It's Wedding Time

I am doing pre-marital counseling with one couple right now and am getting ready to start this next month with 4 other couples. I have 6 weddings scheduled for this year (one in April, 3 in June, 1 in July, and the last in December). Another couple is asking about October, but that is still tentative - but even if it happened, it would still fall short of my personal record of 8 in one year.

With this in mind, I thought one or two of you might like this cartoon:

Generation Me, Generation Next

After downloading and printing a copy several days ago, I finally had a chance to read yesterday the Pew Research Center's report on "Generation Next". What I saw discouraged me, yet motivated me, all at the same time. My summation of the report: The current 18-25 year old generation is the most selfish, media savvy, lifestyle permissive, irreligious generation ever seen in America.

This seems to fly in the face of reports I saw just a couple of years ago saying that this next generation of young adults (Gen Y or Millennials as referred to by some) was going to turn out a lot like the current Seniors generation (those over 60) because of events like 9-11 & the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, and as a reaction to their predecessors - Gen X. They would be the most patriotic generation in decades and lead a new wave of volunteerism. They would be the most conservative group politically and socially in years, and they would be driven by their faith.

But this report says the opposite.

And the Pew group isn't the only ones finding these things out. My friend Kim Pagel posted about the book "Generation Me" and the author's similar findings concerning this new generation of young adults. I encourage you to read Kim's excellent post on the subject.

So in regards to the Pew survey, it discourages me because Generation Next contains our future leaders and cultural shapers. And yet this report motivates me because the need for Christ is so readily apparent. I know that some of these attitudes revealed in the survey will shift as this generation begins to marry, have kids, and settle into careers, but the worldview you have in your college years guides much of the thinking in your adult life - and it appears that there is a widen open opportunity to share Christ and a biblical worldview with the new generation of young adults.

Family in a Winter Storm

Since Friday afternoon, we have been getting pelted with ice and slush. Now this evening, the mixed precipitation has turned into snow with high winds, putting us under a Blizzard Warning until 6 am tomorrow (Sunday) morning.

At around 6:30 this evening, the lights went out. We got out the flashlights, lit candles, played games on the living room floor, and built towers with blocks. While it seemed inconvenient to be without electricity (which meant no TV or Internet to check weather and no lights in which to play our games), it kept us huddled close together around the candlelight.

Perhaps families were closer in pre-electricity days because the lack of light kept them physically closer, which kept them interacting more. While we are glad the electricity is back on (it was only out for an hour), LeAnn and I couldn't help but think how nice it was for that hour to have all of us together in one room. Even though we have a scheduled family night every Monday which keeps us interacting together as a whole family for an entire evening, tonight helped us see that family is not to be a once a week thing, but rather something God has given us.

So if you don't mind, I'm going to end this post and go read to my children...

Happy Grizzly Valentines Day!

My daughter is creating her own Valentine's Cards this year. And to make it truly original, she has written her own poem for the card. I just saw it for the first time on our home computer, and thought I would share it here to warm all of your hearts...

Happy Valentine's Day

Howdy Hello.
Both mean the same stuff
Hello equals normal
But howdy more tough

This will be weird,
but I really don't care
A perfect Valentine present
is a Grizzly Bear

Teens and Twenty-somethings want marriage more than sex

I don't have much time to post my thoughts and reactions to this (gotta go pick up Josh Bales from the airport for tonight's Watershed Worship Gathering), but thought some of you might be interested in this news item. Apparently a new survey has been conducted of 14-29 year olds that indicates that those in this age bracket seem to want a good marriage more than sex.

You can read the news release for yourself. I would like to see the full results of the survey (especially with the ages broken apart - 14 to 29 is just too wide of a spread in my opinion), but couldn't find it quickly on youthography's website.

Bless His Heart...

Last night, while LeAnn and I were sitting on the couch and I was catching up on reading some blogs, we watched the first 5 minutes of the third sermon in the Urban Legends series LifeChurch.tv is doing. Why just the first 5 minutes? Because on the Swerve blog, they said Craig explained the video that had a strange shadow in the video within the first five minutes of the message.

During the intro of the sermon, but before the video explanation, he said he intuitively learned that the words "bless your heart" really mean "you're an idiot!" His fly was down for an entire sermon and people said to him "bless your heart". He gave an example of a woman wearing a really strange outfit - "bless her heart..." Or a guy whose alarm failed to go off and then got stuck in traffic making him late for a job interview - "bless his heart..."

Well, I just read about the Chicago Bears fan who lost a bet over the Super loss to the Colts (yes, I know, I'm missing my Bowl...) on Sunday. His punishment? Legally changing his name to Peyton Manning.

Bless his heart...

Follow-Up Thoughts on the Super Bullies

I've been mentally chewing on several things ever since I heard last week about NFL officials bullying a church (which now has a great letter from the pastor about the situation) into shutting down their Super Bo... er, Big Game Party.

First, I'm still bothered by the NFL's stance. They have apparently tried to soften it in the wake of an angry blogosphere and overall public reaction. But somehow I don't think that is going to resolve this issue. I have a feeling this will eventually end up in the courts or on law books somewhere some year.

Second, this whole situation has reminded me of how powerful sports have become in our society. I enjoy watching a football game (especially when it's players are only carrying footballs and school loads, not multi-million dollar contracts), or a baseball game, or a hockey game, or even a college wrestling match (which I might get to do this Sunday). But when a sporting organization can bully a group around like this, and still 91 million people watch the game, I think it speaks volumes about our culture. As one young adult said on the Men's Retreat last weekend in response to another man's comment about Christians boycotting the game - "like that's gonna happen!"

Third - For some reason some of my own advice came into my head. A few months ago, the Watershed leadership team made a difficult decision to close the forum. This naturally angered those who frequent the forum and made it part of their weekly or daily lives. In the midst of the furor, I encouraged the members of the forum to look for the opportunity in the midst of the frustrating reality. I was extremely proud of Joe and some others when they took the advice and started a whole new forum for young adults in Cedar Rapids and beyond.

So if I were to take my own advice, I should be looking for the opportunity in the middle of this frustrating NFL situation concerning churches and their use of a particular game. I love what my executive Pastor sarcastically said on his blog - the opportunity waiting for churches is to get a liquor license and then they are good to go!

But perhaps the opportunity that is REALLY before us is to watch the game with neighbors or co-workers or others we should establish a friendship with, some people who may not know Christ. Many churches want to use the Super Bowl to elevate people's thoughts higher and get them thinking about Christ. But perhaps that would be accomplished to an even greater degree if the church was out among the community.

Photo Credit: The Day / Chris O'Meara

A Church List guy hates Church Lists too

I've already posted about how much I hate church lists. I knew Rob Bell, teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church, hated church lists (he said so in a sermon a couple months ago) - I would expect that of him. But it was really refreshing to me to read on the Swerve blog that Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.TV and current church-list-maker favorite, hates them as well.

The first time I ever heard Craig speak (it was from a video on their Internet Campus), I thought he was a bit monotone and not someone I would enjoy listening to. But the more I hear from Craig (in his books, interviews, and blog posts), the more I appreciate his heart and ministry.

Plus, it's nice to know I'm not alone in my "down with church lists" stance!

P.S. To understand the picture, go to Craig's blog post about church lists!

Where do YOU spend your time online?

I just read on Church Relevance's blog a post about Compete.com's report on the Top 20 websites based on the amount of time people spend on the site. MySpace is the overwhelming winner (unfortunately - as a wanna-be webdesigner I am offended by the ugliness of MySpace sites ;-). I was surprised Google wasn't slightly higher with all of the services they offer, but this is a report about time, not # of users.

But the things that surprised me most is that the Top 20 sites take up 39% of the time used on the Internet. With all of the billions of web pages out there, this amazes me most.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, the site I spend the most time on is Google (if you count gmail, Google Reader, Blogger, and Google News).

NFL sacks church's plans for Super Bowl party

I am short on time at the moment (gotta run to a Men's Retreat), but I couldn't help but post about this. I'll let the article tell you the story about the NFL canceling a church's plans to show the Super Bowl.

Another reason why I prefer college football...

The Procrastinator's Clock

I'm not a procrastinator by nature, but I still thought this clock was a funny idea. I know a few people who could use this (but I won't name them here!).

Campus Staff - Full-Time Ministry Opportunity

I've been wanting to post this for the past week, but things have been so full that I haven't been able to get to it. But this is BIG news!

New Covenant is ready to start having conversations with people who would be interested in helping us start a new campus ministry to Kirkwood Community College. You can see a job description and some other info from the Employment Opportunities page on the NCBC website.

We are praying that God will allow us to hire 4 individuals that are perfect for this job. You should know that our staff will need to raise their own funds (but New Covenant will be providing some financial support and other help - but how much is still being determined (we are just starting our church budget planning cycle)) and training will be provided by the EDGE Corp (part of the Navigators). There are no age requirements, just have to be able to connect with college aged young adults (well, you have to be out of the college years, so I guess there is one age requirement).

If you are interested, or know someone who would be, email me. We are already praying for these staff and for the students they will reach through God's empowerment. So let's talk!

Oh, and here's the official blurb we are using to advertise for this position:

A growing Bible church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is looking for team-minded individuals with a passion for college students to help start a new Christ-centered ministry on the main campus of Kirkwood Community College. This pioneering job will involve crafting something from scratch, establishing new relationships, raising your own funds, and allowing God to increase your faith in dramatic ways. To learn more...