"I Was Shocked"

Someone sent me this. Not sure who wrote it. But it is good.

I WAS SHOCKED

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp—
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

'And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
At the thought of seeing you.'

Distribution Point OR Destination?

I pulled this from an email about a church that developed an ap for the iPhone to help there people worship. The how is not as important as the why. The following is a quote from the information. After that is 4 questions... 4 questions I'd like help with. Thanks.


Northland (A Church Distributed) is a central Florida church that is all about helping people worship where they are. Northland's $42 million facilities in Longwood were built with the vision that they would serve as a "distribution point" rather than a "destination."


<> Are we a distribution point or a destination?
<> What does that mean?
<> Do we want to change?
<> How can we change?

Help!

bulletin slave to no bulletin

Just read some interesting stuff about ditching the old bulletin and moving to something simpler, eventually easier, web driven and less taxing on the environment. The reason why and how is explained better here and here. Read the first "here" first. Anyway... good stuff. Not sure if it will work for our older congregation. Not sure how many would got to the web for info and everyone wants their stuff IN the bulletin... every week. It is a change of thinking. I like the fact that it makes us think further in advance, plan better.

What do you think?

Sunday Wrap-Up

In Fusion Youth Group Service we looked at a Nooma video, #16 Rhythm. It was extremely good. Part of the point is that we are all part of God's song. The question is are we in tune or out of tune. Good stuff.

The biggest news of the night is that Rhonda Glover announced her engagement to Joe - yea!!! Looking forward to November 22.

Good Sunday (I also took a nap... wearing my CPAP... after a great lunch at home)

Back Home

I've been at Youth Quest - National Talent finals for IPHC. It was in Daytona Beach. Rhonda, the girls and I took Eric for the National Royal Ranger competition. He did a great job and we all had a bunch fun. Swimming in the ocean was great. Reconnecting with Rick and his family was a highlight. Glad to be home!

Sadly, I'm back

We went on "summer vacation" during "spring break" - weird huh? Well, it works for us. We went to Gatlinburg, TN. AWESOME!! I highly recommend it. AND the best place was free - Cade's Cove. It is an 11 mile drive around one the greatest examples of God's handiwork. Even the drive to Cade's Cove was awe inspiring.

But, alas we are back. We are also in revival with Pastor Jonathan Griffin. Great preacher and wonderful services. He finishes up tonight.

Also, I read a great article on helping students through grieving - here it is. I hope you never need it, but the reality is that you will. It come from the fine folks at Simply Youth Ministry (Doug Fields' peeps).

caring for grieving students
Last week, my wife Adriana and I went to visit Sharon, the mother of one of our students. Three months ago, Sharon was up and running ...

Looking back - looking forward

This past week - Went with our Primetimers (seniors) to Pigeon Forge Tuesday - Thursday. Had a blast. They pulled me up on the stage for a stunt at the "Hoot-N-Holler" - that was a trip. Friday and Saturday I was playing some real catch up in the office (bulletin, SongShow - including the pastor's notes for AM and PM services, my youth message, etc.).

Sunday - we had a good number in Kids Zone, they are really growing. Our new Sunday School Class is doing well - HomeBuilders. We went out to lunch with Chris and Denise, to Ruby Tuesdays. I got the Bison Burger and a salad. Pretty good. Great fellowship with great friends.

Today - stayed home to work on bills (ug). I met Chris (yp at Wilson P&W) for lunch then hung out at Saxon's office (yp at FHCOG).

Tonight - watched MNF! I won week 3 in my Fantasy Football League! ROCK ON BABY!

Looking Forward:

I'll have a tough week. We have a WAYnet Student event Wednesday night and SYATP that morning. I also have my regular stuff to do while looking to improving what is going on at Shiloh.

QUESTION: Do you give yourself a rigid schedule? I try to have a "to do" list, but they gets all goofed up as the week goes on. I've got some projects that I'd like to work on, but I have so many other things to do... first. I get frustrated. I want to work on our "first impressions" team (we don't really have one - we have greeters), a program to help folks share their faith, BE a youth pastor (and children too), and ... Get the picture?

Got any advice?

Down the River we went

This past weekend I took a group to West Virginia for a rafting experience. We rafted the New River and had a blast. We went with Appalachian Wildwater again. This is our third time with this company and this same river. As far as I know it is the best deal out there. Great facilities - they have a pool and hot tub on site. They also have a game room with a pool table. We stayed in platform tents for two nights, they are really comfortable. Saturday, the day we rafted, we started with a great hot breakfast and then off for our bus ride to the put in spot. The first half of the trip was family class - not a lot of big stuff. We stopped half way down the river for a deli lunch and then on for the adventurous part of the trip. Great rapids - Great fun! When we finally made it back to the outpost, we were served dinner - choice of steak, chicken, salmon or spaghetti. All very good - I got the steak.

Sunday morning we had a service together - I talked about encouraging each other then about sharing our story with others. I ended with this:

We only called to share Jesus to the extent that we know him.

You see the woman at the well only told people, "come and see the man who told me everything I ever did." She didn't have some deep theological sermon to give, she wouldn't have been able to answer any questions - she told everything she knew about the great encounter of her life. THAT is what we are challenged to do - tell people about the greatest encounter of our lives - Jesus.

Pretty good I think.

The Latest

The latest what? I guess the latest about me, of course! It's been a while since my last post. I just get busy and then when I sit down to post, something else comes up, usually like ready everyone else's postings. That really eats your time. BUT, I get to read some really good ones.

One I read today compared the fastfood pictues to the real thing. You've got to check this out.

More? Here you go... (this is isn't all, I just don't want you to fall asleep at your computer and drool all over your keyboard - ewwww)

• Sunday (June 10) was Grad. Sunday. I got to preach even though it was our new pastor's second Sunday with us. What a cool honor. I used a bicycle in my sermon: Bicycle of Life: Getting Ready for a Brand New Journey. Here it is in a nutshell (without scripture refs. sorry. If you want them, just let me know). Wheels = Faith (got to have your own and keep them pumped up - I gave each grad a bike pump with "Faith" written on it.) Peddles = Action (get involved, go somewhere, enjoy life) Handlebars & Breaks = Direction & Choices (life is about choices, make good ones) Balance (control your life) The Journey ahead. The we prayed for each grad.
• Sunday night in Fusion Life (youth service) I used each of the grads favorite verse to talk about life. They really picked some good ones. They also submitted some quotes. One of my favorites what by Justin. He said, "God created us all to be superman, we have to choose to wear the S." That is so cool. God doesn't make any junk or mistakes - but we sure can make it look that way when we are outside of his will.
• Mine and Rhonda's anniversary is coming up - tomorrow - 14 years! I've got some special stuff planned - very creative this year (no, that doesn't mean cheap). I'll share more later - Rhonda may read my blog... but I doubt it.
• We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on opening night - I thought is was very good - a bit slow at the beginning, but it picked up nicely. Maybe a #4 coming. I hope so. Next big movie: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer! Maybe taking the youth group boys. And YES, my wife is planning to see it with me too. She is so cool!
• UNC is in the College World Series! Is your team? Did you know that colleges play more than Football and Basketball? UNC is thinking about having a football team next year (ha ha ha). Go Heels!
• Took my 2 kids to the dentist today. No cavities AND the dentist and hygienist are both Heels fans.
• Did some downloading from iTunes this weekend. (hey, someone send me an iPod or at least some iTunes gift certs. - that would be nice). I downloaded some songs to used for the Grad. Picture Show (makes moms cry to see their babies all growing up). Here is my list... don't judge me...

I Still Believe - Jeremy Camp
What If - Jadon Lavik
Raging Sea - Michael W. Smith
How to Say Goodbye - Michael W. Smith
The Power of a Moment - Chris Rice ** This is the song we used**
Where You Lead Me - MercyMe
Follow Your Dreams - Raze
Smellin' Coffee - Chris Rice
8th Grade - Chris Rice
He Believes In You - Aaron Benward
Lifesong - Casting Crowns
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper -- yes, I'm a closet Cyndi Lauper fan, now the word is out --
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
She Bop - Cyndi Lauper
You're the Inspiration - Chicago

The first two, I'd downloaded several months ago for different youth services. The last few were, well, old memories. BTW: That is my whole iTunes list.

Here's an idea: post your last 10 iTunes downloads! Tag, your it.

That's all for now. My next post will be #100. I can sense your excitement.

Outreach's Best

This is from Mark Batterson's blog (I'm not going to just copy from other, BUT, this is a GREAT resource).

Top Ten Articles on Outreach:

1. Church Cancelled, Service Begins
Across the country, churches are closing their doors on Sunday mornings to serve their communities through the new four-week churchwide campaign called Faith in Action. Will you join them?

2. Fourth Annual Outreach Resource of the Year
You loved them, we loved them. Now it's time to give these outstanding resources of 2006 another look and a round of applause.

3. America's Most Innovative Churches
How are today's churches innovating to reach a changing world, and which ones are leading the way?

4. 10 Ways to Sink Your Sermon Series
To present an effective evangelistic sermon series at your church, avoid making 10 crucial mistakes seen repeatedly at churches across the country.

5. I Like Jesus ... Not the Church
Today's non-Christian 20- and 30-somethings are big fans of Jesus but are less thrilled with His followers and the churches where they worship. Pastor/author Dan Kimball reveals their six most common perceptions of Christians and the Church, what they wish church was like – and why you should be listening to these emerging voices.

6. The Possibility and Imperative of Launching New Churches
Have you thought about it? Have you felt called? Maybe it's something you've dreamt of, but the logistics of making it happen seemed too daunting. You already have a church--and possibly a thriving one at that--so why would you want to start another one? Why should you be a Launching Church?

7. The Buzz Mandate
You've heard people buzzing about the latest sports scandal or the new blockbuster movie. But have you ever heard your community buzzing about the Gospel? When's the last time your church was the talk of the town?

8. Whose Earth is It Anyway?
A hot-button issue in today's world, creation care is resonating with churches worldwide. Northland pastor Joel Hunter shares why and how his Longwood, Fla., church is reaching its community by talking about the subject.

9. Why Evangelism Doesn't Work Anymore
Why? Maybe the culture is too sophisticated for it--especially our teenagers. Perhaps this technologically connected generation of young people has totally disconnected from an ancient message that, at first glance, seems absolutely irrelevant to their lifestyles. After all, how can such a seemingly dated message compete with instant messaging?

10. The Top 20 Web Sites for Church Communicators
Below, you'll find 20 killer sites that can inspire you, save you time and help you do your job right. In short, they make your life easier. Isn't the Web a wonderful thing?

Note: I've not checked out every site or link. The ones I have looked at have been great. If you find a broken link or a bad site... I've not seen or endorse that one :)

Happy Outreaching

Are you living Acts 2 or Acts 17

I read an interesting post by Mark Batterson about the difference between Acts 2 and Acts 17. His main point is that we live in an Acts 17 environment. People are spiritual, religious even. They are asking the right questions, just asking the wrong god. They are asking the "gods" of this world instead of the One True God.

Here is his post, enjoy (I put my comments to his post at the end). I'd love to hear what you think. You can also read his post from his site here.

A few weeks ago I heard James Emery White, former President of Gordon-Conwell Seminary, speak at the Q Conference. And he made a great distinction between two approaches to culture. He said we can't afford to approach culture as if we're living in an Acts 2 age where we're surrounded by God-fearing Jews. We need to approach culture like we're living in an Acts 17 age where we're surrounded by idolatry like Paul in Athens. I've always felt like Acts 17 is "the model" when it comes to decoding culture.

I would describe Athens as a culture of misdirected spirituality. There were altars all over the place including the altar to an unknown god. Seems to me that America is a nation of worshippers, but our worship is misdirected. We worship celebrities. We worship athletes. We worship wealth. We worship the body. We worship just about everything except God.

America is full of spirituality, but it is often in the form of idolatry. But we can't boycott the aeropagus. We've got to compete in the marketplace of ideas. We've got to find spiritual touchpoints. Paul started with what they worshipped--the altar to the unknown god--and used it to preach about Christ.

For what it's worth, it seems to me that songs and movies are really altars to an unknown God. They ask the right questions and raise the right issues. But they fall short because they don't have the answers! Part of decoding culture is doing what Paul did in Acts 17:23: Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

My response to him was: You are so right. I used the Acts 17 the last time I had an opportunity to preach in the sanctuary. Paul started where they were, complimented them ("I see you are a religious people") and then shifted to Jesus (the "unknown god"). What a GREAT model. AND, NO, we are NOT in an Acts 2 environment as the norm.thanks!

Little Update

So much has been going on lately. Here is a short rundown.

We have a new pastor, Rev. T. Elwood Long. He was my pastor in the late 80's at Mt. Carmel and then our Conference Superintendent after that for 11 years. In fact, he was the superintendent when I received my minister's license and then my ordination 2 years later. I'm excited to be working with him. He has much wisdom.

Memorial Day was nice. That was the Sunday the church voted on Pastor Long. We did not have an evening service, so we had some extra family time.

School is almost out and my daughter is VERY excited. We are fixing snow cones for her class Monday.

Graduation Sunday is June 10th. No, I'm not ready. I get to preach Grad. Sunday, but I've got other things to prepare for that Sunday too - senior picture show is the biggest deal.

We start a new Sunday School and Kid's Zone schedule Sunday - for the summer. All the adults will be meeting together for Sunday School. The teachers will rotate through the summer. The kids will all meet together from Sunday School (9:45 AM) through the end of morning worship (about noon). We are using a VBS program and building around that. I will be an exciting summer.

I guess that's enough for now.

The Worship Industry?

I was reading a blog today, SerialYouthPastor, and came across a video on YouTube about worship. The question posed, "Is worship becoming a consumer industry?" The video is by Brian McLaren. I agree with most of the video - especially the parts at the beginning. Of course, I'm not sure about everything Brian says. I think he goes a bit too far on the last part.

What do you think?





I'll be back later to post a very funny letter of recomendation - at least I think it is funny.

Overcome Church Summer Slump with These Fresh Ideas

Found an interesting article on LifeWay Pastor's Today email. The article was to promote a new book by Diana Davis, Fresh Ideas: 1,000 Ways to Grow a Thriving and Energetic Church. They listed several in the article, I've copied three. My personal favorite is #2. It would be fun to see where everyone goes this summer.


Fresh Ideas
Summertime can be one of the most exciting seasons of the year for a church, offering expanded opportunities for church ministry. Here are a few fresh ideas.

1. Take it outside
Choose a beautiful summer Sunday and plan a morning or evening worship service outside on the church lawn or at a nearby park. Hang a banner to invite passersby to join you.

How about an outdoor movie night on a blank exterior wall, a softball tournament, or an all-church picnic?
Stage a quality outdoor music performance featuring your youth band, Vacation Bible School musical, praise team, choir or a guest performer or band.
Even better: plan a Christian music series on consecutive Sunday evenings.

2. I went to church in Kalamazoo
Create a large bulletin board titled “I went to church in…” When individuals or families travel for vacation or business this summer, ask them to take a photo in front of any church they attend, and attach it to the board with the church name.

3. Made you look
Attract attention to your church building by planting lush displays of God’s colorful flowers. Tight budget? Allow the children’s class to plant and water several packets of zinnia seeds.

Are you a practical athiest?

I just read this post by Craig Croeschel. It is VERY good. No, I'm not an athiest, but I identify with what Craig is saying sometimes.

Sometimes I’m a “practical atheist.”
Spiritually, I believe in God. But practically, I live as if He doesn’t exist.
If I REALLY trusted God, I wouldn’t worry so much.
If I REALLY believed it was His church and not mine, I’d sleep better.
If I REALLY believed in prayer, I’d spend less time strategizing and more time on my knees.
What about you?
Fill in the blanks:
If I REALLY believed _____________, I’d _______________.
I pray God stirs our hearts to live as if we really believe!

Wow, what do you think?

Cat Hurding Youth Pastors

What a great video. It was a great commercial before someone fixed it up for youth pastors. And yes, it does fit youth ministry.





Those of you who are in youth ministry, what do you think?

Pearls Before Breakfast

Have you read the article in the Washington Post, Pearls Before Breakfast? You must. It is about master violinist, Josh Bell, playing is violin as a street musician at the entrance to the Metro. He is playing great music, music people pay to here. He is playing on a 3 1/2 million $$ Stradivarius. Guess what, people just keep walking. Very few stop and only one recognize him. He played for almost an hour.

Read it and think about this:

God is playing music for us, His music of love for us. So many just walk on by. What is wrong with our Ears and Eyes? Why don't we recognize Him? There is noting wrong with Him, He is perfect, true and real.

What do you think?

(My pastor preached using this article as his main illustration. Very well done.)

Communion is MORE

I've been reading Mark Batterson's blog lately (Thanks Rick). Today he posted some thoughts on communion that he got from Rob Bell. I found them very enlightening. I'll be thinking on this for a while, chewing on it so to speak. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Here is Mark talking about what he heard Rob Bell speaking about:

He talked about the eucharist. And used the phrase body broken, blood poured. And then he said something that's never even crossed my mind: leadership is a reenactment of the eucharist. In a sense, our bodies our broken and our blood is poured. Not in the substitionary sense of what Jesus accomplished as a sinless sacrifice. But maybe "do this" in the phrase "do this in remembrance of me" isn't just a reference to the act of communion. Maybe it has broader ramifications. Maybe "do this" means do what I've done. In a sense, we are a living eucharist.

Wow, that's a twist on what we've always heard and taught. Of course we know we are to be like Christ. After all that is what "Christian" means - "little Christ." This just makes it more - WOW!

Thanks for reading
-jeff

More Help for the Hurting

It seems the web is buzzing with talk about the VT tragedy. Many are blogging their thoughts - both from a Christ centered perspective and a world view perspective (I didn't want to use the words "secular and Christian" or "secular and sacred" - but there you go).

Jim Burns offers some help dealing with the tragedy, especially helping youth in an article, Terror at Virginia Tech: Jim Burns' Response. It is worth the read and he offers some links for more help at the bottom. They include:

Violence on Campus: Helping Your Kids Cope with Tragedy
Helping Your Kids Feel Safe in a Violent World
When Violence Goes to School
5 Things to do When Tragedy Strikes
Tips for Helping Kids Survive Tragedy

Frank Beemer (football coach at VT) said this will bring the Hokies closer together. He also canceled the spring game (a big deal at VT) because as he said, (full article here)

"There's things more important than football right now. There's a lot of grieving families here and there's going to be a lot of grieving families here Saturday. I just thought it was the right thing to do."

Here is the last lines from the article (quotes from the basketball coach and more from Coach Beemer).

"I'm numb right now thinking about the parents coming to campus to identify
their children," Greenberg told ESPN.com on Monday. "It's hard to put into
words. What would drive someone to do this?

"This is the most peaceful, tranquil and safe environment. But this shows that there is nowhere that you're safe from tragedy or this type of senseless violence. It's devastating."

The convocation Tuesday packed Cassell Coliseum, and more than 20,000 people who didn't fit in the basketball arena watched on a huge video screen inside Lane
Stadium. As the service was winding down, English professor Nikki Giovanni
led the crowd in a chant of "Let's go Hokies," the crowd's volume increasing
with each verse.

"I think what took place at the end of the ceremony, people wanted to let it out and say, `Hey, this one guy's not going to beat us,"' Beamer said. "We're hurt, but this one guy's not going to dictate how we're going to act."

I really like that last line, "We're hurt, but this one guy's not going to dictate how we're going to act."

Terry Bowden said this: (and no, I'm not a huge T.Bowden fan - he just happened to have an article where I was reading - Yahoo.com sports). Read his full article here.

There were only questions – questions that had nothing to do with sports.
Why did this happen? How could this happen? What can we do to make sure it never happens again? Unlike sports talk radio, there are no answers. Hell, everybody has the answers when it comes to sports, but nobody has the slightest idea why something as senseless as this has to happen.

Maybe we all need to redirect our focus a little bit. Maybe we need to spend less time wondering why so many athletes have guns and more time wondering why we have so many guns in the first place. Maybe we need to spend less time worrying about the violence in a hockey game and more time worrying about the violence in a video game. Maybe we need to spend less time hating Barry Bonds and more time
loving our children.

Maybe, just maybe, if we do this, we'll have time to figure out how to make sure something like this never happens again. The thoughts, sympathies and prayers of all of us at Yahoo Sports! go out to the students, faculty, and staff at Virginia Tech.

Wow, so much response, so many words. But what are we doing? Like everyone else, I'm trying to process it by writing and talking about it. But what can we do to make a difference? I think two main things: 1. PRAY - sounds like to easy of an answer, like a cliche, but it should be the first option, the first response. God hears us and comforts us. 2. SERVE - Let people see our faith, spend time with students - not just telling them how to live, but showing them. Jesus called us to be a "light." Are we? Or do we just write about it?

I'm afraid these tragedies will not stop. As long as there is sin in the world, bad stuff will happen. But I believe we can make a difference when it does.

Excellence - a bad word for the chruch?

I read this post and thought it was interesting, a bit confusing - except for the three points about
what you need to have "excellence." You can read the whole article here.

The fact is, we must be honest with ourselves and come to the understanding that
no church has it all together and is doing everything perfectly. If you think
your church has it all together and does not need any more improvement to make
its ministry better and more effective, send me an e-mail about it, because I
want to come visit!

Most churches have gotten to the point where the word “excellence” is a bad word to them. Actually, the word “excellence” means the quality of being first-class. I believe that in order to do anything with excellence, you must have three things.

First, you must have a vision. How can we do something if we don’t know what we want to do? Churches that are going to be world-class must have a clear vision of where they are going and what it is going to take to get there. Members of excellent churches don’t just show up on Sunday and say, “OK, here we are, let’s have church.” They have people in places that have responsibilities and those people show up and do their job without the pastor holding their hand, because they see the vision. If you fail to plan, then you can plan to fail.

Second, excellence requires something very few people have anymore — a burden. Churches that have a burden for something succeed in that area. If your church is burdened for unsaved people, then more than likely your church will have a great outreach ministry. Few people are burdened or broken anymore.

Last, excellence requires passion. A church of excellence is made up of people who are passionate about being in the presence of the King. They love their church, their pastor, their small group, everything about their church and they want to do God’s work more often than just on Sunday mornings.

If the only time you worship God is one hour on Sunday morning, then you are not passionate about God. He is just a convenience to you, not a priority.

Your burden will determine your passion and your passion will determine your purpose. If you are truly passionate about something, then you will give it your best. Jesus gave his best and if we are passionate about him, then we should give him our best, not what’s left over.

See, it’s not such a bad word. Excellent, the way church ministry should be!

-jeff