"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.'

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

People like you

Ok, that title sounds a bit antagonistic, doesn't it? Well, I just read some comments about the VT Tragedy that really struck me. Darien quoted from an article about the individuals murdered. It goes into some detail about several of them and said that it is sad that the murderer will get much more "ink" than the victims. That is truly sad. These were people, like you - they had dreams, purpose and a God who loved them.

Here is the article. View it on Darien's site here. (Good article Darien, thanks)

Honor Roll
As you read about of some of the people murdered at Virginia Tech, Monday, consider how these were ordinary people who allowed God to shape them into the kind of person who would just naturally do what Jesus would do.

"As we search for some “meaning” or lesson from the Virginia Tech massacre, it is predictable that we will read endless analysis of the life and mind of the killer, Cho Seung-Hui. But what about those he killed?

Lauren McCain, 20 years old, from Hampton, Virginia was a freshman. On her MySpace page she told readers she had two heroes, Jesus Christ and her brother.

Austin Cloyd, 18, originally from Illinois, loved kids and spent his summers on mission trips to Appalachia to minister to the poor.

Liviu Librescu, 76, was a Holocaust survivor from Romania, who fought communism in his home country before moving to Israel. He was murdered on Holocaust Memorial Day, as he tried to keep the killer out of his classroom until his students could flee.

Matthew La Porte, 20, was in the corps of Air Force cadets at Virginia Tech and reportedly died trying to help others who had already been shot.

Rachael Hill, 18, graduated from Grove Avenue Christian School in Richmond,Virginia and was described as “gracious” and “loving.”

Ryan Clark, 22, was the resident advisor killed in the dorm when he responded to sounds of violence. He was pursuing a triple major in psychology, biology and English.

The list - of 32 people filled with promise and hope - goes on and on. They won’t get nearly the amount of “ink” as the man who murdered them, but they and their families deserve our prayers and our remembrance."

-Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The challenge for us today is to consider whether or not we're prepared to live like Jesus. Not just try to live like Jesus. Because trying won't cut it. We need to train and prepare to live like Jesus.

Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. He who remains in me will bear much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) If you want to be ready to respond well under the worst of circumstances, then train to remain connected to Jesus, the vine. Train by meeting with him each day in his word and with his spirit. Trust him. Follow him. Live like him.

My comments to Darien:

You are right. So much "ink" given to the killer and the victims get lumped together in the number "32." They cease to be individuals and are forever linked in a group. Sad. Thanks for the more personal info.

Another problem is all the talk about "bringing everyone closer together." It is sad that tragic events like 911, Columbine and VT are what bring us together (and it does and should). But, imagine if communities, schools, churches, small group came "closer together" because of serving one another, respecting each other. That would truly be great.

I'm serious about that last part. "What if?" Look for opportunities to serve each other, love each other, honor each other - instead of waiting for a tragedy. Let's see how that looks.

Watch Two of the Greatest

Watch these two GREAT coaches and how bold they are for Jesus.






Wow!