Archive for 2010

At the end of July, I communicated to our church staff and membership that it was “all hands on deck” for August. It promised to be a hurricane of activity, and we needed everyone in place to serve. There are three college campuses and one medical school within 15 miles of us. The student population swells the the county by almost 45,000st 45,000
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Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja! Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

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Our August schedule was so marked up with fellowship opportunities, service projects, community and campus events that I think my iPhone got heavier every time I pulled up my calendar.

Yesterday at our staff meeting, I shared with an amazing group of people – both paid and volunteer – how proud and grateful I was to serve with them and the members of our church. We had our first Sunday with two services this past Sunday, and there were few glitches. More importantly, in the last two weeks, we’ve seen God (and it’s been all Him) bring over 200 new people to our church – students and families.

Now begins the joyfully hard work of ensuring that this new crowd becomes a congregration. It is our prayer and deep hope that we will be faithful and diligent to encourage every single person and family coming to our church to love and good deeds in Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 10:24Hebrews 10:24
English: World English Bible - WEB
24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,

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A busy August is over. I’m grateful and humbled by the amazing things God has done. I want to enjoy this moment. Simultaneously, this time is also one of great spiritual urgency as we seek to encourage and equip the people God has sent us to be the church.

I plan to take a deep breath over the next few days, gaining perspective and seeking wisdom.  I’d appreciate your prayers for our staff and our church.

This is a followup to my post Unopinionated. In it, I wrestled with the danger and necessity of voicing your opinion about public issues as a leader. I wasn’t referring to issues which are morally or biblically right or wrong but rather those issues that require vision, direction and wise counsel.

One of the precipitating concerns that I have about remaining silent is that our culture in general these days seems to promote those into positions of leadership – both private, corporate and public – who will respond only to opinion. Therefore, we have public opinion polls, popularity indices, etc. These only serve to force a person into nonleadership. He/she is responsive not to ideas and grand philosophies but to the whims of the uninformed, the unhappy, and the frustrated. We know deep down that it’s better to prolong our immediate needs for longterm benefit, but these polls demand immediate satisfaction. We are victims of the cult of the now.

What about you? When you and the leaders – Christian or not – around you remain silent locally on issues that affect direction, well-being and reflect poor stewardship of community resources or tax income, you are not seeking the best for the community in which you live.

One of the problems with voicing your thoughts is that most decisions that are reached happen outside of your regular input or insight. You don’t have the same amount of research and counsel that others have had access to in making community decisions. You hope that “the powers that be” have done their research and arrive at their conclusions after long, careful deliberation of known facts and issues. Occasionally, however, you sense that to not be the case.

When a decision is publicized that is contrary to public or private opinion, it’s often confounding to reconcile known facts and experiences with the decision that has been reached. It’s important to ask why, and to keep searching for answers to how the decision was made and upon what reasons the decision rests.

When you seek to please others by remaining silent in your communities, organizations, or churches, you do not help the overall health of the community. Choosing to get involved and voice your thoughts must be merged with the right channel of communication. You can’t simply post your concern as a Facebook status or Tweet. There are proper channels for public discourse. A tweet has yet to change the world. But commitment, persistence and patient communication have regularly impacted the flow of societal events and ideology. In other words, the way you communicate matters.

It’s vital as you do your fact-finding and voice your opinion, to do so with the right attitude and with a spirit of humility. You won’t press your point far if you’re divisive, vengeful or contentious in how you approach the situation. The Christian, in particular, has access to incredibly wise counsel through biblical teachings on this matter. Ephesians 4.15 urges one’s attitude to be one of “speaking the truth in love.” In Philippians 2.3, one is instructed to avoid anything that involves personal ambition and to practice putting others up instead of down.

You’ll find you go farther in public discourse and influence when others sense you seek theirs and the public’s good rather than simply tearing down what is (or isn’t) in favor of the way you want it. Representing yourself, your organization, your family and your church well in public means that you must guard your heart, control your feelings, and practice humility.

Don’t allow yourself or your leaders to be needlessly influenced by public opinion. Do what is right. When in doubt or in a difficult decision, seek wise counsel. Embrace personal and corporate humility. Choose proper channels of communication. And remember, pleasing people may not be what is ultimately best for them.

My family winged their way to parts west ten days ago. It’s part of their annual pilgrimage to New Mexico and west Texas. Some years I go; some years I don’t. It usually hinges on the activity level of August. This August has shaped up to be phenomenally phrenetic.

The week before they left, we enjoyed having Carolyn’s mom and our twin nephews and 5 year-old niece. With Sam and Adelyn and those three kiddoes in the house, I’m confident that one can contract ADHD if you had never had it. It was a fun, crazy, wild week. Caro and her mom were amazing as they towed the five cousins all over Virginia. We guys went mini-golfing one afternoon together. We happened to pick the hottest day of the year, and so I dripped while they putted. Funny how young’uns don’t care how hot it is.

This past weekend was Blackburg’s annual Steppin Out festival. It’s an excuse to rope off downtown and enjoy the company of your neighbors. It was packed. Our church had a booth and handed out almost 1500 Pop-Ices for free. That went over extremely well. It was fun to meet, greet and extend a smile and a cold treat as we attempted to show God’s love in a practical way.

Whenever my family leaves on trips like these, the first couple of days are nice. Quiet. It’s almost like a retreat. Then the quietness turns on you, and you realize the vacuum. I filled the void with three boxes: Redbox, Xbox and the cereal box.

Carolyn was horrified when I told her proudly on the phone the other night, “I’ve only eaten something besides cereal for dinner twice since you’ve been gone.” (I LOVE cereal.) It’s amazing how fast one person can go through a gallon of milk when all you’re eating is cereal.

Today is the day they fly in, and I’m excited to have my family reunited. There’s only two more weeks before school, and we’re hoping to sneak away to the beach before it starts – in between church activities and outreach.

Note: I’m in Roanoke as I write this, and I’m back at Panera. I came by earlier today to read, but now the fam’s flight is delayed for two hours, so it’s a Pick 2 and blogging. (They didn’t have Frosted Flakes on the menu.)

I hope I’ve made a case for asking significant questions and considering eternal issues as you consider “leaving your church.” If you are just stopping in, scroll down to the bottom and read the first entries in this series so you’ll be in the thought-flow for this entry.

Simply put, there are times that you may need to leave you church. However, in our remote control culture where we change channels on a whim and we have our food made-to-order, we must refuse to allow our consumerism to influence our commitment to Christ.

I provide the following thoughts about leaving your church as a template for prayerful consideration over time, not as a checklist for “how to.” In addition, these thoughts should be applied to most churches. This is not a place for the isolated instances of abusive churches, horrible situations, or moral failings in leadership (though they do exist!). It’s meant to address the typical instance of a growing sense of unease or discontent in your heart as a regular, faithful member of a church. It does not apply to the once-a-monthers, infrequent attenders or the uninvolved church consumer/pew sitter.

1. Do not allow your emotions to direct your decision to leave your church.
2. Do not allow your personal preferences to outweigh biblical guidance in leaving your church.
3. Make sure you’ve had at least one honest, unemotional meeting with the pastor before you leave.
4. Your goal is to leave in love, not in frustration, anger or disenchantment.
5. Review your commitment to be obedient to Christ and to protect the unity of His body and the beauty of His bride.
6. Resolve to not tear down, stir up, or bring people with you as you leave.
7. Deal with authority issues in your heart. Are you willing to submit your life to leaders and follow their authority? If not at this church, then what church?
8. Seek counsel from godly friends or family outside your church.
9. Commit to pray diligently for God’s blessing and favor upon your church and its leaders for 60 days before leaving or stepping out of an active role. You may discover a unique refreshing of your heart as you begin to pray.
10. Be as tough on yourself as you are on your evaluation of your church.

This is not an exhaustive list, obviously, and I’d love to hear from other leaders what you might add or substract from these. As a pastor, I know there’s a back door to our church and that people can silently slip out of it – sometimes unnoticed. If there’s a steady stream, there’s a problem. However, a trickle is normal and necessary for many reasons. We’ll cover those in anther entry.

To be continued…

This is the tame version of the original quote:

“Opinions are like buttholes; everyone’s got one.”

Including pastors.

Yes, we have buttholes. And yes, we have opinions. (I can sense my mom cringing from here.)

Let’s clarify that I don’t mean opinions about scripture and theology in this column, although it would be just as applicable. I’m referring to cultural or local issues. Things that get the locals hot under the collar. Things that “get out the vote.”

It seems culturally hip these days for pastors to go to one or the other extreme with their opinions. One camp conceals their personal druthers while the other parades it. One camp smiles and wants everyone to be their friend, while the other has no friends. One group embraces politics and soundbites while the other communicates through books and speeches. Think of Joel Osteen and Pat Robertson as being representative of each.

The Smilies

The strategy, unspoken or not, of this line of thought is that it’s more important to be able to relate with everyone than isolate yourself with a strong opinion on a matter. It has its merits. Not every opinion is worth offering, and why would we who seek to offer the joyful truth of Christ have it ignored because someone can’t stand how we think about an issue of irrelevance?

The Smuggies

This camp of leaders is confident of their rightness and often expresses it. No need to whitewash things, they say. So they wield the truth according to them as a sledgehammer. Few are spared, including other mediating opinions that might urge a conciliatory tone.

Where I Stand

Over the course of being a Christian leader (for 20+ years now), I’ve wandered in and out of both of the above camps. I enjoy it when people like me, so I’ve worked up a good smile. On the other hand, I also enjoy being right and at times have even ignored information that might disprove my stance.

Recently in our community of Blacksburg, VA, two strong issues have come up that have provoked my thinking about whether to offer my opinion or not. (Of course, who really cares what I think, anyway?) As I’ve discussed my thoughts with others, it always seems to be those that feel the same way I do. Do you tend to gravitate towards approvers as well? It certainly makes me feel like I’m right when others are nodding. And of course, I affirm their rightness as well. So we leave as happy campers, mutually appreciative of our wisdom but frustrated with “they” and not able to effect change.

It’s that effecting change stuff that gives me the willies, honestly. Change. We had a candidate recently run on that mantra, and he meant it. I won’t offer you my opinion about that… unless you feel the same way I do.

What do you find yourself getting frustrated about that isn’t related to issues of ultimate or eternal significance? When is it appropriate to speak up, to try to change things, to offer an alternative viewpoint? When is it better to keep the peace? As a pastor, I struggle with those questions. I don’t want to lose an ounce of influence that has been divinely won for me by matters that are meaningless.

A few questions I filter as I consider the publicity of my opinions:

• Will they be more helpful in the long run to others or will they simply “stir the pot?”
• By speaking up, would it be possible that I might gain influence or improve the situation?
• By speaking up, would it be possible that I might lose influence and hinder true solutions?
• Is it more important to speak to issues or to befriend those who might shape the solution?

As a leader and an influencer of a small amount of people, I am probably oversensitive to the extreme importance of being a steward of my ideas and thoughts. What I think about things really isn’t important. What God thinks of them is. But does God care about the issues, big and small, that mark our lives and divide our neighborhoods?

I believe He does.

To be continued…

It’s not too often that I review a product, and this will be short and sweet, but after plunking down a wad of dough for our iPad, I promptly began puttering around for some iPad protection. One thing you’ll discover quickly is that most of the cases that Best Buy and retail stores sell are, well, sorry. And expensive.

When I found the CrazyOnDigital Folio on Amazon for only $20, I was pretty skeptical. “That’s cheaper than most iPhone cases! How can it be any good?”

I’m a review reader, though, and after skimming the reviews of the case, I opted to get one. Amazon has a great returns policy, and I took advantage of our Amazon Prime membership for free 2-day shipping.

Short story: We love it!

It’s truly a quality, attractive case. I also love that it has utility pockets. The fold-over design allows you to set it up on your lap, or do give it just the right tilt angle on your desk to type on your iPad effectively.

What are you waiting on? Go get it.

On July 15, 2009, we pulled out of our driveway at 320 W. Jefferson in Monticello, Arkansas for the last time as its owners. The last two months before our move to Virginia last year were a whirlwind of goodbyes, a mission trip to Poland, floating the Buffalo River, lunches with long-time friends, and garage sales. When we finally hit I-40¹, our hearts were full of gratitude and eager expectation for what our God had in store for us in our new home.

We took our time, spending the night in Jackson, TN and again in Knoxville while we timed our arrival with our movers. We stopped in Nashville and showed the kids Opryland and the hotel. Little did we know that a monster flood would hit in the past year requiring the closings of both for a long time to renovate and repair.

We arrived in VA on July 17 and spend the next 24 hours unpacking before our first experience with Northstar Church in worship on July 19. It seems like such a long time ago because this past year has been so momentous. As I reflect, I am still overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for the friendships we made over 14 years in Monticello, Arkansas. Small town. Big heart. Don’t just ask us. Ask any of the evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that made it their extended home. Ask those who still live there. While Steve Jobs touts the magic of the iPad, there is relational magic in that southeast Arkansas community.

Because we genuinely and deeply felt that our move was orchestrated by the grace of God, it wasn’t a transition of convenience. Rather, it was obedience. We had prayed so hard for so long that the Lord would guide us in our path, and we’d offered our lives into His sure hands over and over – through health crises, church issues, financial stress and more. When the body of Christ known as Northstar Church began to talk with me about the possibility of becoming their next pastor, we were unsure at first.

When it became apparent through two visits, multiple conversatiosn, and dozens of emails that God seemed to uniting our lives with those of a new church family, we were overjoyed and heartbroken at the same time. We wrestled hard with whether we could leave Journey Church as a still-growing church start. We wondered if we could move further away from family. We interceded on behalf of Sam and Adelyn and how the transition would impact them. We questioned whether leaving the extended relational network and favor that God had given us in Arkansas was wise. It just seemed like things were really happening.

In the end, though, it became as simple as a “yes.” We had committed our lives a long time ago to put our “yes” on the table with the Lord. If He should ever call, ask, guide or command, our response was prepared. It was “yes.”

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1.20)

Since arriving in Virginia, we’ve been amazed at God’s continued favor as we’ve built new friendships, discovered wonderful blessings, and experienced the joy of a loving church family that, like Journey, wants to model the love of Jesus Christ to its community through authentic relationships and selfless service.

As I watched some of the kids from church today paint metal yard furniture that we’d recovered from the trash, I marveled at how God loves to turn trash into treasure in all our lives. I can certainly identify with King David’s stunned gratitude in 2 Samuel 7.18:

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

We don’t deserve any goodness from God whatsoever. The question should never be “Why does God allow so much evil in the world?” but “Why does God allow so much good?” We didn’t deserve Arkansas. We don’t deserve Virginia. It’s all grace and kindness from God. The apostle John swam in the sea of God’s love (he was called the beloved disciple), and toward the end of his life, he wrote (I imagine with joyful tears):

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3.1)

I feel this same awestruck wondrous relief this evening as I reflect over the past year. We’ve moved twice in 12 months. We’ve been blessed with new friendships – both in the church and outside of it. We love our neighbors (a very biblical thing to do!), and the challenges of leading and growing in this new community are joyfully significant.

So hello, Virginia. We’re here. We’re glad, and we’re eager to experience the realities of a loving God among you. Thanks for helping us feel at home so quickly. It’s all been a delight – the “short corn,” the cool nights, the snow, the morning mists, the fireworks display, the friendliness, and the two cars we’ve bought since arriving.

If so much can happen in a year, we better buckle down. There’s no telling what the Lord has for us around the corner.

*You can read about our trek to Virginia here:

• A turn on the trail
• Busy, busy
• Increasing gratitude
• Yard sale of the week
• Jet lag, packing and after glow
• Going dark
• Settling into Blacksburg
• Ode to Monticello

It’s been about three weeks since we got our iPad, and I thought I’d share what we’re continuing to learn from it and our use of it. It really is in the process of revolutionizing how/when/where I digest information and media.

1. It’s all about the apps. Even more so than the iPhone. Yes, one can argue all you want that “it’s just a big iPhone/iPod Touch,” but that’s not a valid argument. For starters, there are apps for the iPad that are not available for those devices. Second, many apps that are available for both have been rewritten and redesigned for the iPad. And yes, they are ultimately better.
2. The screen is gorgeous. Yes, I know my Macbook Pro screen is similar or better. But I don’t hold my Macbook Pro screen at the same viewing distance as my iPad. Watching movies via Netflix or iTunes with an iPad is stunning. You feel immersed in the story. The screen also makes working on the iPad completely enjoyable.
3. Reading books on the iPad is truly doable. I’ve been a skeptic of eBooks for a long time. I don’t know that I’ll ever get over my love affair with a bound volume. Plus, I doubt I’ll take my iPad into the bath tub with me. (sorry for the mental picture) There are several eBook apps that are simply brilliant, and many give you the option of adjusting the screen tint so that you feel like you’re actually viewing a printed page.
4. The iOS is pretty stinking amazing. I wrote in my journal the other day that it’s actually liberating for me. I’m a huge multitasker, and too often I’m guilty of bouncing through screen real estate from one program to another, one project to another and losing myself in the day. The way the iOS is structured has compelled me to think linearly, and it has been refreshing. I don’t have dozens of windows open in the background. I can’t see what’s going on behind the scenes while I’m in an app without exiting. No Growl notices. Etc. I hope that the upcoming iOS 4 update for the iPad doesn’t ruin that wonderful simplicity of focus for me.
5. Perfect for communication. Skype works flawlessly, and thus far, we haven’t used the 3G capabilities of the iPad. From email to Twitter, the iPad is wonderful for connecting.
6. MobileMe. It just keeps getting better. But with Apple’s cloud service, our phones, our computers and the iPad are all simultaneously synced with our contacts, calendars, web bookmarks, etc. Sigh.

A complaint about apps

One complaint I have is that apps that are available on both iPhone and iPad platforms generally require two different purchases. I can’t gripe too much because the iPad apps are better (see #1 above). However, with the App Stores not allowing you to preview software, it’s like shooting in the dark as to whether an app will be good or not. Since apps are more expensive for the iPad in general than the iPhone, that’s not a risk I take. Rather, I opted to immediately jailbreak our iPad, and I use Installous to preview apps before I buy them. Those apps that are good, I buy; those that aren’t, I delete. There needs to be an app store process like renting movies from iTunes which gives you 1-3 days with an app before it “times out.”

Apps to “check out”

The eBook apps continue to turn heads (and pages). In addition to Apple’s own iBooks, there are stellar apps from Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle, and Borders. My favorite (and the one that is consistently cheaper) is the Kindle app. It’s truly a work of art, and it makes buying an actual Kindle moot. Why buy a Kindle which only does eBooks when you can buy an iPad with a wonderful Kindle app? (or the Nook for that matter)

Twapps

The following apps are ones that I’m currently comparing for the ultimate honor of being my official Twitter app on the iPad:

• Echofon Pro
• Osfooro
• Twittelator

Each have pros and cons, but I like how Echofon syncs my read/unread tweets with Echofon for the iPhone and for the desktop. Osfoora is probably the most well-designed and graphically appealing, but I wish it had another theme option besides the dark one.

Big Facebook Fail

I could not believe Facebook didn’t have an iPad app. I guess they’re trying to push you to simply using the Facebook site in Safari? However, I’ve loved the simplicity and distractionlessness of the iPhone Facebook app. It’s a definite niche and a plus. At this point, there’s an absolutely gorgeous app called Sobees Lite that renders Facebook like a magazine. I heartily recommend it, but it lacks many of the iPhone apps functionality. The Facebook hole on the iPad at present is just begging to be filled by someone.

Another iPhone-iPad transition fail is Fox News’ app. Cmon, guys!

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

I prefer Accuweather over the Weather Channel Max. Accuweather may look too simple, but everything is clickable, and it has a nice graphic interface to get to maps, video reports, etc. The free WC app is that way because it supports annoying popup ads.

Feed Me

If you’re still surfing to your favorite blogs one at a time, you are so… late 90s. Get a feed reader and use it today. I’ve chosen Google Reader simply because Google owns our birthright, and I wanted to be sure I was in their will. It also syncs with everything but your kitchen, uh, nevermind. You get the picture.

I’ve used Reeder on my iPhone for quite a while, and its iPad app has the best rating. However, I hate – with a passion – its start screen. It’s essentially little stacks of paper representing the different folders that I’ve sorted my blog reads into. I much prefer how the iPhone app lists them in the left column. I was pleased to discover that MobileRSS Feed Reader has a much better layout initially.

However… Reeder just seems to have a smoother feel to it functionally and aesthetics-wise than does MobileRSS. I’m torn between the two. Everytime I fire up Reeder and get those obnoxious and unhelpful little stacks, I get fired up. But when I attempt to use the other exclusively I feel like I’m missing a long lost friend.

Other Apps I Like & Use

• Words with Friends HD (was there really a need to say this?)
• Taska – the best productivity app I’ve found on the iPad. Beats Things, ToDo and others. Like that it syncs with ToodleDo. I wish 2Do had an iPad app because that’s what I was using on the iPhone.
• Chronicle – for journaling, notetaking
• News apps: Fox News (iPhone version), NYT Editor’s Choice (I can’t help it for now; it’s beautiful), Early Edition, USA Today
• Camerabag – wonderful photo editor
• Bible apps: ESV Bible (great!), YouVersion Bible (super!), OliveTree Bible Reader (it has some great free resources, among which are a downloadable, searchable and indexed archive of all of John Piper’s sermons)
• ContactsJournal – a pretty cool way of keeping notes for those who have a large contact list; great for organizational leaders who need to remember conversations and news about members or volunteers
• Netflix and ABC Player
• DC Comics and Marvel Comics - I was a comic book collector nerd forever. In reading a few stunningly gorgeous issues on these apps, the inner nerd is clawing to get back out.
• Calendar – yes, the stock iCal app for the iPad is just, well, perfect. Thank you, Apple.
• TwentyThree – a way cool geo social network consolidator. Great for digital stalking. And beautiful. Check out the pic below.

Recommendations to Steve

Here’s what I would do to improve upon the iPad:

1. Multiple users. With OS X, the ability to create user accounts is wonderful and allows families to share one computer without messing up the settings, emails, and creative personalizations. Currently, the iPad is a little hard to use between multiple folks. It’s not like an iPhone that is mine. The iPad, I would imagine in many settings and households, is shared.
2. A camera. Yes, I’m an early adopter, and no, I don’t mind that the first iPad didn’t have one. But bring it on!
3. Sortable options in the App Store. When I do a search for “Twitter” to check out Twitter apps, I want to be able to sort the results by price, by rating and by release date. Having to scroll through windows by clicking on arrows seems very Windowish. Give us a list view or something.
4. Quit fighting jailbreakers. They improve your product significantly. Or if you just fight with them for the free media attention, then you’re still a genius.
5. Put a little gap in the case somewhere so that if you cover it with your finger, the person to the right of you will lose all cellphone signal.

Apps We Need

• A texting app that allows you to receive texts sent to your cell phone and then allows you to send through that account… over WIFI. There are numerous texting apps that require you to create a new virtual number, and those are nice, but I’d really like to get my texts on my iPad – without 3G.
• eBook Low Price. An app that consolidates the prices among all the big eBook apps and shows you which app/vendor has the cheapest price for that eBook. I would imagine that clicking on that low price automagically launches the corresponding eBook app and brings you to the purchase page for that book.

What about you? What’s been your iPad experience? How has it changed or is it changing how you relate with news, media and communication? Apps you like or want to see?

Many moons ago, my in-laws gave me a tent for Christmas. Those many moons almost surpass the birth of Adelyn. When we decided last week to “go camping,” it was not with the confident declaration of a family that “camps.” Rather, it was the over zealous determination to have a family outing after a softball tournament threw out our beach vacation.

As we were packing for the trip, I noticed on the tent box (still sealed) the address it had been delivered to: 162 Tanglewood, Monticello, AR. That was 4 houses ago. Many moons/4 houses/same thing.

We picked a site on the New River because it was relatively close, and with the heat wave of the last few weeks (mid 90s! Gasp!), we wanted to be able to do some tubing, swimming and fishing. We discovered quickly a lost benefit of our Sequoia – space. By the time we had finished packing, our two cars headed for New River Junction campground.

Carolyn and Adelyn made a Wal-Mart and Big Lots run on the way and ended up making the best purchase of our trip: air mattresses. Sam and I beat them to the camp and had the tent set up like we were old pros. Our only hitch was some kind of white, vomit-like gel on the ground -left by the previous campers. Sam and I almost added our own after close examination. We solved the dilemma primally by dumping ashes from the fire pit on top of the mass and then stomping it dry. Our testosterone surged.

The next 24 hours were perfect for three of us, but a Johnny Cash experience for one. I was delighted to find that the campground had WIFI. It was sketchy, but there. Actually, the portapotty had a better signal than our tent site – at least, I heard that it did. Ahem.

We roasted hot dogs, had smores and thereby branded ourselves as obeying the Great American Camping Meal Requirement. I told a ghost story around the campfire that had two profound reactions from the kids:

1) Sam said, “That was stupid.”

2) Adelyn crawled into Carolyn’s lawn chair with her. (It was the infamous “Drip, Drip” story for those ghost tale connoisseurs out there.

You’ll have to read the Johnny-Cash-linked tale above for an idea from a tenderfoot about how the night went. There were no bumps in the night, however.. only whistles.

By waking alive, we won. We’d camped! Yeehaw! After conquering the wilds of Virginia by not losing anything or hammering a tent peg through my foot, we declared our initial camping experience a success. We packed up and returned home shortly before lunch the following day with a commitment to venture out again soon.

What was your first camping experience like? Any recommendations on must-have investments for campers?

This is the third part in a continuing series on the Youth of Western Europe, with a focus on France. See below for links to the first two parts of this series.

The political animosity of France seems not only to be directed at the U.S., but also at the Christianity it sees portrayed by the U.S. This unfortunate association, combined with historical milieu of the country, as well as its confusing religious history – where Christianity fought itself more than it ministered to its people – have led to the alarming state of lostness among French youth. They must be reached with the Gospel in this generation! To have such a highly technological and ostensibly educated society’s youth reject Christ would erode the “progress” of the last centuries. If the church cannot keep its children and address this situation in every country, it cannot claim to have reached a people.

According to the 24-7prayer.com website,

“80% of the youth population of France have never even seen or held a Bible!”

Couple that with France’s long history of persecuting religious minorities, and one can see how any authentic, Bible-believing fellowship that emerges could easily receive the moniker of “cult.” Although the evangelical community in France is greater than 500,000, most of those are over the age of 40. In fact, it is reported that there are more full-time occultic practitioners in France than there are Christian workers (24/7prayer.com reports 50,000 occultic practitioners)!

“Of France’s 60 million inhabitants, about 40 million consider themselves Catholic, but only about 5 million attend church each month. Up to 5 million are Muslim and 650,000 are Jewish. One million are Protestants; about 650,000 of them belong to the often austere and liturgical Reformed and Lutheran churches, but only a small proportion attend church regularly,” reported a February 2005 Christianity Today article.

The article claims that there are the 350,000he 350,000
English: World English Bible - WEB
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja! Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin evangelical churchgoers in France, but most French are deists, agnostics, and atheists ripe for a renewed effort of the church.

Scripture exhorts the church to preach the Gospel to all nations, but it is not a one-time event. Our Lord obviously meant to “keep preaching” the Gospel – not to drop a Bible bomb on a culture and then move on, thinking the task was done. Historically the church has done a better job of exposing people to the Gospel than it has curing them of paganism. All these factors lead to the need to re-examine our “unreached peoples” classification and press forward in the understanding that we must make disciples and not reap decisions from the nations. The youth of France are in desperate need of the transforming power of the Gospel and to be reached with its life-giving truth.

In this continuing series, we’ve been looking at the issue of leaving your church. With the advent of the popular, mall-like “megachurch” of the 1980s, the American culture has seen the continuing growth and rise of large, trendy churches seeking after relevance across the country. It’s now somewhat hip to be a church planter, and new congregations “launch” after mass mailouts and focus groups, often with several hundred (at times over 1000) strangers showing up for a first service. All this takes place in the overall context of Christianity in the States declining.

Studies tell us that “The proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001.”1 In 2008, the number dropped to 76%.

Here are some other disturbing observations:

• Less than 20% of Americans regularly attend church—half of what the pollsters report.
• American church attendance is steadily declining.
• Only one state is outpacing its population growth. Hawaii, where 13.8% of the state’s population (1.3 million) regularly attends church, was the only state where church attendance grew faster than its population growth from 2000 to 2004. (However, church attendance in Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee—all of which have higher percentages of church attendees than Hawaii—was close to keeping up with population growth in the respective states.)
• Mid-sized churches are shrinking; the smallest and largest churches are growing.
• Established churches—40 to 190 years old—are, on average, declining.
• The increase in churches is only 1/4 of what’s needed to keep up with population growth.
• In 2050 (if trends continue), the percentage of the U.S. population attending church will be almost half of what it was in 1990.2

What’s my morbid point? Simply put, there are better things to be doing than looking for a better church for you. It is not a time to be shopping for a church that appeals to you or the needs of your family. It is a time to gently and graciously help those who have not confessed Christ as Lord to surrender their lives in wholehearted obedience to Him.

It is an act of allegiance and submission when you give your heart and life to Jesus Christ as Lord. Your confession of sins and glad reception of salvation from God through Christ’s death and resurrection is not for the ultimate goal of comfort in religious gathering. The ultimate goal of our salvation, in fact, is not about us.

Rather, our salvation brings honor and glory to the Father for His indescribable mercy. Our lives are meant to exalt Him, and our salvation and eternal life in Him are reflective of His love and kindness.

We should be seeking to lead others to Him, not consumed with whether our churches meet our needs for activities, programs and social life. Before you think I advocate an evangelically busy church, I will expound more on the importance of us being the church in later posts. For now, however, I simply say that we must be extremely careful to not make “church” about us.

Amid concerns of a church lacking certain programs for your family, styles of music or of the teaching not being “meaty” enough, please realize that there’s more at stake than the whether there’s steak.

To be continued…

Notes

1. Religious identification in the U.S.: How American adults view themselves, ReligiousTolerance.org

If you haven’t been following the drama, tension and amazing craziness that has resulted from the collapse of the Blacksburg High School gym earlier this year, it’s a good time to jump in. It’s about to take some strange plot turns.

Since February, the students and staff of Blacksburg High School have faced and defeated what seemed insurmountable obstacles. They relocated, took things in stride as much as they could, and graduated the class of 2010 amid much fanfare. However, all the details and headaches for students, faculty and families of coordinating education and family around a 2:30-7:30 p.m. school day have taken a huge toll.

Most of Blacksburg associated with the schools have been holding their breath in hope that the high school would be able to be move back to their building this fall. The debris from the gym collapse sat for months, with no overt progress.

Suddenly, a bombshell dropped last week, and due to last week’s revelation that the high school will not be able to be used this fall, the latest proposals by the Mongomery County School Board are simply to allow a takeover of the Blacksburg Middle School by the high school and relocate the middle school students and faculty somewhere else. This makes no sense whatsoever to me.

However, there is no great solution, and perhaps the county school board and administration have finally realized the need for cooperative decision making and input from the community. They’ve called community meetings for this Monday and Tuesdays at 3:00 and 7:00 at BMS and CMS (Christiansburg Middle).

I’ve included the news release from the county schools administrative office as well as a response to the proposed solutions from the Blacksburg Middle School staff. It makes one wonder whether the school staffs are being consulted in these important and significant decisions.

There are also a couple of survey links below that you can respond to.

Letter from the Montgomery County Public Schools office:

NEWS RELEASE June 16, 2010ne 16, 2010
English: World English Bible - WEB
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin
Montgomery County Public Schools Announce Community Meetings Regarding Facility Plans for Blacksburg StudentsOn Feb. 13, 2010, the gymnasium collapsed at Blacksburg High School. Although fortunately no one was injured, the daily schedules of students, parents, families, teachers and staff have faced upheaval as the school had to be closed for demolition and investigation into the cause of the collapse. The patience and support exhibited by everyone in our community have truly been amazing during this time of uncertainty and inconvenience.

School administrators, community leaders and many others are working closely with the School Board to plan for the 2010-2011 school year. As the safety analysis of the classroom building is not yet complete, a return to the BHS campus in the fall appears unlikely. There are currently several options under consideration for housing the approximately 1,200 BHS students and staff this coming school year. These options will be shared with the community at meetings on June 21 and 22, with the goal of making a final recommendation by July 6 for housing BHS students.

OPTIONS

• Blacksburg Middle School (BMS) houses grades 9-12 on a traditional schedule. Old Christiansburg Middle School houses middle school students (grades 6, 7es 6, 7
  English: World English Bible - WEB
  7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
  
  WP-Bible plugin and 8).
• Christiansburg Middle School (CMS) operates on a unified schedule with grades 6, 7es 6, 7
  English: World English Bible - WEB
  7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
  
  WP-Bible plugin and 8 from the Christiansburg area and grades 6 and 7 from the Blacksburg attendance area; Blacksburg Middle School facility will house Blacksburg students in grades 8-12.

In addition, other options are currently under review and will be shared as feasibility evaluations are completed.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

• Monday, June 21, Blacksburg Middle School Auditorium, 3 and 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 22, Christiansburg Middle School Auditorium, 3 and 7 p.m.

For those who are unable to attend these meetings, comments may be sent to the School Administration Office at the address above or e-mailed to http://forms.mcps.org/bhs_input.htm.

A response from the Blacksburg Middle School staff:

An Opportunity for Excellence

Our community has proven numerous times that we are resilient and committed to our children and each other. This is just another opportunity to not only persevere but to look to improve on our educational ideas and environments.

• We feel the tragedy for our BHS community should not be turned into a double tragedy by displacing our BMS community. The focus is to support the needs of the faculty and students of BHS as they cope with this crisis. To do this, we need to create an educational environment for all students impacted that best meets their developmental and academic needs in the short term and can benefit our district’s educational progress in the future.
• As professionals we should see this as an opportunity for educational improvement. If we use a proactive thought process with a focus on long-term implications and enduring solutions, opportunities will become apparent. It is imperative to address this problem with paramount consideration for the educational needs of all students involved. Long-term educational objectives and implications should drive the decision, not capacity numbers or athletics, both of which can be solved through alternative physical arrangements.
• A decade ago members of the BMS and CMS [Christiansburg Middle School] communities collaborated to select the building design utilized in the two new middle schools. At BMS we use this specialized physical environment to foster important tenets of the middle school concept addressing the unique developmental and instructional needs of young adolescents. These buildings feature separate hallways for each grade level subdivided into smaller areas for academic teams, a design that helps middle school educators meet the needs of middle school students and builds smaller learning communities within a large school. The environment is actually used as a teacher. Our space supports teaming, inclusion, flexible grouping, collaboration, and integrated curriculum which are all essential components of a strong middle school program. Additionally, family involvement in the education of their children is an essential characteristic of a successful middle school. This becomes problematic if our school is not located in our community.
• Current enrollment at BHS is 1,117is 1,117
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  WP-Bible plugin and BMS is 883. The difference in enrollment is 234 students. OCMS, with a capacity of 775, is not adequate for either school population. Therefore, relocating either school would require extensive modifications and mobile units so all costs must be considered.
• Although BMS has a capacity of 1200 students, it was not designed to house four grade levels. It is a middle school designed to house three grade levels. The BMS campus cannot support the entire BHS program.
• Remaining efficient is crucial in the final decision of the placement. We want this plan to have positive long term effects on all impacted in our division. Customizing a building to meet the high school needs is necessary. It would be beneficial to utilize a building that can benefit from this expense after the high school has left the facility. OCMS fits this description because of the alternative high school programs that would re-inhabit the facility. Customizing BMS to support BHS involves spending scarce funds on modifications that will require subsequent funding to restore BMS to its original state once BHS has its own facility.
• If BMS were moved to OCMS there would also be costs for customizing this facility to meet our needs as a middle school. OCMS would need to be greatly modified to meet our teaming, technology, and instructional program needs. The cost of relocating two schools and seven grade levels to provide for their academic needs compared to the cost of housing one school with four grade levels, which is already displaced, must be considered. Furthermore, any money invested in any facility should continue to benefit the students of MCPS long after the temporary housing needs of BHS are resolved.
• During the shared occupancy, the facilities at BMS did not meet the needs of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. In addition, they were concerned that their students’ ability to compete well in VICA and other such competitions would be affected. These competitions lead to opportunities for post-high school education and employment. This group of students is often overlooked in the rush to provide academic and athletic needs.
• The challenge this crisis presents provides an opportunity to look to research-based education reform for innovative ideas to enhance the educational offerings of MCPS. For example, research shows that 9th grade is a pivotal year for students as they transition from middle school to the changing demands of high school. The idea of a Ninth Grade Academy, which separates the 9th grade from the traditional high school, addresses this critical transition by creating a smaller learning community which provides more structure and direction for students. An option like this would open up new ways to think about a space for BHS students. We have facilities in our district such as the OBMS annex building that could house a 9th grade class. This would leave only grades 10-12 relocating to OCMS.

Surveys

This is the second part of a series that is focusing on the youth of western Europe. The series is subtitled Ignorant Heirs of a Reformation and focuses on the youth of France.

HISTORICAL
Known for its rich history and culture, France has long been a leader and influencer of world affairs. For the purpose of this paper, only the history since the Middle Ages will be considered. In the last 1000 years, however, France has been the epicenter of religious strife, political upheaval, invasion, occupation, torture, and political struggle.

It has been a culture with a long history of religious ambiguity, corruption and deep tension. It was in Avignon, France in the 1200s that a dual papal battle began, with one Pope located in Avignon and the other located in Rome. After the errant leadership of Pope Boniface VIII, the French king Phillip IV manipulated the church and had the capital of the Catholic Church moved to Avignon in 1305. So began a long “captivity of the church” as the French king used his influence over the pope during a particularly weak and corrupt era n church history to enrich his kingdom and fund his ongoing war with England. Pope John XXII, installed by Phillip’s influence, devoted his whole tenure as pontiff to enriching the papal treasury (and subsequently, Phillip’s war coffins). It wasn’t until 1415 that a single Pope was finally elected by the illustrious and imposing Council of Constance – Pope Martin V.

By this time, however, incredible damage had been done to the cause of Christ through a multitude of Crusades, religious infighting and greed among the church’s leaders. A generation of Reformers arose to debate the church’s error, defend the Gospel, and describe the true meaning of church to an apathetic culture. Ironically, the same Council of Constance that created the end of the papal battle (in 1415, there were actually three men who were called as Pope!), also named John Wycliffe a heretic and ordered him burned.

In the next 400-500 years, Europe was the site of such great spiritual earthquakes, with the likes of John & Charles Wesley, Martin Luther, and John Calvin – that many considered Europe entirely Christianized. The discovery of the American continent and its emergence as a world power suddenly shifted attention away from France, allowing some of the religious “dust” to settle. It settled thick. Generation after generation would remember the fallacies and sheer outrage of acts of the “church.” Even with the spirit of reform in the air, to many outsiders, it just looked like a reorganization.

In the 20th century, Catholicism reigned in France, but it was nominal at best. France was embattled by Germany, invaded, and occupied in the early part of the century. It never seemed to recover its sense of national identity. Once a staunch ally of the United States and its old rival, England, in the last 30 years, France has leaned steadily leftward politically. Recently, France became the subject of debate among American political conservatives as it refused to endorse or help in the war on terror in Afghanistan or Iraq. In fact, upon closer examination, a people once known for their arrogance now considers Americans to be supremely arrogant as anti-U.S. attitudes continued to grow, particularly among the young people of France.

Because of the well-publicized faith of U.S. President George W. Bush, many of the young people in France identify America’s “arrogance” with its religion and have turned their back on the faith of their fathers – which in most instances never had a chance to establish itself either.