have been times in my adult life and ministry that I’ve been very well aware – acutely aware – of the fact that a spritual battle is being waged for glory and souls.

Perhaps the best passage of scripture in the New Testament to remind of us ongoing struggle for spiritual loyalty is Ephesians 6.10-18:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand…

One of the helpful things about this passage is that it is a perspective adjustment for most of us. We’re so used to blaming people, circumstances, or events for the difficult moments in our life. Sometimes our blame may be well-placed (though it’s never healthy or beneficial to play the blame game); however, other times we may be forgetting the fact that an unseen, spiritual war is being waged. Paul’s teaching asserts that our struggle is not against people (“flesh and blood”) but against something more sinister – very real spiritual beings and forces that are bent on our destruction, division, discouragement and distraction (didn’t mean to “dis” you here… hahaha).

One of the amazing things about where our church is right now is that the Lord is doing so much through His people. Yet, there is a very real conflict going on that we cannot see. Any time territory is being taken from Satan, and the name of Christ is being lifted up, you can expect attack. However, the greater joy is that we are told to rejoice in all circumstances and to do our battles with spiritual weapons rather than earthly ones. (2 Corinthians 10.3-5)

Consider the impact that folks are making:

• Blogging with a purpose (BWAP)
• Buying groceries
• Mowing yards
• Building houses
• Renovating churches
• Counseling
• Encouraging
• Reading and studying scripture
• Helping people move in/out
• Learning
• Seeking to lead others to Christ through verbal and written witness
• Seizing everyday opportunities to proclaim our love for Jesus Christ
• Praying together
• Showing others “how to..” pray, give, go, serve, study the Bible, witness
• Establishing new things to reach and encourage more people
• Stepping out on limbs and walking on water in faith
• Building relationships with lost people
• Enjoying life
• Lending a hand to others for home repair
• Etc.

That’s just a smattering of things that I know are going on just in the last few days through the people of our church. It’s truly amazing.

When things don’t make sense in life or faith or church, I’d encourage you to step back and gain perspective. To consider whether you’re falling into the trap of the enemy that would seek to discourage, distract, divide, or destroy you. Do not believe his lies. Understand that there is a very real plan to keep you from intimacy in Christ.

…for we are not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2.11; also see 1 Peter 5.8)

Suit up.

Michael alerted me to this via Twitter.

I thought this was rather funny… until I forwarded it to Carolyn, and she kept laughing, saying, “Jeff, that’s YOU!” I’m highly offended, but still laughing..

I’m of the opinion of Lou when she says that tagging folks for blog entries is kind of like a chain letter. However, like a moth to flame, I can’t seem to be able to resist the lure.

Jenny tagged me for the latest. It’s “Five People and Why I Love Them.” Barf. So for testosterone purposes, I am amending the tag to be “Five People that I Don’t Mind Spending Five Hours With” because that sounds a little better. And hey, if you can spend five hours with someone and enjoy it, then that’s something, isn’t it?

Here are the rules:

You can’t use your spouse, or siblings for any of them. You have to tag 5, and the person that tagged you can’t be one of your choices.

So here goes:

• Mitch Bettis – my college roomie and all-around great guy, best friend. Mitch has always “been there” for me and later for me and Caro. He knows more dirt on me than any human (besides Caro) and still likes me. (uh, I think…) He’s a man of immense integrity and earnestly tries to look at every situation from all angles.
• Ryan Morgan – in spite of the fact that he once thought that I was a dork (please forgive him for that; he was young…), Ryan is a deeply authentic person. What you see is what you get. He has an incredible heart for people and is always growing in his faith. He has uncommon wisdom and is a great friend to me.
• Jackie Flake – Jackie was the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Director at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff when I first met him, and we’ve been soul buddies ever sense. His knowledge of the scriptures and his ability to apply and strategically minister is humbling. I can always count on him for perspective, insight and wisdom. He is never afraid to ask the hard questions.
• Neal Nelson – Neal is the BCM Director at Henderson State University though he was at Southern Arkansas Tech in Camden when we met. I could probably lump him and Ben Phillips into one person and get away with that, but the Lord brought the three of us into campus ministry at the same time and gave us a deep love and respect for one another. Neal has always helped me process my crazy church thoughts. He has a passion for seeing folks trust Christ that humbles me.
• Ronny Williams – OK, besides the fact that he plays the drums, guitar, kazoo and radio better than anyone I know… Besides that he can make me laugh or cheer me up at a moment’s notice. Ronny is someone that I love being around. He has endless stories that are perfect fodder for a sitcom. He has a love for people and can bring quick, black-and-white perspective to any situation.

OK, for everyone feeling slighted… get over it. There are bunch more of you out there that I could spend five hours with and like it. Some of you come in at four and a half hours, but I still like you too.

No taggees here.

I’ve got a great friend from college, Andy Dean, who is a videographer in Memphis. He’s been involved in an extensive and exciting new project called City on a Hill Productions. He sent me an email this evening alerting me to it, and after just a few moments of watching COAH-TV, I was not only struck by its quality and cinemaphotography, but also by its significance in being able to be used as a tool to point others to the same water that I’ve found: living water.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. – Jesus Christ (John 7.38)

Thanks for the heads up, Andy.

I troll around for WordPress themes that I like all the time and have opted to go with a minimalist look for a while. This theme is called Grid Focus and was created by Derek Punsalan, an all around nice guy and an incredible designer. He’s already responded to a question I posed to him today. Very cool.

One thing I’m having trouble with is in Firefox, Camino, and Flock, I see funny characters instead of apostrophes and quote marks. I’d be interested in knowing if any of you are having display problems?

Update: I was told that many of you could not leave a comment. I think I’ve fixed that as well… So de-lurk and comment away!

Punkisrael is back. David was one of the very first bloggers I began following two years ago, and he stopped for a while. I was disappointed. However, in the last several weeks, he’s been posting again, much to my delight, and he asks some provocative questions about the ABC show Extreme Makeover Home Edition in this entry. What think ye?

Still reading Phillip Yancey’s incredible book entitled simply and descriptively, Prayer. Part Three of the book has produced more reflection and insight than the first two parts (there are five total parts).

Yancey summarizes the Lord’s Prayer by saying that Jesus was essentially saying…

• Keep it simple.
• Keep it honest.
• Keep it up.

“Mainly, Jesus pressed home that we come as beloved children to a Father who loves us in advance and cares deeply about our lives. Ask young parents what is the correct way for their toddlers to approach them and you will probably get a puzzled look. Correct way? Being a parent means you do your best to remain available to your children and responsive to their needs. As Jesus said, if a human parent responds with compassion and not hostility, how much more will God.”

Hebrews 4.15 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Indeed, one of the most charming and thankful reminders of Yancey’s book is not the correct way to pray but simply to pray.

I’m also intrigued in this chapter by how Yancey suggests that since we all have differing temperaments, that perhaps how we relate to God may be more specially shaped by how He uniquely created us than we have realized. We may struggle under a load or burden of an “ineffective” prayer life, all the while being guilty that our prayer lives are not like someone else’s.

Rather, we should seek to relate to God in the way that we most naturally relate to others. Prayer is not a trade to be learned but a relationship to embrace.

He advocates the use of the Psalms to jumpstart, direct and inform a prayer life. In fact, in one powerful story, he tells of Lutheran theology professor Martin Marty whose wife was undergoing chemotherapy for terminl cancer. He began a practice of reading the Psalms to her when they got up in the middle of the night for a medication dosage to relieve nausea. He would read the Psalms to her until they got sleepy again.

One night, she caught him skipping from Psalms 87 to Psalm 91. Martin had skimmed ahead and decided the language of the Psalms in between might be more disturbing than his wife needed at the moment. Verses like “…my life draws near the grave, I am counted among those who go down to the pit…” just didn’t seem encouraging or appropriate.

However, she caught him in his omission and asked, “Why did you skip those Psalms?” When Martin responded that he had neglected them due to their nature, she responded, “Go back. Read it. If I don’t deal with the darkness, the others won’t shine out.”

In prayer, our simple honesty should permeate our petitions. It is our relationship with God that is foundational, not our work in prayer. We talk to God and remember that He has invited us before His presence. We come with an invitation from the King to the Banquet of All Times.

I hope you’ll be encouraged to dive into prayer like into a swimming pool on a hot day. Relish it, enjoy Him. Pour out your heart. Listen. Reflect.

By the way, I’d highly recommend the book, even without finishing it yet.

The LERG in Monticello are preparing to begin an all-out onslaught on our common sense. The Advance released this week the first in an “installment” that seeks to account for the $15 million that the past 10 years of sales tax raised, but for me it raised more questions than it answered. I’m wondering if the Advance has been recruited as a promotional tool. So many of the businessmen that are backing this sales tax advertise with the Advance that they may not have a real choice.

There are no detailed plans for the expenditures of this proposed sales tax.

Unfortunately, at this point, I am growing more and more convinced that not only do we not need to extend the existing sales tax, but that the tactics that will soon be used by some of our city’s leaders are disconcerting.

In some recent minutes from a MEDC meeting, the following showed up as one of the topics:

Do not give the opposition time to prepare a defense.

Buttons have been ordered, and I suppose you’ll be able to recognize the LERG very soon by the shiny buttons they’ll be sporting all over town. Please remember that those buttons are saying, “We have no long-range plan for the city. We simply think the city will be unable to provide necessary services if the tax is not passed.” What services will not be provided is not answered. I have yet to understand from any conversations why so this minority of businessmen and members of the city council and mayor feel that the city cannot simply be run through normal revenues that every city brings in.

I’d encourage you to read the article in the Advance and then begin asking yourself, “Did we get our money’s worth?” Was it worth it? I’d also ask some strong “Why’s?” Was the $4.3 million that supposedly went to “economic development” well spent? Why does the city subsidize the MEDC and the Chamber of Commerce to the tune of $65,000 annually? The article says that $2.8 million was appropriated for the sports complex, but did all of that money get spent out there? On what? Here’s another thought: only $3 million of the total was spent on capital improvements. However, almost $1 million was spent by the MEDC building the SPEC building that still sits empty (and they’re still making payments on it). I’m sure that you can come up with your own questions, as well.

The plan to extend the tax another 15 years – with no definite plans attached to it is almost like saying, “Give the city a blank check for millions of dollars, and it will be spent it well.” After reading the first article, I’m not so sure. It’s also very interesting that just a short time before this special election, we are finally receiving details about how the money was spent. I’ve asked for that information for months for MonticelloLive, but never received it.

Please remember that we already have another one cent tax that goes to the county and another one cent tax that goes to the city. This sales tax extension is for the third cent that we’re already paying. In other words, we pay 6% for the state sales tax, 1% for county, 1% for city, and another 1% on this special sales tax. That brings our local rate to 9%.

Another thing that is VERY disturbing is the total lack of advance notice that the community is being given to participate in discussion about the sales tax. Yes, the LERG have fanned out across Monticello and spoken at the Rotary, Lions’ Club (next meeting), and other civic organizations and meetings, but it seems more of a sales job rather than a dialogue. However, the Advance that was printed last Wednesday (and most of us don’t get it until Thursday) announced two important and serious opportunities to discuss with the Community Design Center from Fayetteville. However, when were the meetings scheduled? For last Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and that Friday at 5:30 p.m! For most of us, it becomes nearly impossible to participate on such short notice. It’s almost like they want to be able to say, “Well, we did have meetings, but not many showed up.”

It just doesn’t sit right. Oh wait, I forgot… if the strategy is to “not give the opposition time to prepare a defense,” then it makes perfect sense.

Personally, I’d like to keep a little more of my money and ask the city to scale back, if need be. Until we see our county officials and our city officials begin to sit down and work together for the future of our community and region, I don’t think it’s time to pass another sales tax. Give us a break. No plan, no tax.